When they suggested going on a jolly, to jolly Germany, for a jolly weekend, what was a chap to do? ...add to which we would be staying with old friends who happen to be wine makers of extra-ordinary generosity and Norwich City Council would be providing the transport. Without a moment's reflection I said, ”Yes”!
I’d gathered Kemp’s Men would be dancing at a sort of garden fete thing in connection with the Koblenz twinning committee. Later I thought I might have been tricked into doing something odd when it was revealed it was the Bugger Festival ! - Sleepness nights ensued; what high jinks did they get up to at bugger festivals?
I need not have worried; it was the Bundesgartenschau – Germany’s answer to the Chelsea Flower Show - and I was to be a lonely little petunia in an onion patch amidst the disciplined ranks of Bundes Blooms.
Getting there was a bore. The coach was fine (well done Spratts of Wreningham ) and the driver (answers to the name of Andy) was brilliant too! The only thing worth mentioning on the outward trip was the music session under the channel...
...once the coach was parked on the train we de-bussed, the band struck up some tunes and Postman Pat, another good old boy from Wreningham did a jig... an ode struggles to make itself known:-
Beneath the sea, its deeps and shallows
Box players squeeze their trusty bellows
And Postman Pat starts a jigging
Dishing up great "Lumps of Plum Pudding!
The funny thing is, although we were under the sea and not on it, Pat got sea sick - and that in spite of the various health-giving potions fed him by the Naughty Boys on the back seat!
Rolling into Winningen felt a bit like coming home and there were our friends and the stalwart Waltrude Jarrold (Queen Bee of the Twinning Committee) waiting to welcome us. Having found our way to our billets, washed behind the ears and powdered our noses, we hurried to the Fries residence. When we were royally fed and watered! No! That is a vile calumny! We were not fed and watered! We were fed and wined!
(Kemp’s Men are proud to endorse the Moselle wines of our friends Reiner and Anke of Weingut Fries and Gunter of Weingut Domgarten Hof with the health and safety warning that too much of their excellent products causes some people to confuse the vertical and horizontal!)
Saturday was a delight. We visited the underground caverns of a disused Basalt mine in Mendig and drank beer from the subterranean Vulcan Brewery. During a little light busking in Mendig, Kemp’s discovered the new dance Raising the Anke (it’s much much like Fieldtown The Rose but with a German lady named Anke raised in the midst)!
Returning to the Moselle, the coach dropped us at the top of the valley and we walked through the vines of the Domgarten down a winding road to the village. The sun shone, May blossom bedecked the trees, swallows flew high, barges and passenger boats on the river below looked like children’s toys! More busking and dancing by the Weinhex fountain brought the day's proceedings to a close.
That night we began the evening with a sparkling wine named after our host’s uncle, entertained our hosts at a great restaurant and ended the evening with a rare and special wine from late picked selected grapes made by our host’s father... far too good for a Philistine like me! But, O the privilege of drinking the nectar of the Gods!
Sunday was BUGA day! The sun shone and the waters of the Moselle reflected its light. Andy dropped us off at Duetschers Eck, where the Moselle joins the Rhine, and we removed the body of Snap, the Norwich Civic Dragon, from the bowels of the vehicle. After a further 10 minutes of surgical intervention, Snap had his tail re-attached, a fresh set of legs inserted and he was off to the show with the Men! They left him snoozing behind the stage and took off across the Rhine by cable car to a detached area of the BUGA.
Outside a strategically positioned café, dancers and musicians had an opportunity to warm up and shake out the cobwebs (and Gary finally decided what dances we would do and who would do them). Later they returned to the Koblenz side of the river and the out door stage. It was thoughtfully positioned beneath the hind-quarters of Kaiser Bill’s huge equestrian statue!
During the afternoon Kemp’s performed 3 sets of dances in front of an appreciative audience. Snap cavorted and interfered with small children and ladies between the dances. Viewed from inside the dragon the dancing seemed to be of a good standard. There were lines, the stepping was brisk, the leaps phenomenal and a good time was had by all.
Time to mention the other dancers - street dancers they were, quiet and well behaved!
But could they perform? Brilliant! They were. I suppose they thought Kemp’s were the supporting act and Kemp’s thought otherwise! The dragon prefers young women to Morris men any day so his vote goes to the street dancers! Whatever! The point is... Norwich was responsible for the entertainment that Sunday afternoon and young and old, traditional, modern, male, female and reptilian we delivered!
What a privilege it was to join in our twin city's big event? How warmly we were received? What an amazing ride it was across the Rhine by cable car? How good was it to sit in the shade of the trees, drink beer and eat sausage?
That evening we gathered at the Fries residence once again to eat pizza, play tunes, dance and drink wine with our Winningen friends. Early in the morning there was a tearful farewell! We en-bussed for home and slept and dozed from Winningen to Wreningham!
Thanks to all who made it possible!
Richard