January_2006

ESU News THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION

Creating global understanding through English ISSUE No. 125 JANUARY 2006

Alumnus Becomes ESU Chairman At the AGM held on 30 November, ESU Governors elected The Rt Hon. The Lord Hunt of Wirral to the position of Chairman, and Mr Edward Gould and The Hon. Christopher McLaren to the offices of Deputy Chairman and Honorary Secretary respectively.

A lawyer and former Government Minister, Lord Hunt’s association with the English-Speaking Union stretches back more than 40 years.

As a student studying law at Bristol University in 1965, he partnered Bob Marshall-Andrews (now MP) to win the Observer Mace, which since 1995 has been administered by the ESU and is known as the John Smith Memorial Mace.

Lord Hunt was subsequently selected, in 1967, to take part in a debate tour of the United States.

Above: The Rt Hon. The Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE

Recognising the power of speech, his passion for argument and dispute resolution led Lord Hunt into a career in the legal profession. An ESU member since 1976, he was invited to become an ESU Governor in 1999. His first decision was to support the Board to borrow £1million for the refurbishment of Dartmouth House. Three years later he became Deputy Chairman and, since then, has been involved in the governance of the ESU.

Contents Alumnus Becomes ESU Chairman . . . . . .Page 1 Royal Awards . . . . . .Page 1 Royal Awards continued . . . . . . . . .Page 2 ESU Debating Society Returns . . . . .Page 3 Farming Scholars’ Exchange . . . . . . . . .Page 3 Debate Squad Tours Japan . . . . . . .Page 3 Travelling Librarian

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National Mooting CompetitIon . . . . . . .Page 4 Chairman Emeritus

Royal Awards Ceremony at St James's Palace

in Hamburg

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh graciously made a presentation to the winner of the 2005 Duke of Edinburgh ESU English Language Book Award, together with a series of other awards, at a ceremony held at St James's Palace in November.

Sir Christopher

Writing with Children, published by Oxford University Press, was the winner of the ESU Book Award. Described as “a wonderful resource showing a clear link between theory and practice, with some excellent tasks as well as being easy for the teacher to use”, the winning entry is a text book specifically designed to address the needs of those working with young learners.

Romania

“We were thrilled when we heard we had won the Award, and are proud that our book has been recognised in this way.” Vanessa and Jackie Reilly Continued on page 2.

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Concert at St Paul’s Waldenbury

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Literary Luncheon with Meyer . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 5 Trio of Lectures at Dartmouth House . . .Page 5

Conference

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Chilton Art History Scholarship

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Anjou 10th Anniversary . . . . . . .Page 7 Morehead Foundation Scholarships

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SSE Thanksgiving Above: L-R Julia Sallabank, Oxford University Press representative and Jackie Reilly, author, with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

Diary Dates

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

Royal Awards Ceremony continued A Highly Commended certificate was also presented for Inspiration 2, published by Macmillan and praised by the assessors as a “thorough, colourful, attractive and well-organised course”.

The ESU President's Award, went to face2face Elementary, CD-ROM/Audio CD, published by Cambridge ELT. This is the third year that this prize has been awarded to recognise innovation and excellence in the use of new, freestanding technologies in the teaching and learning of English.

Above: Peng Xia receives his certificate from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

Lewis Iwu and William Sharp from St Bonaventure's RC School, London, were honoured as winners of the ESU Schools Mace. This year more than 800 schools from all over the United Kingdom and Ireland took part.

Sebastian Isaac and Fiona Dewar from The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn were winners of the 51st John Smith Memorial Mace.

Also recognised on the day were the winners of the ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition 2005, Elizabeth Prochaska and Benedict Rodgers of the City University. This competition promotes the skills of Courtroom advocacy for legal students in Britain.

Above: L-R Chris Redston and Gillie Cunningham, winning authors, and Sue Ullstein, Cambridge ELT, with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, following the presentation of their Award

The authors and Cambridge University Press team say: “It’s wonderful to have won such a prestigious award, which recognises our efforts to break new ground in ELT publishing.”

Certificates were awarded to the ESU London Debate Challenge Championships winners. Supported by the Department for Education and Skills (London Challenge Unit), the Sir John Cass's Foundation, Coca-Cola Great Britain and Ireland and Tesco PLC, this programme provides the opportunity to all maintained schools in Greater London to learn to debate and take part in competitions.

