Evelina Ferrar

The British-Slovene Society cordially invites you to our annual Prešeren Evening of drinks, dinner and a concert by Lea Sirk. The event takes place in London on Saturday 11th March, and the deadline for applications is Wednesday 8th March. Don’t miss out. Make sure you sign up in time.

–          Saturday 11th March 2023. Drinks from 6.30 pm, dinner at 7.20 pm.

–          Ambassadors Bloomsbury Hotel, 12 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0HX (undergrounds Euston, Euston Square, King’s Cross, Russell Square)

After dinner, we will be entertained by the vivacious Lea Sirk, who sang for Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest Finals in 2019. Lea comes from Primorska – the Adriatic coast of Slovenia.

There will also be an attractive tombola with prizes including skis donated by Elan, and a flight voucher worth €1,000 donated by Trimo.

Rates are:

– Paid up BSS Members £62, non-Members £77, students and under-18s £39

For that you will enjoy a drinks reception, a three-course dinner with wine, the concert and a tombola with all sorts of attractive prizes.

Note: if you become a Member now, you benefit from the Member’s lower rate. Membership costs £15 per year, and £25 for families.

Reserve your places now using the online Application Form. 

Space is limited, so it’s first come, first serve. To enable us to give numbers to the hotel and allocate tables, please send your application by Wednesday 8^th March at the latest.

If you wish to make up your own party, please nominate a host who will book the table in his/her name. On the form you can also advise any special dietary requirements.

We are grateful to the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for supporting this event with a subsidy, and to the Embassy of Slovenia in London for donating wine.

On Sunday 12th March a Holy Mass will be celebrated in the Slovenian House at 62 Offley Rd in London by Emeritus Reverend Stanislav Cikanek. The Mass will be followed by refreshments in the Reception room.

Confirmation of attendance is desired but not obligatory.

Contact: info@skm-london.org.uk, 07365 353900

–          Saturday 11th March 2023. Drinks from 6.30 pm, dinner at 7.20 pm.

–          Ambassadors Bloomsbury Hotel, 12 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0HX (undergrounds Euston, Euston Square, King’s Cross, Russell Square)

After dinner and tombola, we will be entertained by the vivacious Lea Sirk, who sang for Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest Finals in 2019. Lea comes from Primorska – the Adriatic coast of Slovenia.

Rates are:

– Paid up BSS Members £62, non-Members £77, students and under-18s £39

For that you will enjoy a drinks reception, a three-course dinner with wine, the concert and a tombola with all sorts of attractive prizes.

Note: if you become a Member now, you benefit from the Member’s lower rate. Membership costs £15 per year, and £25 for families.

Reserve your places now using the online Application Form. 

Space is limited, so it’s first come, first serve. To enable us to give numbers to the hotel and allocate tables, please send your application by Wednesday 8^th March at the latest.

If you wish to make up your own party, please nominate a host who will book the table in his/her name. On the form you can also advise any special dietary requirements.

We are grateful to the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for supporting this event with a subsidy, and to the Embassy of Slovenia in London for donating wine.

A message from the Office for Slovenians Abroad:

Center za slovenščino kot drugi in tuji jezik vabi na Tečaj slovenščine za dijake, ki želijo študirati v Sloveniji. Spletni tečaj, ki bo dvakrat tedensko po tri šolske ure potekal med 28. februarjem in 6. junijem 2023, je namenjen dijakom zadnjih letnikov srednjih šol, ki se nameravajo vpisati na univerzo v Sloveniji, in bi radi osvežili in nadgradili svoje znanje slovenščine.

Urad Vlade RS za Slovence v zamejstvu in po svetu namenja za udeležbo na tečaju za udeležence iz zamejstva in izseljenstva posebne štipendije. S štipendijo, ki znaša 650 EUR, se krijejo stroški udeležbe na tečaju. Prošnja za štipendijo mora vsebovati osebne podatke o kandidatu in utemeljitev. Obravnavane bodo le prošnje, ki jih bodo napisali kandidati sami. Prošnje za štipendije pošljite do 13. februarja 2023 po pošti (na naslov Centra za slovenščino kot drugi in tuji jezik) ali po elektronski pošti (mladinski.tecaji@ff.uni-lj.si). O rezultatih boste obveščeni do 22. 2. 2023.

