From his little cottage beside the river flowing by Sedbergh in the north of England David Burbage has been enlivening warm relations between the peoples of Britain and Slovenia for as long as anybody can remember. Nobody has done more to bring us together.

David created and leads the »Lakeland Voices«, who tramp around the fells of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales in fair weather and foul, singing stirring traditional songs in both English and Slovene.

On Tuesday 19th May, David and the »Lakeland Voices« set off by train for Slovenia, singing on the way on station platforms, in trains and in bars and pubs all the way along. Follow them on Facebook.

A folk dance group from Zreče visited Sedbergh in the north of England at the weekend to celebrate 21 years of the two towns being twinned.

The Zreče group performed in a social club and around the town. Sedbergh’s »Lakeland Voices« meanwhile sang inside the Church of St. Andrew in both English and Slovene. Slovenian Ambassador Sanja Štiglic drove up from London to take part in the celebration and thank the performers.

Evelina Ferrar, Chairwoman of The British-Slovene Society, interviewed David Burbidge when she went to Sedbergh to celebrate the town’s twinning with Zreče in Slovenia.

At the MOPS-9 Slovenian Language School, they are launching a new online lecture series titled Slovenian History of the 20th Century. The course offers an in-depth overview of recent Slovenian history, and will consist of three chapters, each delving into a period of Slovenian history in an informative, fun and engaging way:

1️⃣ Chapter 1: Early 20th Century – 23 June 2026 at 19:00 Ljubljana time (CET)

From Occupation and Resistance to the Socialist Heaven of the Balkans

2️⃣ Chapter 2: Late 20th Century – 24 June 2026 at 19:00 Ljubljana time (CET)

How Slovenia Navigated the 90s and Found Its Voice

3️⃣ Bonus Chapter: Recap and discussion – 2 July 2026 at 19:00 Ljubljana time (CET)

Extra Chapter devoted to discussion, Q&A, and everything you may have missed so far

The lectures will be delivered by Professor Aleksander Peklar, a respected history professor and the creator of the Izi zgodovina (Easy History) educational platform.

The lectures will be held online and conducted in English, so knowledge of Slovenian is not required. Each lecture consists of a 60-minute lecture and a 30-minute discussion.

Pricing: 25.5 € per lecture (paid for each chapter individually or as a lump sum of 76.5 €)

➡️ Those interested can apply here. ⬅️

Message from the Slovenian Embassy in London:

We are pleased to announce that The Angry Bat and Photon Gallery will once again participate in Photo London. As one of the leading international fairs dedicated to photography and visual arts, Photo London brings together renowned galleries, artists, publishers, and curators from around the world each year.

Taking place from 14 to 17 May 2026, this year’s edition will present an expanded format featuring a selection of galleries from Central and Eastern Europe.

PHOTO LONDON 2026

The Angry Bat & Photon Gallery

14 to 17 May 2026

National Hall, Olympia
Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UX

MORE INFO

Photon Gallery will present a curated selection of works by four significant artists: Gábor Kerekes, Jaroslav Rössler, Stane Jagodič, and Branko Lenart. The presentation traces the development of photography in Central and Eastern Europe during the second half of the 20th century, a period in which artists, working despite political restrictions, pursued innovative and experimental approaches while engaging in dialogue with avant-garde movements and modernism.

The Angry Bat will present a curated selection of contemporary photobooks, with a particular focus on Slovene author-driven projects by photographers Goran Bertok, Jošt Franko, Andrej Lamut, and Matej Sitar, as well as recent publications by international photographers Jari Salomäki and Karoliina Paatos, both of whom will be present at the fair for book signings.

Information from the publisher Istros Books:

26 May@ 6:30 pm, Blackwell’s Manchester
IN TRANSLATION: Miha Mazzini and Celia Hawkesworth in conversation
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-translation-miha-mazzini-and-celia-hawkesworth-in-conversation-tickets-1984978837136 

27 May @ 6 pm, SSEES, London
On the Outside: new books from Slovenia and Croatia
Please join us for a book presentation of ‘Erased’ by Miha Mazzini and ‘Dying in Toronto’ by Daša Drndić.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanities/events/2026/may/outside-new-books-slovenia-and-croatia

This event brings together the latest work from Slovenian author, Miha Mazzini and the late Croatian author, Daša Drndić, with two new books in English that examine the lives of those on the periphery of society, ignored by authorities and erased from public consciousness. Join author Miha Mazzini and translator (and former Senior Lecturer at SSEES) Celia Hawkesworth in conversation with publisher Susan Curtis.

Organised by the UCL SSEES Southeast European studies seminar series, supported by Istros Books.

About Erased by Miha Mazzini (published by Fly on the Wall press)
When a “software error” erases Zala from the system, she discovers that officially, she and her newborn don’t exist. As Zala fights desperately to prove her existence, and save her child from adoption, she uncovers the Kafkaesque reality of Slovenia’s system – one that erased 25,671 citizens on February 26, 1992. A chilling thriller about bureaucracy as violence, and one mother’s battle against the state.

About Dying In Toronto by Dasa Drndic (translated by Celia Hawkesworth and published by Istros Books)
All of Drndic’s award-winning work fluctuates between fact and fiction, and ‘Dying in Toronto’ gives an account of the author’s first year in Canada as a refugee, in 1995. While the book is written in form of essays, it is clearly shaped to tell of that year as a story, and the result is unique in both form and content, combining new techniques of creative personal confession and acute social perception, which offer a rare depth of insight and breadth of perspective on the real, difficult life of an immigrant.

