/dialogue_2011_summer

A quarterly publication from The English-Speaking Union

Summer 11 Featuring the International Mace Finals, dinner with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and the ESU Public Speaking Competition for Schools.

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The English-Speaking Union

About the English-Speaking Union

How to submit to dialogue

The ESU brings together and empowers people of different languages and cultures. By building skills and confidence in communication, we give people the opportunity to realise their potential. Worldwide, the members and alumni of the ESU support these objectives.

International submissions

Our vision is to provide people in the UK and internationally with communication skills, confidence and networking opportunities. We endeavour to see that the value of good communication as an essential attribute for individual, community and global development and understanding is publicly recognised and widely integrated into education andsocial policy.

Submissions should be made to editor@esu.org Branch submissions Submissions should be made to esubranchesnews @gmail.com We welcome all submissions for consideration.

Photos and Illustrations Digital photos are preferred.

Please send the original file from your digital camera – do not re-save or change the title from the default setting (this can degrade the resolution and limit the file size making photos poorer quality than the original file). For every photo please send a caption. It is only necessary to name key individuals in a large group.

Refer to the photo by its full filename in the write-up of its accompanying article and advise us of the names of all the people pictured, e.g.

“IMG_345.jpg – (L-R) Joe Bloggs, Bill Boggs,Kate Coggs”

If you have questions please contact the Editor at Dartmouth House – 020 7529 1579 or editor@esu.org Deadlines Submissions for the edition published on: 15 March submissions need to be received by 1 February 15 June submissions need to be received by 1 May 15 September submissions need to be received by 1 August 15 December submissions need to be received by 1 November The ESU reserves the right not to publish submissions.

The English-Speaking Union Dartmouth House 37 Charles Street London W1J 5ED T +44 (0)20 7529 1550 esu@esu.org www.esu.org

Registered Charity No. 273136

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Postal submissions should be made as a last resort.

Postal address The Editor ESU, Dartmouth House 37 Charles Street London W1J 5ED

© All material copyright ESU

EDITORIAL

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PROGRAMMES Latest events_26

Letter from Lord Hunt_04 Letter from the Chairman_06 Letters to the Editor_08

FEATURES

BRANCHES

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Branch reports_46

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ESU membership benefits_64

A Brace of International Mace Finals_10

Regional diary_65

Off to the Palace!_13 Congratulations to Parrs Wood High School - National Public Speaking Champions_16

ON THE HORIZON

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REVIEW

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Films_68

DIARY DATES

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Tony Iveson and CMJ – Two Legends Talk at Dartmouth House_22 Mooting Competition_22 London Debate Challenge_23 ESU Launches in Iceland_23

CREDITS

International Public Speaking Competition_24

Managing Editor Hanna Cevik Editor Roberta Pearce Branches Editor Meriel Talbot Design The Click Design Consultants theclickdesign.com DIALOGUE 3

I have great respect for the history of the English-Speaking Union and for our predecessors who have enabled our charity to flourish through good times and bad over the years.

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LETTER FROM LORD HUNT

I am honoured and delighted to have been your Chairman since 2005 and a Governor for 12 years but am sad that this will be my last contribution to dialogue, a publication that I have enjoyed seeing grow in style and content over the last year or so.

For many years I have been a member of the ESU. I competed in the Observer Mace in 1965. I benefitted enormously from visiting the USA in 1967 as part of the British Debate Team and I have no doubt that these early experiences served to set me on the twin paths of the law combined with a parliamentary career.

I was so proud to be appointed Chairman of the EnglishSpeaking Union in 2005, together with chairmanship of the International Council from 2008 when I assumed the role at the Council Meeting in Edinburgh.

I have great respect for the history of the ESU and for our predecessors who have enabled our charity to flourish through good times and bad over the years. They effected changes that were made necessary by circumstances and in doing so they ensured our relevance and longevity.

I believe that the review of the Royal Charter, on which you have been consulted and balloted, is our moment to consider the changes that will position us for the future, inject us with a new sense of purpose and drive the income that we need to grow our charitable work and maintain Dartmouth House for the benefit of the ESU in the future.

This work will be carried on by my successor as I stand down. I hope that the engagement with members, alumni and our international affiliate partners that has been established, will serve to steer this endeavour to ensure that our charitable objectives are fully integrated at branch level in the UK and with our partners abroad.

The opportunity for the ESU, across the world, has never been greater and I am pleased to note the continuing growth of the International Public Speaking Competition. I am also pleased that the less high-profile, but nevertheless crucial work being undertaken by our excellent team of employees, to bring the opportunities I enjoyed to less advantaged young people in this country, is similarly growing in reach and impact.

It is my great pleasure to introduce my successor, Dame Mary Richardson DBE. When I asked Dame Mary to become a Deputy Chairman of the ESU on 15th April 2008, I paid tribute to the enormous contribution she had already made to the work of our organisation since she became a Governor in 2005. Dame Mary told me that she would do all in her power to support my work as Chairman in any way she could and to further the aims of the ESU. I am therefore very pleased that she will now take over as my successor.

The Rt Hon The Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE PC

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LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN: DAME MARY RICHARDSON

Dear Members, May I begin by thanking you for electing me Chairman of the English-Speaking Union. I regard this as a great honour and an equally great responsibility. I am grateful that you have given me your confidence and trust. I must now prove myself worthy of both.

What has become wonderfully obvious during the past few months, is the strength of commitment of the membership in the branches to the ESU. Vibrant networks have emerged and must not be lost. I shall need your help, advice and input on how to keep communication easy, frank and productive. There will be, and must be, open and honest debate if the organisation is to flourish and develop; but it should be creative, and not destructive, debate. Let us work together to develop this.

My immediate tasks are many: the negotiations regarding Dartmouth House need picking up; a new Director-General is to be appointed; a Company Secretary is essential at an early stage; budgets and accounts demand early attention; the election process needs review so that the autumn elections will be both cheaper and less long-drawn out; role expectations are needed for chairman, the two deputy DIALOGUE 6

chairmen, and governors; the ESU is to be launched in Iceland in ten days time; and the summer conferences and events are many.

But these are merely tasks. A strategy for the next ten years needs to be developed and shared with you. The Hon Gerard Noel’s book, The Journey of the English-Speaking Union is just published and shows that Sir Evelyn Wrench’s vision and idealism are as green, relevant and necessary today as they were in his own conflict weary, fractured society.

I very much look forward to attending the ESU International Council Meeting in October in Philadelphia and to working with all members everywhere to repair bridges and, as one member said impatiently, to “getting on with the business of helping young people.” Another member of a very successful branch explained to me, “We have fun here and we do things in style.” So be it.

Dame Mary Richardson

I regard this as a great honour and an equally great responsibility. I am grateful that you have given me your confidence and trust. I must now prove myself worthy of both.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Nadia Kidd, ESU member ‘The appearance of dialogue is certainly a great new contribution to the life of ESU. It is very informative, interesting, useful and pleasant to hold in the hands – I like it! I would however like to mention some things which to my mind do not match the high quality of the magazine.

As the main aim of every designer is to make the information easily accessible and readable, and considering that the average age of the dialogue readers is likely to be well over 50, there are, in my opinion, a few ‘design innovations’ which do not always work properly. These issues relate to printing aspects and my own personal dislikes and are as follows: Printing related issues The most serious problem to my mind is the use of print (size, bold, italics, etc), hence (just some examples): - page 2 of any magazine is considered to be the most valuable (ads are very expensive on this page!) – it should be used rationally, the layout needs to be changed: details of “How to Submit…” should be placed somewhere at the bottom, definitely in a smaller print – it is secondary information. One cannot equal it with the left column, i.e. the main information of the page, which should really be the main part, more expressive, more noticeable.

- pages 48-49: “FROM THE ARCHIVE” heading is the same size as every sub-headline on these pages which is not normally the way it is done. Different colour underlining (sometimes without evident reason different colours on one and the same page) all over the magazine does not work I am afraid; - pages 73-74: the 1st line of each entry (i.e. dates and time) should definitely be of a bigger size print than the text; - obituaries should, wherever possible, have a photograph as a sign of respect and also it is important for readers.

- In editorial address the name of the Chairman, whose letter is cited, was never mentioned, just ‘his letter, his presentation’…

Some things which I personally do not like as a reader: - The use of _ to indicate the page; - One whole section (Branches) is on coloured paper. As there are more than enough colours in the magazine, no need for it to look even more like a Christmas tree.

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- Separate pages – OK, but not the whole section.

I do trust you will not take my remarks as criticism but purely as my contribution to make dialogue better as I do think it is a great idea to start this type of publication.

Editor’s note: Thank you Nadia. You may have noticed some changes to the Spring issue of dialogue, incorporating reader responses. We will take these into consideration too.

Thomas Grice I am contacting you as a former ESU scholar, who spent the academic year 2003/04 studying at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. I very much enjoyed my time there and remain, as ever, incredibly grateful to the English-Speaking Union for providing me with the opportunity to experience American High School and to broaden my outlook academically, culturally and also interpersonally.

One of the (many) lasting legacies of my time in New England is a hunger for exploring and learning more about the US. I went on to spend a year of university at the University of Pennsylvania and have taken every opportunity to visit the States. Indeed, it is because of my relationship with America that I now contact you.

I am currently living in Berkeley, California, where I have been for just over one month. Previous to this I spent three months traveling across the States, from New York City, down the east coast and through some incredible places.

Over the course of the journey two friends and myself made a web series documenting our adventure. The series, which is called ‘Boxtick America’, has its own dedicated website (www.boxtickamerica.com), and has been released on Koldcast, an Internet television channel (www.koldcast.com).

I thought your patrons, and particularly those students who are in the midst of scholarship programmes, might be interested in the show. It gives, I think, a sense of quintessential America and the activities one can find there.

I know that you publish a newsletter, so perhaps it would be appropriate to feature a short piece about Boxtick America in this. We have been given a Dockers grant to help film a second series, which will begin in July.

I would be extremely grateful for your thoughts on how our story could feed into the work of your fantastic organization.

FEATURES – Inside A selection of events and articles that deserve special attention for their significance to the ESU from the last three months.

A Brace of International Mace Finals_10 Off to the Palace!_13 Congratulations to Parrs Wood High School National Public Speaking Champions_16

A BRACE OF INTERNATIONAL MACE FINALS

by Jason Vit, Head of Speech and Debate

The ESU runs two historical and well-respected debating competitions for schools and universities from the UK and Ireland. After the national competitions, the champions from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland meet in one of the four nations to compete for the international title and the coveted silver mace, of which there is one for each competition.

This year, the international finals of both the schools and universities mace competitions were held in Dublin on Saturday 30 April. Holding both events on the same day allowed most of the schools teams to stay after their event had finished to watch the university championships too.

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Northern Ireland opted to take part in the Irish Mace competition rather than run their own competition, hence the inclusion of Ireland in the international finals.

Undeterred by missing the royal wedding on television, Éamon Chawke, (Schools Programmes Officer), Steven Nolan, (Universities Programmes Officer) and I set out to drive to Ireland on Thursday with a stopover in Birmingham. Transport had also been arranged for eight schools teams, eight teachers to accompany them, eight university debaters, nine judges and ESU Midlands and East Regional Officer Steve Roberts to join us at the Kildare Street Hotel, Dublin.

Left: the medals for the Schools Mace winners. Above: mid-debate in the JSM Mace international finals.

Carrying two solid silver two-metre maces in wood boxes, eight ESU banners and the various pamphlets, handbooks, programmes and booklets we needed, driving was the only option for the Speech and Debate staff.

Both finals were staged at No. 6 Kildare Street, the former home of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and a splendid venue in the centre of the city.

The Schools Mace

The semi-final round for the schools began at 1 pm with England (St Paul’s School) v Scotland (Dollar Academy) in one semi-final and Ireland (St Jarlath’s College) v Wales (Cwmcarn High School) in the other. The students were faced with the motion; ‘This House would not allow parents to remove their children from sex education classes’.

Before an audience of judges, teachers, parents, grandparents, extended family members and supporters, all four teams showed off the skills and hard work that had made them national champions. There was a long wait while the judges in each room deliberated their decision before announcing the two teams in the final were to be England and Ireland. The motion for the final was ‘This House would hold drug dealers liable for the drug-related crimes of their customers’.

England, in proposition, put forward a subtle case based on the idea of supporting victims of crime to pursue restorations through civil actions. The Irish team focused on the lack of deterrent effect from a financial penalty, when

long custodial sentences are already a threat. It took the five-person judging panel more than 30 minutes to reach its decision: the 2011 winner of the ESU International Schools Mace are Ben Goldstein and Freddy Powell, representing England. This is the second win for St Paul’s School, the last one being in 2009. It gives England the International Mace for the third year running.

The John Smith Memorial Mace

With the Schools Mace completed the teams enjoyed lunch while ESU staff re-set the rooms to prepare for the second final of the day.

The teams were understandably nervous, many of them having prepared over the previous few weeks when essay and dissertation deadlines were also looming. The line-up saw Trinity College Dublin Historical Society speak first, followed in second proposition by the Welsh champions, from Cardiff University. Opposing them, the Cambridge Union represented England, whilst the second team on the opposition bench was from the University of Edinburgh.

The motion was; ‘This House believes that the West has a duty to fund and, where necessary, arm pro-democracy movements’.

The debate was tough, lively and very well-informed with all four teams trading and comparing examples and case studies to support their case. When the debate finished, the teams and audience enjoyed some canapés and wine while waiting for the judges to decide. When the judges finally called the room to order, they named the team from DIALOGUE 11

Above left: the Schools Mace winning team Freddy and Ben with their coach, Right: the winning team from the University of Cambridge, Greg Cochran and Maria English with their supporters and sponsor Baillie Gifford’s representative Chris Hawkins

England as international champions and presented the silver university Mace. This is the third time that Doug Cochrane has been in the international final. His team mate Maria English is in her first year at university, and will have an illustrious debating career ahead of her with a start like this!

With the results in and the official business of the day concluded, everyone headed to a local pub to discuss the debate in more detail over a pint or two. The prospect of the long journey home the next day prompted the ESU team to call it a night and we left the revellers to their celebrations and commiserations.

Our ferry home on Sunday left in the afternoon and with the car re-packed and a final, full Irish breakfast to see us on our way, we set off homeward to decide what to do about the Schools Mace now that there is no room for new names to be engraved, and to plan the twin finals for 2012, which will be back in England.

Huge congratulations to both of the winning teams, Ben and Freddy from St Paul’s School and Doug and Maria from Cambridge University; and also congratulations to all the other international finalists who represented their countries:

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Daithi Kilgarriff and Ross O’Ceallaigh of St. Jarlath’s College and Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin and Huw Duffy from Trinity College Dublin Historical Society.

Sarah Roberts and Sara Morgan of Cwmcarn High School and Kirsty Logan and Vicky Jones from Cardiff University.

Ruth Cameron and Calum Worsley of Dollar Academy and Ben Lau and Marlena Valles from the University of Edinburgh.

Many thanks to Baillie Gifford for their continued sponsorship of the John Smith Memorial Mace and to their staff team, including Chris Hawkins, who came over to Dublin to support the event. We would also like to thank Steve and Judy Roberts, who gave up the bank holiday weekend to attend, sign certificates and present prizes and to the judges, Tara Mounce representing England, Jenni Harrison for Scotland, Jon Worgan for Wales and Jim McElroy for Ireland. This was a great end to a year of well-fought competition, so our thanks also to everyone who helped during the year as judges, coaches and organisers.

Entry for the 2011-12 competitions will open on www.esu.org on 9 June.

OFF TO THE PALACE!

On 23 February, 160 members, picked from a hat, gathered at Buckingham Palace for a celebratory dinner hosted by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, to commemorate his presidency of the ESU, which began in 1952. Over champagne, guests from countries as far and wide as the US, Mexico, India, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Norway, Denmark, Albania, Lebanon, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, France and the UK enjoyed the historic and dazzling interior of the Palace reception rooms.

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Lord Hunt introduced HRH Prince Philip to guests in both reception rooms. His Royal Highness was generous with his time, mingling freely and enjoying the guests’ stories of how they came to be associated with the ESU. This was a very special experience for 10 young alumni who had received complimentary places to the event courtesy of ESU members, alumni, corporate sponsors and partners.

A sumptuous dinner was served in the Picture Gallery, a 150-foot room decorated with historical works of art including originals by Rembrandt, van Dyck, Rubens and Vermeer.

Lord Hunt gave a toast to the Queen and officially welcomed guests to Buckingham Palace. He then introduced the guest speaker, Jenny Lowthrop, a Secondary School Exchange 2004 alumna to the Lawrenceville School, New Jersey.

Jenny spoke warmly about the memories of her exchange scholarship, from her initial interview at Dartmouth House and her learning environment at Lawrenceville to her introduction to voluntary work as part of her extracurricular activities whilst studying there. She said that, were it not for the ESU, she would not be where she is in life today both personally and professionally. Her passion for volunteer work has followed her from Lawrenceville throughout her university education and into her current position, running the Volunteer Centre at the London School of Economics. In addition to her day job, Jenny operates The Young Achiever’s Trust, a charity which rewards young people who have volunteered in their community with career coaching, training and mentoring. It offers them money-can’t-buy opportunities, such as the chance to shadow a Chief Executive Officer for a day. Jenny thanked the ESU for the enormous impact it has had upon her life, her admiration for the marvellous work the ESU continues to do with young people today, and her high regard for the ESU’s mission to improve confidence through communication skills.

Lord Hunt touched on the challenges which the ESU hopes to help tackle, both in a domestic and an international context, where divisions in society are hindering the growth of community harmony and limiting the prospects of young citizens. To conclude, Lord Hunt thanked HRH the Duke of Edinburgh for the support he has given the ESU over the 59 years of his presidency and, as a token of the gratitude of members of the ESU throughout the world, presented him with the ESU Churchill Medal of Honour.

In response, His Royal Highness thanked Lord Hunt and the English-Speaking Union and remarked on the success of the evening. Whilst admitting that the difference the ESU has made in society can be difficult to measure, HRH Prince Philip acknowledged the positive influence in the lives of thousands of young people over the decades of the ESU’s existence; a product of the hard work and dedication of all those involved and of which he said we should all be very proud. Concluding his speech, HRH Prince Philip looked forward to future generations of ESU staff, members and alumni, and wished all those at the Palace an enjoyable evening.

