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Conceptual Art Pioneers

21 March - 24 May 2024
 
Braco Dimitrijević, 'Casual Passer-by', 1976
Braco Dimitrijević, 'Casual Passer-by', 1976
 
For our inaugural exhibition at 9 Bury Street, we will showcase a dual presentation featuring the works of conceptual art pioneers, Billy Apple® (b. 1935 – d. 2021, Auckland, New Zealand) and Braco Dimitrijević (b. 1948, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Billy Apple® studied at the Royal College of Art between 1959 and 1962 exhibiting alongside fellow artists such as David Hockney, Derek Boshier and Pauline Boty. In 1964 he moved to New York working with Andy Warhol in the pivotal exhibition The American Supermarket including Oldenburg, Wesselmann and Johns. In 1969, the artist opened Apple at 161 West 23rd Street, one of the six not-for-profit spaces that established New York’s Conceptual Art movement.

Braco Dimitrijević is known as a pioneer of Conceptual Art creating artistic intervention into urban landscapes. He studied from 1968 to 1971 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb and continued with a Post-graduate work at St Martin’s School of Art in London, obtaining a British Council Grant in 1972. Dimitrijević is renowned internationally for his 1970s ‘Casual Passer-by’ series, vast photo portraits of anonymous people displayed on prominent buildings in European and American cities. Dimitrijević lives and works in Paris.
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Read here about Croatian participation at this year's London Book Fair, March 12-14, at Olympia

From Ivan Srsen of Sandorf Publishing Zagreb

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30 Years Celebrations
 
The British-Croatian Society has been active for 30 years and to celebrate this we will be producing a short history of the Society and launching it in the summer.  Zeljka Tomljenovic, Tihana Borovcak and Peter Elborn will take this forward on behalf of the British-Croatian Society committee.
 
We would appreciate your support by sending us information, stories and memories - photographs too. Please send anything you would be happy to share to us at:
 
 
Or, if you would like to meet or to speak on the phone, let us know at the same email address and we will be in contact.

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2024

The Annual General Meeting 2024 of the British Croatian Society will be held on:

Wednesday 31 January 2024 1815 for 1830 upstairs at the

PRINCESS LOUISE PUBLIC HOUSE, 208 HIGH HOLBORN
London WC1V 7BW

The purpose of the AGM is to approve the Annual Report and Accounts, and elect the Committee.
The AGM will be followed by a social in the pub. Details to follow.

Papers for the AGM will be uploaded on the web site shortly.

Our last AGM was held exceptionally in September 2022 following interruption in 2020 and 2021 of our usual January AGM cycle by Covid.

The Princess Louise PH is grade II* listed for its elaborate Victorian interior: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Louise,_Holborn

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Annual dinner
 
If you wish to come, please book as soon as possible. Payment must be received not later than 20 November 2023.
 
November 30
Savile Club
69 Brook Street
London W1K 4ER
 
Drinks reception from 18-30
Klapa CESARICE will sing at 19-30
Dinner 20-00
 
£65 for members of the British-Croatian Society, £70 for non-members, £50 for students
 
If you would like to attend, please do two things:
1. E-mail [email protected] with your name and the names of anyone accompanying you, with a note of any special dietary requirements.
2. Make your payment. 
Payment for the dinner can be made:
- by PayPal on our website - www.britishcroatiansociety.com/events and then go to the annual dinner payment buttons (or options).
- by bank transfer to The British Croatian Society, account 60566500 at Barclays Oxford City Centre branch, sort code 20-65-18 quoting your name as reference
- or by cheque made payable to The British-Croatian Society sent to: David Davison, Treasurer, British-Croatian Society, 4 The Old Almshouses, Middle Street, Islip, Oxon OX5 2SE
.
 
Please note that the Savile Club requires men to wear a jacket (and jeans and trainers are not permitted). Briefcases and books may not be taken into the Club. Mobile phones may not be used.
 
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'Croatia across borders'
Read the latest editorial 'Croatia across borders' in Burlington magazine, Oct issue.
Also read the article here.

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2023 THIRTEEN Photographic Exhibition
 
Gordana Johnson will feature in the 2023 THIRTEEN photographic exhibition. You are invited to the private view or to see the exhibition subsequently.
 
THIRTEEN photographic exhibition
 
November 8 - December 4
Private View November 8, 19:30 - 21:30
 
Lauderdale House, Lower Gallery, Highgate Hill, London N6 5HG

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CalendarCroatia 2024 Final call

A reminder that we invite you to send your photographs for the 2024 calendarCroatia not later than the end of September.

 
In addition to photographs that show the beauty of Croatia, for the coming year we would especially like to include photographs from the many musical events that happen in the country. Abstract photographs
 are also welcome.
 
Please submit your photographs by emailing them to this address not later than the end of September.
 
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A message from Stafi Samak, Des Hamilton Casting
 
I'm getting in touch from Des Hamilton Casting, we are a BAFTA-winning casting company for film and TV. Our credits include the Oscar-winning feature 'Jojo Rabbit' and the Netflix series 'Top Boy'.
 
We are currently casting a feature film set in Bristol, and are looking for women who have Balkan heritage and can speak Serbian fluently (or Croatian, Bosnian, or Montenegrin) to play a supporting role. The overall shooting period is currently 5 weeks from w/c 23rd October 2023 but this character wouldn't be needed for more than a week over this time. They don't need any acting experience, and this role will be paid. Please see character descriptions below:
 
Character description:
Female, 50 - 70 years old.
Kind, has a sense of fun.
No previous acting experience required.
Must have the legal right to work in the UK. 
 
We would love to hear from anyone who fits the character descriptions above and is interested in being considered.

Here is a direct link to apply - https://form.jotform.com/232412487457359

NO PREVIOUS ACTING EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED.
PLEASE NOTE IT'S FREE TO APPLY, AND WHOEVER GETS THE PART WILL BE PAID.

Our flyer is attached, with further details and information on how to apply.

We are trying to share this opportunity as widely as possible, so it would be great if you could share either the link and/or the attached flyer within your networks. It can be easily shared on WhatsApp or via social media. You can email [email protected] and [email protected] if you have any questions.

We look forward to hearing from you!

 
Many Thanks, Stafi
Please 'reply all' when responding.
 
Stafi Samaki (she\her)
Des Hamilton Casting
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A message from Inga Jurin, Assistant Director, Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation (DIEF)  - part of the Conservation Collective 
The Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation has officially launched!
We hope you’ll join us to help us to achieve our goals of supporting local environmental and conservation initiatives to protect, preserve and restore the natural beauty of the Dalmatian islands for generations to come.

We launched a first call for proposals in March and, following the rigorous procedure, signed grant contracts with three organizations. See below our first grants! We’ll be launching a second call in September:

Circular bio waste management for kindergartens (Association Moj Škoj) - €5,775 awarded to establish circular bio waste management in island kindergartens, utilizing electric composters for quick compost production, fostering local plant growth, and educating attendees and staff on efficient bio waste practices.

Zlarin Island Leaf EXpansion (ILEX) (Association Tatavaka) - €5,200 awarded to initiate the establishment of a stable Quercus ilex (holm oak) forest on Zlarin Island to enhance climate adaptation and wildfire resilience, involving community awareness and participatory planting efforts by local community.  

Marine litter free Dalmatian Islands (Association Sunce)  - €9,940 awarded to enhance understanding and combat marine waste by educating and empowering local island communities and organizations to undertake cleanup actions, establish monitoring practices, create a network of initiatives for data collection, and advocate for sustainable waste management and reduction principles.

We have developed a visual identity of the foundation - you can see our logo below featuring a bird called a shearwater. There are two species in Dalmatia: Scopoli's shearwater and Yekouan shearwater. Both are endangered and can be found on some of the Dalmatian islands. These birds often fly very close to the water and seem to be cutting or "shearing" the tips of waves. In the back is a silhouette of an island, for obvious reasons.

We launched the DIEF website at the beginning of this month. We also invite you to follow us on social media (Instagram - Facebook - LinkedIn), and to spread the word in your professional and social circles.

The foundation is now being led by myself and Marko Pećarević. Both of us are committed environmentalists with experience in the non-profit sector, and a passion to protect the natural world in the place we call home. We are thrilled to report that the Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation is in the final stages of establishing its legal entity in Croatia – Zaklada za okoliš dalmatinskih otoka (Zaklada DIEF). This significant milestone underscores our commitment to long-term sustainability and effectiveness in pursuing our mission. We have been approached by several individuals wanting to contribute to DIEF’s mission through financial support, as well as through volunteering and other forms of in-kind support. This is in line with our vision of creating a vibrant community that shares a passion for preserving the natural values of the Dalmatian Islands.

As a reminder, DIEF is a part of the Conservation Collective, a network of locally based foundations. Each is supported by people who want to contribute to conserving the natural values of a specific place, in our case the Dalmatian islands. We have covered a lot of ground in this short period, but much remains to do. Would you be interested in supporting us? Perhaps we could arrange a call to discuss in more detail?

Best wishes,

Inga

www.dalmatianenvironment.org

 
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International Trust for Croatian Monuments
 
Report by Jadranka Lady Beresdfor-Peirse.
 
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The Return - a devised one-woman show exploring hidden consequences of war will perform at Omnibus Theatre in London 16th - 17th July and tour to York and Leeds 20th - 21st July culminating at Edinburgh Fringe 2nd - 14th August. 
 
This personal story is based on experience of living in Croatia during the breakup of former Yugoslavia
 
Please find the Press Release for more information attached and links to book tickets below. 
 
  • The Return at Edinburgh Fringe - Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath)

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Dora Pejacevic will feature at a BBC Symphony Orchestra concert at the Proms on August 14
 
Prom 40: Martin Helmchen plays Brahms
Royal Albert Hall
German pianist Martin Helmchen makes his Proms debut in Brahms’s richly Romantic Second Piano Concerto. Sakari Oramo also conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the Proms premiere of Dora Pejačević’s Symphony in F sharp minor.
Programme
Johannes Brahms
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major(46 mins)
INTERVAL
Dora Pejačević
Symphony in F sharp minor(48 mins)
 
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The EU Delegation to the UK is happy to share the upcoming events organized by several EU-related organisations across the UK, and which may be of interest to your organisation.

  • 20 June, London: Our Home, Our Rights! Join Brighter Futures for an evening of poetry, art and powerful conversations about housing rights for young migrant people.
  • 21 June, London 09:00-11:00: Unsettled: EU citizens’ struggle to access their rights in the EU. An event at the Houses of Parliament, organised by the3million, will include policy experts, citizens and cross-party MPs to discuss proposals to improve the lives of the EU citizens who have made the UK their home.
  • 27 June, London: Homelands, Nightmares, Good Immigrants. Essays In Dialogue, by Goethe-Institut London.
  • 4 July, Birmingham: What does Home mean to you?' Creative workshop for EU citizens, at Centrala from 13:00-17:00. A great opportunity to meet other EU citizens interested in community building work based on positivity and hope. This workshop is part of #CommonGround, a partnership project between Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini, the3million and British Future.
  • 4, 6, 13, 17, and 18 July: Stronger Together for a Positive Narrative – 5 online sessions of journalism workshops. The sessions are aimed at young journalists and content creators aged 18-30 across the UK and the EU to create positive and meaningful narratives, enabling young people’s voices to be heard and facilitating common spaces for co-operation. An Initiative organised by the British Council in partnership with European Movement International (EMI) as part of the EU/UK Youth Stronger Together programme. 
  • 7 July, London: East European Women Summer Gathering. Enjoy a special afternoon of friendship, connection and yummy food in a lovely location with a garden! Bring your women friends along for this special day! If you've got little ones, they're welcome too!
  • 7 - 9 July, London: X edition of the International Symposium of the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK (SRUK/CERU). Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about SRUK/CERU achievements, but also shared goals and challenges. The symposium offers various talks, discussions, and family-friendly social events, providing a chance to discover the work of SRUK/CERU and engage with the community.
  • 15 July, Sheffield: The 2023 European Movement Grassroots Conferenceorganised by the European Movement. An engaging day of keynote speeches, workshops, panel discussions, campaign planning, and networking with fellow activists and members. Members of local groups, and members of the European Movement UK are invited to attend. Victoria Hall, Sheffield, from 11am – 17:00pm. 

Please note that registration may be required for some of these events. Kindly visit the respective event websites or contact the organizers for more information and to secure your participation.

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Bilingual Books (English-Croatian) by Philipp Winterberg (4 book series) Paperback edition.
 
You can purchase the books here.
 
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CalendarCroatia 2024
 
Once again we invite you to send us your photographs for the 2024 calendarCroatia
 
In addition to photographs that show the beauty of Croatia, for the coming year we would especially like to include photographs from the many musical events that happen in the country. Abstract photographs are also welcome.
 
Please submit your photographs by emailing them to this address not later than the end of September.
 
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Amedea, the half-Croatian cafe, Whitstable, Sunday June 18.
 
Amedea, the half-Croatian cafe, is small and characterful with inside and outside seating. The menu has snacks and drinks (see www.amedea.co.uk), ideal for a light summer lunch. Ed Thomas, the half Croatian owner, and Suzanna, his Croatian mother, run the cafe and it is delightful. They would welcome British-Croatian Society members there between 12-00 and 16-00 on Sunday June 18. 

All welcome - and an opportunity to bring all the family.

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A message from the EU delegation in the UK

 
I am contacting you on behalf of the EU Delegation in the UK. You are receiving this e-mail because we have been informed that you are working with EU communities in the UK.
 
Europe Day is fast approaching and we know that several organisations will have events for the occasion. 
 
Many of you have informed the EU Delegation about your event and will have received (or will soon) a toolkit with some promotional materials. We hope this will be of use during your event this year and will be of good use also in the coming years, enabling you to continue to celebrate Europe Day and your national heritage annually in years to come.
 
If you have not yet let us know about your event, please get back to me (and CC my colleague Marit) as the EU Delegation can promote your event through our social media channels. 
 
The EU Delegation will use the #EuropeDay for all posts related to Europe Day. You are welcome to use it when posting during Europe Day.
 
Below is a list of events that we are aware of. If we missed you please do not hesitate to let us know.
  
·         Europe Day picnics by the3million (social media posts to share: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter)
 
- Birmingham: 8 May, 2pm, Cannon Hill Park (in partnership with EU in Brum)
 
- Bristol: 5 May, 5:30pm, Queen Square
 
- London: 8 May, 2pm, St James' Park Cafe (in partnership with Settled and Coalición de españoles)
 
- Glasgow: 8 May, 1pm, Kelvingrove Park
 
·         Celebration with quizzes by Latin American House in London on 4 May
·         European citizens & Scotland –  a conference by Citizens Rights Project in Edinburgh on 9 May
·         Fair by Romanian Society East Midlands in Nottingham on 9 May
·         Film screening by Centrala in Birmingham on 10 May
·         Julian Priestley Memorial Lecture by the European Parliament in London on 11 May
·         Short Film Festival in London on 12 May
·         Writers’ Festival by European Union National Institutes of Culture in London on 12 May
·         Polish Heritage Day celebration with a picnic, dancing and sport in Glasgow on 13 May
·         #GlobalLiverpool: film screenings, heritage walks and others on in Liverpool on 1-14 May
·         Traditional musical event by Spanish Welfare Fund in London on 15 May
·         A fair in the park by My Romanian Community in London on 20 Ma
·         Fun day for children from Czech and Slovak School in Oxford on 8 July
 
The EU Delegation in the UK 
 
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The Institut Francais will present SURROUND, a collection of six short films including Croatia's Hedgehog's Home directed by Eva Cvijanovic. SURROUND is at the Cine Lumiere in South Kensington 12-00 to 14-00 on Saturday May 13.
 
For further information, please go to www.institut-francais.org.uk/cine-lumiere/
 
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A message from the Notnow Collective
 
I'm writing from Notnow Collective, a theatre company co-founded by two
Croatian artists living in the UK, and dedicated to examining the migrant
identity and meaning of ‘home’.

This Spring, our acclaimed show Pepper & Honey is back on the road with
performances in Greenwich and Farnham.

A bit about the piece;
Ana has been on a journey. Croatian born, she’s arrived in the UK,
determined to make it home. As she focuses on life in this new land, she
is haunted by the voice of her Grandma- calling for her to stay true to
national identity and yearning for Ana to come home. As Grandma bakes
her traditional Croatian pepper biscuits (believed to bring a loved one
back home), will this be enough to be reunited with her granddaughter?
But what is “home” to Ana now?

If you would like any further information, please do get in touch.

Claire Bowdler
Marketing Associate
www.notnowcollective.com

 
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Croatian Wire

Miklós Cseszneky writes:
I would just like to let you know that the Lincolnshire Croatian group has recently launched an English-language Telegram channel called Croatian Wire. We do not produce anything original, simply monitor the international press on a daily basis, and curate a couple of articles that seem to be relevant and interesting. As an average we share about 5 articles a day. Croatian Wire is apolitical and publishes articles of different political and ideological hues, so long as they are related to Croatia.

You can find more here.

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Cirk Pozor - two Croatian theatre companies to perform in Brighton

I am writing to you on behalf of two independent Croatian theatre companies - my own, Cirk Pozor, and Triko Cirkus Teatar, both from Zagreb, Croatia. We are going to take part in Brighton Fringe festival this May with two performances: 'Obaveza' (Obligation) and 'Crna Petra' (Black Petra), for three days (8-10 May).
 
Click here for more information on 'Obaveza'.
Click here for more information on 'Crna Petra'.
 
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Jadranka Berseford-Peirse awarded
 
Jadranka Berseford-Peirse, a long-standing member of the British-Croatian Society, has just had the distinction of being awarded the prize of the City of Dubrovnik for “exceptional achievement in restoration, protection and promotion of Dubrovnik and Croatian Cultural Heritage'. 
 
Click here for further information in Croatian.
 
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The Memorial Room at the Franciscan Friary at Poljd, Split - An article by Beresford-Peirse in Most, the Bridge
 
Here is the link.
 
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Michael Palin’s New Europe: War and Peace 
Wednesday 11th January BBC4 screened again Michael Palin’s New Europe: War and Peace programme. It is available on the BBC iPlayer for the next 26 days.
Here is the link.
 
It was first screened in 2007.
 
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'Croatian Classics' cookbook by Andrea Pisac
 
Croatian Embassy is inviting you to Andrea Pisac's presentation of his new cookbook 'Croatian Classics' on Wednesday, 7th of December 2022, at 6pm at the Croatian Embassy in London.
 
 If you wish to attend, please RSVP to [email protected].
 
Please click here to see the invitation.

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Mihael Majetić: (translation below) 
Hrvat sam i glazbenik-gitarist s diplomom s Royal Academy of Music u Londonu, gdje trenutno i živim.
 
Želio bih Vas srdačno pozvati na koncert 'Joy to the World' koji će se održati ovu subotu 3. prosinca 2022. s početkom u 15:00 i 19:00 (dvije izvedbe) u All Souls crkvi, Langham Place W1B 3DA.
 
Moja supruga i ja s orkestrom ćemo izvesti jednu od najljepših hrvatskih božićnih pjesama Veselje ti navješćujem. Nadam se da ćete biti u mogućnosti doći. Još ima dostupnih karata koje se mogu kupiti ovdje
 
U ostatku programa bit će božićnih pjesama iz različitih dijelova svijeta, uključujući i englesku 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen', koju smo prošle godine i snimili - ovdje možete pogledati video.est Ye Merry Gentlemen', koju smo prošle godine i snimili.
 
Mihael Majetić writes:
I am Croatian and a musician-guitarist with a degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where I currently live.

I would like to cordially invite you to the 'Joy to the World' concert which will take place this Saturday 3rd December 2022 starting at 15:00 and 19:00 (two performances) at All Souls Church, Langham Place W1B 3DA.

My wife and I will perform one of the most beautiful Croatian Christmas songs with the orchestra. I hope you will be able to come. There are still tickets available that can be purchased here (see the button in the Croatian text).

The rest of the program will feature Christmas songs from different parts of the world, including the English 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen', which we recorded last year.

Olja Knežević’s short story - Trapped
 
Olja Knežević is a Montenegrin author who now resides and writes in Zagreb. Istros Books published her novel, ‘Catherine the Great and the Small’ a couple of years ago, and some members might remember the event at Europe House held jointly with Marina Šur Puhlovski (author of ‘Wild Woman’).

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Olja will be in London again on Thursday, December 8th at the Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Black’s Road, Hammersmith W6 9DT.

Olja’s short story - Trapped - is included in Istros Books' upcoming collection ‘Balkan Bombshells’, out in February next year.

 
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Dahna Borojevic invites you
 
We would like to invite members of British-Croatian Society to a theatre performance The Return, written and performed by Natasha Stanic Mann, artist from Croatia, but based in the UK, with special offer for £10 tickets with the code RETURN10 when booking on this link.
 
The show will be performed as part of VOILA! EUROPE 2022 at The Cockpit Theatre on 13th November 5.15pm

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Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation Executive Summary

For more information and tickets please click here.

