A German mayor lent a hand when a friendship group from Ellesmere Port turned up at his town’s Christmas market.
The Ellesmere Port/Reutlingen Friendship Group was busy promoting British Christmas food and traditions in Reutlingen’s seasonal market for the eighth year running.
Most of the food was made or bought in Ellesmere Port to be taken to the German town including Christmas cakes, mince pies, Christmas puddings and English cheeses.
The group says the stall has now become a feature of the market and customers come every year to buy their taste of English Christmas and to stock up on British goods such as home-made jams, marmalade and lemon curd as well as Christmas crackers and cards.
Twinning programme
The friendship group is warmly welcomed by friends made through the twinning programme between the two towns as well as regular customers many of whom come as soon as the stall is open to make sure they can buy the delicacies on sale.
Children enjoy the fun of finding their presents in the bran tub which is a unique British feature of the market.
The group says the Reutlingen civic authorities make the Ellesmere Port visitors most welcome and even the mayor Robert Hahn worked on the stall for a short time during the stay.
The visit provided the opportunity to meet with the Friedrich List Gymnasium, Reutlingen’s oldest high school founded in 1276, which is to take part in a joint research project with Ellesmere Port.
