October 2016

October 2016

Newsletter

of the International Women’s Club in Sofia

Charity Bazaar update

October Events New IWC office opening

Letter from the President Dear Ladies, The weather is definitely telling us that our summer is nearly over, but I'm sure we are all still trying to catch the last sunny day before we start thinking of pulling out our winter coats and boots. I personally love the seasons, a continually changing scenery, inviting us to visit familiar spots with new eyes.

This is also a good description for the first stallholder meeting held last month.

For any of you who attended, there was of course the usual and essential information about registration, your requirements, and how we can help you. But things are changing! New opening times, new space, new entertainment. Toi and her team are pushing the boundaries, let's make sure we all keep pace, no one will want to miss this bazaar!

October is breast cancer awareness month and as a women's club, this should be close to all our hearts (so to speak!) Take the time to consider your own health, with examinations, check ups, a little bit of love and attention for yourself now is good for all of your family in the long run.

I am pleased to announce that Marina Stefanova has joined Zarina in the office, both are working part time with Marina on a temporary contract to cover Elitsa while she is on maternity leave. We now have full office coverage, which, with our busiest time upon us, is essential. Please do come and say hello to Marina and join me in welcoming her to our club.

I also have good news regarding the vacant board position of charity chair. Lily White contacted me to apply for this position and we are very fortunate that she has many years of past charity work to bring with her. Due to the complication of the early departure of the previously elected chair person back in May, Maria Ilieva is still legally registered as our charity chair and after consulting with our lawyers and Maria, she has very kindly agreed to commit to this until the next election in April. Lilly has agreed to work with Maria as Co chair and will be your day to day contact for charity visits and information. I would like to thank Maria and Lilly for their cooperation and commitment in this complicated matter.

Lastly, please remember to renew your membership by October 31st, you can pay in cash or by card at the coffee morning or at the office. You can also apply and pay online through the IWC website. As you may know the constitution states that Bulgarian members must be no more than 15% of the total membership, therefore we need to have this deadline to review our numbers and legality. Having a fuller international membership ensures we can accommodate all Bulgarian women who wish to join, so please encourage your friends and Coworkers to join our unique club!

Best wishes,

Angela

Cover image: Nadya Wuisan-Bratanova

3

IWC Executive Board 2015-2016 President Angela Bird 0879 119 152 president@iwc-sofia.org

Charity Chairperson Vacant 0879 119 154 charity@iwc-sofia.org

Treasurer Kelsa L. Smith-Mouskourova 0879 506 800 treasurer@iwc-sofia.org

Vice-President Nadya Wuisan-Bratanova 0879 119 150 vicepresident@iwc-sofia.org

Bazaar Coordinator Toi Castelló i Reñé 0879 506 799 c.iwcbazaar@gmail.com

Office Manager/ Membership Coordinator Zarina Benoun-Takova 0895 571 813 admin@iwc-sofia.org

Web/Newsletter Editor: Elitsa Lingorski 0877 369 483 office@iwc-sofia.org International Women’s Club Business Park Sofia, Building 11A, 3rd floor, tel: 02 951 6117 “Like” IWC on Facebook and check our website www.iwc-sofia.org

Club policy Smoking Please note that all IWC Coffee Mornings are non-smoking.

Bulgarian Applicants Unfortunately, due to a lack of available spaces, new Bulgarian applicants will be added to the waiting list, until further notice Language Don’t let a lack of fluency in English keep you from attending the monthly coffee mornings and other club activities. Many of our members speak other languages. Remember, we are an international club, and we are here to support you. You’re welcome at any time.

Suggestion Box The suggestion box is always available at the members’ sign-in table. Feel free to write your ideas, concerns, complaints, and suggestions to the IWC Board and drop them in the box. Because you’re important to us, we want to hear from you.

IWC Visitors Policy The IWC doors are open to visitors throughout the year. Visitors are welcome to attend up to two coffee mornings and two activities prior to applying for membership. A 15 BGN fee is payable upon registration at the sign-in table during the coffee morning. For more information, please contact the Member-ship Coordinator at office@iwc-sofia.org.

Events Charges All events are available to fully paid up members of the IWC. Where there is a cost involved, it will be kept to the very minimum.