The ESU would particularly like to thank the following individuals for their assistance and generosity: Mr and Mrs Forrest, Mr and Mrs Tomalin, Mr and Mrs McCorquodale, Sir Colin Shepherd, Mr and Mrs Nambisan, Cambridge University Press, Mr and Mrs Woolf, Mr and Mrs Mills, Dr Niroshee Gunasingham, Mr and Mrs Thomas Hoyle, Captain Sir Norman Lloyd-Edwards , Michael Shankland, Brian Marsh, Roderick Chamberlain, Anthony Westnedge, Lord Watson of Richmond, Edward Gould, Dame Mary Richardson, Lady Julia Boyd, Richard Oldham, Saroj Chakravarty, Alexander Finnis, David Leonard and Austin Millington.

1. HRH Prince Philip, Lord Hunt and Richard Oldham 2. The Music Room 3. HRH Prince Philip, Lord Hunt, Mazie Vincelli, Elliot Beard 4. Dilip Borowake, Asif Chowdhury, HRH Prince Philip 5. Dr Niroshee Gunasingham, HRH Prince Philip

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6. Emma Pinder and Jenny Lowthrop 7. Lord Watson, Jonathan Bailey, Jamie Brockbank, Lord Hunt, HRH Prince Philip 8. HRH Prince Philip, Sandy Chalmers, John Fingleton

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CONGRATULATIONS TO PARRS WOOD HIGH SCHOOL – NATIONAL PUBLIC SPEAKING CHAMPIONS!

Winning team Parrs Wood High School with their coach and Meriel Talbot

by Éamon Chawke, Schools Programmes Officer

The UK final of the ESU Public Speaking Competition for Schools was held in the wonderful Great Hall of Goodenough College, London on Saturday 7 May and was a fantastic celebration of the hard work and achievement of the many young people who have taken part in the competition throughout the year.

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1. The packed room

4. Best Chairperson Georgie

2. Best Speaker Roberta

Wedge with Margaret Rudland

Wilkinson with Roger Tilbury

5. The regional organisers

3. Best Questioner Cal Barkovic with Michael Crick

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The eight regional champions spoke on topics as diverse as nuclear power and the war on drugs through to learning history from Hollywood and rewriting books to make them politically correct. Close to 150 people came to watch and support the teams including teachers and families of the competitors and members, branch organisers and governors. Over lunch, before the event, the teams and audience got to mingle while they waited nervously to find out which speakers, chairpersons and questioners would be allocated before a frantic 30 minutes of preparation once they found out.

Laurie Burbridge of the Exeter branch echoed the consensus that there was a “very high standard of speaking,” and the judges admitted to having a hard decision with eight very strong teams who have already won several rounds to reach the final.

The overall winning team was Georgia McMahon, Roberta Wilkinson and Rebecca Grant from Parrs Wood High School in Manchester, the North West Region Champions.

All three girls were delighted, as was Gill Newman who coaches the team despite having retired from teaching at the school. Afterwards Gill said; “We’re still reeling with utter delight from our unanticipated success.”

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The day was a great showcase for the talent and hard work of so many young people from across the country and we are already looking forward to making next year’s competition even better.

Winning the national championship is a great result for any school, especially one which was in special measures until 2010.

The audience vote for the Outstanding Personality went to Iliya Buyanovsky from King’s College School, the London Region champions. This team was also the runner-up on the day.

The Best Chairperson was judged to be Georgie Wedge from Cheltenham Ladies College. She was working with Euan Godbold, the guest speaker from Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar School who spoke on the topic, ‘You can’t learn history from Hollywood’. Georgie commanded the room from the outset and is well deserving of the award.

Roberta Wilkinson from Parrs Wood was also awarded the prize for Best Speaker on the topic ‘Supporting democracy should be prioritised over national interests’. She spoke passionately about the need for democracy as the best system of government and the only effective way of regulating and limiting power. In one memorable part of her speech she told a captive audience; “If we don’t like Gaddafi murdering his own people, we shouldn’t have sold him the weapons in the first place to boost our own economy. In a world of free trade and real-time social networking, can we be excused for ignoring the lack of democracy in other countries because we’re prioritising our national interests? If we do, we are implicated in any atrocities which then occur. As Burke said, ‘For evil to triumph, it is necessary for only the good man to do nothing’.” Roberta will now go on to represent England and Wales in the International Public Speaking Competition in the summer of 2012.

The final individual award went to Cal Barkovic from Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar School who had to question Illiya Buyanovsky from King’s College School on the topic ‘Politicians’ private lives should remain private’.

His insightful questions not only challenged the speaker to

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go into greater depth but also did the key job of asking the questions the audience was hoping to ask.

Our judges gave some insight into public speaking for the competitors with Margaret Rudland (Chair of the ESU Education committee and a former head teacher) reminding the room about the importance of delivering with confidence and setting the right tone for the proceedings, when chairing.

Roger Tilbury spoke about the role of the main speaker drawing on his years of experience as a coach, organiser and judge. As well as re-iterating the importance of diction and the speed of delivery Roger also emphasised the centrality of the audience and the vitality of any speaker to include everyone through eye contact if a speaker hopes to engage and thereby persuade. The third of our judges was Michael Crick, a former winner of the competition and now a regular reporter on BBC2’s Newsnight. He drew on his professional background and offered sage advice about listening to what has been said and responding to what is actually heard, not relying on what you expect to hear.

The day was a great showcase for the talent and hard work of so many young people from across the country and we are already looking forward to making next year’s competition even better.

The ESU would like to thank Goodenough College for providing such an excellent venue for free, all of the branch and regional organisers who worked so hard this year to make the competition possible and all of the members and volunteers who supported and judged rounds. We are also very grateful to Michael Crick, Margaret Rudland and Roger Tilbury for their expert and valued judging. Finally, thank you to all the teachers and parents who helped the young people throughout the competition to achieve so much.

ON THE HORIZON – Inside We bring you details of events that are due to happen as we are about to go to press. A full report will appear in our next issue and will be available online, but we want to share the excitement of the moment with you now.

Tony Iveson and CMJ – Two Legends Talk at Dartmouth House_22 Mooting Competition_22 London Debate Challenge_23 ESU Launches in Iceland_23 International Public Speaking Competition_24

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TONY IVESON AND CMJ – TWO LEGENDS TALK AT DARTMOUTH HOUSE On 19 May, renowned commentator, author and broadcaster, Christopher Martin-Jenkins MBE (‘CMJ’) gave a Dartmouth House Lunch on England’s historic Ashes win of 2010-2011. A former correspondent for the BBC, The Telegraph and The Times, Christopher spoke on England’s victory, his personal highlights and lowlights of the series and his hopes for the future of English cricket.

On 1 June, the ESU welcomed former ‘Dambuster’, Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC, to Dartmouth House for a ‘Meet the Author’ on his publication Lancaster: The Biography. Tony is a practised speaker on the history of this most famous of aircrafts, the crew that flew and maintained them and even the enemy pilots sent to destroy them. He has experience of flying his Lancaster bomber across the North Sea to sink the battleship ‘Tirpitz’ and to drop the infamous bouncing bombs on Germany’s Ruhr Valley Dam. Tony Iveson (© David Rose, Daily Telegraph)

A full report on both will appear in September’s issue.

National MOOTING COMPETITION On Thursday 23 June the semi-finals of the ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition will take place in Dartmouth House. Mooting takes the form of a mock trial along the lines of an English Appeal Court case, with two pleading lawyers on each side. The roles are filled by current UK law students. This year, the following institutions will be debating in the quarter-finals, with the winners coming forward to the semis: University of Glasgow, University of Sheffield, Birmingham City University, University of Cambridge, Cardiff University, BPP London, Kings College London, University of Reading.

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Lunch will be served afterwards in the Dartmouth House courtyard, giving you a chance to mingle with partners and barristers from Essex Court Chambers, one of England’s top barristers’ sets, the students and mooting coaches. The finals will be held at the Royal Courts of Justice in the afternoon, and are not open to the public.

The semi-finals will being at 10 am. The event is free to attend but please e-mail Steven Nolan on steven.nolan@esu.org to reserve a place by 5 pm on Monday 20 June.

LONDON DEBATE CHALLENGE The finals day of the ESU London Debate Challenge 2011 will take place on Friday 1 July. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the programme and to celebrate, the event takes place in Central Hall, Westminster. After a re-launch of the competition this year, more than 25 of the 32 London boroughs are taking part.

The LDC provides a unique opportunity to schools that are new to competitive debating to develop their students’ speaking and listening skills.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the LDC programme

A group of 15 university students, our LDC convenors, are recruiting and training state schools all over London aiming to engage as many students as possible in the programme.

The London branch has generously supported the initiative again this year. The finals day is also being sponsored

by The Week, a current affairs publication, and by the international law firm Allen & Overy, through ESU Governor Bilal Mahmood.

ESU LAUNCHES IN ICELAND On 10 June, ESU Iceland will be launched at Nordic House in the University of Iceland. Some 50 delegates from across the ESU’s international network travelled to Reykjavík to support and celebrate the launch of the ESU’s newest member. ESU Iceland, strongly supported by ESU Scotland, has developed over a number of years, starting its public speaking competition in 2010 and expanding its regular events programme. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, welcomed the delegation at a reception held at his official residence.

As part of the official launch programme, delegates took part in a round table discussion co-hosted by the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages on the topic ‘Global English: Threat or Empowerment?’

The launch programme concluded with visits to the Golden Circle and the famous Blue Lagoon.

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INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION

The welcome meeting for the 2011 IPSC demonstrated what a great group we’ve got for the 30th competition

The International Public Speaking Competition, one of the most exciting of our annual contests, took place between 23 and 27 May. As part of the programme, students attended workshops in debating and public speaking, were given a tour of the Shakespeare’s Globe and Hampton Court Palace and celebrated the 30th anniversary of the competition with an alumni dinner in Dartmouth House.

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For the first time this year, the competition involved semi-finals where students gave impromptu three-minute speeches on a topic they received 15 minutes beforehand.

The winners progressed to the grand final at HSBC headquarters in Canary Wharf.

The IPSC 30th anniversary competition will feature in the next edition of dialogue.

PROGRAMMES – Inside News and events from the programmes that the ESU runs from Dartmouth House.

ESU Membership Secretaries Day_26

Bell Tower Scholar to Chautauqua_36

Nicola Horlick Speaks from the Heart_27

Trio of Lindemann Trust Fellowships Awarded_36

Mentoring in Ghana_28

SSE: Best.Time.Ever._37

England Final of the Schools Mace_29

Inaugural National Medical Debating Competition_38

Alice and Matt on This Morning!_30

Travelling Librarian 2011_39

Clergy Scholarship Open_31 Record Entries for Marsh Biography Award_31 An Early Celebration of the Wedding of the Year_32 Machiya with Pauline Chakmakjian_32 News and Scholarships Update from the Education Department_33

Heather White-Smith on the Churchills_40 Secret Mayfair Revealed on Alumni Walking Tour_40 International Delegation Visit Hong Kong_41 How the ESU Changed My Life_42 Captain James Milton Talks on Iraq_43 All Alumni Reunion_44

DIALOGUE 25

ESU MEMBERSHIP SECRETARIES DAY Branch membership secretaries and some chairmen came to Dartmouth House on Friday 6 May to hear Narissa Nelson and Kate Bond, led by Jo Wedderspoon update them on how the new database project will affect membership administration.

After a period of difficulties with the old system, the new provider, Decisions Ltd, with their product Contact Manager (CM), are now ready to go live with a fully re-configured membership database. This process has involved several months of consultation, resulting in the clean-up of the data, consolidation of requirements of all departments of the ESU and the branches, and futureproofing the system.

Following the surveys sent to members and alumni in the September and December issues of dialogue, Jo’s team has ironed out issues including duplications, erroneous addresses or names, and memberships that have ceased.

If you have any query that you feel we have not yet resolved, please contact the team. With your continued help, we can maintain an up to date set of data. Decisions Ltd is sure that the state of the data transferred onto the CM system is now reasonable.

On 4 May, CM was launched for membership administration, followed by the addition of alumni, schools and businesses. This means that the internal administration of membership, alumni and corporate and partner membership is now running through the new system.

Operational departments of the ESU will spend the next few months designing and implementing the use of the system for all charitable activities, including the schools and universities competitions and education scholarships. By the end of the summer, members and branch administrators will be able to access their records through the ESU website.

Prospective scholars will be able to apply for ESU programmes online, individuals and organisations will be able to apply online for membership, update their record, make donations, book and pay for events.

Narissa explained how each branch will be able to access its membership list as well as the processes of membership administration. Regional Officers and post-holders will also be able to see information for their region and update news and events, keeping the ESU at Dartmouth House in the loop about their work ensuring communication is seamless and automatic.

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Jo explained that all membership administration queries including membership benefit enquiries should, in the first instance, be made to Kate Bond. In the event that Kate is not available, members should contact Jo. Narissa’s knowledge is technical, and her expertise is invaluable, especially in these first few months of integration. Any technical queries should be made to Narissa. Meriel Talbot is the contact for all other branch matters.

Kate Bond 020 7529 1571 kate.bond@esu.org Narissa Nelson 020 7529 1585 narissa.nelson@esu.org Jo Wedderspoon 020 7529 1576 jo.wedderspoon@esu.org Meriel Talbot 020 7529 1567 meriel.talbot@esu.org

The day was considered by all to be an outstanding success and being able to have lunch in a sunny courtyard was indeed a bonus.

In response to a request from one of our membership secretaries, please find the categories of membership and the appropriate subscription fees. (Figures in brackets are for payment by direct debit.)

Type of membership

London (within M25)

Non-London

Under 27 Free

Free

Free

Standard membership

£58 (£51)

£36 (£32)

65 plus

£33 (£30)

£21 (£19)

Second member at the same address

£25 (£22)

£15 (£13)

Overseas members and their family

£27 (£24)

NICOLA HORLICK SPEAKS FROM THE HEART

On 24 February, we were pleased to welcome investment fund manager and City powerhouse Nicola Horlick to give the first Dartmouth House Lunch of 2011. Nicola is a 1979 alumna of the SSE programme, attending Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire.

Following a reception and lunch, Nicola discussed the issue of ‘Women in the City’; her thoughts and reflections on the differing ways that

men and women approach the corporate world, set against the backdrop of her own 28-year career, her opinion on the lack of female representation at board level in the UK and her thoughts on women’s ultimate role in the workplace. She also shared some moving memories of her daughter, Georgina, who passed away aged 12 and from whom she said she had learnt more than she had from “any... executive” in the business world.

Over coffee, Nicola took questions from the floor, covering her thoughts on positive discrimination, the need for mentoring young professionals and advice on how best to start a company in today’s economic climate. dialogue – the podcast The ESU’s podcast covered the event in episode 2 and is available for download from iTunes and on the ESU website.

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MENTORING IN GHANA

by Clive Eley, ESU Speech and Debate mentor

Clive and Annette live on air

Arriving in hot and sunny Ghana from the cold of England, in February, was an exhilarating experience. The bustling city of Accra welcomed us with its colourful roadside stalls and manic traffic, woven into a backdrop of lush, equatorial greenery.

Our training sessions, conducted at the British Council buildings in Accra and Kumasi, reflected Ghana’s welcoming weather. The students were eager to acquire new skills and hence, the training sessions were productive and lively. Having taught speech and debate in various parts of Southern Africa and in England, I was thoroughly impressed by the abilities of the Ghanaian students.

Particularly striking was their socio-political knowledge, allowing for in-depth debates about a range of topics including the economy of Ghana and the notion of Church taxation.

Along with the training of students who will participate in the feeder competition to the ESU’s IPSC, called the Young Debaters, we were also tasked with providing support and training to adults who will act as trainers and judges for the

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competition. Through an interactive workshop process, we were able to pass on skills and knowledge that will help establish the sustainability of speech and debate in Ghana.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip, however, was being broadcast live on the Ghanaian radio stations Joy FM and Love FM, to promote the Young Debaters competition. We were given a chance to explain the merits of speech and debate in young people’s lives as well as advertise the training sessions and the competition. Evidently, people still do listen to the radio and a number of the schools signed up for training in Kumasi after hearing our stint on the radio!

Overall, the Ghana tour was a wonderful teaching experience peppered with interesting and unique cultural experiences. Second only to the wonderful Ghanaian hospitality we were shown by our hosts from the Steering Committee of ESU Ghana, was the variety of interesting foods on offer; from deep fried plantains and coconuts to spicy fish soups and fufu. When you next travel to Ghana, I suggest you arrive hungry!

ENGLAND FINAL OF THE SCHOOLS MACE by Éamon Chawke, Schools Programmes Officer

At Dartmouth House on Friday 1 April, the winner of the English Schools Mace was decided. This team subsequently went on to the Schools Mace international final, which is reported on page 10.

Three hours of intense and engaging debates left the judges with the monumental task of trying to pick one winner from six fantastic teams. Each of the 12 students who competed had already won two debates in local rounds, as well as their regional final, to get to the England final - and the standard on the night proved it. Even from my front row seat, as Chair for the evening, I had no idea which way the call would go and the panel of five judges took over an hour to decide on the winner. In the end, with a split decision of 3:2, the judges awarded the win to the team of Ben and Freddy of the London region team from St Paul’s School.

The London winners, now England winners, had to propose the motion, ‘This House would place sanctions on countries that criminalise homosexuality’. Drawing on real life examples, international law and compelling argumentation, the team wove a powerful proposition that laid a moral, ethical and practical obligation on the world to sanction anything up to 71 countries.

While this was the challenge faced by St Paul’s, the one for the judges was that the other five teams all delivered similarly impressive performances. The South region winners, Sophie and Bilal from Sevenoaks School, Kent opposed St Paul’s and raised a host of practical and legal arguments which forced Ben and Freddy onto the back foot all the way until the summary, where they gained their edge.

Also in the finals were the East and Central region winners King Edward VI Church of England Voluntary Controlled Upper School, Bury St Edmunds and King Edward’s School from near Birmingham. Oscar and Joe spoke first for King Edward VI and proposed ‘This House believes that Europe must now abandon nuclear power in favour of renewable energy’ with Henry and Frank in opposition.

With the Fukushima crisis ongoing, both teams engaged deftly with a very difficult topic, speaking with great eloquence and passion about the need to balance risks with energy security and the relative dangers of comparative industries.

