SEASON NEWSLETTER NO. 5, June 2017

Transcription

1 SEASON NEWSLETTER NO. 5, June 2017 Dear members, Our second year as British Society Deventer is lying behind us. A new programme for the season has been organised, you will find it in this Newsletter. Highlight of this year was undoubtedly the talk on Russia and South Eastern Europe John Pilkington gave in January. John is going on a new trip this year and he promised us to come and talk to us in two years time. Other talks such as the one on the BBC by Liz Howell, Dickens in America by Jos Paardekooper and the Genius of Shakespeare by Dr. Paul Franssen were also well attended. Two excellent films with Tea were shown in Het Filmhuis, the Lady in the Van at our Christmas Event and A Street Cat named Bob in February. To complete the season some 35 members and their guests had a very enjoyable end-of-season event called A Tribute to Jane Austen at De Kleine Noordijk, Twello with a varied music programme with opera singer Esther Linssen and pianist Jaap Eilander with readings from Jane Austen by Marijke Lemmerman. The beautiful 19th century ladies dresses added to the atmosphere. The afternoon was concluded with a guided walk of the estate. Even the weather was on our side. 1

2 PROGRAMME SEASON Date Speaker Title Venue & Time 1 October 2017 AGM & Quiz de Schalm Matinee 5 November 2017 Bob Ollis The Hanyanling De Schalm terracotta Army 9 December 2017 Christmas Film & Tea Filmhuis de Keizer January 2018 Christine Robinson The Housekeeper s De Schalm Tips, Tales and Tipples 18 February 2018 Film & Tea Filmhuis de Keizer March 2018 Chris Allen The City & its Institutions 15 April Lois MCGill National Trust s De Schalm Eyam Hall May 2018 End of Season THE COMMITTEE Over the past few months the committee has had the difficult task to find a new secretary as AnneMarie Meijer is going to step down at the Annual General Meeting in September. The Committee is very pleased to announce that Paul Lössbroek, former treasurer of the 2

3 Genootschap Nederland Engeland, Deventer for many years, has agreed to become our new secretary. Welcome back on the committee, Paul! As non-committee member AnneMarie Meijer has agreed to continue looking after our BSD website. Tasks within the Committee have been redivided. READING GROUP Our reading group has discussed or will discuss some attractive novels you may be interested in reading this summer. Nora Webster by Colm Toibin. After his successful novel (and film) Brooklyn, Colm Toibin has again written about smalltown Irish people. Whereas in Brooklyn the main character breaks free from her background, Nora Webster tries to do so in a different way. Not by emigrating but by trying to build up her life and that of her two younger sons after her husband has died in his early forties. This is difficult for her as everybody in town seems to know what is good for her, including her own relatives.. This moving novel is about coming to terms with grief but it is optimistic as well. In this process Nora s interests develop in a way she may not have been able to if her husband had lived. What strikes is the sometimes suffocating way of small-town life in Ireland of the 1960s. Old Filth by Jane Gardam At the moment novels by Jane Gardam are getting a lot of media attention because of a recently published translation in Dutch. It is the readable and entertaining novel Old Filth (which stands for Failed In London, Try Hong Kong) in which the life of an expat judge is portrayed. Filth (his nickname among friends and colleagues) was a so-called Raj-orphan, meaning he was sent Home (England) at the young age of six, as was the custom with expats with a view of the high mortality rate among children abroad. What this did to a child s development and character is movingly described. Now, in his old age, Filth looks back on his entire life. This book has two sequels, which can be read independently.: the Man in the Wooden Hat and Best Friends. So these should see you comfortably through the summer. 3

4 WELDAM CASTLE FAIR On Saturday 2 September 2017 the Anglican Church will be organizing the annual Castle Fair at Weldam Castle, the proceeds of which will go to Church projects of St. Mary s Anglican Church. There will be a lot of activities such as a fencing demonstration, Morris dancers and bagpipers. You will find stalls with quilts, bookbinding, spinning, ceramics, not to forget the home-made pies, ice creams and cakes. There will also be guided walks through the beautiful gardens and the lovely chapel of St Mary s Church nearby can also be visited. Open hrs Admission 7, free parking Kasteel Weldam Weldammerlaan MJ Markelo COMMITTEE, BSD DEVENTER Fred Santing, chairman ( ) AnneMarie Meijer Secretary ( ) Marijke Lemmerman Events & Lodgings Coordinator ( ) Cor Koppert Treasurer ( ) Mariette Kooy, member-at-large ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP Couples 54,00 Singles 30,00 Bank nr NL25 INGB tnv British Society Deventer Membership year: 1 July 30 June In practice, our season of talks and events starts on 1 September Els Vorenkamp, newsletters 4

5 5