Guests will be able to attend the events that are specified at the time. Not all events will be open to guests. Events that are open to guests will also carry a ‘guest’ surcharge as follows:

Monthly Events Free monthly events are free to guests. Events costing under 20BGN, there is an additional charge of 5BGN. Events costing 21BGN or more, there is an additional charge of 50%.

Monthly Activity Groups Monthly activity groups are free and any charge for guests will be at the discretion of the organiser of the group, a charge may be added for instance if a guest regularly frequents one of these activities without becoming a member.

A deposit is required from all members and guests attending an event with a cost involved. This deposit will be forfeited in the case of non attendance.

Event

IWC Member

Guest

Free Monthly Event

Free

Free

Free Activity Group Event

Free

Paid*

Paid Monthly Event

5-20BGN

+5BGN

Paid Monthly Event

21BGN+

+50%

Member only Event

Open

Closed

*Charge for guests at the discretion of the activity group organiser with a min. sum of 10 BGN. Use of IWC Logo The Board has established the following policy for the use of the IWC logo and brand name. In order to prevent any misuse.

1.Written Permission must be requested from the Board a minimum of 2 weeks prior to event; 2. The partnering organisation/company should be in good standing in the community; 3. The event should seek to pursue the goals of the IWC; 4. No third-party usage will be permitted. An agreement will be signed between IWC and partner organisation; 5. The Logo may be used only for the agreed event and for specified time period.

Guidelines for Paid Advertisement 1. Priority for any vacant advertising spaces will be given first to IWC members, then to outside advertisers.

2. Advertisers are welcome to run or extend their advertisements for a period of six months. After that time, if there is a waiting list for advertisements of that size, the situation will be reviewed, and priority for available spaces will be given to (a) IWC members; (b) new advertisers; (c) existing advertisers. The same order of priority will apply to smaller ad space that may become available.

3. There is no waiting list for advertisements of a given size, the current advertiser may extend their advertisement for the contract period of their choice.

4. These guidelines may be revised at any time with the agreement of the IWC Board.

5. Paid advertisers are not endorsed by the IWC.

Rules For Announcements From Members 1. Advertisements will be run in two consecutive issues. If the member sends a request to run the advertisement again, it will be extended for a further two issues. After that, the advertisement will be removed. If the member still wishes to include the advertisement after that time, the request will be considered, but placement is not guaranteed.

2. Advertisements must be submitted by members. Members may not submit ads for non-members (e.g., for a friend who is selling a car, etc.).

3. Members may not submit recommendations for businesses. These recommendations may be submitted to the IWC Go To Guide. Businesses are also welcome to purchase advertising in the newsletter.

4.Recommendations for individuals engaged in business (e.g., dentists, hairdressers, etc.) will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Board.

5. Final discretion as to whether to include an announcement rests with the Newsletter Editor.

4

We ask members to send all announcements for the newsletter via e-mail. The size of ads should not exceed a single paragraph of five lines. The IWC board is not responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in these announcements.

Please send your contributions to office@iwc-sofia.org not later than the 15th of the month.

Charity Bazaar 2016 update IWC CHARITY BAZAAR PROMOTIONAL VIDEO We recently had the pleasure of collaborating with a young company called Arteria Films Ltd. on an exciting project to promote this year’s Bazaar.

We will use the first part of this promotional video from now until the day of the bazaar, to promote it in Facebook, website, and to send it to all our donors, sponsors and friends. The second part of the video will be used from January 2017 to promote further bazaars.

We realized that we need to have some visual materials to promote our main event. The promotional video will have two parts. First part is an introduction of the club and the bazaar where we want to show who we are. We want to show that we are women from all nationalities and cultures that get together to help the country where we live. We are very thankful to Bulgaria, this beautiful little country that embraced us and in reward we have the pleasure to give it back our effort to the most needed.

We would like to extend a warm thank you to Kameliya Petrova and her creative team for a job well done. They were wonderful to work with as they went above and beyond to make the project an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

Arteria Films Ltd. was founded in 2011 and specializes in the production of films, documentaries, TV shows as well as corporate-, music-, and promotional videos. They work closely with each client to provide the best solution and take care of all pre-production requirements, talent casting, equipment, location scouting and postproduction.

The second part will be filmed during the process of the organization of the event, including bazaar team meetings, stallholder meetings, charity visits and of course, the day of the bazaar. We will announce the days of the shooting so that everybody who wishes can participate.

