ESU News March 2009

ESU News THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION Creating global understanding through English ISSUE No. 142 MARCH 2009

Dual Anniversaries Are Celebrated at Gala Concert

The Duchess of Gloucester and Mrs Norman-Butler

The glittering surroundings of the Goldsmiths’ Hall were the setting for an ESU Gala Concert held to celebrate the centenary year of Belinda Norman-Butler, who founded the ESU Music Scholarships, and the 90th Anniversary of the English-Speaking Union.

The Duchess of Gloucester was the Guest of Honour at the concert which featured cellist, Steven Isserlis, and pianist, Ana-Maria Vera.

Guests enjoyed a reception in the beautiful drawing and exhibition rooms before proceeding into the magnificent Livery Hall for the performance.

Steven Isserlis, a former ESU music scholar, and Ana-Maria Vera played a most enjoyable programme of Mendelssohn, Schumann, Ravel and Poulenc. This was set against the backdrop of the Goldsmiths’ Company’s dazzling collection of gold plates and an impressive arrangement of flowers donated by Nancy McLaren, a dedicated and long-serving ESU member.

Mrs Anne Skeggs, Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee, welcomed guests and committee member, Lord Aberdare, gave the Vote of Thanks. Mrs Norman-Butler gave a most heartfelt and illuminating presentation on the work of the ESU music activities over the years.

The Duchess of Gloucester with Steven Isserlis and Ana-Maria Vera

The Duchess of Gloucester, accompanied by Valerie Mitchell, met the two artistes after the concert.

Contents Gala Concert . . . . . . .Page 1

Acclaimed worldwide for his musicality and technique alike, Steven Isserlis received an ESU scholarship to the Aspen Music Festival and School in 1981 and has been a loyal supporter of the ESU ever since.

All proceeds from the evening will go to support the ESU Music Scholarship programme.

Established in 1970 by Mrs Norman-Butler, the scholarships have enabled young musicians to attend summer schools and festivals of international renown in North America, Europe and the UK. More than 500 musicians have benefited, among them Nigel Kennedy, Robert Cohen and Tasmin Little.

Our thanks go to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths for their kindness in lending the Goldsmiths’ Hall, to Magnet Harlequin for generously donating their design and printing services, and to Pernod Ricard UK in providing the champagne for the evening.

Gala Concert cont’d . .Page 2 BBC Broadcast . . . . . .Page 2 Belgrade Conference . .Page 3 Dance Scholars . . . . . .Page 3 Children’s Book Award . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 4 Debate Season . . . . . .Page 4 Thanksgiving Meal . . .Page 5 English in Action . . . . .Page 5 Xmas Concert . . . . . . .Page 5 Hardy Talk . . . . . . . . .Page 6 Munich Trip . . . . . . . .Page 6 Library Update . . . . . .Page 6

Continued on page 2

Telephone : 020 7529 1550 Fax : 020 7495 6108 Email : esu@esu.org

Obituary . . . . . . . . . . .Page 7 New Faces . . . . . . . . .Page 7

Web : www.esu.org

Anniversaries Celebrated cont’d from Page 1 The ESU was most saddened to learn that Belinda Norman-Butler passed away, just a few weeks later, on Boxing Day. A tribute to her appears on page 7.

(L-R) Mrs Veronica Franklin-Gould, Mrs Valerie Mitchell and Mrs Anne Skeggs

Auditions for this year’s scholarships took place at Dartmouth House soon after the concert. With only seven scholarships allocated, the application process was extremely competitive and over 80 musicians applied.

Success has come to our 2008 scholars with pianist, Alexandra Dariescu, winning the highly esteemed Prix Maurice Ravel and Susan Jiwey awarded the singer's prize, Prix de Chant Pierre Bernac 2008. Both are studying at the Ravel Académie.

The musicians

ESU Washington Hosts ‘Any Questions?’

Mr Dimbleby invited questions from the 200-strong audience, and topics included such issues as whether a country that had twice installed a leader widely reviled in Europe could be forgiven now that it was inaugurating Barack Obama as its 44th President; whether America's new chief executive should expect any power plays from Hillary Clinton; and how the Obama administration would handle the Middle East, particularly in light of Israel's recent invasion of Gaza. Questions were also fielded on Iran and its nuclear aspirations, environmental issues and what was likely to happen to the ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK. The most riveting moment occurred when, in response to Col Wilkerson's suggestion that Vice President Cheney had deceived and manipulated Secretary Powell, Jonathan Dimbleby asked how Mr Powell and his chief aide had stuck it out so long. Col Wilkerson replied, "that is a question I ask myself every night when I wake up with nightmares."

