ESU EVENTS Spring - Summer 2011
The English-Speaking Union
- Welcome to the ESU’s Spring - Summer events programme. Having joined the ESU last October, I’ve been busy building a programme of events for 2011. Many changes have been afoot at Dartmouth House, and if you spotted our first programme on the website, www.esu.org/events, or in our reception, you’ll know this edition brings you information about our events in the forthcoming quarter. The April to July schedule is full of variety; from our evening literary lectures - newly named Meet the Author - featuring Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC (the last living ‘Dambuster’ pilot) to a Dartmouth House Lunch with cricket pundit Christopher Martin-Jenkins MBE (‘CMJ’), not to mention our incredible Easter Gala Dinner featuring creations by Theo Fabergé for the St Petersburg Collection, and a Royal Wedding House Party to boot! If you have any feedback on any of events you have attended at Dartmouth House since January, please do not hesitate to let me know your thoughts; I am always happy to hear from you.
I am very excited by our new events programme. Following on from last year’s successes and our events earlier this year Susan has built a full, forward looking seasonal programme. Your attendance at these events is an essential part of our fundraising initiative. The profit made from each event goes directly to the charitable activities of the ESU, enabling young people in the UK and internationally to benefit from public speaking and debating training, exchange scholarships and career development opportunities. Thank you for your support. I look forward to seeing you at one of these fantastic events.
Jo Wedderspoon Director of Fundraising and Development
With best wishes,
Susan Conway Events Manager
All events can be booked via Susan Conway, Events Manager, Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London, W1J 5ED T: 020 7529 1582 susan.conway@esu.org
MEET THE AUTHOR Meet the Author attracts some of the most exciting authors, personalities, and experts in their field to Dartmouth House. This season is no exception, with speakers on a fascinating range of subjects from the newly published autobiography of Mark Twain, to the memoirs of the last surviving Dambuster pilot. ©The Daily Telegraph/ David Rose
Wednesday 6 April Heather White-Smith My Years with the Churchills: a Young Girl’s Memories
Wednesday 4 May Professor Peter Stoneley The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol 1
Wednesday 1 June Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC Lancaster: The Biography
dia ry dates APRIL
Wednesday 6 April, 6.30 - 8.30 pm Meet the Author Heather White-Smith - My Years with the Churchills: A Young Girl’s Memories Heather will give an evening literary lecture on her recently published work My Years with the Churchills: a Young Girl’s Memories, written entirely from memory of her years spent working as private secretary to Lady Clementine Churchill at Downing Street from the age of 17. Tickets: £10 ESU members, £11 ESU alumni, £12 non-members, to include two glasses of wine or two soft drinks. There will be a cash bar.
Wednesday 13 April, 7 - 11 pm Easter Gala Dinner featuring creations by Theo Fabergé for the St Petersburg Collection The ESU takes great pleasure in inviting you to an exclusive black-tie reception with champagne and canapés followed by an exceptional five-course dinner. Philip Birkenstein, Chairman of the St Petersburg Collection, will talk on the history of the Fabergé family and their exquisite creations – of which a magnificent selection will be displayed including jewellery, watches and eggs. During coffee, an auction will give the highest bidder the opportunity to own one of these spectacular pieces of decorative art. Tickets: £125 (to include champagne and a complimentary cocktail on arrival, canapé reception, five-course dinner (with wine) and gift). Tables of 10 are available for £1,000.
