Grand opening

A royal visit, a special concert and the arrival of the new grand piano

Discover Kiribati

What challenges facethe atoll nation that is sinking into the Pacific?

Strictly ballroom

Len Goodman picks hisfavourite London haunts;plus how to learn to dance

Namibia success

Meet the first bursary students, who are nowteaching a new generation

O V E R S E A SJournal of the Royal Over-Seas League Issue 1, March–May 2009

M U S I C H O L I D A Y Sf o r d i s c e r n i n g t r a v e l l e r s

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O V E R S E A S 3

O V E R S E A S

O V E R S E A SISSUE 1 March–May 2009

The Royal Over-Seas League is a self-fundedCommonwealth organisation that offers clubhousefacilities to members, organises Commonwealthart and music competitions and develops jointwelfare projects with specific countries.

Overseas editorial teamEditor Miranda MooreDeputy Editor/Design Middleton MannAssistant Editor Samantha WhitakerTel 020 7408 0214 x205 Email swhitaker@rosl.org.ukDisplay Advertisements David Jeffries Tel 020 8674 9444 Email djeffries@onlymedia.co.ukClassified and Members Ads Alex DebargeTel 020 7408 0214 x206 Email adebarge@rosl.org.uk

Royal Over-Seas LeagueIncorporated by Royal CharterPatron Her Majesty The QueenVice-Patron Her Royal HighnessPrincess Alexandra KG GCVOPresident The Rt Hon the Lord Luce KG GCVO DLChairman Mr Stanley Martin CVO*Deputy Chairman Mrs Marilyn Archbold*Vice Chairman Sir Anthony Figgis KCVO CMG*Hon Treasurer Mr Simon Ward FCA*

Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James’s Street, LondonSW1A 1LR Tel 020 7408 0214 Fax 020 7499 6738Web www.rosl.org.uk Email info@rosl.org.uk

Over-Seas House, 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 3AB Tel 0131 225 1501 Fax 0131 226 3936

Central CouncilMiss Farah Amin, Mrs Shirley Barr, Mr Ralph Bauer,Mr Clive Carpenter, Sir Roger Carrick KCMG LVO, MrChristie Cherian*, Nik Raof Daud, Mr Paul DimondCMG, Mr John Edwards CMG*, Mrs Patricia Farrant,Ms Diana Gray, Mr Robert Gregor MBE, Mr PeterHamlyn, The Revd Dr Charles Hedley, Sir JamesHodge KCVO CMG, Mrs Beryl Keen, Mrs Anne deLasta, Mrs Marissa Loveday-Pears, Dr EdmundMarshall, Mr David Newman, Mrs Doreen Regan*,Mrs Judith Steiner*, Mr Geoffrey Thompson OBE,Maj Gen Timothy Toyne Sewell DL, Mrs Pamela Voice*Executive Committee

Director-General Robert F Newell LVO Tel 020 7408 0214 x201Director of Admin and Finance Shakil Tayub Tel 020 7408 0214 x209Director of Public Relations and Development Margaret Adrian-Vallance Tel 020 7408 0214 x204Email mvallance@rosl.org.ukDirector of Arts Roderick Lakin MBETel 020 7408 0214 x325 Email culture@rosl.org.ukMembership Sec/Asst. to DG Fatima Vanicek Tel 020 7408 0214 x214 Email fvanicek@rosl.org.ukCatering Director David LauranceTel 020 7408 0214 x207 Email davidlaurance@convexleisure.comEdinburgh House Manager Alan ChalmersEmail reception@rosl-edinburgh.orgScottish Development Officer James Wilkie

Print Wealden Advertiser Tel 01580 754 847The journal is published by the Royal Over-Seas League, Over-Seas

House, Park Place, St James’s Street, London SW1A 1LR. Any views

expressed in editorial and any advertisements included are not

necessarily endorsed by the Central Council. ISSN 00307424

From the director-general; editor’s letter . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

WorldReturn to Namibia . . . . . . . . 5The first bursary awardees are teaching a newgeneration, finds Margaret Adrian-Vallance

In search of the water of the gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Discover the world’s driest vineyard

Beyond the point of no return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8As Kiribati sinks into the sea, Lance Laack looksat the challenges facing the country today

Heart of learning . . . . . . . . 10Batiri Bataua on educating an atoll nation

Patronising a nation . . . . . 12With foreign aid providing 25% of its GDP, canKiribati be truly independent, asks Batiri Bataua

League NewsGrog’s notebook . . . . . . . . . .14 News from Over-Seas House, London

Season to be cheerful . . . . 16A look at the successful winter programme

Opening the door onKathmandu art . . . . . . . . . . 18Roderick Lakin reports on the ROSL exhibitionraising money for the Nepalese arts scene

A royal welcome for the new grand piano . . . . . . . . . 19Roderick Lakin on the inauguration concert

The view from Scotland . . 20Events at the Edinburgh clubhouse

ROSL ARTS Down Under . 20Roderick Lakin takes a successful musical tour

Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

ROSL World . . . . . . . . . . . . 22A round-up of branch activities

Front cover: Pianists Nicola Eimer, Ben Schoeman and Martin Cousin play Czerny’s OvertureFra Diavolo for 6 Hands on One Piano at the grand piano inauguration concert. © Robert Piwko

8

Homes from home . . . . . . . 23Coral Strahan visits four reciprocal clubs

In the UKLen Goodman’s London . . . 24The Strictly Come Dancing judge and true EastEnder reveals his favourite London hang-outs

A treat for your feet . . . . . . 25Samantha Whitaker picks the best places tolearn ballroom and Latin dance in the capital

Arts in the city . . . . . . . . . . 26A preview of what’s on in Edinburgh

Mid-week wonders . . . . . . . 27Adrian Nisbett travels round Devonshire

EventsROSL ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Members’ events . . . . . . . . 30

What’s on: Edinburgh . . . . . 31

A safe haven . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Food and drink . . . . . . . . . . 33

Discussion Group and London Group . . . . . . . . . . . 34

March–May 2009

© AFP/GETTY IMAGES

4 O V E R S E A S

n 2001, when I wasOverseas’ assistanteditor, the then editor,Patricia Treasure,

announced one day thatthere had now been a‘Focus’ on everyCommonwealth countryand we would have to start revisiting past Focuscountries. Of course, there were some countrieswe had yet to feature – Antigua and Barbuda, StKitts and Nevis, and Lesotho among them – notfor a lack of interest but because it had beenimpossible to find writers to cover them. (I wentto Lesotho the following year to write the Focus.)I feel very fortunate, therefore, that in this issuewe are able to include three articles on Kiribati – afascinating country, spread over a vast area of thePacific (page 8). The challenges it faces as climatechange threatens its traditional sources of incomeare particularly poignant and resonate with theexperiences of other parts of the world.

Also in this issue, we have an extended Grog,reflecting the large number of recent events atOver-Seas House (page 14); Margaret Adrian-Vallance’s inspiring report on the continuingsuccess of the Namibia project (page 5); and aninterview with member Len Goodman, headjudge of Strictly Come Dancing (page 24).

Last issue was Cecilia Thom’s last, as she hasjust begun an eight-month trip to Latin America,starting with a cruise in Antarctica. MiddeltonMann replaces her as deputy editor/design.Coming with years of design experience, he has fitted seemlessly into the role and done afantastic job with this issue.

Miranda Moore

Editor’sletter

write this in early January, having just returned from spendingChristmas and New Year in Munich and Austria. Both are lovelyplaces to visit but are now so very expensive after the drop in thevalue of the pound. In Munich, I stayed at the Hilton Hotel, which is

comfortable but institutional. It lacks the personal touch and welcome thatmembers enjoy when staying at ROSL clubhouses, and at a price thatconfirms my long-held view that our bedrooms are exceptional value formoney. There is more on bedrooms on page 33.

2009 got off to a disappointing start, with more conflict in the Middle East and the loss of innocent lives, and the devastating bushfiresin Victoria, which so tragically killed many people. The League has made a donation to the Red Cross’s Victorian Bushfire Appeal on behalfof members.

Another cause of sadness in January was the death of former Housearchitect Geoffrey Allen, aged 88. He first became involved with Over-SeasHouse, London in the late 1950s and oversaw all architectural matters untilhe retired in the late 1990s. I relied on him for advice on everything to dowith our buildings as he knew practically every brick and pipe. He was alovely man who we will remember with admiration and affection. To hiswife Edna and his son we send sincere condolences.

On a more cheery note, I am happy to report the success of theChristmas and New Year parties at both clubhouses. Expressions ofappreciation have been received from members for the service and cateringprovided by our dedicated staff. In early December, the Carol Service at StJames’s, Piccadilly, followed by tea at Over-Seas House, was, as always, asell-out. Bedroom occupancy was good during the latter part of the year andearly indications are that there was an increase in membership during 2008.

Preparations for events to celebrate our centenary in 2010 are wellunder way. A history of ROSL will be published towards the end of theyear, and will be on sale at both clubhouses and by mail order. Written byformer ROSL PR director Adele Smith, it will be available in both hardbackand paperback at a very reasonable price. An attractive commemorativewatch featuring the ROSL coat of arms is already available for just £29.

I am very sorry to report the death on 26 January of June Crawshaw,the widow of former ROSL director-general Philip Crawshaw. Ourcondolences and sympathy to her daughters Caroline and Rosaleen.

Robert Newell

From the

www.rosl.org.uk

Director-general

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CANADA LUNCH: Pictured at the annual lunch of the ROSL OntarioChapter at the University Club Toronto in November are (l-r) Mr KenFoxcroft (chairman of the St George’s Society of Toronto), Mrs Newell,Mrs Ruth-Ann Onley, the Hon Mr David Onley (the LieutenantGovernor of Ontario, who was the guest of honour and speaker), thedirector-general and Miss Ishrani Jaikaran (president Ontario Chapter)

ROSL WATCH: The ROSL centenary watch, £29, comes in anattractive presentation box and is available now

How time flies! The ROSL school bursaryrecipients who Dick Chamberlain and I firstmet years ago as shy children are nowconfident grown-ups. On a monitoring visitto Namibia in October it was good to catchup with the pleasures and problems of bothROSL bursary awardees and ROSLsupported schools.

Three of the first nine participants in theproject are now teachers. Elias Araeb, whostarted at Hippo Primary, and progressed toWennie du Plessis Secondary and thenWindhoek College of Education (WCE), isnow at Rakutuka Primary. “I love teachinghere,” he says. “When I was at WCE I had afew doubts, but not any more. Now I wouldlike to put something back into the project

this end as it has done so much for me.”Jon Noadeb, who started at Qgaina

Primary, is now teaching in Windhoek, andEllie Velskoen is teaching near MokalengPrimary, where she first joined the project.Other teachers include Cwisa Cwi, principal of five bush schools in the Nyae Nyaeconservancy; Melissa Uses, who is teaching inthe far north; and Kaijandere Kaizondjou, whois back in her Himba homeland of Kunene.

Elrico Slinger is one of those now attertiary level. Having started at HippoPrimary, he too went on to Wennie duPlessis, where he was voted head boy. Hisfriends thought this experience would helphim sail through university. “Not a bit of it,”

Return to NamibiaMargaret Adrian-Vallance reports on ROSL’s first bursary recipients, who are nowteaching a new generation of Namibian students

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March–May 2009

THOSE WHO CAN: Elias Araeb,one of the first nine participantsin the ROSL Namibia project,with his class at RakutukaPrimary near Gobabis (above)

“I would like to putsomething back intothe project this end as it has done somuch for me”

CONTINUING SUPPORT: BrendaMuharukua (above), winner of the2008 ROSL prize at WCE for anoutstanding student; and BelindaAwases (left) carries one of therenovated chairs into theclassroom at Huigub Primary,which came third out of 119schools for grade 7 results in 2007,despite past experiences offlooding, drought, near starvationand meningitis

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llan Walkden-Davis has the driestvineyard on earth. It is nearNamibia’s top tourist attraction – thesurreal Sossusvlei sand dunes. The

highest in the world, the dunes are colouredred, orange, purple and pink. What falls out ofyour shoes after puffing to the top is liketalcum powder. Annual rainfall is 0-1 inches.

So, in this hot and arid region, how doesWalkden-Davies manage to grow grapes? Howdoes he produce the 3,000 bottles of shiraz and

he says when we meet. “I was totallyunprepared. At Wennie, and in the schoolhostel, your time is organised for you – evenwhen to get up. At UNAM I had to learnself-discipline, which was very good for me.I cannot thank all the ROSL sponsorsenough for helping me – for all theseexperiences.”

