ATSU Rector Professor Shalva Kirtadze, his wife Lali Makaridze, Professor Maia Alavidze (a senior member of the ATSU academic staff and Secretary of the Kutaisi Newport International Association) and Head of ATSU Alumni Nanuli Kirtadze arrived from London by coach on the evening of Monday 13 May. They were warmly greeted by Association Vice Chair Colin Mason, Sylvia Mason and Treasurer Dr Nigel Hallett and taken to the home of Chair Dr Shirley Egley.. Shirley, together with Peter Landers, Rosemary and Derek Butler, Dr Lyn and Graham Foulston and the ATSU students presently studying in Newport Kristine Dzagnidze, Nino Tortladze and Levan Kvinikadze, gave the visitors another hearty welcome.
The evening soon developed into a lively party as everyone reminisced on memories of past meetings. They also looked forward, happily, to the strengthening of both the twinning and the partnership between USW and ATSU they were sure would result from the visit.
The second day of the visit was devoted to discussions between the visitors and senior USW academic and administrative staff with much of the day’s programme organised by Associate Dean Jamie James, who also serves as USW nominee to the NKTA Executive. Shirley and Peter attended the meetings, as did Kristine, Nino and Levan who served as translators when neccessary.. The morning consisted of a general introduction to the University, a meeting with the Hospitality Management Department (a highly relevant event as there appears to be potential for future students exchanges in the field of Tourism and Hospitality Management) and a meeting with staff from the Education Department where Kristine, Nino and Levan are based.
After lunch, the group toured the University’s Cyber Security Department to discuss the high-level courses it offers and were then taken by coach to The Atrium, the USW’s Cardiff based centre for its Creative Industry Faculty. Here the visitors were greeted by and USW Vice Chancellor Dr Ben Calvert and Pro Vice Chancellor Dr Louise Bright. The leaders of both Universities shared their hopes that the present firm partnership between USW and ATSU would continue to develop, to the mutual benefit of both.
The delegates, together with Shirley and Peter, Kristine, Nino and Levan, then returned to Newport and the highly successful day concluded with a convivial meal in a restaurant close to the USW’S Newport Campus.
On Wednesday, the third day of the visit, Colin and Nino drove Maia to Llanwern High School, the local school that has formed a close friendship and developed joint study programmes with Kutaisi’s School no 23. They were welcomed by Deputy Head Mrs J Evans, Mrs Jess Newell, who has been deeply involved in the inter-school link, and the Group 9 students who have taken part in the pen-pal project. After a tour of the school, Maia met the Year 7 students involved in the art projects and they showed her the videos they had sent to their friends in Kutaisi. Discussions then took place between Maia and the students on what they had gained from the various projects and the value of learning about, and gaining an understanding of, different lifestyles. The visit undoubtably strengthened the bond between Llanwern High School and Kutaisi’s School No 23.
Meanwhile, Nigel, Rosemary and Derek, together with Kristine and Levan, took Rector Shalva and Lali to Tredegar House, a visit that was enjoyed by all.
Later that day, after a light lunch and a brief rest, Steve Cocks, a local councillor, took the visitors on a guided tour of Caerleon.
The final event of our visitors’ busy programme was a meal on Wednesday evening with numerous members of the Twinning Association at the Bell, Caerleon. Acting Tamada (Georgian for toastmaster) Peter started the toasts with a welcome to our guests and other toasts were presented by Rector Shalva, Maia, Levan, Pat Wright and Nigel. All spoke of the importance of the Twinning , the many benefits and personal friendships that had resulted from it and the numerous visits undertaken to each other’s cities over the past thirty years.
Food and wine arrived as guests told of their memories in conversation and laughter. A Welsh band played traditional tunes as the evening grew to a close. Goodbyes were said amidst kissing, hugging and handshaking and this immensely useful and highly enjoyable visit ended when the visitors were waved off back to London the following morning.
The inaugural on line meeting of the Kutaisi -Newport Youth Society, involving students from Llanwern High School and Kutaisi’s Public School 23, took place on Thursday 23rd March.
The youngsters knew each other from past exchanges of videos and letters but this was the first time they had talked to each other directly. Both groups of students were nervous at the beginning but as they gained in confidence more and more volunteered to step forward to talk about themselves and their families.