Tuesday 19 April, 6 - 9 pm Spring Alumni Open House This year, Alumni Open House Evenings are becoming quarterly seasonal events. For our Spring event, we would like to welcome Alumni to Dartmouth House where we have arranged a tour of “Secret Mayfair” with independent tour guide and Chair of the City of Westminster Guide Lecturers Association, Richard Reddaway, to commence from 6.30 pm. Tickets are free to this event, but please register your attendance with Kate Bond, kate.bond@esu.org, 020 7529 1571, no later than Tuesday 12 April. Wednesday 27 April, 6.30 - 9 pm 5.30 pm for dinner in the Revelstoke Restaurant Royal Wedding House Party As the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton approaches, the ESU invites you to an exclusive evening reception on the marbled courtyard at Dartmouth House. Start your countdown to a weekend of celebration and meet representatives from ESU US, who are jetting into London especially for the occasion. Drinks and canapés will be served from 7 pm and the Revelstoke Restaurant will be open from 5.30 pm for early dinner bookings at additional cost. Tickets: £20
Thursday 28 April, 12.30 – 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch Speakers: Meredith and Richard Hooper CBE Behind the scenes at The King’s Speech ESU member Meredith Hooper and her husband Richard are Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper’s parents. Tom has called his parents his “inspiration as well as the sole reason that The King’s Speech was brought to audiences around the world”. The Hoopers will talk about the script’s journey from stage to big screen and how their lives have changed due to their son’s new-found stardom. Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 ESU alumni, £50 non-members to include a two-course lunch with wine.
dia ry dates MAY
Wednesday 4 May, 6.30 – 8.30 pm Meet the Author: Professor Peter Stoneley
Tuesday 17 May, 6.30 - 8.30 pm All Alumni Reunion
Peter Stoneley, Professor of English Language and Literature at The University of Reading and author of Mark Twain and the Feminine Aesthetic will critically discuss vol. 1 of Twain’s autobiography, published six months ago at the expiration of the 100-year selfimposed censure, his expectations of vols. 2 and 3, and what we can learn from the author of the ‘Great American Novel’.
The All Alumni Reunion is a chance for alumni to reconnect with old friends and make new ones at our international headquarters, Dartmouth House.
Tickets: £10 ESU members, £11 ESU alumni, £12 non-members, to include two glasses of wine or two soft drinks. There will be a cash bar. Thursday 12 May, 6.30 - 9 pm Evening Lecture Speaker: William Lorimer - Aspects & Comparisons of Fine 18th Century Furniture Grandson of architect Sir Robert Lorimer, greatnephew of painter John Henry Lorimer and nephew of sculptor Hew Lorimer, William joined Christies furniture department in 1981, relocating to valuations in 1991. William has been a lecturer for the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies, and a director of Christies Education for over 25 years. This event is in support of the ESU Chilton Art History Scholarship. Tickets: £17.50 to include a glass of wine or soft drink.
This year we will be displaying many photos from our different programmes from our archives. Tickets: £12 alumni, £16 guests, to include a reception with canapés. Thursday 19 May, 12.30 - 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch Speaker: Christopher Martin-Jenkins MBE Commentator, journalist, author and broadcaster, Christopher Martin-Jenkins MBE (‘CMJ’), has been a permanent fixture in the cricketing world throughout the past four decades. His Dartmouth House Lunch will focus on the England’s historic Ashes win of 2010-11. A former correspondent for the BBC, The Telegraph and The Times, Christopher will share his thoughts on England’s victory, personal highlights and lowlights of the series, hopes for the future, and answer the burning question– will England ever do it again? Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 ESU alumni, £50 non-members to include a two-course lunch with wine.
DARTMOUTH HOUSE LUNCHES Following the series of politically-themed Dartmouth House Lunches of 2010, we are back for a new year of monthly Dartmouth House Lunches. This season, we will be featuring guest speakers such as Meredith and Richard Hooper, parents of the Oscar-winning director of The King’s Speech and legendary cricket pundit CMJ. The series is designed to fit into a business lunch– starting at 12.30 pm, the lunches are £40 for ESU members, and £50 for non-members. ESU alumni benefit from a discount on the full price at £45. Ideal for client entertaining, enjoy a superb two-course lunch with wine at our Mayfair home noted for its magnificent interior with grand marble fireplaces and Louis XIV walnut panelling, whilst introducing your guest to our notable speakers.
- an insight from Lawrence Brewer, manager of the St Petersburg Collection, into the incredible collection on show at our spectacular ďŹ ve-course dinner.