The teams from the North region, St Francis Xavier’s College, Liverpool, appeared in the England final for the second time with Matt Handley and Matt Oldham having made it to the final two years ago when both were in year 11. They ‘supported the rise in tuition fees’ (never a crowd pleaser with an audience largely made up of students!), and were opposed by the West region champions Emmie and James from St John’s School and Community College, Malborough. The two teams engaged with everything from macro-economic theory to the need for graduates and the question of who benefits most, the individual or society.

The evening was made more challenging for the speakers with lively and challenging floor debates (questions from the audience) with everyone from teachers and fellow students to younger brothers and sisters and grandparents asking questions and making points.

This was a fantastic finale to the national leg of ESU Schools Mace 2010-11 with a tough final reflecting the talent and hard work that goes into this competition from students all around the country. The Speech and Debate team also wish to say a big thank you to all the teachers and parents who give up their time to coach, encourage and taxi students throughout the year.

Ben and Freddy deep in thought during the final

DIALOGUE 29

ALICE AND MATT ON THIS MORNING!

Ken McKay / Rex Features

Alice and Matt, members of the ESU’s England World Schools team, debated the value of school uniforms on ITV’s This Morning on 21 April.

Schools, see page 16), are both accomplished debaters and have taken part in many ESU and other competitions over the years.

The issue is a live one at the moment with the government worried about unruly behaviour and the debate raging about the best way to tackle this.

In a live on-air debate with hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Matt argued for the benefit of school uniforms, how they help with discipline and prepare young people mentally for the working environment of school with Alice taking the other side that uniform is restrictive and unnecessary.

Eamonn and Ruth were impressed with how articulate both Matt and Alice were.

Matt, a student at St Francis Xavier’s College in Liverpool and Alice, from Parrs Wood High School in Manchester (winners of this year’s Public Speaking Competition for

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They will be part of the four-person team, also including Greg Farquhar from The Grammar School at Leeds and Ashkay-Kishan Rohitkumar Karia from Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School, Hertfordshire, who will represent England at the World Schools Debating Championships over the summer. If school uniform comes up then we’re set!

Best of luck to them at the WSDC and well done to Matt and Alice on a great interview. You can watch them online at www.esu.org

CLERGY SCHOLARSHIP OPEN Applications are open for the American Memorial Chapel Travel Grant for members of the clergy. The grant is ÂŁ1,800 a year, which can be given to one candidate or spread across several at the discretion of the interview panel.

It can be used for travel anywhere in the United States. Past scholars have used the grant to finance a very wide range of projects, from research for a PhD to exploring the international development of parish nursing.

The late Lord Baillieu, who was Chairman and Deputy President of the English-Speaking Union for 19 years starting in the 1950s, was closely associated with the American Memorial Chapel in St Paul’s Cathedral, which commemorates the British and American servicemen and women who gave their lives during the Second World War.

It was agreed that the monies remaining after this project was completed should be given to the Educational Trust of the ESU, to hold as a separate fund which acknowledged the American Memorial Chapel as its source and to use the net income to enable the exchange of clergy between the UK and USA for educational purposes.

The exchange began in the spring of 1968 with a visit to the USA by a British clergyman. The aim of the grant is to foster understanding and the exchange of ideas between clergy of all denominations, in this country and in the USA.

The deadline for applications is 15 June with interviews taking place on 12 July.

RECORD ENTRIES FOR MARSH BIOGRAPHY AWARD

The Marsh Biography Award is a biennial prize given to the best biography written by a British author and first published in the UK during the last two years. Judges are looking for a work that is historically important, records significant human achievement and is representative of the highest standards of written English and serious research.

This year, we have had an overwhelming number of entries on a broad range of subjects from Trotsky to Churchill and Anne Boleyn to Frank Sinatra. With over 100 submissions, we are indebted to all the volunteer reviewers who are currently reading biographies to help us narrow them down to a shortlist. Finalists will be announced by the end of July, and the winner in October.

DIALOGUE 31

AN EARLY CELEBRATION OF THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR

Watching another very famous bride

Young alumni of the SSE programme

Taking in the atmosphere of Dartmouth House

On 27 April, the ESU held a house party in honour of the marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton. With bunting aplenty, we welcomed 38 guests from ESU US who had flown into London for a week-long celebration ahead of the nuptials. They were joined by UK

members and alumni from many of our educational programmes including SSE, the Walter Hines Page scholarship and Capitol Hill internship programmes.

a selection of typically British canapés and footage of past royal weddings played on screens throughout the evening. ESU Chairman Emeritus Lord Watson of Richmond welcomed guests and raised a toast to the happy couple.

With a glass of Pimm’s in hand, guests were in excited as they were treated to

MACHIYA WITH PAULINE CHAKMAKJIAN In March, ESU members were treated to a talk at Dartmouth House on Machiya - traditional forms of Japanese architecture found mainly in central Kyoto, the old capital of Japan. Pauline Chakmakjian, a committee member of ESU London Region, who is also a Trustee of the Japan Society of the UK, spoke about the various unique architectural features specific to these charming homes as well as a background into the lifestyle of Kyotoites from the past and present.

Machiya are combination residential and business premises for the merchants of Kyoto. These elegant townhouses, made mostly of wood and clay, have private client rooms where guests would be entertained with geisha, koto concerts, Noh drama, medieval fan games and other delights. Many Machiya also possess tea ceremony rooms where the merchants would invite their clients and guests as gestures of their respect and hospitality. Perhaps the most

DIALOGUE 32

striking feature of machiya are the tsubo niwa (interior gardens), which can appear as a refreshing surprise behind sliding doors.

Thank you to the ESU London region for organising Pauline’s talk.

NEWS AND SCHOLARSHIPS UPDATE FROM THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Kate McCulloch, Head of Education

Congratulations to Kate McCulloch on her promotion to Head of Education. Kate has been with the ESU for nearly three years, starting as Branches and Education Assistant and proving her invaluable worth in a range of programme administration roles before taking the helm from Katherine Plummer and Gillian Parker late last year. Kate is assisted by Jen Luk.

Spring has been busy for the Education department as we have held interviews for many of our scholarships and grants. With such a wide variety of programmes we have met a range of applicants and are pleased to announce the following people will be taking up ESU scholarships in 2011-12.

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Secondary School Exchange

UK scholars

SSE offers a once in a life time opportunity to spend two or three academic terms in a private American or Canadian high school postcompletion of A Levels, or a UK boarding school after graduation from High School for US candidates.

John Balchan

Fifteen US scholars will be arriving in the UK in September to begin their year at a British school.

going to Rossall School, Lancashire from Ohio Andreas Bierkert

going to Dollar Academy, Scotland from Connecticut Andrea Canacci

going to St Peter’s School, York from Indiana Benjamin Crocker

going to Rydal Penrhos School, North Wales from Connecticut True DeBolt

going to St Bees School, Cumbria from Pennsylvania Matthew Jadovich

going to Cheltenham College, Gloucestershire from Connecticut Hannah Lugg

going to Cobham Hall, Kent from Pennsylvania 1.

Robert McKinnis

going to Wells Cathedral School, Somerset from Indiana Dixon Moore

going to The Royal School, Surrey from Virginia Rebecca Nash

going to The Godolphin School, Wiltshire from Indiana 2.

Emily Norris

going to Harrogate Ladies’ College, North Yorkshire from Illinois Ivy Parry

going to Haberdasher’s Monmouth School for Girls’, Wales from California Taylor Peterson

going to Ashford School, Kent from Minnesota Emily Schultz

going to St Teresa’s School, Surrey from Pennsylvania Trent Wilson

going to Culford School, Suffolk from Connecticut DIALOGUE 34

The UK scholars heading to the US in September are currently getting organised with visas and flights and they are: Jessica Caie (image 1)

going to St Mary’s Episcopal School, Memphis, Tennessee from Larbert, Scotland James Carter

going to The Lovett School, Atlanta, Georgia from Hexham, Northumberland Laura Davies (image 2)

going to Tabor Academy, Massachusetts from Newport, Shropshire Rachel Harris (image 3)

going to Hutchison School, Memphis, Tennessee from Alcester, Warwickshire Matthew Johnson

going to Avon Old Farms, Connecticut from Stirling, Scotland Ryan MacMahon

going to The Lawrenceville School, New Jersey from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland Meadhbh McVeigh

going to Culver Girls’ Academy, Indiana from Belfast, Northern Ireland Joanna Odling

going to Western Reserve Academy, Ohio from Coulsdon, Surrey David Protheroe

going to Memphis University School, Memphis, Tennessee from London They will be coming to Dartmouth House in July for a briefing day where they will have the chance to meet each other again and get tips and advice from SSE alumni who have just come back from the US.

For more information on the SSE see www.esu.org/sse. Two-term applications from January 2012 open Summer 2011, deadline 19 September 2011.

Walter Hines Page Scholarship

This year’s scholars are:

The Walter Hines Page scholarship offers teachers the unique opportunity to explore and exchange educational ideas between Britain and America.

Scholars are able to travel to the USA to study an aspect of education which is relevant to their own professional interests and development, and have the opportunity to stay with US branch members during their time in the USA.

Joy Donaldson from Enfield, London

Anita Bradshaw from Cowes, Isle of

will be investigating the relationship between speech, language, communication development and literacy and the impact the curriculum, practitioners’ skills and parental involvement have upon facilitating language and literacy in elementary schools. Joy is currently a Primary Teaching & Learning Consultant at Camden Local Authority.

Wight will be exploring how early signs/diagnoses of Sensory Processing Disorder are picked up in the US, the information and guidance given to teachers and how learning environments are modified as a consequence. Anita is currently a Special Needs teacher at St George’s School, Newport, Isle of Wight.

Lydia Rushton from Salford,

3.

Manchester will be looking into the way in which Newly-Qualified Teachers (NQT’s) are supported within their first year of teaching and what Career Professional Development (CPD) is involved. She will be doing a cross-comparison UK-US study to identify innovative methodology and best practice. Lydia is Head of Department and teacher of Sociology at Pendleton Sixth Form Centre, part of Salford City College.

Caroline Godin from Holmfirth, West

Yorkshire will be investigating the Early Years sector – in particular what constitutes a high quality environment and how this impacts upon the outcomes for children in Early Years provision. Caroline teaches at Crosland Moor Children’s Centre in Huddersfield.

4.

Claire Elliott (image 4) from Lancaster

will look at the provision for Social, Moral and Cultural Education (SMSC) and Social/Community Cohesion in the US and to research how aspects of SMSC are delivered through – and outside – the curriculum. Claire is Head of Religious Education at Penwortham Girls’ High School near Preston.

Roger Jones from Southampton will

examine school policies and strategies for alleviating, monitoring and challenging homophobic bullying and facilitating personal development in US High Schools and multi-agencies such as the American GLB Education Network. He will be exploring, with Dr Jon Lasser at University of South-West Texas, ways of teacher training on visibility management and antihomophobia training. Roger is Acting Head of English at Taunton College near Southampton.

Sheila Cook from Haltwhistle,

Northumberland plans to look at how enterprise and entrepreneurship education can contribute to rural revitalisation and enable young people to stay in their local area, the benefits of enterprise and entrepreneurship education for both the community and the young learners and how it enhances post-education options for young people. Sheila is currently Enterprise Co-ordinator at Haydon Bridge High School, Northumberland.

These scholarships are sponsored by the teaching unions, ATL, NASUWT and NUT. For more information on the Walter Hines Page scholarship see www.esu. org/walterhines

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BELL TOWER SCHOLAR TO CHAUTAUQUA Each year, one teacher is chosen to attend the Chautauqua Institution in New York to take part in its summer programme. The award recipient has an opportunity to enjoy a wide range of courses, lectures and events usually in the fields or art, music, literature, education, business, religion and international relations.

This year’s Bell Tower Scholar is Nicky Donley from Bourne, Lincolnshire, Headteacher of Kirton Primary School. She is excited by the educational, intellectual, creative and spiritual challenges afforded by Chautauqua and looking forward to her trip in late June 2011.

For more information on the Chautauqua scholarship see www.esu.org/chautauqua

TRIO OF LINDEMANN TRUST FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED

Simon Sprague

Shelley Wickham

The Lindemann Trust Fellowship was established under the will of Brigadier Charles Lionel Lindemann who directed that his residuary estate should be used to provide income for the provision of Fellowships in the Physical Sciences to be awarded by the English-Speaking Union on behalf of the trust. Brigadier Lindemann wished to assist men and women with outstanding potential to become distinguished scholars or teachers in their chosen field.

Simon Sprague from University of Oxford studying at Stanford University, California

Interviews were held to find this year’s scholars on 12 April and three fellowships were awarded:

For more information on the Lindemann Trust Fellowship see www.esu.org/lindemann

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Nora Vyas from King’s College, London studying at the Child Psychiatry Department in the National Institutes of Health in Maryland Shelley Wickham from University of Oxford studying at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts

SSE: BEST.TIME.EVER

Whilst the SSE scholars are away, we keep in regular contact with them to make sure they are enjoying their time. Recently we received a great update from current scholar Ashley Alexander-Birch. Rather than trying to get the tone of Ashley’s description of her time in the US across through a summary of her experiences, we thought it would be better to just show you her email update in its original form.

“Hiya, okay I am so sorry I haven’t sent you any pictures [recently]... it has been CRAZY, I am literally about to hide my passport and not come home... I have LOADS of pictures to send to you...and thank you so much for sending me to the most safe place IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW (sarcasm) aha...at this point in time the

Mississippi is flooding, so many houses are under water...and about two weeks ago we nearly died in a tornado...I have some pictures of this for you!

We just came back from Memphis in May Music Fest, which was the best thing I have ever DONE EVER. #kesha #ludacris #b.o.b #macy gray #MGMT #cee lo green...

I pushed my way through the whole crowd being like ‘Guys I’m English, I have come all the way from London to see these people..some let me through other’s didn’t, but we sorted that out..’ ahah, it was so much fun!, and the Grizzlies are in the play offs right now,

and some guys invited me to go in their box, WHICH.WAS. INCREDIBLE So I have some cool pictures of that... they’re a bit crazy, but they are funny :) I have so many photos, I don’t know how I am going to be able to show them all. and I would love to be at their briefing to help them, I mean I live in/near London so it’s not so hard for me to get there, and I have SO MANY wonderful things to say about this exchange!, and I have emailed Rachel, who is the girl coming next year, and am helping her out with her questions and stuff, she is so LUCKAAAY ergh.

Thanks :)”

DIALOGUE 37

INAUGURAL NATIONAL MEDICAL DEBATING COMPETITION

by Dr Thomas Kelley, Academic Junior Doctor, Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School

There were debates throughout the day, ranging from compulsory organ donation to banning alternative medicine.

There is very little emphasis on debating in the undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula in the UK however, there is no doubt that debating is an essential skill for medical students and doctors. Not only do we use this skill every day of our working lives, but if we are to rise to the challenge, and play an increasing role in healthcare management and leadership, then we must be able to discuss, public speak and most of all debate effectively.

SayIt has been established in conjunction with the English-Speaking Union (ESU) to increase the exposure that medical students and junior doctors have to debating. The programme aims to educate and to provide opportunities for competitive debate. We have run a series of education days and recently, a national

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medical debating competition. This took place on 12 March at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, bringing together medical students and junior doctors from across the UK. The day began with an inspiring keynote speech delivered by the Chair of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit, Professor David Pencheon, who explained why he thought doctors should be involved with debating.

Following this, there were debates throughout the day, ranging from compulsory organ donation to banning alternative medicine, culminating in an exciting final between Liverpool on the proposition and UCL on the opposition on the motion ‘This House would privatise the National Health Service’. The winner was the team from UCL. We all had a fantastic day, meeting interesting people, debating

topical issues and developing important skills.

Our programme is now beginning to realise its initial aims, which are to educate students and doctors and to enable them to put the skills they learn into practice by competing. We hope to expand the programme so that debating becomes an important part of all medical schools, because, after all, there are many contentious medical issues that we, as medical professionals, should be debating.

Finally, the ESU has been instrumental in the success of this programme, providing expert advice and great support before, during and after our events. We are grateful for their support and hope to hold an even bigger Medical Debating Competition next year.

Travelling Librarian 2011

Jane Rawson, the 2011 Travelling Librarian (left) and

David Clover, joint 2010 Travelling Librarian, sharing details of

Jo McCausland, 2010 at the reception.

his US trip.

The Travelling Librarian reception on 19 May saw Jo McCausland and David Clover the 2010 recipients give heartfelt presentations about their experiences.

David Clover, Institute of Commonwealth Studies Librarian and Senior Academic Liaison Librarian at Senate House Library spoke on his research on ‘Servicing Caribbean Studies’, which took him to ten academic libraries in Florida, Illinois and New York.

Jo McCausland, a freelance consultant currently working on the refurbishment of Manchester City Library, spent a month in the US researching ‘The importance of people: an exploration of staff deployment in US public libraries’. Her research took her from the East Coast through Utah to California and she also attended two international conferences.

In attendance was the 2011 winner Jane Rawson, Librarian from the Vere Harmsworth Library at the University of Oxford, with subject responsibility for US Studies, who is planning to visit the US in September to investigate research collections. We look forward to her talk at next year’s reception.

As always, the reception was well attended by former Travelling Librarians and supporters of the award and the 2010 recipient sent his apologies as he has just arrived in New Zealand to take up his new job as Academic Liaison Manager at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, a position he suggested he acquired largely as the result of his research in the US.

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Heather-White Smith on the Churchills We welcomed Heather White-Smith to Dartmouth House on 6 April for the third in our current series of Meet the Author events.

Heather, the former private secretary to Sir Winston and Lady Clementine Churchill and author of My Years with the Churchills: a Young Girl’s Memories, discussed her time working at 10 Downing Street from the age of 17 after graduating from Mrs Hoster’s Secretarial College.

Heather shared her memories of her time in office shadowing the greatest living Englishman, his family, friends, and world-famous visitors as well as her daily duty of looking after Lady Clementine Churchill. From shopping for ball-gown material, to trips to the theatre, to the unruly behaviour of Winston Churchill’s budgerigar Toby, Heather talked fondly of her time with the Churchills.