They asked each other about their choice of music, their out of school activities and what they liked most about their respective cities. Soon they were vying with each other for use of the microphone. Everyone involved agreed it had been an enjoyable and worthwhile exercise. It had helped establish the aims the schools had agreed at the beginning of the present academic year; the setting up of a pen-pal scheme, an exchange of videos and regular on line meetings.
It is hoped all three activities will progress on a regular basis enabling the students to get to know each other better. The meeting took place during the week the Georgian Ambassador Her Excellency Sophie Katsarava paid a formal visit to Newport at the invitation of Newport City Council Leader Cllr Jane Mudd.
As part of the official programme for the visit, the Ambassador visited Llanwern High School and chatted with, and congratulated, many of the students who had participated in the meeting. The Kutaisi-Newport Youth Society is a text book example of young people learning about, and making friends with, youngsters living more than a thousand miles away.
Colin Mason NKTA Deputy Chair
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The NKTA’s first `Georgian Christmas Dinner` was held at The Priory, Caerleon, on January 7th 2020. It gave members the opportunity to meet, dine, chat and raise a glass or two on the same evening our friends in the KNIA, our sister organisation in Kutaisi, were enjoying their own Christmas celebrations.
The event was a success and we decided to organise another such Dinner the following year but the pandemic intervened a few months later.
Happily, we were able to arrange our second Georgian Christmas Dinner at The Priory on January 9th this year and a pleasing number of members accepted the invitation to attend.
The Dinner was held in The Priory’s dining room and on the evening the tables were decorated with lights, Georgian goblets, ornaments and candles together with colourful leaflets supplied by the Georgian Embassy.
At intervals throughout the evening, members enjoyed the reading of messages sent by our friends in the UK and Georgia, including those from Georgian Ambassador H.E. Sophiko Katsarava, our friends in Kutaisi Newport International Association, Kutaisi’s MP Dr. Zaza Lominadze and Jayne Bryant MS and NKTA Chair Dr Shirley Egley, both of whom were unable to attend due to illness.
The messages were read by Vice Chair Colin Mason, Sonia Fisher, Sylvia Mason and Peter Landers.
Dame Rosemary Butler read the greetings sent by the late Prof. Madonna Megrelishvili to our previous Georgian Christmas Dinner, a reminder of the sad losses the twinning has suffered over the past three years.
Cllr. Jane Mudd, the Leader of Newport City Council, spoke of her pride that Newport is twinned with such an ancient and beautiful city as Kutaisi and how the Association has the full support of the NCC in its aim of strengthening the friendship between the two communities.
VC Colin Mason presided generally (at very short notice) and gave an interesting update on the links he has helped foster between schools in Newport and Kutaisi and Dr. Lynn Foulstone presented a report, prepared by her University of South Wales colleague Dr. Shirley Egley, on the recently re-established partnership between the USW and the State University in Kutaisi.
Derek Pickup, who is both Georgian Consul to the UK and Chair of the Bristol Tbilisi Association, gave Christmas greetings in Georgian as did long-time Georgian residents in Newport Keti Rock and Vika Teckelbeckers. Keti spoke about her childhood memories of Christmas in Kutaisi and the time she first learnt of the twinning of her home city with Newport.
The final toast, `to friendship`, was made with Georgian wine donated by the Georgian Ambassador and at the end the evening we assembled for a group photograph.
As members left, they commented on the excellent ambience and service provided by the Priory and others remarked that the evening is evidence that the ties of friendship between Newport and Kutaisi remain as strong as ever.
It saddens us to advise long term member Vera Brown has passed away
Vera was a member of one of the first Newport delegations to visit Kutaisi and while there she made firm friendships that lasted the rest of her life She served the NKTA as Secretary from 1997 to 2017 and acted as the Association’s unofficial historian.
The multitude of Association minutes and letters she wrote and carefully compiled, and which she later donated to Newport Public Library, are the primary source for anyone wishing to research the history of the Twinning of Newport and Kutaisi.
Even after her retirement as Secretary Vera maintained a close interest in the Twinning.
Vera’s death, like the recent deaths of her friends Madonna Megrelshvili and Caroline McLachlan, is a blow to the Twinning and we owe it to the three extraordinary women who devoted themselves to the friendship of Newport and Kutaisi to ensure it continues to evolve and grow in strength
From His Worshipful, the Mayor of Newport
Our most sincere condolences to you and all the members of the NKTA. The Mayor wishes to express his sympathies for your loss and to thank you for taking the time to contact and inform us it is most appreciated. We will send a letter of condolence to Vera’s family wishing them all the best in this very difficult time.