Easter Gala Dinner Wednesday 13 April 2011, 7 - 11pm
Say the name ‘Fabergé’ and you conjure up wonderful images of jewel-encrusted eggs. Carl Fabergé was jeweller to the last Tsars in the former Russian capital of St Petersburg, and his Imperial Eggs became the most prized objets d’art the world has ever seen. After the Russian Revolution, the Fabergé family was scattered. Carl’s youngest son Nicholas had been sent to London in 1903 and his son Theo continued the family tradition with the St Petersburg Collection. Theo’s designs use gold and silver, precious stones, crystal, porcelain and rare woods as well as the Fabergé’s favourite guilloché enamel. Nearly all made in England, classic skills are used in hand crafting limited editions each of which has a ‘surprise’ inside. These are all originals, and none are copies of Carl Fabergé’s designs. The creations can be viewed at the St Petersburg Collection Gallery, 42 Burlington Arcade, London W1V 1QG, tel 020 7495 2883 – less than 100 metres from where Nicholas Fabergé opened the family’s first London establishment over a century ago.
Tickets to our dinner are £125. Tables of 10 are available on special offer at £1000. For more information, please contact Susan Conway on 020 7529 1582, or susan.conway@esu.org
dia ry dates JUNE
©The Daily Telegraph/ David Rose
Wednesday 1 June, 6.30 – 8.30 pm Meet the Author: Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC
Thursday 30 June, 12.30 - 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch Speaker: Susannah Fish OBE - Gangs, Guns and Knives in Youth Culture
A pilot of the 617 Squadron (the ‘Dambusters’), Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC will join the ESU to speak about Lancaster: The Biography, an insightful look into the history of this most famous of aircrafts, the crew that flew and maintained them and even the enemy pilots who were sent to destroy them. Tony will also talk about his experience of flying the Lancaster across the North Sea to sink the battleship Tirpitz and to drop the infamous ‘bouncing bombs’ on Germany’s Ruhr Valley Dam and how the Lancaster has emerged as a lasting icon.
Assistant Chief Constable with Nottinghamshire Police, Susannah is currently on secondment at the Home Office where she is the strategic head of the Tackling Knives action programme. As well as being Head of the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Criminal Use of Firearms Group, Susannah has experience in the Nottinghamshire Police Force Crime Directorate, Force Intelligence Directorate and Serious Organised Crime division and will talk about how society can best deal with the increasing influence of gang, knife and gun culture.
Tickets: £10 ESU members, £11 ESU alumni, £12 non-members, to include two glasses of wine or two soft drinks. There will be a cash bar.
Tickets: £40 ESU members, £45 ESU alumni, £50 non-members to include a two-course lunch with wine.
JULY Wednesday 6 July 1 - 3 pm Thames Boat Cruise 3.30 - 5 pm House of Lords Tea Party The annual House of Lords Tea Party is hosted by Lord Hunt of Wirral. The event is a perfect start to the summer with tea, sandwiches and cakes on the House of Lords Terrace. This year for the first time, an exclusive boat trip prior to afternoon tea will set off from Westminster Pier and cruise along the Thames to Greenwich, returning to Westminster Pier at 3 pm. A fully licensed bar is available on board. Tickets: £35 (boat ride and tea party), £25 (tea party only)
Thursday 7 July 6.30 – 9 pm 5 pm for dinner in the Revelstoke Restaurant Evening Lecture Speaker: Professor David Crystal Begat: The King James Bible & the English Language
This event is in partnership with the British Council. To celebrate the 400 year anniversary of publication of The King James Bible, 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. Tickets to this event are free of charge but donations are welcome. Please ensure to register your attendance with Susan Conway by Thursday 30 June.
Thursday 28 July, 12.30 – 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch Speaker: Ed Hicks Ed Hicks, Head of Film, TV and Radio at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (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 ESU members, £45 ESU alumni, £50 non-members.
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Please visit our website www.esu.org/events or contact Susan conway on 020 7529 1582 for further information and tickets.
events and listings
Scan the QR code with your smart phone to learn more about our events and key dates.
