January Contact 2019

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NTACT

THE MAGAZINE OF THE BRITISH WOMEN’S GROUP BANGKOK JANUARY 2018

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Chairman’s Message Happy New Year to one and all.

I hope you have had a great holiday and are now energised for the year ahead. New year, new tasks and new adventures to be had. A very special year for BWG as we celebrate our 50th anniversary!

Thank you to everyone who helped to make our Christmas Lunch and Coffee such a great success. Fun and laughter were in abundance with a massive 12.100 bht raised at the lunch raffle and a further 16,000 bht. at the coffee. This will enable us to continue to give to our chosen charities, a huge thank you to all of you for your continued support.

Look out for details of our exciting golf event coming up this month and dust off your clubs! There is also a great activity being organised so eyes on stalks. Do not forget to save the date 5th February, for our last Embassy drinks, as the Embassy will sadly no longer be available to us.

Ailsa Kneath

Much to look forward to in this exciting year.

"No man is an island entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent. " John Donne.

Editor’s Note Happy New Year and welcome to the January edition of Contact Before we look forward to the future please look inside for a look back at all the great fun we had at 2018 coffees, lunches and special events.

2019 is off to a busy start with opportunities for a post holiday catch up at a January lunch which will be held at a Lebanese restaurant and/or a drop in coffee at Jones the Grocer.

Looking further ahead we have the details of the golf day, Embassy drinks and the AWC ‘Breakfast at the Oscars’ event where the BWG will have a table.

Claire Llewellyn

I hope you are all having a splendid start to the year.

www.bwgbangkok.org

info@bwgbangkok.org

British Women’s Group Bangkok

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BRITISH WOMEN’S GROUP The aim of the Group is to enable its members to meet socially, to welcome its new members and associate members to Bangkok and to establish a programme of social, welfare and cultural activities.

Contents

January Diary Page 5

BWG Golf Day Page 7

Coffee in 2018 Page 8&9

Lunches in 2018 Page 10&11

Activities in 2018 Page 12&13

Special Events in 2018 Page 14&15

Newcomers Social Evening Page 16

January Coffee Page 17

Bookworms Page 18&19

HDF Christmas Party Page 21

January Lunch Page 22

January Activity Page23

Membership News Page 25

Editor

contact@bwgbangkok.org Advertising

advertising@bwgbangkok.org

Please note that the deadline for advertisements is the 5th of the month prior to issue. Please contact advertising@bwgbangkok for more information.

PLEASE NOTE : Contact is published as a service to our members to keep them informed of news and events within BWG. The accuracy of other information cannot be guaranteed and is not an endorsement by the group. This also applies to advertisements that are included in Contact in order to cover some of the production costs. Every effort is made to produce Contact in good time to reach members before the first scheduled meeting, but the editor cannot be held responsible for unavoidable delays caused by circumstance beyond their control. It is the members’ own responsibility to know when meetings are scheduled and to contact someone to check if any changes have been made. Members are also asked to bear in mind when booking actives that most venues are not deemed suitable for children over six months of age and to make appropriate child minding arrangements.

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January Diary SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

1 Bridge Golf

2 Mah-jong Art Group

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4

5

6

7 Mah-jong

8 Bridge Golf

9 Mah-jong Art Group Newcomers Social Evening @Indulge

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11

12

13

14 Mah-jong

15 Bridge Golf

16 Mah-jong Art Group

17 Coffee@ Jones the Grocer

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19 Activity: Pattaya Polo

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21 Mah-jong

22 Bridge Golf

23 Mah-jong Art Group

24 Lunch @Nadimos

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26 BWG Golf Tournament

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28 Mah-jong

29 Bridge Golf

30 Mah-jong Art Group

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Weekly/Monthly Activities You are invited to join these groups, but final approval is at the discretion of individual group leaders

Monday Mah-jong - (beginners welcome) (10am - 1pm) Tuesday Bridge - Audrie Sill Beginners/Intermediate Golf - (morning) Ann McKinnon Golf - (morning) Sheona Jackson Bookworms - 1st Tuesday (10am) Jane Upperton Scottish Dancing - 1st Tuesday (7:30pm) Karen Burr

Save the Date BWG Embassy Drinks - Tuesday 5th February 6-8:30pm AWC ‘Breakfast at the Oscars’ - Monday 25th February - 7am @ Rembrandt Hotel February Coffee - Valentine’s coffee Thursday 14th February, @ members poolside area February Lunch and Activity TBC

Wednesday Mah-jong - (beginners welcome) (1pm - 4pm) Art Group - Bistro 33 Sukhumvit Soi 33 (10am -12:30pm) Melissa Preston

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nspiring ndividuals At KIS International School all students can shine. The midsize, caring community allows KIS students to be confident and to be appreciated as an individual, with unique dreams and strengths. The school is a full IB school, offering the International Baccalaureate Programmes for all age groups (IB Primary Years Programme, IB Middle Years Programme and IB Diploma), ensuring an academically rigorous curriculum that not only prepares students to be successful at university, but also teaches important life skills.