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On behalf of KNIA, we would like to send our heartfelt and most sincere condolences to all the members of NKTA on the passing of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. We join you and many millions of people across the globe in mourning over the loss of a much-loved and respected monarch, a true beacon of stability in our turbulent world.
Her Majesty’s life was an example of dedicated service to her country and people, a symbol of dignity, bravery, a profound sense of duty, and devotion. For many Georgians, she was a true embodiment of Britishness, and her loss meant the end of a great epoch.
May our friendship and prayers ease you through this difficult time.
Kutaisi Newport International Association
HM Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022
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It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our chair Caroline Mclachlan who was a massive driving force between the twinning of the two cities of Newport and Kutaisi. Caroline visited the city on many occasions and helped develop new networks especially in the area of interest within education.
Communications received
Tamar Beruchasvili – Former Georgian Ambassador to the UK
“saddened to hear about the passing of Dear Caroline McLachlan. She was very committed to Newport – Kutaisi Twinning throughout the years and contribute immensely to the Georgian/ UK people to people partnership. My heartfelt condolences to her family & friends.”
Ekaterine Kokaia
“So Sorry to hear about this loss! I had formidable relations with Caroline. She was so passionate to further deepen ties between Kutaisi and Newport. My deep sympathies to her family and loved ones. RIP Caroline
The Newport Kutaisi International Association have written a lovely article with an obituary
The 4 star Hotel Newport, formally opened by the Georgian Prime Minister in June last year, finally opened it’s door to the public this autumn after a 16 month delay due to the covid pandemic.
Situated on Newport Street, the street named to honour Kutaisi’s twin city, the Hotel is situated in a fine early twentieth – century building formerly used as a courthouse.
As the Georgian parliament has recently been moved to Kutaisi, the Hotel will be a venue for the country’s leading decision makers, as well as tourists and locals, and act as a constant reminder of the long-standing friendship between the two cities.
The Mayor of Newport sent the manager a congratulatory letter following the formal opening last year and Newport City Council has offered to send photographs of the Transporter Bridge, Tredegar House, Caerleon’s Roman Amphitheatre, the Cathedral, Kutaisi Walk and the riverfront, the Civic Centre murals and Newport’s parks and surrounding countryside to decorate the Hotel’s walls.
Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Georgian National Rugby Team Head of Strength and Conditioning at AIA Kutaisi Rugby Football Club
My good friend and fellow Kutaisi rugby coach Dimitri Pularia and I will never forget our visit to Newport in November 2017. We were invited as guests of Newport RFC and were warmly and generously hosted by Club Director Dennis Bennett and club members. The programme included the Wales v Georgia match, training sessions and club matches, a tour of the club’s museum where we saw exhibits gifted over many years by AIA Kutaisi and a comprehensive guided tour of Newport’s Sports Village. The visit also included a visit to Newport Civic Centre where we were welcomed by the Mayor of Newport and NKTA members.
I had the good fortune to visit Llanelli with the national team last November when Georgia played Wales in the Autumn Nations Cup. Sadly, Covid restrictions prevented me from meeting my Newport friends in person. However, I have family links with Wales as my brother Giorgi Nemsadze, the national team’s ex-lock, represented the Ospreys for two seasons before retiring from the game last year. Like all Georgian rugby enthusiasts we follow the Six Nations Championship closely and I was pleased with Wales’s success in the Championship earlier this year.
AIA Kutaisi would be very happy to host Newport RFC on a tour of Georgia and arrange games against AIA and other leading clubs. The experience of playing against Wales’s top clubs is invaluable as Georgia progresses towards being one of the world’s senior rugby nations. Georgia has much in common with Wales; our geographical size, our many ancient castles and churches, our magnificent mountains and rivers, our newly restored national status and our passion for rugby.
November 2017: Rugby coaches Davit Nemsadze and Dimitri Pularia (far left) being welcomed to Newport Civic Centre by the then Mayor of Newport, Cllr David Fouweather and NKTA members Sonia Fisher, Cllr Steve Marshall, Peter Landers, Caroline McLachlan, Sylvia Mason, Colin Mason, Vera Brown and Derek Butler.