Speakers

Miha Mazzini is the author of more than 30 books, published in 15 languages, and has stories featured in prestigious anthologies including Pushcart Prize 2012 and Best European Fiction 2018. He is also a screenwriter and director of multiple prize-winning films.

Celia Hawkesworth taught at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies from 1971 to 2002. She began translating fiction in the 1960s and to date has published some 40 titles. Recently she has been translating works by Daša Drndić: Belladonna was shortlisted for the EBRD Literature Prize 2018 and the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize 2018, and won the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation 2018. EEG won the Best Translated Book Award in 2020 and the AATSEEL Best Literary Translation Prize in 2021. Her translation of Ivo Andrić’s Omer Pasha Latas won the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation prize in 2019.

Three British-Slovene Society members got up early on 1^st May to celebrate May Day in Oxford. Evelina and Marcus Ferrar are with Anja Mohorko who played drums.

https://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/25130444.pictures-thousands-flock-city-centre-may-morning/#gallery5

Message from the Slovenian Embassy in London:

Exhibition Opening Thursday 30 April, 6 – 8 pm

On display until 10 July 2026

Austrian Cultural Forum London

28 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PQ

MORE INFO & RSVP

Join artists Jasmina Cibic, Claire Morgan and Oliver Ressler for a special Touch Nature Artist Talk  on Tuesday 9 June 2026 at 7pm.

In the group exhibition Touch Nature, acclaimed artist Jasmina Cibic joins Claire Morgan and Dafna Talmor in a compelling visual dialogue alongside more than fifteen Austrian and Austria-based artists. Together, they confront the profound political, economic, ecological, and humanitarian consequences of the Anthropocene

Jasmina Cibic (b. 1979, Ljubljana, Slovenia) is a Slovenian artist and filmmaker based in London, UK. She studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia (1998–2003) and earned an MA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College London (2003–2006). Working across film, installation, and performance, her practice examines the relationship between art, architecture, and political power. Recent exhibitions include Most Favoured Nations at Museum der Moderne Salzburg (2022), Stagecraft – Une mise en scène du pouvoir at Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon (2021), The Palace at Museum Sztuki Łódź (2021), and The Foundation of Endeavour at Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova, Ljubljana (2020). She represented Slovenia at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013). Awards include the Film London Jarman Award (2021), B3 Biennial of the Moving Image Award (2020), MAC International Ulster Bank and Charlottenborg Fonden prizes (2016), and Best Artist’s Film at Aesthetica Film Festival (2024). In 2026, she also received the prestigious Prešeren Fund Award, the highest recognition in the Republic of Slovenia for artistic achievements.

Message from the Slovenian Embassy in London:

You’re kindly invited to celebrate the launch of Flood Tide by award-winning author Ana Schnabl, recently published in the UK by Divided Publishing. Ana Schnabl will present her book in conversation with Katharina Volckmer, journalist and author of The Appointment.

Book Launch: Flood Tide by Ana Schnabl

Thursday 21 May 2026 at 7 PM

Brick Lane Bookshop,
166 Brick Lane, London E1 6RU

BOOK TICKETS

Set along the Adriatic coast, Flood Tide follows novelist Dunja Anko as she returns home, grappling with physical decline and a heavy dependence on marijuana, to unravel the mystery of her brother’s death. Elegantly plotted, darkly humorous, and self-reflexive, the novel offers a psychologically nuanced exploration of trauma shaped by human limitation and indecision.

Ana Schnabl is a Slovenian writer and editor. She writes for several Slovene media outlets and is a columnist for the Guardian. Her collection of short stories Untied was met with critical acclaim and won the Best Debut Award at the Slovene Book Fair. Her debut novel Masterpiece was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, and received plaudits from the Los Angeles Review of Books and the New York Review of Books. Her second novel Plima was nominated for the Slovene Kresnik Award, and her third novel September won the Kresnik Award in 2025.

The Slovene kozolec (hayrack) on Henley’s Gillots Field beckons once again.

On Sunday 28^th June from midday onwards we will hold our annual picnic. Mark your diaries, and come with families, children, balls and plenty to eat and drink. Harmonicas and accordeons too if you manage. This will be a great way to prepare for summer holidays.

Address: Gillots Field, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1PT. Plenty of nearby parking.

See you there!

On Wednesday the 1st of April the first direct flight by EasyJet from Edinburgh touched down on time at Ljubljana Airport and a warm Slovene welcome was awaiting the passengers and crew.

Two Slovene pipers, Marko and Jurij, played a number of Scottish tunes including ‘Scotland the Brave’, ‘Highland Cathedral’ and ‘Flower of Scotland’. Their marching was in strict tempo and they were note perfect – čistitke!

The welcome party included Janez Krašnja from Fraport, Nigel Baker from the British Embassy and Barbara Uranjek Kozina from the British-Slovene Chamber of Commerce, plus British-Slovene Society Trustee James Walker (in his trews) and his wife Brigita.

The flight operates twice a week, and makes visiting two wonderful countries much easier. James and Brigita (see picture) live partly in Slovenia and partly in Edinburgh. No doubt they’ll be on the flight quite a few times.