The ‘Any Questions’ panel with David Dimbleby

On January 16, BBC Radio 4 took its Any Questions? programme to the ESU in Washington. This was a return visit, the first having taken place in 2001.

Once again, the BBC assembled an eminent panel, led by host Jonathan Dimbleby. The contributors were Renee Amoore, Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and a candidate for the co-chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, journalist Christopher Hitchens, Thomas E Mann, a widely published political analyst at the Brookings Institution, and Col Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, and now a university lecturer.

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After the broadcast, the BBC hosted a reception for participants and representatives of the co-sponsoring organisations. This was followed by an invitation from ESU Washington’s Executive Director, Mark Olshaker and his wife Carolyn for Jonathan Dimbleby, producer, Peter Griffiths and Dr John Andrews, former President, ESU Washington, to join them for drinks and hors d’oeuvres at their beautiful Watergate apartment.

ESU Washington is enormously grateful to Peter Griffiths and his colleagues for bringing another engaging event to the New World.

More details about this programme, including links to an audio recording and to a written transcript, are available at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/anyquestions.

Belgrade Conference Explores The Future of Englishes HM Ambassador to Serbia, Mr Stephen Wordsworth, opened this impressive occasion, at which linguistics expert, Professor David Crystal, gave the keynote speech. Other speakers included Mr Andrew Glass, British Council Director, who spoke on English and the Global Classroom, Professor Ranko Bugarski, ESU Serbia Honorary President, with an address on English in European Institutions and Elizabeth Stokes, ESU Director of Education, who presented on the ESU’s education projects. The conference also included an exhibition of Professor Crystal’s books.

ESU Serbia kindly organised a successful cultural programme which included a presentation on Speaking Shakespearean by David and Hilary Crystal. This was followed by a cheese and wine reception in the friendly atmosphere of ESU Serbia’s premises.

Professor Crystal, Branka Panic, Elizabeth Stokes and members of ESU Serbia

Eighty ESU members, linguists and teachers gathered in Belgrade, in November, at a conference to mark the 90th anniversary of the ESU. Entitled The Future of Englishes, the event was organised

by ESU Serbia, the first Eastern European Branch of the ESU, founded in 1991.

Professor David Crystal

The highlight of the three-day programme was Professor Crystal's lecture at Belgrade University Philological Faculty. This attracted an enthusiastic student audience of 800, the largest student audience that Professor Crystal has ever addressed. Delegates later enjoyed a reception given by the Dean of the University.

The ESU would like to thank Branka Panic, Chairman, ESU Serbia, and the whole of her committee for all their hard work in making this very successful conference possible.

HE Mr Stephen Wordsworth

Professor Ranko Bugarski

Dance Scholars Are Performing Well The ESU is presently sponsoring two students at the Royal Academy of Dance under its Dance Scholarships programme.

The English-Speaking Union is proud to support these two worthy recipients of the scholarship.

Lianne Pooi Heen Cheong from Malaysia is a second year student on the BA (Hons) Dance Education programme. Dedicated to the course, Lianne has shown remarkable progress in her studies, despite the additional challenge of having English as her second language. Achieving the highest grade of the whole group in her summative case study, she was placed in the outstanding category in the assessment.

Rania Leontiou from Cyprus, a Level 2 student on the BA (Hons) Ballet Education programme, is also a beneficiary of the ESU’s support. Enthusiastic and with a passion for learning, Rania is a key member of the cohort, supporting her peers and volunteering for Faculty of Education activities throughout her first year at the Royal Academy of Dance. With an excellent academic record, she is a promising talent and has demonstrated her potential to become a first class student.

Lianne Pooi Heen Cheong

Rania Leontiou 3

Marsh Award for Children’s Literature Winner Announced The winner of the 2009 award is Sarah Ardizzone who translated Toby Alone into English from its original French. First published in 2006, the book has already been made available in 22 other languages.