SECRET MAYFAIR REVEALED ON ALUMNI WALKING TOUR

Richard Reddaway imparts secrets

The first of our newly launched quarterly Alumni Open Houses was a wonderful success. Alumni met at Dartmouth House where they were introduced to Richard Reddaway, SSE alumnus, tour guide and previous Chair of the City of Westminster Guide Lecturers Association. Richard then led a fascinating tour of Mayfair, stopping to give insightful details into the past and present of this historical area of London. Having graduated from Oxford with a degree in History, he was in a prime position to do so and his love for the subject certainly enthused all guests.

street of stables but now buildings here easily go for millions. Also en route was Guy Ritchie’s pub The Punch Bowl, the wonderful Church of the Immaculate Conception on Farm Street, a spot of window shopping was also had outside T. Goode & Co. Ltd on South Audley Street. The story of the evening was told outside Annabel’s on Berkeley Square where it is said once in 1986 two women, dressed as a police woman and traffic warden, were refused entry as there was a Club policy of ‘no uniforms’. The ladies were Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson.

The group was led through Shepherd’s Market where the site of the historic May Fair can be found. We were taken past Hays Mews which, as the name suggests, was once a

Richard will be curating a Mayfair Literary Walk for alumni in September – please see diary dates for more details.

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INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION VISIT HONG KONG

by Mary Nugent, Hong Kong delegation team leader

In late February, a five-strong team set out for the annual ESU delegation to Hong Kong. For the first time, the make-up of the delegation had a truly international dimension, with three UK mentors joined by two from ESU Malaysia. The two-week long delegation was delivered through a partnership with ESU Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Education Bureau.

The delegation delivered workshops to high school students across Hong Kong, introducing them to debating and public speaking. The student workshops were highly interactive, beginning with a show debate, working through exercises to develop speech and argumentation skills, culminating in the students using their newly learnt skills by participating in a debate themselves. They got to discuss a whole range of topics, from school uniform to to capital punishment.

The delegation also delivered a number of training sessions for teachers, equipping them with the skills they need to be able to use debating and speaking exercises in the classroom and as an extra-curricular activity, to enhance the learning experience of hundreds of students in Hong Kong.

“My overall experience was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the work we were doing, and felt like we were really helping to promote speech and debate.

I learned tons myself and think I became a much better teacher over the course of the tour.” Sebastian Osborn, UK mentor

The delegation reached around 500 school children, and over 100 teachers.

The workshops got excellent feedback, and the mentors found the students to be incredibly receptive and keen to learn. This enthusiastic reaction, coupled with the chance to explore an incredible city, made the experience an unforgettable one for the lucky delegation.

The five delegates were: Mary Nugent Eoin Kilkenny Roopi Lakhiani Jagdish Bain Sebastian Osborn

“It was an enriching learning experience as squad members shared our best practices with one another.

The ESU Hong Kong and the Education Department were very gracious hosts.” Jagdish Bain, mentor, ESU Malaysia.

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HOW THE ESU CHANGED MY LIFE

by Advik Goorah, International Public Speaking Competition Mauritius Participant 2010

In the last edition of dialogue, we heard from a finalist in the International Public Speaking Competition from Mauritius. Here we have the view of the 2010 participant as we are about to rack up another year (the 30th!) of alumni from the IPSC. A report on this year’s competition will feature in the September edition of dialogue.

“I discovered the world with you guys,” those were the last words I said to the friends I had made at the ESU International Public Speaking Competition. I am sure all of my friends all over the world will tell you the same thing: this competition is not a conventional one, where everyone is obsessed with the idea of winning; it is the creation of lifelong friendships. I cannot be grateful enough to the ESU for what they’ve done for me, whether it is in Mauritius or in England.

Winning the national public speaking competition is one of my greatest achievements, if the not the greatest, and besides winning, I have acquired a great deal of self-confidence.

I am normally good at my studies and most of the time my results are satisfactory, but something lacking was an extracurricular activity where I could prove myself, and it turned out to be public speaking. Even though I had taken part in educational television programmes in primary school, facing a camera had nothing to do with facing an audience. Initially, my interest in the national competition was only for my curriculum vitae, DIALOGUE 42

because my teachers always stressed that such activities are highly favourable for scholarships and admissions at universities. In fact, I am the first Lower 6 student to take part in this competition from my school, College du Saint Esprit, because it was believed that Upper 6 students had greater maturity and suited the criteria of the competition better. However, my strong desire to participate resulted in selections being made at school, with me as the youngest participant. When I knew that I was selected, I was immensely happy. I wanted to make my speeches different from others by their humour and originality. The topics of my speeches varied from laughter, to the sense of smell and finally designer babies. One of the biggest surprises that this public speaking competition brought to me, was that it made me realise that I could face an audience, speak loudly and full of enthusiasm without fear, and surprisingly, at the same, time enjoy myself fully. I’ve often heard people say that they’d rather die than speak in public. Nevertheless, owing to the ESU which has made me realise my potential, public speaking for me is not a phobia like for many people, it’s a state of euphoria: it’s even spiritual.

My belief is that public speaking does not involve merely the speaker, the speech and the audience. There is something I feel that connects me with the audience, that makes us so familiar and friendly to one another and I believe it’s a spiritual link. I am also very grateful to the ESU for their

mind-blowing organisation of the IPSC. Handling the pressure, when you are representing your country on an international level, is not an easy task.

Friday 21 May 2010 was the day the competition was held; the heats in the morning were much easier to handle because of the smaller audience and relaxing atmosphere prevailing. For me, just taking part in the international competition was a great honour and privilege. When the finalists were announced and I heard my name amongst them, I just could not believe that I would take part in the grand final held in the prestigious HSBC building in Canary Wharf. The six finalists had to rush to Canary Wharf with Annette Fisher, because we were expected to arrive first. There, in the building, was a special room for the finalists with food and drinks. We all were still very apprehensive and some time before the competition started, we all went in a corner to prepare ourselves mentally. Then, we entered a hall, already full, with cameras filming us: at that moment I felt great pride and was very happy to represent my country once again in the finals.

I spoke fifth and surprisingly, I did not feel any usual stage fright. My speech was well-received by the audience who understood its underlying humorous parts and at the same time, grasped the message I wanted to convey. The speech was entitled ‘Designer Babies: from Homo sapiens to Homo futurus’: it dealt with genetic engineering of

Winning the national public speaking competition is one of my greatest achievements, if the not the greatest, and besides winning, I have acquired a great deal of self-confidence. embryos and the future of humanity.

Many of my friends told me I had a good chance of winning because my speech was enjoyable. Even though I did not win, just being a world finalist and competing against 45 countries is such a great achievement for me. After the results were announced, I went to take my certificate of participation and something I did not expect at all happened: the entire audience stood up and applauded me, and that was my first standing ovation ever. At that moment, I felt an indescribable pleasure because I was glad that the audience appreciated me and wanted to manifest their appreciation in that way. For a public speaker, what counts the most is not himself or his speech; it’s the audience he is talking to. The

biggest gift a public speaker can get is seeing his engrossed audience laughing, enjoying themselves and responding positively. The most difficult thing for someone, who is addressing an audience to do, is to keep the latter attentive and alert until the end of the speech. Some of my speeches took several days to write because I wanted to make them simple, captivating, unconventional and above all, make the audience participate.

The competition was on the last day and during a whole week prior to that, we visited places like the BBC, Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, and debated in Kensington Palace, where Lady Diana once resided. We also had dinner in restaurants all over London.

One night we went for karaoke and

bowling and another day we watched a classic play, The Woman in Black, which I avidly recommend to everyone who likes a good dose of adrenaline from time to time. Besides the great fun I had, I was able to share my culture and show my country to South Americans, North Americans, Africans, Europeans and Asians. I learnt how different people are, but at the same time, how very similar they can be. I certainly gained in maturity and experience thanks to the competition, and the IPSC was a life enhancing experience that I will never forget. The week in London was like sailing across the oceans of the world, relishing every single moment, and I indeed discovered the world with all the wonderful people I met there.

CAPTAIN JAMES MILTON TALKS ON IRAQ: PODCAST EPISODE 3 At the end of March, the ESU welcomed James Milton to Dartmouth House for a talk on the lessons that can be learned from the Anglo-American intervention in Iraq.

James, a former officer in the British Army, performed three tours of Iraq where he later qualified as an Arabic Interpreter and Intelligence Officer.

He discussed the difficulties and dangers that greeted the Iraq mission and the government shortcomings that surrounded the military campaign from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground. He was able to also share his thoughts on the current conflict in the Middle-East and the future of the Libyan dictatorship.

The talk is available to listen to online at www.esu.org, or download on iTunes.

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ALL ALUMNI REUNION

On Tuesday 17 May, the ESU held its annual All Alumni Reunion. The highlight alumni event of the year saw a wonderful mix of alumni back at Dartmouth House to reconnect with the ESU and each other. With representation from a wide range of programmes spanning six decades and even a couple of guests from across the pond, the event was very well attended. Guests enjoyed conversation over Pimm’s and canapés against a back drop of photos of alumni since the ESU opened its doors in 1918.

Speeches were made Kate Bond, Membership and Alumni Officer, and Roderick Chamberlain, SSE alumnus and ESU Governor. Kate spoke of the ESU’s aims to provide people from all countries, all walks of life and all abilities with the chance to express themselves. She added that crucially it is

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our members and alumni who support these aims through raising money and donating invaluable contacts for our charitable work. Kate also reiterated that her door is always open if alumni or members have any comments or queries, if they feel they can help the ESU with an idea for an event or with a contact for sponsorship, if they would like to hold a reunion or simply get back in touch with those they remember from their time at the ESU. Roderick then thanked the ESU for putting on the event as well as for the ESU’s positive influence on so many lives. He said wisely it is not what the ESU does for you as an alumnus but rather who it helps you become.

Please visit ESU.org/alumni to keep up to date with events, news and stories.

BRANCHES – Inside The UK branches of the ESU provide a stimulating range of events and programmes often inspiring ESU DH to turn local endeavours into national ones.

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North West_54

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London_58 Wales_58 South_59 South West_59 ESU membership benefits_64 Regional Diary_65

An important date for your diary!

The 2011 Branches’ Conference will be held from Friday 14 – Sunday 16 October at the delightful Cheltenham Park Hotel, a traditional Georgian manor house, located only two miles from the centre of the beautiful spa town of Cheltenham.

Conference events will take place inside the hotel and there will be several optional excursions on the Saturday afternoon, including a visit to Highgrove. The Opening Dinner will offer a musical entertainment and the Gala Dinner a guest speaker.

Set in outstanding gardens with a small lake, the hotel offers a wonderful mix of old with new so you can enjoy the best of facilities and service in a stunning country setting. There is a large car park.

For more details contact Meriel Talbot at Dartmouth House, or fill in the enclosed application form. The cost for a full delegate will be £299.

020 7529 1567 meriel_talbot@esu.org DIALOGUE 45

REVIEW The Journey of the ESU This book is such a fascinating history of one man’s dream of international peace, friendship and understanding being achieved by the use and spread of the English language that I could hardly put it down.

It begins with the birth of Evelyn Wrench and traces his career from becoming a teenage millionaire and then, as so often happens with whizz kids, bankrupt and having to take a job as a journalist on The Daily Mail (where, as the editor of the overseas edition, he had great opportunities to travel to North America). Political tensions leading to World War I made him believe that it was essential for the future of Western Civilization that Britain and the Commonwealth countries must bond closely with the United States, which could be done through the common language, English. Evelyn Wrench founded the English-Speaking Union in 1918 and the ESU of America followed in 1920.

Since then English has become the language of Science, Aviation and much else in countries where it is not the first language. I clearly recall the speech made by the Duke of Edinburgh in the 1950s (mentioned on page 58) to promote the use of English internationally as a priority.

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The role of the Duke of Edinburgh as President has been invaluable to the development of the ESU and this is made very clear by the author as he traces the Duke’s active support and help over 50 years, with many relevant and interesting extracts from his speeches and letters.

Union” but the branches have been undervalued for a long time even though membership is essential for the ESU and the first thing Evelyn Wrench did after forming the organisation was to recruit members himself, as the author points out early in the book.

Although I have been a member for 57 years, I had not heard of some of the educational programmes and awards until I had read this book and I think other readers will be as surprised as I was. It is not to the credit of the ESU that members are often ill-informed about many of these awards, who is eligible for them and how they can be applied for. Unfortunately the book does not really answer some of these questions either and the chapter on the educational programmes is rather a catalogue of names and activities without much explanation as to who has done what and when.

The development of overseas branches in countries other than native English speakers has gone on apace and there is a long list of participating countries. However there is no news as to what has happened to these branches after formation even though the descriptions as to how many of them were started are a fascinating commentary on European and World politics.

The chapter on the Alumni was interesting and it is good that the ESU is at long last beginning to gather them in and expect a return for the wonderful opportunities that they have had. Privileges and responsibilities go together.

Chapter Eight is entitled “ESU Branches” and includes experiences of some members. I felt this was a rather patronising chapter particularly as a quote from Valerie Mitchell at the beginning states “the membership is the bedrock of the English-Speaking

Every member will be entranced with this book, but to appeal to a wider audience perhaps some of the detail might be omitted.

P.A. Cook, Chairman York and District Branch

OBITUARIES Veronica McVey Veronica McVey died suddenly and unexpectedly on 7 May 2011. She was a huge supporter of the EnglishSpeaking Union. She founded the first branch in a non-Commonwealth country in Munich, Germany, in 1982 and also founded the Hastings (1066) Branch in 1985. She served two terms on the ESU Board of Governors from 1996-2002 and was Deputy Chairman of the National Council of England and Wales. During her time as Governor, and afterwards, she was instrumental in encouraging and supporting the launches of ESUs in Central and Eastern Europe and was an active contributor at ESU world conferences. Her vitality and enthusiasm were enormous and she was a superb public speaker as well as being a regular judge at the ESU Public Speaking and Shakespeare competitions. She was a former of English, drama and public speaking, having studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Drama.

She was a board member of the Sir William Beveridge Foundation, the City of London College, chairman of the UK Souvenir Normande and an active member of the European Atlantic Movements, the Mid-Atlantic Club, the Atlantic Council and the British German Association.

Her family is setting up a Memorial Grant in Veronica’s memory which will provide an award or scholarship connected to the work of the ESU – they hope to inaugurate the grant later this year.

Veronica will be very much missed, not only by her family but by all her friends at the ESU.

BRANCHES EAST REGION At a time when young people tend to get such a bad press that Jamie Oliver has produced a series of TV programmes to try to instil an interest in learning in a group of teenage underachievers, at the other end of the youthful spectrum, the students who took part in the East Region’s Schools’ Public-Speaking Competition Final on the 12th March, were brilliant of their mastery of the subjects and in their general demeanour.

Thanks to the good offices of Professor Brian Johnson, President of Cambridge Welland Valley Branch of the E-SU, the competition was held in the splendid setting of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, of which he is a former Master. The final was meticulously organised by Stephen Roberts, our Regional Officer and the Chairman of the Cambridge Welland Branch, Ann Carley, had worked hard to obtain generous support from Fitzwilliam College, Churchill, Emmanuel, Trinity and St. John’s Colleges, Cambridge University Press, John Lewis and the Cambridge Building Society, to fund the event.

Even the sun shone, the buffet lunch was appreciated and a fine crowd of parents, E-SU members and wellwishers gathered to enjoy the afternoon.

The participating schools were Wellingborough School, representing Cambridge Welland Valley Branch, the Gilberd School for Colchester, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys School representing Hertfordshire, Wymondham College for Norfolk Branch, Redbourne Community College representing Ouse Valley Westcliff High School for Boys for Southend-on-Sea Branch and the Royal Hospital School for Suffolk.

Every one of the speakers showed that they had thoroughly researched and understood their subject, which was now presented with clarity and a maturity of vision that held the audience’s attention. Throughout the Final there was a thread of vibrancy and good humour that captivated everyone there.

We were lucky that last year’s judges were able to come again and they agreed that the competitors were now of a higher standard than ever.

Professor Bill Forster, OBE, lately of the University of Leeds, said that oratory should be brought into the curriculum and that personality, style and balance should always be considered on occasions such as this.

Mark Jefferies, managing director of a schools fundraising consultancy, congratulated the teams on giving us a truly impressive, fantastic exposition of their talents and flawless examples of what young people can do. Rachel Lawrence, writer and actress, said that the questioners had the most difficult task, to keep the energy going, to create a vibrant dialogue but not to let it deteriorate into a duel. A range of questions need to be produced very quickly and questioners must be prepared to change tack if need be without being diverted from the subject.

In presenting the prizes, Alexander Finnis, ESU Governor and the East Region’s President, said this had been the Final with the highest standard ever. The ESU has a long tradition of encouraging young people to reach their full potential. Every teammember today was a winner in reaching this stage of the competition and should go home pleased with their achievements. He said that these are aspirational and motivated young people who deserve to do well in life.

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BRANCHES The Winner’s Cup was awarded to Wellingborough School, (which had never before taken part in the competition), its team of Sharim Saeed, Will Merry and Toby Fordyce, having displayed well-rounded teamwork as well as individual accomplishment. Wymondham High School took the Runners-Up award.

Sharim Saeed of Wellingborough School won the Chairperson’s Prize, what he had to say being unscripted, natural and finely balanced to include both the team and the audience.

Gabriel Chiu of Wymondham College had shown both far-sightedness and erudition when speaking on “Nuclear power is the only realistic future energy source” and took the Speaker’s Prize. In-depth questions had quickly been found by Oliver Large, also of Wymondham College and his thoughtful approach had impressed the judges to award him the Questioner’s Prize.

The prize for Personality of the Year was given to Joshua Kelly of Westcliff High School for Boys. With his flamboyant rejection of the proposition that “Shakespeare is irrelevant to the youth of today”, he could well be a reincarnation of one of the King’s Men of Shakespeare’s own time!

The East Region Chairman, Leo Hamilton-Hoole, in thanking the judges for so kindly advising the students, gave each of them a bottle of wine and the splendid compère for the day, Stephen Roberts, received a bottle of Pimms.

While leaving, several of the parents spoke of their appreciation that their teenagers had been able to take part in such a worthwhile competition.

Teachers too were pleased that their own commitment and enthusiasm had

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produced such creditable results. And the rest of us? We were walking upon air – thankful that the E-SU continues to put on such splendid events and that the students of today are young people of whom we are proud.

Cambridge Welland Valley

The Cambridge Heat and Uppingham Heat of the Public Speaking Competition for Schools were both well supported this year and well attended by family supporters and friends. Three schools went through to the Branch Final at Oakham Castle from Uppingham and two teams from the Cambridge. The standard improved each time and Wellingborough School were the final winners and went on to represent the Branch at the Regional Final held at Fitzwilliam College on 12 March.