GEORGIA’S NATIONAL RUGBY TEAM and AIA KUTAISI RFC Two Success Stories
This June the final of the European Cup, Europe’s second tier rugby championship, was played between Georgia and the Netherlands and Georgia won, as it has almost every year since 2011, proving yet again that the team is more than ready to take its place in the Six Nations Championship. Georgia presently has a world rating of 12th, above such strong national teams as Italy, Romania, Tonga, and Samoa.
A few weeks later my team, AIA Kutaisi RFC, won the Georgian Rugby Championship. The final was a tough match against Batumi RFC but we deserved to win and celebrated the victory in style (picture above). The following day I, as it’s Strength and Conditioning Coach, accompanied our national team when it flew to Johannesburg. The South African tour took place at the height of the Covid epidemic and unfortunately, after just one international match, it was cancelled due to illness.
It’s been an eventful summer. But now both the national team and AIA are preparing for the start of the new rugby season. Rugby is now one of the fastest growing sports in Georgia and to meet the demand the government is committed to building one hundred new stadiums throughout the country. Soon the sight of rugby posts will be as familiar in Georgian towns and villages as it is in Wales.
Davit Nemsadze
MY INTRODUCTION TO GEORGIA, ITS PEOPLE AND ITS RUGBY
Although a keen member of Newport RFC, in June 2015 I had the good fortune to visit Tbilisi with my other rugby club, Crawshays Welsh RFC.
Before the visit Georgia was to me a place of mystery; just a name on the map although I knew it had once been part of the Soviet Union. The trip gave me plenty of opportunity to meet the local people, in the hotel, at rugby matches and at receptions laid on for us by the British Embassy and the Georgian Rugby Union, and I was constantly surprised at the number of people who spoke English and their delight in striking up a conversation.
Every Georgian I met was friendly and I was struck by the incredibly warm welcome they extended to visitors and their pride in their country. The visit left such a lasting impression on me that on my return I joined the Newport Kutaisi Twinning Association and, soon after, I helped host the visit to Newport by the Mayor of Kutaisi and, later, Kutaisi RFC’s coaching team of Davit Nemadze and Dimitri Pularia. Since then I have remained in contact with Davit and Dimitri and hope to meet them again before long.
Philip Rogers NKTA member
LELO BURTI: HOW GEORGIA TOOK TO RUGBY
Rugby’s popularity in Georgia might be explained by its resemblance to a traditional Georgian game named lelo burti (field ball) in which two teams from neighbouring villages would face each other on a field (lelo`) between two river creeks and the aim of the game was to carry a large, heavy ball over the creek of the opposing side. No limit was placed on the number of players and the game was often extremely rowdy. Each team employed as many able men as were available.
Several attempts were made to introduce modern-day rugby union to Georgia in the early 20th Century and it is claimed a French/Armenian named Jacques Haspekian taught the game to his Georgian students from the late 1950s through to the 1960s. Twenty people attended a meeting to discuss the formation of a club in Tbilisi in October 1959 and the result was the setting up of the GBI (Georgian Polytechnic Institute) RFC, a club now known as Qochebi.
However, a prominent Welsh club helped sow the seeds of rugby’s popularity in Georgia. In 1957, Llanelli RFC sent a team to the Third International Youth Games in Moscow. At that time the Soviet Union did not have a national team but Llanelli played Romania twice. The first game, a 6-6 draw, was marred by what Soviet newspapers described as “appalling violence”. One player on each side was ordered off and this resulted in a “ten minute argument” in which “fists were raised”.
One Russian paper wrote that “some of the Welshmen ought to have been at a boxing tournament” but Llanelli’s then chairman Handel Rogers said the criticism had been grossly exaggerated and that “both teams had thoroughly enjoyed the encounter”. The huge publicity in the Soviet Union resulting from Llanelli’s matches came just as the game’s popularity was about to explode in Georgia. Between 1958 and 1962 ten clubs were set up there and the Tbilisi Championship was established. The Georgian national team was founded in 1964.and sixty years later there are rugby clubs all over Georgia.
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Members of the Association, and her many friends around the world, will be greatly saddened to learn of the death of our dear friend Professor Madonna Megrelishvili, until recently Chair of our sister organisation the Kutaisi Newport International Association.
Madonna was central to the Twinning of Newport and Kutaisi and chaired the KNIA from its foundation in 1989 until she retired due to failing health last year.
She was highly respected and much loved in Newport and in her home city and was awarded an Honorary Citizenship for her outstanding contribution to Kutaisi’s civic life for over fifty years. The award also recognised her superlative contribution to the teaching of English Language and Literature at Kutaisi’s Akaki Tsereteli State University.