One of the project’s big highlights hasbeen the progress of the isolated butdedicated Huigub Primary School, which has

237 pupils and seven teachers. Until 2008,ROSL was the only major donor, fundingeverything from rice to the renovation ofchairs. Having weathered flooding, drought,near starvation, meningitis and otherdifficulties, Huigub came third out of 119schools for grade 7 results in 2007, and fifthfor overall results. This caused something ofa sensation – a relatively nearby school withhuge funding from the US came near thebottom. In 2008, Huigub improved further

on its placing in the league tables.At Swakopmund Secondary, Tanigu

Gariseb was doing well, as were Loretha,Siegfried, Frolien, Veronica, Herchcristopherand Stefney at Katora Primary, while KobusKaiseb at Otjikoto Secondary was continuingto win prizes. Eight new bursary recipientswere welcomed into the project – two atGrootfontein Secondary School and six atWindhoek College of Education. All weredeeply appreciative of support from ROSL.

Margaret Adrian-Vallance takes time out from her busy schedule to visit the driest vineyard in the world

6 O V E R S E A S www.rosl.org.uk

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shiraz-merlot blends that wine experts such asOz Clarke so admire? One free weekend, twoproject supporters took me to find out.

Getting to the Neuras vineyards fromSwakopmund takes five hours. It is 40 degrees,there are no other cars in sight and the bumpyroads have mirage pools in the dips. We stopat Solitaire, the only town en route. It has apetrol station, a lodge that is famous for itsapple pie, and a shop that unnervingly doublesas a taxidermist’s. Outside, there are displays

of old motorbikes, cars, ploughs, knifegrinders, sewing machines and just aboutanything that once had moving parts. Back onthe road we see an equally mesmerising sight– two Rolls Royces going at a cracking pace.Who are these guys, we wonder? An hour laterwe pass one of them being towed. How I lovethis beautiful, quirky region.

At Neuras, Walkden-Davies, the British-bornformer managing director of Shell Namibia,tells me that he and his wife Sylvia bought the35,000-acre estate in 1996. Curious aboutsome old vines he found in a derelict fruit cage,he asked a friend, Jaco, for advice, anddiscovered that the farm sits on five springsthat rise along a geographical fault line. Asloping layer of rock holds water and givesgood drainage, and the soil has an enviable pH of 7.2.

“I didn’t know the first thing about it, apartfrom liking the stuff,” he says as we walkround the vines and inspect the springs. Afriend said ‘Why don’t you go bust raisingcattle like everyone else?’ Things were notgood at first. Then, in 2001, I sought help fromAbrie Bruwer and studied on his SpringfieldEstate in the Cape.”

Now his bottles of 2005 shiraz sell for £16and Walkden-Davis is, himself, a good friend andadviser to other first-time wine producers,including Mike and Vera Leech, who brought meto this lovely place. In the evening, after a swimin the pool, we sit round a barbecue enjoyinggreat food and Allan’s very special wine. Underthe ebony trees is my self-catering chalet.Tomorrow, there is a tour of the farm, which hasmountain ranges, leopards, rare birds, wildhoney, and maybe even another spring. Bliss.

ROSL members who enjoy self-cateringaccomodation in remote areas and are lookingfor a unique experience can contact theWalkden-Davies family on +264 (63) 293417 oremail neuras@mweb.com.na.

In search of thewater of the gods

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TRUE MIRAGE: Margaretwith (l-r) Mike Leech andAllan Walkden-Davies inthe Neuras cellars (above).The vineyard is close to thesurreal Sossusvlei clay panin the central NamibDesert (left)© MARGARET ADRIAN-VALLANCE

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WORLD

e all know that climate changewill be devastating for smallislands and that the very fate ofentire nations, such as the low-

lying Kiribati in the Pacific, hang in the balance.We also know that the people who live therehave done little to cause the problem. But whatwe might not realise is that there is a growingnecessity for their governments to make hardchoices on these issues right now, rather thanin the future.

Kiribati (pronounced Kiribass) is grapplingwith the complex question of whether it shouldfocus its scarce resources on fighting back therising seas, in what may very well be anunwinnable battle, or begin the process ofrelocation. As President Anote Tong told the US Public Broadcasting Corporation in June:“It’s too late for countries like us. If we couldachieve zero emission as a planet, still wewould go down.”

Indeed, there were indications even at thebeginning of the climate change negotiations inthe late 1980s and early 1990s that the worldhad already passed the point of no return whenit came to the most vulnerable areas. Then, in2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) reported that it was ‘veryunlikely’ that action was still possible toprevent ‘catastrophic’ climate change thatwould affect millions worldwide and spell theend of some island nations.

Of Micronesian decent, the I-Kiribati peoplehave inhabited their islands since the 14th-century, when they migrated from Melanesia

and Polynesia. Modern Kiribati comprises theGilbert, Line and Phoenix chains of islands. TheGilbert Islands, along with the neighbouringEllice Islands (now Tuvalu), formed the Britishcolony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands from1916 to 1979. Claims on neighbouring islandsin the Line and Phoenix chains, as well as theisolated Banaba, were relinquished to Kiribatiby the United States in 1973.

This unique history has resulted in apatchwork of geographical boundaries. Whilethe combine d land area of Kiribati’s islands is

little more than 800km sq, they are scatteredover a vast expanse of the central Pacific. Themost distant islands are separated by morethan 6,000km and many are extremely isolated,even by Pacific island standards. Nearly all arecoral atolls with elevations no higher than twometers above sea level.

Resource-poor and isolated, Kiribati hasalways had the deck stacked against it. Forcenturies, its people have overcome harshcircumstances and the continued viability ofthe country stands as testament to their

resilience and the sound decisions of theirleaders. Still, economic development has beenslow and climate change threatens to cancelout what progress has been made.

Climate is but one of the many pressing and serious threats facing the country. Growingpopulations on already scarce land resources(which stand to shrink as the sea level rises),and the resulting environmental impact, havemade life difficult for many.

Even if measures to adapt to the rising sea level could be implemented, at huge cost,it seems unlikely that the Kiribati way of lifeand rich culture could be preserved with itsislands walled from the sea or raised on stilts.The effects of climate change manifestthemselves through a gradual process ratherthan a single episodic event, and adapting tothe range of problems is a hugely complexand expensive affair.

Fresh water is increasingly becomingcontaminated, taro (a staple crop for the I-Kiribati) is becoming more difficult to grow,fish stocks are growing meagre, coconutpalms are beginning to die from salt waterintrusion, and high tides and increasinglyintense tropical storms are causing damage tobuildings and infrastructure. If sea levels rise atthe predicted rates, they will eventually renderthe land uninhabitable, but the associatedproblems are likely to do so long before.

Already, land on some islands has been lost to the sea and two of the uninhabited atollshave been totally submerged. The stumps ofdead coconut trees line Kiribati’s shores. There

Beyond the pointof no returnRising sea levels will make Kiribati’s islands uninhabitable within ageneration, says Lance Laack. So what is the government doing about the problem and what are the challenges for its people today?

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8 O V E R S E A S

Some land has beenlost to the sea and twoof the atolls have beentotally submerged

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March–May 2009 O V E R S E A S 9

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is little doubt that the process is well under way. For years, Mr Tong and his predecessors

have appealed to the international communityto take prompt measures on climate change.Frustrated with the slow pace of action, he nowfeels compelled to take a different approach. InJune, he warned: “We may already be at thepoint of no return, where the emissions in theatmosphere will carry on contributing to climatechange, so in time our small, low-lying islandswill be submerged.” He stated that the timehad come for countries to begin admitting thepeople of Kiribati as some of the world’s firstclimate change refugees, and warned that theentire population of the country may need to beresettled within a generation.

The move was controversial. Many ofTong’s constituents believe that the full slate of adaptation measures should be tried beforeconceding defeat. Other nations in the Pacificfeel that Kiribati would be better servedworking with them to arrive at effectiveoutcomes in international negotiations. Manywithin and without the country feel that a focuson resettlement is tantamount to giving up, butKiribati officials argue that it is only a prudentapplication of the precautionary principle.

Tong said: “We want to deny it, we don’twant to believe this, and our people don’t wantto believe this. But it gives us a deep sense offrustration. What do we do? If you want to leadthe people, you must always be in the positionto provide options. And so this is the optionthat we are suggesting, in the belief that if it isgoing to happen we will have at least

addressed part of the problem and it won’t besuch a severe one to address when the timefinally comes.”

However, Espen Ronneberg, climate changeadviser for the Secretariat of the Pacific RegionalEnvironment Programme (SPREP), believes thatcountries such as Kiribati should not rule out anyadaptation option. “Countries most vulnerable toclimate change, like Kiribati, need assistance torapidly undertake vulnerability assessments todetermine their immediate priorities foradaptation,” he says. “In the longer term, thesecountries also need to assess their options inlight of predicted changes, and this may, insome cases, need to include relocation.”

Distressingly for Kiribati, both Australia andNew Zealand – likely destinations for displacedI-Kiribati people – have been less than receptiveto the notion of a mass influx from vulnerableislands. Migration to New Zealand is limited to75 people a year through a lottery system. Witha population of more than 100,000, many moremay need to relocate in the near future.

The possibility of relocation is also beingexamined by Kiribati’s atoll neighbours. Arepresentative of the Marshall Islands toldthe Poznan Climate Conference inDecember: “Potential evacuation of islandpopulations raises grave concerns oversovereign rights, as well as the unthinkablepossibility of entire cultures being damagedor obliterated.” Whatever measures Kiribatitakes now, it will be little more than a pennyon the tracks before the runaway freight ofglobal climate change.

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Lance Laack is editor and publicationsofficer for the Secretariat of the Pacific

Regional Environment Programme. For more information, visit www.sprep.org.

Resource-poor andisolated, Kiribati hasalways had the deckstacked against it

SINKING INTO THE SEA: I-Kiribati have always lived from the sea, but problems associatedwith climate change are destroying the shoreline and affecting their traditional way of life

Bearing fruitThe introduction of Westernconsumption patterns to Kiribatihas created a serious problemwith solid waste disposal, butSPREP’s Banana Circle method forreducing organic waste, whichaccounts for 75% of the country’swaste stream, has had somesuccess. Based on traditionalmethods, it involves plantingbanana trees around a bowl-shaped depression in the ground.Over time, this can be filled withorganic waste, such as tin cans,paper, ‘grey water’ from kitchensand lavatories, and kitchen scraps,which fertilise the trees as theydecompose. The Banana Circleappeals to people because it isfree and requires little humaneffort. It is particularly useful inlow-lying atolls, where food cropsare difficult to grow because ofpoor soil quality.

10 O V E R S E A S

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ordering Hawaii in the north andTuvalu in the south, the Republic ofKiribati is made up of tiny atoll islandsscattered on an ocean area the size of

the United States. Because of this unfortunatephysical and geographical formation, it isdifficult to deliver basic services such aseducation, transport, medical services andcommunications to the people.

In 1977, two years before independence,Britain introduced compulsory free education atprimary level. But the colonial power didn’thave time to fully implement the programmebefore the arrival of a democratic I-Kiribatigovernment with its own priorities.

People such as Teburae Taungea, who liveson the smallest island of Tamana in the south,continued cock fighting instead of going toclass. “Why bother about school when we haveplenty of fish and coconut and toddy to wash it

down with? Life on the islands is easy,” he saidat the time. Now 30, Teburae is full of regret.Fish, coconut and toddy are no longer inabudant supply. They have been taken over byrice, flour, tinned foods and sugar. All these costmoney, and only those with a good educationalbackground can hope to earn a decent living.

As a result, education is now a top priority

for the Boutokaan Te Koaua party, which hasbeen in government for five years. Kiribati’spopulation is growing by 2.5% a year – one ofthe highest growth rates in the South Pacificregion. The government believes that thisincreasing population, which is approaching100,000, can be utilized as a source of revenue,and has begun to concentrate on thedevelopment of education at all levels, with thehelp of the bigger churches.

Currently, there are three state secondaries.The Kiribati Protestant Church has five, includinga theological college; the Catholic Church hasfive; and the Seventh Day Adventists have one.An Education Summit was held in 2007 topinpoint the problems and how to solve them.According to the Kiribati Development Plan2008-2011, which was drawn up following thesummit, improvements will be made to thesyllabus, especially to English. The main aimsare now to ensure that secondary schools and

tertiary training institutions prepare students foremployment at the required level; there issufficient outreach support for Tarawa TechnicalInstitution to support vocational training on the outer islands; the scholarship system isstrengthened; and students overseas aresupported and monitored.

These initiatives stem primarily from theproblems associated with climate change,which are forcing many I-Kiribatis to leave theisland nation. President Anote Tong’s guidingprinciple can, perhaps, be best summed up bya statement he made during a recent PacificLeaders Forum meeting: “I don’t want mypeople to be called refugees in the sense of themeaning of the word, but rather immigrantswho have the capacity to work on any standardskills for any jobs required in their new homes.”

However, although all I-Kiribati children atprimary level have a school in their village or aneighbouring village, there are just 14secondary schools for the 21 inhabited islands.Transport is provided by the island council inmost cases, but where official transport is notavailable, many teenagers have to walk morethan an hour to get to school. Because of this,some schools have two sessions – one forpupils travelling long distances – and schoolingis usually from 9am to 1.30pm.