We joined Wellingborough School at this final and were well rewarded when they won both the “Best Team” prize, and the Best Chairperson. As usual, a very worthwhile and enjoyable competition, with a very high standard of performance by all those taking part.

Mr Patrick Spottiswoode, Director Globe Education at The Globe

Theatre, was guest speaker at the Shakespeare Birthday Lunch held at Tolethorpe Hall, home of the Stamford Shakespeare Company, Lincolnshire on Friday 15th April.

The title of Patrick’s talk was “Shakespeare’s Words, Shakespeare’s Globe”, and he managed to hold his audience with magical charm throughout his most interesting and entertaining discourse. He described how Shakespeare had added depth to our language by introducing Latin and Greek words which gave a new dimension to our previously more simple language of mostly one syllable words. This meeting was well supported on a glorious spring day, and the vote of thanks was given by Miss Caroline Windsor.

The Bridge Lunch to take place on Tuesday 10 May was been well supported and is proving to be a popular event in our calendar.

The Annual Picnic and Play this year takes place on Wednesday 15 June, when members will look forward to a production of A Winter’s Tale.

Colchester and Northeast Essex

The branch organised Question Time, in the format of the BBC television programme of the same name, at Colchester English Study Centre in the evening of Wednesday, 27 April.

The panel comprised students of the Centre from Germany and Saudi Arabia, chosen for their advanced level of spoken English. They faced a mixed audience of fellow learners and ESU supporters, among whom was the Secretary of the East Region, Margaret Furst. Questions were asked on various topics including personal freedom and languages, which led to an interesting exchange with the audience about studying Chinese.

During the interval international students were able to interact with native speakers. Branch Secretary Chris Newton welcomed guests on arrival and Chairman Brian Cooke was the presenter for the event.

Two of the International Schools’ Public Speaking Competition contestants who were hosted by Colchester branch in 2003 called to see Geraldine and David Watson, the former Chairman and Treasurer respectively, in Dedham in March.

Andro Daesavelidze from Georgia and Lena Sakura from Latvia got married in 2005 and are living in Ealing until August this year, where they are working to support Andro’s ambitions in writing.

Epping Forest

Question Time Panelists

With great sadness, the branch learned of the death of Lt Col Jock Neighbour on 18 April, aged 91. A former chairman of the branch, he was a stalwart supporter of the ESU and a great friend to many local members.

Jock was also a memorably generous host at his delightful Nayland home together with his wife Pamela to whom we extend our deepest sympathies.

In March we had the pleasure of welcoming Dudley Chignall once again to speak to us - this time on “Beatrice Potter – The Lake District, her Art and Inspiration”. We knew from past experience what a highly talented photographer he is but this time he demonstrated his remarkable skills with Power Point as well. Apart from beautiful views of the Lake District, the most fascinating aspect of the morning was the way he also proved without any doubt at all that Beatrice Potter did indeed base all her charming drawings on life itself. This he achieved by showing a photograph of a scene (inside or outside a building) on which he then superimposed the character the story was about. He then split the screen to show the drawing from the book and in each case they were exactly the same. This was combined with animated versions of Jemima Puddleduck and Peter Rabbit running on and off the screen at inopportune moments and trying to get in on the act. This may sound somewhat childish to those who have not seen it, but it was so skillfully done it was a most successful and entertaining presentation.

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BRANCHES

Also in March we enjoyed one of our favourite events – a visit to the Royal Festival Hall, this time for a screening of Rupert Julian’s classic 1925 silent film “The Phantom of the Opera” accompanied by Carl Davis’s soundtrack performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra. Lon Chaney as the “Phantom” was suitably terrifying and the skill of the make-up artists of the time was clearly demonstrated when we were shown a photograph of him at the end of the film and realised what a good-looking man he really was.

Finally, in April, on one of those glorious days before Easter the Epping Forest Branch had a small visit to Hill Hall, an imposing Elizabethan mansion overlooking the M11 north of Epping. The house was built by Sir Thomas Smith, an ambassador to Queen Elizabeth, and is a fascinating insight into the beginning of the architecture of the Renaissance in England. It uses classical pillars, rounded arches and pediments over doorways, rather muddled but clearly attempting to emulate the French idea.

Sir Thomas was followed by many others of his descendants, right into the twentieth century, who seemed intent on giving the name a distinctive twist, calling themselves Smithe, Smijth and Smythe and other variations. We heard tales of elopement and bigamy in this long surviving family.

But the main interest in the house is the almost miraculous survival of 400 year old painted frescoes, put on the walls of two upper rooms in imitation of tapestries in anticipation of the visit of Queen Elizabeth 1st, who never actually arrived. These paintings lasted in spite of time, and the disastrous fire DIALOGUE 50

that completely gutted the building in the 1960’s, so that now English Heritage has restored the mansion and turned it into apartments one can still make out the Biblical subject matter and the vibrant colour they once must have had.

We also visited the church on the edge of the estate and saw the alabaster tombs of some of the Smiths. We enjoyed tea and biscuits as we wandered round the lovely interior and then enjoyed the extensive views (rare in Essex) from the churchyard over the valley to London in the far distance.

Hertfordshire

The photo shows Penny Johnson , Branch Chairman Nigel Rogers and Meriel Talbot

Following the Branch Final in February , Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Boys went to represent Hertfordshire at the Regional Final on March 12th , at Fitzwilliam College , Cambridge . There were seven teams from the Branches of East Region .

The standard was extremely high and all the members of each team were skilled and competent . The winning team was Wellingborough School, Northhamptonshire and the audience vote for the best personality was awarded to Joshua Kelly, of the

Westcliff High School for Boys .His topic was “Shakespeare is irrelevant to the youth of today” and he opposed this statement with considerable humour. The photo of our team shows them with Keren Pollock ,their coach and Prof. Brian Johnston, former Master of Fitzwilliam College. (photo).

On April 7th we were delighted to welcome Miss Penny Johnson C.B.E., Director of the Government’s Art Collection, who gave us an illustrated lecture in the Council Chamber at the Radlett Centre.

Penny’s talk was excellent on all levels; her extensive knowledge of the paintings and sculptures on display in Britain and in all our Embassies abroad was impressive .She told us of the care taken to suit the paintings to their foreign homes with some local connection, either subject or artist or both wherever possible. Penny showed us several photographs of internationally known leaders, in Downing Street and elsewhere, and instead of looking at the personalities our attention was drawn to the paintings hanging on the wall . Penny also gives advice on new government buildings regarding both internal and external finishes and decoration so that they are an asset to their location, not a blot.

There was a good attendance for the evening and we were particularly pleased that Meriel Talbot was with us , her first visit to the Branch. Penny answered questions and during coffee spoke to members and friends who were present . There is to be an exhibition of the Government Art Collection at the Whitechapel Gallery, beginning in June , and it will be in five tranches spread over fourteen months.

Norwich and Norfolk

Southend-on-Sea

Mrs Daphne Howlett was the speaker at our February meeting. Her talk was entitled “The Uses, Stories and Legends of Shells”. A wonderful array of shells of all shapes and sizes was displayed and Daphne used these to illustrate her talk. Most were in their natural state but some had been carved to depict scenes and some were used to make Cameos. For over forty years Daphne and her husband have been collecting shells from all over the world. She told us that she talks while he looks into the scientific side of it.

Unfortunately no-one could get a sound out of the one used as a horn despite much effort!

“Every cab horse in London has three things: shelter for the nigh , food for its stomach and work allotted to it by which it can earn its corn”. In 1890 William Booth , founder of The Salvation Army saw the desperate state of the urban poor and set out his “cab horse charter” for one-tenth of the population who did not have those three basic things ; shelter , food and work.

In March Mr Jon Read gave us a most interesting talk entitled “The Red Dragon and the Tylwyth Teg” a nostalgic trip around North Wales illustrated with slides. Before retirement Jon had been an Industrial Chemist with British Gas but his enthusiasm for North Wales was worthy of the Welsh Tourist Board! It was amazing that so many of us present had fond memories of holidays in North Wales before holidays abroad became the norm. We all knew about the Red Dragon but had not heard of the Tylwth Teg or “Little People”.

A wonderful illustrated talk entitled “Images of Nature” was given by Mr David Boulton at our April meeting. He took us on a journey through the seasons with some fabulous photographs of countryside and wild life seen at various times of the year.

Soothing restful music accompanied his talk and his knowledge of the world of nature was exceptional. Having once been a postman he had no problem getting up early in the morning to capture many of his images - he really did illustrate “What a Wonderful World”.

In 1891 he had a vision and bought 900acres of farmland in Hadleigh , Essex where he set up the Hadleigh Land & Industrial Colony. Deprived people from the east end of London were settled here and given shelter , food and training to fit them for work in factory or farm. One such lad said “I was going to stay here ! No foggy smoke , no screeching noise ,& no more shivering & standing idle in the bitter wind and rain and sleet at a dockyard gate . I was a man wanted here “. At first the new colony was greeted with suspicion & hostility by the people of Hadleigh but gradually was accepted and had many distinguished visitors e.g. Cecil Rhodes who bought poultry to take back to South Africa with him. Since 1990 the centre , , renamed “The Hadleigh Employment Training Centre and Farm” , caters for 75 trainees with learning difficulties or who are long-term unemployed . Trainees are referred through a variety of agencies eg social services , UK Government scheme Job Centre -Plus or previously through a European social-funded programme specifically to help adults with learning difficulties towards employment(this last has now finished).

The centre is almost unique there being only one other and that is in Scotland.

Members of Southend-on-Sea Branch were entertained to a tasty lunch by some of the trainees working in the restaurant which has splendid views overlooking Hadleigh Castle and the Thames Estuary. Staff then escorted us through the numerous areas of the centre. In each part we were greeted by very happy, very busy trainees. We saw the fabulous workmanship of trainees in the carpentry section and marvelled at the knowledge of those in the IT room. Scrupulously clean kitchens were inspected before we went outside where trainees were learning estate management , bricklaying , tiling and horticulture.

Polytunnels had been made by the trainees, vegetables grown for the catering dept and plants for sale to the public ; and nearby small animals (belonging to the adjacent rare breeds farm) were being fed and cleaned out.

The centre has won several business awards and supports trainees in paid work ,work experience, voluntary work and work taster sessions giving advice on self confidence , assertiveness , literacy and numeracy.

It is with sadness , but with very happy memories , that the Southend-on-Sea Branch announce the death of their past Branch President, Ken Brown.. at the age of 101yrs.

William Kenneth Brown,“Ken”,was born in 1909 and passed away on 29th March 2011. Ken’s life spanned a century of tremendous changes throughout the world .. no more so than in education .. from blackboard & chalk to an ever expanding wealth of internet information & communication. He would have loved to play a part in the schools competitions that the ESU runs today.

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BRANCHES MIDLANDS REGION Gloucestershire Ken was President of ESU Southendon-Sea for many years . He and his wife Marie , who passed away last year ,were dearly loved by all the members & indeed by Alex Finnis , Leo Hamilton and Meriel Talbot who attended the service to commemorate Ken’s life. Representatives of the Branch and our present President ,Sir Teddy Taylor ,were also there.

With the passing of Ken and his wife Marie we have lost two very good friends who gave the ESU their wholehearted support.

It is with great sadness that Southendon-Sea Branch announce the death of Mr Ben Meredith. Ben was a well-loved member of our Branch and had been our Branch treasurer for some years.

Ben had a very high profile career in banking but nevertheless always enjoyed numerous other interests. As a Mason , Ben belonged to 10 Lodges , was Worshipful Master four times, and was their Almoner. He was a founder of the very successful “Daylight Lodge”who meet locally in Saxon Hall.

Frequently involved in raising money for charity Ben was also treasurer of the Rugby Club , The Bowling Club , Probus, member of Thorpe Bay Methodist church – the list of voluntary work that he took on seems endless but I think many of us here in Southend ESU will remember him for the enthralling talk he gave to our Branch on the subject of “The Duke of Wellington”. Ben was passionate about the Duke and gave us all a fantastic insight into the man’s very colourful life.

All members of ESU Southend-on -Sea send their condolences to Ben’s wife Barbara, daughter Susan and partner Peter, and to his 8 year old grandson Adam.

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For our annual February Luncheon, at The Manor House Hotel, Moreton-inMarsh, on Sunday, 6th February, we were all enthralled and impressed to have our very first “highly-scientific” talk, entitled “Science is the Global Medium, English is the Global Language”! Science and its Importance to Society.

Our guest speaker, Gloucestershire Member, Marshall Davies J.P., was, until his retirement, Director of Boots the Chemist, and before this Director of Operations of this Company. He is held in high esteem within the pharmaceutical world and his Google details are impressive. He is a former Member of the Council of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society and President; a member of The Science and Technology Facilities Council; non-Executive of Diamond Light Source Ltd., being Chairman of the Audit Committee of both these organisations; a former Member of The Council for the Regulation of Health Professionals and the Central Laboratory of The Research Councils; and non-Executive Director of Newark and Sherwood Primary Care Trust.

His talk was wide-ranging on the importance and significance of the annual multi-billion pound Government investment for science and scientific research which takes place under the auspices of The Science and Technology Facilities Council.

This research in England leads the world. A fact very few of us in the audience realised and everyone was saying – after the talk – how “impressed”, “ thrilled” and “totally amazed” they were to know there was

so much “going on” in the scientific world in “little old England”!. It made us all feel very proud.

Marshall highlighted the current mechanisms of modern research techniques using the ISIS and Diamond Light Source facilities at The Oxford Harwell Campus and CERN in Switzerland as examples.

He explained how these accelerators operate by speeding particles to almost the speed of light and then colliding them with samples of materials, or other particles, to discover the latter’s composition at the sub-atomic level.

He gave examples of extensive uses of the research to modern society both now and in the future, ranging from the biomedical study of cancers, bio-censors of blood screening and hydrogen storage applications, to faster computer devices and improved green technology.

It was all this information which made us realise the vital importance of all this scientific research for the wellbeing of our lives, both now and in the future.

A Vote of Thanks was given by Gloucestershire Member, Geoffrey Shepherd, who, until his retirement, was the Chief Executive of The Charity Trust for St.Thomas’ and Barts Hospital, and is Chairman of The Florence Nightingale Museum. It was appropriate that he should give this Vote of Thanks, which was, without doubt, the epitome of how a Vote of Thanks should be given!

Valerie Mitchell, the former DirectorGeneral of the E-SU, and her daughter, Samantha Price, were among those guests on the Top Table, with our President, Lord Dickinson, and Lady Dickinson.

Worcestershire As we go to press, we wish Cheltenham Ladies’ Ccllege the very best of Good Luck with their winning team in the National Final of The Public Speaking Competition for Schools, in London. The Ladies’ College continues to shine every year, having won the National Finals several times, and certainly the Branch Finals and the Regional Finals on each occasion with their entry.

We are hoping to arrange a social event in the near future at the College, after the appointment of a new Principle, who takes over as one of the youngest Principles in the country, in September.

This Branch felt very privileged to host the inaugural launch of The Hon. Gerard Noel’s latest book, The Journey of The English-Speaking Union, at the annual Chipping Campden Literature Festival, in the Town Hall, on May 5th.

Gerard Noel’s book tells the story of how over ninety four years the ESU has helped people all over the world transform their lives. Members from Gloucestershire were joined by Members from other Branches throughout the country and after the talk everyone walked over the road to The Noel Arms Hotel for tea and cake, and where the author signed copies of his new book. It makes en enthralling and fascinating read of an organisation for which we all feel passionate.

The Royal Harpist Jemima Philips

Jemima Phillips, a former music scholar of the Gloucestershire Branch, was guest of honour at their last Christmas party and will be performing at the Branches Conference in Cheltenham on Friday 14 October.

Some 36 members attended a literary lunch at the Worcestershire Golf Club on March 1st when Val Gilbert (former Daily Telegraph Crossword Editor) gave a very entertaining talk entitled, “Crosswords and Butterflies”.

Mrs Sonia Chance, Chairman of the Midlands Region and Worcestershire Branch, visited ESU Thailand in Bangkok with Mrs Felicity Muscott of Suffolk Branch in February. Mr Phornsake Karnchanachari, Mrs Karnchanachari, President and other members of the Committee made Mrs Chance and Mrs Muscott very welcome at a dinner held in their honour. They are very enthusiastic about the ESU and the International Public Speaking Competition, and are always very happy to receive visitors from the UK. We are pleased to report that Mr Karnchanachari is making a very good recovery from his recent illness.

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BRANCHES NORTH EAST REGION

NORTH WEST REGION

York and District

Mid-Cheshire

Our Chairman Patricia Cook writes:-

The Branch’s last Lunch Meeting of the season took place on 12th April at the Portal Premier Golf Club, Tarporley, when two of our sponsored students reported on their Gap years with The Project Trust. They had both been teaching in schools, one in Uganda and the other in Guyana, and they captivated the audience with their photographs and wonderful experiences. They now approach the end of their first years at university.

The York Branch paid a visit to our long time friend, Selby College on 2nd March 2011. On arrival, we were escorted to the beautiful Refectory of the College (reserved for special occasions) and were given a delicious Cordon Bleu lunch cooked and served by the catering students, one of whom also was thr wine waiter. The quality and presentation was as good as many meals I have enjoyed in top class restaurants.

Afterwards there was a tour of the new buildings and grounds of this superb Further Education College with Beacon College status and with which the York Branch has enjoyed many years of friendly collaboration.

When I went to the Grammar School at Leeds for the North Eastern regional Final of the Public Speaking Competition on 5th March 2011, I was accompanied by three competitors who, on going through the door, said “Wow!”. This shows what an impact this modern and magnificent school has on those who come to it for the first time.

We had five schools competing and each speaker had something interesting (and sometimes challenging) to say. The Chairpersons were efficient, the Questioners were probing and the audience were quick to respond with questions on the points raised. The judges had a hard job but eventually they selected King Edward VI High School, Morpeth as the winners. We wish them well for the National Finals on May 7th, and hope they will reach the high standards set by the two previous winning schools from our region.

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On 19th March the Branch hosted the North West Regional Final of the Public Speaking Competition for Schools at Grange School, Hartford.

Teams from five schools in the North West competed and standards were very high. The winning team from Parrs Wood High School will now compete in the National Final to be held on 7th May in London.