A selection of key dates and events over the forthcoming quarter. All events take place at Dartmouth House unless otherwise indicated. MARCH Tuesday 15 March, 4.30 pm – 9 pm London Regional Final of the ESU Public Speaking Competition for Schools Wednesday 23 March SSE 3 term interviews APRIL Friday 1 April, 4.30 – 8.30 pm England Final of the ESU Schools Mace Wednesday 6 April, 6.30 – 8.30 pm Meet the Author: Heather White-Smith Tuesday 12 April Lindemann Trust Fellowship interviews Wednesday 13 April, 10.30 am Coffee Morning
MAY Wednesday 4 May, 6.30 – 8.30 pm Meet the Author: Professor Peter Stoneley Saturday 7 May, 12.30 - 4.30 pm Goodenough College National Final of the ESU Public Speaking Competition for Schools Wednesday 11 May, 10.30 am Coffee Morning Thursday 12 May, 6.30 - 9 pm Evening Lecture: William Lorimer - Aspects and Comparisons of Fine 18th Century Furniture Friday 13 May Deadline for applications for Summer Seminars Thursday 19 May, 12.30 - 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch: Christopher Martin-Jenkins MBE
Wednesday 13 April, 7 - 11 pm Easter Gala Dinner featuring creations by Theo Fabergé for the St Petersburg Collection
Tuesday 17 May, 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm All Alumni Reunion
Tuesday 19 April, 6 pm – 9 pm Spring Alumni Open House and ‘secret Mayfair’ Walk
Monday 23 – Friday 27 May International Public Speaking Competition
Wednesday 27 April, 6.30 – 9 pm or 5.30 pm for dinner in the Revelstoke Restaurant Royal Wedding House Party
JUNE Wednesday 1 June, 6.30 – 8.30 pm Meet the Author: Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC
Thursday 28 April, 12.30 - 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch: Meredith & Richard Hooper
Wednesday 8 June, 10.30 am International at Home Thursday 9 June – Sunday 12 June Reykjavik Launch of ESU Iceland Wednesday 15 June American Memorial Chapel Travel Grant application deadline Thursday 30 June, 12.30 - 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch: Susannah Fish OBE JULY Tuesday 5 July, 12 pm SSE 3-term briefing day Wednesday 6 July 1 - 3 pm - Thames Boat Cruise 3.30 - 5 pm House of Lords Tea Party Thursday 7 July, 6.30 – 9 pm Meet the Author: Professor David Crystal Tuesday 12 July American Memorial Chapel Travel Grant interviews Wednesday 13 July, 10.30 am Coffee Morning Thursday 28 July, 12.30 – 2.30 pm Dartmouth House Lunch: Ed Hicks
join the ESU - The ESU uses English as a common language to nurture dialogue, debate ideas and boost confidence. 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. Our vision is that the ESU continues to be recognised for its expertise in providing people, both in the UK and internationally, with the communication skills, confidence and networking opportunities to realise their potential. 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 and social policy. For over 90 years, the ESU has provided scholarships, bursaries and exchange opportunities for English-speakers around the globe, as well as promoting the skills of public oratory and debating to school and university students worldwide.
With a large programme of activities including competitions, scholarships and seminars, the ESU aims to provide people from all countries, all walks of life and all abilities with the chance to express themselves.
WHAT DOES MEMBERSHIP ENTITLE YOU TO?
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
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By joining your local branch, enjoying its social, educational and cultural programmes, coming to ESU events in the UK and around the world, meeting the people for whom we open new horizons and enjoying the facilities of Dartmouth House in London.
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• JOIN NOW To join the ESU, please download a form from www.esu.org/join, fill it in and return it to: Membership ESU, Dartmouth House 37 Charles Street London W1J 5ED or call 020 7529 1550 or email membership@esu.org
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A quarterly magazine – packed with news about our charitable work & how your money is working for us. Invitations to events at members’ prices at Dartmouth House and locally. Discounts on accommodation in London and other offers. Use of member-only facilities at Dartmouth House (Monday – Friday, 8.30am – 8.30pm) including priority booking for lunch (12 - 2 pm) in the Revelstoke Room and courtyard dining. Priority booking on room hire at Dartmouth House. A range of ESU merchandise to show your support of our work.
For more information please contact The English-Speaking Union Dartmouth House 37 Charles Street London W1J 5ED T: 020 7529 1550 events@esu.org www.esu.org Registered Charity No. 273136
The English-Speaking Union