According to primary teacher Uen Rutati,pupils at Margaret Primary School on Tamanatend to be punctual because the island is justseven miles long. “But I know that there will bea different scenario on bigger islands,” she adds.Although nine-year-old Rutati Tebwebwe livesclose to Wakaam Primary School on Abaiangisland, his classmates from the nearby villagesTebunginako and Takarano have to walk 30minutes in the midday sun on their way home.“They climb coconut trees for drinks,” he says.

Heart of learningClimate change and Western consumerism are limiting traditional sourcesof income and making education a top priority for the I-Kiribati government.Batiri Bataua looks at the country’s development plans and the challengesof educating an atoll nation

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It is difficult to deliverbasic services such aseducation, transport,medical services

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ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE:A SREP project to replant mangroves

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On islands that don’t have a secondaryschool, such as Canton, which is inhabited byless than 20 people, families usually send theirteenage children to live with relatives on otherislands. This is still the only way they can getschooling at secondary level. Despite this, theimplementation of compulsory education hasbeen very successful on islands where theisland council enforces it. Parents can be finedor even imprisoned if their children do notattend school. The government now plans toincrease the number of years of compulsoryschooling from six to nine.

However, many schools still lack resources.According to Rutati, his primary does not havesufficient teaching materials or scienceapparatus. “Some of our classrooms are madeof permanent materials, others of local. And wehave leaks during heavy rains because thecouncil and school committee lack the funds forrepairs.” The problem is the same on Tamana.“Tamana Island Council always runs out ofbudget before the end of the year and we haveto encourage families to assist us,” says Uen.

Primary and secondary education in Kiribatiis also being assisted by donor countries anddevelopment partners, who provide some ofthe workforce and funds. Until recently, PeaceCorps volunteers were posted to the outerislands to improve English, maths and science;Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan haveprovided funds for infrastructure andequipment; and some foreign churches andeducational bodies, including UN agencies,provide teachers and other assistance.

Also part of the government’s plan is the

development of higher education. Distancelearning via radio is one way that people on someof the more remote islands can access courses.Telecommunication is usually by radiophone –now obsolete almost everywhere else in theworld – and, according to Uen, a lack of moderntelecommunication links, such as satellite dishes,antennae and the internet, makes distancelearning impossible. Although some islands arenow being connected to the internet, prolonged

power cuts due to fuel shortages and faultymachinery, mean that they can be withoutinternet access for weeks or even months.

The situation is hampering teacher-traininginitiatives – an important facet of thegovernment’s education plan. “Teachers on theouter islands do their University of the SouthPacific [SUP] extension courses mostly by postbecause there is a lot of interference andfading with radio phones,” says Uen. “Tutoringon the outer islands is done via a middle-manat the USP Centre in Tarawa, who can’t answerqueries or fully assist individual students with

NEW SKILLS: All primary-age children now attend school, but many cannot access secondary education

The employmentscheme is a gatewayfor I-Kiribati people toshift to higher ground

March–May 2009

their problems without referring the matter tothe Suva campus in Fiji.”

One option is to travel overseas to study,and many I-Kiribati students have been invitedby the country’s development partners to studyat their higher education institutions. Australiainvites trainee nurses from Kiribati for furthertraining, after which they can either return toKiribati or apply for jobs – and citizenship – inAustralia. Cuba invites 50 students a year topursue medical training, and sends 15 of itsown doctors to work in Kiribati doing on-the-jobtraining for local doctors.

President Tong said recently that theemployment scheme with New Zealand andAustralia is a gateway for I-Kiribati people toshift to higher ground before the rising sealevel claims their land – something scientistspredict will happen within 50 years. “Australiaand New Zealand have agreed to come andassist the Tarawa Training Institute in theteaching of skills immigrants should have inorder to find employment in both countries;skills like carpentry, mechanics, plumbing andmany more,” he said. Taiwan, Japan andCanada have also expressed an interest in theemployment scheme, which Mr Tong believescould bring thousands of dollars into thecountry. Between them, I-Kiribati who havesettled abroad earn around US$2million a year,a proportion of which they send home.

While the young generations are seekingbetter education and better paid jobs, Teburaeand his peers continue the arduous andendless tasks of cutting copra (dried coconut)and fishing in outrigger canoes.

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here is a famous saying in Kiribati,declared at independence in 1979 byAta Teaotai, a clerk boy during thecolonial era who is now Secretary to

Cabinet. “Kiribati will not go around with abegging bowl in order to stand on its own twofeet. But we will open our doors for those havinginterests to assist us in our development,” hesaid. The statement has echoed through theminds of Kiribati’s leaders ever since.

Many countries and private organisationswere eager to assist Kiribati afterindependence, and aid started pouring into thecountry, which is still one of the leastdeveloped in the world. According to theKiribati Millennium Development Goals Report2007, the situation remains more or less thesame today. It states: “Kiribati receives several

types of assistance, namely cash grants, loans,aid-in-kind, technical assistance and suppliesand equipment from a number of developmentpartners through bilateral, multilateral andregional avenues.”

Australia and New Zealand supporteducation, health, public finance, management,the public sector, the environment, and genderand urban development interventions; Japancovers fisheries, development projects and

infrastructure; Taiwan provides assistance in abroad range of areas; the European Union aidsinfrastructure, particularly in health andeducation, and energy; and the United Nationspromotes economic growth, good governance,social security and environmentalmanagement. Cuba has been giving medicalsupport to Kiribati since the two countriesformed close ties recently.

At the regional level, organisations such asthe South Pacific Commission, Forum FisheriesAgency and South Pacific RegionalEnvironment Programme play a vital role in theeconomic development of Kiribati.

Assistance from donors represents 20-25%of its GDP, but although this figure may seemhigh, it is lower than that of many similarisland nations in the region. Furthermore,rather than dictating to the I-Kiribatigovernment, these aid partners are guided bythe country’s national development strategies,according to the report. Assistance is basedon Kiribati’s needs.

When introducing the development strategyfor 2008-2011, the Minister of Finance, NatanTeewe, said its theme was “enhancingeconomic growth for sustainabledevelopment” and defined its vision as “avibrant economy for the people of Kiribati”. Thesix key policy areas are human resourcedevelopment, economic growth and povertyreduction, health, environment, governanceand infrastructure.

In the last parliament meeting of 2008, adevelopment fund budget for 2009 ofAUD81.9million was approved. Foreign donorsare expected to provide at least AUD55millionof that, with Australia and Taiwan contributingmore than AUD10million each, and the EUputting up nearly AUD9million. Japan, the UKand France will also make significant donations.The Kiribati government contribution will be amere AUD30,000. To make up the shortfall, thegovernment is likely to borrow, draw on itsReserve Fund, which currently stands at morethan AUD500million, and seek donations fromother donor partners.

In January, when Teaotai was asked toreflect on aid and development in Kiribati, he

Patronising a nationHow is a country that cannot support itself viable? Batiri Bataualooks at Kiribati’s reliance on foreign aid, which accounts for 25%of its GDP, and asks whether its government is still in control

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Many countries andprivate organisationswere eager to assistafter independence

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said: “I agree, there is a lot of developmentand aid pouring in from all angles… Some aidis clean and some is not.” Aid that is not clean,he went on, is aid that is conditional or offeredwith ulterior motives. People should not,however, be too critical of the government inthis area, he said.

Kiribati consists of 33 tiny atolls scatteredacross 3million km sq, and the country canlittle expect to support itself. Most of the

islands are located thousands of kilometresaway from the main administration andcommercial centre, South Tarawa, the nationalcapital, making the development ofinfrastructure and the provision of servicesextremely difficult.

With a GDP per-capita of US$1,480, Kiribatiis classified by the United Nations as a ‘LeastDeveloped Country’. Fisheries and marineresources are a key industry, with incomegenerated through licensing fishing rights andthe export of fresh fish and bait toneighbouring countries such as Hawaii, Fiji,Tuvalu, Japan, Nauru and Australia. The copra

industry is the other main source of revenue.Dried copra is exported to Australia, India andSouth-East Asia, and copra is alsomanufactured into beauty products for theexport market. The burgeoning tourismindustry accounts for a further 20% of thecountry’s GDP.

Unlikely though it may seem that thecountry will ever be self-sufficient, Teaotaibelieves that the country’s reliance on foreignaid should be checked. “I know that someforeign aids are being used in our recurrentbudget – the question of pride comes in here,”he said in January. “We have our Reserve Fund– that fund is meant to balance our budget andwe must use it as such, rather than to useforeign aid.”

A freelance journalist based in Kiribati, Batiri Bataua writes regularly for Island

Business in Fiji and the Marshall IslandsJournal. He is a stringer for Radio Australia

and Radio New Zealand.

DIVIDED BY GEOGRAPHY: A traditional Micronesian canoe sits on a deserted shore in Tarawa, one of the world’smost densely populated places (above); Kirimati Island (below left) is the largest atoll in the world

‘A lot of developmentand aid is pouring infrom all angles…Some clean, some not’

March–May 2009

KIRIBATIFACTSLOCATIONOceania. Group of 33 coral atolls inthe Pacific, straddling the Equator

CAPITALTarawa, situated half-way betweenHawaii and Australia

POPULATION110,356 (July 2008 est.)

GOVERNMENTChief of State and Head ofGovernment, President Anote Tong(since 10 July 2003)

ETHNIC GROUPSMicronesian: 98.8%; other: 1.2%

LANGUAGEI-Kiribati, English (official)

RELIGIONRoman Catholic: 52%; Protestant(Congregational): 40%

CURRENCYAustralian dollar

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�Polly Hynd joins the ROSL ARTS team as centenary and international events coordinator. A history graduate of theUniversity of Durham with a background in event management,Polly is arranging the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the League in 2010

�The garden of Over-Seas House, London on 2 February, the dayof the heaviest snowfall for 18 years. Nationally, one in five workersstayed at home but, at ROSL, all services were maintained by ourdedicated and loyal staff, whose determination to reach the club-house was much appreciated by members and was commendable.Even breakfast was on time!

Grog’s notebookNews from the London clubhouse

� Professional ballroom dancers put ROSL members throughtheir paces at ‘Inspired by Fred & Ginger’, the final ROSL ARTSevent of 2008. Audience members also enjoyed a concert of 1920smusic given by Sarah Field (saxophone/trumpet), Mike Hamnet(percussion) and Simon Lane (piano), and a dance demonstrationwith live music

�ROSL member Dr Judith Mackay from Hong Kong at Over-SeasHouse with her husband Dr John Mackay after the Investiture atBuckingham Palace on 26 November at which she received theOBE for services to tobacco control in Asia. John Mackay has beena member of the League for 50 years and his father was also amember, joining in the 1920s

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LEAGUE NEWS

March–May 2009

�The Rt Hon Lord Butler of Brockwell was the guest of honourand speaker at the Chairman’s Lunch in November. He is pictured(left) with Mr and Mrs Martin

�A lunch for members living in the north of England was held inNovember in Leeds. It was hosted by the Chairman Mr StanleyMartin and his wife (left), who are pictured with (l-r) Lady Byford, Sir Lawrence Byford (former ROSL chairman) and Miss Julie Hyde

�The Duchess of Cornwall was welcomed by a party of dogs and their owners in the garden at Over-Seas House to launch asponsored dog walk in celebration of the Nepali ‘Kukur Tihar’ (TheDay of the Dog). The event raised money for the Kathmandu ArtsCentre (see page 18) and the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre

�Master of theQueen’s Music, SirPeter MaxwellDavies, gave thekeynote speech,‘Composers: WhoNeeds Them?’, which was widelyreported in thenational press, at amajor conferenceorganised by the Musicians’Company at Over-Seas House last year

�Following the ROSL carol concert at St James’s, Piccadilly inDecember, Father Christmas (alias Eoghan O’Neill) made anappearance at the members’ tea party. Sadly, this was Eoghan’s last event with ROSL ARTS as he has moved on to further hiscareer in marketing

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Seasonto becheerfulFrom a ceilidh to the Christmas Ball,younger members enjoyed a sell-outseason, says Alexandra Debarge

OctoberThe first Inter-Club ceilidh was held at theCaledonian Club. Members and their guestswarmed up with a champagne receptionbefore a piper led them into dinner. After adelicious buffet of haggis, neeps and tatties,everyone headed to the dance floor for someceilidh music and a lot of dancing, withnumerous twirls, clapping and dances.Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and itwas such a success that ceilidh dancing islikely to become an annual event.

NovemberThe James Bond Drinks Party and screeningof Quantum of Solace took place at theOxford and Cambridge Club in the chandelier-lit smoking room. Everyone looked as thoughthey had just stepped out of the movie, inblack tie, villain costumes and slinky Bonddresses, while they sipped Martinis – shaken

not stirred! There was an opportunity to trythe marksmen shooting game before headingto the Odeon in Leicester Square, where thefilm stars had seen the preview just 24 hoursearlier.