The 2005 winning team, representing the Borough of Enfield, consisted of Alex Lawson, Susannah Lederhose and Sean Robinson of Latymer School.

Peng Xia of China, winner of the International Public Speaking Competition held in May, made a special journey from Beijing to collect his Award from His Royal Highness. His winning speech, on the theme of Differences and Diversity, was entitled My One Time Desk Mate.

Peng Xia said: “At the moment of accepting the certificate from Prince Philip I was wondering what had made me so lucky.

Reflecting the whole competition process, I realised that my country and my people played an unalienable part to help me go this far. In the speech, I talked about my experience as a volunteer teaching in a temporary school for children from migrant workers’ families. In fact, those kids are the author of my speech. English, as the medium, enables me to communicate with contestants from other parts of the world and to present China in front of them.”

The competition was sponsored by HSBC Holdings plc and attracted 61 competitors from 35 countries.

Also awarded certificates were Robert Stagg, Jamie Findlay and Chris Chapman from Bedford School, winners of the 2004-5 ESU National Public Speaking Competition for Schools.

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Above: L-R London Debate Challenge winners from Latymer School, Susannah Lederhose, Alex Lawson and Sean Robinson, receive their certificates

ESU Dartmouth House Debating Society Returns Amid great excitement and anticipation, the ESU re-launched its Dartmouth House Debating Society at what proved to be a very successful evening.

Members will be able to contribute ideas to the process of setting motions, and will also be given the opportunity to suggest speakers, and to participate in the debates themselves.

The ESU Centre for Speech and Debate, which runs the Society, was delighted that founder member, James Moorhouse MEP, was able to attend. Mr Moorhouse, who was instrumental in setting up the Society in 1950, gave a speech on his involvement.

The Centre is keen to reinvigorate the Society. It hopes, by adding a membership aspect whilst maintaining the status of debates as free and open to the public, to encourage a renewed interest in the debates, and, more specifically, in their format and content.

The assembled crowd took part in a debating skills workshop, delivered by James Probert, the Head of the Centre, and three brave volunteers went on to join James in debating the motion This House believes that the media has too much power in Britain. This was a lively and enjoyable session, with a series of impressive floor speeches. The motion was carried by one vote.

The Dartmouth House Debating Society was set up by the ESU's Younger Members’ Debating Circle in the 1950s, in order to accommodate a group of like-minded individuals who were keen to use and hone their debating skills in an informal environment.

Since then, hundreds of MPs, politicians, academics and public figures, including Baroness Williams of Crosby and Sir Robin Day, as well as school and university debaters, have spoken on numerous and varied motions.

Above: Members of the Debating Society take part in the re-launch debate

Farming Scholars Exchange Dartmouth House to meet Valerie Mitchell, ESU Director-General.

Above: Joaquin Sanabria, Argentine farming scholar, at Dartmouth House

The ESU farming scholar from Argentina, Joaquin Sanabrias, spent three months on farms across the UK in Aberdeenshire, Cumbria, Hereford and on Lord Radnor's estate in Salisbury. He then spent a weekend in London, including a visit to

Meanwhile, in Argentina, Tony Bradstock, the British farming scholar, spent three months on estancias. He started out at Estancia El Madroño, on the western Pampa, near Santa Rosa, followed by visits to more than five estancias with the manager of a well-known and substantial farming company. A short stay in Buenos Aires was followed by a week with the Argentine Hereford Cattle Association, then two further visits to estancias in the south Pampa region Both scholars expressed their appreciation to the ESU and to their hosts for these wonderful opportunities to experience farming and warm hospitality in their respective exchange countries.

Above: Tony Bradstock (left), British farming scholar, with his hosts at Estancia “La Rubeta”, Chascomus, Province of Buenos Aires, Agustina Corti Maderna, Ignacio Corti Maderna and Juan Cruz Rodman

British Debate Squad Tours Japan Between 3 and 12 October 2005 four members of the British Debate Squad undertook the annual tour of Japan, teaching and demonstrating debate in the run-up to ESU Japan's National University Debating Tournament. Bilal Mahmood, University of Nottingham, Jonathan Bailey, University of Oxford and Shauna Gillan and Lauma Skruzmane, both University of Cambridge, were accompanied by James Probert, Head of the ESU Centre for Speech and Debate.

