During 2002 one of our biggest projects was fundraising for the
Czech floods. To read an eye witness report from our Administrator
who was in Prague when the floods hit click
here
Have a look at our plans for 2003
by reading the latest minutes of our meeting click here
Officers for year 2002-2003
Administrator BRIAN
SMEDLEY
Chair
MARILYN WALLACE
Vice-Chair PAT
PARKER
Treasurer MARTINA CHVOSTOVA
Czech secretary
.DAVID PRIBYL
Slovak
Secretary FERO KOZA
CZECH ASSISTANTS
(UK) KATKA PIKNEROVA
+JANA VASTATOVA
SDC
REPRESENTATIVE;- Cllr
Julian Taylor
At the AGM of the Bridgwater Czech Slovak
Friendship Society
last November the above
officers were elected.
For a summary of our plans for 2003 look
here. *
Plans for the immediate future;- Wed
29th January;- Our Annual GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE QUIZ to be held at
the Bridgwater Labour Club. Starts 8pm. All welcome to bring
teams of up to 4 people. 18/19
February;- We will be
holding a Czech Business & Culture
Seminar at Bridgwater House
with a view to taking both a Trade Mission and a Cultural
Fact Find tour later this year to the Czech republic. The Czech
Embassy will be supporting the event. Feb/March;-
We will be helping to organise the SEDGEMOOR
TWINNING CONFERENCE in
conjunction with other International Link societies and helping to
produce the Magazine SEDGEMOOR
INTERNATIONALIST April
26/27 ;- Globetrotting Football losers 'Sedgemoor
Unison FC' will be taking their brand of
soccer anarchy to London to take on the Czech/Slovak Embassy XI
and the next day play the Royal Household (well, the ground staff,
furniture menders and corgi wormers) June
27-July 7;- Latvian rockers 'Mitrokhins
Master Band' will be
visiting Bridgwater alongside Czech punks JAKSI
TAKSI - both will take part
in the Somerfest weekend of July 5/6/7. We're also looking for
offers of gigs for them around the same time. e mail smedlo@globalnet.co.uk
CZECH-SLOVAK NEWS
* Well,
right now its very cold. Temperatures range from -18 in Uherske
Hradiste to -6 in Prague and several inches of snow covers the
land. mind you its -30 in Poland , -57 in Russia and a tropical -0
in Bridgwater.
ELECTIONS
* Some of our Czech supporters have retained their seats in
last Novembers elections and some have made sensational gains.
In
Prague the Mayor of Sedgemoors Partner district Prague 6 Pavel
Bem (ODS) has now been elected Mayor of All Prague.
In
Olomouc Cllr Jarka Cardova kept her
seat and her party (KSCM) increased their representation.
in
Ceske Budejovice former Czech English High school head JAN
ZAHRADNIK was elected Hejtman (Provincial Governor) of
South Bohemia
in
Uh.Hradiste Region Ondrej Benarsik (KDU-CSL)
was elected to the Zlinsky kraj council
Unfortunately
in the Smokovec region of Slovakia our friends Josef
Kovalcik and Fero Koza (Soc
Dem) failed to get in.
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ROCK
NEWS
NEW RELEASES BY BRIDGWATER BANDS
As
the Sedgemoor music scene gets better and better
with regular and well attended gigs at
the 3 Crowns St.Mary street, (check out Matt Bartletts
website: www.midnightmango.co.uk
for latest news
on Bridgwater bands ) a NEW 20 track CD by Bridgwater bands has recently been
released. "SMELLS
LIKE BRIDGWATER" IF
YOU'D LIKE A COPY YOU CAN WRITE TO US AT smedlo@globalnet.co.uk
cost is £5 (or equivalent in Kc/Sk-and you can pay through our Prague account.)
This
years Czech Rock tour will cover Prague 11/12 April
Olomouc 13/14 Uh.Hradiste 15 Moravske Budejovice 16 Ceske
Budejovice 17. The bands featured will be CIVIAN,
SHOOTERS, GUNSTAR HEROES + BIG IN BAGHDAD.
Below are the travellers from the 2002 tour
DO THE WASHING UP;-
the
new 14 track CD from Red Smed and the Hot Trot Smash the System Boogie
Band
-available for £5 (300sk or 250Kc). E.mail smedlo@globalnet.co.uk
for a copy "DO THE WASHING UP" comprises 12 original songs about life in
Bridgwater and the world plus 2 instrumentals of world revolution - 'The Internationale'
and 'the Theme from the Magnificent seven' and features the musicianship of
Kevin
Freeman (drums) Matt Bartlett (bass) Captain Balderelli
( mandolin)
and the vocals of Elaine di Campo, Heidi Powell and Cathy Smedley.
However, not to put too fine a point on it, the star of the audio experience is
Overview and Scrutiny ctte no 2 member cllr 'Fatty' Smedley
(below) (the fat one) who plays guitar , harmonica and 6 string bass plus sings
'interestingly' throughout.
Above
is a copy of the cover
signed by the late 'Joe Strummer' and
dedicated to punk poet Attila the Stockbroker.
Members of the Bridgwater Czech Slovak Friendship Society recently
held a memorial gig for Strummer at the Bridgwater Labour club
(below). The gig was also dedicated to the memory of folksinger
songwriter Jake Thackray. Both died over christmas.
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