Evelina Ferrar

30 years ago diplomatic relations between Great Britain and the newly independent Slovenia were established and the British Council started operating in Slovenia.

To celebrate this anniversary, the British Embassy in Slovenia commissioned a project to collect 30 short stories written (mostly) by Slovene authors about an experience, historical event or a person connected with Slovenia and Britain.

An e-collection of these stories was presented today in the garden of the residency of HE Tiffany Sadler, British Ambassador in Slovenia. The e-collection will be available for free on the MMC link below till 27 June. Later you will be able to purchase it.

30 let – 30 zgodb: “Zgodbe so pripoved o tem, kar nas povezuje in označuje” – RTV SLO

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the British-Slovene Society on 13^th June 2023, Chairman David Lloyd paid tribute to Jana Valenčič on her resignation as a Trustee. Jana was one of the earliest members of the Society, which this year celebrates its 30^th anniversary, and one of its longest-serving Trustees. David in particular thanked Jana for a generous donation of £1,000 which she has made to the Society on her farewell.

The AGM (held on ZOOM, see picture)  re-appointed David as Chairman and Miha Košak as Secretary, and also discussed plans for future activities.

Next BSS event: Summer picnic on Sunday 9^th July beside the new kozolec (Slovene hayrack) on Gillots Field, Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1RZ.  A large group of folklore singers and dancers are coming from Bled in Slovenia to create a true veselica (village feast). Bled is twinned with Henley.  Also performing will be the new Slovene Choir in the UK led by Kaja Pečnik. There will be facilities and guidance for children to produce pictures of their ideas of Slovenia. Bring food and drink, children and friends.

See https://britishslovenesociety.org/sunday-9th-july-british-slovene-society-picnic-with-bled-singers-and-dancers/

Urad vlade RS za Slovence v zamejstvu in po svetu vabi na tradicionalni praznik Slovencev z bogatim programom:

V četrtek 29. junija 2023 bo XIX. vseslovensko srečanje v Državnem zboru ter razstava in koncert v Narodni univerzitetni knjižnici.

V petek 30. junija bo potekal strokovni posvet o slovenski narodni identiteti.

V soboto 1. julija bo tradicionalni praznik Slovencev v Vipavi. Program zajema ogled Vipave, ustvarjalne delavnice, pravljice in igre z otroke, nastope izseljenskih skupin in družabni večer ob glasbi in plesu.

V nedeljo 2. julija se bo dogajanje spet preselilo v Ljubljano, kjer bo 29. Tabor Slovencev po svetu z umetniškim programom.

Podrobnejši program in prijave; 2023_ DD Program

On Sunday 11th June  at 3 pm Holy Mass will be celebrated in the Slovenian House at 62 Offley Road, London SW9 0LS,  by Bishop Msgr. Dr. Anton Jamnik. The Mass will be followed by Slovene refreshments in the Reception room.

Confirmation of attendance is desired but not obligatory.

Contact: info@skm-london.org.uk, 07365 353 900

The National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia has invited children of Slovenian emigrants around the world to participate in an art competition called »This is Slovenia«. They ask children aged 6-14 to contribute their works of art. One picture per person can be sent directly to  info@muzej-nz.si – see »This is Slovenia« art competition for children – The British-Slovene Society (britishslovenesociety.org).

In Britain, the British-Slovene Society wishes to develop this campaign  further. We invite children with Slovenian background of any age to paint what comes to their mind when thinking of Slovenia and bring their A4 format pictures to our picnic in Henley-on-Thames on 9^th July, or send as a scan to evelina@ferrar.org.uk. You can enter as many pictures as you wish, in whatever technique (please state the name and age of the child and contact details). The best ones will be rewarded with practical prizes. Weather permitting, we are aiming to organise a small guided painting workshop at the picnic so more works of art can be created on the spot and exhibited at the event. Adults are invited to join in.

A selection of children’s artworks collected will be sent on to Slovenia by the British-Slovene Society. The deadline is 14^th July 2023.

