Dear Members

PAST EVENTS
Dear Members
Circular
November 2014
In this Issue

Past Events

Future Events

Interest Groups
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For Your Diary

Other Events
Internet (hosted by the Federation of Anglo-Swiss Clubs,
FASC)
www.angloswissclubs.ch
The poet Ted Hughes begins his
poem ‘November’ in a typically grim
way: “The month of the drowned
dog. After long rain the land was
sodden as the bed of an ancient
lake.”
Apart from spells of dismal weather,
(and some days of beautiful sunshine!), November is also connected
with commemorations. In the United
States Thanksgiving Day is commemorated on the fourth Thursday
of November, and, as we all know,
th
November 11 is known as ‘Remembrance Day’ in Englishspeaking countries, since it commemorates the ending of the First
World War in November 1918. By
coincidence, the first event of our
autumn/winter session also has a
commemorative flavour, since Franz
Andres Morrissey, our highly talented committee member, will be talking about (and singing) some of the
varied songs that were written at the
time of the ‘Great War’, as it is also
known. This event promises to be
both enjoyable and also interesting
from a historical point of view, so we
do hope that many of you and your
friends will come along to the event
on 6 November (see below).
There are also a number of other
events to whet your appetite, including the traditional Christmas Dinner
with carols in December, a visit to
the Stadttheater, a guided tour of
the Giacometti exhibition in the
Kunstmuseum, our traditional Burns
Supper in February, and the Britta
Charleston Lecture in March. So
quite a full and varied programme.
As usual, we hope that many of you
will attend these events and let the
organisers know if you intend to
come. Thank you for your support.
Dewi Williams
(on behalf of the Committee)
24 August
Guided tour in English of
the art exhibition Open
Sesame.
Organised by Ursula and
attended by twelve people.
This fine exhibition provided
a rare opportunity to see
over 140 works of art by
Swiss painters, dating from
the 18th century up to modern
times, including works by
Amiet, Anker, Fuseli,
Giacometti, Hodler, Segantini,
and many others. The guide was
informative, and the tour turned out
to be most enjoyable.
12 September
Visit to the Planetarium,
Schwanden, Sigriswil
Organised by Ursula and
attended by six people. Normally an
event is cancelled when we have so
few participants, but Ursula kindly
decided to go ahead anyway, and
those who attended really enjoyed
this evening under the stars, which
enabled them to learn more about
astronomy. After seeing the Planetarium, Ursula herself was struck by
the genial thought that the souls of
the disceased have plenty of room
out there in the universe! Nice to
think that there’ll be adequate space
for all of us when we shuffle off this
mortal coil! After the visit, members
came gently down to earth again
and satisfied their bodily needs by
visiting a pleasant restaurant near
Lake Thun.
15 October
Guided Tour of Barry Exhibition.
Natural History Museum
Organised by Chris and attended by
fifteen people. As you may know,
Barry was a famous St Bernard
mountain rescue dog who died in
1814. Members first watched a short
demonstration by two mountain rescue dogs in the museum courtyard
and were then guided through the
exhibition, looking at the facts and
fiction surrounding Barry’s exploits.
A most interesting afternoon.
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SBS Circular November 2014
FUTURE EVENTS
6 November, 18.30. Uni-Tobler
“Songs of the First World War”
Talk and recital by Franz Andres
Morrissey. Room F-121
One hundred years ago the socalled ‘Great War’ started and left a
tragic toll of death and destruction. It