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British-Croatian Society Annual Dinner 2022

Reserve the Date!
Friday 18 November
Royal Thames Yacht Club Knightsbridge

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A film by Croatian travel writers Davor & Anđela Rostuhar Love Around The World is on tour in the UK.
You can watch the trailer here: Love Around the World I Trailer - YouTube

More about the project here: About the film - Love Around the World (lovearoundtheworldproject.com)

Tickets are available at: Cinema Tour UK & Ireland - Love Around the World (lovearoundtheworldproject.com)

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European Day of Languages
 
26 September 2022
 
Here is an event on cognitive benefits of bilingualism organised by the New Scientist team. Our member Dr Dina Mehmedbegovic-Smith is on the expert panel. For more information and tickets please click here.
 
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International Trust for Croatian Monuments
 
Update from Jadranka Lady Beresdfor-Peirse about International Trust for Croatian Monuments.
 
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A reminder that we would like your contributions to our annual photographic exhibition and 2023 calendarCroatia. Photographs can show how beautiful Croatia is, but we also appreciate abstract photographs.
 
Please email your photographs to this address. The deadline for submitting photographs is October 6.
 
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Stephen Rayner has written:
 
I am writing my dissertation about the ways in which various Croatian émigrés and diasporas sought to project and regulate their different visions of national identity across the world, and gain international support for Croatian statehood. I intend to cover the period between 1967 and 1995, using a range of publications (books, manifestoes, interviews etc.) that were written or translated into English for global dissemination.

If you are aware of any primary source material that I could access for my research (books written by émigrés in English, manifestoes, pamphlets, speeches etc.), I would be really grateful to hear them.

If you can help, please contact Stephen [email protected]

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International Trust for Croatian Monuments
 
Here are links sent by Jadranka Lady Beresdfor-Peirse about
 
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You may be interested in this short article about the literary translators' workshop covering the languages of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro at the British Centre for Literary Translation .The British Croatian Society's contribution is noted.
 
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Have a look at the review in Gramaphone of the recent Dora Pejacevic concert.

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Our programme for later this year is coming into shape, including our annual photographic exhibition and 2023 calendarCroatia. Please send us your photographs taken in Croatia. Photographs can show how beautiful Croatia is, but we also appreciate abstract photographs.
 
Please email your photographs to this address. The deadline for submitting photographs is October 6.
 
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Dates for your diary (details will follow later):
 
July 24 a screening at 15-00 of Vesnina prica (with English subtitles) at the Jewish Museum,followed by a Q & A with Vesna.
 
September 29 a presentation by the Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation
 
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Nicholas Frankopan’s invitation to a Hrvatski Svjetski Kongres (UK) event at the Royal Thames Yacht Club on June 24 is attached below:

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Nicholas Jarrold, Chair of the British-Croatian Society, called on Tomislav Vlahutin to thank him for his support for the Society during his time as Cultural Counsellor at the Croatian Embassy in London. Nicholas presented him with a copper engraving of a View of the Monument with hand colouring by George Bickham published 12th. May 1794.

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Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation
 
Jade Brudenell, Executive Director of the Conservation Collective:
We are working on creating a Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation, which will be part of the Conservation Collective network. The Conservation Collective is a global network of local environment foundations working to protect and restore nature, and to adapt to and slow down climate change. 
 
You can see the  scoping study, written by local expert consultant Marko Pecarevic, by going to www.britishcroatiansociety.com and clicking on the news section. This comprises an overview of the environmental issues, challenges, and opportunities in the region, and mapping out the key grassroots’ local groups and initiatives. 
 
Marko has been leading WWF’s regional work over the last four years focusing on protected areas and governance of natural resources. Before that he was co-managing MAVA Foundation’s Mediterranean portfolio of projects.

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The Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation (DIEF)
Part of the Conservation Collective
 
The Dalmatian Islands Environment Foundation (DIEF) is being set up to protect and restore nature
along the coastal, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems of the Dalmatian coast, Croatia.
 
DIEF will raise funds from people and business, locally and internationally, with strong Croatian
connections, and distribute that funding towards the most effective grassroots environmental
initiatives, campaigns and projects.
 
Click on the link to view executive summary of the full scoping report, commissioned by
Conservation Collective and written by Marko Pecarevic (April 2022)
 
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The British Council in Croatia
 
The British Council has operated in Croatia since the 1930's. Sadly, as the British Council contemplates closure or very limited capacity in Zagreb, we take a look at its work in 1936-41, in Tito's Yugoslavia and in independent Croatia.
 
Join us on Tuesday May 31 from 18-00 for the talk starting at 18-30 in the Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street London W1T 6BN, and afterwards for a glass of wine.
 
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A new development of 'The Return' presented by Natasha Stanic Mann and devised with an exceptional creative team will be shared at Theatre Deli - London|Broadgate, on 27th and 28th of May at 7.30pm. There will be a Q&A session after the show. Tickets by donation - link here.
 
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Ivana Gavric will be playing live in the studio on BBC Radio 3's 'In Tune' on Thursday May 26 between 5-6pm, ahead of her performance of the Grieg Concerto with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall on May 28. 
 
You can listen live to 'In Tune', or online for 30 days via the BBC website.
 
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The architectural tour of Zagreb arranged by the British-Croatian Society and the C20 Society is now fully booked. 

 
We hope to organise an illustrated talk about twentieth century Zagreb architecture, as seen on this tour, in London after it has taken place in October.
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2cellos are performing at Wembley on June 2 and 3.

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“Materiality and the Question of Authenticity in Yugoslav Memorial Landscapes” seminar

A message from Rui Gomes Coelho, Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Durham University

Next week we will have the last MaVis seminar of this academic year (!). The seminar will be delivered by Dr Sanja Horvatinčić, Research Associate at the Institute of Art History, Zagreb, Croatia, who will be visiting our department for some days.

It will be titled “Materiality and the Question of Authenticity in Yugoslav Memorial Landscapes”.

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Literary Translation workshop

The British Croatian Society is supporting the British Centre for Literary Translation workshop at the 2022 International Literary Translation and Creative Writing Summer School, University of East Anglia. 

You can find out more about the event by visiting the following website.

The workshop will be led by Ellen Elias-Bursać who has been translating prose since the 1980s, including writing by Daša Drndić and Dubravka Ugrešić. 

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You may find it amusing to watch
 
'ADRIATIC SPLENDOR' 1955 CROATIA & YUGOSLAVIA TRAVELOGUE OPATIJA, PULA, SINJ, RAB, MOSTAR 15454" on YouTube.

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Pepper & Honey

Written by a Croatian playwright and performed by a Croatian actor, ‘Pepper & Honey’ is on a national tour this spring and is heading to Dorset for two performances through Artsreach, the counties touring arts charity. Enjoyed the Great British Bake Off? Then you’ll love this heart-warming show from immersive theatre company, Notnow Collective.

Pepper & Honey will tour to Nether Compton and Briantspuddle on the 4 and 5 March respectively.

01305 269512
www.artsreach.co.uk 

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Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra
 
Cadogan Hall, Thursday April 14
 
PROGRAMME
Dora Pejačević Overture for Large Orchestra in D minor, Op. 49
Sibelius Violin Concerto
Mahler Symphony No. 1
PERFORMERS
Tamsin Waley-Cohen violin
Jan Latham Koenig conductor
 
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On 13th January Ljerka Njers received an important award, for Life work, from ULUPUH, the Association of the Artists of Applied Arts of Croatia.

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Mediterranean Gardens

Next Friday, 14th January, at 8pm, BBC2, Monty Don will present his episode on Mediterranean Gardens, including Croatia.

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Our programme of events will be paused for the month of January as a result of concerns over covid. All being well, however, events will resume in February. 
 
We are working on a programme that includes an exhibition, film, talks, a weekend architectural tour of Zagreb and - a long shot- bringing a klapa group to the UK.
 
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Vijenac

Here is a link to Vijenac of 16 December 2021 with a piece by our member Bojan Bujic on the London performance of a symphony by Dora Pejacevic. The article is in Croatian, but google translate may help you if you need an English version. 

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Dora Pejačević - Symphony in F-sharp minor

A major work by Dora Pejačević will be performed in the Barbican by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo, on 26th November. For more information, please see the link.

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Luxury Hotel in Rovinj
 
You may be interested in a BBC documentary about a luxury hotel in Rovinj. 

It is currently on iplayer.

 
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calendarCroatia 2022 - a reminder

A reminder that we are again producing a British-Croatian Society calendar and look forward to receiving your photographs if you have not sent them already. 

We normally seek photographs taken in Croatia during the year. However, for 2022, given that not all of us may be able to visit Croatia, we would encourage you to look through photographs taken previously, even historic photographs, for possible inclusion in the exhibition and calendar. Photographs of winter in Croatia would be especially welcome.

Photographs can be landscape or portrait in as high a resolution as possible. Photographs should reach us no later than Wednesday 20 October 2021

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Uvod u anatomiju otoka 2012

Malcolm Hardy gave a lecture on Vis in 2012 about the events involving the island in 1812. You can watch it here.
Uvod u anatomiju otoka 2012 and then selecting Malcolm's talk (the 9th) among the 12 talks that are offered.

The introduction is in Croatian with the lecture in English.

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The International Trust for Croatian Monuments 
MARKING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR TRUST

You can read PROGRESS REPORT 2021 here.

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Archaeological Museum, Zagreb

It is not too late to make a donation to support the renewal of the Prehistory display at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. The closing date for donations is July 30.

Last year, following the earthquake in Zagreb, the British-Croatian Society and friends responded very enthusiastically and generously to our ‘adopt a clock appeal’ (for the restoration of the Colley Clock, one of the damaged exhibits of the Muzej umjetnost I obrt in Trg Republike Hrvatske). Not far away in Zrinjevac, the Archaeological Museum also suffered greatly in the quake and we are now appealing for your help to renew the Prehistory display.

The Director of the Archaeological Museum, Sanjin Mihelić reports, encouragingly, that he has been able to secure support for the restoration of many of the museum’s objects (ie Ancient Greek vases etc) through international professional and friendship links, but that ‘the Prehistory display will be the toughest task to manage, since there—at the 3rd floor of the Museum building—we are faced not only with probably the most serious constructional damage of all (most of which we hope will be covered by the insurance), but also with the fact that restoring the display to its pre-earthquake state would make no sense at all. Naturally, this means that we will need to create a new display, however, this is something we simply don’t have the sufficient means for.'

Some immediate post-earthquake photos of the 3rd floor are available also here.

The new display will not be a ‘quick ‘fix, but with your support we can help the Museum to make a start on this important step of re-construction.

Donations may be made as follows:

  • by bank transfer to the British-Croatian Society a/c 60566500, Barclays Bank Oxford City Branch, sort code 20-65-18. Your donation should carry the reference Arch Mus.
  • by cheque made payable to The British-Croatian Society sent to: David Davison, Treasurer, British-Croatian Society, 5 St Edward’s Court, Oakthorpe Road, Oxford OX2 7UP

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calendarCroatia 2022
 
We will again produce a British-Croatian Society calendar and look forward to receiving your photographs. We plan to launch the calendar at a reception in late November with an exhibition of selected printed and framed photographs, plus a wider online exhibition.
 
We normally seek photographs taken in Croatia during the year. However, for 2022, given that not all of us may be able to visit Croatia, we would encourage you to look through photographs taken previously, even historic photographs, for possible inclusion in the exhibition and calendar.
 
You can see previous calendars on www.britishcroatiansociety.com.
 
Photographs can be landscape or portrait in as high a resolution as possible. Photographs should reach us no later than October 20
 
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British-Croatian Society events
 
The programme of British-Croatian Society events will resume in September after a summer break. We are working on a full programme for later in the year and will send you details nearer the time.
 
Over the summer we will continue to keep you informed through our regular news & information emails of Croatian events taking place in the UK.
 
We wish you a happy summer in Croatia, UK or elsewhere.
 
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Exploring British Croatian
 
Five people talk on camera about being British-Croatian.
 
After a brief introductory video, Roy Cross, Eric Turner, Snjezana Maclean, Malcolm Hardy and Hannah Bujic each talk about their own mix of British and Croatian. You can see all five here.
 
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Grow, Make, Cook
 
Robin and Amanda Orlić moved to Croatia from Australia four years ago. They have made a home out of an old barn in Šelovec near Vrbovec, and are developing the surrounding land into a fruit and vegetable garden and smallholding. 
 
Amanda has now started a YouTube channel to broadcast her activities: Grow, Make, Cook.If you like gardening/organic/natural themes, please try it out and subscribe. You will be delighted by the potential of this gentle hillside landscape so close to Zagreb.  
 
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Dear Friends,
 
I have been holding off writing to you with updates on concerts, as so often last year everything was repeatedly cancelled. However, it looks like the next few exciting projects will go ahead, so here are some news for this and next week:
On Friday, 2nd July, you can hear me on BBC Radio 3's In Tune from 5pm. Cellist Matthew Barley and I will be playing some Beethoven live in the studio ahead of our Chelteham festival Concert on Monday. 
 
Monday 5th July 11am 'Ludwig' at the Cheltenham Festival - a programme combining Beethoven Cello Sonatas with some improvisations (by Matthew and pianist Tim West). 
 
Sunday 11th July Spitalfields Festival closing concert (at Kings Place) 530pm
A wonderful cross-arts collaboration exploring themes of isolation and darkness though Greek Myth. Violinist Sara Trickey and I will be performing a feast of 20th and 21st century works - by Stravinsky, Szymanowski, David Matthews and a world premiere by Edmund Finnis. The programme will be narrated by mythographer Dame Marina Warner and the final work will be choreographed by Kim Brandstrup.

For tickets please visit:

Dancing with Apollo

We will also be giving a dry-run of the programme on Thursday 8th July at the Boases in central London. For tickets please email [email protected]

I hope that I might see some of you at one of these concerts! 

With all my best wishes,

Ivana

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GROZNJANCI: SOCIAL EYES
 
Opening Saturday 19th at 8pm in FONTICUS gradska galerija Groznjan, Istria, Croatia.
 
British photographer Fernando and a Croatian artist-producer Tina Hofman, both with an established international practice, focus their eyes and efforts on working collaboratively with the local Groznjan community over the past year.
 
This collaboration is resulting in GROZNJANCI: SOCIAL EYES - over 100 community portraits, each partly covered by an original piece contributed by every photographed participant.
 
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Statement from the Croatian Football Federation

On Thursday 10 June 2021, the Croatian Football Federation issued a statement explaining why the Croatian national team did not take the knee before the start of the friendly against Belgium in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and why it will not do so at the team's next games:

“The Croatian Football Federation and the Croatian national team strongly condemn any and all forms of discrimination. We also respect the right of every individual and every organisation to select the circumstances and the manner in which they will take a stand against racism and/or other forms of discrimination. 

The Croatian Football Federation believes that the players have a right to their own opinion on these topics, and that they also have a right to choose whether they want to engage in any activity. The players of the Croatian national team jointly decided ahead of the friendly match against Belgium that they will not take the knee, and they respectfully stood in silence during the kneeling of their Belgian colleagues. The Croatian Football Federation respects their stance on this and will not impose taking the knee as an obligation for Croatian players, as this gesture does not hold any symbolic ties to the fight against racism and discrimination in the context of Croatian culture and tradition.  

In general, we believe the most important thing is the fact that Croatian international players have conducted themselves respectfully throughout their careers and that they have shown through their behaviour that they respect all individuals, opponents, and teammates, regardless of race, religion, social status, ethnicity, or any other characteristic, which is a value that is also promoted by the Croatian Football Federation."

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Raising the Curtain on Early Klimt

Read an article about Klimt's association with Croatia and Rijeka in particular here. The article to be published in the June issue of Apollo Magazine

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If you missed Bojan Bujic's talk on Ruder Boskovic, Dinko Ranjina, and a book of poetry in the Bodleian Library, 
or would like to see it again, or to pass it on to friends, it is now available on YouTube.
 
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Luka Boršić and Irena Radić Rossi will present
Liburnians and Illyrian Lembs: Iron Age Ships of the Eastern Adriatic
Archaeopress’s next webinar

Thursday 27th May, 7pm BST (GMT+1) via Zoom

This free online lecture explores the origins of two types of ancient ship which appear in the written sources connected with the protohistoric eastern Adriatic area: the ‘Liburnian’ (liburna or liburnica) and the southern Adriatic (Illyrian) ‘lemb’. The relative abundance of written sources suggests that both ships played significant roles in ancient times, especially the Liburnian, which became the main type of light warship in early Roman imperial fleets and ultimately evolved into a generic name for warships in the Roman Imperial period and Late Antiquity.

Click here to register. Attendance is free, places are limited to 100.

Archaeopress published the book of the same title earlier this year www.archaeopress.com.

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Appeal: Archaeological Museum, Zagreb
A request for your support for the renewal of the Prehistory display
Last year, following the earthquake in Zagreb, the British-Croatian Society and friends responded very enthusiastically and generously to our ‘adopt a clock appeal’ (for the restoration of the Colley Clock, one of the damaged exhibits of the Muzej umjetnost I obrt in Trg Republike Hrvatske). Not far away in Zrinjevac, the Archaeological Museum also suffered greatly in the quake and we are now appealing for your help to renew the Prehistory display.
 
The Director of the Archaeological Museum, Sanjin Mihelić reports, encouragingly, that he has been able to secure support for the restoration of many of the museum’s objects (ie Ancient Greek vases etc) through international professional and friendship links, but that ‘the Prehistory display will be the toughest task to manage, since there—at the 3rd floor of the Museum building—we are faced not only with probably the most serious constructional damage of all (most of which we hope will be covered by the insurance), but also with the fact that restoring the display to its pre-earthquake state would make no sense at all. Naturally, this means that we will need to create a new display, however, this is something we simply don’t have the sufficient means for.'
 
Some immediate post-earthquake photos of the 3rd floor are available also here.
 
The new display will not be a ‘quick ‘fix, but with your support we can help the Museum to make a start on this important step of re-construction.
 
Donations may be made as follows:
- by bank transfer to the British-Croatian Society a/c 60566500, Barclays Bank Oxford City Branch, sort code 20-65-18. Your donation should carry the reference Arch Mus.
- by cheque made payable to The British-Croatian Society sent to: David Davison, Treasurer, British-Croatian Society, 5 St Edward’s Court, Oakthorpe Road, Oxford OX2 7UP
 
Thank you for your support.
 
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Zrinka and Andrew Bottrill Piano Duo
A concert invitation from AMAC
 
It is a great pleasure to invite you to a virtual concert of Zrinka and Andrew Bottrill Piano Duo on Thursday 20 May at 7.30pm. The concert will remain viewable for 30 days thereafter. Please find further details here.
 
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Pepper & Honey
 
Pepper & Honey is a play being streamed from Applecart Arts, an East London theatre, this May and June. Pepper & Honey is written by a Croatian playwright and performed by a Croatian actor and explores the question of 'What is home?' and how do we uphold the traditions of the old, while embracing those of the new. 
 
The play is being streamed online from 24th May until 12th June, with a 10am and 8pm showing each day (excluding 24th May). You can view press release with more information, including how to buy tickets here
 
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The Historical Geography of Croatia

Here are two links to a new book, The Historical Geography of Croatia, written by Prof. Borna Fuerst-Bjelis and Prof. Nikola Glamuzin, published by Springer, Switzerland 2021.

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Message from AMAC
 
On behalf of AMAC-UK, I regret to inform you that Dr Svjetlana Sumpor’s lecture (titled “Ivan Rabuzin: His Art, Centenary of Birth and New Perspectives”), scheduled for this coming Sunday, has now been cancelled due to the speaker’s ill health.
 
We apologise for any inconvenience, and hope you’ll join us in wishing Dr Sumpor a speedy recovery.
 
We’ll keep you informed about our upcoming programme, and look forward to welcoming members of the British Croatian Society to our future events.
 
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Exploring British-Croatian
 
Some time ago we held a zoom meeting on the theme 'Exploring British-Croatian'. It is now available to see on YouTube. We will continue to explore 'British-Croatian' with further film clips later in the year.
 
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AMAC invites you to a talk about Ivan Rabuzin

Even though it is, once again, not possible to organise our annual meeting in person, we will have a virtual version of the event on Sunday, 9th of May at 11:00 am.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Svjetlana Sumpor will give a talk on the life and work of Ivan Rabuzin, and the opening of the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art.

The lecture will be followed by our annual meeting.

Please join us by following the link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87679360959?pwd=QjRmVGZiZWp6NkN3MVkxU244MkpJQT09

Meeting ID: 876 7936 0959
Passcode: 145237

We hope you'll be able to attend and we very much looking forward to seeing you.

Yours, on behalf of the AMAC-UK, Neva Kandžija

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C20 Society Building of the Month
April 2021 - Grand Hotel, Dubrovnik – Lopud, Croatia
 
Before the lockdown, the Britiah-Croatian Society worked with the UK's C20 Society to feature twentieth century Croatian architecture. We hope to cooperate with the C20 Society in 2022 in mounting a long weekend visit to look in depth at some of Zagreb's splendid buildings.
 