Above: The Squad members with students from Osaka Prefecture University at the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto

The Squad delivered workshops and demonstration debates in Osaka and toured the World Heritage Sites of nearby Kyoto, before moving on to Tokyo.

In the capital, the students visited High Schools and ran a seminar for adult debaters before adjudicating the ESU tournament.

This year’s was the largest ever, with 32 teams from 30 separate institutions. The winners, Keio University, will travel to London in 2006 as part of their prize.

Also awarded in the final ceremony was the Baroness Brigstocke Best Speaker Prize, created in memory of the former ESU Chairman who was instrumental in establishing ESU Japan. The winner was Urashima Chika from the International Christian University.

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Librarian’s Polar Mission

UK Champions in Moot Test The winners of the ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition, Elizabeth Prochaska and Benedict Rogers from City University, London, represented the UK at the Commonwealth Moot, held at the Law Society in London.

Teams from a number of Commonwealth countries, including Malaysia, Australia and the Caribbean, took part.

Above: Heather Land and Artemis BonaDea, Curator of the Alaska Heritage Library Museum, with a mammoth tusk

Heather Lane, winner of the 2005 Travelling Librarian Award, hails from the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge.

She spent three weeks visiting libraries, archives and museums and polar collections in Alaska, Colorado and New York.

Heather said: “The Award provided an excellent opportunity to develop strategies for collaborative projects with US libraries, on record sharing, exchange of duplicate materials and informal inter-library loan procedures for Arctic materials. I also had the opportunity to discuss how best to make knowledge of our extensive holdings

of Inuit material available to indigenous communities in Alaska”. The Travelling Librarian Award is jointly funded by the ESU and CILIP - The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

The links fostered during the trip will have paved the way for meaningful discussion during Polar Year in 2007, when keepers of Polar collections from around the world will meet to discuss collaborative projects.

During her free time, Heather visited Barrow, the most northerly US settlement, 350 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Having met Nigeria and Sri Lanka in the preliminary rounds, the UK champions went on to defeat India in the semi-final but were narrowly beaten by Canada in the Final.

The Canadian team, from the University of Toronto, were duly presented with the Turnbull Shield.

The Commonwealth Moot is run in conjunction with The Commonwealth Law Association (CLA) Conference, and has been run at every conference since 1980.

The next Moot will be held in Nairobi in 2007.

For more information about the ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition, please contact Vivienne Thomson at vivienne_thomson@esu.org.

Hamburg Welcomes Chairman Emeritus In September, Lord Watson visited Hamburg and gave a talk about the ESU at the Anglo-German Club to 60 members and friends, including the British Consul-General, Mr Timothy Collard. The event was covered in Die Welt, the Hamburg English-language newspaper, which reported the speech to be “most interesting and amusing”.

Above: Commonwealth Moot Finalists Elizabeth Prochaska and Benedict Rogers from City University

Right: L-R Howard Kroch (Chairman ESU Germany-Hamburg), Lord Watson and Timothy Collard, HM Consul-General

Concert at St Paul's Waldenbury St Paul's Waldenbury in Hertfordshire, the birthplace and childhood home of the late Queen Mother, was the venue for a concert given by Simon Wallfisch, the ESU Scholar to the Banff Centre for the Arts in 2004.

The concert, in aid of the ESU Music Scholarship Fund, included specially commissioned works for combined voice and cello and Shumann's Dicterliebe, and was accompanied by pianist, Daniel Tong.

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The ESU Music Scholarship provides the opportunity for young musicians to attend summer schools in North America and Europe.

Right: Nicolas Wickham-Irving, Chairman ESU Cultural Affairs Sub-Committee with pianist Daniel Tong and ESU Music Scholar, Simon Wallfisch

Literary Luncheon with Sir Christopher Meyer Sir Christopher Meyer's candid memoirs, DC Confidential, have created quite a stir in political and literary circles, so it was with great delight that the ESU welcomed him as Guest of Honour and Speaker at a Literary Luncheon held at Dartmouth House on 15 November.

The former Press Secretary to John Major and British Ambassador to the US, shared with the audience many fascinating insights into an extraordinary period in home and world politics, including close encounters with Tony Blair, George W Bush and Bill Clinton.

Above: L-R Mr Merrick Baker-Bates, Mrs Valerie Mitchell and Sir Christopher Meyer

Mrs Valerie Mitchell chaired the Luncheon, with many guests taking advantage of the opportunity to ask their own questions over coffee after what was a successful and thought-provoking occasion.