Members of the branch are looking forward to a coach trip on 17th May to the Wedgwood Museum, which follows on from an excellent talk given

by Gaye Roberts, the Wedgwood Museum Director, to the branch at its February lunch meeting.

The Branch’s major annual fund raising event is organised for 18th June with a buffet supper followed by entertainment by members of the Cheshire Youth Theatre.

Liverpool and Merseyside

Keith Butcher makes a presentation to ESU International Officer Annette Fisher with Chairman Michael Shankland looking on.

Annette gave a stimulating talk about the work of the ESU across the globe to the members of the Liverpool and Merseyside Branch in the library of the Athenaeum on April 15. She invited members to attend the opening of the Iceland branch later this year and the next World Branches Conference in Istanbul in 2012.

Most of the Liverpool and Merseyside Branch meetings take place at the Athenaeum. Situated in the heart of Liverpool, it is the oldest proprietorial club in England. Therefore, in February, members were delighted to have a guided tour of the treasures of this magnificent building led by two former Presidents.

Originally founded in 1798 by William Roscoe and a group of friends, the building houses priceless treasures, such as Roscoe’s library, bought for him by fellow proprietors when Roscoe was abused and beggared because of his opposition to slavery. Members admired the specially commissioned Halliday murals of the life of Athena which dominate the library which has been described as ‘the most elegant drawing room in Liverpool.’ A delicious buffet rounded off this absorbing tour.

SOUTH EAST REGION 1066 (Hastings) In March, a poignant rendition of Mozart’s String Quintet in G minor which was given by members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra deeply moved members at a lunchtime concert in the Philharmonic Hall. The “formule rapido” lunch at Ego (the next door restaurant) also went down a treat provoking the question “Shall we do this again?”

Why not? Consider it booked!

As usual, everyone thought a sixth former had wandered in when Annette Fisher rose to speak in the splendid library of the Athenaeum on April 15. Annette was inspirational as she gave a stunning account of the linguistic and cultural activities throughout the world sponsored by the ESU. Members were so impressed by Annette’s smiling enthusiasm commenting - “ we had no idea the ESU did so much” - “how can we get involved?” - “isn’t she terrific?” Yes, she is and at least two members intend to invade the launch in Iceland to get our money back. Oops! Annette told us not to say that!

Sue Davies, Secretary and Mike Shankland, Chairman attended the EGM at Dartmouth House on April 14. It gave us some hope for the future of the ESU.

Our next two meetings are a) our AGM at the Taplin Centre on 11 May with Maureen Charlesworth (former Mayor) as speaker and b) Cream Tea in the Garden of our Chairman, Marie Parkinson, on 18 June.

Details from Michael Plumbe 01424 71 37 37.

Alan Craze, HM Coroner for East Sussex, and Branch Chairman Marie Parkinson.

Branch Founder Veronica McVey On 6th April the branch was privileged to hear how Michael Conn, Executive Principal of Bexhill High School, was given £30 million in 2008 to build a new “transformational” school. This project is now complete, on time and to budget, and the school is up and running. Mr Conn concentrated on providing an environment where children are motivated and guided to learn, rather than be taught, which better suits the modern “multi-tasking” child. Pupils work in open-plan “pods” of 90, with sub-groups and a team of teachers organised according to the work in hand. The school day is longer than most, ending at 5pm, but there is no homework to be done. Initial experience suggests that Mr Conn’s innovative approach works extremely well.

An excellent lunch was provided by Steve and his staff at Cooden Beach Golf Club.

On 15th February the branch was given an unusual treat when Alan Craze, HM Coroner for East Sussex, explained the complexities of his appointment and the funding and working of his office. When it started in the 12th century a main job for the coroner was confiscating the assets for the Crown (hence the name) of anyone who committed the crime of suicide (felo de se). He no longer has any such fiscal duty but there are many quaint quirks, typically English, in the way his ancient office and his tenure thereof are organised.

We were pleased to welcome Meriel Talbot, Director of Branches, to this luncheon.

Brighton and Hove An engaging manner goes a long way.

Add that to an absorbing topic and you`ve got yourself a meeting.

That, anyway, was the verdict of the Branch, at its April meeting, following a round-by-round analysis of the iconic Festival of Britain, 195I by historian Colin Manton. He entitled his talk: “Making an exhibition of ourselves on the South Bank,” designating it a mixture of Victoriana and space travel. This chimed in with the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1851, of course, 100 years previously.

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BRANCHES Eastbourne Setting it modern counterpart in its context, Mr. Manton recalled that 1951 was the year before King George VI died, in which the Conservatives were returned to power under Winston, the emergence of the TV age and continuation of the Cold War. He quoted Sir Stafford Cripps` evaluation as it being “the British contribution to civilization past and present and the future, including arts, science, technology and industrial design.”

The whole thing was, of course, a diversion from Britain`s plight with so many homeless, and a shortage of coal, steel and skilled labour, not to mention the Korean War. Its 29 pavilions fulfilled that script. Bursts of recordings by that inimitable bandleader Geraldo at our meeting added to the surreal atmosphere.

Mr Manton added his marathon verbal and illustrated canter (75 minutes-worth by asking, in tones which brooked no dissent: “Can you imagine anything of this scope and grandeur being launched today?”

Dead silence prevailed. He rested his case m`lud.

Let`s be honest about it – Patricia Warren`s talk, at our March meeting, about former British film stars, was a wonderful wander down memory lane.

And why not? It held a special resonance, perhaps, for those of us in our mid-80s and upwards who found it somehow heart-warming to be taken backwards in time, writes Guy Fleming.

A noted British film historian, Patricia majored on their films and different studios, from the turn of the last century onwards. Oh, joy! The dapper

DIALOGUE 56

quintessential English gentleman Ronald Coleman was one such – remember him? –but her catalogue of the “greats” included Michael Wilding, Stewart Granger, Anna Neagle, Jessie Matthews and many others. “Anyone remember them?”

Patricia asked, to be answered by roars of “Yes” from her spellbound audience which, incidentally, contained a number of newcomers. The outstanding partnership between Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh (both dysfunctional persons) drew further murmurs of nostalgic exuberance.

However, in case anyone couldn`t quite remember, Patricia provided a remarkable display of relevant photographs, strewn around the walls of The Hove Club, which produced satisfied “Aaahs” from their still-loyal fans. She paid tribute, also, to noted film directors such as Alexander Korda, J. Arthur Rank and Herbert Wilcox.

The young generation of cinemagoers may not all know what they have missed, but we “oldies” do; we spent countless hours in the 1/9s hooked by these stars. Just one personal disappointment- as a seasoned octogenarian – no mention of that sparkling beauty, Greer Garson. I “fell in love” with her over and over again!

Where was she?

Life moves on a pace in Eastbourne with the branch enjoying a number of wonderful Spring events. Glenn Morris brought the Arctic to life at our Spring Dinner held at The Royal Eastbourne when he explored the continent, the Innuit and the thorny topic of climate change. Hilary Patel, one of our young members, enthralled us when she gave the address at our AGM at the Devonshire Club in May and summer was greeted in the wonderful historic surroundings of Michelham Priory with our summer luncheon. We all now eagerly await our annual 4th of July party in the grounds of Chatsworth House, Horam; the home of our Branch President Mrs S. Jane Mitchell.

San Francisco was the springtime venue for an Eastbourne Branch “reunion” when three scholars, all of whom owe their scholarship and its myriad of benefits to Branch President Jane Mitchell, met in the stunning St Mary’s Cathedral.

Stephen Fort, the branch’s current chorister-in-residence and Will Glover, the branch’s former Building Blocks Scholar were touring California with their choir performing in venues as diverse as Grace Cathedral, St Paul’s Westwood in Los Angeles and St

West Sussex Joseph’s High School in Santa Maria – not to mention Gate A11 of San Francisco International Airport.

It was in the City by the Bay that they met with Joan Zymajtis who came from the USA some 40 years ago as a scholar with the English-Speaking Union to be hosted by John and Jane Laycock in their Cheshire home. So successful was the meeting that Joan is visiting the Eastbourne branch in June and she will be meeting up with Will and Stephen.

The branch are also pleased to announce their continuing sponsorship of Josephite African Aid the charity that benefitted from our first charity book launch in 2008. The revenues from our book on Eastbourne paid for the continuing education of some 250 orphans in the Democratic Republic of Congo and following our support of Stephen’s career we can announce that in excess of £5000 has been raised thus far from the launch of I Am The Day, a CD of Christmas choral music recorded with the input of Stephen and Will last year at Exeter College, Oxford. This money will continue to support the education of orphans in the DRC. We are also now looking forward to the launch of the book Brighton: A Wander along the Twittens and Byways of a Regent’s Resort that will provide funding to the Handicapped Children’s Pilgrimage Trust Brighton and Hove group. The branch have already been able to send some £418.10 in profits from advance sales of this book to HCPT.

The Portsmouth Grammar School team, Thomas Harper, William Wallace and Aphra Luchesa Smith, winners of our Regional Public Speaking Competition.

On Tuesday, 8th February, six local schools met at Eades House, Chichester to compete for a place in the South East Regional Final of the E-SU School’s Public Speaking Competition. The standard was again high, but two teams stood out and it was Portsmouth Grammar School which won and later represented us very ably at Dartmouth House.

In March, members of the Walker’s Group and their friends greatly enjoyed the annual lunch at the Time Machine Museum, Funtington. After sampling a menu which included dishes from all over the world prepared by Dr Paul Strickland and his team, Kyle Bosworth spoke on the ‘Humour of Railways’. Also in March, at the Barley Mow, members were fascinated by an illustrated talk

by Barry King-Smith describing the journey he and his wife made to Tibet via Thailand, Viet-Nam, Cambodia and China.

In April, members met for pre-lunch drinks on a beautiful spring morning kindly hosted by our vice-Chairman, Mrs Isobel Hyde, at her home in Bury.

At this event Annette Fisher, who runs the E-SU International Summer School, gave a talk on her work for the E-SU and gave particular thanks to the West Sussex Branch for their generous sponsorship of international visitors. Abigail Salter, who had been awarded a student grant by the Branch, spoke with emotion of her time working with under-privileged children in Cape Town and how this local E-SU support had helped her with deciding on her future career.

In May we shall be visiting the National Seed Collection at Wakehurst Place, and a party of eleven from the walkers group will be spending four days in Dorset, exploring amongst other places, the Swannery at Abbotsbury and Thomas Hardy Country.

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BRANCHES LONDON REGION

WALES REGION

We had several interesting talks at Dartmouth House in the early months of this year, including a fascinating one on the absorbing story of Princess Charlotte – the first ‘Peoples’ Princess’

by James Chambers. Then our own London Region Committee Member Pauline Chakmakjian, gave us a most interesting evening hearing about Machiya – the traditional Japanese Merchant Houses, found mostly in Kyoto, the old Capital of Japan.

Having lived in one of these in Kyoto, Pauline showed several illustrations – an excellent evening.

The banqueting suite at the cardiff city stadium was full to almost overflowing when lord hattersley joined our lunch in february to speak on the subject of his latest book “ Lloyd George – the great outsider ”. It was fascinating to hear comparisons drawn between the coalition governments of 90 years ago and the present day. We were reminded that lloyd george was the last liberal prime minister and his coalition government was supported by more conservatives than his own liberals. the subsequent split was a key factor in the decline of the liberal party as a serious political force.

For the adventurous, a small party climbed the many steps up to the Clock of BIG Ben where they were told the history of this iconic tower.

Several exciting events to come include the Annual visit to the Shakespeare’s Globe to see ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ and importantly, the London Region AGM, followed this year with a talk and book signing by very funny author Gervaise Phinn.

“Beat that ” seemed to be an appropriate challenge to our speaker in April, former labour mp Chris Mullin. He more than met the challenge despite a mishap at Cardiff station, when Chris arrived earlier than intended, adroitly weaved his way past the awaiting lady inkin and ended up at the millennium stadium.

Chris brought humour and honesty to his description of the behind the scene shenanigans at the house of commons, and it became evident very quickly why he was rarely near the top of prime minister Blair`s popularity list.

We can unreservedly recommend both speakers to other branches and indeed look forward to wecoming both back to inform and entertain us again.

We also celebrated another year of excellence in our schools` public speaking competition. the final was again held in the former debating chamber of the welsh assembly government and the overall standard of presentation and delivery by the students would have been the envy of many a politician. Such was the problem faced by the judges in terms

DIALOGUE 58

of choosing between seven outstanding teams, we had literally to set a deadline for decision. ffynone school, Swansea , were confirmed as winners and Hawarden school, North Wales as the runners up. we wish our winning team much success in the uk final in london.

We now look forward to our traditional garden party on 23rd June, to be held again this year in the resplendent setting of Castle - upon Alun house, the home of Sir Geoffrey and Lady Inkin. We anticipate elegance and elan such as would grace the pages of vogue magazine ( not least Sir Geoffrey`s impeccable, pink blazer ), roses in full bloom, a convivial glass or two, and delectable delicacies from the really fresh food company.

Finally some photos of the street children in Santa Cruz , benefiting from our sponsorship of their English teaching project. This is a timely reminder that the money we raise from our pleasurable events is invested in accordance with the aims of the union and will hopefully create a better future for these poor and needy children.

SOUTH REGION

SOUTH WEST REGION

Salisbury

Bristol

We have continued to enjoy a wide variety of speakers, organised by our Programme Secretary, The Revd.

David Boundy.

Teresa Dent, Game Conservancy Trust, spoke on real conservation in the English countryside, with the message that conservancy works from the ground up. In the equation of “who eats who”, man has management responsibilities involving subsidy, the interests of shooting and fishing groups and the people’s love of the countryside.

A raffle was held in aid of schools in Nepal. Adrian Sindall, CMG, guided us through the international, political and financial in-fighting experienced

by Ferdinand de Lesseps, creator of The Suez Canal.

Martin Mulloy, ESU Director of Education, outlined the changing role of English in the 21st Century, and predicted that The ESU would meet the challenges by adapting its traditional initiatives in public speaking and debate, international conferences and seminars and the

provision of scholarships and exchanges.

The Revd. Donald Reeves, after 18 years preaching about tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, gave up his Parish to set up The Soul of Europe, a movement committed to building peace in post-war sites such as Bosnia. A memorable and inspiring presentation.

We are fortunate to have The Playhouse Theatre in Salisbury, and Philip Wilson, its Artistic Director gave us an insight into his roles in programming and producing thirteen plays each year.

Aline Marciel Lima from Sao Paolo University Nursing School joined us for lunch.

A raffle was held in support of the Nurse Work Programme.

“Sir Christopher Meyer signing books, with Tony Williams, Bristol Branch Chairman at our Thanksgiving Lunch.”

The Bristol Branch of the EnglishSpeaking Union celebrated Thanksgiving Day on Thursday 25th November by holding a lunch at the Redwood Lodge Hotel. Our Chairman, Tony Williams, welcomed 95 members and their friends and particularly our guest of honour, Sir Christopher Meyer KCMG, who regaled us with anecdotes about his time as the British Ambassador to the USA - his experiences there formed the basis of his talk to us. He found it very important to go into different parts of the States to get the real feel of the country with all its diversities.

He also described meeting Presidents and other national figures in both formal and informal circumstances.

Our Vice-Chairman, Carol Lear, gave the vote of thanks for what was both an amusing and informative talk.

The Finals of our Schools’ Public Speaking Competition was held at QEH in January, and once again we enjoyed an evening of outstanding DIALOGUE 59

BRANCHES Cornwall Speakers – their accompanying Chairmen and Questioners gave them good back-up and our judges (Mrs June Rayner, Ms Annabel Chapman and Mr Tony Williams) had a difficult task. After much deliberation, the winning team was declared to be Fred Batstone (Speaker), Alex Thomas (Chair) and Christian Holland (Questioner) from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, with Fred also winning the Eric Dehn Memorial Cup for the Best Speaker.

“BP – The Challenges Ahead” was the title of Peter Mather’s talk at the end of January. We were honoured that he was able to find time in his busy schedule as UK Managing Director of BP to speak to us, but as he said “how could he resist a request from his Mother (one of our members) and his economics teacher at Clifton College”!

His interesting and informative talk with slides led to many questions from our members and guests.

In mid-February Dr. Mark Horton, archaeologist and film maker, gave an enthusiastic talk on “Coast Experiences”. He entertained a large audience, relating some of his many coastal filming experiences by helicopter and on foot, in the U.K. and abroad. He gave a fascinating account of the discovery of the possibly 2,000 year old North Ferriby Boat, its restoration in Greenwich, and later creation of a replica, which sailed in the Humber estuary. Dr. Horton illustrated his talk with slides of the beautiful areas where he has worked.

Ann Widdecombe, retired MP, Author and TV Personality, joined us for a Literary Dinner at the Bristol and Clifton Golf Club in March. She spoke in an interesting and amusing way about her life in Parliament, her DIALOGUE 60

four novels and her recent TV appearances in Strictly Come Dancing, which she enjoyed enormously. Questions followed, which produced from Ann some insights into life in Parliament and the various MP’s she worked with over the years. She was also asked if she was to be in Pantomime at Christmas, and said that she was looking forward to playing “Widdy” in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Ann also signed her books for those present, which rounded off a fascinating and enjoyable evening.

Finally, in April, we welcomed Sir Winston Churchill (alias Barry Paine) who spoke in an entertaining and enlightening way about times past which the majority of us remembered well. Sir Winston walked into the room after we had been told that Barry was unable to be with us, and there was an audible gasp of surprise from the members present – the likeness was amazing. Barry then gave extracts from many of Sir Winston’s Speeches, and ended with personal thoughts on his life and career, and how he had influenced the country and the world during difficult times.

Further to news on the Branch News Jiuli Wu the ShelterBox Relief Team (SRT) member has provided the following quote: “Personally I also want to thank the English Speaking Union (ESU) for their generous donation to ShelterBox to cover my transportation costs. ESU aims to better international understanding by promoting the language of English. Interestingly, SRTs are doing the same thing, probably without knowing that, as we are all from different countries, yet we all speak one common language— English. By taking the same course or being on the same deployment, we get to know each other’s culture better by speaking ENGLISH. Isn’t that AMAZING? I hope ESU and ShelterBox will have more opportunities to work together in the future. I also believe, with more generous donors like ESU itself, one day, ShelterBox will be able to bring the whole world together and deliver in the symbolic green ShelterBox home, warmth and dignity for every human being affected by any natural or man-made disaster.”

