Lord Mayor's Column - 18th December 2019

After the second world war, Winston Churchill encouraged the custom of twinning between towns as an act of peace and reconciliation. One notable example of this is Coventry, having been bombed heavily during the war, with Stalingrad and Dresden that had also suffered terribly. In the same vein, Swansea has been twinned with Mannheim since 1957.

There is a long tradition of Lord Mayors visiting our German twin city, and I made my own trip to Mannheim on Sunday. Exchange visits such as this are a wonderful way of fostering friendships and understanding between different cultures.

The traditional Christmas market at Mannheim’s Art Nouveau water tower is one of the oldest of its kind in Germany. A scale replica of the water tower can be found in Mannheim Quay in Swansea’s marina as a reminder of the links with Swansea’s first ‘twin town’.

The Christmas festivities continue back in Swansea on Thursday as the civic carol service takes place in St Mary’s church in the city centre. One of our city's great Advent traditions, the event is open to all and includes the traditional nine lessons and nine carols. Anyone who would like to go along should arrive at St Mary's Church in the city centre at 7pm. The event includes post-Service mince pies and mulled wine to warm the congregation on their way home.

On Saturday evening I will be travelling to Neverland courtesy of the Grand Theatre, as I watch this year’s pantomime – Peter Pan. Coronation Street’s Tristan Gemmill sets sail for Swansea as Captain Hook, and I look forward to seeing ‘Mr Swansea’ Kev Johns once again, who will be appearing in his 20th straight year in pantomime, many of those as a dame. The show opened on Friday and is already receiving rave reviews.