The C20 Society's building of the month in April is the Grand Hotel Dubrovnik on the island of Lopud. If you would like to know more about this outstanding building, you can read the C20 Society article here.

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Inspiring Croatian Diaspora Story: Dusica Hoban  – Making Individual Donations to Croatia from UK
 
An interview published with total Croatia news.
 
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Predrag Matvejevic's Our Daily Bread
 
Last year the lockdown prevented the British-Croatian Society from holding an event with the British Library on the occasion of the publication in English of Predrag Matvejevic's Our Daily Bread. Below is a review of the book from the LA Review of Books.
 
Remember the Bread
March 26, 2021   •   By Emina Melonic
 
Our Daily Bread: A Meditation on the Cultural and Symbolic Significance of Bread Throughout History
 
PREDRAG MATVEJEVIĆ
 
We live in a world that thrives on transience and disposability, a world of self-centered inwardness and collective atomization. To forget how to be human is easy, but luckily, there are books that still remind us of the mystery, sorrow, and beauty of the world we inhabit. Yugoslav scholar Predrag Matvejević’s Our Daily Bread: A Meditation on the Cultural and Symbolic Significance of Bread Throughout History, now available from Istros Books in a fine English translation by Christina Pribićević-Zorić, awakens us to the connection we have to each other by examining the way the bread we eat becomes a vehicle for human relations.
 
Matvejević (1932–2017) was one of the great European intellectuals. Having grown up in Yugoslavia, he was witness to constant cultural shifts and the often-strange blending and mutual influence of different cultures. The majority of his work was concerned with how cultures influence each other (for better or worse) and how the singular human being fits into the larger society. This, and much more, is the subject of Our Daily Bread.
 
Unless we are on the keto diet, all of us eat bread. But do we really give it a deeper thought? Do we ask where it comes from? Who makes it? What is used to make it? What are its sociological, economic, anthropological, religious, and cultural aspects? Do we feel close to it, or are we indifferent? Does it bring good memories of family life, of convivial meals with friends and loved ones?
 
For Matvejević, bread is an unbroken thread that binds civilizations of the far past to the present day. “The origins of bread,” he writes, “go back to the times when nomads became settlers, hunters became shepherds and both farmed. Some moved from hunting-ground to hunting-ground and from pasture to pasture; others cleared and worked the land: the vocation of Cain versus that of Abel.” The history of bread is the history of humanity itself. In many cultures (not only Christian), bread is a symbol of holiness and respect, serving as a vehicle for the sacred. As Matvejević writes, “Bread is the product of both nature and culture. It was the condition for peace and the cause of war, the promise of hope and the reason for despair. Religions blessed it. People swore by it.”
 
There is something universal about bread. It spans the boundaries that, as human beings, we tend to create, for better or worse. Our essence can reveal itself in the way we handle bread, whether we eat it alone or share it. We have fond memories of bread because it reminds us of something mysterious. Matvejević writes that “[t]he touch of bread is not something one forgets either. Is the crust smooth or crisp, is the middle soft or already stale? How do the hand, palm and fingers pick it up, hold it, break it? To whom do we offer and give it? How, when and where?”
 
Matvejević’s style is consistently poetic, yet he does not sacrifice historical fact. He traces the “depictions of different grains […] on clay tablets from the ancient cities of Uruk and Ebla, as well as in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics of Memphis and Thebes.” Classic works, such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, not only mention but elevate bread. Additionally, Psalm 104 blesses the bread, […] [A]ncient Greek choruses sang the praises of bread in dramas, tragedies, and comedies. […] Aristotle distinguishes between “soft and hard bread” in life and morals. […] Plato’s The Republic does not forget those who have only dry bread, yet still celebrate.
 
Studying the physical makeup of the breads people ate allows us to follow their migration patterns. Matvejević writes, [b]read followed paths that took it through space and time, memory and oblivion. It is hard to say where these journeys begin and where they end. […] Sometimes the paths returned the same way, at others they took a different route, all the while crossing the plains, scaling mountains, roaming deserts. Grain was transported across seas and along rivers by ship, and on land by carts and packhorses, and even on shoulders of men and women.
 
Matvejević’s illuminating words call on us not to forget our ancestors, all those men and women who toiled in similar ways to us. This is an incredibly important reminder in a culture that appears to crave nothing but endless distraction and shallow “entertainment.” Bread can remind us of our physical and metaphysical connection to others. As Matvejević writes, “Bread has forged many trails, old and new, past and present. […] Those who depart on a journey and those who return seldom eat the same bread.”
 
Matvejević masterfully explores the significance of bread in the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He shows that there are more things that bind us together as a human family than divide us and lead us into conflict. For the ancient Jews, making matzah was done according to strict rules, to make sure the dough did not ferment. All of these customs have spiritual connotations, and they are “a reminder of both the poverty of slavery and liberation after the exodus. The Pesach Haggadah notes that ‘This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt.’”
 
Christians naturally and inevitably drew from the Hebrew Bible, but the meaning of bread was taken even further theologically and liturgically. As Matvejević notes, “communion, the Eucharist host and monstrance, the tabernacle, the chalice, the Eucharistic transubstantiation and consubstantiation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, bread as the word of the Lord, the logos of faith, the symbol of the sacrament” — all of these are more than vehicles of faith: through the physicality of the bread itself, they connect the human beings to God as they seek succor, peace, and sustenance.
 
By contrast, Islam is not so much concerned with liturgy, mainly because of its focus on prayer and ethical understanding. However, grain is mentioned in the Qur’an many times. One of the surahs says, “It is Allah who causes the seed-grain and the fruit-stone to split and sprout. […] We give life to the dead earth and bring forth from it again.” Culturally, bread holds a high place for Muslims. It is made with care and gratitude, but most of all, it is shared with others out of common humanity and charity.
 
The most poignant part of Matvejević’s book is the final reflection on his personal experience of bread. He remembers many family members in Odessa who survived the Soviet gulags and for whom bread represented the possibility of life in the midst of hunger and poverty. Most died tragically, and this is part of the sadness that Matvejević feels. Yet this sorrow is at times transcended because it is precisely the bread that humanizes his family’s dark experiences of totalitarianism.
 
Matvejević intimately understands that bread isn’t simply food, that there is a spiritual interiority to this humble physical object. He writes that [t]he poetics of bread is scattered like grains through time and space, across countries and people, in everyday life and eternity. It reveals itself in poetry, paintings and prayer. It is present when dreaming and when awake, “between dreams and reality,” in the shortness of an instant and in the length of time. We carry it within ourselves, knowing it and forgetting it at the same time.
 
Just like our mortality, bread is always present. Memento panem — remember the bread so that you may remember who you are and who you may become.
 
¤
 
Emina Melonic is a book and film critic who resides in East Aurora, New York. She is a regular contributor to the New Criterion, Law and Liberty, and Splice Today, among other outlets.
 
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Grand Dishes
 
Flora Turner writes:
 
After four years in the making, the book Grand Dishes, Recipes and stories from grandmothers of the world is now on my table. It is a beautifully produced book with excellent photography and great stories with some 70 recipes that the authors Anastasia Miari and Iska Lupton collected and cooked with grandmothers around the world. 
 
As I can read, a number of discoveries were by chance, just like mine. On a flight London - Split I was sitting next to a very handsome young man who was travelling for the first time to Hvar for a boys weekend. He told me about his girlfriend's project to find special recipes from grandmothers from around the world . I offered to give her a copy of my book, ’The Sweet Taste of a  Dalmatian Love Affair,' and meet her back in London. 
 
A few months later, Iska, Anastasia and photographer Ella Louise Sullivan arrived in Hvar. Even before arriving at my house I took them to see an exhibition from  the collection of Dagmar Meneghello and promised  to arrange a visit to Dagmar on the nearby island of Palmižana. In the Sunday Times Anastasia has written an account of their visit: 
 
"One of my favourite dishes in the book reminds me of sitting in dappled shade in Palmizana, a village on the Croatian island of Sveti Klement, in the company of Dagmar and her gaggle of girlfriends. We ate fresh seafood gregada - a stew of grouper, prawns, clams and potatoes - while looking over the turquoise water.”
 
I spent three days with these young, enthusiastic girls so eager to know about love and life from women who had a grand title of grandmother. And there we were cooking together an octopus salad and laughing. Since all three had recently split with their boyfriends I was comforting them with my happy story.  And so they concluded: This book is not about what it’s like to be old. It’s about what it’s like to have lived. 
 
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Ivana Gavrić: Tales from the Keyboard - On an Overgrown Path, online
 
Saturday 8th May 2021.
 
All those with a ticket already will be able to use it for the new date, and anyone wishing to request a refund will receive one.
 
Ivana places Schubert and Janácek side by side, as on her debut disc 'In the mists', this time with early works of both composers. 
 
PROGRAMME:
SCHUBERT | Sonata in A minor D537
JANACEK | On an Overgrown Path
 
Tickets are available here.
 
 

Bojan Cicic, Rosary Sonatas

St John's Smith Square
Easter Sunday April 4, at 15:30 and 19:30. 
 
Both performances will be streamed on each event page on the St John's Smith Square website from the advertised start time. Content will then be available for 30 days afterwards on the Video on Demand section of the website.
 

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From Petrinja With Love
 
'From Petrinja With Love' is a short film showing the measures being taken following the damage to library material as a result of the earthquakes. It is in Croatian with English subtitles. You can view it here.
 
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'Exploring British Croatian'
 
Our next meeting (on zoom) will be at 18:30 on Monday March 22. 
 
We will show short videos of three speakers talking about their personal experiences of mixing Croatia and the UK. We hope this will lead to a lively discussion about how members of the British-Croatian Society have something of Croatia and something of the UK in them.
 
The link for this zoom meeting will follow by email later.
 
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Ivana Gavric concert
 
Ivana writes:
 
I was reminiscing with my mother last night how it was exactly a year ago I performed for AMAC-UK and what a wonderful evening it was; one of my last concerts. 
 
I would like to let you know that my second ‘Tales from the Keyboard’ concerts will be broadcasting on Sunday 7th March at 8pm for 48 hours via the platform CityMusicLive. 
 
The programme will include Chopin Mazurkas, Liszt Petrarch Sonnets and Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse.
 
I have asked the CML to give British Croatian society members a discount, as my way of saying thank you for the loyal support during this difficult time, so anyone booking with discount CROATIA15 will receive 15% off ticket. 
 
I recorded a short trailer for the forthcoming recital which can be viewed via this link. It is a radiant short Prelude by Chopin, which I will be playing on the 7th.
 
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Petrinja Teacher Training College appeal

Lady Jadranka writes: Zana Matulic Bilac, a senior conservator/restorer from Split, sends us this SOS message. 

You can donate direct, following the instructions below, or you can send a donation to International Trust for Croatian Monuments, 34 Cadogan Square, London SW1X 0JL, when, if you are a tax-paying British citizen, the Trust will receive another 25% from British Government.

The evacuation of the library of the Petrinja Teacher Training College

In the catastrophic earthquake that hit the city of Petrinja and its surroundings on December 28 and 29 in 2020, the building of the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Zagreb, the location department in Petrinja, was among the severely damaged objects. The library of the Petrinja Teacher Training College was founded in the 1870s and annexed to the Faculty of Teacher Education in 2007. Today, the library has a fund of approximately 28,000 volumes, including 400 protected cultural property items. The archival material created at the Department includes personal files, student files, secretary and accounting files and other material. Due to the necessary reconstruction of the building, it is urgent to evacuate and store the library collection and archival material. Evacuation requires material for cleaning, packing, transport and storage.

Activities related to procuration and evacuation are voluntarily coordinated and organized by the IIC – Croatian Group. The association is one of the eight regional groups of the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) based in London. It has been operating in Croatia since 2009 as an association that brings together experts dealing with the protection of cultural heritage.

Following the unfortunate earthquakes beginning with the one hitting Zagreb in March 2000, the association is continuously focused on professional help and support for colleagues in Zagreb and damaged cultural heritage. Last year, a volunteer project was started at the Volunteers' Centre Zagreb with the aim of better organization and inclusion of experts and students who are not members of the association. After the earthquake that affected the Banovina area, the association expressed its readiness for professional volunteer assistance to the Conservation Department in Sisak. The new project was launched on February 10, 2021, the first major activity being the evacuation of the library in Petrinja led by the member Dragica Krstić, head of the Department for Preservation and Storage of the National and University Library in Zagreb.

As part of the initiative of the IIC – Croatian Group and the IIC headquarters, a fundraiser was started within the international professional community to gather funds for the necessary material. Payments will be made directly to the library through a temporary account opened for that purpose. Since the IIC – Croatian Group is a non-profit association, focused on professional activities, in this way the assistance of the association excludes the financial intermediation in the service of the best implementation.

Preparatory work is already finished and the cost estimates are prepared in collaboration with the senior librarian Andreja Tominac.

Payment details:

Recipient:
Faculty of Teacher Education
University of Zagreb
Savska cesta 77
10 000 Zagreb
Croatia

IBAN: HR9124020061500080595
Model: HR00
Call number: 010321
Purpose of payment: Pomoć - knjižnica UFZG

Payments are to be made before March 1, 2021.

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Earthquakes Benefit Concert - New date

 
This concert is still going ahead online but will now be on
Saturday 20 February at 7.30 pm

Tickets at www.wegottickets.com

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A Theatre Performance 'The Return'
 
A message from Natasha Stanic:
 
A solo theatre performance, 'The Return', will be live streamed from The Cockpit Theatre tomorrow, Thursday, 28th January and available on demand on their Website for one month.  
 
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NERHT - New Europe Railway Heritage Trust

In summer 2020 BCS members Robert and Suzanna Dolata were shown round a hugely ambitious Croatian Railway Preservation Society enthusiasts’ project to reopen a railway line through the scenic Raša Valley in Istria closed in 2002.

A British based railway heritage organisation is advising the promoter Neil Vlacic, a Scotsman living in Labin. The project is currently in the process of being registered in Croatia as a voluntary society.

One of NERHT's supporters James Waite has written a book on narrow gauge railways in former Yugoslavia, see flyer. If you know anyone who might be interested in this work, perhaps you'll let them know about it.

The Istria project concerns the heavy standard gauge railway between the coast at Rabac and Buzet. It served the coal mine at Labin, but closed along with the mine in 2002. Track is in good condition – mostly, and buildings are generally intact. Regional and local government authorities favour the idea because of potential to revive engineering industries and generate inland tourism – think of great interest and economic benefits of preserved railways in England.

We will report developments. If you are a railway enthusiast, have a look at NEHRT web page and the attached leaflet about bygone Narrow Gauge Lines.

Robert Dolata

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Earthquakes Benefit Concert
 
A group in Northumbria will be putting on an online concert to raise money to help people affected by the recent earthquakes in Croatia. Carol Whinnom ([email protected]) writes:
 
While we know that in Croatia itself everything is well-organised and funds are being raised there,  there are lots of Croatians living in the UK and Ireland who feel they would like to help. We organised a similar concert after the Indonesian tsunami a few years ago, and raised a good amount of money. 
 
We already have two exciting - and very contrasting- high-quality artists who are eager to perform, and have more in the pipeline. We are always keen for more artistic contributions.   The Croatian Embassy has said it will help us with publicity but we'd appreciate your support too. 
 
Croatian Earthquake Fundraiser: the proposal
 
We intend to put on a concert to raise money to support the people affected by the earthquakes in Croatia on on Saturday 6th February 2021 at 7.30pm (GMT) which is 8.30pm in mainland Europe.
 
We will use Zoom to host this concert. People will be able to buy tickets at www.wegottickets.com in the U.K. and there will probably be a separate site for people in the Balkans or elsewhere to buy tickets. We will put a range of ticket prices, so people will be able to choose which price of ticket suits what they can afford. We will also remind people that they can also donate on the night via paypal.me/TheUkuleleandOtherMa to give money in U.K. pounds. There will be a similar link for people in the Balkans to donate directly.
 
We are asking for short video submissions from artists that we can stream on the night and, so that the event can feel “live” we’d love it if artists could also attend online and be available in the chat, to answer questions and comments from the audience.
 
To run the evening smoothly, we’ll have a bilingual compere to talk to the audience in both Croatian and English, plus a support team to answer technical questions, cue videos, moderate chat, etc.
 
Artistic brief
 
Please record us a short set – we suggest a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes, on video. You can contribute less than this if you like. Mp4 video format is the best for us. It doesn’t have to be professional level video shoot: the audience knows we’ve pulled this concert together quickly and under the constraints of the Coronavirus . A video filmed on a smartphone is probably good enough. We suggest you pay attention, though, to the sound quality. Check it is neither too quiet nor so loud it is distorted. If you prefer to do your set in one single recording, that’s fine, or you could record each song or tune separately: it is entirely up to you.
 
We will then ask you to send the video to us. We suggest using https:// transfer.pcloud.com/ or you can send us a download link, by Saturday 20th January. The email address to use is [email protected] We will test it, to check it looks and sounds good, and get back to you if we find any problems. It is fine to mention any new releases, merchandise, your website, or concerts you have coming up. It is kind of you to support this cause so we’d like you to get some support in return! Feel free to talk to introduce your music: British audience members may not know Croatian, Bosnian or Serbian artists and vice versa. Audiences might be interested in why you are keen to support this cause.
 
Then we’d ask you to share the event using your usual channels, social media, email newsletter, local newspapers & radio, word of mouth etc. https://www.facebook.com/ events/241734650742984 The Croatian Embassy in London and the British-Croatian Society are helping to publicise the event in the U.K. And if you think of anything else we could do, please let us know.

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Post-Brexit travel to Croatia by UK passport holders
 
Iva Gudelj, First Secretary at the Croatian Embassy, has provided the following post-Brexit advice for UK passport holders wishing to visit Croatia:
 
As for the information on Brexit implication on UK nationals in Croatia hereby we can inform that Croatian Ministry of Interior, who is in charge of border control and immigration, has published information on their website, please follow the link.

General rules and information on travel restrictions currently in place due to Covid19 are published here.

All inquiries and requests for interpretation of the rules may be sent to Ministry of Interior [email protected]

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Following the earthquake, the Croatian Red Cross has set up a link for donations
 
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Weʼre raising £10,000 to Help with Urgent Renovation work to the Croatian Catholic Mission in London.

I have raised 61% online and a further 10% offline.  It would be fabulous to get to the full amount with the support of the broad range of the Croatian community involved as well?

JustGiving link

Nicholas Frankopan

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calendarCroatia 2021
 
If you would like a copy of the calendar and have not yet placed your order, please do so as soon as possible.
 
You can see the calendar on www.britishcroatiansociety.com - just click on CALENDAR CROATIA 2021.
 
To order your copy, please email us with your postal address before December 10 and we will post it to you in time for Christmas. The price is £15 including post and packing for addresses in the UK and £18 for elsewhere.
 
Payment can be made through the website by paypal. Otherwise, please pay either:
 
  • by bank transfer to The British Croatian Society, account 60566500 at Barclays Oxford City Centre branch, sort code 20-65-18 
  • or by cheque made payable to The British-Croatian Society sent to: David Davison, Treasurer, British-Croatian Society, 5 St Edward’s Court, Oakthorpe Road, Oxford OX2 7UP
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Kazalište Planet Art

Tomislav Vlahutin has brought to our attention the online theatre production project of Kazalište Planet Art from Zagreb that may be of interest to our Croatian speakers.

'Obraćam Vam se vezano uz novi projekt Kazališta Planet Art – Online kazalište uživo kojim se uživo, online streamingom prenose kazališne predstave na hrvatskom jeziku što je, vjerujem, zanimljivo hrvatskim iseljenicima i hrvatskim manjinskim zajednicama diljem svijeta. 

Projekt je nastao kao odgovor na korona krizu, no ujedno je otvorio mogućnost da na ovaj način predstave mogu gledati po cijelom svijetu svi oni koji nemaju mogućnost fizički prisustvovati kazališnim predstavama na hrvatskom jeziku, a željeli bi to.

Predstave se online prenose s 4 kamere, prilagođene su TV i online mediju čime postaju, kako ih gledatelji opisuju 'kombinacijom kazališta i filma', a za cijenu ulaznice od 39 kuna (cca. 6 USD $) predstave može gledati cijela obitelj.

U ponudi su tri hit komedije Kazališta Planet Art: Velika ZvjerkaTko je ovdje lud? i Ritina škola koje se tim redoslijedom izmjenjuju nedjeljom u 20h po hrvatskom vremenu.

Riječ je o predstavama koje su među najizvođenijima u Hrvatskoj u posljednjih desetak godina.

Inače, Kazalište Planet Art jedno je od najuspješnijih i najnagrađivanijih kazališta u Hrvatskoj u posljednjih petnaest godina, prepoznato po svojoj kvaliteti, a u njemu igraju prva imena hrvatskog glumišta.

U attachu Vam šaljem opširniji tekst o projektu s vizualima iz predstava, a još opširnije sve informacije možete naći na ovoj web stranici .

Puno hvala!'