So don’t forget about the picnic on 9^th July. Bring friends, children, dogs, balls, food for yourself and others and enjoy a party by the kozolec we erected last year. A folklore group will come from Bled, with accordion, clarinet and double bass. We will have a real Slovenska veselica, See Sunday 9th July – British-Slovene Society Picnic with Bled Singers and Dancers – The British-Slovene Society (britishslovenesociety.org)

Perhaps some  works of art will be inspired by the little Slovenia we will create on the spot!

The National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia invites the children of Slovenian emigrants around the world to participate in the »This is Slovenia« art competition. The artworks of the participants will be included in the museum exhibition entitled »From Homeland to Homeland: The Return of Slovenian Emigrants and their Descendants to Slovenia after 1990«. The most original entries will be rewarded. You can find more information about the competition and conditions of participation at the following web page:

For members of the British-Slovene Society only:

Notice is hereby given that The Annual General Meeting of the British-Slovene Society will be held at 6 pm (UK Time) on Tuesday 13 June 2023 online via Zoom. Any member may join the session.

      AGENDA

Ordinary Business

1. To receive and adopt the Report of the Trustees and Accounts for the year ended 30 Sept 2022
2. To re-elect the following as Trustees, who retire by rotation and are offered for re-election: Miha Košak, Marcus Ferrar, Shirlie Roden
3. To appoint a Secretary for the forthcoming year. Miha Košak has indicated his willingness to continue in office.
4. To appoint a Chairman for the forthcoming year. David Lloyd has indicated his willingness to continue in office.
5. To approve the Minutes of the AGM held on 14 June 2022.
6. Any Other Business.

Please confirm your attendance by email to: miha.kosak@britishslovenesociety.org  by close of business on Friday 10th June, 2022.You will then be sent an invitation to join the Zoom session together with instructions. You may also receive BSS Accounts for the year ending 30th September 2022 and the Chairman’s Statement.

In case you cannot attend the AGM and wish to vote, please use the Form of Proxy: BSS-AGM-Form-of-proxy

David Lloyd, Chairman

Dated: 13 May 2023

LKC casting agency is calling for Slovenian actors or actors of Slovenian heritage. Here is their call:

Join us for our Annual Picnic on Sunday 9^th July beside the new kozolec (Slovene hayrack) on Gillots Field, Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1RZ. Bring picnic food, drink and good cheer. There is plenty of space for children to play and run around.

To help us celebrate our Society’s 30^th anniversary, 20-25 folklore singers and dancers from Bled in Slovenia will create a true veselica (village feast) for us. Accompanying them are Deputy Mayor Iztok Pesrl and former Mayor Janez Fajfar. Bled is twinned with Henley, so they will be renewing longstanding friendships with Henley people.

The pictures show Folklorno društvo Rudija Jedretiča Ribno and Glasbena skupina Šuštarji.

We look forward to welcoming you! Save the date now.

With great regret, the British-Slovene Society reports the death of Elizabeta Pleničar.  We last saw her when her daughter Mariana Pleničar-Bayley  set up a computer so that her mother could take part in one of our online events during the pandemic. Mariana writes:

Dear BSS members, sadly I must let you know that Elizabeta Pleničar died on Monday 13th March 2023. Beloved mum, Grandma and Great Grandma she lived to be over 100 years old and was known to many members of the British-Slovene Society.

She was an extraordinary woman with a fascinating life story full of resilience and resourcefulness.  This spanned her remarkable escape from war-torn Yugoslavia in 1945 to a life with my father Dušan in Lancashire and eventually Enfield.

She worked tirelessly behind the scenes supporting my father in his political endeavours. Both shared the aim of making transparent events that occurred in wartime Yugoslavia; and later played an instrumental part in campaigning to transform Slovenia into an independent state.

She died peacefully in hospital with close family beside her. Beloved by her family, hugely loved for her warmth and quick wit by all, she’ll always be with us.