World-renowned author and writer Anthony Horowitz presented Sarah with a cheque for £2000. On receiving her award, Sarah said, “I am flabbergasted and delighted to be receiving the Marsh Award 2009. To my mind the greatest gift of the award is shining the spotlight on world class literature for children….translated from a wider range of languages than ever before [so they] might travel into the hands and classrooms and libraries of young people across the UK." Sarah’s book was chosen from around 40 entries. They included books translated from Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Yiddish.

(L-R) Aleksandra Marsh, Anthony Horowitz, Sarah Ardizzone and Valerie Mitchell

In 2008, the ESU took over the administration of the Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation. This is an initiative to reward translations and to encourage publishers to publish more translated children’s fiction. It demonstrates the high quality and diversity of translated fiction for young readers.

The judging panel met at Dartmouth House in October and shortlisted six candidates for the award. The outcome was announced at a reception, held in January, and attended by more than 80 guests.

This award was founded by the Marsh Christian Trust. For further information please contact the ESU Education Department by emailing education@esu.org “Story-telling and literature are the fastest way to connect people.

The truth is that you cannot really understand a nation unless you understand their culture. It would seem sensible to attempt to cross those boundaries in any way we can. This is just one reason why I am so pleased to support the Marsh Award.”

Anthony Horowitz

Lively Autumn Debates The ESU Centre for Speech and Debate’s Debating Society organised two interesting and well-attended debates before Christmas.

In early December, the Society was pleased to host a debate at Dartmouth House in association with Birkbeck College, University of London. The topic for the evening was This House fears the world is becoming culturally homogenous. The speakers were all taking classes in public speaking at Birkbeck and had obviously prepared very hard for the evening. Particularly interesting was the idea of cyclical development of cultural trends, and this was developed later in the audience speeches.

Birkbeck has since expressed interest in repeating this event and we hope that, shortly, we will be able to do so.

The annual Alumni Debate proved to be a fitting end to 2008 for the Debating Society and we were very happy to welcome back eight of our alumni to speak on the topic This House believes that those who put themselves in the public eye give up their right to privacy.

The debate centred around an informative and entertaining discussion of the Max Mosley judgement against the News of the World and was greatly enjoyed by the large audience.

Willard Foxton addresses the audience at the Alumni Debate

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It was narrowly won by the opposition team of James Prior and Willard Foxton, both alumni of ESU tours. Willard followed this victory with success in the World Debating Championships Comedy Finals.

The ESU expresses its thanks to the other six speakers, George Payne, Tarit Mukherjee, Fred Cowell, Jonathan Leader Maynard, Sid Khajuria and Ali Cormack and to all those who came to watch and to contribute to the floor debate.

Thanksgiving at Dartmouth House A Thanksgiving dinner is regularly hosted at Dartmouth House for American and British Secondary School Exchange scholars on placements in the UK. So it was, in November, that 20 hungry travellers made their way to Charles Street where they tucked into a splendid supper with traditional turkey and dressing followed by pumpkin pie.

Earlier in the day, a briefing had been held for the four UK two-term scholars going out to the US in January. Alumni of the programme and current US scholars helped to make the evening a great success.

The UK scholars at Dartmouth House before their departure for the US

The SSE gap year scholarships enable British and North American students to spend a year studying at a school across the Atlantic. If you would like more information or details of how to apply, please visit the ‘Scholarships & Exchanges’ section of the website at www.esu.org. Alternatively contact Katherine Plummer at Dartmouth House.

English in Action Coffee Morning In early December, volunteer tutors from the English in Action and English in Action in Schools programmes met at Dartmouth House for a festive coffee morning of mince pies and conversation.

English in Action in Schools volunteers were pleased to be able to make use of English Language entries for The Duke of Edinburgh ESU English Language Book Award and ESU President’s Award.

English in Action provides one-to-one English support to students at Dartmouth House. The schools programme sends pairs of volunteers into London primary schools to work with small groups of children who have English as an additional language.

All the volunteers are now enjoying the new spring term of English in Action, which promises to be as successful as ever.

For further information about volunteering with English in Action, please contact Kate McCulloch, Education Assistant.

The coffee morning gave the volunteers a chance to share their latest experiences of the two programmes, and also to hear about new developments at the ESU.