Mr Merrick Baker-Bates, former member of HM Diplomatic Service, gave the Vote of Thanks.

Trio of Lectures at Dartmouth House An enthusiastic, capacity audience met in October when Princess Nina Lobonov-Rostovsky spoke on Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes.

The second lecture was given by writer and historian, David Faber, who presented his book Speaking for England. This recounts the riveting and deeply moving story of an English political tragedy: how Leo Amery, a member of Churchill's wartime Cabinet, saw his son hanged for treason.

Left: Mr Nicolas Wickham-Irving and Princess LobonovRostovsky

David Faber brought to life the drama and sadness of this extraordinary political family.

Three lectures have taken place this autumn to benefit the ESU cultural scholarship programmes.

Princess Lobonov-Rostovsky has co-curated numerous exhibitions of Russian theatrical art and was consultant for the Diaghilev Exhibition and Festival in the Netherlands. She gave a captivating insight into the flamboyant impresario, exhibition organiser, publisher, and propagandist who is known in the West as the leading figure behind the Ballet Russes.

Diaghilev achieved a total transformation of the world of dance, returning it to a prominent place amongst the arts.

The lecture was held in aid of the ESU Music Scholarship Fund and was chaired by the Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Sub-Committee, Mr Nicolas Wickham-Irving, who thanked Nina for her “enthralling and insightful presentation�.

Above: David Faber

The British Museum excavations in Sidon, Lebanon, was the subject of an enlightening talk given by Dr Claude Soumal, Special Assistant at the British Museum and Honorary Research Fellow, University College London.

The event was attended by the Lebanese Ambassador, HE Mr Jihad Mortada, and chaired by the Chairman of ESU Lebanon, Mrs Youmna Asseily.

Dr Soumal has been directing the excavations at Sidon since 1998 and is a central figure in research on the ancient mound, which is an exceptional site.

Ten Countries Represented at International At Home Mrs Susan Bull, Chairman of the Promotions Sub-Committee, welcomed guests from 10 countries to An International At Home held at Dartmouth House on 9 November. Those attending included members of the international diplomatic and business communities in London. The morning ended with a tour of Dartmouth House.

Left: L-R Maria Theresa Lazaro, Philippines Embassy, Margaret Egan, Canadian Women's Club, Linda Guzman, Philippines Embassy, Colin McCorquodale, Chairman ESU London, Lady Graydon, Promotions Sub-Committee

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Romania Conference: English for Education and European Integration In the last edition of ESU News we promised a full report on the ESU Conference in Romania. This was held in October 2005 at The President's Palace - Cotroceni, Bucharest, under the auspices of The President of Romania. It was organised by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research and the English-Speaking Union, with support of the Romanian Association for Quality Language Services - QUEST Romania.

The President of Romania, HE Mr Traian Basescu, Honorary Patron of ESU Romania, opened the Conference. Speeches were delivered

by HE Mr Quinton Quayle, Her Majesty's Ambassador, Mr Mircea Miclea, Minister of Education, who spoke on English in Romanian Education, and Lord Watson who spoke on English as the Language of Opportunity.

Three panel sessions followed. The first comprised educationalists who had run projects involving English outside the normal curriculum, and was entitled English for European integration and international mobility - Romanian success stories. During the second session entitled The cultural impact of English, Valerie Mitchell stressed the importance of English as a bridge between cultures as well as the benefits of the ESU. She was followed by teachers who had been involved in British Council initiatives in Romania.

Lord Watson chaired a session entitled Using English in debating and public speaking: the educational value, and introduced Adriana Ionescu, International Public Speaking Competition winner in 1998, who spoke on the importance of English in Romania. Helen Jarman, the coach of the Wales Schools Debate Team, introduced the final session of the day. She gave an overview of debating and the benefits it brings to young people's self-confidence and awareness of good citizenship. The final session was a debate between British and Romanian debaters on the motion This House believes that Europe cannot be fully united until is has a common language.

excellent cultural programme for ESU members who attended.

The make-up of the Conference audience was drawn from every region of Romania and guests were privileged to receive an invitation. They made it clear that it had been the experience of a lifetime, both to hear their own people speak but, above all, to listen to the British delegation.

“The Conference was a real success, being one of the most important international conferences on education organised in Romania. The forthcoming integration of Romania into the EU added an additional dimension and momentum to the Conference, proving that the English language is an effective tool to be used by all actors involved in Romania's European foreign endeavours.