We in the NKTA conferred an Honorary Membership on Madonna in 2011 in gratitude for her immeasurable contribution to the Twinning.
This special edition of the KNIA Newsletter enables us to pay tribute to Madonna. We recognise that with her death the Twinning has reached the end of an era. However the members of both Newport and Kutaisi Twinning Associations, inspired by the legacy left to us by Madonna, are committed to continuing and strengthening this unique friendship between two proud cities situated at opposite ends of the European continent.
Obituaries
To the Mayor of the City of Kutaisi
Councillor Davit Eremeishvili
As Mayor of Newport, Kutaisi’s twin City, I wish offer my sincere condolences to you, the Mayor of Kutaisi, the people of your City and the members of the Kutaisi Newport International Association on the sad death of our dear friend Professor Madonna Megrelishvili, one of the founders of the Twinning of Newport and Kutaisi and Chair of the KNIA from its formation in 1989 until her recent retirement.
Professor Megrelishvili was a leading member of the Kutaisi Civic Group invited to Newport over thirty years ago to sign the Twinning Agreement and she has visited our City many times since then, including the memorable visit she made at the Council’s invitation in 2000 to celebrate with us the granting of City status.
We know how important the Twinning was to Madonna. Due in large part to her determination to ensure the link had a serious purpose, many Newport and Kutaisi people with a wide range of interests and expertise made study visits to each other’s Cities. As a result over one thousand Newport residents have visited Kutaisi and Madonna gave a personal welcome to every single one of them. All remember her kindness and the warm feelings she had for Newport, Wales and the UK.
We share your deep sense of loss. However I can assure you that Newport City Council places great value on the Twinning and is confident the bonds of friendship between our Cities, to which Professor Megrelishvili devoted much of her life, will develop far into the future.
Kindest regards,
The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City of Newport,
Councillor David Williams –
To the Mayor of the City of Kutaisi
Councillor Davit Eremeishvili
As Mayor of Newport, Kutaisi’s twin City, I wish offer my sincere condolences to you, the Mayor of Kutaisi, the people of your City and the members of the Kutaisi Newport International Association on the sad death of our dear friend Professor Madonna Megrelishvili, one of the founders of the Twinning of Newport and Kutaisi and Chair of the KNIA from its formation in 1989 until her recent retirement.
Professor Megrelishvili was a leading member of the Kutaisi Civic Group invited to Newport over thirty years ago to sign the Twinning Agreement and she has visited our City many times since then, including the memorable visit she made at the Council’s invitation in 2000 to celebrate with us the granting of City status.
We know how important the Twinning was to Madonna. Due in large part to her determination to ensure the link had a serious purpose, many Newport and Kutaisi people with a wide range of interests and expertise made study visits to each other’s Cities. As a result over one thousand Newport residents have visited Kutaisi and Madonna gave a personal welcome to every single one of them. All remember her kindness and the warm feelings she had for Newport, Wales and the UK.
We share your deep sense of loss. However I can assure you that Newport City Council places great value on the Twinning and is confident the bonds of friendship between our Cities, to which Professor Megrelishvili devoted much of her life, will develop far into the future.
Kindest regards,
The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City of Newport,
Councillor David Williams
7th July 2021
Professor Madonna Megrishvilli, a tenacious superwoman of power, courage and huge resource, will remain in our hearts and minds forever. Her ability to develop and sustain the strongest cultural and professional collaborative projects, both within the English Philology Department and as Chair of KNIA, will always be remembered. The highest of standards were expected from both her staff and students as she worked tirelessly to ensure that her department was the very best with an international reputation. Professor Madonna Megrishvilli drove vigorously from behind but also led from the front, a positive role model for those she nurtured and developed.
For the past thirty years, she has initiated and supported many diverse cross cultural collaborative projects in partnership with NKTA. Most currently, the Bridge project in Kutaisi, which is developing and supporting inclusive education, continues to expand in spite of Covid challenges and restrictions.
On a personal note, Madonna will always be the matriarch of my Georgian family, a family which I hold very dear. She has enriched my life through the many opportunities and experiences she has created and facilitated for me. Thirty years ago, a door was opened into a wonderful secret garden, Kutaisi in the Republic of Georgia, and for this I cannot thank her enough.
