Below are brief descriptions of the main events organised by KIBC.  If any members have photographs of any of the events, we’d be very happy to include them.

..and then the ceilidh got underway.  The West End Ceilidh Band did their best to coax and guide us through the Scottish dances and, as a first attempt, everyone who tried deserves a huge round of applause..  I think we all had great fun trying and, well, practice will make perfect..

The evening wound down with a surprising virtuosi performance by the Russian Vice Consul on the piano, who was soon joined by the Ceilidh band in a spontaneous blues jam session.

Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves thoroughly and the main comment as people were leaving, band included, was let's do it again next year - let's hope so!

Our thanks to all those who attended, the great guys from the West End Ceilidh Band and our sponsors - The British Embassy, Ararat Hotel, Danske bankas - for making it a great evening.

Another well attended event a the Euterpe Hotel (thanks to them again for some fine catering and patience...)  but any ideas that your fellow club members are trustworthy and decent was soon dispelled by the "steal the Xmas present game"..  But humour was high and laughs were plenty, as one member declared the Belgian was a suitable answer to almost any quiz question, and the paper airplane flying competition produced a unique "loser" in a plane that managed to always end up behind the thrower...

An idyllic summer evening under a chestnut tree sipping wine, what more could you want?  Gintautas Jasinskas, sommelier from Mineralini Vandens took us through some of the more sophisticated points of some fine wines.  we made good attempts at nosing, although for many of us perhaps the fact that it a) had alcohol, and b) wasn't vinegar was enough to keep us happy. Thanks to Hans-Henrik for allowing us the use of his garden for  the occasion - an event I can expect will be repeated every summer...

Jan Kohlsaat, MD of Towage and Marine Assistance UAB (www.towage.lt) kindly took KIBC members and guests on an excursion of Klaipeda port aboard a 50 year old ex-Hamburg harbour tug, which is still in service.  We sailed the full length of the port enabling us to get a really good impression just how big Klaipeda port is and the kind of activities taking place.  Several of our members have business in the port and were able to provide the rest of us land lubbers with interesting commentary on the way.

Josef Baumann of Philip Morris kindly let a group of us around the factory in a most fascinating visit.  We declined the offer of a "blind-smoke-tasting" but the aroma of quantities of pure tobacco was almost enough to make one want to take up smoking again!  We also discussed some of the issues regarding labour vs. automation an look at some of the new machinery Philip Morris is installing.

About 30 KIBC members and friends had a thoroughly enjoyable evening at the Euterpe hotel.  A little sudoku challenge to warm the brain and a glass of hot wine to warm the spirit, the event got off to a good start.  The evening continued with fine food by Euterpe, and a raucous quiz - disputes aplenty but all in great humour. By the final challenge to create a cocktail everyone was in exceptionally high spirits (and “high” spirits were in most people too..).  Four lovely ladies tasted the cocktails and you can see the winning entry below.  A great evening by all accounts.

A minibus collected KIBC members from the centre of Klaipeda and took us to the Northway Medical centre in Kretinga. Set in a very attractive location, the modern purpose built premises offers a range of medical services including minor surgery and a dental clinic.  The director of the centre gave us a personal tour and answered our questions.  Feeling reassured that our health would be looked after, members then retired to the Vienkiemis pub for an excellent high calorie meal of traditional Lithuania food and beer...  we then returned to Klaipeda by minibus.

KIBC hosted a reception at the Reval Inn for five of the guest speakers taking part in the InWest 2007 Property and investment Exhibition and Conference. Although the presence of actual club members was not high, about 25 persons attended the reception and had the opportunity to meet with each other and the International Guest speakers.  After a brief presentation by Mr Voon Fui Lai from Gensler UK, everyone retired to the restaurant area for a well deserved buffet and drinks.  The event seems to have been particularly appreciated by the foreign guests as they commented that it made a very nice welcome to Klaipeda. It also gave them the chance to find out more about the region, especially for those who had never been to Lithuania before.

Guest Speakers at the event:

Voon Fui Lai (UK) from the International Architect  and Design company Gensler, who gave a presentation on the work of Gensler;

Charlie Hughes from the international consultancy firm Smart Futures, which specialises in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility for governmental, banking and multi-national corporate clients;

Kirsteen Thomson, a well-known Scottish architect responsible for the Edinburgh Old Town Regeneration project;

Peter Cromar, Chief executive of the Walsall Regeneration Company.  Between now and 2015 ambitious proposals will see the town centre of Walsall revitalised, with acres of derelict land rejuvenated, creating jobs and a better way of life for its whole range of diverse communities.

Bernard Bizet, Associated Professor Essec Business School, who specialises in Economic methods for management and evaluation in public assets.

This was a chance for KIBC members and friends to get together and catch up with each other, whilst trying their hand at bowling (or some variation of it).

We were given an interesting presentation and tour of the Masterfoods factory in Gargzdai and, just to add flavour to the event, members had the opportunity to actually find out more what a dog’s life is like – by trying the dog food!  We have to report, that there were few members willing to take up the challenge..  After the tour, a surprise quiz about Masterfoods tested who had really been listening, but the tempting prizes on offer (a LARGE box of mars bars, for example) helped concentrate the mind.

For our first company visit, what better place to start than Svyturys Brewery?  After an interesting tour of the factory, we had, of course, an excellent beer tasting session complete with snack provided by the Hotel Euterpe. It must be said, though, our members didn’t do very well on the blind beer tasting, with only one member getting all five beers right!

Courtesy of DFDS Lisco, members, families and friends had the opportunity to explore the ship “Kaunas”, officially registered in the Guinness book of records as one of the largest train carrying ferries in the world.  No longer used to ferry trains, it runs as a passenger and car ferry out of Klaipeda.  As well as exploring the ship, we had a some drinks and snacks and one member (the Chairman) took the opportunity to celebrate his daughter’s birthday on board.

On a fine summer’s evening families and friends gathered for a barbecue the Four Season’s wine bar (unfortunately no longer operating since a fire – almost certainly not accidental – seriously damaged the property).  Our special guest was one of Klaipeda’s most well known and loved figures, Vytautas Grabliauskas, or “Kongas”.  One of the key figures behind the Klaipeda Jazz festival, a jazz trumpeter of renown, and more recently a member of the Lithuanian parliament, Vytautas gave as an interesting talk on “the man behind the MP” and his love for jazz.

Raimundas Vaitekunas, Director of the Klaipeda Economic Development Agency, gave us an interesting presentation on some of the plans for the development of Klaipeda, including a computerised visualisation of some of the territories after development.   Afterwards we had the chance to discuss these matters over a glass of wine and snacks.

At our first major event, nearly 50 members and guest turned up for a buffet and quiz at the SAS Radisson. . Questions relating to Lithuania’s history and culture challenged the best of minds in a lively competition… good food, good wine and good company making sure that none of it was taken too seriously and good fun was had by all.