ESU Romania fully benefited from the event as the Conference enhanced its role in the present Romanian cultural, social and political landscape. Suffice it to say that, by the end of the Conference, six participant professors coming from all Romanian provinces approached me and expressed their intention to establish additional Chapters of ESU Romania-Bucharest in their towns of residence.”

Dr Alexandru Budisteanu Chairman of ESU Romania-Bucharest “In October 2005 I visited Romania with the ESU party for a most interesting educational conference which was held in the Presidential Palace. We had plenty of time to meet the teachers who were fascinating about their work, aspirations and, sometimes, problems.

ESU Romania-Bucharest also arranged a most enjoyable day out to the Carpathian mountains, where, amongst magnificent scenery we visited the former Royal Summer Palace and Bran Castle, also known as Dracula's Castle! Everyone was very kind, friendly and welcoming. ” Colin McCorquodale, Chairman London Branch “I found the English for Education and European Integration Conference outstanding in many respects. As a teacher, I was impressed by the Romanian involvement in the international educational projects and their enthusiasm in implementing these standards.

As a member of the English-Speaking Union I was delighted to learn about the large and varied scope of ESU activities, crowned by the live debate incorporating the Romanian and British young teams, all of which illustrate the worldwide value of English as the language of opportunity and international understanding and cooperation.

Above: Above L-R: Helen Jarman, Wales Schools Debate Coach, Bethan Greaves, Debater, HE Mr Quinton Quayle, HM Ambassador, Thomas Lake, Debater

During the Conference break, Lord Watson and Valerie Mitchell were honoured to be received by the President of Romania.

The Conference was followed by a reception at the Residence hosted by HE Mr Quinton Quayle. ESU Romania provided an

As a guest, I was honoured to take part in a conference held under the auspices of the President of Romania, co-organised by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research and the EnglishSpeaking Union London. And, last but not least, to enjoy the kindness of our hosts and admire the beauty of the city of Bucharest.”

Branka Panic, Chairman ESU Serbia and Montenegro

Nelson Fund-Raiser for Chilton Scholarship The year 2005 marks the bi-centenary of Nelson’s death and, therefore, it was apt that one of Britain’s most famous heroes should be the subject of a lecture in aid of the ESU Chilton Art History Scholarship.

James Taylor, an expert on maritime art, lectured to a capacity audience at Dartmouth House on Horatio Nelson: Hero of 6

Trafalgar. The talk examined Nelson's life and legacy through a wide range of historic paintings and drawings.

The lecture was preceded by a reception and raised over £1,600 towards the Scholarship.

A Double Celebration in Anjou Whilst the members were predominantly French, Valerie Mitchell was pleased to see that it was becoming an international membership which included members of the Anjou Branch from Australia, The Netherlands, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Germany, Italy and Hungary. She was thrilled and impressed by the eagerness and warmth of the members who responded enthusiastically to the message of the ESU. She paid tribute to the founding members and acknowledged the successful programme of the current Committee in presenting three French candidates for scholarships in 2005: the International Public Speaking Competition, the International Relations Conference at Oriel College, Oxford, and the ESU Shakespeare's Globe Seminar in London.

Above: L-R front: M Balint Ordody de Ordod, Président d'Honneur ESU France Anjou, Mrs Vera Brown, Mme Martha Ordody de Ordod, L-R back: Lt Col John Barritt, Committee Member, ESU France Anjou, Mr John Brown, President, ESU France Anjou, Général Philippe Peress, Vice-President, ESU France Anjou, Mrs Valerie Mitchell, ESU Director-General

ESU Director-General, Mrs Valerie Mitchell, was Guest of Honour at the 10th Anniversary celebration of ESU France Anjou.

Mrs Mitchell approved and witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between ESU France Anjou and the EnglishLanguage Library, Angers. It is the aim of the two organisations to further the use of English as a tool to promote dialogue and greater understanding in the local community.

Valerie Mitchell said: “I should like to thank and congratulate Mr John Brown, President of ESU France Anjou, Président d'Honneur, M. Balint Ordody de Ordod, and Vice-President Général Philippe Peress and the members of the Committee for the success of this important Branch in France, which is thriving.”