Caroline McLachlan
NKTA Chair
NKTA Member for over thirty years
A Tribute from Councillor Jane Mudd – Leader of Newport City Council
I am saddened to hear of the death of Professor Madonna Mehgrelishvili, one of the driving forces behind the twinning of Newport and Kutaisi in 1989 and for over 30 years since then. She was highly respected in both cities and will be greatly missed by many people including the hundreds of Newport residents who have visited Kutaisi or welcomed our friends from Georgia into their homes. On behalf of the City Council I would like to extend our sympathy to Professor Megrelishvili’s friends and family.
Dear Professor Megrelishvili,
The UK All Party parliamentary Group for Georgia has asked me to contact you to thank you for your long and effective service in moulding the close and lasting relationship that exists between Kutaisi and Newport.
I understand that this link was originally formed in 1989 and that you ensured that it survived during the 1990s when communication became very difficult.
Accordingly, we recognise your excellent service in furthering UK/Georgia friendship and we wish you all good health.
With warm regards,
Jonathan Djanogly MP
The letter is signed by Jonathan Djangoly MP, the Chairman of the All Party
Parliamentary Group on Georgia. Jessica Morden MP for Newport East is Secretary of the Group. It is dated the day of Madonna’s death.
I first went to Kutaisi as part of a NKTA group visit in 2000. We stayed in the homes of KNIA members and everyone we met was so friendly. Madonna was the driving force but all our hosts followed her lead. For long after my first visit I corresponded with the people I had met and stayed with and I still treasure the letters I received. They include a beautiful Christmas card from Madonna with a lovely personal message inside. It is sad she is no longer with us but her influence on the Twinning was so strong that it will be part of it for ever.
Vera Brown
NKTA Secretary 1997 – 2017
It is noticeable how many of us are upset by Madonna’s passing. She has been a big part of my life since I first met her in 2004. As Chair of the Association I was privileged to work closely with Madonna. We achieved much together and became close friends.I miss her greatly and will never forget her.
Sonia Fisher NKTA Chair 2009 – 2019
Madonna’s passing is like the loss of a much-loved sister. She has been a central part of my life for so many years.
As Mayor of Newport I was a member of the delegation that went to Kutaisi in 1989 for exploratory talks about a possible twinning and I saw then how highly respected Madonna was in Kutaisi. Our friendship really began later when Madonna came to Newport for the signing of the Twinning Agreement and we began to plan how to make the Twinning a significant contribution to the life of our two cities.
Perhaps fortunately, we didn’t realise the difficulties we would face in order to maintain the link in those early pioneering days. Telephone and postal links were virtually non-existent and this was long before the introduction of emails. But through perseverance and our joint determination to form bonds between our cities we became ever-closer friends and the friendship has lasted for over thirty years. Early visits to Kutaisi by individuals eventually grew into larger group visits and Madonna was always there to welcome each member of the group with her wonderful smile. Since 1990 many Newport individuals and delegations have visited Kutaisi. They include civic leaders & council officers, university, college & school teachers, administrators & students, police, fire & rescue personnel, doctors & health administrative staff, social workers, artists & musicians, sportspeople, youth groups and many others. In turn, many Kutaisi citizens have visited Newport. All made the long journey, now eased by direct flights, in order to gain an understanding of each other’s city and in some cases provide guidance and practical assistance.
None of this would have happened without Madonna. We are indeed in her debt. For me, though, it is the personal friendship that I will treasure most.
Dame Rosemary Butler DBE
NKTA Chair 1990 – 2000
A Kutaisi delegation lead by the Madonna came to Newport when I was Mayor and we had a great time together.
Former Mayor, Councillor Bill Langsford
I had the pleasure of meeting Madonna on several occasions and she was integral to the Twinning. I am sorry to hear of her passing.
Joanne Parcell NCCDestination & Development Officer
Everyone at GOL Cymru is sad to hear the news. On the several occasions when we visited Kutaisi we were always welcomed by Madonna and the University English Department. In 2017 she chided me for not having told her my wife Helen was coming. Madonna took a ring from her finger and gave it to Helen. A lovely woman. She will be missed.
Tim Hartley GOL Cymru, Wales Football Team’s Official Supporter’s Club
I am so sorry. I remember Madonna’s great warmth and enthusiasm when I first arrives in Kutaisi back in the 1980s. She was the one who brought the city alive for me and I drew on my meetings with Madonna when I wrote about Kutaisi in `Georgia in the Mountains of Poetry`. I’ve felt her presence lingering in its streets on every visit since. Let us continue what she so richly started. My best wishes to her family, friends and colleagues.