Exeter and District

Professor Ludmilla Selezneva (speaker), Sir Michael Stear (Speaker Secretary) and Alexander Alexyevich

John Foot, Terry Mettrick, Gillian Mettrick, Mick Skelton (speaker), Lynn Samuel (Speaker Secretary) and Pam Samuel.

Ann Armstrong (Events Secretary), Oliver Everett (speaker) and Laurie Burbridge (Chairman)

For our February meeting, we were joined by members of the Royal Society of Arts South West. The idea of a joint meeting was proposed by Kevin Cahill, a member of our branch who is also the current Chairman of the RSA South West. The arrangement worked well and we were delighted to be able to welcome members of the RSA to our lunch meeting. Members agreed that it was good to see some new faces and it became clear that members of the ESU and of the RSA have a lot in common. However, everyone was relieved that there was not the slightest hint of any talks about a possible merger!

In appreciation of Mr Skelton’s visit, he was presented with a bottle of vintage champagne and a bottle of special (exclusive to the House of Commons) “Speaker Bercow” Malt Whisky.

About 120 people enjoyed an excellent lunch, followed by a very amusing and engaging presentation by Mick Skelton MBE, who was the Principle Doorkeeper at the House of Lords

from 1990 to 2002. Speaking without notes, Mick began by giving a brief historical perspective on the House of Lords and its traditions. He described his own role of maintaining ‘good order and discipline’ amongst over 1,200 Peers (the number there before the removal of the hereditary peers) in a relatively small building. It was, he told us, a job quite unlike any other.

Mick then went on to deliver a series of memorable and very entertaining anecdotes about incidents involving various members of the upper chamber. It was a master class in how to deliver an informal lecture and was very much appreciated by all who attended. On previous occasions, it has been known for some of our members to “rest their eyes” during an afterlunch presentation, but Mick Skelton’s charismatic talk ensured that on this occasion everyone remained wide awake!

For our March meeting, we were privileged to be able to welcome Professor Ludmilla Selezneva, a distinguished academic based in Moscow. Professor Selezneva has written several books and published a very large number of academic papers on a variety of subjects. With such a background, she could have chosen to speak to us on any one of a number of topics and chose the title of “Modern Russian History - from the U.S.S.R. to the present”.

Speaking with great passion and directness, Professor Selezneva explained that Russia as we know it DIALOGUE 61

BRANCHES

today is very young and will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in June of this year. The impact of the liberal policies of President Gorbachov had been immense and it was due to him that the U.S.S.R. effectively disintegrated and was transformed into today’s Russia. Increased individual freedom had been welcomed, but it had been accompanied by unemployment and an unwelcome increase in poverty.

Furthermore, a few individuals became incredibly wealthy - so much so that they were able to purchase leading English and French football clubs. The lack of central control and the emphasis on personal freedom meant that the country descended into chaos and Gorbachov’s reputation suffered as a result. The people began to look for “a strong man on a white horse” and found Vladimir Putin.

Putin is still the strong man of Russia, even though he is no longer President, and Gorbachov has now been rehabilitated and recognised for what he did. Professor Selezneva noted that 20 years ago she would have been arrested for saying what she said at our meeting.

Professor Selezneva’s address provoked many interesting questions from members, which were answered with flair and with a sharp focus. In summary, she gave us a brilliant exposition, with complete frankness and honesty; members who were present agreed that it was one of the most stimulating and memorable evenings we had enjoyed for a long time.

The vote of thanks was given by Baron Franz Taxis and Ludmilla and her husband were presented with two books to remind then of their visit to DIALOGUE 62

Exeter - a history of Exeter and an illustrated guide to the delights of Devon.

The Exeter and District Branch held its annual dinner on 14th April. This was a black tie event, attended by about 130 members and their guests.

Our speaker for this special occasion was Oliver Everett CVO, formerly Assistant Private Secretary to HRH Prince Charles and Private Secretary to HRH Princess Diana and Assistant Keeper of the Queen’s Archives. Mr Everett is a well-known lecturer for NADFAS (the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies) and his reputation for being an excellent speaker proved to be well-founded. He is able to speak on a wide variety of topics and, on this occasion, he took as his subject “Buckingham Palace - its History, Occupants and Contents”. This was particularly appropriate in view of the fact that the wedding of Prince William and Catherine was only two weeks away.

Mr Everett gave a riveting account of how a succession of monarchs transformed the original, not very grand, Buckingham House into the Buckingham Palace we know today.

George III (Mr Everett’s favourite monarch) made the most significant changes and his love of books resulted in his creation of several new libraries.

Queen Victoria also made a number of radical improvements to the building, the most noticeable being the building of the balcony which is so beloved of the crowds that gather for royal occasions.

Oliver illustrated his presentation with a wonderful collection of very high quality photographs of the rooms and artefacts of Buckingham Palace. This

was a fascinating presentation, delivered with style and panache, at the conclusion of which all those present felt that they knew a great deal more about Buckingham Palace.

At the end of the evening the Branch Chairman, Laurie Burbridge, addressed the meeting on the background to the current election of the Chair of the ESU Board of Governors. He explained that, until recently, the election of the Chair by members had not even been considered and he therefore urged all members to exercise their right to vote.

Plymouth In February our speaker was Dr. Donato Esposito, an art historian dealing with the Victorian era. The title of Donato’s talk was: ‘Loving the Victorians: 19th Century paintings for a 21st Century Audience’. Twenty eight people attended, and because of their interest and the amount of Q&A’s afterwards the talk overran our normal time limit, but that didn’t concern the audience as the experience was thoroughly enjoyed by all those attending.

Donato worked at the British Museum as Curator in the Department of Prints and Drawings where he was engaged in scholarly research and catalogued the permanent collection.

He was co-curator of the exhibition: Sir Joshua Reynolds: The Acquisition of Genius at Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery which ran from November 2009 until February 2010.

At the same time he was carrying out his studies at the University of Plymouth finally gaining his PhD.

In March our speaker was Jeanie Moore MVO with a talk - What Is Life Without Music. Jeanie led us through a musical journey of her life, interweaved with some of her favourite musical pieces from the past.

Jeanie performed in her early years on the stage of the Southold Theatre in Suffolk. Later she studied piano and intensive singing at boarding school in Wiltshire. She married Ron Moore in 1954 leading to a singing duo, their first engagement being a concert hall on Miami Beach, Florida. After Ron’s death in 1986 she worked for the YMCA’s in the South West organising fund-raising events. She ran concerts; one of the first being Julian LloydWebber in the Plymouth Theatre Royal. Promoting Julian many times, they have remained good friends. She also ran concerts in the Plymouth City Museum and developed the International Recital Series now in its 17th year. The evening was very enjoyable and informative and enjoyed by all the members and guests.

Our April event was held at Mt. Edgcumbe in Cornwall. Cynthia Gaskell Brown a well known archaeologist gave us a guided tour of the English Garden Bath House and the French Garden House. The buildings have only been partially restored and await further funding to be completed. The English Garden Bath House with its magnificent dark grey marble kidney shaped bath inset into the floor, with three steps leading down into it, brought back pictures of the style Cleopatra used. After the tour and talk they opened the Orangery tearooms especially for us and we enjoyed well needed refreshments.

Cynthia was previously Deputy Director of Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery and more recently Curator of Mt. Edgcumbe House. She is author of the Mount Edgcumbe Guide Book and Cremyll and Cremyll Ferry.

Taunton “The Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”

It was not a sermon, but the starting point of a fascinating talk from Dr Neather, formerly senior lecturer in education at the University of Exeter, in which he traced the search for the origins of language from Herodotus to the latest research in The Mystery of the Origins of Language Every language has a birth myth, but as the most recent theories propose that originally there was but one language for the whole of mankind, Genesis is spot on.

Two questions have intrigued thinkers and researchers: what was the original language and how did it start?

Attempts from Herodotus onward to discover the Adamic language foundered on the fact that language is not genetic: you speak the tongue of your parents, natural or adoptive, and you learn it in infancy.

Theories of origin abound and Dr Neather skilfully drew members through a range of possibilities from Rousseau’s idea that it all began with verse and singing to Max Muller’s eight headings, but he cautioned that all were theories and that it was a fast moving study revolutionised by archeogenetic studies into, among others, the mitochondrial Eve of 190-150,000 years ago. In addition it was a moving target as new languages evolved in multi-lingual societies through pidgin in the first generation to creole in the second.

There was so much to catch members’ interest that they stayed in groups in the lecture room too absorbed in what they had heard to go into lunch.

If there was one language, how is it that now there are perhaps five to six thousand? Back to Genesis: ‘The Lord said, Behold the people is one and they all have one language; and this they begin to do [build a tower to heaven]…. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ Imaginative, but it did not need divine intervention to bring about the confusion. Dispersal and isolation as homo sapiens moved out of Africa some 60,000 or was it 125,000 years ago would have done the trick, bearing in mind that all communication was oral. Writing is only some 5,000 years old.

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ESU MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS Kate Bond, Membership and Alumni Officer T: 020 7529 1571 F: 020 7495 6108 kate.bond@esu.org

ESU events & Dartmouth House

Lifestyle

Accommodation

• Use of member-only facilities at Dartmouth House

The Commonwealth Club, 25 Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5AP

The Chesterfield Mayfair, Charles Street, London

• Priority booking on room hire at Dartmouth House • Priority bookings for the Revelstoke Room & courtyard dining • A diverse events programme with special members’ prices Please call Dartmouth House to book the Revelstoke Dining Room on T: 020 7529 1550.

Retail discounts Buyagift.com – 15% discount www.buyagift.co.uk/esu discount code ESU15 Buyagift.com offers a range of over 2,200 amazing gift ideas including once in a lifetime experiences such as Ferrari or tank driving to relaxing spa breaks and balloon flights. Buyagift also provide a range of traditional gifts including fine wine, flowers, hampers and chocolates.

You can also book theatre tickets and hotel rooms throughout the UK and some worldwide destinations.

T M Lewin Discount vouchers available for members for T M Lewin throughout the UK and online. Offers will change each month. Please visit the Membership Benefits (coming soon) page on our website or contact Kate Bond.

Penhaligons, Burlington Arcade, London W1 - 15% discount Members will receive their discount on production of ESU membership card.

Mount Street Printers, 4 Mount Street, London W1K 3LW - 10% discount Members will receive their discount on production of ESU membership card.

Granta Magazine ESU members receive a special subscription deal for £29.95/year plus a Granta tote bag. Please visit www.granta. com/esu10 for details.

DIALOGUE 64

Use the restaurant at the Commonwealth Club in the evening only at member rates. To book a table quote your ESU membership number and the reference ESU10. T: + 44 20 7766 9200 Ambassador Select www.AmbassadorTickets.com/select username: ESU password: play RADA, 62-64 Gower Street, London, WC1 25% discount on the full ticket price. For more details and to book tickets please contact the RADA box office, 020 7908 4800 quoting your ESU membership number.

Janet Ginnings Hair & Beauty, 45 Curzon Street, London W1J 7UQ Members will receive 10% discount on production of an ESU membership card.

T: + 44 20 7499 1904 or + 44 20 7499 2767 to book.

Piano Lessons London members can benefit from a discount on piano lessons with Jeanne Broda. Contact Jeanne on 020 8997 1738 and mention the “ESU offer” for more details.

Reservations: T: + 44 20 7958 7729 F: + 44 20 7491 4793 E: bookch@rchmail. com Please quote “ESU” to obtain preferred rates.

International Students House 229 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5PN Please telephone + 44 20 7631 8310 The Lansdowne Club, 9 Fitzmaurice Place, London W1J 5JD T: 020 7629 7200 Weekend accommodation at Guest Rates. Please call Kate Bond who will refer you to The Landsdowne Club in the first instance.

The Naval Club, 38 Hill Street, London W1J 5NS T: 020 7493 7672 ESU members can book accommodation. Please call Kate Bond who will refer you to The Naval Club in the first instance.

Royal Over-Seas League, Edinburgh Overseas House, 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 3AB. Please telephone + 44 131 225 1501 or email reception@rosl-edinburgh.org University Women’s Club, 2 Audley Square, London W1K 1DB Member’s rates. Please phone + 44 20 7499 2268 quoting your ESU membership number.

Please reflect the standards of the ESU in your conduct at our reciprocal clubs.

Your ESU membership card must be presented on arrival at all accommodation.

REGIONAL DIARY EAST REGION Cambridge and Welland Valley 21 September Annual General Meeting to be held at the Hunting Lodge Hotel, Cottingham, Market Harborough at 12 noon prompt. Lunch to follow at 12.30 pm for 1.00 pm.

Tickets £23 from Mr J. Hindle, 27 Finch Hatton Drive, Gretton, NN17 3DQ with SAE please

Norwich and Norfolk

Wednesday 1 June

Sunday 6 November, noon

17 June

The Bletchley Park Story- a special visit to see and hear of the unique times in British Historyincluding travel by coach,morning tea, buffet lunch and afternoon coffee. Coach departs Bury St Edmunds Bus /Coach Station at 8-45 am : cost £31-50( payment in advance by 21st may 2011.( max 20 persons).

Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon, Chavenage House, near Tetbury.

Our Guest-of-Honour and Speaker will be Deborah Cadbury, of the world-famous chocolate family. She will talk about her recently-published book, “From Cadbury to Kraft – 200 Years of Sweet Success and Bitter Rivalry”.

Mr Mike Ling - “The History of Spectacles” 15 July Branch AGM All these meetings will be held at the Park Farm Hotel, Hethersett at 12.30pm. Further details from the Chairman.

Wednesday 20 July

Monday 27 June

3pm-Annual General Meeting including Nowton Court’s Afternoon Tea,cost £9-95.

Wednesday 29 June

Lunch at ‘The Cliffs Pavilion’ followed by AGM. £10.00

Sunday 7 August

Visit to St Albans Cathedral and Hatfield House.

Sunday 10 July

Epping Forest

Our visit includes a guided tour of St Albans Cathedral, entry to Hatfield House, Henry Moore Exhibition, Park and West garden, the coach and tips.

Total Cost £40.

The coach will leave The Castle, Woodford at 8.55am: The Stag at 9.00am: Traps Hill at 9.15am and Epping (Bakers Lane) at 9.30am.

Please contact Tony Meagher (Tel: 020 8505 9001) Thursday 7 July

Southend-on-Sea

3pm £8.00.

Garden Party at Porters , the official residence of the Mayor of Southend-on-Sea. The mayor will join us for a recital by the student winner of “The Florence Warren Trust Music Award”.

Raffle in aid of the mayor’s charity and “The Florence Warren Trust”.

Book Early. Ticket numbers are strictly limited to protect the old building.

Peter Lawrence, our July speaker, will give us a talk on ‘The Art on London Streets’

Monday 19 September

Thursday 4 August

Tickets for all events from Sheila Mitchell tel 01702 553788

Today’s speaker, Colin Street, is a London Blue Badge Guide specialising in literary London from Shakespeare to Dickens but, as we are the English Speaking Union, we felt it appropriate to hear his talk on the development of the English language “From Chaps to Chavs”.

Lunch at “The Cliffs Pavilion”. £10.00 followed by “From Wheelchair to Windsurfer”.

Suffolk Applications for tickets and payments, enclosed in a stamped self-addressed envelope to: Mrs Joy Childs, Casita,Culford,Bury St Edmunds,Suffolk IP28 6DP Wednesday 13 April 2-30pm-Charity Bridge Event, including Nowton’s special Afternoon Tea, and for nonbridge players a Book Bring and Buy Sale:cost, Bridge £10, Book event £6-50.

3pm-6pm-Suffolk President’s Annual Summer CelebrationLyon House.Invitations available from the Chairman Mrs Joy Childs.

MIDLANDS REGION Gloucestershire All details and availability of tickets from Jacqueline Millington, 1, Queen Street, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX10 7HR -Tel: 01865-340.266 (stamped addressed envelope please).

Sunday 10 July, noon Summer Garden Party, at Orchard House, Dumbleton, Gloucestershire. By popular request, a return visit to the garden and home of Gloucestershire Committee Member, Jenny Hunter. Lou Smith will again be creating the sumptuous buffet luncheon and The Gloucestershire Youth Jazz Band will be playing background music, and, as before, quite a number of the toe-tapping guests will start dancing! Tickets include all drink and food. Ladies:hats!

Tickets limited; there are still several available so please apply now.

Deborah Cadbury is a popular historian and as she looks back on the story of Cadbury from its early.

Tickets include a welcoming glass of wine and lunch. Book signing after lunch.

Worcestershire Tickets from Mrs Jean Davies, 23 Oakfield Road, Malvern WR14 1DS, 01684 560068. SAE please.

Sunday 3 July Afternoon Tea with Talk at Blackmore Gardens, Hanley Swan at 2:30 pm Tickets: £7.50.

Wednesday 14 September Literary Lunch at 14 College Road, Malvern with Guest Speaker Mr Clive Corbett , Head Teacher, Pershore High School.

12:00 noon for 12:30 pm.

Tickets: £12.00 (to include lunch and a glass of wine).

NORTH WEST REGION Liverpool and Merseyside Contact : Sue Davies - 01513426157 suedaviesheswall@googlemail. com 22 June 2.30pm Meeting at the Creative Campus of the Liverpool Hope University.

To include a Tour of the award winning Angel Field Garden and a recital by the Hope Woodwind Ensemble

DIALOGUE 65

Regional diary

15 July

Tuesday 27 September

14 September

Exeter and District

at the Athenaeum

From Nationalism to Nationhood A personal view by our own member, Arthur Collins, marking the 40th anniversary of the emergence of Bangladesh as a nation state. This will be followed by the AGM. Tuesday 4 October

Quiz Evening at Dartmouth House

Wednesday 29 June

AGM at 11.30am Followed by lunch and a demonstration of painting in watercolour by Annie Kirby.

16 September 1.00pm Lunch at Fiveways, Ormskirk with speaker ‘Henry Tudor’

Mid-Cheshire Contact : Valerie Mais 01606 76534 valerie@mais.demon.co.uk Lunch Meetings at Portal Premier Golf Club, Forest Road, Tarporley, Cheshire

Note 6pm for 6.30pm The Joyce Rolf Memorial Lecture on the life of David Lloyd George

by Roy Hattersley, sharing his insights on his recent best-selling biography of the enigmatic world statesman. Admission by ticket only.