also left a rich legacy of poems and
songs. Franz will be discussing and
singing some of these fascinating
songs. An event to look forward to.
Inform Chris (031 839 6120) if you
wish to have a meal after the talk.
cuwarren@zapp.ch
12 December, 18.30 Hotel Bern
Christmas Dinner and Carols.
Aperitif at 18.00.
This convivial event offers an opportunity to chat with fellow members
and also helps some of us to prepare for the strenuous culinary journey through the rest of the month.
Register with Regina by 1 Dec.
(031 829 3477)
alewal@bluewin.ch
16 January, Stadttheater, Bern
Ballet ‘Requiem’
This ballet was created by the Dutch
choreographer Nanine Linning in
honour of her parents. Fauré’s Requiem is sung on stage by the choir,
who sometimes intermingle with the
dancers. Register with Rosemay by
6 Jan. (031 951 2162)
rmmcguigan@yahoo.com
Buy your own ticket and inform
Rosemay if you’d like to attend the
aperitif at 18.30.
1 February 2015. 11.30-12.30
Tour in English of the Giacometti
exhibition at the Kunstmuseum
and lunch at ‘Il Grissino’
Register with Ursula by 20 January
031 711 1796
messerli.3082@bluewin.ch
6 February 2015, Bärtschihus
Gümligen. Burns Supper. Guest
speaker Alan Cochrane from
Scotland.
Register with Rosemay by 6 Jan.
031 951 2162
rmmcguigan@yahoo.com
and inform her if you can offer help.
2
17 March 2015
Britta Charleston Guest Lecture
by Professor Crispin Thurlow
18.30 Uni Tobler, Room F-121
Professor Thurlow is the new professor of English Language and Literature at Berne University. His talk
about the impact of the internet on
the use of English promises to be
most interesting as well as highly
topical.
Register with Dewi by 9 March
031 332 7657
dewi.williams@belponline.ch
28 March, FASC (Federation of
Anglo-Swiss Clubs) AGM and
tour of the Berne Minster
We are hosting the FASC AGM,
which will be followed by a communal lunch and a tour of the Minster.
More details in the March Circular.
Information about events organised
by FASC, the Federation of AngloSwiss Clubs, can be found on their
website: www.fasc.ch.
OTHER EVENTS
St. Ursula’s Church
Jubiläumsplatz, Bern
Fri. 21 Nov. + Sat. 22 November
Christmas Bazaar
See website for details:
www.anglican.ch/berne
INFORMATION
A good source of information about
activities for English speakers is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
bernexpats/ More details can be had
from the very helpful moderator
Graham Tritt (G.Tritt@gmx.net),
who is also President of The International Club (see their website:
www.icberne.ch)
INTEREST GROUPS
Jean Charlton’s Painting Group
Relaxed atmosphere. Group meets
once a month. Information: 031 839
6077, jean.cw@bluewin.ch).
Reading Circle
Meets about every six weeks. Those
interested should contact Ursula.
Best wishes
For Your Diary
Thursday 6 November
Songs of the First World War
Friday 12 December
Christmas Dinner
Hotel Bern
Friday 16 January
Stadttheater, Ballet ‘Requiem’
Sunday 1 February
Tour of Giacometti Exhibition
Friday 6 February
Burns Supper
Tuesday 17 March
Britta Charleston Lecture
Prof. Crispin Thurlow
Committee members:
President: Chris Warren
Mühlestrasse 17B, 3076 Worb
Tel. 031 839 6120
cuwarren@zapp.ch
Treasurer: Rosemay McGuigan
Walchstrasse 12, 3073 Gümligen
Tel. 031 951 2162
rmmcguigan@yahoo.com
Circular: Dewi Williams
Bayweg 3, 3123 Belp
Tel. 031 332 7657
dewi.williams@belponline.ch
Ursula Messerli
Eggstrasse 12, 3082 Schlosswil
Tel. 031 711 1796
messerli.3082@bluewin.ch
Dr Franz Andres Morrissey
3036 Detligen
Tel. 031 825 6756
fandres@ens.unibe.ch
Regina Walter-Fuchs
Lindenweid 6, 3045 Meikirch
Tel. 031 829 3477
alewal@bluewin.ch
Auditors: Jeannine Williams,
Dorothy Braun
The Committee (Chris, Dewi, Franz,
Regina, Rosemay, Ursula)
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