DecemberIn December, the Royal Automobile Clubhosted the Younger Members’ Inter-ClubChristmas Ball. A champagne reception wasfollowed by a delicious dinner with a magiciangoing from table to table. His tricks had to beseen to be believed. They were mesmerising.The party poppers and projectile balloons alsoprovided much entertainment, until BodkinLane (the band) arrived to rock the night away.

For forthcoming events, please check the Inter-Club website at www.inter-club.co.uk.

Pictures: James Scott

DANCING FEVER: The first Inter-Clubceilidh was such a success that it is

likely to become an annual event (top),while members glammed up for the

Quantum of Solace preview (above andbottom left) and the Christmas Ball,

where they were entertained by amagician and live band (below)

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Opening the door on Kathmandu artRoderick Lakin reports on Over-Seas House’s most ambitious exhibition yet

‘Khulla Dhoka – The Open Door Exhibition’ wasthe largest and most ambitious ever presentedat Over-Seas House. 108 works, large andsmall, filled every inch of wall space in theCentral Lounge and Gibbs staircase duringOctober and November last year.

Khulla Dhoka, which means ‘open door’ inNepali, symbolises and reflects an open mind.Part of the 11th annual Asian Art in Londonfestival, the exhibition brought together, for thefirst time in London, works by leadingcontemporary Nepalese and British artists. Theaim was to raise funds for the Kathmandu ArtsCentre, a project to establish a cultural centre inthe capital of Nepal. British artists who donatednew works included Catherine Goodman,

Maggi Hambling, Nicola Hicks, Patrick Hughes,Timothy Hyman, Andrew Logan, Richard Long,Olly and Suzi, John Swannell and Bill Woodrow.

Brisk sales at two busy private views andthroughout the duration of the exhibition havealready generated substantial funds for thecharity. Later this year, Phillips, the auctioneers,will hold a charity auction of some of theremaining unsold works, which can also beviewed and purchased from the charity’swebsite, www.kathmanduarts.org.

Launched by the Duchess of Cornwall, asponsored walk of 108 dogs, starting from thegarden at Over-Seas House, was held duringthe run of the exhibition as an additionalfundraising event (see page 15).

The need for thearts centreIn 2006, British artist CeliaWashington spent seven months inNepal as artist in residence atKathmandu University. Nepal was inthe final months of a 10-year civil warand she was deeply impressed by thecreativity and determination of theyoung artists, despite their povertyand the political instability of theircountry.

Celia collected more than 800 artbooks for the university library (manydonated by ROSL members), whichwere sent to Nepal with the help ofthe British Council. In discussion withNepali artists and Sangeeta Thappa,director of Siddhartha Art Gallery inKathmandu, she developed the ideaof the Kathmandu Arts Centre. ABritish charity to raise funds was setup in October 2007.

“Today in Nepal there is a lack ofinfrastructure for the developmentand growth of contemporary art, andvery little help for its artists,” Celiaexplains. “We aim to establish theKathmandu Arts Centre as a dynamiccentre for both Nepalese andinternational artists with world-classexhibitions, workshops andsymposia, and an artist exchangeprogramme. We hope to help Nepalemerge from the cultural isolation ofits past and to re-emerge as aninternational centre of culture,allowing the world to hear the voiceof a younger generation of artists thatdeserves to be heard.”

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PRIVATE VIEW: Highlights from the exhibition included(clockwise from left) an untitledwork by Nepalese artist DurgaBaral, Andrew Logan’s The Doorto Paradise, and Way Out byPatrick Hughes

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LEAGUE NEWS

Wednesday 25 January 2006 was a landmarkdate for the Royal Over-Seas League when,following extensive refurbishment, theconcert room at Over-Seas House, Londonwas re-opened by our Vice Patron HRHPrincess Alexandra, and renamed thePrincess Alexandra Hall in her honour. HerRoyal Highness graced us with her presenceone again almost three years to the day, onMonday 26 January 2009, for a very specialevening to inaugurate a new concert grandpiano, which marks the final stage in thetransformation of the hall.

Nothing in the 25 years I have spentdirecting musical activities at the League hasgiven me more pride or pleasure than this‘new’ hall. From the very first concert heldhere, it was apparent that the architects,Avery Associates, had accomplished thecentral aim of their brief: to create asympathetic environment, both aestheticallyand acoustically, for the performance ofchamber music. It was clear to me that thewarmth and immediacy of the hall’s acousticdemanded an instrument with the range ofcolour and dynamics that only a full-sizeconcert grand piano can deliver.

In 2007, the Central Council and Trusteesof the ROSL Golden Jubilee Trust approvedthe purchase of a new Steinway model Dconcert grand piano. An appeal for fundswas launched and, thanks to the generosityof League members, our fundraising targetwas reached by the end of 2008.

To help select an instrument ideally suitedto the space and its purpose, I enlisted thehelp of three past ROSL Music Competitionprize-winners and adjudicators who know the hall well as performers and listeners:Vanessa Latarche, Simon Lepper and Frank Wibaut.

To show off the superb new instrumentfor the piano inauguration concert I devised aprogramme that encompassed the fivedisciplines of the ROSL Music Competition –

March–May 2009

A royal welcome forthe new grand pianoRoderick Lakin reports on a milestone in the history of music at the League

keyboard, strings, wind, singers andchamber ensembles. Music by Bach,Schumann, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Strauss,Poulenc and Czerny was performed bypianists Martin Cousin, Nicola Eimer, SimonLepper and Ben Schoeman, sopranoMadeleine Pierard, cellist Brian O’Kane,

and the Camarilla Ensemble. The warm and enthusiastic response of

the audience testified to the enterprise andvigour of ROSL ARTS and the ROSL MusicCompetition as it enters its 57th year, and ofthe League itself as it prepares to celebrateits centenary in 2010.

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TOP PERFORMANCE: Princess Alexandra cuts the ribbon on the new piano before theconcert (top) and meets members of the Camarilla Wind Ensemble following theirperformance (above left). Pianist Nicola Eimer takes a bow after her performance of aChopin Waltz in E Flat (above)

was Douglas Abercrombie and music wassupplied by Kevin Thompson – both members ofthe World Burns Federation. Burns celebrationsare part of this year’s ‘Homecoming’ – a year-longfestival, which hopes to bring ex-patriates fromaround the world back to Scotland.

ROSL ARTS promoted a splendid ‘Inspiredby Fred & Ginger’ music and dance evening inJanuary, and there was a Latin dance eveningin February. The February Arts Lunch wasaddressed by Dominic Hill, artistic director of Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre.

The view fromScotlandJames WilkieScottish development officer

Over-Seas House, Edinburgh welcomed theCentral Council in November, including ViceChairman Sir Anthony Figgis (pictured, right, withmember Mrs Judith Steiner and EdinburghBranch chairman Mr Robert Gregor). The StAndrew’s Day Dinner was a complete sell-out,while the Glasgow writer Louise Welsh wasextremely well-received by a large audience at theR L Stevenson Arts Lunch. The carol concertattracted 60 people, and the festive period eventswere all sold out.

The main speaker at the annual Burns Supper

ROSL ARTS Down UnderDirector of Arts Roderick Lakin reports on an exhausting but exhilarating concert and audition tour

The centrepiece of the tour was a four-daychamber music festival at the University ofWaikato, Hamilton, where auditions were for the 3rd Annual Pettman/ROSL ARTSScholarship for a New Zealand Chamberensemble.

Joining me on the panel of adjudicatorswere the chief executive of Chamber MusicNew Zealand, cellist Euan Murdoch; pianistBrian Sayer, former head of performancestudies at the University of Auckland; and theCappa Ensemble: violinist Bartosz Woroch,violist Adam Newman, cellist Brian O’Kane andpianist Alasdair Beatson.

The winners, Duo Giocoso – Helen Bevin(viola) and Rebecca Garlick Grice (piano) –displayed a seriousness and maturity which, inthe opinion of the judges, made them thegroup most ready to take full advantage of theintensive performance and coaching

opportunities that the Pettman Scholarship tourof the UK offers. It was particularly gratifyingthat, for the first time, all five of the country’smajor universities were represented at theauditions. The busy schedule of coaching andseminars ensured that all of the participantsbenefitted from the experience.

The Cappa Ensemble followed the auditionswith well-attended concerts in Purau (nearChristchurch), Waiheke Island, Havelock Northand Gisborne, where they gave the openingconcert of the prestigious GisborneCompetition. The Scholarship Final wasrecorded for transmission by Radio NZ.

En route to New Zealand, the CappaEnsemble gave a concert at the Yong Ziew TohConservatory in Singapore where they heldauditions for the 2008 ROSL ARTS SingaporeMusic Scholarship with the Conservatorydirector, Bernard Lanskey, and me. The winner,

cellist Wu Sha, currently a pupil of Liwei Qin(ROSL Gold Medallist 1997) will make a studyvisit to the UK this summer.

We stopped off in Melbourne on the returnjourney to the UK to give a concert for theVictorian Branch at the home of Leaguemembers and ROSL ARTS benefactors Linoand Di Bresciani (see Victorian Branch reportpage 22).

LEAGUE NEWS

20 O V E R S E A S www.rosl.org.uk

Weekend breaks

Weekend breaks at Over-Seas House areavailable from £110 per person until May,including a full Scottish breakfast, anddinner on one night of your stay. Allrooms have flat-screen digital TV and free wireless internet access.

For reservations, call 0131 225 1501, oremail reception@rosl-edinburgh.org.

EDINBURGH

© GRAHAM CARNIE B.A.

SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS: Duo Giocoso

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March–May 2009

BooksReviews of the latest works from League members

‘Amsterdam’Graham Byfield and Hinke WiggersEditions Didier Millet, 2008 ISBN-13: 9789814155991 (hardback), £19.95

The sketches and handwritten notes in thiswonderful book create an immediacy thatmakes you feel as if you are in Amsterdam. As well as paintings ofcanals, streets and famous places, there are close-up sketches of suchdetails as the eccentric gable stones, street chess, cafés, quirky bikesand camels at the zoo. If you have ever wondered why the 17th-centuryhouses lurch precariously outwards, you will find the answer to this andother mysteries in the pencilled captions. An excellent guide-book-at-a-glance or intimate memento.Margaret Adrian-Vallance

‘Better Late Than Never: My Story’Len GoodmanEbury Press, 2008ISBN-13: 9780091928025 (hardback), £18.99

‘My life’s been a bit like the waltz, but then weall need a bit of rise and fall.’ From his humbleEast End childhood to the glitter and glamour ofthe professional ballroom, Len Goodmaneventually found stardom at near-pensionableage when he was chosen as head judge on BBCOne’s Strictly Come Dancing. In his autobiography, some of whichwas written in the garden of Over-Seas House, Len recounts hisjourney so far with his trademark charm and humour. He also hasplenty to say about his experiences on Strictly… and the US version,Dancing with the Stars. Samantha Whitaker

‘80 @ 80’Ivor LucasFour O’Clock Press, 2007 ISBN-13: 9781906146160 (paperback), £14.99

Ivor Lucas retired in 1984 as Ambassador to Syria.An Arabist who spent most of his diplomaticcareer in the Arab and Muslim worlds, he is also aformer ROSL Central Council member. Between

1989 and 2007, he contributed 80 reviews to the journal of the RoyalSociety for Asian Affairs, mainly of books on the Middle East and Islam.To celebrate his 80th birthday, these are collected in 80 @ 80. Theycould not be more topical in light of the current conflict in Gaza andprovide an insightful perspective of the different cultures, politics,beliefs and aspirations of those living in the Middle East and otherIslamic countries. Books reviewed include those by such eminentwriters and commentators as Fred Halliday, Robert Fisk, Avi Shlaim,William Dalrymple, Sir Nicholas Henderson and many more – in fact,too many to mention here. If you want to understand the Middle Eastand Islam, Ivor’s book is an absolute must. Robert Newell

07793 085885

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22 O V E R S E A S

Canada The British Columbia Branch held a Christmaslunch in Vancouver at the Terminal City Club,one of the League’s reciprocal clubs. AnneMarsh, president of the local West VancouverPlayers theatre group, and Peter Miller,president of the local Heritage Society, spokeat the event.

Despite the exceptionally cold weather inAlberta, 27 members attended the Christmaslunch at the Royal Glenora Club, Edmonton.They were treated to a sumptuous buffet andreadings of Christmas poetry andremembrances of times past.