West Sussex Contact: Branch Secretary Elizabeth Brooks, 01243 378900

19 October Visit to Royal Courts of Justice Details for London Members are included in the London Newsletter. For any other members, details can be obtained from London Region Secretary Don Miller – email donaldemiller@btopenworld.com

WALES REGION South Wales Contact: Derek Morgan 01656 669129 Thursday 23 June, 6 to 8 pm

Wednesday 13 July

Saturday 18 June

4.30pm. AGM following a tour of Petworth House.

Summer garden party at castle – upon – alun house courtesy of sir geoffrey and lady inkin

Friday 16 September

September

1.30pm. The Barley Mow, Walderton.

AGM with speaker, details to be confirmed

“The Business of Art in Renaissance Venice” - talk by Barry Shears.

Tuesday 6 December

Buffet supper with wine followed by entertainment by members of The Cheshire Youth Theatre Tuesday 13 September The speaker will be Martin Mulloy, Director of Education, ESU Dartmouth House, followed by the Annual General Meeting.

SOUTH EAST REGION Brighton and Hove Meetings 2 for 2.30pm at The Hove Club, 28 Fourth Avenue (opposite Hove Town Hall) Contact: Mr Arthur Collins on 01273. 307335 or email; esubrighton@gmail.com

Speaker: Sir John Coles, GCMG, former Head of the Diplomatic Service Subject: “Real Leaders: Changing the Course of Events”

27 June Supper meeting: 5.30pm for 6.00pm Speaker: Evie Faulkner : 1930hrs A student helped to sponsor for the World Challenge. She will be telling us about her travels to Belize and Mexico and the project she was involved in.

11 July Supper meeting: 5.30pm for 6.00pm AGM at 1915 hrs Speaker Janet Tamblin: 7.45pm

Christmas carols and supper at Howell`s school, llandaff

Title: A British History of the Magic Lantern.

Friday 25 November

SOUTH WEST REGION

Thanksgiving Lunch. The Chichester Marina.

Bristol

Afternoon talks start at 2.00pm and evening talks at 7.30pm (except special events) and cost £3.00 to include tea/coffee. They take place in the Churchill Room, Astor Hotel, The Hoe Plymouth PL1 2PS.

Tuesday 18 October Visit to Old Portsmouth.

LONDON REGION 22 July AGM and talk by Gervaise Phinn

Please note the change of venue for evening meetings – these will now take place in the Apostle Room at Clifton Cathedral unless otherwise stated.

Talk by Patricia Friedberg on her book ‘21 Aldgate’

Evening meetings in the Apostle Room commence at 7.15pm wine, soft drinks, coffee and biscuits are available. The talk starts at 7.45 pm

8 August

Saturday 18 June

4 August

Visit to Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham

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Followed by a Supper Meeting at 7.00 for 7.30 pm

Plymouth

12 noon for 12.30pm

Summer Buffet Evening to raise funds for branch sponsorship programmes at 7.15 pm Cuddington & Sandiway Village Hall, Cuddington

Annual General Meeting 6.30 pm

Summer Garden Party at 29 Mariners Drive, Bristol, by kind permission of Tony Williams.

12.30 for 1pm. £12.50.

(Cheques to John Lindley by Saturday 11 June)

Non-members are most welcome to join us for the lunch/supper or just for the talk.

For further information and booking (meals and special events must be booked in advance) please telephone Jill Rogerson 01752 847 113.

School students attend free, college students £1.00.

REVIEW – Inside Reviews, listings, profiles and interviews from staff and members. To submit a review or listing for publication, please contact the Editor on 020 7529 1579 or editor@esu.org

Film Reviews_68 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 We Need to Talk About Kevin

REVIEWS

For those of us who haven’t read the final pages of J K Rowling’s generation defining series, there are many questions left to be answered: Who will survive the final battle? Will Ron and Hermione finally admit their feelings for one another? Will Maggie Smith get ANY screen time?

FILM HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 Released 15 July So this is it. After ten years, more column inches than it must be possible to count, and the making of three new stars (at least), it’s all coming to an end. Harry Potter will met the Dark Lord for a final time, and the story we all feel we know so well will be played out on celluloid.

For those of us who haven’t read the final pages of J K Rowling’s generation defining series, there are many questions left to be answered: Did Snape really kill Dumbledore? Who will survive the final battle? Will Ron and Hermione finally admit their feelings for one another?

Will Maggie Smith get ANY screen time?

DIALOGUE 68

Even die-hard fans will admit that the Potter films are at their best when Rickman, Fiennes, Isaacs et al (the grownups) are centre stage, and while Deathly Hallows Part 1 focussed almost exclusively on the journey of our three heroes, the all-star, best of British cast has been waiting in the wings for long enough. A fitting finale will require the gravitas of the experts, and although you’ll be lucky to get into the cinema not knowing what it is, the conclusion will have you on the edge of your seat as we say farewell to the huge cast of characters that we’ve come to know so well.

© Startraks Photo / Rex Features

FILM WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Released in September Since its publication as a novel in 2003, Kevin has become a fixture in the debate about modern morals, personal and social responsibility and the nature vs nurture argument.

Author Lionel Shriver distanced herself from the film saying she had “had it up to [her] eyeballs with that book”, but this should not take away from the outstanding cast and production team behind it.

Tilda Swinton, ice queen extraordinaire, will play the damaged, detached and ultimately terribly sad Eva. John C Reilly, a veteran of such leftfield filmic gems as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Magnolia, will take on the role of Franklin.

Our anti-hero is played by relative new-comer Ezra Miller, an 18-year old New Jerseyan with the look of a disaffected young man. Directed by Lynne Ramsay who’s last project, The Lovely Bones - although she didn’t ultimately direct it, was equally as hard-hitting and produced by Jennifer Fox, previously a documentary maker, the film promises to look at its subject with sharp eyes.

BBC Films have been battling to get Kevin made since 2005; it has been anticipated by the critics, and received great reviews at Cannes this year. Whilst it will not make easy watching, it is undoubtedly a topic for our times; dealing with rage, the concept of innate evil, the challenges of parenting and the phenomenon of high school shootings in a candid and often searingly honest way.

Expect uncomfortable but essential viewing.

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July – October 2011

All events take place at Dartmouth House and the contact is Susan Conway, 020 7529 1582 or susan.conway@esu.org unless otherwise indicated. The dress code for all ESU events is smart casual, unless otherwise stated.

JULY

AUGUST

Friday 1 July

Friday 8 July, 3 pm

London Debate Challenge finals Central Hall, Westminster

Reception for BUSS (British Universities Summer School) scholars from ESU US

This is an invitation-only event

By invite only

Sunday 7 – Saturday 13 August

Tuesday 5 July

Tuesday 12 July

Shakespeare Study Course in Stratford-uponAvon

Briefing day for three-term UK SSE scholars

American Memorial Chapel Travel Grant Interviews

Sunday 7 – Saturday 13 August

Wednesday 13 July, 10.30 am

Shakespeare and His Stage: Globe Education Cultural Seminar

Wednesday 6 July, 1 - 3 pm Thames Boat Cruise Tickets to the House of Lords Tea Party are sold out; however, tickets are still available for the Thames Boat Cruise, which departs from Westminster Pier at 1 pm for a two hour cruise along the Thames to Greenwich. A fully licensed bar is available on board.

Tickets: £10 Thursday 7 July, 6.30 – 9 pm (or 5 pm for dinner in the Revelstoke Restaurant*) Evening Lecture Speaker: Professor David Crystal Begat: The King James Bible & the English Language To celebrate the 400 year anniversary of the publication of The King James Bible, Professor David Crystal, linguist, academic and author, will give an evening lecture on “the book that changed the world” and its contribution to the development of the English language. A drinks and canapé reception will precede the lecture, which will begin at 7 pm. *The Revelstoke Restaurant will be open for early dinner bookings from 5 pm at additional cost. Dinner reservations must be made in advance, no later than July 5, with Dartmouth House reception on 020 7529 1550.

This event is free to attend but donations are welcome. Please register your attendance with Susan Conway.

This event is in partnership with the British Council.

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English in Action coffee morning Thursday 21 July, 6.30 – 9 pm A Programme of English Song Award-winning operatic singer, Abigail Sudbury, will give an evening recital of music from well-known stalwarts of the English repertory including Haydn, Handel, Sullivan and Mendelssohn, performing a medley of songs which use England or London, as inspiration. A reception will precede the performance, which begins at 7.15 pm where canapés will also be available.

Tickets: £15 to include one glass of wine and canapés. There will be a cash bar.

Performance running time: 75 minutes, including an interval of 15 minutes.

Thursday 28 July, 12.30 – 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch Speaker: Ed Hicks Modern day film-making Ed Hicks, Head of Film, TV and Radio at RADA, will give a Dartmouth House Lunch on the difficulties of modern day film-making facing actors and directors, the challenges currently facing drama schools training the next generation of actors and an insider’s guide to the well known “tricks of the trade” used in a variety of movie blockbusters.

Tickets: £40 members, £45 alumni, £50 non-members Tickets include a two-course lunch with wine.

There will be a cash bar.

Sunday 7 – Saturday 13 August International Relations Conference

SEPTEMBER Thursday 1 September, 7 pm

Wednesday 21 September, 6.30 – 8.30 pm

Thursday 29 September, 12.30 – 2.30 pm

Young Alumni Reunion

Mayfair Literary Walk

Dartmouth House Lunch

This event is for all ESU alumni under 30 years old and their guests. It is a chance for alumni to reconnect with friends and make new ones at our international headquarters, Dartmouth House.

Following the success of our Spring Alumni Open House, Richard Reddaway, City of London, Westminster and St Paul’s Cathedral guide and ESU life-member, will return for a literary stroll around Mayfair.

Speaker: HE George Boomgaarden

Tickets: £12 ESU Alumni, £16 Guests

Commencing at 7 pm, Richard will highlight some familiar literary landmarks including the birthplace of the very first paperback and former headquarters of Penguin Books, the world’s leading antiquarian bookseller, London’s oldest bookshop, as well as the former residences of literary greats such as Oscar Wilde and Kipling. The walk will finish at 8.30 pm.

Contact: Kate Bond, 020 7529 1571 or kate.bond@esu.org Monday 12 September, 6.30 – 9 pm The Rape of Lucrece Following a sell-out, five-star performance at the Edinburgh Festival, Olivier Award Nominee, Gerard Logan, will perform his critically acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare’s narrative poem Lucrece at Dartmouth House. Directed by Gareth Armstrong, former lead in the Merry Wives of Windsor and star of many successful solo performances including the award-winning Shylock, The Rape of Lucrece captures the magic of the Shakespearian word with a new, visceral impression of the greatest theatrewizard who ever lived.

Tickets: £15 to include one glass of wine and canapés. There will be a cash bar.

The performance (65 minutes) will begin at 7.15 pm. There will be no interval.

Monday 19 September Deadline for Applications for two-term SSE scholarship

Tickets: £10 Tuesday 27 September, 6.30 – 8.30 pm Meet the Author Felix Francis: Gamble Continuing his Father’s best-selling legacy, Felix Francis launches another ‘edge of your seat’ read with his latest September offering, Gamble.

Tickets: £10 ESU members, £11 ESU alumni, £12 non-members.

Tickets include two glasses of wine or two soft drinks. There will be a cash bar.

Germany and its economic situation HE George Boomgaarden has been the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Court of St James since 2008.

In his Dartmouth House Lunch he will discuss the reparation of the German economy in the aftermath of the global recession and the secret to its financial strength.

Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 ESU alumni, £50 non-members Tickets include a two-course lunch with wine.

Thursday 29 September, 7 pm Lindemann Trust Alumni Reunion The ESU welcomes back alumni who were fellows of the Lindemann Trust Fellowship to Dartmouth House.

Contact: Kate Bond, 020 7529 1571 or kate.bond@esu.org

OCTOBER Monday 10 October Interviews for two-term SSE scholarship Wednesday 12 October International at Home coffee morning Tuesday 18 October, 6.30 – 8.30 pm Meet the Author: Anne Sebba That Woman: A life of Wallis Simpson Anne Sebba is a biographer, lecturer, journalist and former Reuters foreign correspondent. Author of eight critically acclaimed books on iconic women who enjoyed using power and influence in different ways such as Mother Teresa, Jennie Churchill and Laura Ashley, her latest biography That Woman: A Life of Wallis Simpson is published in August and will feature alongside a Channel 4 documentary.

Tickets: £10 ESU members, £11 ESU alumni, £12 non-members. There will be a cash bar.

DIALOGUE 72

Monday 24 October, 6.30 – 9 pm (registration from 6 pm)

Thursday 27 October, 12.30 – 2.30 pm

The College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final

Speaker: Steven Brindle

The College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge is an innovation to promote and encourage communication excellence across the public, private and voluntary sectors. In its bid to find the UK’s top corporate speakers, the grand final of the Corporate Challenge will be held at Dartmouth House, featuring special guest and chief judge Chris Bates, runner up in the 2010 series of The Apprentice. The theme of the 2011 final is based on a quotation from Sir Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”.

Tickets to this event are free but please register your attendance with Susan Conway no later than Friday 21 October.

Dartmouth House Lunch English Heritage and the restoration of Windsor Castle Steven Brindle is an architectural historian for English Heritage and author of numerous publications including Blue Guide to the Country Houses of England and Paddington: Its History and Architecture. Join the ESU for his Dartmouth House Lunch on the current conversation projects being both considered and undertaken by English Heritage as well as the inside story on the most ambitious and challenging project to date: the restoration of Windsor Castle.

Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 ESU alumni, £50 non-members Tickets include a two-course lunch with wine.

SUPPORT FOR ESU CENTRAL CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES £358,765 raised in 2010-11 plus gifts in kind to the value of £771,605 I am pleased to report that our fundraising total for ESU central charitable activities increased in 2010-11 by £123,894 giving a total fundraising amount of £358,765.

This money, raised from individual donations from members and alumni, corporate sponsors, trust funds, legacies and ESU branch donations, supports ESU central charitable activities.

Money raised by ESU branches, through their own fund raising initiatives, is donated at the discretion of the branches whether to local projects or ESU programmes and competitions. It is generally accepted that branches can choose to support students or organisations whose mission is in alignment with that of the ESU to “bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures. By building skills and confidence in communication, give people the opportunity to realise their potential. Worldwide, the members and alumni of the ESU support these objectives.”

Our 2010 -11 total is broken down as follows: Alumni donations : Branch donations: Corporate sponsorship: Individual donations: Legacies:

£5,700 £21,080 £119,574 £2,411 £210,000

We received the following gifts in kind: Secondary School Exchange Scholarships UK and US hosting schools, value £757,000 Homestays for US scholars in the UK, value £2,500 Walter Hines Page Scholarships value £4,200 Churchill Lecture Discount on venue hire, £4,000 Election Night Party Champagne from Tesco, value £2,880 Discount on charges from Perceptions Events, £500 Luxury Hamper from Fortnum & Mason, value £100 A night’s accommodation, The Chesterfield Mayfair, value £200 Lunch for two at Leith’s at Dartmouth House, value £50 Dinner for two at the Commonwealth Club, value £50

Christmas Carol Evening Luxury Hamper from Fortnum & Mason, value £100 Bottle of Champagne from Leith’s at Dartmouth House, value £25 Our relaunched events programme is now starting to raise money for our activities. We are continuing to see this rise as a result of our new events programme and brochure.

The total raised to date in 2011 is £1,500.

The following competitions, programmes and activities run

by ESU Dartmouth House from April 2010 to March 2011 have directly benefitted as follows: Discover Your Voice – ESU London Region English in Action – ESU London Region ESU and Globe Cultural Seminar – Cambridge ESOL, Drue Heinz Trust and ESU Branches ESU Award Ceremony Reception – Cambridge University Press ESU Great Debates – The Garfield Weston Foundation International Public Speaking Competition (inc. country competitions) – HSBC Education Trust International Relations Conference – ESU Branches John Smith Memorial Mace – Baillie Gifford London Debate Challenge – ESU London Region Marsh Children’s Book Award – The Marsh Christian Trust National Mooting Competition – Essex Court Chambers National Public Speaking Competition – ESU Branches Schools Mace – ESU London Region Shakespeare Study Course – ESU Branches Thank you to everyone who has supported our charitable work and continues to do so.

Jo Wedderspoon Director of Fundraising and Development

DIALOGUE 73

THANK YOU

ESU Dartmouth House would like to thank the following individuals, branches and organisations who have supported our charitable activities since the last edition of dialogue: Allen & Overy Michael Anstey Anna Antoniouk The Best Family Fund Joanne Conway-Petersen

SAVE THE DATE – The English-Speaking Union World Members’ Conference 2012

Istanbul, Turkey 18 - 22 September 2012 Members and friends of the ESU are invited to a week-long programme of seminars, cultural visits and networking

More information will appear in due course - please check www.esu.org/worldmembers or contact international@esu.org

Joyce Davidson Nancy Dibley The Drue Heinz Trust Ken Edwards

The ESU brings together and empowers people of different languages and cultures.

By building skills and condence in communication, we give people the opportunity to realise their potential.

The Kathleen and Margery Elliot Charitable Trust ESU Brighton Hove and District Branch

Worldwide, the members and alumni of the ESU support these objectives.

ESU Colchester Branch ESU Epping Forest Branch

Our vision is to provide people with communication skills, condence and networking opportunities.

The Marsh Christian Trust Frederick Neitzel Orient-Express Group Emil Petersen D Stephens The Swire Charitable Trust The Privy Purse Charitable Trust Michael Wallis

If you would like to contribute to the charitable activities of the ESU please contact Jo Wedderspoon, Director of Fundraising and Development T: 020 7529 1576 jo.wedderspoon@esu.org DIALOGUE 74

The English-Speaking Union Dartmouth House 37 Charles Street London W1J 5ED T +44 (0)20 7529 1550 F +44 (0)20 7495 6108 esu@esu.org www.esu.org/worldmembers

Registered Charity No. 273136

DONATION Can you leave a gift in your will to the ESU? If you would consider leaving us a gift in your Will, we will be able to expand the work of the ESU in United Kingdom and all over the world.

For more information on how your gift could be allocated please contact Jo Wedderspoon, Director of Fundraising and Development 020 7529 1576 jo_wedderspoon@esu.org

Autumn 11 the autumn issue of dialogue will contain updates on IPSC 2011, ESU Iceland, London Debate Challenge and more!

The English-Speaking Union