Marko Torjanac
Kazalište Planet Art
Vlaška 70a
gsm: + 385 91 1007 967
e-mail: [email protected]

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Le Petit Prince
During lockdown, Past Master and organiser of the annual Drapers’ Concerts Series, Sir Nicholas Jackson Bt, was busy writing an opera based on the story of Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. 

See the attachment for how you can join a performance on November 19.
 
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'Adopt a clock'
We are pleased to be able to tell you that we are sending more than £1,100 to the Museum of Arts and Crafts (Muzej za umjetnosti i obrt) in Zagreb towards the cost of restoring an early 18th century movement by Richard Colley, an ‘eminent maker’ from one of the great periods of London clockmaking, that was damaged in the recent earthquake.
 
Our donation was supported by generous contributions from members of the British-Croatian Society.
 
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‘Adopt a Clock’ project

The British-Croatian Society has supported the ‘adopt a clock’ project to help the Museum of Arts and Crafts (Muzej za umjetnosti i obrt) in Zagreb. The project helps to restore some of the damage to the exhibits by the earthquake. One of the damaged clocks has an early 18th century movement by Richard Colley, an ‘eminent maker’ from one of the great periods of London clockmaking, in a slightly later German rococo case.  The Society has limited funds but we responded by ‘adopting’ this clock with a British connection by contributing towards the cost of the restoration of the Colley movement. The restored clock features in an exhibition at the Museum and the support from the British-Croatian Society is acknowledged.

As this year the Society has been unable to hold its annual dinner at which each year money is raised for a deserving project in Croatia, the Society is encouraging its members to consider making a donation towards the costs of repairing the Richard Colley clock mechanism. If you wish to add to the Society’s support, please email [email protected] for details of how you can do so.

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Zagreb Loves You

In the last almost two months, we have really had the opportunity to see that we are not alone and that our fellow citizens, as well as our visitors or those who are yet to come to us, love ...

https://youtu.be/txZgLExm-vg

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We should never take our daily bread for granted
Anne Sebba reviews Our Daily Bread by Predrag Matvejevic in The Spectator

We should never take our daily bread for granted
In a moving combination of memoir and meditation, Predrag Matvejevic describes how a smuggled loaf to a starving PoW proved a life-saver

"In the seventh and final chapter of this small but lingeringly powerful book, the author reveals his motivation for writing it. His father, he explains, a Russian-born Yugoslav soldier, had been a prisoner of war of the Germans, part of a group consigned to do forced labour felling trees during the bitterly cold winter of 1942-43. One evening, freezing, starving and looking barely human, the group was stopped on the road back to camp by a stranger, a Protestant pastor who invited them into his house and, risking reprisals, nonetheless gave them a chance to warm up and eat some bread with a glass of wine."

Read more.

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'Poezija u gradu' 2020
A project in celebration of the poet August Senoa

Obavještavamo Vas da je danas, točno sedam mjeseci od zagrebačkog potresa, počeo projekt „Poezija u gradu“ u spomen velikanu  hrvatske  književnosti  Augustu Šenoi. S poštovanjem i zahvalnošću u spomen ovom jedinstvenom književnom velikanu građani će na deset osvjetljenih citylight površina u gradu moći čitati neke od njegovih najljepših pjesama: Zagrebu, Tri riječi, Budi svoj, Sunce i zvijezde i Srce pjesnikovo.

August Šenoa umro je u 43. godini života od posljedica upale pluća od koje je obolio kada je uz predan i intenzivan književni rad i kao požrtvovni gradski vijećnik po hladnoći skrbio za unesrećene u velikom zagrebačkom potresu 1880. godine.

Više informacija i fotografije nalaze se u prilogu.
Unaprijed zahvaljujemo na praćenju.

Kontak:
Sonja Zubović, 091 5846 478, [email protected]

PROJEKT „POEZIJA U GRADU“ U SPOMEN VELIKANU
HRVATSKE KNJIŽEVNOSTI AUGUSTU ŠENOI

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The International Trust for Croatian Monuments 
Progress Report 2020

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calendarCroatia 2021

If you have managed to get to Croatia this year, we would like some photographs from you for next year's calendarCroatia. But if you haven't managed a trip, why not look through photographs from previous years, remember fond places and people, and send us a selection?
 
Let us have your photographs as soon as possible and not later than mid October - we plan to have the calendar ready for purchase by mid November.

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‘Zagreb’s museums and historic sites are suffering severely’
An article by Sir Timothy Clifford from the Apollo

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calendarCroatia 2021

If you manage to travel to Croatia this summer, remember we would like your photographs for calendarCroatia 2021. If travelling is not going to be possible this year, why not enjoy looking through your photographs taken in Croatia over the years and email some of your happy memories to us for the calendar?

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The unluckiest museums in the world? Croatia faces string of natural disasters
 
 
'What next: Godzilla?' said a citizen of Croatia’s capital after a freak storm hit Zagreb on the night of 24 July, just four months after an earthquake caused severe damage to houses, the cathedral and museums. 
 
The biggest problem for the city’s many museums has been that most have been storing works in their basements after their buildings were made unsafe by the tremors on 22 March, at the height of the Covid-19 crisis.
 
Sanjin Mihelic, the director of Zagreb’s Archaeological Museum, who has been working to conserve its collections ever since then, spent all night in the basement trying to save his objects from the flood water. The Museum of Decorative Arts, which has been coping with a collapsed roof and no chimneys, had water coming up from the ground; its pumps could not cope with the 100 litres of rain per square metre that fell in just 10 hours. Detailed reports on damage to the works of art are being compiled.
 
Donations to restore cultural heritage damaged in the earthquake and storm can be made via the International Trust for Croatian Monuments website.
 
• Maja Razović Kocijan is the director of the Museum Documentation Centre, Zagreb

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What is a School? 

Michael Ross writes:
 
I am an author and my partner is an illustrator and wanted to let members know about a new bi-lingual book I have authored called 'What is a School?'
 
It can be a scary thing for a small child to go to school for the very first time. In my Arnie & Mia series for 3 to 7 year-olds, I have written a new Bi-lingual English/Croatian book for children called 'What Is A School?'
 
My illustrator, who is also Croatian, has provided all the wonderful illustrations. It will help children prepare for school and also help learn simple Croatian and/or English as well.
 
Welcome to 'What Is A School?' by Michael Ross on Amazon.

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Earthquake Hits Zagreb

The article is taken from the July/August 2020 edition of Minerva magazine, copyright rests with the magazine. For information about the magazine please go to minervamagazine.com.

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From the editor of Istros Books
 
Today is publication day for Catherine the Great and the Small by Olja Knežević. Olja is from Montenegro originally, but now lives and works in Zagreb and her novel won last year's VBZ (major Croatian publisher) 'Best Unpublished Novel Award'. 
 
Knežević's third novel to date, Catherine the Great and the Small follows the trajectory of a young girl through growing up in communism, coming of age in the breakdown of a country and maturing in a society in transition while she tries to bring up her children in a foreign country and yet hold true to her roots and to who she is. It explores the personal and wider political challenges the protagonist must pit herself against, and is touching in its honesty. 
 
Matt Janny, reviewing in The Calvert Journal, has this to say about the poetry of the book as Knežević tries to capture the natural beauty of the coastal home she has left, but is always drawn back to:
“Always at the start of summer we pine for the pungent smell of home,” she writes. “We are called back by the selfish pergola whose heavy, cloying smell fills our nostrils while we shoo away thirsty wasps. And the grape vines, dry and anorexic, untended, left to the mercy of the elements, but with a fragrance so piercing, smelling of sugar on the verge of ferment.” Rarely do writers capture what is not there so convincingly, without resorting to saccharine hyperbole. Nostalgia is synonymous with forgetting, writes Milan Kundera. But here, the narrator remembers faithfully; nostalgia gives way to reality.
 
John Alvey, in his Modern Novel literary blog sums it up nicely in his concluding paragraph to his review of the book:
 
"This is not a they lived happily ever after novel, not least because they lived happily ever after all too often does not happen in the real world. Catherine struggles, she falls, she fails, she picks herself up, she carries on, for herself and those she loves, and, somehow, she does not get the perfect situation but makes an accommodation with those around her, keeps her head help up high and marches on. We can only wish her well."
 
I've included more information about the author below, and anyone interested in purchasing copies of the book could visit the Istros Books website or visit their local bookstore, many of which are re-opening today after a long hibernation....
 
 
Olja Knežević was born in Podgorica, Montenegro and presently resides in Zagreb, Croatia. She has worked as an interpreter, a journalist and an editor for news in English aboard the Radio Ship, an independent radio station located in the international waters of Adriatic Sea during the 1990s and the war in ex-Yugoslavia; a project manager's assistant for Danish Refugee Council in Montenegro; a professor of English Language and Literature, and a translator for poetry and prose. In 2008 she completed her M.A. in Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, and was the recipient of Overall Prize for best dissertation of 2007/2008. That dissertation was to become her first novel Milena & Other Social Reforms, initially written in English, then translated and published in 2011 in Montenegro. In 2009 her short story The Classroom was published in FREEDOM, the Amnesty International's anthology of short stories based on Human Rights Declaration. She is the author of about eighty stories and columns published in various literary magazines and supplements, the best of which were collected and published in 2013, in a book titled London & Stories of the South. Her other novels include Mrs Black (2015) and Catherine, The Great and the Small, which was the 2019 winner of the prestigious VBZ Literary Award for the best novel written in Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian or Bosnian language.
 
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A letter from Bojan Čičić

My name is Bojan Čičić and I am the leader of the Academy of Ancient Music, Professor of Baroque Violin at the Royal College of Music in London, and Founder and Director of the Illyria Consort. In March last year I returned the violin which I had been using for ten years, an instrument by F. Ruggieri from 1680, to its owner the Jumpstart Junior Foundation, having used it for the maximum number of years possible. Upon returning this violin, I went in search of an instrument of similar quality for the next stage of my career, and was lucky enough to find what I believe is the perfect instrument: a 1701 violin by G. Tononi, made in Bologna. 
 
Attached is a letter with further details about the violin from Tarisio auction house in London, who are selling this instrument. The asking price is £383,000. So far I have raised £125,000, and need to find a further £258,000. I have set up a trust for this purpose, shares in which are £5,000 each. I have twelve months remaining in which to find investors who are willing to buy shares in this instrument.
 
The market for fine instruments is a very safe one; the value of an old Italian violin such as this one has only ever increased over the years, and even in the current global crisis, prices are slowly rising. The violin by Ruggieri that I previously played, for example, was bought in 2008 for €200,000, but by 2019 it was valued at £320,000. I believe that the same sort of return could be expected from the Tononi violin. Given the current volatility of the markets, the safest place to invest money may well be in old instruments. 
 
I am confident that your trust in me as a performer, and in this violin, will be rewarded in the years to come with many recordings and performances, and I look forward very much to the time when we are all allowed back into concert halls again. 
 
Thank you for considering being part of the Bojan Cicic Violin Trust.
 
Bojan Čičić
 
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Helping Zagreb's Museums
 
During the week, 4 to 6 May, the International Trust for Croatian Monuments has delivered to five museums in Zagreb urgently needed Conservation material and archival boxes to the value of £1,150.00.
The museums are; the Archaeological Museum,  MUO, the Ethnographic, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the  August Senoa Museum.
 
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Croatian Audio-Visual Centre
A message from the Hrvatski audiovizualni centar with a computer generated translation below
 
HRVATSKI audiovizualni centar će, kao potporu društvenoj kampanji #ostanidoma, na posebnoj stranici koja će se redovito ažurirati objavljivati popis svih online mjesta koja nude, većinom besplatan, streaming filmova domaće i inozemne produkcije.
 
Radi izvanredne situacije u kojoj su zbog prevencije od širenja koronavirusa zatvorena sva kina, pojedine su platforme, produkcijske i distribucijske kuće odlučile podijeliti svoje filmove i tako olakšati i potaknuti ostanak ljudi u domovima.
 
Hrvatski filmski savez je pokrenuo online videoteku na kojoj se mogu gledati filmovi nastali u njegovoj produkciji - za sada je ponuđeno 17 kratkometražnih i dugometražnih filmova za besplatno gledanje.
 
Videoteci, koja se može pronaći na videoteka.hfs.hr, u sljedećem će se razdoblju dodavati novi naslovi.
 
HFS Videoteka
Na ovim stranicama možete pogledati izbor filmova iz produkcije Hrvatskog filmskog saveza.
 
The CROATIAN Audiovisual Center, in support of the #ostanidoma social campaign, will publish a list of all online sites offering mostly free, domestic and international movie streaming on a separate page that will be updated regularly.
 
Due to the emergency situation in which all cinemas have been closed due to the prevention of the spread of coronavirus, some platforms, production and distribution companies have decided to share their films, thus facilitating and encouraging people to stay in homes.
 
The Croatian Film Alliance has launched an online video library where films produced in its production can be viewed - so far, 17 short and feature films have been offered for free viewing.
 
The video library, which can be found at videoteka.hfs.hr, will add new titles in the next period.

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Ivana Gavric playing Mozart
 
A chance to hear Ivana Gavric playing Mozart, Cheryl Frances-Had and Beethoven.
 
Wednesday 15 April 2020, 20:00
Southbank Sinfonia Replay
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Earthquake and the consequences for the August Senoa Museum
 
Jadranka Lady Beresford- Peirse has contacted the Society about the recent earthquake and the consequences for the August Senoa Museum.
 
The museum has suffered considerable damage to its roof and to the murals. The International Trust for Croatian Monuments has appealed to all Croatians living in the UK to help the museum in this hour of need. 
 
Donation can be made
 
- by cheque to International Trust for Croatian Monuments, c/o Jadranka Lady Beresford-Peirse, 34 Cadogan Square, London, SW1X 0JL, 
 
- or directly to: 
Udruga Svi naši Šenoe  ulica Ive Mallina 27,10000 Zagreb                    
Račun u Zagrebačkoj banci IBAN: HR3423600001102552586SWIFT ZABAHR2X
 
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Message from HE The Croatian Ambassador to the British-Croatian Society
 
I look forward to the moment - hopefully not too far ahead in the future - when we'll be able to resume British-Croatian Society regular meetings and gatherings, which are missed by all of us at the Embassy. 
 
Our Embassy has now all but switched to the remote working mode, and we are primarily focused on providing consular assistance to our citizens in the UK, facilitating transfers from third countries through London and similar services. Our parallel key task in this period is to support the Croatian Government's response to both the recent earthquake in Zagreb and the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
As you know, the earthquake that hit Zagreb and its surroundings on 22 March was the most powerful one in the last 140 years. The extent of material damage - especially in the centre of Zagreb - is very substantial, much bigger than initially thought, with many buildings becoming virtually uninhabitable. The event on its own was catastrophic, but the fact that it happened in the midst of the Government's fight to contain COVID-19 made the entire situation significantly worse, including by exacerbating the spread of the virus and taking further toll on the economy that had already been heavily hit by the pandemic. 
 
In the aftermath of the earthquake, Croatia activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, as part of which several countries have already made donations in material equipment. Following the analysis of the damage, the Government has concluded that the financial assistance will be most needed going forward, and has opened a special bank account for donations. A parallel account has also been opened for the fight against COVID-19. Details of both are below. 
 
If anyone who makes a donation wishes to let us know about it, they are warmly welcome to do so, and we will make sure that it duly registers with our capital.
 

Dear friends, I remain grateful for your generous support, care and genuine interest in Croatia both in difficult and less difficult times, wish you all the best in this challenging period, and hope to see you as soon as the situation allows.

 
 

1. Together for Zagreb (for reconstruction efforts caused by earthquake)

Account number/IBAN: HR1210010051863000160
Croatian National Bank, Trg hrvatskih velikana 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
BANK (SWIFT) CODE: NBHRHR2XXXX
Beneficiary name and address: Republic of Croatia - Ministry of Finance, Katančićeva 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Reference: Together for Zagreb
(for domestic payment - poziv na broj odobrenja je HR68 5371 - OIB uplatitelja)

2. Croatia against coronavirus

Account number/IBAN: HR1210010051863000160
Croatian National Bank, Trg hrvatskih velikana 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
BANK (SWIFT) CODE: NBHRHR2XXXX
Beneficiary name and address: Republic of Croatia - Ministry of Finance, Katančićeva 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Reference: Support for Croatia's fight against COVID-19
(for domestic payment - poziv na broj odobrenja je HR68 5380 - OIB uplatitelja)

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Free Books for BCS Members

Celia Hawkesworth has given the following brand new books to the British-Croatian Society for passing on to our members. If you would like a copy, please email in response - they will be allocated on a 'first come, first served basis' and available for collection at British-Croatian Society events (or can be posted to you if you are not in the London area).

Dubravka Ugresic, Lend me your character               
Dasa Drndic, Leica Format                               
                      Belladonna                               
                      EEG                                 
                      Doppelgänger                        UK & US editions
Olja Savicevic, Adios, Cowboy                    US edition
 
Also a review copy of Slavenka Drakulic, Dora i Minotaur in Croatian.
 
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calendarCroatia
 
A selection of photographs submitted for the calendar and calendarCroatia itself can be viewed on our website www.britishcroatiansociety.com. Calendars are still available for purchase at £12 including p & p UK, £15 including p & p rest of the world. To order a copy, please email this address [email protected]
 
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The Modern Movement in Croatia, an illustrated talk in co-operation with the C20 Society by Dr Darja Radović Mahečić on November 26.
 
Literary Evening with Marina Sur Pulovski and Olja Knezevic December 4
 
If you plan to come to these events, please email us
 
For the architectural event at the embassy on November 26, places are much in demand as this is joint event with the C20 Society.
 
Europe House is now the venue for the literary evening on December 4 and we are required by Europe House to submit a list of attendees for this event.

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International Trust for Croatian Monuments Progress Report 2019

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Talk Given by Flora Turner

In search of art for Croatia Lecture BCS 12. 6. 2019.

You can view images here.

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Extreme Chocolate Makers
Extreme Chocolate Makers (part of the Kaštela and Zinfandel promotional event on January 30 this year at the Croatian Embassy) will be broadcast on May 3 at 5:30 pm on Channel 4.

Britanski Channel 4 na obilježavanju 110 godina turizma u Kaštelima u Veleposlanstvu RH u Londonu

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calendarCroatia 2020 

You are invited to submit photographs taken in Croatia for the 2020 calendarCroatia. In addition to the calendar and an online exhibition, this year three photographs will be selected for printing and framing to be hung in honour at the Croatian Embassy.
 
Photographs are invited from professionals and amateurs of any nationality. All photographers will receive an invitation to the launch party for the calendar at which a selection of images submitted will be shown and the three images to hang in the embassy unveiled. We are looking for photographs that show Croatia in all its variety, not only as a beautiful place for a holiday, in as high a resolution as possible. People, places, abstract - all subjects and techniques are welcome.
 
Each person can send up to 4 photographs with the photographer's name and the title of the photographs to us at [email protected]. Please let us have your photographs as soon as you can, but not later than October 10.
 
If you have any questions, you can also contact us at this address [email protected].
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United in music
A concert with Croatian and English women composers
 
St. James's Piccadilly on international women's day 8th March starting 7.30PM.
 
Diana Brekalo (Trio Solarek) are going to perform music by Lily Boulanger, Dora Pejacevic, Johanna Senfter, Rebecca Clarke and Germaine Tailleferre with introductions about their lives by Anna Bear.
 
Tickets are available here.
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Renata Pokupic at the Wigmore Hall

Sunday 17 March 2019 7:30PM
 
Renata Pokupić mezzo-soprano; La Serenissima; Adrian Chandler director
L’Amante Abbandonata: Italian Cantatas from the Settecento.
 
For more information, please go to: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
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Forecasting
 
On Tuesday 26 February The Place Theatre in Kings Cross will present a performance by Croatian performance artist Barbara Matijević.
 
Barbara studied dance with the choreographer and teacher Kilina Cremona in Zagreb, and worked with a number of Croatian choreographers (Irma Omerzo, Iva Nerina Gattin, Katja Simunic, cie TRAFIK).
 
Giuseppe Chico and Barbara Matijević
Forecasting
Part of a double bill with Lewys Holt
 
Croatian performance artist Barbara Matijević playfully manipulates a laptop showing YouTube videos which have been selected to meet the human size scale. The result is a dizzying hybrid experience, blurring the lines between the banality of everyday situations and new modes of narration.
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AMAC-UK

Has  pleasure in inviting you to the Annual Charity Concert in support of Awards for Croatian Young Scientists

Vitaly Pisarenko - Piano

Programme to be announced

Saturday 23th February 2019, 7.30 pm 

Followed by drinks and canapés

33 Frognal, London NW3 6YD

Courtesy of Tony and Gabrijela Suchy

Tickets £30

RSVP with cheques payable to AMAC UK send to:

Zrinka Mikelić Bottrill, 23 Independent Place, London E8 2HE or bank transfer to: AMAC UK, account 00443076 at Lloyds Bank, sort code 30-94-04, quoting your name as reference

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Hanoi to Zagreb, Two Ends of a Diplomatic Career

Tuesday, February 5, 18-00 for 18-30
Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN

Sir John Ramsden will talk about the stark contrast of a diplomatic career that started in Hanoi and ended as ambassador in Zagreb.