Christmas Concert The English-Speaking Union’s annual Christmas Concert took place at Dartmouth House on 10 December. Valerie Mitchell welcomed guests before Voxabilis from Oxford University, under the direction of Chris Chan, provided some exceptional seasonal music.

Readings were contributed by Don Miller, Secretary of the ESU London Branch, Mrs Anne Skeggs, Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee and Krishna Omkar, an ESU debating alumnus. Dame Mary Richardson, ESU Deputy Chairman, gave the closing remarks.

The concert was attended by a number of recent ESU alumni, including Emma Pinder, an SSE alumna and George Dellal, a Capitol Hill alumnus. Alumni used the event as an opportunity to renew old friendships and to catch up on the developments in their lives.

A reception with mince pies and mulled wine followed. It finished, as in previous years, with some spirited singing on the staircase.

ESU alumni Emma Pinder and George Dellal

ESU Merchandise When visiting Dartmouth House, why not take a moment to look at the display cabinet, where you will find an exclusive range of gift items, all featuring the ESU logo. The items for sale are reasonably priced starting from just £3.50 and range from key fobs to an impressive assortment of glassware, ties, and jewellery.

Ask at reception for details.

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Art History Lecture on English Country House

John Hardy

The English-Speaking Union welcomed John Hardy to Dartmouth House, in November, to speak on The English Country House. The lecture was in aid

of the Chilton Art History Scholarship.

John Hardy is a leading specialist in the study of eighteenth-century furniture and interior decoration. He has been a consultant and researcher at Christie’s King Street for almost twenty years, and was previously a curator in the Furniture Department of the Victoria & Albert Museum. He is a contributor of articles to various art journals, guide books and exhibition catalogues, and has lectured widely on the subject of furniture and interior decoration around the world.

future display of Horace Walpole’s House at Strawberry Hill.

Guests were treated to John Hardy’s formidable wit and vast knowledge on the subject. His extremely entertaining and informative talk concerned the redisplay of furnishings in historic houses in recent years. While concentrating on Ham House and Osterley Park House, which were once administered by the Victoria & Albert Museum, he also mentioned changes that have taken place at houses such as Houghton, Holkham Hall and Charlecote Park. In addition, Mr Hardy discussed the

Tara’s degree is in Biomedical Science, Art History and the Italian Language at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

She also spent several months in the Università di Bologna, Italy, studying Art History and Italian Language. She has a strong interest in Impressionist Art and Italian Renaissance Art. Her aim is to learn more about the various aspects of the art world and the business dynamics behind it, enabling her to understand the art market in Canada.

Ann Chilton gave the formal welcome and Susan Bull, Chairman of the Promotions sub-Committee, the Vote of Thanks.

Tara Park from Alberta, Canada is the latest recipient of a Chilton Art History Scholarship. She is following the Master’s Programme in Modern and Contemporary Art at Christie’s Education.

Bavaria Visit In early December, the ESU’s Head of International Programmes, Annette Fisher, visited the ESU Germany-Bavaria branch as part of the preparation programme for the 2009 International Council Meeting to be held in Munich in October.

While in Munich, Annette met with Branch Chairman, Dr Claus Bruegmann, with whom she attended a number of meetings with hotels and conference centres to discuss the programme for the upcoming Council Meeting. The trip was highly successful with arrangements now well underway for the conference.

Dr Claus Bruegmann and Annette Fisher

The ESU would like to thank Dr Bruegmann and his committee for their support and efforts towards this important ESU event.

Library Records US Alumni The ESU Library has just completed the first part of the mammoth task of recording lists of American alumni who came to the UK as part of the Secondary School Exchange (SSE) programme. It has already delighted St George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island by filling in gaps in their records. In return, St George’s has informed us that Howard Dean, who attended Felsted School in 1966, was a presidential candidate four years ago, and that Hamilton Merserve, who went to Tonbridge in 1954, was the son of the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz!

Alas, Brooks Wall, the first student to come to the UK in 1936, passed away just before Christmas.

We are in the process of recording all programmes, alumni and competition winners and we need help from branches to complete our records. We are currently concentrating on the Public Speaking Competition and would be grateful for retrospective details of entries and results in each area. For future events and scholarships, please send details to Gill Hale, the Librarian at Dartmouth House.

Can You Offer a Homestay Weekend?

