Category: Archives

2003 AGM was chaired by  Marilyn Wallace. She thanked the Administrator for organising the programme and also the Czech assistants Jana Vastatkova and Katka Piknerova. She also thanked the many volunteers over the year such […]

2002 was the 10th anniversary of the Bridgwater Czech Society being established and one look at the programme after those 10 years could see it was enormous. We had numerous Czech schools touring to […]

For 2001 we had Ivana Blahova as our new assistant. Brian was hardly at home as Bridgwater International now sought further countries other than Czech or Slovakia. This year we visited Lithuania and Poland […]

Bridgwater International entered the 21st Century moving forwards at the forefront of Czech-Slovak international links.  Students funded by EU grants and staff and workers paid for their contribution. The first Czech assistant of the […]

By 1999 the Bridgwater Czech Slovak Friendship Society was operating through it’s business arm Bridgwater International. We started employing Czech staff and our first was Lenka Fikarova from Prague.  We expanded our projects from […]

In 1998 the Czech-Slovak Society was at its busiest ever. Formally linked now with Prague 6 district (despite not being supported by Sedgemoor) we had a viable business model with the Crowcombe youth hostel […]

1997 we had expanded around the county, around the Czech Republic and the only direction now was across the border and into Slovakia. The opportunity of twinning with 2 countries from the ashes of […]

Throughout 1995 the Bridgwater Czech Slovak Friendship Society had the most full and challenging programme of any international link group in the UK.  We decided this year to expand our contacts and programme around […]

In 1988 Smedley wrote the stage play ‘The Vernon Bartlett Show and performed it via his Sheep Worrying Theatre company at the Bridgwater Arts Centre.

The origins of Bridgwater renewing it’s Czech link go back to 1986 when Brian Smedley first researched the 1938 Vernon Bartlett connection and in 1987 wrote a book and a play about it. In […]