Več informacij najdete na naslednji povezavi: https://slovenci.si/tecaj-slovenscine-za-dijake-ki-zelijo-studirati-v-sloveniji-februar-junij-2023/

Dear Members and Supporters,

To those who are already Members and have paid your annual dues, many thanks. Your support is much appreciated. If you are not yet a Member, do consider joining! You would be most welcome. Among the advantages you enjoy are a reduced price for the Prešeren Evening in London on March 11^th.

Just a quick reminder how to pay for your 2023 British-Slovene Society membership:

Subscriptions remain at the same level as last year:

INDIVIDUAL £15
FAMILY (maximum 5) £25
STUDENT £5
CORPORATE £100

If you have a Standing Order or have already paid for this year, you can ignore this notice. Otherwise, you have a choice of three means of payment:

1. The best way is by direct electronic transfer to The British-Slovene Society’s bank account with Natwest, Sort Code 60-20-36, Account Number 51197685, IBAN: GB67NWBK60203651197685, BIC: NWBKGB2L. Please put your name in the reference field. This means of payment saves the Society unnecessary costs. Wherever possible, we ask you to set up a Standing Order. This will save you time and trouble next year.
2. Or you can pay through our website www.britishslovenesociety.org by clicking on “JOIN/RENEW” and following the instructions. On the website you can also pay by PayPal (though this incurs a cost to the BSS).
3. Or by cheque made out to The British-Slovene Society and sent to the Treasurer, Andrej Ogorevc, 10 Rogers Court, 5 Premiere Place, London E14 8SF, e-mail: treasurer@britishslovenesociety.org.

Thank you!

Trustees of The British-Slovene Society

Please make a note in your diaries of these forthcoming British-Slovene Society events:

• The annual Prešeren evening on Saturday 11^th March 2023, in the Ambassador’s Hotel in Bloomsbury. Besides reception drinks, dinner, Prešeren readings and a tombola, we will be entertained by Lea Sirk, Slovenia’s finalist in the 2019 Eurovision Song contest, and her ensemble.
• The annual picnic on Sunday 9^th July around the Slovene kozolec (hayrack) on Gillots Field, Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1RZ.

We look forward to welcoming you!

And a polite reminder … if not already done so, please pay your 2023 membership dues. Paid-up members have a preferential rate for the Prešeren evening!

The Office for Slovenians Abroad has sent us the following information about studies at Slovenian universities:

Dear prospective student,

If you are interested in studying in Slovenia, you are welcome to attend the online presentation of Slovenian universities. The presentation prepared by the Study in Slovenia team will be held on Thursday, 16 February at 2pm (CET) and is intended specifically for Slovenians living abroad.

You will obtain useful information about living and studying in Slovenia. You will also have the opportunity to meet representatives of the University of Ljubljana, the University of Maribor, the University of Primorska and the University of Nova Gorica.

You can also attend the presentation in English, which will take place on Wednesday, 15 February at 2pm (CET).

To participate in the presentations, it is necessary to register via the online application form.

More information at slovenci.si.

Check it out!

Urad Vlade Republike Slovenije za Slovence v zamejstvu in po svetu je objavil XXI. Nagradni natečaj za diplomske, magistrske in doktorske naloge s področja Slovencev v zamejstvu in Slovencev po svetu. Skozi leta je prispelo že več kot 370 različnih zaključnih nalog, v katerih so mladi diplomanti, magistranti in doktoranti raziskovali stvarnost naših rojakov, ki živijo v vseh štirih sosednjih, kot tudi mnogih drugih državah na vseh celinah. Predstavljali so bogato bero njihovih aktivnosti,  razčlenjevali organiziranost, mnogokrat pa tudi odpirali pomembna vprašanja in opozarjali na izzive, s katerimi se soočajo Slovenci zunaj meja domovine.

Če tudi vas zanima ta tematika in ste jo prepletli s svojim študijskim raziskovanjem in pripravo zaključnega dela, vabljeni, da se prijavite na letošnji že 21. nagradni natečaj.

Upoštevana bodo dela, zagovarjana v obdobju od 1. 1. 2022 do 31. 12. 2022.

Najboljša tri dela s področja zamejstva in tri dela s področja izseljenstva bodo prejela denarno nagrado, in sicer:

• prva nagrada v višini 800 evrov,
• druga nagrada v višini 600 evrov in
• tretja nagrada v višini 400 evrov.