5

We foresee big things for this young and dynamic company and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Kamelya tells us a little story about the company: We have created “Arteria Films”OOD in 2011 nevertheless the partner have been working together long before. Our first project was a mid-length movie called “Hush… Sing me a little!” from the directors Andrey Volkashin and Petar Valchev whose premiere was in April 2013. Right with the first movie we wanted to state our intentions to participate in the “new wave” of the Bulgarian cinema and work with young debutant artists looking for the new faces of the cinema, making experimental advertising and finding a direct way to the viewers and also working on subjects of nowadays young people life here and now. Our second mutual film project is “She who is waving from the train” directed by Camellia Petrova.

The challenges which our producer company is facing are popularizing short and mid-length movies which traditionally have limited audience (mainly because of lack of access to the big multiplex screens and on the second hand the low popularity of these formats). In this area we have succeeded a lot with our first movie “Hush… Sing me a little!” (2013) which despite of its length of 36 minutes had one month daily paid shows and widened the audience of the short movies. Then “She who is waving from the train” followed with its regular shows every evening in April 2016 in “Odeon” cinema.

Here is our Facebook page where you can find our projects, trailers, etc. https://www.facebook.com/Arteria-Films-Ltd-1536535666613017/?fref=ts 6

VillaAugust Spago Bulgarian Festivals — 2016 Calendar July and

7

Toi’s Spanish brunch

8

9

September Coffee Morning at Metro Cooking Academy

10

11

Lithuanian brunch with Ernesta

12

First Charity Bazaar 2016 Stallholders’ meeting

13

New IWC oďŹƒce opening

14

Members news

Experienced nanny available

October Birthdays

Irina Metodieva has three years’ experience as a professional nanny. She has cared for anywhere from one to four children at a time, including infants four months old and older. She loves children and is an experienced mother of three.

Irina is seeking full-time employment during daytime hours in Sofia while her own children attend school. In addition to caring for children, she is able to do light housework and cooking, and she is able to transport children to activities with her own car.

Irina speaks Bulgarian and English, and while her comprehension of English is stronger than her spoken language, she would be the perfect person to help young children learn Bulgarian.

She can provide a resume with references and written recommendations upon request.

If interested, please call Irina directly at 098 876 3437.

Sunny Stimmler, 12 October Maureen Koech, 13 October Mihaela Dobre, 16 October Lynne Godding, 25 October Sonya Petrova, 30 October Dear International Women’s Club Members,

On behalf of the Executive Board and in relation to the resigning of Ms. Nara Vasconcelos Barreto, I would like to hereby inform you that the Executive Board has taken a decision to not convene an extraordinary general meeting for the election of new Charity Chairperson and to not appoint new Board of Directors of the Charity Foundation. Instead, for the current year, the already elected Board of Directors of the Charity Foundation will continue to act within its competences until the next general meeting of the International Women’s Club.

I assure you that the changes within the members of the Executive Board will not negatively impact the work of the International Women’s Club, neither of the Charity Foundation.

Kind Regards, Angela Bird, President

Apartment in the centre of Sofia

Apartments for rent

Apartment situated on the second floor in a three storey building, 150 sq. meters, central heating, living room, dining room, three bedrooms plus separate toilet, kitchen with storeroom. The apartment has been recently renovated and comes with antique renovated furniture made to measure. Rent — 1,500 Euros per month.

IWCS would like to exclusively present you three brand new luxurious and fully furnished apartments in the Vitosha region – one three-bedroom and two two-bedroom apartments. The apartments have functional design and beautiful panoramic views. They are stylishly furnished and fully equipped, ready for moving in.

Layout: Entrance hall, living room, dining room and kitchen in open common area, two/three bedrooms, two bathrooms, balconies Features ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Completely new apartments Gated compound Underground parking Panoramic view Quiet and connected area Located near embassies Near international schools Rent directly from owner

For contact: Emilia Slavova, Mobile 0898 477 170

15

Ongoing activities (updated) * Enquiries * 1. Would anyone like to be the contact for the Golf club?

Regrettably the persons who use to manage this group is no longer able to.

It would be unfortunate to remove this interesting sport from our ongoing activities.

Please contact Nadya Wuisan-Bratanova (vicepresident@iwc-sofia.org).

2. Anyone has a successful/regular/ongoing club or group you want to share with us?

Anything that could be beneficial for our members and one that can be a great addition for our “Ongoing Activities”?

