The Government Office for Slovenians abroad has informed us about scholarships ayailable for:
The deadline for the application is 31 August 2024.
Close your eyes. Photographic works by Nika Špan and Richard Whitlock
The opening of the exhibition CLOSE YOUR EYES at Equrna Gallery in Ljubljana will take place on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 7 PM in the presence of the artists. The exhibition closes on the 26th of September 2024.
Photography seems to verify that the way we see the world is the right way. But when we close our eyes things continue to exist quite happily on their own, in a space undefined by human eyes and camera lenses. The works of Nika Špan and Richard Whitlock throw doubt on the way we visualise the world, and the way we photograph it, Whitlock by abandoning the single viewpoint of the lens, Špan by photographing the photographic moment itself. They place us in the zone of innocence before the click of the camera made us self-conscious – before objectivity, before science, before utility.
This year Nika Špan is also representing Slovenia at the 60th Venice Biennale.
CV
Richard Whitlock (b. Liverpool 1952) has exhibited in Moscow, Beijing, New York, London, Athens, Helsinki and elsewhere. In Ljubljana he exhibited at Equrna gallery in 1997 and that year made a drawing in a (former) prison cell at the Autonomous Cultural Center of Metelkova – Mesto. His work has been showcased in Afterimage, Photomediations Machine, the French design review FauxQ, and in the Slovenian journals Likovne Besede and Membrana.
Nika Špan (b. 1967 in Ljubljana) works as a freelance artist in various media such as installation, video, performance, spatial and sound interventions. In Ljubljana she exhibited at Manifesta 3, at the 30th Biennial of Graphic Arts, at the 1st, 2nd and 6th Triennial of Contemporary Art – U3, at overview exhibitions Slovene Art 1985-1995 and 1995-2005 at Moderna galerija, at +MSUM, Mala galerija, Cukrarna Gallery, Škuc Gallery, Jakopič Gallery, DUM Project Space and Gregor Podnar Gallery.
The British chapter of VTIS (Slovenians Educated Abroad) is organising a picnic in Oxford – at one of the colleges of the University.
If you wish to take part please use this link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vtis-velika-britanija-piknik-v-oxfordu-tickets-984120058587
For any questions please contact katjaobed@gmail.com.
Blejska folklora pod angleškim nebom in slovenskim kozolcem.pdf
Bled’s local newspaper Blejske novice (see link above) reported extensively on our summer picnic in Henley-on-Thames on 7th July, at which a Bled Folklore Group sang and danced. The previous day they also performed on Henley’s Town Square, and entertained patrons attending Henley’s Royal Regatta in the Argyll pub. There they met Henley’s Mayor.
“Bled and Henley signed a twinning agreement in 2013. What they have in common is that they can both take pride in their rowing regattas and their prestigious business schools,” the newspaper wrote.
It described how the British-Slovene Society built a traditional kozolec (Slovenian hayrack) on Gillotts Field on the outskirts of Henley in 2022, and has been holding summer picnics there for the last three years. Joiners headed by Damjan Bajc from Slovenia faithfully followed instructions of the open-air museum Dežela kozolcev to create a replica of an original, and travelled to Henley to erect it themselves.
Under such a kozolec belong Slovene music and national costumes. And these were provided by the Folklore Group Rudi Jedretič and the ensemble Šuštarji, “creating a real Slovene atmosphere,” the newspaper commented
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A Memorial Service for the late David Lloyd, OBE, former Chairman of The British-Slovene Society, was held in Hertford on 29 July 2024.
Keith Miles, our Honorary President and former Chairman, reported: “As well as Slava and I, from the BSS were present Anica and Terry Page, Shirlie Roden and Jana Valenčič. A very nice well attended family orientated event.”
We share these tributes to David:
Jana Valenčič:
One memory I would like to share is how he repaired the old Kozolec. After it was moved from the Pitt River’s Music Garden to the Harcourt Arboretum it started to rot as that particular site was too damp for it.
When I visited the site I saw David in action. Fully equipped with tools and timber repairing materials, he was replacing parts of the Kozolec’s decaying wooden structure.
“You’re doing this at least as professionally as a skilled Slovenian carpenter”, I said to him, “It looks to me that in a previous life you must have been Slovenian”.
(NB: a new Kozolec now stands on Gillotts Field in Henley-on-Thames.)
Shirlie Roden:
I’m still processing David’s death as he seemed so vibrant at Prešernov večer such a short while ago.
He will be much missed by so many people and I continue to thank him from my heart for all the support he gave me and my music while he was British Ambassador in Slovenia.
It has been an honour to know and work with him.
Catherine Inglehearn:
I spent 4 years at our Embassy in Slovenia from 1996, during most of which David was the Ambassador. I loved my time in Slovenia for so many reasons, but David was an important part of making it such a good time – not just for me but probably for most of us in the Embassy team then. He was a great example as an Ambassador, which I’ve followed in my own time as Ambassador in Guinea and Niger. The work was always interesting but he made it enjoyable and fun, and he really removed the boundaries between himself and this team. He was always the Ambassador, and respected as such, but he was open to us all and seemed to really care.
I wrote to David a month or so ago with a few memories of him – of his arrival in Ljubljana in blue and silver Aston Martin (?), of his mischievous speeches at QBPs (Queen’s Birthday Parties), or him eating Slovenian cheesecake at some official function and ending up with powdered sugar all over his face. He had no airs or graces but was just a wonderful diplomat and so right for his time in Slovenia.