KIS, it’s all about Knowledge, Inspiration and Spirit.

Check out the students’ videos to learn more about their passion www.kis.ac.th

Tel: +66 (0) 2274 3444 Email: admissions@kis.ac.th

“With the power of imagination, characters can actually fly off the page” Jun, Grade 11.

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BWG Coffee Mornings in 2018

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Coffee Mornings in 2018

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Lunches in 2018

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Lunches in 2018

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Activities in 2018

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Activities in 2018

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Special Events in 2018

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Special Events in 2018

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Newcomers Social Evening is on Wednesday 9th January at Indulge Restaurant and Bar by Asoke BTS exit 6 from 6.30pm

January Coffee Please join us for either a brunch or coffee and cake at Jones the Grocer on the ground floor of Emquartier. Jones the Grocer is an Australian based chain of grocery shops with restaurants.

Here in Bangkok the emphasis is on the restaurant. There is an extensive menu of brunch items and a great cake selection, as well as a wide range of coffees and teas.

Date : Thursday 17th January Time : 10am - 12noon Venue : Jones the Grocer, Emquartier, Phrom Pong Cost : pay as you go RSVP : to coffee@bwgbangkok.org by Monday 13th January so that we can give the venue an idea of numbers.

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Bookworms - Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

by Jane Upperton This novel became an international best seller 62 years after its original publication in Germany,in 1947. It was translated into English and published in UK and then in the USA in 2009 as 'Every man dies alone’.

The story is set in war time Berlin and describes life under the Nazis and demonstrates how the ordinary Germans suffered through that time. We have a story of different people who are tenants of a block of flats which gives context.

This story is focused on a couple who lived in the flats called Elise and Otto Hampel and it is their story which was taken from papers loaned to Hans Fallada when he was unwell. He substituted the names Anna and Otto Quangel for the names of the Hampels whose only son died as a soldier on the front.

Until their son died the Hampels were neither members of the Nazi party or their sub organisations and nor were they critical of the system. The death of their son stimulated the couple to do something and they started to write postcards with slogans against the Nazi regime and drop them in stairwells around the city. Hans Fallada describes the couple 'Two insignificant individuals... Without particular skills..... Their postcard propaganda was poorly spelt and clumsily expressed.’, -'the sound of their protest died away unheard' Parallel to this story, is the story of Gestapo attempts to find out who they are so that they can be stopped and punished.

Did we like the book? 'not an easy read, hard but worth it' 'oh God Germany again.'

‘I was stuck in an airport. I'm glad I read it.' 'a good read. A bit long. Wouldn't recommend it’ 'I would recommend it.'

Scores. 6/10- 1, 7/10 -3

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Bookworms - Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

by Jane Upperton This is the story of a Chinese American economics professor Rachel Chu who travels to Singapore from USA to attend a wedding with her boyfriend Nick Young. She is the only daughter of a single mum who fled with her to the USA when she was a baby. She believes her father is dead. Her background is modest and she is totally unaware that the man she met and fell in love with is a member of a mega rich Singaporean prestigious ‘old money’ family. Nick is essentially the prince of Singapore and is expected to marry a girl from a similar moneyed family.

Nick seems totally unaware of the dynamics and conflict he creates when he brings Rachel to meet his family. We learn of Rachel’s struggles to deal with the Chinese culture, jealous girlfriends and Nick’s family and their friends who are probably as shocked to meet Rachel as she is to meet them.

The setting of the book is mainly Singapore and the lifestyles and lives of the top strata of Singapore society -living in a world where money is no object and settings are lavish, spending is a million dollars here and there on designer clothes and a fun thing is to go off to islands in private jets to exclusive parties.

It seems that the author of the book is writing using his own experiences. He belongs to one of Singapore’s oldest banking families and like Nick and others attended an Anglo Chinese School. He no longer lives in Singapore and more recently is alleged to have tried to renounce his citizenship because he is supposed to serve in Singapore’s armed forces.

So what did we think?