Urad bo prijave na letošnji nagradni natečaj sprejemal do vključno 28. 2. 2023. Več o prijavi si lahko preberete v besedilo nagradnega natečaja, ki je na voljo na uradni spletni strani Urada Vlade RS za Slovence v zamejstvu in po svetu in na portalu slovenci.si.

Če pa se še odločate, o čem bi lahko pisali v svojem zaključnem delu, naj bo to povabilo k razmisleku o temah, ki so povezane s Slovenci v zamejstvu in izseljenstvu, in se na nagradni natečaj morda prijavite prihodnje leto.

Dodatna pojasnila in informacije dobite na tel. št. (+386) (0)1 230 80 18 ali prek elektronske pošte: pr.urad.slovenci@gov.si.

The Trustees of the British-Slovene Society wish you a Happy New Year!

Make a note – our annual Prešeren Evening will take place on Saturday 11th March 2023. As usual we will meet for Dinner and Entertainment at the Ambassadors Hotel, Bloomsbury, London. Our live performer this year is Lea Sirk, Slovenia’s finalist in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.

A polite reminder too about Annual Membership payments…

If you are a Member, we would be grateful if you would pay your 2023 subscription now. If you are not yet a Member, please join. You would be most welcome!

Subscriptions remain at the same level as last year:

INDIVIDUAL £15
FAMILY (maximum 5) £25
STUDENT £5
CORPORATE £100

If you have a Standing Order or have already paid for 2023, you can ignore this notice. Otherwise, you have a choice of three means of payment:

1. Preferably by electronic transfer to The British-Slovene Society’s bank account with Natwest, Sort Code 60-20-36, Account Number 51197685, IBAN: GB67NWBK60203651197685, BIC: NWBKGB2L. Put your name in the reference field. (NB: the Society’s old HSBC account no longer exists.) This means of payment saves the Society administrative costs. Wherever possible, we ask you to set up a Standing Order in order to save time and trouble next year.
2. Or you can pay through our website www.britishslovenesociety.orgby clicking on “JOIN/RENEW” and following the instructions. On the website you can also pay by PayPal (which incurs a small cost to the BSS).
3. Or by cheque made out to The British-Slovene Society and sent to the Treasurer, Andrej Ogorevc, 10 Rogers Court, 5 Premiere place, London E14 8SF (his e-mail treasurer@britishslovenesociety.org).

 We much look forward to being together with you in the New Year!

More than 100 people turned out on a cold winter’s evening for the British-Slovene Society’s traditional service of Carols and Readings – for the first time in the church of St Martin Ludgate near St. Paul’s Cathedral.

This 9^th December, we moved from our habitual church of St-Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, which is closed for renovations. The Venerable Luke Miller, who is Rector of both churches, presided over a particularly moving service.

In this Christopher Wren church on Ludgate Hill, a choir brilliantly directed by British-Slovene Society Trustee Kaja Pečnik could sing in front of the altar and take pride of place.  Together with organist Aljoša from Leeds they inspired the congregation to sing out in full voice.

As usual, the Carols and Bible Readings of the Christmas story were in English and Slovene. A number of Britons who have heard these Slovene carols many times were able to understand and join in. That’s what the British-Slovene Society is for!

One Trustee flew back from Slovenia the evening before with a suitcase full of potica cake kindly made and donated by Živa Pečnik, who is not related to Kaja but has a son living in the U.K. Other poticas were offered by Chairman David Lloyd and Trustee Miha Košak.

Our heartfelt thanks go to Trustee Catherine King, who organised the event superbly, to Kaja for rehearsing the choir and organist to perfect pitch, and to the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in London for donating wine and to the Government’s Office for Slovenians Abroad for financial support.

At the end of the service, Catherine and David Lloyd read out touching personal messages from people at Barka, the Slovenian charity for people with special needs which we have supported for many years. At the end, the congregation donated to a new collection for the people at Barka, who have become our friends.

• See a video of the whole service on https://youtu.be/_-VYXBgXD_I
• See the Order of Service: BSS 2022 Order of Service

PS: The British-Slovene Society’s Prešeren Evening will take place at the Ambassadors Hotel in London on 11^th March 2023. Keep the date!