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Holy Mass in Slovenian House in London on 11th June

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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

Children’s art at the picnic on 9th July

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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 9th 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 14th July 2023.

So don’t forget about the picnic on 9th 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!

 

»This is Slovenia« art competition for children

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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:

Is Slovenia the home country of at least one of your ancestors?

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,

thus making their own unique contribution.

The jury will select the three most original entries and award one prize each in the age groups 6-8 years, 9-11 years and 12-14 years. In addition, the jury will prepare a wider selection of works to be displayed in the museum exhibition. All the artworks will also be displayed on the Museum’s website and published on social media.

The prizes for the three most original contributions will be as follows:

• 6–8 years: a catalogue entitled Lights of the Future: Children in Photographs in the 20th Century + a family ticket to visit the museum.

• 9–11 years: a catalogue entitled Independent! Photographs and Photojournalists on Independent Slovenia and the War + a family ticket to visit the museum.

• 12–14 years: a catalogue entitled Independent! Photographs and Photojournalists on Independent Slovenia and the War + a family ticket to visit the museum.

The exhibition is dedicated to all Slovenians around the world and will be on display from 26 October 2023 at the National Museum of Contemporary History.

More about the competition

What is the theme of the art competition?

What do you think of when you hear the word Slovenia?

Who can participate?

Children of Slovenian emigrants around the world aged between 6 and 14.

How do I take part?

1. Create your artwork in any technique on A4 paper (21 x 29.7 cm / 8.3 x 11.7 in).

2. Scan it in JPG format with a resolution of at least 300 dpi (2500 x 3500 pixels) and send it to info@muzej-nz.si marked with the subject “This is Slovenia competition” by 15 July 2023. For sending very large files use WeTransfer.

3. You must also attach a completed application form, which can be found here.

4. Each individual may submit no more than one artwork.

How much time do I have for the competition?

The international This is Slovenia art competition is on from 15 May 2023 to 15 July 2023.

Where can I get more information?

Any questions concerning the competition can be sent to info@muzej-nz.si.

You are invited to take part!

Notice of Annual General Meeting of the British-Slovene Society – Tuesday 13 June 2023 at 6 pm (UK Time) via Zoom

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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

 

 

Sunday 9th July – British-Slovene Society Picnic with Bled Singers and Dancers

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Join us for our Annual Picnic on Sunday 9th 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 30th 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.

The late Elizabeta Pleničar

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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.

The beginnings of the British Slovenian Society 30 years ago

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Jana Valenčič (centre picture), one of the founding members of the British-Slovene Society, recounts how it was created 30 years ago:

In 1986, when I arrived  to London, I encountered broadly speaking four groups of Slovenians.  The most visible and active group were Slovenian women of the baby boom generation who came to London  as au pairs to learn English, met a British husband and put down their roots, quite a few  of them in South East London. They were running a Slovenian Sunday school and belonged to the then British Yugoslav Society.

The second were representatives of Slovenian businesses, established semi-permanently, often bringing with them their families, and  in close contact with Slovenia.

The third group were individuals who for reasons of study or work came to London but did not seek out the company of  other Slovenians, and were often  of a liberal persuasion.

The last group were the emigrés, who had been drafted into the German army as young men, many of them  before they could get  any apprenticeship or professional education. Arriving in the UK, many had to start in  entry level jobs. They gathered around the Slovenian Catholic Mission near The Oval in South London. They were often deeply patriotic  but unsure of the postwar generation who, after all,  grew up as »Tito’s pioneers«.

Until June 1991  there was little contact between the older political emigration  and the postwar generations. There was some mutual suspicion.

The events of June 1991 changed everything.  All of us, Slovenians from London and other parts of the UK, of all generations, our spouses and our British friends, even those who had never been part of any organised group, joined hands to help Slovenia. The attack on Slovenia bonded us for the common cause, a free and independent Slovenia, and gave rise to our grassroots movement, the Slovenian Crisis Centre and the Slovenian Newsletter.

It  was paramount that our movement was inclusive. We all had the same goal, to see our homeland free and independent, but at the same time we were what Dr.Zvezdan Pirtosek at the time  called »The Europe of Many Flags«.

At our rallies one could see different flags, all with white, blue and red stripes but some with the Yugoslav red star, some just plain stripes and a few featuring the »Ducal Stone«, mythic symbol  from the dawn of Slovenian identity.

Our movement was particularly emotional for the generation of political emigrés. Suddenly  they felt included and welcomed, as Anton Hume (picture top right), himself from a mixed English/ Slovenian parentage, remembers about his father Anton Leopold Kacin.

The prominent political emigré, printer Dušan Pleničar from Enfield in North London, said to  me that »you young Slovenes are very different but we all have the same goal, to help Slovenia«.