I’m sorry that I did not manage to catch up with him for several years but always enjoyed his messages, including one most recently at Christmas in which he was so obviously enjoying being surrounded by a big and noisy family. He was so evidently proud of you all!
Joži Orme:
I am very sorry to hear about the passing of David Lloyd. He will be greatly missed.
My sincere condolences to his family.
With deep sorrow we learn that our former Chairman, David Lloyd, died on 14th July 2024.
David resigned as Chairman in April after doctors told him he was seriously ill and had only a short time to live. We were shocked to hear this, and now we share our grief with his family. We send our heartfelt condolences.
His daughter Victoria Lloyd advises: A celebration of his life will be held on Monday 29th July at 1pm at St Andrews Church, St Andrews Street, Hertford, SG14 1HZ, followed by a reception at The Cowper Arms, 57 Station Road, Hertford, SG14 2NL
Dress code: Black is not obligatory, please wear whatever you feel comfortable in- as Dad always did. Shorts T-shirts and sailor hats welcome!!
Donations to St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital donor box.org/inmememoryof-davidlloyd
Cancer Research https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/
If you would like to share your own memories and tributes to David Lloyd, please send them to me at evelina@ferrar.org.uk to collate and publish on our website.
Evelina Ferrar, Chairwoman, The British-Slovene Society
As last year, a folklore group of singers and dancers from Bled came to Henley-on-Thames for the British-Slovene Society’s Annual Picnic on 7th July. Not only did they perform heartily for us at our Picnic, but the previous day they sang and danced on Henley Town Square, and when rain come down repaired to the Argyll pub to sing for patrons sporting Regatta rowing blazers. The Mayor of Henley came to greet them wearing his chain of office.
By facilitating these visits to Henley, the British-Slovene Society is helping foster friendship between the two towns, which are linked by twinning. In this, we pursue our core mission of encouraging cordial relations between Britons and Slovenes.
At the picnic, we dodged heavy showers around midday, and gazebos kept us dry. The weather then brightened up for the rest of the day, ending with glorious sunshine across Gillotts Field, where our Slovene hayrack (kozolec) has been located since 2022.
Besides the singers and dancers from Bled, some 20 hardy souls undeterred by a dicey weather forecast turned up, and stayed until early evening. Come rain or sun, the British-Slovene Picnic offers a great time for all, in particular families with young children.
Susanna, a new member of the British-Slovene Society, said: “Congratulations on a spectacular event! I enjoyed meeting everyone, and the Bled dancers were fantastic!”
Our warm thanks go to our Bled folklore friends, and to Henley Council officials and park rangers for their help.
We are also grateful to the Slovenian Government Office for Slovenians Abroad for financial support.
P.S. Henley Herald published this article: https://www.henleyherald.com/2024/07/09/british-slovene-society-hosts-bled-twinning-events/
Victoria Harrison has been appointed the U.K. Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia, in succession to Tiffany Sadler.
In recent years, she has held a number of posts at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Earlier, she was assigned to the British Embassies in Sarajevo and Helsinki.
Ms Harrison will take up her appointment during August 2024 and will be accompanied by her guide dog Otto.
See gov.uk www.gov.uk/fcdo.
We pass on this information from the Slovenian Embassy in London:
Embark on an enchanting journey with the Slovenian Embassy Concerts’ “Musical Bridge between Slovenia and the UK.” At the fourth concert in the series, a young award-winning Slovenian string quartet Opifex will join the internationally acclaimed flutist Lana Kuščer alongside her accomplished pianist partner Diego Caetano. An evening with a diverse repertoire spanning Mozart, Schumann, Penderecki, and the dynamic composition of rising Slovenian talent, Anže Rozman, currently making waves as the composer in residence at Hans Zimmer’s studio in Los Angeles.
Musical bridge between Slovenia and United Kingdom
Lana Kuščer – flute | Diego Cetano – piano | Opifex String Quartet
Saturday, 6th July at 7.30pm
The Amadeus Hall
Maida Vale, 50 Shirland Rd, London W9 2JA
RSVP: rsvp.vlo@gov.si
Programme:
W.A.Mozart: Flute Quartet in F major, K.370
K.Penderecki: String Quartet No.3
A.Rozman: Funtasy for flute and piano
R.Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op.44
The Embassy Series of concerts ‘Musical bridge between Slovenia and the United Kingdom’ is organised and curated by London-based violinist Lana Trotovšek, recipient of the Prešeren Fund Award, the highest recognition in the Republic of Slovenia for achievements in artistic creation.
Co-founded by the Cultural Fund run jointly by the Slovenian Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
The British-Slovene Society organises its Annual Picnic on Sunday 7th July beside the kozolec (Slovene hayrack) on Gillotts Field, Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1RZ. Slovenes and friends of Slovenia are warmly invited to come with families.
As last year, folklore dancers and musicians from Bled in Slovenia will create a true veselica (village feast) for us.
Bring friends, children, dogs, balls, food for yourself and others and enjoy the party by the kozolec we erected two years ago. There is plenty of space for children to play and run around.
Entry to the field is free of charge. We look forward to welcoming you!
Photos: Kathy Mansfield