The John Motley Morehead Foundation Scholarship Awards On 31 October and 1 November interviews took place at Dartmouth House for the Morehead Scholarship Awards to the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill. The Morehead was established in 1951 to attract outstanding, well-rounded student-leaders to UNC and, since its inception, the Morehead has provided more than 2,500 Morehead Scholars with unrivalled opportunities for university and experiential education. The British programme was initiated in 1969, and since then more than 100 British Moreheads have won the Award. They are currently making their marks as business and professional leaders in the UK and around the world.

tions, Marion Boulicault from The Henrietta Barnett School, Elizabeth Brook from Sevenoaks School, Alexander Lim from Winchester College, and Eve McTurk from Mainholm Academy, Scotland, were chosen as the four students to be put forward to the final stage of interviews at UNC. The four students will travel to Chapel Hill from 4-7 March 2006 for a weekend of intensive interviewing, alongside candidates from the US. If successful, students receive a fully-funded place at UNC to pursue a four-year, first degree undergraduate programme with summer internships before each year of study. The Scholarship is worth in the region of US$140,000 per student.

This year, 20 candidates were interviewed initially and nine were called back for a second interview. After long and difficult delibera-

For more information please contact Mary Dawson, Director of Education, Dartmouth House.

Secondary School Exchange Pilgrim Scholars On 18 November, 30 North American and British Secondary School Exchange scholars were able to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Having made their way to Dartmouth House from the furthest reaches of the British Isles, the hungry travellers 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 UK two-term scholar going out to the US in January. Alumni of the programme and current US scholars helped to make the evening a great success.

Further information or application forms, are available from Katherine Plummer, Education Officer, at Dartmouth House.

Above: North American and British Secondary School Exchange Scholars enjoying a Thanksgiving Celebration Dinner at Dartmouth House

“It was great to see all the other SSE Scholars. It felt like a real Thanksgiving.” James Brennan, 2005/6 US SSE Scholar 7

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 Every month: Dartmouth House Debating Society Full term card and details available at www.britishdebate.com/public

ADVANCE NOTICE

JANUARY Wednesday 11 January at 10.30-11.30 am At Home at Dartmouth House - members and their friends are invited to coffee Contact: Jacqueline Abbott

FEBRUARY Wednesday 8 February at 10.30-11.30 am At Home at Dartmouth House - members and their friends are invited to coffee Contact: Jacqueline Abbott Tuesday 14 February at 12 noon Literary Luncheon with Sir Martin Gilbert who will present his new book Churchill & America Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing Tickets: £32 to include 2 course lunch, wine and coffee Contact: Katie Brock

MARCH Tuesday 7 March at 7.00pm Literary Lecture with Vyvyen Brendon who will present her new book, Children of the Raj Tickets: £5 to include a glass of wine Contact: Katie Brock Wednesday 8 March at 10.30-11.30 am At Home at Dartmouth House - members and their friends are invited to coffee Contact: Jacqueline Abbott Monday 13 March at 3.15 pm Commonwealth Day Observance 2006 at Westminster Abbey.

Admission is free by ticket only. A limited number of tickets are available to ESU members. Names of all ticket holders must be submitted. Apply now for tickets which will be available at the end of February. Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope with your application Contact: Jacqueline Abbott

STOP PRESS! ESU Philippines Launched As we go to press, we can report that ESU Philippines was launched in Manila on 21 November. We offer our congratulations to them and will bring you a full report in our March issue.

9 - 13 June ESU Serbia and Montenegro is organising a Conference in Belgrade entitled: English and its many Facets. The Conference will take place on Saturday 10 June, to be followed by a programme which will include a tour of Belgrade and a trip to Montenegro, with an excursion to Dubrovnik in Croatia Contact: Helen Green Thursday 29 June at 7.30pm Gala Concert at Coutts on the Strand We are delighted to announce that a Gala Concert will be held in the impressive surroundings of The Garden Court of Coutts on the Strand. All proceeds from the Gala Concert will go to towards the ESU Music Fund, providing scholarships for young musicians to attend summer schools in North America and Europe.

Tickets: £55 (single ticket) or £100 (double ticket) to include the concert followed by a Canapé Reception Contact: Katie Brock 29 July - 4 August 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 Fabergé connection!

For more information telephone Irene Clarke at St Petersburg Collection 01895 238674. Places are very limited and we recommend early booking 21 - 27 October The Launch of ESU Chile will take place on Monday 23 October with a programme of events taking place from 21 - 27 October Contact: Helen Green

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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