In November, the Ontario Chapter heldtheir annual lunch at the University Club ofToronto, at which the Hon David Onley, theLieutenant Governor of Ontario, was the guestof honour and speaker. This was followed bya concert at the Arts and Letters Club ofToronto, featuring ROSL Canadian musicscholars Katie Stillman (violin) and Todd Yaniw (piano).Alberta: Cynthia Cordery, +1 780 477 0001,ccordery@shaw.caBritish Columbia: Pamela Ducommun, +1 604 925 3719Ontario: Ishrani Jaikaran, +1 416 760 0309,ishrani@sympatico.ca

AustraliaThe Victoria Branch welcomed the CappaEnsemble to Melbourne in December for amusical evening with ROSL director of artsRoderick Lakin. The concert was madepossible by the generosity of Lino and DiBresciani, who opened their home for theevent. Also in December, the new BritishConsul-General, Stuart Gill, entertainedmembers of the League and the Australia-Britain Society at his home in Toorak.

The Western Australia Branch wassaddened to lose some good friends during2008, but ended the year on a high notewith a Christmas lunch, and carol singingwith new member Des Wake at the piano.New South Wales: Lily Murray,murraylily@hotmail.comQueensland: Sharon Morgan,sllmorgan@hotmail.comSouth Australia: Michael Kent,rosl.sa@mac.comTasmania: Robert Dick,gradick@myplace.net.auVictoria: Coral Strahan, +61 (0)3 9654 8338Western Australia (Perth): Jeff Turner, +61 (0)9381 2600, turners@perthpcug.org.au

MUSIC AND FESTIVITIES: Ontario Chapter chairman Ishrani Jaikaran pictured, with ROSL Canadian music scholars Katie Stillman (violin)and Todd Yaniw (piano), at a concert was held at the Arts and Letters Club, Toronto; the Hong Kong Branch president, Paul Surtees, presentsan Australian flag to Carolyn Bickerton, the president of the Australian Association of Hong Kong, at the Australian Consulate-General;Western Australia Branch’s Christmas lunch 2008

ROSL WORLDThe latest from the global branches

Hong Kong The Hong Kong Branch’s activities are not limitedto branch functions, which members and guestsattend. Many committee gatherings withCommonwealth consular representatives takeplace each year, and recently members met boththe Australian and the New Zealand Consul-Generals in Hong Kong. The committee alsosupports numerous local and Commonwealthcharities, and the branch regularly arranges tripsto places of interest in Hong Kong for groups ofblind and disabled people. Paul Surtees, president@rosl.org.hk

New Zealand The Auckland and Manawatu branches fundedscholarships for participants at the biennial NZSinging School in Napier. Rose Blake andTamsyn Miller are the Manawatu winners, whileRyan Bennett won the Auckland scholarship.

The ROSL New Zealand website enablespotential members to join electronically and tomake reservations at the London and Edinburghclubhouses. Many new members were inspiredto join by the concerts given by the CappaEnsemble, who recently toured as part of thePettman/ROSL ARTS Scholarship (see page 20).Lyn Milne, roslnz@roslnz.org.nz,www.roslnz.org.nz

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March–May 2009

There is a charming, old-world atmosphere atSan Francisco’s University Club, where I stayedduring a tour of the League’s North Americanreciprocal clubs. Centrally located on thecorner of two cable car lines in the ‘Nob Hill’area, the club offers a reasonable tariff thatincludes an ample, buffet-style continentalbreakfast. The dining room has views over thecity through large open windows, andWednesday is reserved for the Club Dinner.Visitors and members meet around the barbefore eating a delicious meal in a verycongenial atmosphere.

Calgary was next and, after viewing thisrapidly changing city from the observation deckof the Calgary Tower, I took a short taxi ride tothe Ranchmen’s Club for lunch. As a ROSLmember, I was made to feel very welcome. Aftera tour through the spectacular Rockies, I thenboarded the Rocky Mountaineer Train in Banff fora two-day journey along the Thompson River toVancouver, where I stayed at the luxuriousTerminal City Club. As well as a king bed and

spacious bathroom, the Harbour View Suite hasan open-plan lounge with a sofa-bed, dining areaand kitchenette. Ten years ago, the 19th-centurybuilding was replaced with a modern high-riseglass tower, which houses a swimming pool,gym, billiard room and squash courts.

I can recommend day-trips to the delightfulvillage of Whistler on the Whistler MountaineerTrain, which follows the ocean shores andpasses through deep canyons, and to Victoria,British Columbia’s capital city on VancouverIsland. The main highlight is the world-famousButchart Gardens, and the Royal Victoria YachtClub has dining facilities for ROSL members.

For the price of our League membership, weare fortunate to be able to visit these exclusiveclubs – but remember your card of introduction!

Coral Strahan is secretary of the VictorianBranch. For information, call the University Club:+1 (415) 781 0900; Ranchmen’s Club: +1 (403)228 3885; Royal Victoria Yacht Club: +1 (250) 5922441; and Terminal City Club: +1 (604) 681 4121.

United KingdomThe Bath Branch’s coffee mornings continuedon the second Wednesday of the month atPratt’s Hotel.

In Cheltenham, local historian and artistAlwyn Sampson showed his drawings ofCheltenham’s Regency buildings and talkedabout the Queen’s Hotel at the branch’sOctober meeting. In November, Bob Price gave an excellent illustrated talk on Chile, andLeague Chairman Stanley Martin joinedmembers for a Christmas lunch at theRenaissance Restaurant.

A talk on ‘The magic of India’ was given byDavid Capel-Jones at the Exeter Branch’sNovember lunch, and ROSL Hon TreasurerSimon Ward and his wife were welcomed tothe Christmas lunch in December.

North of the border, League ChairmanStanley Martin spoke at the at the GlasgowBranch Christmas lunch, Brian Longworth gavea talk on Glasgow’s trams in January and, inFebruary, former Glasgow Branch chair JimCarson revealed his family links with Scotsmissionary Jane Haining.

In Taunton, the branch’s winter season oflunches were well attended. The Novemberspeaker was BBC sound recordist JohnBurgess, who shared audio extracts going backto the Second World War, and, in December,retired county historian Dr Robert Dunningspoke about the origins of Somerset folktraditions. In January, photographer Peter Triggpresented photographs of Cornwall since the1960s. Taunton Branch weekly coffee morningsare held on Wednesdays at the BrewhouseTheatre. The Somerset-area branches arejoining together for a trip to Over-Seas House,Edinburgh in May.

The West Cornwall Branch’s monthlymeetings with Cornish cream tea continued,and the West Sussex Branch held a lunchparty in November, which was well attended,as was the traditional Christmas lunch. Itsannual Christmas raffle helped to raise funds for the ROSL Music CompetitionSussex Prize. Bath: June Jessop, 01722 780518Bournemouth: Marjorie Harvey, 01202 674857Cheltenham: Kathleen Northage, 01242 515540Exeter: Brian Hawkes, 01395 442017Glasgow: Bill Agnew, 0141 884 4290Taunton: Sally Roberts, 01823 661148,rosl@aldith.orgWest Cornwall: Ian Wood, 01736 333460W. Sussex: Marilyn Archbold, 01444 458853

Reciprocal clubs: terms and conditionsTo apply for a card of introduction, please email info@rosl.org.uk, with ‘Reciprocal clubcard’ as the subject, and confirm that you have noted these rules: 1. Reciprocal club facilities are for League members travelling outside the country in

which they reside or work. 2. For reservations and further information, contact the clubs directly. Right of entrance

is entirely at the discretion of the club’s management. 3. Apply for a card from the Public Relations department, giving at least 10 days

notice. A discretionary charge may be made for cards requested at short notice. 4. Cards of introduction CANNOT be faxed or emailed. 5. Provide your ROSL membership number, club(s) to be visited and the dates

between which you will be using the club. Cards can be issued for a maximum of12-30 days a year per city, and should not span more than three months.

6. League members may receive up to five cards of introduction a year free of charge.A charge of £10 per card will be made thereafter. Payment should be made at thetime of application by sterling cheque or credit card. The League regrets that itcannot make a refund if the card is not used.

7. Accounts incurred at reciprocal clubs must be settled on departure. Contact theclubs directly for details of their policies on payment methods, dress code, visitorcharges, facilities available to reciprocal members and guests.

8. If you have difficulties contacting a club, please call directory inquiries or browse theclub’s website.

9. Cards of introduction are issued at the discretion of the PR department uponacknowledgment of these rules and guidelines.

Coral Strahan takes a tour of four reciprocal clubs

Homes from home

LEN GOODMAN’S

LONDON

IN THE UK

You spent your early childhoodin Bethnal Green. What is yourearliest memory there?I was part of a typical East End family – myparents, my grandparents. As much as the East End was a community, our house was acommunity! We had a piano in the front roomand on a Saturday night we would all gatherround with a crate of beer for a sing-song whilemy uncle played.

Do you still like to visit the EastEnd? How much has it changed?I still go back to visit Nick the barber andsometimes go to [men’s clothes shop]Whistles next door. The area I used to live inhas changed a lot. There used to be a bigJewish community along with the Londonersbut now it is far more cosmopolitan, withpeople from virtually every nation in the world.All those areas in the East End used to be likesatellite villages of London but they have nowblended into the metropolis.

Do you miss London when you’reaway filming Dancing with theStars in the US?Samuel Johnson said ‘When a man is tired ofLondon, he is tired of life; for there is in Londonall that life can afford.’ And that is so true. I’vebeen to a lot of cities but, for me, there is no citylike London. I feel at home, I feel comfortable,and returning to it is like getting home from workand putting on my slippers.

Do you enjoy musicals? As a child, I used to love going to the cinemato watch Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, GingerRogers. I also loved musical theatre andremember being absolutely blown away thefirst time I saw West Side Story aged 16 or17. Recently, I saw Sunset Boulevard,directed by [fellow Strictly... judge] CraigRevel Horwood. It is an amazing playand has been turned into a veryinteresting musical.

Do you have a favouriteLondon restaurant or café?I am a creature of habit. I tend to stick to

the same places. I enjoy coming to therestaurant at Over-Seas House – there ismarvellous service, a great atmosphere andfantastic value for money. I like fish andtherefore go to Scott’s and J Sheekey’s quiteoften. I also like The Ivy because there is such amix on the menu, and La Caprice, just aroundthe corner from the League.

What advice would you give to atourist in London?You see far more on your feet, so startsomewhere central, such as Parliament Square,and ask a policeman to direct you to the nearestinteresting place. Policemen are marvellous.Sometimes my partner, Sue, and I take ourbicycles on the train to Charing Cross and thencycle around the streets and the parks. We onlyever do this on a Sunday, when the traffic islight, otherwise you are taking your life in yourhands! You can pull up and mooch around. Justmake sure you have a comfy saddle!

What would you do if you wereLondon Mayor for a day?Get rid of bendy buses and motorbikes, andchange the phasing on lots of traffic lights so

that they let more than two or three carsthrough at a time. In fact, I would make farmore of London pedestrianised so that touristswalking around could have a much safer andpleasanter journey.

Do you have a favourite view?Driving from Kent into London acrossBlackheath, I love it when you can see CanaryWharf and occasionally St Paul’s Cathedral.Also, looking out across the Thames fromGreenwich Park. As an area, I love JermynStreet – with the statue of Beau Brummel, myhero, and so many wonderful shops for men.

Why did you choose the titleBetter Late Than Never for your book?Craig Revel Horwood and I were writing ourautobiographies at the same time, while wewere on tour with the live Strictly Come Dancingshow. We were both trying to think up goodtitles, sitting in the back of a cab, when thecabbie said, “I’ve got a good idea, call it ‘All Ballsand Glitter’,” which is a great title! We tossed acoin and Craig won, so I still had to come upwith a title. When I thought about it, I realisedthat most major things that have happened inmy life have happened quite late: I starteddancing when I was 21, my son was born whenI was in my 40s, and Strictly Come Dancingturned up when I was 60! All of these thingswere better late than never, which I thought wasrather an apt title to sum up my life.

Are you pleased with how muchStrictly… has raised the profileof Latin and ballroom dancing?It has done brilliantly well for all types of dancestudios. It’s helped get the public out and doingsomething active. I feel lucky to be a part of it.

League member Len Goodman is aprofessional dancer, dance teacher andjudge. He still teaches at his own dance

school in Dartford when he isn’t working as head judge on Strictly

Come Dancing or filming in the US on Dancing with the Stars.

Interview by Samantha Whitaker.

FAVOURITE EATS: Len's love of fish takes him to J Sheekey, in theheart of London's theatreland

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IN THE UK

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A treat for your feet

Samantha Whitaker puts on herdancing shoes and finds the bestplaces in London to learn Latinand ballroom dance

“If you can walk backwards, forwards and sideto side, then you can dance,” says Strictly ComeDancing judge Len Goodman. So why is it that,although keen, many people are too scared totake that first step into a dance school? Latinand ballroom teacher Sylvia Overton believes itstems from our inherent shyness at being face-to-face with another person. She works toovercome this initial discomfort, and says thatdance can be a “tool for communication” thatbrings people together.