His photographs of North Vietnam have recently been published in a book entitled Hanoi after the War. This unique collection of black and white photographs reveal a world of hardship, poverty and endurance, but also an ancient culture still very much alive, with scenes of wistful beauty amidst the austerity.

Sir John's talk will provide an opportunity to see these wonderful images of Hanoi and to contrast that experience with working in Croatia..

After the talk we would be pleased of you would join us for a glass of wine.

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'Finding Nemon' at the Jewish Book Week
 
Aurelia Young will be taking part in an interview about her book 'Finding Nemon' at the Jewish Book Week, Kings Place, at 2pm on Sunday 3rd  March. Click here for more details.
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Doppelgänger, E.E.G. and Belladonna

Since some of us last met at Conway Hall, there’s been a flurry of coverage for Doppelgänger and E.E.G. But we are thrilled, first of all, to share news that some of you may not know: Belladonna won the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation at an award ceremony last Tuesday at the Warwick Arts Centre. Many congratulations to Celia!

The Financial Times ran a brilliant review of E.E.G. by Eileen Battersby: “Funny, angry, informed and intent on the truth, no voice is quite as beautiful as that of Daša Drndić”

Boyd Tonkin has written a profile of Daša and an excellent review of Belladonna in online culture mag The Arts Desk: You can read it here

And a review of  Doppelgänger on the Rough Ghosts blog here

Katharina wrote a piece about Dasa for Granta’s online feature, Editor’s Chair.

E.E.G was reviewed in the Daily Mail, and it’s not absolutely clear that the reviewer liked the book at all . . . If you like, you can read it here

We also expect a review in the Guardian and White Review, and more besides.

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Register for Croatian Subjects outside Croatia

Central State Office for Croats Abroad invites Croatian subjects to sign the Register for Croatian Subjects outside Croatia.This is a digital base and communication net.

Info letak Registar hrvatskih subjekata izvan Republike Hrvatske

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calendarCroatia 2019 
calendarCroatia 2019 can now be viewed on our website www.britishcroatiansociety.com.
 
A limited number of calendars are being printed. They are for sale at £8, or £10 including post and packing for addresses in the UK, and £12 including post and packing for addresses elsewhere. Calendars can be ordered by sending an email to [email protected]. Payment can be either
 
  • by bank transfer to The British Croatian Society, account 60566500 at Barclays Oxford City Centre branch, sort code 20-65-18, quoting your name as reference
  • or by cheque made payable to The British-Croatian Society sent to: Peter Elborn, Events Secretary, 5 Well Road, London NW3 1LH

calendarCroatia 2019 options


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Berislav Unveils the Eye-Popping Video to the First Part of his Catharsis Trilogy

Berislav is a Croatian dancer, actor, model and singer, whose output is utterly unique, with no greater evidence of this than his incredible video to his track I Gave My Life.

By the age of 9 he had developed a love for dancing and started attending Tihana Škrinjarić school of dance before a move to Austria saw his dancing talent develop yet further. At the age of 18 he returned to Zagreb where he began a modelling career and embarked on numerous projects with Croatian music artists as well as participating in theatrical productions such as Hair.

Determined to be the very best at everything he was involved with he moved briefly to Los Angeles to attend the Sanford Meisner acting school in 2012, leading to acting roles in TV series and a number of commercials. Having signed a record deal with Croatia Records in 2015, he enjoyed his first full forays into recorded music, his first single being “Singing that Rock n Roll”, a cover of a song previously recorded by Stijene and featuring what has now become something of a trademark lavish and theatrical video.

Bringing the story bang up to date, Berislav has forged a partnership with James Perri (aka Jimi Polo), the producer known for his work with David Guetta and Daft Punk, and the two of them started collaborating fully in 2017, the first fruits of which is “I Gave My Life”. The track is the first part of the trilogy, the beginning of a journey, the clash between life and death and also features in the documentary film, 14 Barriers about a Croatian War veteran. The accompanying video is a tour de force of action, emotion and, in the very truest sense of the word, fantastic visuals.

Berislav acts as an Art Director for Taja fashion brand since 2003 and is the owner of an exclusive Health Club.

www.berislav.eu

 welogo281013

www.quitegreat.co.uk

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Annual Dinner
This year our annual dinner will be held on Friday November 16 at the Savile Club in Mayfair (www.savileclub.co.uk).
 
Details and how to book will be sent later, but you may like to make a note of the date in your diary.
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calendarCroatia 2019

Now that the holiday season is coming to an end, it is time to remind you that we would like to see your photographs for the 2019 calendarCroatia and exhibition.

We invite you to submit photographs in preparation for the British-Croatian Society's next calendarCroatia.

The calendar will be printed and for sale in November. There will be a launch party to which all photographers will be invited.

We are looking for photographs that show Croatia in all its variety, not only as a beautiful place for a holiday. Photographs are invited from professionals and amateurs of any nationality, in as high a resolution as possible. People, places, abstract - all subjects and techniques are welcome.

Please note that if you want your photographs to the considered for the printed calendar, they will need to be landscape format photographs. For the exhibition, photographs can be landscape or portrait.

High quality photographs can be taken on a smart phone, so please tell your family and friends about calendarCroatia 2019.

You can send up to 4 of your photographs, with the photographer's name and the title of the photographs, to us at [email protected].

Let us have your photographs as soon as you can, but not later than October 20.

If you have any questions, you can also contact us at this address [email protected]


calendarCroatia 2017 options



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The International Trust for Croatian Monuments

You can see progress report for the International Trust for Croatian Monuments here.

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Yugoslavia's Lost Utopias

New York's MoMA has a magnificent exhibition entitled Yugoslavia's Lost Utopias covering the country's monumental postwar architecture. It has been reviewed in this weekend's Financial Times. You may not be able to travel to see it, but the Financial Times article and other reviews are available online.

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We wish you a happy summer and look forward to seeing you when our programme of events re-starts in September.
 
Our 2018/19 programme will start with HE Igor Pokaz, the Croatian Ambassador, talking about is first year in London.
 
In addition to the reception to mark the publication of our 2019 calendarCroatia in November, we already have lined up two book launches. And of course we will again host our traditional annual dinner in a prestige location.
 
In the meantime, if you are a football fan, have a look at our facebook event page.
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The life of Dasa Drndic
The life of Dasa Drndic will be celebrated in an event in the UK in the autumn. Her obituary in The Guardian can be found in the link here.
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Information about a production of Tena Stivicic's 3 Winters

"I am writing to you regarding our upcoming show " 3 Winters" which shares a story about a Croatian Family over hundred years  and how the situation of the country has influenced their lives. After these weeks of rehearsals we now know so much about this beautiful country and have been lucky to count ourselves Croatian even if its just for a month. 
 
We would like to invite Croatian people to our performances. 
 
Here is a link to our website.
 
All the best 
Parisa Shahvalian" 
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The update from "The Cells that Unite us: the Story of a Fortunate Immigrant"

British Croatian Society members had an amazing opportunity to attend talk by Dr Gabrijela Kocjan on 22 May 2018 at the Jubilee Room of House of Commons.

The aim of the talk was to raise awareness of the contribution that Croatian immigrants make to the UK and to confirm that immigration benefits not just the migrants themselves, but also the UK. 

Here are the links to text and the presentation from the talk.

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Prljavo Kazaliste in London
 
The famous Croatian group Prljavo Kazaliste will give a concert in London on 7th June at The Grand Theatre, Clapham. Information and a competition have been announced on facebook.
 
VIP TICKETS with PROMO CODE - BCS Members only
 
The British Croatian Society has arranged for its members only a PromoCode which gives £4 off VIP tickets (instead of £65 you will pay £61 for your VIP ticket)  - Link for tickets.
 
To get £4 off with PromoCode you have to be a British-Croatian Society member. If you wish to take advantage of the discount, please reply to [email protected] and the code will be sent to you.
 
If you are not a member and would like to become one, please go to our website and complete the membership process - it is easy and inexpensive, and helps us bring Croatia and the UK closer together.
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LJERKA NJERŠ Exhibition

Embassy of the Republic of Croatia cordially invites you to a Private View of the exhibition of recent artwork by the Croatian artist

LJERKA NJERŠ

on Tuesday 24th April 2018 from 6.30 to 8.30pm at the Croatian Embassy Art Gallery 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN.

Open to the public until 3rd May 2018 Monday to Friday 10 am to 4pm except Tuesday 1st May when the Embassy is closed RSVP acceptances only to: [email protected]

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Weʼre raising £12,800 to help Bojan Cicic record Jarnovic violin concertos with Delphian Records

I am writing to you to tell you about my current endevour. I am planning to record three violin concertos by the 18th century composer Ivan Mane Jarnovic or Giovanni Giornovich, as he was also known. He was probably a Sicilian, but his family name comes from Croatian. The recording with take place 20-22 June this year in Oxford.
 
Outside Croatia, where his music can sometimes be heard, he is almost completely unknown, which seems very strange for someone who was so famous, as he was, in the 18th century. Our recording aims to address this injustice.
 
All of the three Concertos we will record were published in London during Jarnovic’s period spent in England in the early 1790’s. This was around the same time when Joseph Haydn spent few years of his life in London. Some of the Concertos haven’t been published in the modern edition since 1790’s and only be found at the British Library in London. I am planning to go there, make copies of the microfilms and make the first modern edition of these Concertos.
 
I have set up a crowdfunding page on Justgiving website and wondered if you could spread the word with the good people from the British-Croatian Society, or indeed anyone else wishing to support our recording.
 
More information on how to donate can be found here.
 
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Croatian Supplementary School in London
 
I am writing to you on behalf of Croatian Supplementary School (for children aged 5 to 14) in London. For the last 20 years we have been extremely lucky to be able to use rooms at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in London's Conway Street for our weekly lessons.
 
However due to restructuring of the rooms at the Embassy and the imminent building work, we are looking for a new home from September and we are hoping that you might be able to help.
 
We are looking to hire two rooms (classrooms), in a community centre, school or a similar venue on Saturday mornings (term time only). Our classes run from 10.30 to 12.30 so we would need the venue for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours each Saturday. We need rooms with desks and chairs (suitable for children) and a whiteboard/ blackboard. We would also need some storage space to store all our books and materials.
 
We are currently based near Warren Street in north-west London and we would ideally like to stay within reasonable distance as it is convenient for all of our teacher and students to get to.
 
If you know of any place that might be suitable would you please let us know.
 
Many thanks for your help,
 
Ivana Capps
 
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Olja Savičević
Farewell, Cowboy

WHSmith Travel have selected Farewell, Cowboy by Olja Savičević as part of their Fresh Talent 2018 promotion, so readers in the UK—or visitors passing through airports and railway stations—have a special opportunity to discover this lively, affecting contemporary Croatian novel.

Some of you may remember Olja from the book launch at the embassy in 2015. Please do consider buying this new edition for yourself or as a present for English friends who may not have read a Croatian writer before.

In her debut novel, Savičević playfully transposes the genre of a traditional Western drama onto the contemporary world, challenging the omnipotent heroes of childhood and questioning what constitutes heroism today. Her steamy seaside hometown of Split provides the perfect backdrop for this tale of loss and redemption, redolent of transient glamour and unrealised small-town dreams.


Savičević’s prose, which is always relaxed and descriptive, and sustained with conversational ease, becomes increasingly beautiful in moments of high drama....The humour and sheer anarchy of the action combined with the comic exasperation, unforgettable characters and Dada’s wry acceptance of the way life happens to be, make this subversively appealing novel all the more profound; even, unexpectedly, beautiful.

Eileen Battersby, The Irish Times


Dazzling, funny and deadly serious, this perfectly pitched novel about the legacy of the Yugoslav war heralds the arrival of an exciting new European voice.....Savičević has a rare ability to speak of the deadly serious with a hedonistic lightness that lures you into a spirit of abandon, only to go on to deliver breathtaking blows of insight.

Kapka Kassabova, The Guardian

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Renata Pokupic
 
An exceptional musical event dedicated to some of the most popular works of Mozart is scheduled for London's Cadogan Hall on 29 March 2018 at 19:30 featuring the celebrated Croatian mezzo-soprano Renata Pokupić.
 
Further details on the Cadogan Hall website.
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A lecture by Dr. sc. Radoslav Bužančić 
Head of the Conservation Department in Split, Croatia  
 
We need to have a list of those attending this event so please email your name(s) if you are planning to come.
 
BLACA HERMITAGE REINVENTED
 
Centuries ago, refugee Glagolitic monks found a safe haven in a cave in the rugged landscape of Brač Island's southern hillsides. From this humble start, their monastery grew and thrived over several centuries. In the mid 20th century, it took on a new identity as an eco-museum. The story of the Monastery is full of surprises. The plans for its reincarnation as an eco-museum make full use of the Monastery's fascinating past.
 
Wednesday 21 March, 18-30 for 19-00
Croatian Embassy
21 Conway Street
London W1T 6BN
 
Refreshments will be served
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Kathy Wilkes Memorial Conference and Dinner
 

This two day conference, dinner and concerts that will take place at St Hilda's College in Oxford on April 16 & 17.

Details can be found here and booking link here.
 
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The Ham and High newspaper wrote an article about Nemon's statue of Freud which is due to be unveiled in Vienna on June 4th.

 
You may be interested to know that Peter Frankopan will be giving a talk at the Travel & Destinations show at Olympia at 4pm, 2nd February.
 
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General Meeting

You are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the British-Croiatian Society to be held at 18-30 on January 24 in the Croatian Embassy 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN.

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Ivana Gavric at Wigmore Hall
 
Pianist Ivana Gavric will be returning to the Wigmore Hall on Thursday 28 December as part of their London Pianoforte Series. She will be playing a programme of Haydn, Chopin, Grieg and Schumann. For more information and tickets please visit wigmore-hall.org.uk
 
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Cambridge Society of Croatia

I run the Cambridge Society of Croatia.  We are currently updating our records for all alumni of the University who either are Croatian or live in Croatia or (even) have an interest in Croatia.   

We have just started a facebook page which can be found here.

Nicholas Frankopan

[email protected]

07818892524
0207 193 8901

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calendarCroatia 2018
 
 
We have now published calendarCroatia 2018  from photographs from our members and friends. The calendar contains 25 beautiful photographs taken in Croatia.
 
To purchase a copy of the calendar, please email [email protected] with your postal address. The calendar will provide year-long pleasure and will make an excellent Christmas gift. The price is £15 for posting to UK addresses and £20 to the rest of the world.
 
We have also taken one of the photographs to make a Christmas card that is also available for purchase. The price is £10 for 8 cards including post and packing to UK addresses, £12 for the rest of the world.
 
Payment can be made by
  • sending a cheque to Peter Elborn, British-Croatian Society,
    5 Well Road, London NW3 1LH
  • by bank transfer to The British Croatian Society, account 60566500 at Barclays Oxford City Centre branch, sort code 20-65-18, quoting your name as reference.
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Help us find the missing Bukovac

Please see the attached newspaper item 'Help us find the missing Bukovac'.

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“LOUDEST SILENT FILM” TO HOLD UK PREMIERE IN HULL

A very special event will take place in Hull on 9th November with a band made up of Croatian musicians Damir Martinović “Mrle” (frontman of Croatian rock pioneers Let 3) and Ivanka Mazurkijević.

The event will be a live score of a silent film. The attached the press release has further details.

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Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival in London has four new Croatian independent films screening at the Festival this year (20 September-1 October 2017).
 
The Festival is happy to offer the British-Croatian Society the discount code CROATIA17 which offers £3 off every ticket.
 
See all the films here.
 
Here's some more information on the four films:
 
Transmania
One film made by 15 directors, Each one, after seeing the last minute of the previous one.
 
The Constitution
The story follows four people who live in the same building, but avoid each other because of the differences in their assets, sexual habits, nationality and religion.
 
The Liberation of Skopje
The horrors and suffering of the Second World War are portrayed in bittersweet terms through the eyes of 11-year-old Zoran, whose father has joined the partisans to fight the German occupiers, and whose mother becomes involved with a German officer.
 
Voevoda
A mother, forced to abandon her child and home, leads a rebellious band and inflicts her own justice in the brutal men's world of 19th century.
 
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The International Trust for Croatian Monuments 
Progress Report

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A reminder of the British-Croatian Society's calendarCroatia 2018

We invite you to send us photographs taken in 20017 in Croatia for a Christmas / New Year card, an exhibition and for a 2018 calendar.

25 photographs will be selected to feature in the calendar. One photograph will be selected for the Christmas / New Year card. In addition we will feature some 40 photographs in an exhibition to be held at the gallery of the Croatian Embassy in London on November 30.  Calendars and cards will be available for purchase at the British-Croatian Society's annual dinner on November 23, at the exhibition opening and online.

We are looking for photographs that show Croatia in all its variety, not only as a scenically beautiful place for a holiday. Photographs are invited from professionals and amateurs of any nationality, in as high a resolution as possible. People, places, abstract - all subjects and techniques are welcome.   High quality photographs can be taken on a smart phone, so please tell your family and friends about calendarCroatia 2018.

Please send up to 4 of your photographs with the photographer's name and the title of the photographs to us at [email protected].

Let us have your photographs as soon as you can, but not later than October 20.
If you have any questions, you can also contact us at this address.
Here is the information for the latest THIRTEEN photographic exhibition. 

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News from the Nemon Studio, Boars Hill near Oxford

The Nemon studio and archive (www.oscarnemon.org.uk) will be open from 3 to 5.30 on Saturday 16 September. Alice Nemon-Stuart will be talking about the displays and explaining how Nemon worked as a sculptor in the studio recreation. Tea and chocolate cake will be served and it will be possible to buy hand cast Nemon busts of Freud and Churchill from £30. Entry is free.
 
Friday 29 the studio will be open from 10.30am to 12 noon for Friday Sculpture and Music which will be a monthly event. Pianist  Emma Holloway will be playing in the archive between 11 and 11.30. Refreshments will be served and entry is free.
 
Here is a link to a report  by Dalibor Prancevic, a Croatian Art Historian who visited the studio in May.
 
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Vivian Grisogono, a long standing supporter of the British-Croatian Society, has sent in the following request.

If you can help, please email her on [email protected].

Filip Šimenc is the grandson of my first cousin, Jozefina Dubravčić. He 
would like to find some kind of work in London, to extend his 
experience, and would welcome anything, with first choice being in the 
legal field of course.

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MEETING G2.3

Attached is an invitation letter (Croatian and English version) for the conference ‘MEETING G2.3 – CROATIA, FULL OF BUSINESS POTENTIAL’ that will take place on 6 - 8 November this year in Zagreb at the FORUM Zagreb congress centre.

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Lit Link Festival

The Lit Link Festival in Croatia is a three-day tour whose participants are writers, editors and publishers. This year the motto of the Lit Link Festival is “Despite Brexit” and the guests are British writers, editors and publishers. At previous festivals, guests have come from the following countries: 2013 – USA; 2014 – Canada; 2015 – France; 2016 – Italy. The festival consists of three evening readings in which both Croatian authors and British authors participate. Translations are completed beforehand and will be projected onto a large screen during the readings. The readings will take place in the northern coastal cities of Pula (29th June, Centar Rojc) and Rijeka (30th June, Astronomski centar), as well as the inland capital, Zagreb (1st July, Club Močvara/Mochvara).

Pula programme:
29th June 2017, Thursday / 21:00 h – 23:30 h

"Dnevni boravak" in Rojc Centre; Gajeva street 3;
Free entry

Author's readings:
Joanna Kavenna, Zeljka Horvat Cec (Željka Horvat Čeč), David Szalay, Boris Greiner, Samantha Harvey, Katarina Luketic (Luketić), Gary Budden, Natalija Grgorinic (Grgorinić) and Ognjen Raden (Rađen)

Present editors:
Anna Kelly (4th Estate/HarperCollins), Rosie Goldsmith (European Literature Network), Mitchell Albert (Periscope), Gary Budden (Influx Press), Nathan Connolly (Dead Ink Books)

Rijeka programme:
30th June 2017, Friday / 21:00 h – 23:30 h

Planetarium in Astronomski centar Rijeka; Sveti Križ street 33;
Free entry

Author's readings:
Samantha Harvey, Igor Rajki, Joanna Kavenna, Zelimir Peris (Želimir Periš), Enver Krivac, David Szalay, Tea Tulic (Tulić), Gary Budden

Present editors:
Rosie Goldsmith (European Literature Network), Anna Kelly (4th Estate/HarperCollins), Mitchell Albert (Periscope), Gary Budden (Influx Press), Nathan Connolly (Dead Ink Books) 

Zagreb programme:
1st July 2017, Suturday / 18:30 h – 22:00 h

KLUB MOČVARA; address: Trnjanski nasip bb;
Free entry

Author's readings:
Maja Rucevic (Ručević), Gary Budden, Ivan Vidak, Samantha Harvey, Zoran Feric (Ferić), Barbara Matejcic (Matejčić), Joanna Kavenna, Andrea Pisac, David Howard (special guest, New Zeland), Damir Karakas (Karakaš), David Szalay

Present editors:
Anna Kelly (4th Estate/HarperCollins), Rosie Goldsmith (European Literature Network), Nathan Connolly (Dead Ink Books), Gary Budden (Influx Press), Mitchell Albert (Periscope)

***

The hosts of the festival are the Artistic Director of the festival Robert Perisic (Perišić), a writer whose works have been translated in England and the U.S., and the festival's coordinator, Ivan Srsen (Sršen), a writer, independent publisher and editor. The producer of the festival is the Croatian Writers Society.