The International Public Speaking Competition 2009 takes place in London from Monday 18 May to Thursday 21 May. Traditionally, we offer participants the opportunity to stay with ESU members outside London for the weekend following the contest.

If you are interested and able to extend an invitation to a participant for the weekend of Friday 22 to Sunday 24 May, we would be extremely grateful. The ESU in London would arrange all travel to and from the homestay, departing from London on 6

the morning of Friday 22 May. We ask the competitors to remain in the UK until at least Sunday evening to make it worth their while travelling outside London.

For more information and to register your interest in hosting a homestay for one of this year’s International Public Speaking Competition participants, please contact the International Programmes Assistant, Alison Wakefield.

Obituary Belinda Norman-Butler

Her vision was to provide post-graduate experience for young musicians and through her many contacts in America, France and the UK, she succeeded in finding places for players of talent at Tanglewood, Banff, Yale, Aspen, Institut Ravel and the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove in Cornwall.

She was helped in all this by her friends Robert Mayer, Yehudi Menuhin and Edward Greenfield. She formed a panel of distinguished musicians of which she herself was chairman until well into her eighties. Many of our scholars such as Steven Isserlis, Nigel Kennedy, Robert Cohen and Tasmin Little soon became international names, and as such have continued to support the ESU. To our surprise, Tanglewood turned down Simon Rattle but he was the one to have the last laugh.

In 1996, Belinda was awarded the English-Speaking Union Churchill Medal of Honour for her outstanding contribution to the ESU.

Belinda Norman-Butler and Yehudi Menuhin

The death of Belinda Norman-Butler, on 26 December, at the age of 100, is a profound loss to the English-Speaking Union.

We have lost a great lady, a true friend and most loyal supporter.

She served as a Governor, a member of the National Committee for England and Wales and a member of the Library Committee for 23 years, but her most outstanding achievement was to found the ESU Music Scholarships in 1969.

Anne Skeggs, Chairman of the ESU Music Committee, who knew Belinda Norman-Butler well, said: “To know Belinda was an enriching experience: she was very clever, well-read and had the gift of making you feel very important to her. She was a brilliant raconteur and had many interesting experiences to relate because she knew many of the great musical and literary figures of the day. She loved young people and she always praised all who worked with her.

“Although in a wheelchair, at her 100th birthday concert, Belinda addressed the audience most warmly but sadly seemed to bid us farewell. We shall all miss her, but especially those of us on the music committee.”

New Faces The ESU bids goodbye to Elizabeth Stokes, Director of Education, who is returning to her previous career in teaching. She is replaced by Martin Mulloy, whose own career has been in education in various capacities – as a teacher, editor, publisher, business director and strategic consultant.

Martin was previously Director of the English Language Teaching (ELT) and Languages Businesses for BBC Worldwide for eleven years, developing major multi-media language learning programmes globally – in Asia, Latin America, Europe, the US and the UK. More recently he worked as a consultant for media and publishing companies evaluating strategic opportunities in educational markets worldwide.

Over the last three years, he has worked in China on various projects, including the

development of an English-learning campaign with the organisers of the Beijing Olympics, which was published in newspapers, books and magazines and delivered via radio, television and online to the Beijing population.

Prior to all of this, he worked for various UK publishers including Collins Educational in the UK and Spain, and as Publishing Director of Linguaphone. Martin has also worked as an English-language teacher for several years - in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, France and the UK. Delighted to be joining the ESU, he says, “the ESU has grown significantly in recent years, both in the range of its activities in the UK and in its international presence.

The future, as ever, brings more opportunities and I’m looking forward to working in the ESU to help maximise them.”

Martin Mulloy

Support the ESU If you would like to strengthen the ESU’s ever increasing educational programme by a donation or a legacy in your Will, please contact Jo Wedderspoon at Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London, W1J 5ED, telephone 020 7529 1550, email jo_wedderspoon@esu.org. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

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Diary Dates

Unless otherwise stated we regret that no refunds can be made for cancellations within seven working days of an event.

For members: We accept payment for Dartmouth House events and membership subscriptions by credit/debit cards. Cards bearing Visa, Master-Card, Maestro, Switch, Solo or Delta symbols can now be used to make bookings by post, telephone or email.