The book has been made into a movie which some of us have seen. There was the view that if you had read the book or seen the movie either one is enough. One member put the family tree onto her iPhone so that she could keep track of the cast of characters. One member found the book was not easy to read on her kindle and getting footnotes was difficult. And - ‘as for the book .i am not too enthusiastic about it and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone’.’it is an easy read about people with too much money living an empty life.it was sometimes funny’ And me- I enjoyed the book and got a picture of the life crazy rich asians live, not only in Singapore but I’m sure in Thailand and Hong Kong and China too.I found the film disappointing - as though good makeup, clothing and expensive everything was enough without acting knowledge and skills.

Scores. 6/10- 3; 7/10-1; 8/10-1

January book pick is - Transcription by Kate Atkins February 5th book pick - Room by Emma Donoghue March 5th book pick -Left Neglected by Lisa Genova April 2nd book pick - Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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Celebrating 60 Years A proud tradition of learning excellence

We oer a British-style education for an international community, from Nursery through to Graduation.

Find out how our approach to learning and outstanding teaching sta develop global citizens who shape their world through independence, empathy, creativity and critical thinking.

Contact us at admissions@patana.ac.th www.patana.ac.th | +66 (0) 2785 2200 | 643 Lasalle Road, Bangkok 10260

Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit, IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

HDF Mercy Centre School Christmas 2019

by Gale Bailey MBE The annual HDF Children’s party has been scheduled for Thursday 31 January at Ceuplongna Preschool, Rama III. The welfare team will prepare the necessary and we will meet at the Mercy Centre in Klong Toey (map will be provided) where transport will take us on a short journey to the school.

We usually play Pass the Parcel, Musical Statues, Musical Chairs on Newspaper as the children are new to such things but also lots of other fun like the Okey Cokey!

It is such a wonderful experience even if it is a bit noisy and hot but so rewarding to see the faces on the children enjoying themselves and having treats which are few and far between in their lives.

Please contact welfare@bwgbangkok.org if you would like to help.

Some photos from the party last year

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January Lunch : Nadimons Join us for the first BWG lunch of 2019 at Nadimos Lebanese restaurant in Silom.

Specialising in traditional Lebanese cuisine, the chefs at Nadimos have a passion for serving stunning Lebanese dishes. On the day they will be serving us a delicious Lebanese Sharing Tapas menu.

Date : Thursday 24th January Time : 12-2pm Cost : 700bht Location : Underneath the ‘Holiday Inn’ Silom, closest BTS is Surasak.

RSVP : to lunches@bwgbangkok.org by Monday 21st January please state if you would like vegetarians or non-vegetarian menu.

Menu - Thursday 24th January 1st Course Fatoush, Potato Salad Hummus, Musakaa 2nd Course Balila Falafel BBQ Chicken Wings Spicy Potato Sujuk 3rd Course BBQ Chicken Tawook BBQ Kafta Lebanese rice Sides Spicy Sauce, Garlic Sauce Mixed Pickle, Pita Bread Dessert

Fruit Plate Contact January 2018

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January Activity Thai Polo Open 2019 Please join us for a day of Polo fun and divot stoping(!) at the ‘Thai Polo Open 2019’ to be held at the ‘Thai Polo Club Pattaya’.

Date : Saturday 19th January Time : 12pm - 8pm for the Polo Open. (we will be arranging transport to and from Pattaya once we know numbers we will inform everyone of the leaving time).

Location : Thai Polo Club Pattaya Cost : Stand tickets are 1500bht which will be paid on the day at the Polo club, they are fundraising for ‘Chitralada Vocational School.

Once numbers are confirmed we can confirm final costs including transportation.

RSVP : to activities@bwgbangkok.org by Thursday 10th January

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Contact December 2018

Membership News Don’t forget to let Tracey (membership@bwgbangkok.org) know if any of your details change, or you leave us, so that they can keep the database and, of course members up to date with the latest information.

If you use Facebook you can join the group : BWG Bangkok Women’s Group

Newcomer’s Coffee Mornings January

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Instead of coffee there will be a social evening on Wednesday 9th January from 6.30pm at ‘Indulge Restaurant and Bar’ 403-403/1 Sukhumvit, by Asoke BTS exit 6, partners welcome.

February

Wednesday 6th February at Bistro 33, 22 Sukhuvit, Soi, 10am - 12 noon 33 Please let Tracey (membership@bwgbangkok.org) know if you will be attending.

Birthdays in January 1st January

Kay Mckinnon

14th January

Phyllis Duckworth

21st January

Justine Rea

21st January Bruin

Antoinette de

26th January

Carolyn Cavanagh

27th January Laurie ffffffffffffffffffff. Adulayavichitr 28th January

Kim Simpson

28th January

Shelia Dixon

29th January

Maria Cuckson

Contact November 2018