The host on the stage will be Marko Pogacar (Pogačar), a writer and editor.

The Lit Link Festival plays out without a superfluous protocol, and in nice, informal spaces: "Dnevni boravak" in the Center Rojc in Pula, the Astronomski centar in Rijeka, and the club Močvara in Zagreb.

Some of the guests from festivals in previous years include: American authors Heidi Julavits, Adam Mansbach, Tao Lin, Buzz Poole, Canadian authors Miriam Toews, Sheila Heti, Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, Kathryn Borel, French authors Dominique Fabre, Armand Gauz, Albena Dimitrova, David Fauquemberg, Italian authors Flavio Soriga, Francesca Borri, Adrian Bravi, Paola Soriga, Spanish voice performer Ernesto Estrella, and a number of authors and publishers: Richard Nash, John O’Brien, Anne Meadows, Zeljka Marosevic, Andi Winnette, Michael Stein, Dominique Bordes, Emmanuelle Collas, Marion Duvert, Evelyne Lagrange, Benoît Virot, Oliviero Toscani, Miriam Capaldo etc...

See more here http://www.kriticnamasa.c om/index_en.php 

http://www.hrvatskodrustvopisa ca.hr/en/About-us/about-us-4

https://www.facebook.com/litli nk/

http://www.culturenet.hr/defau lt.aspx?id=77061

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Conservation Project in St Nnicholas church, known as Munster, Komiza, Vis

This is a conservation project led by Jurica Matijevic, Art Academy, Split, nine devoted young people, doing excellent work. We hope that the workshop will develop into an international project, like the one on Lopud.

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An update before the summer holidays
 
Before you go away we hope to see you at our final pre-summer event on July 6 when Peter Sanfey will answer the question "does South East Europe have a prosperous future?"
 
And please remember that again we would like your photographs for our calendarCroatia exhibition that will include, for the first time this year, a British-Croatian Society Christmas / New Year greetings card (details attached).
 
Our programme for September - December is already shaping up and the following are confirmed (full detail will follow later):
 
September 28 - Bojan Cicic, the renowned Croatian violinist, will be in conversation with Dr Bojan Bujic and will play for us
 
October 3 - James Gillespie will talk about Olga Watkins and her extraordinary life
 
November 23 - our annual dinner will feature Peter Frankopan as the guest speaker
 
November 30 - the calendarCroatia exhibition will open
 
A number of other events are being finalised, including this year's Chris Cviic Memorial Lecture that will be given by Professor Vlatka Hlupic.
 
If you are not a member and would l like to join, please go to our website www.britishcroatiansociety.com . It is not expensive to join and your contribution will help us to continue to provide a lively programme.
 
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Does South East Europe have a prosperous future?

 
A talk and discussion led by Peter Sanfey, EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)
 
July 6, 18-00 for 18-30
 
Croatian Embassy
21 Conway Street
London W1T 6BN
 
Refreshments will be served
 
Peter Sanfey gave the inaugural Chris Cvicc Memorial lecture, an update on the book he co-authored with Chris Cviic entitled Remaking the Balkans. 
 
On this occasion he will look at Croatia and neighbouring countries and, with his considerable experience of the region, try to answer the question he has set as the title of his talk.
 
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ArchaeoLink
ArchaeoLink is a non-profit organisation founded in the Division of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge.
 
Our purpose is to liaise with the communities in which archaeologists work - enabling knowledge exchange and to assist those communities to obtain educational, societal and economic benefits from their archaeology and cultural heritage.
 
Commissioned by the EU funded, Mend the Gap, project, we have, over the last 14 months, been facilitating the community of Vela Luka, Korčula, to obtain educational and economic benefits from their magnificent site of Vela Spila. You can see some of what we have been doing here.
 
With our assistance, some of the residents have created leisure work-shops to encourage the off-season visitor. See them here.
 
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Music Technology Workshop at the International Summer Music School Pucisca

One of our members, Nela Brown, is passionate about teaching music and coding and this summer she will be teaching the first ever Music Technology Workshop at the International Summer Music School Pucisca, which is taking place in Bol, on the Island of Brac (opposite Split) in Croatia from 21-31 August 2017.

The workshop will be delivered in English and Croatian and will be suitable for teenagers (15 years +) as well as adults.

No prior knowledge of music or programming is required, just laptop (PC or Mac), a pair of headphones (big ones are better than small ones!), and a USB key (so you can copy/ paste files quickly in case of a summer storm/ wifi outage.

The cost of the whole workshop is €290 (so super affordable, but does not include travel, accommodation or a visa if you need one for Croatia).

You can reserve your place by following this link.

Deadline for reservation is 30 June 2017.

More info about travel, accommodation etc. can be found here.

Workshop schedule will also be posted there soon!

If you have any questions please contact Nela directly on: [email protected]

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Night Fishing in Ugljan
 
An exhibition of paintings by Danny Israel
June 9 - 22
Highgate Gallery at the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institute
 
For further information, please go to hlsi.net
 
Night fishing in Ugljan came about after a visit by painter, writer and choreographer Danny Israel to this Croatian Island in 2014. “At night the fishermen illuminate the depths with powerful lights, to attract the fish to the surface. You never know what you are going to find….”
 
These paintings replicate the process with acrylic paint, and with sand and gravel for surface texture.
 
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BREXIT

An informal talk between Ambassador Grdešić and the Croatian Diaspora living in the UK regarding Brexit that will take place on the 9th June, at 6pm, at the Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street, London, W1T 6BN.
 

Below is the Croatian version of the invitation:Veleposlanik Grdešić moli da prema  mogućnostima,  a putem svojih kontakata, hrvatskim državljanima u Ujedinjenoj Kraljevini Velike Britanije i Sjeverne Irske dostavite informaciju o pozivu veleposlanika Grdešića za razgovor s dijasporom oko Brexita, a koji bi se održao u petak, 9. lipnja u 18 sati, u Veleposlanstvu RH u Londonu,  21 Conway Street, London, W1T 6BN.

Veleposlanik poziva na razgovor o mogućim posljedicama Brexita na status hrvatskih državljana koji žive i rade u Ujedinjenoj Kraljevini Velike Britanije i Sjeverne Irske.

Svrha je razgovora upoznati se s mogućim problemima, najčešćim pitanjima i očekivanjima hrvatskih građana, kako bi Veleposlanstvo po navedenom moglo upoznati Vladu R. Hrvatske i Predstavništvo EU u Londonu pred skoro očekivani početak pregovora o britanskom napuštanju Europske Unije.

Želja veleposlanika je da u neformalnom i slobodnom razgovoru čuje mišljenja i moguće prijedloge hrvatskih državljana, a s ciljem što kvalitetnije pripreme  hrvatskih stajališta na predstojećim  pregovorima.

Molimo da zainteresirani svoj dolazak jave [email protected]>.

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Croatian President
On 27 July 2017 the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia shall open its doors to the Croatian diaspora and the Croatian minority communities from all over the world.
 
This Saturday was chosen in hope that many diaspora members shall be visiting Croatia during the summer, or participating in conferences, festivals and sports events that have been scheduled for that period.
 
The President of the Republic of Croatia, Mrs Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has chosen this way to pay tribute to the important role played by the Croatian diaspora with its continuous help and support.
 
The President recognises the role and the significance of the Croatian communities abroad whose members are the real ambassadors of our country through their tireless promotion of their homeland, and their tireless support of Croatian culture and traditions throughout the world.
 
Strengthening and development of ties between Croatian communities at home and abroad is important for economic as well as general development of Croatia.
 
We would be grateful if you could notify  your contacts through your regular channels as soon as possible so that interested individuals would have the sufficient time to plan their participation at this event.
 
The detailed programme shall  be published on web page of the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia (www.predsjednica.hr)  at a later date together with the information about the registration process and deadline.
 
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The design of biology and robotics - Mirko Kovac

discussion at the Royal Institution of the increasingly connected fields of science and design. This event will feature Daisy Ginsberg's multi-disciplinary work in synthetic biology and a talk from Mirko Kovac about how nature is influencing the design of aerial robots. 

May 10, 7.00pm to 9.30pm

For more information, please go to: www.rigb.org

Mirko Kovac is director of the Aerial Robotics Laboratory at the Aeronautics Department at Imperial College London. His research interest is the conception and implementation of novel mobility solutions for robotics and agent based autonomous manufacturing. Before his appointment in London, he was post-doctoral researcher at at Harvard University and he obtained his PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He has delivered keynote lectures and talks on bio-inspired robotics at leading research institutions and conferences world wide. He is also advisor to the UK government on the topic of aerial robotics and is regularly consulting on technology foresight and strategy development for industry. 

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Video of four ambassadors to Croatia regarding the WW1 Vimy battle
This video of four ambassadors  to Croatia regarding the WW1 Vimy battle can be seen by going to the link below. The stone for the memorial mentioned came from Croatia
 
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British-Croatian Society Summer Reception
to say farewell to the Croatian Ambassador, Dr Ivan Grdesic, and Mrs Grdesic as their time in London draws to a close.
 
June 12, 18:00hr
Atheneum Club
107 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5ER
 
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Ambassador Andrew Dalgleish on Brexit and rights of UK citizens in Croatia

https://youtu.be/585WBofEktY

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The Adriatic Kitchen
A new book - The Adriatic Kitchen - features over 70 recipes inspired by the Croatian island of Korcula. The author is Barbara Unkovic, who is of Croatian & British decent. The idea is to introduce others to the wonderful cuisine of Croatia, with an emphasis on seasonality and the island of Korcula in particular.
 
Here is the link to the book.
 
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A message from the Croatian Embassy for Croats living in the UK
 

Poštovani,

U privitku vam dostavljamo poziv Vlade Republike Hrvatske kojim se pozivate da dostavite prijedlog člana za Savjet Vlade Republike Hrvatske za Hrvate izvan Republike Hrvatske te dopis Veleposlanstva Republike Hrvatske u Ujedinjenoj Kraljevini Velike Britanije i Sjeverne Irske u kojem se predlaže produženje mandata gospođi Miri  Malović Yeeles, koja je voljna i dalje biti član Savjeta, odnosno da ju se ponovno predloži za člana Savjeta za Hrvate izvan Republike Hrvatske u Ujedinjenoj Kraljevini Velike Britanije i Sjeverne Irske.

S poštovanjem,
Kristina Juričić

Poziv

Kristina Juričić
Embassy of the Republic of Croatia to the UK
21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN

Office: +44 (0)20 7121 5912
Email: kristina.juricic@mvep. hr
Twitter: @CROinUK
Facebook: Croatian Embassy in London

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International Summer Music School Pucisca

More information here.

International Summer Music School Pucisca taking place on the Island of Brac.

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Annual Dinner
 
Please note Thursday November 23 as the date for the next British-Croatian Society annual dinner.
 
We are pleased to announce that, following the great success of his Chris Cviic Memorial Lecture, the guest speaker will be Peter Frankopan.
 
Details of the annual dinner and how to book places will be available later.
 
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International conservation workshop on the island of Lopud.
Please see attached article.

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Robin Harris Talk
Robin Harris is giving a talk in English entitled  'Stepinac - His Life and Times' at the Croatian Church this Sunday. He has written a well received book on the subject.
 
Archbishop Stepinac is a hugely important figure in Croatia, and the talk will no doubt straddle politics, history and religion. 5pm on Sunday 19 March at The Sacred Heart Church, 112 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2EF.
 
 
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Vuk Eisen, an active member of the British-Croatian Society, died last year. Below is the text of the address Tim Eisen gave at his father's memorial service.

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Hrvatska matica iseljenika

Hrvatska matica iseljenika i ove godine organizira svoje tradicionalne ljetne programe koji podrazumijevaju ucenje hrvatskoga jezika i kulture: Sveucilisnu skolu hrvatskoga jezika i kulture i Malu skolu hrvatskoga jezika i kulture. Također, u proljetnome semestru (6. ozujka 2017.) nastavljamo s provođenjem Hrvatskog internetskog tecaja HiT-1.

U privitku Vam saljemo kratke obavijesti.

Molimo Vas da ovu informaciju proslijedite svima za koje smatrate da bi bili zainteresirani. Detaljne informacije o ovim programima, kao i o ostalim programima i aktivnostima Hrvatske matice iseljenika, nalaze se na nasoj mreznoj stranici www.matis.hr.

Zahvaljujuci na suradnji, srdacno pozdravljam.

Lada Kanajet Šimić, prof.

HRVATSKA MATICA ISELJENIKA
Odjel za školstvo, znanost i šport
Dept. of Education, Science and Sport
Trg S. Radića 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

tel: 385 1 61 15 116, fax: 385 1 61 11 522
e-mail: [email protected]

The fourth Croatian World Games are to be held in the Croatian capital Zagreb from 18-22 July 2017 with a global participation of more than 800 Croats from over 35 nations. Croatian World Games are amateur competitions where participants are Croats and their descendants throughout the world representing the country that they live in now.

Croatian World Games previously held in Zadar in 2006 and 2010 and in Zagreb in 2014, are organised by the Croatian World Congress and the State Office For Croats Abroad, in association with other Croatian institutions and associations in Croatia and among the Croatian diasporas.

All Croats wherever they may be are invited to participate in the Croatian World Games which include multiple sports disciplines; athletics, bowls, judo, karate, basketball, football, indoor soccer, volleyball, beach volleyball, swimming, rugby, handball, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo and water polo.

Our wish is for a great number of participants, as well as representatives of the Croatian organisations worldwide, to take the opportunity to compete in sports, and to share companionship and participate in numerous cultural and entertainment events that will contribute towards strengthening of their ties with the Republic of Croatia and enhancing of their sense of belonging to the Croatian people.

If you wish to take part in the upcoming Croatian World Games please visit the following link to register by 1 April 2017.

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Nostalgic Journey with Frano Lasić and klapa Smrika

A humanitarian concert for the homeless children of Dubrovnik and Belgrade will take place at the Cadogan Hall in London on April 2 - details in the attachment or from Cadogan Hall.

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Take part in online survey about knowledge of the Croatian language in the population of Croatian Diaspora in the EU
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Annual General Meeting

Please hold in your diaries:

Tuesday 21 February 2017 1830 – 2030
for the Annual General Meeting of the British Croatian Society.

The Agenda for the meeting will follow.
Robert Dolata
Secretary

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NIMBUS CD recording of NICHOLAS JACKSON’S OPERA THE ROSE AND THE RING 

British-Croatian Society Patron Sir Nicholas Jackson has sent information about the recording of his opera:

NIMBUS ALLIANCE have just pre-released their CD recording of my Opera ‘The Rose & the Ring’ at the reduced price of £10 (full price £15) for members of the Drapers’ Company and our friends.

I am therefore circulating this ‘Link’ to friends who might be interested in acquiring a copy with the understanding that there is absolutely no obligation to do so.

With all best wishes for 2017 from Nicholas & Nadia

Here is a link for ‘The Rose & the Ring’ new release.

The £10 offer for friends of Nicholas Jackson and The Drapers’ Company is established and Nimbus are able to fulfil orders immediately.

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‘Bijelo Dugme’ concert

There will be a ‘Bijelo Dugme’ concert at Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in Feb 23rd 

http://www.eventimd

 
Bijelo Dugme Eventim Apollo LONDON tickets on sale now. Buy official Bijelo Dugme tickets for the Eventim Apollo show on Eventim.
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School of Croatian Language and Culture ‘Šibenik’

Information about the School of Croatian Language and Culture ‘Šibenik’, intended for the Croatian diaspora and Croatian students, is in the attachment, or can be viewed on the website www.sv-lovre.com.

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Talk about 'Cultural heritage in the area between Split and Trogir'

(For children aged 3 - 7)

A musical rendition of this charming story of how Hedgemond defends his humble house, while teaching us a lesson about caring for what we love.
Presented by Istros books and the children of the Croatian Saturday School, London.

William Goodenough House
35-42 Mecklenburgh Square, London WC1N 2AN
October 23, 12 noon & 2pm, Tickets: £3
BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE
Telephone: 020 3108 1000 Mon - Fri, 12noon - 6pm

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The Art Newspaper

Croatian heritage has a friend in Britain

Over the past 25 years, the International Trust for Croatian Monuments has raised more than £500,000 to repair the ravages of war.

Read more here.

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Lunchtime Lecture: Ivan Meštrović, Croatian Sculptor and his portraits

Flora Turner-Vucetic looks at the art and life of Ivan Mestrovic (1883 – 1962), Croatian sculptor, painter, draughtsman, architect, writer and poet through a discussion of his portraits. In partnership with the Society of Portrait Sculptors.

17 November 2016, 13:15
Ondaatje Wing Theatre, National Portrait Gallery
Tickets: £3 (£2 concessions and Gallery Supporters) Book online, or visit the Gallery in person.
Doors open at 12.45. Lectures begin at 13.15 and last approximately one hour.

Ivan Meštrović (1883 – 1962) from an early age gained a significant international artistic reputation exhibiting at major exhibitions in Vienna, Paris, Prague, Rome, London, Zagreb and New York in the first decades of the twentieth century. His one man show in 1915 at the Victoria and Albert Museum was a sensational event received by public and critics with great acclaim. He also inspired a discussion between the modernists and traditionalists and even raising doubts in some quarters about the effect of his nudes on public morals. He became a celebrity with much demand for his portrait sculpture. One of the early acquisitions by what eventually became known as the Tate Gallery was a very important “Deposition from the Cross”. Michael Sadler, Rector of theLeeds School of Art, wrote in 1915: “In you, we salute the greatest sculptor of religious sculpture since the Renaissance”. Meštrović donated his self-portrait in plaster for the collection. Flora Turner-Vučetić revives the memory of the art and life of this exceptional artist through a discussion of his portraits which were in many cases an expression of his respect and admiration for his subjects.

Flora Turner-Vučetić is an art historian, museum curator, diplomat, journalist and writer. She has worked as a Senior Curator in the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, a broadcast journalist and editor at the Croatian Section of the BBC World Service, London, and as Counsellor for cultural, scientific and educational affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in London. She was one of the founders and a past Chairman of the British-Croatian Society and remains a Trustee. She is presently a writer, freelance journalist and researcher. She has organised numerous exhibitions in the UK and regularly publishes mainly on visual arts and British Croatian artistic and cultural relations, as for example Mapping Croatia in United Kingdom Collections, Archaeopress, Oxford, 2013. She contributed to the symposium about Ivan Meštrović at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2015 and to the special isssue of the Sculpture Journal dedicated to Meštrović in 2016.

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A defining moment in European and transatlantic resilience: Croatian perspectives

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the President of the Republic of Croatia, will speak at LSEE on Tuesday, 11 October. The talk is entitled: "A defining moment in European and transatlantic resilience: Croatian perspectives". The event is free and open to all but registration is required. Register for the event here.

Our mailing address is:
London School of Economics
Houghton Street, London, London WC2A 2AE

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LSEE Visiting Speaker Programme, Wednesday 12 October

Croatia's Lost Generation? Youth unemployment, education and training in Croatia since the crisis

Spaker: Dr Iva Tomić, Institute of Economics, Zagreb
Chaired by Dr Vassilis Monastiriotis, LSEE Research on SEE, LSE European Institute

Dr Iva Tomić holds a tenure-track affiliation as a Research Associate at the Institute of Economics, Zagreb in Croatia. She was awarded a PhD degree in Economics from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2013. Her main research interests are labour economics, applied microeconomics and public finances. During her visit at LSEE she will be working on youth unemployment issues in European countries, with a special emphasis on the Croatian case and its cross comparison with other Southern European countries.

Read more about the event here.

Date: Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Time: 18:00 - 19:30
Venue: Canada Blanch room, 1st floor, Cowdray House (COW), London School of Economics, London WC2A 2AE (LSE Campus Map)
The event operates on a first come, first served basis.

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All the Best - Croatian romantic comedy

Attached you will find a press release about the UK premiere of a Croatian romantic comedy "All the Best” directed by Snjezana Tribuson to be screened at the forthcoming Raindance Film Festival in London.

Photos and press release.

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London Film Festival
Croatian films at the London Film Festival and Raindance

On the Other Side - S one strane
A middle-aged nurse in Zagreb receives an unwelcome phone call in this profound analysis unspoken fears and disguised trauma. Vesna is a middle aged nurse living in Zagreb with two grown up children – her son Vladimir, a married businessman with one son, and her daughter Jadranka, a law graduate who is about to be married. One day, Vesna receives a phone call from her husband Žarko in Belgrade. Neither Vlado nor Jadranka, who have had to hide their surnames, want to see him. After all, he appears to have been convicted of war crimes. But repeated phone calls between Vesna and Žarko edges them towards resurrecting their relationship. Dealing with the psychological aftermath of war, Zrinko Ogresta’s film is comprised of stately camera movements and carefully composed images, focusing on Vesna’s face and the spaces around her. He creates an introspective mood that perfectly captures the feelings of his characters. The result is a profound analysis of absence and of disguised trauma, of unspoken fears and their effects on a new generation.