Please contact Nadya Wuisan-Bratanova (vicepresident@iwc-sofia.org).

Thank you.

Book Club Weekly at 10.30 every Tuesday -we meet. Please contact Becky Faber for location - the teachers/ tutors are all wonderful Bulgarian friends from IWC who you respect and know. Don't be afraid! Come join us! Zapovyaday!! Jane by e mail: janeaewing@gmail.com Becky by email: beckyruthfaber@gmail.com

Members read one book a month, and then get together to discuss the book (discussions are in English and are usually very fun and lively). We read a variety of fiction and non-fiction books from writers of all nationalities.

There is a morning meeting once a month on Friday. For m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a c t : S o n y a Pe t r o v a : andsonya@yahoo.com.

Hiking Club

Bridge

The hiking group is an energetic group of dedicated hikers who head up to Vitosha and the surrounding mountains every Friday. We usually meet at 9 am at Fantastico in Dragelevtsi. An email is sent to all hikers every Wednesday with more specific plans and this often includes different meeting points. A typical hike will bring us back to our meeting point at 2 or 3. For more information please write to Bistra Karakoleva (biskarakoleva@gmail.com)** NEW

The bridge group is renewing its playing sessions once a week starting from April as the private bridge club ”King of clubs” is not open during morning hours any more.

Interested members are invited to play bridge with us. A place of the meeting will be fixed for each session.

There is an English-speaking group and a French-speaking group. For more information contact Diana Kolarova: dianakolarova@yahoo.com, 0888 423 150 or Marieta Neykova: neykova-mp@dir.bg, 0889 84 93 54.

Bootcamp

Patchwork Group

We are an English language OUTDOOR exercise group.

We meet every Tuesday (bootcamp) and Thursday (pilates/yoga) at 10.30 am. Almost always we will meet at the park behind CCS (City Centre Sofia) mall. Meet up place is Costa Coffee at CCS before 10:30. Motivated by an expert instructor, we spend up to 1 hour of great workout with plenty encouragement and support to reach our fitness goals while enjoying exercise in a group atmosphere. Any level welcome! Contact Nadya Wuisan-Bratanova (vicepresident@iwc-sofia.org) for more information.

The group meets every Monday from 10:00am 12:00pm at Dusica Trkulja’s apartment. The address is Evlogy Georgiev 99, floor 6, apartment 27. Interested ladies are welcome to bring ideas, patterns, and materials. For more information, please contact Dusica Trkulja on her landline: 02 9800948.

English Conversation Group We are five native English speakers who take it in turns to lead a weekly conversation group every Thursday from 10:30 AM–12:30 PM. Different venues and topics are chosen every week. All members and all levels are welcome. If you would like to join the sessions, please email Albena Jones at albenajones@yahoo.co.uk.

Tennis A group of members are starting to regularly play tennis together. We are of mixed ability and if you wish to join us or get on the regular emailing list then please contact Teodora Petrova on 0888495066 or her email on teodora_p@yahoo.com

Spanish Conversation Group Everybody who wants to practice and improve her Spanish is welcome to our weekly meetings, Every Friday: 11.30 - Beginners and 12:30 - Intermediate. Also, if you are already fluent in Spanish or if you are a native speaker and you would like to participate, please contact Liliana Padilla by e-mail: lilianagpadilla@gmail.com.

Tuesday Playgroup Mums and dads with babies, toddlers and small children, please come along to our weekly playgroup! We meet every Wednesday at 10am, at someone's home or in a park or play centre. It's a great opportunity to meet new people (some of us have lived in Sofia for many years so are great sources of advice and information too), and for the children to make friends. It's totally free and there is no obligation to host, so please do come and join us! For more information or to be added to the mailing list, please email Stephanie.Karaolis@gmail.com.

Bulgarian Conversation Group (NEW!!)

Five Native Bulgarian speakers joined to form a conversation group by special request - - just for you to grow and increase and to practice your B U L G A R I A N!

16

October events Monday 10th October, 10:30 am Morning Tea at Assya’s

Indulge and pamper your senses whilst discovering a specially tailored morning tea event, by Assya Alexandrova. Our gracious host welcomes you to her home, in addition to spending the morning with delicious morning bites, tea and coffee; she will showcase and discuss about art and jewelry, also with a special presentation by Silver jeweler, Maria Doneva.

