EUROPE ALIVE 

Europe Alive was created in 1979 by Alison Tennant, a founder member and past Chairman of EUW. The aim is to promote exchange visits between women from member countries and to give an insight into the culture, commerce and governmental activities of the country visited.

In 1985, Alison Tennant's report to the General Assembly said: "Europe Alive is essentially political for those well-versed and for those keen to learn more .... for visitors to share their knowledge and experience in discussions on social, industrial and economic problems .... for ordinary members. The hope is that Europe Alive may promote growth, and give EUW a broad base as well as a specialised membership".

The host country draws up a programme of events to cover 3-4 days and the visit is open to all national Sections. The mix of participants from many Sections is lively and stimulating.

EUROPE ALIVE

Chairman:

Mrs. Elizabeth (Bobbie) Middleton

01434 633545 

The next Europe Alive visit is expected to take place in Nice, France in September 2010

REPORT OF EUROPE ALIVE VISIT TO DORSET IN 2009

BOURNEMOUTH
13 – 18 SEPTEMBER 2009

28 ladies from Austria, France, Norway, Switzerland and the UK gathered at the Best Western Hotel Royale on Sunday, 13 September and renewed friendships made at previous Europe Alive functions; we were delighted that Marie-Paule Cargou, Europe Alive International Chairman, was able to join us for some of the days.

On Monday, 14 September, we visited the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester; County Councillor David Crowhurst welcomed us and introduced us to the county: Maiden Castle, Poole Harbour the second largest natural harbour in the world and where oil has been found and Portland Harbour where the 2012 Olympic Sailing will be taking place. The Curator of the History Centre, Hugh Jacques spoke about the archives (8 miles of paper) that held at least half a million items from the 13C to the 20C, including the Kingston Lacy family records, accounts and notes of their activities. An afternoon visit was made to Dorchester County Museum, which is the second highest rated County museum in the country, guided by Peter Woodward, the curator.

On Tuesday we visited the Clinical Hub of the South West Ambulance Services Trust where emergency 999calls for ambulances and out of hours doctors are received; it serves Dorset, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly. We were told how applicants were chosen and trained. They have 65 ambulances, 2500 staff plus 2000 extra staff when needed. They take approximately 400,000 ‘999’ calls a year plus 270,000 out of hours calls. There are three categories of calls: Category A (immediately life threatening) 8 minutes response time is required, Category B (serious but not life threatening) 19 minutes and Category C 1 hour for non life threatening and not serious calls. After a light lunch, we visited Compton Acres Gardens, built in 1929, which was slightly spoilt by the rain. We dined at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s Lifeboat College in Poole. On this evening we arranged for photos to be taken by the RNLI for publicity purposes; our Swedish member, Olga Wallenberg had launched a Swedish Sea Rescue vessel in 2007 named after her son, Marc Wallenberg Jr. We are hoping to see this photo in the next RNLI magazine.

On Wednesday morning our coach took us to Kingston Lacy near Wimborne, a grand 17th century house designed for Sir Ralph Bankes by Sir Roger Pratt in 1663 and altered by Sir Charles Barry in the 19th century. The house contains an outstanding collection of paintings, including works by Rubens, Titian, Van Dyck and Lely. The Spanish Room is in gilded leather with a gilded ceiling brought from the Contarini Palace in Venice. There is also a fine collection of Egyptian artefacts. The house and garden are set in a wooded park, which is home to a magnificent North Devon herd. In the afternoon we left for Bournemouth to visit the Borough Council’s offices. We were greeted by the Mayor of Bournemouth, Councillor Mrs Beryl Baxter, a Labour Mayor in a Conservative Council, who told us about her duties and a brief history of previous mayors. The Town Hall was built as a hotel and was purchased by the Corporation in 1919, following use as a convalescent home for British Officers after the First World War. The silver gilt Mace was presented to the Borough in 1891 by Sir Merton Russell-Cotes together with an 18ct gold Mayoral Badge. The Mayor’s Parlour houses a number of paintings including the Town’s first Lady Mayor. The evening’s dinner was at the Cumberland Hotel, East Cliff.

On Thursday we walked to Bournemouth Pier to embark on the Bournemouth Belle for a cruise, seeing Poole Harbour. Although a sunny day the sea was rough away from the shelter of the shore so unfortunately we were unable to see Old Harry Rocks and the Jurassic Coast. However, the RNLI, being unable to train in the open sea, used our boat for training their students to go up close and board ship. Lunch was taken at the beautiful Victorian Russell-Cotes Museum, housed in one of the last Victorian villas in Bournemouth, East Cliff Hall; it was originally designed and lived in by Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes. Flamboyant and eccentric are words used to describe the villa's architectural and interior design. It is situated on the dramatic cliff top over-looking seven miles of beautiful sandy beaches; we recommend this to all. A gala dinner was provided that evening at our hotel, together with a raffle – a truly memorable evening.

Jane Watson and Jane Holdaway