Monday 10 October 2016 20:45
Vue West End Cinema, Screen 7

Tuesday 11 October 2016 13:15BFI Southbank, NFT

For tickets information, please click here

Raindance
This month Raindance will be screening 8 brilliant new Croatian films during the festival.
Here are the links to the Croatian films on the Raindance website.

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If you wish to keep in touch with what is happening and would like to join our email list, please email [email protected]

The Bromley Guitar Society presents a classical guitar recital by the internationally renowned Croatian guitarist Zoran Dukic on Saturday 15th October 2016 at 7.30pm. This recital will mark his UK debut. He will be playing at St Mark's Church,Westmoreland Rd,Bromley, BR2 0TB. A few minutes walk from Bromley South Station.

Advance adult tickets £12.50. £14 on the door (cash only).

For more information about Zoran and how to obtain tickets, please visit: bromleyguitarsociety.blogspot.co.uk. Online tickets are available from the 26th August.

Contact us: [email protected]

 

Meet-Up

The next British Croatian Society Meet-Up takes place on Thursday 22 September 2016.
We will be meeting at a new venue, the Zander Bar in St. James’ Court Hotel, Westminster.

The intention is for people with any form of interest in Croatia to meet up, socialise and have a chat in an informal atmosphere. Whether you are a Croatian resident in London or someone who has recently visited Croatia for the first time and want to know more, this event is for you.

The event is of course open to both members and non-members. It provides an excellent opportunity for anyone to come and meet British-Croatian Society members and even to join if they so wish!

We have a reserved area on the left hand side of the bar. BCS members Brian Gallagher and John Pindar will be there from the start and you can find us by looking out for Croatian symbols.

Please note the Zander Bar is more formally known as the Bank Westminster and Zander Bar.
You should use the entrance to the right of the hotel, marked Bank Westminster.

We’ll be there between 7.30 PM and 10 PM.

Come along for a chat about all things Croatian!

Address: 45 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6BS (Our venue is identifiable by four large flags)

Nearest Tube stations: St James Park (District/Circle line). Follow exit signs for Palmer Street, ignore those for Broadway.

For full location details click here.

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Annual Dinner 2016

We will shortly be sending you details of the 2016 annual dinner, but in the meantime you may like to make a note of the date - November 4.

The dinner will be at the prestigious Queens Club.
 
Further details, as well as how to book will follow.
 
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I, WHO HAVE HANDS MORE INNOCENT at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The performance is based on the works of Vesna Parun, exploring her autobiographical works to give a chilling insight into the aspects of women's lives challenged by the patriarchal men of the Balkans. Performed by Vesna Tominac Matacic and directed by Ivan Leo Lemo, the piece is performed fully in Croatian with English subtitles and it has been gaining interest as a celebration of Vesna Parun's magnificent poetry and works.

http://www.hrt.hr/enz/vijesti- iz-kulture/

I, WHO HAVE HANDS MORE INNOCENT is performed daily until the 28th August at 19:25-20:35, this performance is at Zoo Venues 140 Pleasance Road Edinburgh EH8 9RR.

Tickets information

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Croatian majorette team

A Croatian majorette team from Orebić is competing at the 2016 European Majorette Championships in Crawley on 8-9 October.

They are a team composed of 26 girls and boys at the ages between 6-8 years.

They are asking for financial support in order to be able to participate at this event (covering travel, accommodation expenses).

If you think you might be able to help, please contact:
Sanda Menkadžiev at [email protected] m.hr

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Utopian Collective

The inaugural London Design Biennale opens in September at Somerset House with over 30 countries presenting newly commissioned works exploring the theme Utopia by Design.

A new collective of 8 Croatian designers ‘Utopian Collective’ are collaborating to create an interdisciplinary platform that looks at the role of design in society and as a catalyst for change. They also explore the experimentation inherent to collaborative work which encourages evolution.

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The play that is Oscar Wild

Jagoda Kamov is a Croatian actress who will perform in an Oscar Wild Play 'The play that is Oscar Wild' as a part of Camden Fringe festival. Click here for more details.

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Croatia and Brexit

The Government of the Republic of Croatia regrets the outcome of the British referendum in which a majority of voters supported the option of the UK leaving the European Union. Croatia will work to create a stronger and democratic European Union together with other member states, and will continue to further develop bilateral relations with the United Kingdom.

The legal status of Croatian citizens living and working in the UK will not change for a considerable time. There are no changes in travel regulations. The Croatian Embassy in London will provide information about any new important changes. You can contact the Embassy by writing to: [email protected]

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Carmen (Bizet), 8th and 10th June, Wyllyots Theatre, Potters Bar

Southgate Opera present Bizet's tragic tale of passion set in the sultry atmosphere of southern Spain. Sung in English with full orchestral accompaniment. Tenor Stephen Cviic takes the role of Don Jose in the performances on Wednesday 8th and Friday 10th June.

When: Wednesday 8th and Friday 10th June, 7.30pm
Where: Wyllyots Theatre, Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 2HN

How to get there: Train from King's Cross (theatre is near Potters Bar station)

Tickets: Theatre Box Office: 01707 645005 or theatre website

Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) (Mozart), 1st and 2nd July, St Paul’s Church, Clapham, London SW4

St Paul's Opera present a fully-staged version of Mozart's haunting comedy about the quest for love and enlightenment. Sung in German with English surtitles and dialogue, and accompanied by small instrumental ensemble. Picnicking space and bar available in the grounds before the show and during the interval. Tenor Stephen Cviic takes the role of Tamino.

When: Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd July, 7.00pm
Where: St Paul’s Church, Rectory Grove, London SW4 0DX

Gates open for picnicking at 5.30pm.

How to get there: Clapham Common tube station or Wandsworth Road Overground. Parking also available

Tickets: £25. Buy 10 get 1 free.

or from Nicola White on 020 7622 2128

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Multilingual Imaginations: Celebrating Asymptote’s 5th Anniversary in London

Here is a write-up of the Asymptote anniversary event with Tena Štivičić

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The Concrete Utopia. Ivan Picelj and New Tendencies 1961-1973

Thu 26th May 2016 to Fri 22nd Jul 2016
Cortesy Gallery 41 & 43 Maddox Street, London W1S 2PD
Monday – Friday: 10am – 6pm, Saturday: 12pm – 6pm
Admission free

About the event

Cortesi Gallery is delighted to present The Concrete Utopia: Ivan Picelj and New Tendencies 1961–1973, an exhibition that explores the neo avant-garde of the sixties and seventies via the work of Croatian artist Ivan Picelj (1924–2011). As one of the founders of the New Tendencies movement, Picelj’s work presents a fascinating opportunity to re-examine this exciting period.

Curated by Ilaria Bignotti, the retrospective features more than 40 works by Picelj, retracing the significant developments of one of the movement’s leading figures. Picelj is renowned for his persistent pursuit of the perfect relationship between perception and knowledge. Through his rigorous ideation and infinite patience for repetition, his forms become a concrete utopia, created as a better way to see, feel and experience the everyday in life.

Concrete Utopia

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Meet-Up

The next Meet-Up takes place on Wednesday 18 May.

We will be meeting at the National Theatre (downstairs) on the South Bank. There has been a recent refurbishment of the bar area which of course also serves tea and coffee.

The intention is for people with any form of interest in Croatia to meet up, socialise and have a chat in an informal atmosphere. Whether you are a Croatian resident in London or someone who has recently visited Croatia for the first time and want to know more, this event is for you.

The event is of course open to both members and non-members. It provides an excellent opportunity for anyone to come and meet British-Croatian Society members and even to join if they so wish!

We hope to bag a table early on in the bar area on the ground floor. BCS members Brian Gallagher and John Pindar will be there from the start and you can find us by looking out for Croatian symbols.

We’ll be there between 7.30 PM and 10 PM.

Come along for a chat about all things Croatian!

National Theatre: Upper Ground, South Bank
Nearest Tube stations: Embankment, Waterloo
Full location details: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

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The THIRTEEN

The THIRTEEN will exhibit at the Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN from May 20 to June 30.

THIRTEEN is an outstanding group of professional and accomplished amateur photographers.

Private view May 20, 18-30 - 20-30.

THIRTEEN in May 72dpi

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World Premiere of William Thackeray opera

Sir Nicholas Jackson composes new opera based on William Thackeray’s The Rose and the Ring,

First public performance will take place at Thackeray’s old school at The Charterhouse in the centre of London in May

Composer Sir Nicholas Jackson will be conducting his latest work, The Rose and the Ring on Wednesday 4 May at Drapers livery Hall, followed by the first public performance at The Charterhouse, London on Thursday 5 May. The opera, based on the novel by William Thackeray will include an array of young and exciting singers, including Kathleen Ferrier finalist Robyn Parton. They will be joined by the ‘Concertante of London’, led byMadeleine Easton, who has recently performed with the ‘English Baroque’ soloists and the ‘King’s Consort’.

The Rose and the Ring is based on one of Thackeray’s lesser known works, located in the fictional kingdom of Pafflagonia. Magic, royalty and romance dominate the themes of Thackeray’s novel. For Nicholas, it was an obvious choice for an opera, “My Grandfather had known Thackeray’s daughter and one day when rummaging through some books that I had inherited I came across a worn copy of her father’s The Rose & the Ring. Although written as a ‘children’s pantomime’ it is an equally good read for grown-ups with ingenious twists, I just couldn’t believe that this had not occurred to anybody else”.

The score is set to adaptations and orchestrations of Keyboard Sonatas by Scarlatti, a composer whose sonatas Sir Nicholas has had a long affiliation with. “As a harpsichordist I had performed and recorded about 40 of his sonatas and played through a great many more. I had also recently recorded for Nimbus my arrangement of one of his sonatas for Wind Quartet and Harpsichord. It has been said that all the sounds that Scarlatti would have heard, if he had opened a window of his house in 18th century Madrid, are contained in the microcosm of his 550 sonatas including flamenco dancing, castanets, the strumming of guitars and the wail of gypsy laments. But the gaiety of his music is sometimes overwhelmed by a surge of operatic passion.”

The public premiere of this work will be staged at The Charterhouse (5 May) in the very same building Thackeray would have visited daily during his time at the school in the 19thcentury. On 7 May the cast will be recording the work in its entirety to be released later in the year. It will undoubtedly highlight Jackson’s knowledgeable interpretation of Scarlatti as well as his dedication to raising the profile of exciting young artists.

http://jacksonmusic.co.uk/

For ticket reservations (10am-3pm Monday - Friday) please contact Dawn Woodford at The Charterhouse on 0207 253 9503, Ext. 2

For press enquiries, please contact:
Valerie Barber PR
Suite 2
9a St John’s Wood High Street
London NW8 7NG

Tel: +44 (0)20 7586 8560

[email protected]
www.vbpr.co.uk

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Meet-Up

Our next Meet-Up takes place on Wednesday 23 March.

We will be meeting the National Theatre (downstairs) on the South Bank. There has been a recent refurbishment of the bar area which of course also serves tea and coffee.

The intention is for people with any form of interest in Croatia to meet up, socialise and have a chat in an informal atmosphere. Whether you are a Croatian resident in London or someone who has recently visited Croatia for the first time and want to know more, this event is for you.

The event is of course open to both members and non-members. It provides an excellent opportunity for anyone to come and meet British-Croatian Society members and even to join if they so wish!

We hope to bag a table early on in the bar area on the ground floor. BCS members Brian Gallagher and John Pindar will be there from the start and you can find us by looking out for Croatian symbols.

We’ll be there between 7.30 PM and 10 PM.

Come along for a chat about all things Croatian!

National Theatre: Upper Ground, South Bank
Nearest Tube stations: Embankment, Waterloo
Full location details: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

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Music for Holy Week

Monday 21 March, 7.30pm, St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ED

The Elysian Singers, including tenor Stephen Cviic, conducted by Sam Laughton, present five centuries of penitential psalm settings from all around Europe: from France to Estonia, from Italy to Denmark. Mini-masterpieces by Mendelssohn (‘Hear my Prayer’) and Arvo Pärt (‘An den Wassern zu Babel’) rub shoulders with English choral favourites by Purcell and Howells.

Tickets: £15 (concessions for the unwaged £10), available from www.wegottickets.com

Nearest stations: Covent Garden and Leicester Square

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A Pair of Sparkling Eyes

Friday 18 March, 7.30pm, St Paul's Church, Rectory Grove, Clapham, London SW4

Tenor Stephen Cviic, soprano Antonia Cviic and other members of St Paul's Opera present an evening of operatic highlights with a romantic theme, including excerpts from Bizet's Carmen, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and music by Handel and Puccini, among others. Tickets include a glass of wine.

Tickets: £15 (concessions £12) on the door or in advance from www.wegottickets.com/StPaulsOpera

Nearest stations: Clapham Common tube and Wandworth Road Overground.

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You are reminded that you are invited to the Annual General Meeting and a committee meeting of the British-Croatian Society to be held on Tuesday 8 March at 18.30 at the Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN.

The meeting will include a report of the year and plans for the future, an update on the Society's membership and finances, as well as the appointment of trustees and committee members.

We are always looking for new ideas and would very much welcome your presence.

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On Saturday 5th of March, the Croatian Supplementary School in London is organising a workshop called Raising a Bilingual Child: Learning Together.

The workshop aims to support parents in bringing up children to be bilingual by sharing solutions to the challenges they encounter and exploring practical strategies for enhancing learning.

The workshop will take place at Croatian Embassy.

The workshop starts at 10am and it will finish around 11.30am.

The event is free, but you must register to attend. Please email [email protected] to book your place.

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Tena Stivicic will be one of the panellists at Multilingual Imaginations, an event organised to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Asymptote, the international journal of translation. This will take place at Waterstones in Piccadilly on Wednesday March 27 at 19-00 (tickets £5). Further information can be found at www.asymptotejournal.com/events.

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2 Cellos will perform at the Greenwich Music Time Festival on July 5. Tickets are already on sale. For information please go to www.greenwichmusictime.co.uk.

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Eastern Europeans for Dummies will be performed by There There - a 50% Romanian 50% Serbian theatre company - at Rich Mix on 18 March.

In anticipation of the EU referendum, Eastern Europeans for Dummies dissects immigrant stereotypes perpetuated by the politicians and the media. The project is supported by Arts Council England, Rich Mix, the Romanian Cultural Centre and Counterpoints Arts. Further information at www.richmix.org.uk

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Croatian Heritage Foundation Language Courses

University School of Croatian Language and Culture in Zagreb, June 25 - July 22. School of Croatian Language and Culture, Novi Vindolski, July 18 - 29. For further information please see the attached notices or contact Professor Lada Kanajet Simic ([email protected]).

The University of Zagreb & Croatian Heritage Foundation
Croatian Heritage Foundation

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Croatian jazz on BBC Radio 3

Elvis Stanic, jazz guitarist and accordionist from Opatija, appeared on last Saturday's BBC Radio 3 Jazz Line-Up with his international group JazzExTempore Orchestra in the composition 'Lanziamentos del Verde'. To hear it go to www.bbc.co.uk/programmes

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Leap Summit
5 -7 May 2016, Zagreb

Message from the Croatian Embassy in London

Leap Summit will gather more than 1,000 young people who are entrepreneurs, NGO leaders, students, leaders and opinion leaders in their respective communities. Main themes of the Leap Summit will be connected to innovations, entrepreneurship, modern technologies, career development and success stories. The Summit is under patronage of President of Republic of Croatia and is highly supported by University of Zagreb. The Leap Summit international conference hopes to gather a lot of Croatian participants who live outside of Croatia, to exchange ideas and positive experiences.

You can download pdf here.

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MIMIKA is excellent jazz orchestra formed from a younger generation of London based jazz soloists and run by Croatian composer and conductor Mak Murtić and singer Maja Rivić. They will play a gig in one of the best jazz clubs in London, Vortex in Dalston.

For further information, please go to:

www.vortexjazz.co.uk
www.facebook.com/events/456148251245920/

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Vukovar Water Tower

The Croatian Embassy has passed to us information about the project Vukovar Water Tower - Symbol of Croatian Unity received from representatives of the City of Vukovar. For further information, please contact the City of Vukovar:

Dr. Franje Tudjmana 1
32000 Vukovar
CROATIA
Tel. +385 32 456 524
Fax. +385 32 456 570

You can download pdf here.

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Dejan Lazic

Here is the link to hear the recording of the fantastic concert of Croatian pianist Dejan Lazić in the Wigmore Hall on 18th of January in the BBC Radio 3 series 'Wigmore Hall Mondays'.

At the end of concert he played his own composition '3 Istrian Dances Op 15a '.

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Croatian countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic

The famous Croatian countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic gave a concert at the Wigmore Hall on 27th of December. Click here to see a review of the concert.

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Adrian Chiles BBC programme

You may like to know about this BBC programme that is now available on iPlayer.

My Mediterranean with Adrian Chiles, Episode 1 www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06vngp4

This is what the BBC says:
Adrian Chiles converted to Catholicism ten years ago, but wonders whether his choice of church was an accident of birth and geography. If he had been born in Istanbul or Jerusalem, would he have been equally happy being a Muslim or a Jew? In this first episode, he visits the stunning Dalmatian coast, where he meets up with his Croatian mum and reveals how he got the nickname Holy Joe.

Next stop is Istanbul, where he has fun in the Grand Bazaar before heading out on the Bosphorus with a Muslim fisherman. During Eid al-Adha, a major Islamic festival, Adrian struggles to watch the celebratory sacrifice. He travels to Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Sukkot, and then moves on to Tel-Aviv to get drunk with a gay, atheist, Jewish celebrity chef. His final stop is an Evangelical concert by the Dead Sea, attended by Christians from all over the world.

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Dejan Lazic has a lunch time piano concert at the Wigmore Hall on January 18. For details, please visit wigmore-hall.org.uk

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You may be interested in this radio interview with Gordana Johnson on the British-Croatian Society's photographic exhibition photographingCroatia.

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Email news & information

Peter Frankopan's 'The Silk Roads' is number 1 in the Daily Telegraph's UK non fiction list. We hope to have a talk by Peter in our 2016 programme. For more information about the book and Peter, please go to www.bloomsbury.com

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We have a full programme planned for 2016. If you are not a member and would like to support us by joining, please go to our website www.britishcroatiansociety.com.

2015 – a bumper year at the British-Croatian Society

A challenge: how many Croatian writers’ books are available to read in English? (we will give you the answer in a moment) London has seen Croatian authors, from established figures such as Daša Drndić to some of the many exciting new writers, at the Croatian stand at the London Book Fair each year. This generates a lot of interest. We spotted an opportunity to help British readers with an interest in Croatia, but no knowledge of Croatian, by publishing Writing Croatia. This lists Croatian fiction translated into English, as well as fiction set in Croatia by non-Croats, and a section of non-fiction books.

The answer to our question is that we have so far found 108 books by Croatian fiction writers that are available in English listed in Writing Croatia (there are probably more – so if you know of some we have missed, please tell us).

Writing Croatia is a follow-up to Mapping Croatia, a guide to Croatian works of art in UK museums and galleries, which we published as part of the Welcome Croatia festival in 2013. There are many more Croatian works in the UK than you might think, most of them in public museums to be seen free of charge. If you would like copies, both are available free of charge by emailing us at our address below.

How can Croatia make an impact in the UK? It is not easy. One way we tried for the first 6 months of 2015 was to build on the Croatian involvement with the London Book Fair, adding to it other events and branding them as

creativeCroatia
bringing contemporary Croatia to London in 2015

Various organizations were involved - the embassy fielded many of them – and we used the logo on our activities. The highlight was the embassy’s inclusion of the bronze sculpture of the young athlete recovered from the Adriatic in 1999 in the British Museum ‘Defining Beauty’ exhibition.

With the embassy we organized creativeCroatia events such as the concert with Diana Brekalo and friends that raised nearly £1,000 for the English section of the library of the school in Gunja destroyed by floods, and the presentation by Vanja Žanko at the ArtEco Gallery that brought us bang up to date with the contemporary art scene in Croatia.

It is always good to hear Dr Ivan Grdesić, the Croatian Ambassador, talk. We put him together with Peter Sanfey, a senior economist at EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) at an ‘in conversation’ event. EBRD has invested 3.1 billion euros in Croatia so bringing them together provoked a good relaxed discussion of current political and economic issues (if you want to know more about EBRD, you can do so at www.ebrd.com/croatia.html).

EBRD has been a good partner of the British-Croatian Society over the years in hosting the Chris Cviić memorial lecture. Chris was an influential figure on Croatian and Balkan issues and at one time worked at EBRD. This year Boris Vujčić, the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, gave a detailed presentation on the economy.