Sylvia teaches beginners in groups of 20-25for one hour a week as part of a 10-week coursein either Latin (cha-cha-cha, rumba, jive, sambaand paso doble) or ballroom (waltz, foxtrot,quickstep, tango and Viennese waltz). Thecourses are currently held at studios in Chelseaand Belgravia. She also coaches professionalcouples and brings the same sense of precisionand care to her beginners’ classes so that herpupils learn correctly right from the start.“Dancing is wonderful for giving peopleconfidence in themselves,” she says, and as the course progresses she sees a noticeablechange in her pupils as their confidence andposture improve. Many even begin to dressmore smartly, and look and feel more attractive.Men, in particular, enjoy the chance to regaincontrol and take the lead.

At the Kensington Dance Studio, five minutesfrom South Kensington Tube station, co-directors Kele Baker and Ralf Schillerrecommend their Wednesday drop-in class forabsolute beginners. It costs £10 per session(reduced if bought in bulk) and there is no need to book. Over the course of the evening,beginner, intermediate and then advanced pupilsare taught in the richly decorated ballroomstudio, complete with candelabras and a glitterball, ending with a social dance session for alllevels to practise what they have learnt.

Beginners are taught two dances – oneballroom, one Latin. The session begins with ademonstration from the teacher and assistant,who then teach the basic steps. Eventuallyeveryone pairs up and practises together,changing partners frequently. At the class I

saw, the first of 2009, the ballroom was packedfull of couples and single dancers aged 20-60,with an almost equal ratio of men to women.

Kele and Ralph, along with a host ofassistant and guest teachers, includingStrictly...’s Camilla Dallerup and Ian Waite, also offer four-week courses at each level,beginners crash courses on which fourdifferent dances are taught in just three hours, and ‘Strictly Sunday’ workshops. OnThursdays, up to eight private lessons takeplace at one time in the studio, includingwedding dance lessons, which come inpackages of five or seven sessions.

In South London, at a church communityhall near Wimbledon, ACW Dance Studio teachdrop-in sessions for beginners on Mondaysand Fridays. Principal Alan Wake, along with ateam of around 10 teachers, encourages pupilsto attend regularly if they want to progress.The class is split into two groups – absolutebeginners and improvers – and after a Latinline dance to warm up, both groups work onone or two dances. There is a good ratio ofmen to women, and the average age is around40-55, although there was a keen group ofteens at the Friday session I attended.

The Monday and Friday sessions are usuallydifferent, to cater for those who want to cometo both, with around 35-40 people attending.Friday’s session is followed by a two-hoursocial dance, with disco lights, a glitter ball andteachers on hand to instruct. Soft drinks areserved and dancers can bring their ownalcohol. There is also a tea dance on Thursdayafternoons, which is run in a similar way. Thesocial dances are open to everyone, eventhose not attending the group class. ACW

Dance also offers private lessons and, moreunusually, holds examination sessions forthose wishing to take medals.

If you’ve had a few lessons and want toshow off what you’ve learnt, look out for themonthly dance nights held by Stardust Ball atthe Grand Hall in Fulham. Coordinated by MarkKendal and Melina Hamilton, the event givesdancers of all levels an opportunity to practiseand demonstrate their skills in a setting thatcaptures the glitz and glamour of ballroomdance. The evening also includes a grouplesson and cabaret by top professionaldancers. Mark describes Stardust Ball as the“ultimate celebration of ballroom dancing’sstyle and its power to bring people joy,” and,as the credit crunch bites, it is this power thatenables dance schools to continue to thrive.

THE ACW DANCE STUDIOwww.acwdancestudio.com,020 8871 0890

KENSINGTON DANCE STUDIOwww.kensingtondancestudio.com,020 7823 9949

SYLVIA OVERTONThe Ballroom Chelseawww.theballroomchelsea.co.uk,07745 087330

STARDUST BALL www.stardustball.co.uk

GETTING INTIMATE: A couple perform the tango, an emotionally-charged Argentineballroom dance that was ‘beautified’ for the courts in Paris and London

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SONG AND DANCE: ‘Four Scottish Painters’at the Dean Gallery (right), and ‘Riverdanceat the Playhouse’ (below)

IN THE UK

Society with Patience and HMS Pinafore onselected dates, 17-21 March. The Bohemianspresent Oklahoma! (also in March) and, in April,Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart appear inWaiting for Godot. Riverdance returns to thePlayhouse Theatre, 3-7 March, to be followedby touring productions of Joseph and Cabaretand, on 3 May, there is the legendary BobDylan on his never-ending tour.

of their own and following generations. In‘Homecoming and Portrait of a Nation’ at theNational Portrait Gallery, the works on displayrepresent the five themes of HomecomingScotland – a Scottish Government initiativeinspired by the 250th anniversary of RobertBurns’ birth. The themes are ancestry, theEnlightenment, whisky, golf and, of course,Robert Burns.

Moving on to live performance and BarbaraDickson is at the Festival Theatre on 15 March.The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is thereon 22 and 29 March, 26 April, and 8 and 15May. Singer songwriter Jackson Browneappears on 3 April and the great Broadwaymusical West Side Story can be seen Monday-Saturday during first two weeks in May. At theKings Theatre, there is the Gilbert and Sullivan

Arts in the cityJames Wilkie looks at what’s on in Edinburgh

The Dean Gallery continues to show the workof ‘Four Scottish Painters’ of the post-SecondWorld War period: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham,John Bellany, Alan Davie and Anne Redpath. Allfour painters had a significant impact on the art

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Call us for more detailed information on tel: + 39.0584.794504 or write to info@tuscanyinstyle.com. A 10% discount is reserved for ROSL members on all private accommodation.

Autumn Delights in Northern Tuscany

Truffle hunt with truffle lunch or dinnerThe real treasure of the Tuscan undergrowth is the rare and much sought after white truffle.

The truffle hunt and tasting will be hosted by famous local truffles experts in the San Miniato area. An unforgettable experience of Tuscany.

Wine making and wine tastingTuscany is renowned all over the world for its D.O.C., I.G.T and D.O.C.G. wines.

Discover this enchanted world which is still deeply rooted in local tradition. What better way to experience the wine making process.

Chocolate tasting and workshopsThe newest 'jewel’amongst our local products is chocolate. Visit a factory and see

the process of fine chocolate making, with hands-on experience in a chocolate workshop after a theoretical introduction. Taste all your unique creations.

Tuscany in Style based inPietrasanta in the heart ofVersilia together with LaDolce Vita in the Valderaregion invite you to a seriesof autumn feasts that willdelight the sight, the palateand the taste buds.

These are just a sample of the autumn delights we havein store. Accommodation will be offered in privatelodgings. The events can becombined with a range of art& cultural visits. On all theevents you are accompaniedby a personal guide and theyare tailor made to suit yourtime and needs ….

INTRIGUING HISTORY: A dramatic view ofExeter Cathedral, known for its Gothic interior

True, the distant bursts of machine-gun fire dooccasionally disturb the calm of the village, butthe Royal Marines have been training atLympstone for many years and residents ofnearby Topsham are well used to hearing thegunfire. Fortunately, this unusual feature doesnot detract from the attractions of the area,which include Dartmoor, the River Exe, Exeterand the rolling Devon countryside.

Just two and a half hours by train fromLondon Paddington, Exeter has much to offervisitors – not least the variety of landscapes andintriguing historical sites. The city itself isundergoing something of a renaissance,centred around the rebuilt quay, and there aretwo notable historic buildings to visit. Builtlargely in the 14th century, with two Normantowers, the magnificent Cathedral of St Peter isrenowned for its breathtaking rib-vaulted ceiling.The vast Gothic interior contains many items ofinterest, including the huge oak bishop’s throne,the wondrous stained glass windows and someunusual details, such as the stone carvings ofthe masons who worked on the chapel. Onebeams out with a toothy grin; the other wearsan old-fashioned leather rugby helmet.

That the cathedral is built on the site of aRoman army garrison camp will come as nosurprise to history students. Important tradingports and shipbuilding works lined the River Exefrom the earliest times, and the cloth trade withHolland dominated for centuries. This extensivecommercial history is recorded at the Guildhall.

A couple of kilometres down river fromExeter nestles the small town of Topsham.Once an important trading port and centre ofship building, it has been preserved by aunique geographical feature: it sits on a narrowtongue of land jutting into the Exe estuary. Assuch, it has managed to avoid the sort of uglyexpansion that has marred so manypicturesque English villages. The Dutchinfluence is evident and there are many 18th-century houses that would not look out ofplace on the other side of the North Sea.These, and the views across the river to marshand farmlands, make the Strand a street ofparticular beauty. The Topsham Museum,which records the area’s maritime history, islocated in one of the many long, two-storeybuildings of Dutch clinker brick that were builtto accommodate a sail loft upstairs.

Follow the Exe to Exmouth, and you willcome to the spectacular coastline, with soaringred cliffs dropping to secluded beaches. Thefamous Jurassic Coast extends from Exmouthto Bournemouth and is England’s first WorldHeritage Site. It contains fossil forests,dinosaur footprints and coastal walks thatshow the breath-taking scenery at its best.Perhaps the best way to view the dramaticcoastline is to take one of several boat toursthat operate from Exmouth.

Further afield, visitors can take in Killerton,the National Trust’s first great country house;the wilds of Dartmoor; Castle Drogo; andBuckland Abbey. A short drive from Exeter,Killerton is an 18th-century house of modestgrandeur, while Powderham Castle, across theriver from Lympstone, provides a glimpse of amuch grander lifestyle. The strong tides of theExe still dictate comings and goings here andthe marshes that once provided roof thatchessupport a great variety of birdlife. In this cornerof England, life goes on at a different pace.And that is not such a bad thing.

Adrian took the train from LondonPaddington to Exeter St David’s and stayed

at the Thistle Exeter in the city centre.

From the red cliffs of the Jurassic Coast topicturesque Topsham village, Adrian Nisbettdiscovers Exeter and the surrounding area

O V E R S E A S 27

Mid-week wonders

IN THE UK

Mark Wallinger’s TheRussian LinesmanSouthbank Centre (The Hayward)Wednesday 18 February – Monday 4 MayThe 2007 Turner prize-winner curates anexhibition exploring the threshold betweenphysical, political and metaphysical realms. Tickets: £6-£9. Contact: 0871 663 2500 orwww.southbankcentre.co.uk.

La Línea: London’sLatin Music FestivalMain venues include Koko,Southbank Centre and BarbicanCentreTuesday 14 April – Saturday 2 MayFestival celebrating Latin music in all itsdiversity, from flamenco and samba to Afro-Cuban hip-hop and Argentine electronica.Performers include Bajofondo Tango Club andCuban guitar legend Eliades Ochoa.Tickets: £18. Contact: 020 8693 1042 orinfo@comono.co.uk.

Madame de Sade

Wyndham’s Theatre Friday 13 March – Saturday 23 MayMichael Grandage directs an all-female castheaded by Judi Dench in Mishima’s poeticmasterpiece. Set in Paris, the story of theMarquis de Sade is told through the eyes of sixremarkable women.Tickets: £10–£32.50. Contact: 0844 482 5120or www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk.

What’s on...LONDON

March–May 2009

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ROSL ARTSAnna Maciuk previews the spring season events

Music eventsOver-Seas HousePrincess Alexandra Hall

57th ROSL Annual Music Competition,Section Finals

Friday 6 March, 7pm – Ensembles A(strings/keyboard) Friday 13 March, 7pm – Ensembles B(wind/mixed) Tuesday 17 March, 7pm – Overseas awardsWith the solo sections of the musiccompetition over, attention now focuses onchamber ensembles, and the internationalaspect of the competition is celebrated as themost outstanding non-UK competitors takepart in the Overseas Awards evening.Tickets: £10; ROSL members and concessions£9; Friends of ROSL ARTS £8. Wine, servedafter adjudication, is included in the price.

Sundays at 3

Sunday 5 April, 3pmDaniel de Borah (piano)Winner of the keyboard award in the 2007ROSL Annual Music Competition, Australianpianist Daniel de Borah returns to Over-SeasHouse, London for an hour-long recital ofMozart and Chopin. Daniel will end the concertwith a performance of Schumann’s Fantasie in C, Op.17, composed in memoriam toBeethoven and considered by many as hisgreatest work for the piano.

Tickets: £10; ROSL members and concessions£9; Friends of ROSL ARTS £8. Tea and scones,served afterwards in the Central Lounge, areincluded in the ticket price.

Natalia Lomeiko and Friends

Tuesday 21 April, 7pmROSL prizewinning violinist Natalia Lomeiko wasborn into a family of musicians in Novosibirsk,Russia and moved to New Zealand in the 1990s.She has since established herself internationallyas a soloist and chamber musician. She is joinedby a string quintet to perform two intense andpassionate works: Brahms’ String Sextet, ofwhich the composer wrote ‘Here I have freedmyself from my last love,’ and Tchaikovsky’sSouvenir de Florence. Tickets: £10; ROSL members andconcessions £9; Friends of ROSL ARTS £8.Wine, served after the concert, is included in the ticket price.