In addition to this, one of our member, Angelina Makreva will indulge us with her hand-therapy Spa procedure "Tender touch" , free of charge (normally the cost of this therapy is around 20-25 Euro).

Please RSVP no later than Tuesday, 4th Oct (at IWC Oct Coffee Morning).

Address will be advised by email. Location is nearby Maxi complex (Simeonovsko Shosse) BGN 10 per person; 15 people maximum.

th Tuesday 11 October, 11:00 am Play Therapy Presentation by Dr. Presiyana Toporova

Play Therapy promotes the use of play and creative arts as a way of enabling children to reach their full potential and overcoming their problems.

Dr. Presiyana Toporova is a registered Psychologist and the only practitioner of Play Therapy in Bulgaria.

Play Therapy is a discipline where it acknowledges that many children need support in emotional literacy. Play Therapy (among many) assist in the behavioral correction of children with problems such as: anti-social behavior, academic, nightmares, trauma/ anxiety/stress/phobia, emotional/physical abuse, adopted/fostered children, separated/divorced parents, loss or bereavement, autism, disabled, bullies/ bullied, etc…

This presentation will be conducted at Arty Private Kindergarten (Ul. Oborishte 5).

No maximum amount of people. You may invite others who may be interested.

Please RSVP by Friday 7th October.

Free of charge

th Wednesday 12 October, 09:00 am – 16:00 pm Tsari Mali Grad Trip

Tsari Mali Grad lies only 53 km south of Sofia, 15 min drive from the world famous Borovets ski resort. The Tsari Mali Grad Castle is one of the newest attractions in Bulgaria – a fully restored fortress complex from the ancient and early mediaeval period. Build and populated by the Thracians and the Romans.

This area can be reached through two eco-trails, as well as through the rope bridge. Belchin village exists as early as the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. We will visit of the fortress by a funicular (lift) to St. Spas hill and St. John’s peak. As a bonus to the trip we will

also visit the 19th century Monastery "Assumption of Virgin Mary” in Samokov.

Trip includes: transport, professional English-speaking guide and entrance fee for the Zari Mali Grad complex and it’s fortress.

Meet up location will be the parking area behind Alexander Nevski Cathedral (departing at 09:00am).

BGN 20 Deposit (Final price will be decided upon number of participants; *price will not exceed BGN 40; Minimum 15 people)

Tuesday 19th October, 01:00 pm Monthly luncheon at Kosmos Restaurant

Cosmos, a much raved about new up and coming restaurant in Sofia with a synchronicity between an extraterrestrial interior and it’s equally captivating cuisine!

17

Join us this month at KOSMOS (Ul. Lavele 19) where together we will experience lunch out of this world, in a galaxy far far away…

For more information on the restaurant you can visit: https://placescases.com/2016/04/09/cosmos-sofiabulgaria-april-2016-2/ Please RSVP by Friday, 7th Oct. BGN 5 per person (Deposit)

Tarte au chocolat-caramel (chocolate and caramel).

Chef Tamy will also teach us the gastronomic and the fashionable way to decorate these tarts. Each participant will take 3 tartes at home.

Minimum of 6 and maximum of 10 participants BGN 20 deposit (50 total price)

Friday 28th October, 08:00 pm Monthly Night Gathering Celebrating Oktoberfest and Halloween

In the spirit of these two internationally celebrated events; Join us for a fun night and let’s celebrate this occasion in Sofia’s renowned beer (& etc.) bar, KANAAL (Blvd. Madrid 2). Spouse and friends are welcome to join! Costume optional, but highly recommended ☺ Please RSVP by Tuesday 25th October.

Friday 21st October, 10:30 am – 01:00 pm Cooking with Tamta Khalvashi - My French Gourmandises 3 Types of French Tarts Join us with the celebrated French pastry chef, Tamta Khalvashi in her professional kitchen studio (ul.

Banat 5). This time we will have the opportunity to learn and to make 3 types of French tarts: Tarte au citron meringue (lemon), Tarte aux pommes à la crème d'amandes (apple with almond cream) and

October calendar

10:30: Tea at Assya’s

11:00: Therapy

9:00: Tsari Mali grad trip

13:00: Monthly lunch

13:00: French cooking

20:00: Night out

18

19

20