Annual General Meeting 2025 – Chairman’s Report 2024 – 2025

After two years of rebuilding the Friends of Bruchsal Society, I was proud to be elected as your chairman at the 2024 AGM.

The year started with the Society making many new contacts with clubs, schools and individuals wishing for information about the Society, some wishing to join the Society.

They seem to be pleased to hear of our progress and what we are doing, regarding twinning matters.

Online meetings were held with representatives from Bruchsal throughout the year and I hope they will continue, after my chairmanship is completed and well into the future: there is no reason for the isolation of the past with today’s technology.

Helen Thomas works in assisting Veronica and making these contacts, was very helpful together with the launching of the new website and other social media duties.
I wish to thank her for her work, which ended when her work commitments would not allow her to continue working with us.

The first item to be agreed by the Friends should be, to employ or not employ, someone else to carry out such work of this kind, helping take some of the burden off our current secretary. Please note that Helen’s wages were covered with the help of the grant, given to the Society by the Trust: thank you Trustees.

The Trust and Society’s investments have been carefully monitored and analysed; they seem to be making slow progress with its bank accounts, gaining only small interest. More information about these investments, will be given in the Treasurer’s report.

I wish to thank Walter Hunter Chartered Accountants for the advice and work they have carried out in preparation of the accounts again this year.

It was nice to see that in Cwmbran and in Bruchsal the feeling is that twinning of communities is very much alive, with both Societies wishing to renew their friendships.
The highlight of my term as your chairman, was the visit of the Bruchsal Police Choir in November, and meeting again the Lord Mayor of Bruchsal (Oberburgermeisterin) Cornelia Petzold-Schick and the other officers of Stadt Bruchsal Council, together with the Friends of Cwmbran. (including Annette Mandel).

I wish to extend my best wishes from the Friends to Cornelia on her recent retirement.

Attending the two concerts, one with the Harmonize Choir and the second with the Croesyceiliog Male Choir was out of this world, how nice it was to see everybody enjoying the event and mixing after the shows. Special thanks to all the choirs for putting on two enjoyable evenings.

It was a privilege for me, not only to be the chairman of the Friends of Bruchsal but also to be the chairman of the Croesyceiliog and Llanyrafon Community Council in the same year. I wish to thank Cwmbran Community Council officers and councillors for their input during the year.

The unveiling of the plaque, celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Cwmbran New Town (The Garden City of Wales) and the opening of the exhibition, brought back many memories of growing up and living in the New Town.

The biggest moment of the year, was the signing of the twinning document, celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the Cwmbran / Bruchsal Twinning at the Council House in Old Cwmbran, the third signing of such an historic document, cementing twinning between our two towns, which have so much in common.

In June of this year, the Friends of Bruchsal was promoted at the Big Event, as guests within the Croesyceiliog & Llanyrafon Community Council marquee, next to Cwmbran Community Council, both are the joint signatories of the twinning agreement with Bruchsal and both bear their civic responsibilities.

It was nice to see the number of people turning up at the tent, who had past connections and wanted to know more about the Twinning.

It seems that the future is good for twinning and many of us are looking forward to our proposed visit to Germany in October with the Harmonize Choir. Many thanks to them for assisting in the arrangements and we are looking forward to the proposed concerts.

Regarding civic visits the invitation has been given to both councils, to visit in the future.

I also look forward to meeting the new mayor.

My thanks go to Veronica, Tim, both committees and members for their support and hard work over the past year.

Stewart Matthews
Chairman