DARTMOUTH HOUSE Telephone : 020 7529 1550

MARCH

MAY

Wednesday 11 March 10.30 – 11.30 am Coffee Morning at Dartmouth House for members and their friends.

Contact: Alison Wakefield Wednesday 11 March at 7 pm Economics Debate at Dartmouth House: This house believes in a liberal immigration policy in association with the IEA. Contact: Rosie Unwin Tuesday 31 March 5pm Lecture / 6pm Concert and Reception Russian Cultural Evening at Dartmouth House, beginning with a lecture on the Russian language as a means of intercultural communication and the development of international understanding. There will also be a presentation on Russian Art in the Russian Museum. The lecture will be followed by a concert of Russian songs and romances performed by Mariinsky Theatre soloists. A reception will bring the evening to a close.

Lecture: £5 Concert and Reception: £25 Contact: Gillian Parker

Wednesday 13 May 10.30-11.30 am Coffee Morning at Dartmouth House for members and their friends.

Contact: Alison Wakefield Thursday 21 May at 9 am International Public Speaking Competition Final. Members are welcome to Dartmouth House to see the heats.

Contact: Annette Fisher 29 – 31 May ESU France-Bordeaux Launch May 30 sees the launch of ESU France-Bordeaux. The programme of events will include a cultural programme, including a tour of the city by coach, a visit to the Chateau de Montesquieu and also a visit to Chateau Biac (the estate of Youmna Asseilly, Chairman, ESU Lebanon) for a vineyard tour.

The formal launch will take place on the 30 May at the ‘Musée d’Aquitaine’ followed by a cocktail reception on a sailing barge.

Places are extremely limited and therefore bookings will be taken on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

Contact: Annette Fisher

ADVANCE NOTICE Monday 22 June Launch of ESU Cyprus The formal launch of ESU Cyprus will take place on the 22 June followed by a programme of cultural events.

Contact: Annette Fisher

APRIL Wednesday 8 April 10.30-11.30 am Coffee Morning at Dartmouth House for members and their friends.

Contact: Alison Wakefield Thursday 9 April at 7 pm Lecture in aid of the American Arts Scholarship to Attingham.

Jessie J Poesch, Professor Emeritus Newcomb Department of Art History, Tulane University will be speaking on Art and Architecture in New Orleans Unaffected by the Disaster.

Tickets: £7.50 to include a glass of wine Contact: Alison Wakefield

Monday 7 September Launch of ESU Albania The formal launch of ESU Albania will take place on the 7 September followed by a programme of cultural events.

Contact: Annette Fisher

INVITING ALL ALUMNI The Alumni Officer would like to invite all alumni to a drinks reception on Thursday 26 March at Dartmouth House from 6.30 to 8.30 pm.

Alumnus/a ticket(s) £10 Guest(s) ticket(s) £15 Contact: Cristel Guajardo

♼

Monday 27 April 6.30-9.00 pm The American Friends of English National Opera invite you to join them at Dartmouth House for a special talk in two parts given by Martin Fitzpatrick – ENO’s Head of Music.

Part I: Around the world of opera in 30 minutes (A whistle-stop tour from Monteverdi to Britten - and beyond).

Part II: “Doesn’t it lose something in translation?” Opera in English with particular reference to Cosi fan tutte, in which Martin will be joined by mezzo-soprano Fiona Murphy.

Price: £55 members of ENO & ESU, £80 non-members Contact: Denise Kaplan, American Friends Coordinator, English National Opera, 020 7845 9331, dkaplan@eno.org

25 – 31 July Visit St Petersburg and be treated like a Tsar or Tsarina!

With the help of the Fabergé family's St Petersburg Collection and ESU St Petersburg, we are arranging a unique trip to St Petersburg. Stay at the 5* Astoria Hotel and visit the exquisite sights of the former Russian capital - including many doors opened by the connection with the Fabergé family.

For more information telephone the St Petersburg Collection 01895 238674.

Places are very limited and we recommend early booking

This brochure has been printed with vegetable inks using environmentally friendly paper sourced from sustainable forests and is chlorine-free, acid-free, reclyclable and bio-degradable.

Monday 9 March at 3.15 pm Commonwealth Day Observance at Westminster Abbey. This event is now fully booked. Please contact Gillian Parker to go on the waiting list.

Contact: Gillian Parker

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