A Celebration of Australian Musical Talent

Tuesday 19 May, 7pmIn collaboration with the Tait Memorial Trust,ROSL ARTS presents a celebration ofAustralian musical talent. The young musicianswill perform an hour-long programme ofpopular classics and some less familiarmusical delights. Tickets: £25; ROSL members andconcessions £20; Friends of ROSL ARTS £15.Champagne, served at 6.45pm, plus qualityAustralian wines and canapés servedafterwards, are included in the ticket price.

Queen Elizabeth Hall

57th ROSL Annual Music Competition Final

Tuesday 5 May, 7pmThe flagship event of the ROSL ARTScalendar, the Final of the 2009 Annual MusicCompetition showcases the winners of thewind, singers, strings and keyboard sectionsas they compete for the Gold Medal and First Prize. As the distinguished panel ofjudges makes its decision, there will beperformances by the two prizewinningensembles. Tickets: £12; Friends of ROSL ARTS £10(reduced from £20; £15). Available from ROSL ARTS, not the QEH box office.

VIOLIN PASSION: Natalie Lomeiko willperform Brahams and Tchaikovsky

HUNT FOR ART: Lauren Porter’s exhibitionof quilted hunting trophies

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Visual artsOver-Seas House, London

Young Artist of Thailand 2008

Wednesday 1 – Wednesday 29 April In 2007, the Thailand Branch inaugurated theROSL Young Artist of Thailand, sponsored byRaimon Land Plc. The competition is open toThai citizens and residents aged 12-20. Art byentrants of the 2008 competition wasexhibited at the Eden Zone, Central World,Bangkok in January 2009. For the exhibition atOver-Seas House, London, the prizewinningwork will be exhibited together with works byrunners-up. As part of the prize, the winner willbe in London for the opening of the exhibitionas a guest of ROSL ARTS.

Lauren Porter, ‘Hunting Trophies’

Friday 1 May – Wednesday 1 JulyROSL Visual Arts Scholar Lauren Porter madeheadlines with her full-sized knitted red Ferrari.On her 2007 ROSL scholarship, she spent sixweeks travelling around Canada exploring itsrich heritage in community arts. Her series‘Hunting Trophies’ juxtaposes the traditionalCanadian women’s skill of quilting with themore masculine pursuit of hunting. The seriesis a collection of pure white quilted heads ofanimals of Canadian origin.

Book eventsOver-Seas House, London

Edward Paice – ‘Wrath of God: TheGreat Lisbon Earthquake of 1755’

Monday 30 March, 7pmAt 9.30am on All Saints’ Day in 1755, Lisbon,Europe’s fourth largest city and the centre ofthe great Portuguese empire, was devastatedby the largest earthquake to hit a major city inthe Western world. It is estimated that nearly50,000 lost their lives. The largest of its threetremors measured 8.75-9 on the Richter scale.The destruction was completed by a fire thatburned for a week.

Wrath of God is a gripping account of anatural disaster that had a transformativeimpact on European society. Edward Paice isalso the author of Lost Lion of Empire: TheLife of Cape-to-Cairo Grogan (2001) and Tipand Run: The Untold Tragedy of the Great Warin Africa (2007).

March–May 2009

Tickets: £5; ROSL members and concessions£4.50; Friends of ROSL ARTS £4. Wine, servedafterwards, is included in the ticket price.

Dr Ashley Jackson – ‘Mad Dogs andEnglishmen: The High Noon of theBritish Empire 1850-1945’

Wednesday 10 June, 7pmDr Ashley Jackson’s Mad Dogs andEnglishmen provides a visually arresting andinformative tour of the British Empire at itsheight, when its boundaries stretched fromCairo to Cape Town and from Winnipeg toWagga-Wagga. The empire ‘on which the sunnever sets’ embraced peoples as diverse asthe head-hunting Dyaks, Fulani horsemen, Gulfsheikhs and caparisoned maharajahs. In asequence of thematic chapters examiningevery aspect of the empire, Mad Dogs...describes the largest imperium in world history. Tickets: £5; ROSL members and concessions£4.50; Friends of ROSL ARTS £4. Wine,served afterwards, is included in the ticketprice.

WRITING HISTORY: Ashley Jackson will talkon the empire ‘on which the sun never sets’

MUSICAL LIVESREMEMBEREDIt is with great sadness that we report the deaths in the latterpart of 2008 of two great musicians and staunch supporters ofthe ROSL Annual Music Competition: pianist Yonty Solomonand contralto Marjorie Thomas. Both served on manyoccasions as adjudicators of the competition in the 1980s and1990s.

As a young South African pianist recently arrived in the UKto study with Dame Myra Hess, Yonty won the gold medal inthe ROSL Music Competition in 1960. He enjoyed a highlydistinguished career as a soloist and chamber musician. Aprofessor of piano at the Royal College of Music since 1977, hewas a dedicated and inspirational teacher of many youngpianists now at the forefront of the profession. One of his mostrecent students, Canadian pianist Andrew Aarons, wasintroduced to Yonty by ROSL ARTS during a visit to the UK in2004 as a ROSL Yvonne and Gordon Calver scholar.

Marjorie Thomas was one of the most well-loved artists onthe opera stage and concert platform in the two decadesfollowing the Second World War. She appears in many classicrecordings from this period and was a particular favourite ofthe conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent. She joined the staff of theRoyal Academy of Music in 1963 and became its first head ofvocal studies, retiring in 1990. Among the many studentswhose careers she nurtured, is the soprano Susan Bullock(ROSL Singers Award winner 1983), now one of the mostacclaimed British operatic artists internationally.

Yonty Solomondiscusses a musicalpoint with HRHPrincess Alexandra afterthe Final concert of the50th ROSL AnnualMusic CompetitionFinal in 2002

Marjorie Thomas withwinner of the SingersPrize soprano GillianKeith at the FinalConcert of the ROSLAnnual MusicCompetition in 1998

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EVENTS

Explore this beautiful 18th-centurymansion designed by RobertAdams. From the roof, take in thedramatic views of the surroundinggardens and farmlands. Tea andbiscuits served on arrival.

Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 12 May, 4pm, free, MTo follow the Chairman’s Lunch.See page 33 for details.

Chelsea Flower Show

Thursday 21–Saturday 23 May,8am–8pm, £45, BA wonderful day out for all gardenlovers, with beautiful gardens andthe most amazing horticulturaldisplays from all over the world.

June

Trooping the Colour

Saturday 30 May, Saturday 6 June,Saturday 13 June, prices tba, BThe Major General’s Review is inMay and the Colonel’s Review,

Fortrey, it was home to George IIIduring his bouts of supposedmadness. After lunch, there will bea guided tour of the sensationalgardens, which offer the biggestdisplay of seasonal spring colour inthe country, including a crocuscarpet, daffodils and snowdropsnestling in woodland.

Historic Greenwich

Tuesday 28 April, 11am, £14, GVisit the historic St Alfege Churchbefore walking throughGreenwich Market to the park andviewing the Royal Observatory,National Maritime Museum andQueen’s House. The day endswith a delightful riverside walk tosee the Cutty Sark, Gypsy Moth,two historic pubs and themagnificent Royal Naval College.

MayBehind the scenes atOsterley House andPark

Wednesday 6 May, 11am, £14.50, G

OUT IN THE OPEN AIR: Osterley House and Park (above) and a playerin action at The Championships, Wimbledon (top)

Application form oppositeThese codes identify ticket availability:M Members onlyG Tickets available for members and their guestsR Restricted number of tickets available B Tickets to be allocated by ballot. Payment for balloted tickets is notneeded until tickets are allocated. Maximum two tickets per member.Only successful applicants will be notified.

Please also note: We do not acknowledge receipt of applications, but tickets are always sent out inadvance. Refunds can only be given if cancellations are made at least 15 working days in advance. Wedo not provide refunds for tickets costing less than £5. Tickets for all events are limited and membersshould apply early to avoid disappointment. Tickets may be restricted to two per member for popularevents. Members will be sent tickets seven days prior to each particular event.

March

Commonwealth Dayservice

Monday 9 March, £6(administration charge), G Service at Westminster Abbey inthe presence of The Queen.

Backstage tour at theRoyal Opera House

Monday 16 March, 2.30pm, £12, BThis tour of one of the world’sleading theatres includes a historyof the Royal Opera House, aninsight into its redevelopment and alook at its current productions. As itis a fully working theatre, you mayeven see a Royal Ballet class or thebackstage technology in operation.

AprilA day at Kew Palace andGardens

Tuesday 21 April, 11am, £18, GExplore Kew Palace, the smallestand most intimate of the royalpalaces. Built in 1631 by Samuel

Members’ eventsMarch–June

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followed by the Queen’s BirthdayParade, in June. Maximum twotickets per member.

Wimbledon TennisChampionships

Monday 22 June—Sunday 5 July, BA fantastic day out watching TheChampionships at the AELTC.Limited tickets are available forCourt Two. Maximum two ticketsper member.

Chairman’s Lunch

Tuesday 12 May, £50,12.30pm, GDrinks will be served beforea delicious three-coursespring lunch at Over-SeasHouse, London. Hosted byLeague Chairman StanleyMartin. Writer andbroadcaster John JuliusNorwich will speak on‘Venice’. The AGM willfollow at 4pm.

O V E R S E A S 31

EVENTS

Name....................................................................Membership number..........................................

Name of guest(s) and trip they are attending..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................UK address to which tickets should be sent..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Telephone number..............................................................................Please also provide regular correspondence address..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

I enclose a cheque for a total of£............................................................................

(Payable to ROSL, crossed and in sterling)Credit card bookings by telephone only: 020 7016 6906

Please complete this form and send with cheque only to: Alex Debarge, Public Relations Department (Members Events Programme), Royal Over-SeasLeague, Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James’s Street, London SW1A 1LR. Tel: 020 7016 6906 Email: adebarge@rosl.org.uk.

PLEASE SEND A SEPARATE CHEQUE FOR EACH EVENT.No. of tickets

Commonwealth Day Service Mon 9 March £6 .......... £.........Kew Gardens and Kew Palace Tues 21 April £18 .......... £.........Historic Greenwich Tues 28 April £14 .......... £.........Osterley Park and House Wed 6 May £14.50 .......... £.........Chairman’s Lunch Tues 12 May £50 .......... £.........

APPLICATIONS FOR BALLOTED TICKETS ONLY. MAXIMUM TWO TICKETS PER MEMBER.DO NOT SEND PAYMENT YET. YOU WILL ONLY BE CONTACTED IF SUCCESSFUL.

No. of tickets Apply before

Backstage at Royal Opera House Mon 16 March ............... 16 FebChelsea Flower Show Thur 21 – Sat 23 May ............... 22 AprilTrooping the Colour Sat 30 May, 6 Jun,

13 Jun ............... 5 MayWimbledon tennis championships Mon 22 Jun – Sun 5 Jul ............... 29 May

Application form for members’ events (see opposite)

March–May 2009

In aid of the Gurkha WelfareTrust.

Quiz

Tuesday 7 April, noon for 12.30pm

Arts lunch

Wednesday 22 AprilTwo-course lunch, includingcoffee and glass of wine.Alasdair Hutton will speak on‘The Tattoo: Scotland andAustralia’. Tickets: £14.50; non-members £16.50.

MayCoffee morning

Saturday 9 May, 10.30am

MUSICAL TREAT:Ben Schoemanwill perform forCommonwealth

WeekMarch Bridge Club

Friday 6 March, 12.30 for 1pm One-course lunch with sherry andguest day. Tickets: £9.

Commonwealth Daylunch

Monday 9 March, noon for 12.30pmTwo-course lunch with speakerJohn Scott of Glasgow 2014(Commonwealth Games). Sherryon arrival, coffee and glass ofwine. Tickets: £15.50; non-members £18.

Coffee morning

Saturday 14 March, 10.30am‘The British Experience: AJamaican Perspective’ withGeoffrey Palmer.

What’s on...March–May

EDINBURGH

Commonwealth Weekconcert

Monday 16 March, 6.30pmHour-long recital by South Africanpianist Ben Schoeman, followed bywine and canapés. Tickets: £8; non-members £10; Friends of ROSLARTS £6. For tickets call 0131 2251501.

ROSL Visual ArtsScholars exhibition

Monday 16 March – Friday 8 May, Over-Seas House, EdinburghPaintings by scholars ChristinaPapakyriakou and Jeremy Sharma.

April Bring and buy sale/raffle

Saturday 4 April, 10.30am

Music with a view

Wednesday 13 May, 6.30pm Recital by Australian pianist JaysonGilham; exhibition by ROSL VisualArts Scholars Jacob Carter andLauren Porter. Tickets: £8; £10 non-members; Friends of ROSL ARTS£6. For tickets call 0131 225 1501.

AGM and Chairman’sreception

Tuesday 19 May, 6 for 6.30pm With complimentary buffet.