After three months of intense adrenalin and fear for Slovenia’s future we could not just stop and simply disperse as if nothing had happened. So, in autumn 1991 we started holding regular meetings at  the Mason’s Arms, a pub in Central London run by a lady from Celje. In  the room upstairs we discussed  what we could do for Slovenia once the existential danger had passed.

The emigrés in particular felt those meetings as a pinnacle of their lives. They were ecstatic when we started talking about a formal gathering which would bond Slovenians, their UK born offspring and friends of Slovenia.  In particular the families of embittered emigré generation  parents and their UK born children were brought together during these planning meetings.

We had two goals.

As a registered charitable society we could use our contacts and expertise to support Slovenian efforts to achieve recognition of international status, independence and, last but not least, recognition of our cultural and national identity by the British. At the same time, a formal society would help Slovenians feel loyalty and belonging to their roots to continue through the generations.

We agreed to aim at the founding of a registered organisation with charitable status, »The British Slovene Society« and a parallel business organisation with the same name, which would financially support our not-for-profit charitable organisation.

In the planning we were greatly helped by the expertise of David Bieda (picture top left), himself a  member of several charitable organisations in London, including as founder trustee of the Covent Garden  Area Trust in the 80’s, and chair of the Seven Dials Housing Action Area Committee.

The task of founding the BSS as a charitable organisation fell upon two of the initiators, Anton Leopold Kac and his son Anton Hume, himself a  chartered accountant  with decades of experience in international taxation and transfer pricing, with his father Anton Leopold Kacin in a support role.

Anton played a key role in the formation of the structure and organs of the society. He prepared the draft statute. On 6.10.1993. he co-founded the company »The British Slovene Society (Limited by Guarantee)« with the legal status of an English Limited Company. Subsequently, on the 19th of October 1993 he registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales the charitable organisation »The British Slovene Society«.

Anton was the first secretary of »The British Slovene Society (Limited by Guarantee)«, from its founding on 6.10.1993 to 24.11.1998, and he continued to be one of its guarantors. At the same time, he was also one of the trustees of our »British Slovene Society« charity.

Anton’s  role is recognised in several  documents, including the invitation to the initial meeting of the BSS founding fathers and mothers in David Bieda’s home, from November 1991 (in the Slovenian National Archives). On the founding document of the Society he is listed as a secretary (source: The Charity Commission website).

Two years of hard work by Anton bore fruit. The BSS was registered and  membership increased as the Slovenian members of the former British Yugoslav Society joined the BSS, of which Keith Miles became the Chairman.

Jana Valenčič

Slovene musician Boštjan Gombač appearing live in London 28 March 2023

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Boštjan Gombač, who performed at our society Prešeren Evening in 2020, is back in the UK on the 28 March for a rare live performance in London. Boštjan will be joined by Same Sky (electronics and ambisonic mix) and Amousement (visuals) to combine the oldest instrument in the world (Neanderthal Flute, 50.000 BC) with the newest electronic instruments and AI generated visuals in an improvised sonic exploration entitled “Cracks of Time”.

More details and tickets available at:

Article images:

This event takes place with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in London.

Lea Sirk celebrates British-Slovene Society’s 30th anniversary

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Our Prešeren Evening on 11th March this year was a special occasion, since we are marking our 30th anniversary.

Lea Sirk, Slovenia’s 2018 Eurovision Song Contest finalist, joined us at the Ambassadors Hotel in London to celebrate with an inspiring concert accompanied by three other Slovenian musicians from the Primorska region. Besides her Eurovision song »Hvala ne«, she sang popular favourites in both Slovene and English. In the end, with the audience thoroughly warmed up, she formed an ad hoc choir to continue singing late into the evening.

Jana Valenčič, David Bieda and Anton Hume told how supporters of Slovenia’s independence in Britain got together in 1993 to create the British-Slovene Society.

Among guests was  Jana Bajec Povše, Chargé ‘d’Affaires of the Slovenian Embassy in London, which again kindly donated Slovenian wine for the evening. For the tombola, Elan donated a pair of skis, while Trimo gave a travel voucher of €1,000 and several other prizes – for which many thanks. Mateja Šömen and Andrej Ogorevc ran the tombola with great verve, raising £527 for Barka, the charity for people with special needs we support in Slovenia. The Slovenian Government’s Office for Slovenes Abroad, kindly provided a subsidy for the event.

        

Next event is on Sunday 9th July: the annual BSS picnic by our new kozolec (hayrack) in Henley, attended by the Deputy Mayor of Bled with a party of 20-25 Slovenian singers and dancers. Come with your friends and family for another rousing festivity.