Conversations on a coach, July 2016
I'm a York member of the Association. One of the pleasures of this is being able to spend time with visitors from Münster, when they come over to visit York for a week in the summer. We go on outings around Yorkshire. In July 2016, several of us joined their coach trip to Ripon and Newby Hall. I had been planning to interview people during the 60th Anniversary of the twinning. The coach journey presented an opportunity for a chat and, since it was just after the British referendum, I wondered what some of our German visitors thought, and how they felt, about the result. I hope you enjoy them.
Yvie Holder
I've been a member of the York-Münster Twinning Association since 2012.
Yvie Holder, June 2017.
https://flic.kr/p/Vy82SZ
I talked to C on the coach. She has been a member for many years. A seasoned traveller, she knows the UK well, has visited many times and always felt welcome.
I spoke to C about why she got involved with the twinning.
https://soundcloud.com/bobster55/interview-with-c-from-muenster
https://soundcloud.com/user-148051488/20160713-134808-interview-with-c-cont
After our trip round the Workhouse Museum, the Police Museum and Ripon Cathedral, C and I continued our conversation. This was on a momentous day. While we were talking, David Cameron was giving his last performance at PMQs (Prime Minister's Questions) and was about to hand over to Theresa May as the new Prime Minister.
https://soundcloud.com/user-148051488/2wav-interview-with-a
Next I had a chat with 'A'. A retired teacher of English she has visited the UK many times over many years. She joined the Twinning Association in Münster through a friend.
'A' talked about various aspects of her trips to York, for example attending evensong at York Minster, and the bell-ringing at Beverley Minster. Above all, for her, it's about the friendships she's made and adds 'Friendship is the only cement that can hold the world together.' You can hear where that quotation comes from in the interview. She refers to hearing the BBC Radio York interview with our Twinning Association Secretary, Andrew Boothroyd, on New Year's Day 2017, about Brexit and the future of twinning. She also read the interview with him in the local Münster newspaper - and says his was a voice that needed to be heard!