Arts lunch

Wednesday 27 May, 12 for 12.30pm Two-course lunch, including coffeeand glass of wine, with speakerLorn MacIntyre. Tickets: £14.50;non-members £16.

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www.rosl.org.uk32 O V E R S E A S

HAVANA CIGARSAll brands - All sizes

No minimum order 20% DISCOUNT

Just mention “Overseas” when ordering humidors, cigar cutters,

lighters, air purifiers, gifts etc.

Best value, fast delivery C.Gars Ltd

0207 372 1865www.cgarsltd.co.uk

You can also visit our retail outlets:C.GARS Ltd (London)

Turmeaus Tobacconist Est 1817 (Liverpool and Chester)Robert Graham Est. 1874 (Glasgow and Edinburgh)

La Casa del Habano (Hamburg, Germany)

Will power.For more information, please phone

us on 0800 169 2942 and ask to speak

to ‘Legacy Support’, look us up on the

web at www.rafbf.org or write to:

Legacies Officer, RAFBF,67 Portland Place, London W1B 1AR.

Douglas Bader was legendary for his dogged determination

and will power, refusing to let the loss of both his legs prevent

him from flying Spitfires in the Second World War.

These qualities of determination and will power are shared

by the men and women, past and present, of the Royal Air Force

family who secured and maintain our freedom today. Qualities

that, sadly, are often needed to fight different battles such as

disability, age, accident, illness and poverty. The Royal Air Force

Benevolent Fund has a duty to assist such family members. You

have the power to help by remembering the RAF family as you

remember your family in your will.

Because, where there is a will, there is a way to help. Registered Charity No. 1081009

THE OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION COUNTRY HOME - “HUNTLY”

Huntly is the Officers' Association's residential retirement home for elderly single ex-officers, male or female, of all three Services,and widows and widowers of ex-officers who wish to enjoy an active retirement in a peaceful and tranquil environment.Applications from other retired professionals are also welcomed. Located in the village of Bishopsteignton and situated in extensivelandscaped grounds overlooking the Teign estuary, Huntly offers the comfort, security and peace of mind of a community whilepreserving the independence and privacy of residents. All residents have a single room with en-suite facilities, and the spaciouspublic rooms includes a Dining Room, Drawing Room, Library, Snooker Room, Coffee Lounge and a TV room. Fast communicationsby both road and rail are conveniently close.

Applicants must be mobile, able to look after themselves and attend meals. There are no medical facilities at Huntly, although a localdoctor visits each week and welfare officers are employed to provide support for the residents. All residents pay a standard fee thatcovers their accommodation, meals and welfare support.

Located between Teignmouth and Newton Abbot in South Devon

Contact the House Governor on Tel: 01626 775223, Fax: 01626 779241 Email: huntly2@officersassociation.org.uk for further details and a colour brochure and application form. Or visit our Website: www.officersassociation.org.uk

S h o r t B r e a k s A v a i l a b l eS h o r t B r e a k s A v a i l a b l e

O V E R S E A S 33March–May 2009

The Rooms Division (reservations, reception,day and night porters, and housekeeping) atOver-Seas House, London has had a busy2008 and brisk start to 2009, providingservice to both resident and visitingmembers. Most of the team have been withus for many years: manager Rachid Mellahsince 2002, head housekeeper Deisy Garciasince 2000, night manager Del Getaneh since1992, and head cleaner Dean Crest since1995. Head hall porter Mick McCall, wellknown to members around the world, tookon the added responsibility of health andsafety officer in 2005. It hardly seemspossible that Mick celebrates 25 years withthe League this July!

Deisy Garcia and her team look after our80 bedrooms and Deisy’s flair for interiordesign and furniture re-upholstery is much inevidence in the bedrooms and public areasof Over-Seas House. She and Rachidrecently joined forces to refurbish all therooms in the Westminster Wing to a higherstandard. As our rates include continentalbreakfast, rarely the case in hotelsnowadays, our rooms offer better value than ever. The staff at both clubhouses havebut one objective, and that is to providemembers with the best possible standards,so don’t hesitate to contact them if they can

help make your stay even more comfortable.We recently received a letter from an

Edinburgh member who stayed at Over-SeasHouse, London on her return from Barcelona,where she had been mugged. She wrote: ‘Icannot tell you the difference it made, in thecircumstances, to feel that we had a homefrom home in the city… We had no idea at thetime quite how fortuitous our membership ofthe League would be.’ This is exactly what wehope to offer our members: a home awayfrom home in London and Edinburgh.

Annual generalmeeting

Dear Member,I am instructed to inform you thatthe AGM of the Royal Over-SeasLeague will be held at Over-SeasHouse, Park Place, St James’sStreet, London SW1 on Tuesday 12May 2009 at 4pm, to receive andconsider the Annual Report andAccounts of the League and toattend to such other business asmay be necessary in accordancewith the bye-laws. The AGM will bepreceded by the Chairman’s Lunch(12.30 for 1pm; for further detailscontact the Public RelationsDepartment), and followed by areception at which refreshments willbe served.

Yours truly, Robert F Newell, director-general/secretary

AGENDA• To sing the first verse of the

National Anthem• Address by the Chairman• Honorary treasurer to report on

the League’s finances• To receive and adopt the accounts

of the League for 2008• To confirm appointments to the

Central Council under the terms of bye-law 14.6 and 14.7

• To fill vacancies occurring underthe terms of bye-law 20.1 and 20.2

• To confirm the appointment by theCentral Council of the Dean ofWestminster as a Vice-President of the League, under the terms ofbye-law 18

• To receive and adopt the AnnualReport for 2008

• To appoint auditors for the ensuingyear

(Note: copies of the 2008 AnnualReport will be available from thePublic Relations department from27 April 2009.)

EVENTS

Food and drinkAsparagus fortnight

18–30 May Join us in the restaurant to celebrate the firsttaste of summer with our chef’s creativeselection of asparagus dishes.

Wimbledon

22 June – 4 JulyEnjoy delicious champagne and strawberrieswhen you dine in the restaurant overWimbledon fortnight.

A safe haven

ROOMS DIVISION: The staff includes (l-r)Rachid Mellah, Rosita Kazlauskaite, LenniMarrini, Deisy Garcia, Pia Kahonen, PaulinaGozdziewska and Dean Crest

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EVENTS

DISCUSSION GROUPMeetings will be held at Over-Seas House, London on the following Monday eveningsfrom 7 to 8.30pm. There is no charge. All League membersand guests are welcome.For more information contactJohn Edwards, 01732 883556,johncoatesedward@aol.com.

A view from the backbenches2 March With Austin Mitchell,Labour MP for Grimsby since1977, who currently sits on theAgriculture Select Committee.

LONDON GROUPPlease note that you are notautomatically a member of theLondon Group. Please ask for anapplication form from the PublicRelations department, Over-SeasHouse, London. The LondonGroup meets at 6.30pm on thethird Thursday of each month. Formore information contact BerylKeen, 020 8449 5686.

The history ofdictionaries anddictionary makers19 March A talk by Susan Purcell, aFellow of the Chartered Institute ofLinguists and author of languagecourse books and dictionaries.

London Group AGM16 April With speaker AdeleSmith, who has written a historyof the Royal Over-Seas League tocelebrate its centenary in 2010.Light refreshments served.

Wicked London: Ahistory of scandals21 May A talk by Paul Baker, wholeads guided walks aroundLondon.

LONDON GROUPOUTSIDE VISITSFor more information, contactDoreen Regan, 020 7584 5879. Toapply for events, write to DoreenRegan, London, c/o Porters’ Desk,Over-Seas House, London.

Thomas Carlyle’s house2 April, 11am Guided tour of theChelsea home of the well-knownVictorian writer Thomas Carlyle.Tickets: £10; LG members £8.

* Please enclose a separatecheque and stamped addressedenvelope for each visit.

Please note: There may be a week-long trip toBerlin and Gdansk in September.Members should write to registertheir interest.

LITERARY TREATS: (clockwise from left) Samuel Johnson (19 March); Covent Garden, an area whichcan boast more than 300 years of scandal (21 May); Thomas Carlyle’s house (2 April); a cake made byBeryl Keen for the London Group’s 60th anniversary reception at the House of Lords in December

www.rosl.org.uk

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Discussion Group & London Group

MEMBERS’ ADVERTISING

FARM IN FRANCE. Wonderful 300-year-old granite farmhouse, barns andsurrounding 47 acres. Only 20 mins from Limoges Airport. All majorwork completed, but internal arrangement and decoration to do. Pleasevisit www.property-for-sale-limousin-france.breezybreak.com and callMiranda Bruce: +44 (0)1450 860683 or +44 (0)7535 530881

SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS: FODDERTY LODGE. Ideal destination for quietself-catering holiday. Between Dingwall and Strathpeffer, three cottages(sleeping 6, 4 and 2) ideally placed for exploring Northern Highlands.Flexible, well-equipped accommodation geared for holidays spanningone, two or three generations. Much for motorist, golfer, bird watcherand walker to enjoy. Prices £215 -£620. Please visitwww.foddertylodge.com or telephone 01997 421393

Members can advertise at a cost of £1 per word plus VAT, min30 words. Copy for next issue by 24 March.

Contact Alex Debarge on 020 7016 6906 or email it to adebarge@rosl.org.uk. No advertisements are endorsed or

recommended by the Royal Over-Seas League.

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RHEEBOKVLEI SOUTH AFRICAN GAME FARM

Rheebokvlei is a private game farm in the heart of the Limpopo Province where you will experience avariety of game in the African bush surrounded by majestic mountains and waterfalls. This private game

farm provides luxury thatched chalets including morning refreshment, lunch and dinner in true Africanstyle in a Lapa or around an open-air Boma with a roaring fire under a galaxy of stars. A swimming

pool is an added attraction. Experienced Rangers will meet your every need throughout your stay.Transport will be provided from Johannesburg International airport or Polokwane airport.

Price: 100 euros per day/half price for under 11s. For brochures and more information contact Connie Booth on

Tel: +44 (0) 207 629 2294 or email: connie.booth@talk21.com

For more information or to book you place on this exclusiveexperience call 020 7734 4404 www.mundycruising.co.uk

Saturday 18th July Embark Braemar in Dover

Sunday 19th & Monday 20th July Two days at sea

Tuesday 21st July Lisbon, Portugal

Wednesday 22nd July Cadiz, Spain

Thursday 23rd July A day at sea

Friday 24th July Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Saturday 25th July Santa Cruz, Tenerife

Sunday 26th July Santa Cruz, La Palma

Monday 27th July Funchal, Madeira

Tuesday 28th July A day at sea

Wednesday 29th July Leixoes, Portugal

Thursday 30th & Friday 31st July Two days at sea

Saturday 1st August Disembark Dover

MUNDY EXCLUSIVES

• Your expert gardening host, Anthea Guthrie

• Complimentary cocktail party

• Onboard lectures

• Anthea’s expertise on selected shore excursions

• Free parking at the port

Prices are per person based on double occupancy unless otherwise stated and do not include shore excursions. All pricesare subject to availability and change. Shore excursions are subject to confirmation and can be cancelled or changed.

AArranged exclusively by Mundy Cruising, the UK’s premier cruiseretailer, this 14 night voyage departs Dover on 18th July 2009.Aboard the charming Fred. Olsen ship Braemar, you will have aspecial programme of lectures, a welcome cocktail party andthe expertise of award winning gardener Anthea Guthriethroughout your voyage.

Anthea GuthrieThe winner of ten RHS medals includingthree golds, gained at garden shows suchas Chelsea and Hampton Court, she hasmade a name for herself lecturing ongarden history and design and hasappeared on BBC 2’s, ‘A Passion for Plants’.During your cruise Anthea will be giving anumber of lectures on a variety ofgardening subjects, including ‘Behind the Scenes at Chelsea’and will be on hand to answer any horticulture related questions.

Price Information

Twin Inside Cabin from £810 per person

Single Inside Cabin from £1,574 per person

Twin Outside Cabin from £1,070 per person

Single Outside Cabin from £1,928 per person

Balcony Cabin from £1,434 per person

Single Balcony Suite from £2,468 per person

The Gardening Cruise Experience aboard Braemar

Cruise to the Canary IslandsEnjoy a special garden voyage with 10 time RHS

medal winner Anthea Guthrie14 night ex UK sailing, departing 18th July 2009, from just £810 per person

NO FLYING!

Optional Shore ExcursionsWe have three special shore excursions which Anthea will accompany. Shewill be able to answer any questions you have whilst you wander throughthe Botanical gardens of Funchal, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. These shoreexcursions are available at a supplement.

Funchal, Madeira – Monte’s Botanical Gardens

Tenerife, Canary Islands – Botanical Gardens of Puerto De La Cruz– Garden of Risco Bello

Gran Canaria, Canary Island – Jardín Viera & Clavijo, the largestbotanical garden in Spain

– Jardín de la Marquesa