Hello twinners, friends and shoppers of Weymouth and Portland!

Weymouth's Victorian Shownight is coming soon, on December 6, and our group of 14 friends and twinners from Holzwickede, Weymouth's twin town in Germany, is glad to be able to attend this event again and bring season's greetings.

For some of us it is the 13th time to slip into the role of a Victorian market seller dressed in nearly original costumes. Last year we won the best-dressed stall prize.

Shownight is the highlight of our visit. We have to make a lot of preparations in order to come over. All of us had to take some days paid leave from our jobs.

We had to buy the German Bratwurst, Glühwein and the German goodies for Christmas. The cost of the journey to come over is immense. Also we have to pay the tariff for the stall like all the others.

The reason for making all this effort is to keep our partnership with Weymouth and Portland going, to meet old and new friends, to win new members over to our twinning society and, of course, to spend some nice days in Weymouth.

So, we are looking forward to seeing you at our stalls in Hope Square and in St Mary Street for a tasting of some of our German traditional Christmas food products and to have a chat with us.

We are sure that many people still remember the smell and taste of Christkindl Glühwein (a punch made from red wine and spices) and the mouth-watering smell of Bratwurst.

Marie-Luise Wehlack, Victorian Shownight Team from Holzwickede.