Peter Nasmyth Author, photographer and Georgian resident for over 30 years
Rosemary and I first met Madonna in 1989. Rosemary was Mayor of Newport at the time and Madonna was a member of the first Kutaisi civic delegation to visit the city. We took a liking to her immediately. Although not the official leader of the group, she seemed to be in charge and we even suspected her of being KGB. We liked Madonna’s sense of purpose, her inquisitiveness, her knowledge of the UK, her effortless mastery of English and, above all, her mischievous sense of humour.
As she and Rosemary discussed how they would build a truly purposeful partnership between our two very different cities they found that they enjoyed each others company and our friendship, like the Twinning itself, continued to grow. It was strengthened by the difficulties we faced during the 1990s when direct contact between the two cities was non-existent with no telephone or postal links. Communication was only possible by an arduous air journey which entailed a stop-over of one or two nights in Moscow while waiting for a flight to Kutaisi. Madonna would meet us there. She had studied in Moscow and knew it well. She took us to the Bolshoi, the Moscow State Circus and the homes of her Georgian friends. One day, to our amazement, we even found ourselves eating in the staff restaurant of the Pushkin Art Gallery.
It was inevitable that we would become close friends. Over the next thirty years Madonna was one of the people we first turned to when we had family or other pressing news and Rosemary and I feel honoured to suggest that Madonna was able to share some of her hopes and concerns with us.
It is with a heavy heart that I have learnt of the death of our friend and partner Professor Madonna Megrelishvili. She possessed immense academic knowledge and teaching skills that awed and inspired her students in equal measures and always put the interests of young people at the heart if her work. She was also a skilled diplomat who helped navigate Georgia from a Soviet backwater into a proud independent nation. Georgia, Kutaisi and Newport have lost a teacher, a leader and an irreplaceable friend.
Peter Landers Organiser of the Newport Kutaisi Youth Exchange Project
No words can express the deep sorrow I feel today. I was very fortunate to have known Madonna and I will remember her always.
Dr. Dimitri Kopaliani The first student from Kutaisi to undertake post-graduate studies at the University of Wales, Newport.
We had heard many accounts of Madonna’s importance both for the Twinning and for her role in Kutaisi and Georgia and in May 2007 we met her ourselves when we were guests of the KNIA. The visit from first to last was stamped with Madonna’s warm hospitality. We were treated like valued members of a large and generous family. She took great pleasure in our visit as she did in all the visitors to Kutaisi over the decades..
Despite the sad fact that she will no longer welcome visitors from Newport, her legacy will live on in the thriving association which she led from the very beginning. It was an honour to know her.
On Wednesday 21st April members of the NKTA’s sister organisation, the Kutaisi Newport International Association, held a meeting with HE Mark Clayton the British Ambassador to Georgia. The meeting was held at the request of the Ambassador and it was his first meeting with the KNIA since his appointment in 2021.
HE Ambassador Mark Clayton – UK Ambassador to Georgia
The meeting was held at Kutaisi’s Ghone Kveknisa Primary school, the school linked with Lodge Hill Primary School, Caerleon. Numbers were kept to a minimum due to current Covid restrictions.
KNIA Chair David Megrelishvili introduced Association members to the Ambassador. He then outlined the history of the Twinning and the contribution it has made to the close friendship and practical co-operation between the two cities and between Georgia and Wales.
The Ambassador was impressed and expressed his readiness to support and strengthen what he described as a truly outstanding example of international civic partnership. He said it was essential that young people from the two cities should be encouraged to get involved and was pleased to hear of the links already formed between Kutaisi and Newport schools and at college and university level.
Manana Djulakidze, the owner of Ghone Kveknisa School, generously provided meals for everyone present and the Ambassador stayed for informal discussions far longer than had been anticipated.
Present: HE Ambassador Mark Clayton, KNIA Chair David Megrelishvili, Professor Dr. Mamuka Mukadze, University Lecturers: Maia Alavidze, Nino Nijaradze & Tamara Kobeshavidze, Director of The Bridge Autism Centre for Young People, Lika Mkhatvari, Director of Kutaisi Vocational College – Tamara Zakarashvili, and host Manana Djulakidze
Please note (NKTA)
As the NKTA is unable to hold face-to-face meetings at present the executive is exploring the possibility of organising online meetings. Members will be kept informed.
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