AN ENGLISH Christmas was taken to a German market by an Ellesmere Port councillor.
Cllr Keith Butcher and his wife Joan donated their time to the Reutlingen Christmas market again this year to continue to develop the friendship between the two towns.
The Ledsham and Manor ward member ran a stall selling typical English Christmas food, such as mince pies, Christmas puddings, Christmas cakes and marmalade, as well as items such as cards from Ellesmere Port charities.
The towns have been twinned since 1964 and the relationship remains strong.
German visitors to the stall also had the opportunity to win an English Christmas cake, if they could guess its weight, or try their luck in the bran tub, which contained mystery prizes from the Ellesmere Port area.
Cllr Butcher said: “There was much interest in the stall with many people coming to support it and speaking warmly of their time in Ellesmere Port, with some, even those now grey-haired, remembering their visit when still at school.
“Reutlingen lord mayor Barbara Bosch came and worked on the stall for two hours on the Sunday afternoon which almost brought the market to a halt as she enthusiastically promoted Ellesmere Port – much goodwill was generated by the visit.”
Also visiting the town was a party of members from Willaston Hey Women’s Institute. As well as the Reutlingen market, they enjoyed workshops for the disabled, a medieval Christmas market in a nearby town, a church project supporting those in need as well as sampling the delights of the restaurants.
