We are a group who seek to promote international friendship and understanding.
We meet together regularly for social events and fundraising and take part in exchange visits with similar groups from our twin cities and partner towns abroad.
On the evening of 11 February, in the Council House, 20+ members and friends enjoyed a talk on Bologna by Martin Yarnit. Accompanied by a slideshow, cheese and pignoletto wine, this lively and interesting talk on the culture,heritage, food and drink of this twin city whetted the appetite for our visit in May. Photos of those who attended in the gallery.
Firstly, the concert at which the two choirs sang raised nearly £400 for Saint Andrews Church on Sunday November. We had a record audience who enjoyed the evening.It is a relaxed affair celebrating the season of Goodwill and Peace to all men, regardless of creed, colour, status or anything of a material kind. A real CAIF event, in fact, celebrating Friendship.
Mary won a raffle prize too and was really chuffed. Pat's cake made £100 for her homeless appeal. A donation was made to this, of nearly £3, from the takings by Bernice and The Reverend Greg.
Thank you to all the people behind the scenes, most particularly David and Bernice Griffiths, who did most of the organising, with help from Church members and thanks to their lovely Vicar Greg for allowing us to celebrate Christmas in the beautiful St Andrew's Church .We are glad to help the Church.
Secondly, the CAIF Christmas lunch is nearly upon us. We are at The RACE HORSE in Warwick next THURSDAY 17 December at12pm.
Congratulations to PAT TRICKETT, aided by JOANNA KUNDA, for a most enjoyable concert last night which was held at the Polish Community Centre (courtesy of Father Ramaud and the Polish community).
It was very well attended and included our guests of honour, the Lord Mayor, Michael Hammon and the Lady Mayoress. A diverse programme consisted of the two choirs : The Nightingales and Sensa Nomen, with their respective Musical Directors, Pat Trickett and Joanna Kunda; a talented young pianist Kallif Garlicka; Jacqui Smith as Betsy Harmony singing 30's and 40's vintage songs especially for Remembrance Day and the beautiful voice of Kris Sierninski singing 'O Sole Mio.'
WELL DONE TO ALL including all of those unseen helpers.
See PHOTOS of the evening in our GALLERY
We are pleased to report that our friends from Meschede enjoyed their week with us. A full programme saw them visiting our very own award winning Transport Museum; the Cathedral; St Mary's Guildhall and Council Chambers; the Black Country Museum; Oxford and Stratford upon Avon. Some of them even fitted in visits to London and Birmingham!
Our Lord Mayor, Michael Hammon, gave them a very warm reception and a buffet was provided, coupled with a photo opportunity in Meschede Way. This was a very enjoyable meeting with words of mutual friendship and understanding exchanged.
Our final evening, together, took place in the Polish Club with both food and entertainment from the 2 choirs:- Sensa Nome and the Nightingales. Our thanks go to our Polish friends for their friendly and generous welcome.
See our Gallery for photos from the week.
June 10-13 2015 MEETING THE KIEL GROUP led by MAGDA KUDOERFER
The three day event for 6 members of CAIF included a stay in the Mercure Hotel, just a stone's throw away from the famous George Square and a comfortable walk from the Botanic Gardens and the People's Palace Museum.
The Coventry Group met the Kielers on Wednesday, by which time they had discovered the best places to eat and had an interesting start to their week.
Our first full day saw us all visiting Stirling Castle, which was renovated in 2011. This was an amazing experience, more awe inspiring than Edinburgh Castle! It was followed by a beautiful journey, off the beaten track, to Loch Lomond, where some of us paddled in the warm water.
The Whisky Distillery tour was a fascinating, if somewhat noisy experience. After a final day sightseeing, we said our goodbyes to our friends from Kiel.
Unfortunately, one of our members, John Moore had a nasty fall and ended up in hospital for a partial hip replacement! His wife, Diana, remained behind with him when we returned to Coventry. He is recovering well in hospital and making good progress. Good wishes from his friends here and in Vannes and Meschede have been passed on. We hope for his and Diana's return to Coventry in the near future.
Report by Pat Trickett