Tena Stivičić, one of Croatia’s foremost literary figures, later in the year appeared at another ‘in conversation’. With Roy Cross (a former British Council Director in Croatia) they talked about her play ‘3 Winters’ that ran to excellent reviews at the National Theatre, as well as ranging more widely over her work as a playwright.

It is always exciting to find someone who has been profoundly influenced by Croatia. Melanie Hodge is such a person. Melanie has taken the Croatian naïve tradition of reverse oil paintings on glass and made it her own. Her British-Croatian Society exhibition ‘Though A Looking Glass’ at Conway Hall was, according to Martha May of Conway Hall, “one of the most popular exhibitions we’ve held”. For more on Melanie and her work, please go to www.mjhodge.co.uk, or follow her on instagram: Melanie hodge; Twitter: @mjhodge: or Facebook: MJHodge Art and Illustration.

Flora Turner’s knowledge and appreciation of the arts is always impressive and she was on good form when she delivered a talk entitled ‘The Painted Coast’. With superb illustrations, she introduced the audience to the works of British painters in 18th, 19t and 20th century who visited Istria and Dalmatia. Earlier in the year she was the key component in the British-Croatian Society supported Victoria & Albert Museum symposium on Mesštrović, marking the 100th anniversary of his V & A exhibition in 1915.

The Society’s annual dinner was held this year at the prestigious East India Club, an extraordinary ‘home from home for gentlemen’ in the heart of London’s clubland. There can hardly be a more old-fashioned English location for a British-Croatian Society event!

Sensationally good photographs in our final event of the year: photographingCroatia brought together at the embassy the best of the photographs taken in Croatia submitted to us by amateurs and professionals. A fun event to bring to a close a good year for the British-Croatian Society.

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Adriatica.net looking for help at their stand on the World Travel Market

Adriatica.net will have their stand on the World Travel Market and have asked if we know anyone that speaks Croatian and that lives in London that would be available to work on their stand for the duration of the fair – 2-5 November from 9am to 6pm at London Excel. The person will have to distribute brochures and help with enquiries.

Please, do let me know if you know someone and we will then put them in contact with Adriatica.net.

 
Kind regards,
 
Sara Sabadin
 
Marketing and Events Officer
 
 
Croatian National Tourist Office
 
Third Floor, No. 1 Farrier’s Yard , Assembly London
77 – 85 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JA
 
t. +44 208 563 7979 | f. +44 208 563 2616
 
 
 

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Ivana Gavric

Fresh from being awarded 'Record of the Year' for her Grieg Piano Works disc by the Grieg Society and the Norwegian Ambassador in the UK last week, pianist Ivana Gavric will be performing Grieg's ever-popular Piano Concerto this Thursday, 8th October, at St James' Piccadilly at 7-30pm.

More information can be found at www.orchestraofthecity.com

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Memorial unveiled to one of Plymouth's greatest sons - former Labour leader Michael Foot

On Friday a memorial was unveiled in Plymouth to Michael Foot, a previous Patron of the British-Croatian Society and a keen supporter of Croatia. The Society made a modest contribution to funding for the memorial.

A report can be found here.
 
 

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THIRTEEN
in the Gallery of the Embassy of Croatia
28 May - 1 July 2015

Private view
28 May, 6.30-8.30pm
21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN

In THIRTEEN, a diverse group of amateur and professional photographers work without the constraint of a single theme, each showing one side of their creativity. The images in the exhibition span a selection of photographic genres and techniques - colour or monochrome, traditional darkroom processing or digital manipulation.

For each of these photographers, in addition to the artistic and technical choice of subject and method, taking photographs is a means of individual expression - each image has a unique personal stamp.

Viewers are invited to consider each image on its own as well as in relation to the group, for their visual pleasure.

13 at the Gallery of the Embassy of Croatia

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May 19, 2015, 1pm
St Martin-in-the-Fields

Free Lunchtime Concert: St Martin's Embassy Series
Diana Brekalo

Join Croatian pianist, Diana Brekalo, as she performs a virtuosic programme of Beethoven, Kelemen and Lizst.

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Croatian Literary Events

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Croatia will again have a stand at the London Book Fair in April and Croatian literary events will take place at the Fair and elsewhere. The Tristram Bates Theatre, just off Leicester Square, is an ideal intimate small theatre for the following event based on the English version of Olja

 

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Marko Cindrić is a theatre and TV actor. He is also Artistic Director-Producer of Nu:Write Theatre Festival Zagreb.

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Ivica Buljan is an award-winning Croatian theatre director with international experience. He is the theatre and art director of zagrebtheatrefestival.hr.

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Nataša Janjić is an award-winning stage actress. Since 2006, she has worked at the Zagreb City Drama Theatre, Gavella.

creativeCroatia
bringing contemporary Croatia to London in 2015

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V&A Ivan Mestrovic Symposium

To mark the centenary of the hugely important exhibition of Ivan Mestrovic in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1915, the Victoria and Albert Museum is holding a symposium devoted to Ivan Mestrovic on Wednesday 24 June. It is organised in cooperation with the Mestrovic Museums in Croatia and three of their curators will give a paper. The speakers will include curators from the V&A, and specialists for sculpture and architecture from the UK and abroad.

It will be a fairly intimate event, with a roundtable format, and we hope interesting ideas will be exchanged. It is free of charge, but places are very limited, and an early registration is essential. To register please contact creativeCroatia at [email protected].

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International Trust for Croatian Monuments

Tuesday 9 June, 7.30pm
Holy Trinity Church
Sloane Square
London SW1

Read the full details here.

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New York Times review of Tena Štivičić's 'Three Winters'

Read the full review here.

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A Night at the Opera

AMAC-UK 2015 concert 'A Night at the Opera' to be held on February 28.
This will raise funds to support awards for Croatian young scientists.

You can view more information here.

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Croatian Embassy Fund Raising Concert

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Vlado Kristl at Tate Modern in November

An influential figure in Croatian avant-garde, Vlado Kristl’s work from his ground breaking animations produced at the Zagreb Film animation studio to his first live action film General I resni Clovek / The General, that was banned in 1962, will be shown alongside works by his contemporaries from the active Cine-Club movement in Croatia including Ante Verzotti, Milan Šamec, Mihovil Pansini, Tomislav Gotovac, Vladimir Petek and Ivan Martinac.

Kristl began filmmaking after his involvement in the abstract art movement EXAT 51, starting at the famous Zagreb Film studio he produced early films such as Krada dragulja / Great Jewel Robbery 1959 and his iconoclastic Cervantes adaptation Don Kihot 1961, a remarkable animation that radically reduced the source material recasting the Don Quixote and Sancho Panza against an abstract barren landscapes and fighting a rampant military.

His first live-action film General I resni Clovek / The General, an absurd drama set in a prison camp see Kristl as the lead inspiring an insurrection. The general of the title, whose appearance is heralded with laugher, bares an uncanny resemblance to President Tito that lead to the instant banning and destruction of the film – but not before a copy was smuggled out of Yugoslavia quickly followed by Kristl’s own departure.

Illustrated talks will explore the legacy of Vlado Kristl, EXAT 51 and the Croatia Cine-Clubs with film historian and persident of the Croatian Film Club Association Hrvoje Turkovic followed by a discussion with curator and researcher Branka Benčić.

 
For further information, please go to:
 
 
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3 Winters

Tena Štivičić's play 3 Winters is at the National Theatre from November 26

From the remnants of monarchy to Communism, democracy, war and the EU: Croatia 1945-2011. The Kos family argue, adapt, fall in and out of love.

World after world is erected and torn down around them. The one constant is the ivy-clad house in Zagreb, built by aristocrats, partitioned, owned by all, owned by a few; witness to four increasingly educated and independent generations of women.

But when the family assemble for Lucia's wedding, Alisa learns that her nouveau-riche brother-in-law has bought the once nationalised house. For the bride this is progress, for her sister it's a shady act of greed. For their principled parents, finally, it's one battle too many.

Against a country in turmoil, Tena Štivičić's 3 Winters creates the portrait of an eclectic family, held together by the courage to survive.

 
For tickets, please go to www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
 

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Stone's Throw Theatre present
 
Broken Promise Land
 
Sick of life in a war-torn Croatia, guided by MTV hits and Hollywood sitcoms, Stefica takes on a new name and embarks on a quest for an American education, and ends up in a Dublin lap dancing club. With frankness and humor, she teaches us the tricks of the trade and shares secrets she can't tell anyone else.
 
Based on real experiences, written and performed by Mirjana Rendulic (Amber; RTE, BBC 4), this piece dispels easy preconceptions about exotic dancers. After a successful tour in Ireland, Stone's Throw bring this compelling new show to Camden Fringe Festival.
 
The Play is suitable for 16+; minimal adult content.
 
'A silver award winner at New York Radio Festivals 2014'
'4 stars' The Irish Times
'Delivered by an instantly likeable Rendulic... it is captivating.' Sunday Times
'It's moving, it's funny and it's a must see.' Entertainment.ie
 
Venue: Etcetera Theatre ( 265 Camden High Street- above Oxford Arms)
 
Dates: Fri 22 - Sun 24th August 2014 at 3:30pm 3 shows only!
 
Bookings: Etcetera Theatre: 020 7482 4857 Tickets: £7.00
 
Booking information:
 

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Croatian Supplementary School

Hrvatska dopunska škola

The Croatian Supplementary School has been taking part in a research project with Goldsmiths, University of London, entitled ‘Critical Connections: Multilingual Digital Storytelling Project’, involving 5 supplementary schools, 5 mainstream schools and 3 overseas schools. This two year project (2012-2014), funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, involves pupils in creating and evaluating digital stories, developing skills in language and literacy as well as more critical and sophisticated use of multimedia tools. It is innovative and exciting work which supports schools in engaging learners and in developing a curriculum which is attuned to the needs of culturally diverse societies and a more interconnected and interdependent world.The Film Festival at Goldsmiths to celebrates and discusses pupils’ work. The school students have created digital stories in a range of languages (Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, English as a second language, French, German and Greek).

Takes part in
Goldsmiths College Film Festival
'Critical Connections: A multilingual Digital Storytelling Project'
17 June 2014 (9.45-16.00)
 
 
Venue:
Goldsmiths College, New Academic Building, University of London, SE14 6NW
(New Cross or New Cross Gate train station)
Campus map http://www.gold.ac.uk/media/campus-map.pdf (Building No2 on the map)
 
 
Registration
Six pupils from the School's oldest group (11-15) have created two short bilingual films (3-5 min):
 
    • A Journey to Croatia: Did You Know?
  • Happy Easter
This project, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, has involved pupils from five supplementary schools, five mainstreamschools and three overseas schools and the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, English as a second language, French, German and Greek)
 

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Floods in Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia: appeals for help

Croatian Church

The Croatian Chaplaincy is organizing a collection of financial assistance for those affected by the devastating floods. During this week you can send donations to the Chaplaincy’s account:
The Croatian Church, Sort Code 50-21-01, Account Number 57228701.
Please advise them of your donation by e-mail [email protected] so that they can forward them next week to the Caritas of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Should you wish to send your donations directly you can do that to the following accounts: Caritas in Croatia, account IBAN HR05 2340 0091 1000 8034 0, reference number 175
Caritas in Bosnia and Herzegovina account IBAN BA39 338 690 481 206 3318, SWIFT CODE: UNCRBA 22.
They will also be collecting donations during the Sunday Mass on the 25th May 2014 at 4 pm in the Sacred Heart Church, 110 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2EF for the flood affected communities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

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Red Cross

Thousands of people are left homeless, without food, water, and warm and dry clothes due to severe flooding in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They need your help! Donate to the Red Cross organisations which are leading the humanitarian efforts in the region:
Croatian Red Cross:
IBAN: HR 6923400091511555516
SWIFT: PBZGHR2X
FULL BENEFICIARY NAME : HRVATSKI CRVENI KRIŽ,
FULL BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: ULICA CRVENOG KRIŽA 14, P.P. 93, 10001 ZAGREB
You can also make an online payment via credit card for “Pomoć za poplavljena područja u Hrvatskoj/Srbiji/Bosni i Hercegovini“ here. Red Cross Serbia:
Instructions for payments in EUR, GBP, USD are here (select English in upper right corner).
Red Cross Bosnia and Herzegovina:
IBAN CODE: BA391610000000850119
SWIFT CODE : RZBABA2S
FULL BENEFICIARY NAME : CRVENI KRIZ FEDERACIJE BIH SARAJEVO
FULL BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: NEDIMA FILIPOVICA 9, SARAJEVO
More information and news are here (google translator is available in right sidebar under ‘Izaberite jezik’).

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The Seagull

The ZKM theatre company from Zagreb will be performing Chekhov's The Seagull in Croatian with English surtitles on Saturday, May 24 at the Nottingham Playhouse. For details and how you can buy tickets (£13 or £11 concessions), please go to Notingham Playhouse

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Invitation

Vera Stevens, the winner of the Welcome Croatia Festival photographic competition "Croatia through the lens", will now have her own exhibition at the Croatian Embassy and you are invited. If you wish to attend the opening at 18:00 on April 17, please email [email protected] by April 14.

Vera Stevens


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OURFC V Croatia

Croatia Poster

Lea And Daria | UK Jewish Film Festival

If you missed the film "Lea and Daria" at the Croatian Film Festival, you will be able to see it at the Jewish Film Festival, from 3rd to 9th February at "JW3", 341-351 Finchley Road, London NW3 6ET.

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Croatian Language School for Children

The Croatian language school for children aged 5 to 14 will re-open in January 2014. The school is situated at the Croatian Embassy in London, 21 Conway Street, W1T 6BN. The lesson are held there on Saturdays and groups and timings will be confirmed at a later date, and will depend on the number of children enrolled. For more information please visit
www.cro-school.org.uk, or contact Ivana Capps on 07949 772314 or email [email protected]

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Dubrovnik Foreign Circle Appeal

Over £3,000 has been raised by the British-Croatian Society in response to our appeal for donations to support the Dubrovnik Foreign Circle's proposal to provide the Dubrovnik Hospital children's unit with a spirometer.

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A Visit to Fort George, Vis September 2013

This September my husband and I went first to Vis where we had been invited for the ceremony of the reopening of Fort George. William Wenkel, the young London-based businessman and Swedish naval reserve officer, who has invested heavily in the restoration of the fort and has a 25 year concession to run it as a cultural and recreational centre, asked Malcolm to advise on the contents and layout of a museum. Housed in the fort itself the museum is to cover the three main periods of the military history of Vis; the occupation and fortification by the British at the beginning of the nineteenth century; its use as an Austrian naval base; and by the allies and partisans in the Second World War. Besides the museum the fort will have a gallery for various local or international artists in residence to exhibit their work. There will also be concerts, facilities for meetings, conferences and receptions, with a restaurant, wine cellar and terrace bar and discotheque.

Almost five years had passed since our last visit to the fort, then in a sad state of neglect and disrepair and overgrown. So, when soon after our arrival on Vis, William and his team took us to the fort to show what progress had been made, we were more than pleasantly surprised. Under the guidance of the Split conservationist Sanja Buble, and in spite of the many bureaucratic hurdles to be surmounted, the inevitable delays and complications with the excavations and reconstruction, and escalating costs, much has been achieved. But the work is far from finished and more costly work remains to be undertaken. What has been done so far is a very considerable achievement, realising the fort's potential as one of the most splendid venues for entertainment and cultural activity in this part of the Adriatic. The mayor of Vis, Ivo Radica, has been supportive from the start when he interested William in the fort as a place to host parties for the yacht weeks, the primary business of William and his partners, the profits of which are being invested in the restoration. The Vis municipality has made an essential contribution by asphalting the road to the fort and laying a pipeline to supply water.

On the evening of September 6, 200 years since the British built the original fort in 1812-13, with fanfares and the beating of drums by a Croatian naval band, Admiral John McAnally, president of the Royal Navy Association, formally ordered the gate of the fort to be opened. Instead of a salute by cannon, there followed the explosion of fireworks on the roof of the fort.

The carefully choreographed and symbolic opening ceremony was witnessed by an international gathering of guests, including the mayor and local dignitaries, Croatian Navy officers representing the President of the Republic, Ivo Josipovic. and the British Ambassador to Croatia and British military attaches. Mingling with these official quests were retired Swedish naval officers and numerous other Swedish friends and family members of William Wenkel and his business partners, British with homes on Vis, and a number of representatives of Austria in nineteenth century uniforms, including one magnificent individual in an admiral's uniform with sideburns to match (reminding one of Gilbert and Sullivan). When the guests were assembled on the roof terrace, Admiral McAnally delivered a speech, after which the Union flag was lowered and replaced by the flag of Croatia by Croatian Navy officers. The Admiral then presented the key of the fort to the Commodore Robert Hranj, commanding the Croatian Navy, who then gave a speech and handed it on to the Mayor of Vis, Ivo Radica, who in turn entrusted it to William Wenkel.

After that the sit down dinner was hosted on the top terrace with all night partying for younger members until early hours of the morning.

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Sir Arthur Evans in Dalmatia

The Welcome Croatia Sir Arthur Evans seminar at the Ashmolean in Oxford last week was a great success. For those who were unable to attend, you might like to see the text of the introductory session from the Director of the museum, Dr Christopher Brown. It is attached to this email.

Sir Arthur Evans is today mostly remembered for his archaeological work on the island of Crete, and especially his excavations at the so-called ‘Palace of Minos’ at Knossos. But before Knossos, there were many other regions and time periods that attracted his interest.

Influenced by his father’s diverse antiquarian interests – the famous prehistorian Sir John Evans – young Arthur travelled extensively across Europe, while still an Oxford History undergraduate. His first visit to Croatia was in the late summer 1871 with his brother Lewis as part of a larger trip that included Austria.

Evans returned to Croatia in 1875, again joined by his brother Lewis. That was the beginning of a journey through Bosnia and Herzegovina which he later published as a book to gain an enthusiastic response by the press and critics of the time. The book was widely read and even quoted in Parliament – Evans became an authority in the region ‘after a month’s travel and a single book’.

While in Croatia, Evans visited Zagreb, Sisak, and Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik). He was interested in everyday life as his writings and drawings suggest. For the archaeology of the region, especially in Dalmatia, and Evans’s efforts to bring it to light and make it accessible to the wider world, you will hear more later this afternoon by our distinguished speakers, Professor John Wilkes, Dr Susan Sherratt, Dr Susan Walker and Dr Helena Tomas.

The most celebrated period of Evans in Croatia was by far the years between 1878 and 1882, when he worked as correspondent for the Manchester Guardian. In 1878 he married Margaret Freeman and together they made Ragusa their home, where Arthur had taken a 20-year lease on a beautiful house overlooking the sea, called Casa San Lazzaro.

Evans came to dislike Austrian rule as much as the Ottoman. He would write: ‘The people were treated not as a liberated, but as a conquered and inferior race; their sense of right – which they do possess in a remarkable degree – is simply trodden underfoot.’ His anti-Austrian reports and activities led to his imprisonment and eventual expulsion from the area.

In 1932, at the age of 81 and after an absence of fifty years, Evans revisited Croatia with his sister-in-law Helen Freeman. He flew to Zagreb from where he wrote: ‘the traveller arriving by air, looks down on what is now a city of over a quarter of a million inhabitants, spaciously ‘town-planned’, with a bright garden band stretching to its centre, and interspersed with fine public buildings…’. Evans’s journey ended with a visit to Ragusa where he was welcomed as a hero. There he saw his old house, garden, and the prison where he was incarcerated in 1882. Such was Evans’s love for Ragusa that his half-sister and biographer, Dame Joan Evans would write that ‘for many years he had felt that he would best find rest in the flowery graveyard, barred by the shadows of Cypresses, that lies outside the walls of the city’. Although his attention progressively shifted to Crete, Evans never abandoned his interest in Dalmatia and the region as a whole.

The influence of Sir Arthur Evans extends far and beyond the realm of Minos and the island of Crete and even that of archaeology. His liberal views on the political situation in southeastern Europe and his knowledge on the people, the land and the different cultures made him an expert of the complex history of that part of the world.

The Ashmolean’s half-day symposium on ‘Sir Arthur Evans in Dalmatia’ presents us with a great opportunity to explore his travels in the region and to look at contemporary Croatian archaeology in celebration of Croatia’s accession to the European Union on the 1st of July.

It gives me particular pleasure to welcome the Croatian Ambassador Dr Ivan Grdešić (and Mrs Grdešić) to the Ashmolean on this special occasion. Finally, I should like to thank Dr Yannis Galanakis and ‘Welcome Croatia’ for organising today’s symposium, and Archaeopress for their financial support of the event.

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Shearsman Books to publish Tin Ujević's poems translated by Richard Berengarten

Shearsman Books are about to publish bilingual edition of small selection of Tin Ujević's poems translated by Richard Berengarten and Daša Marić. Tin's poems have hardly been translated into English, and this is the first real attempt to do so seriously, even though on a small scale. Richard's translations have been published on several Croatian websites, most significantly in the cultural and academic web-journal "[sic]", a venture of the University of Zadar. There is also an extended critical and interpretative essay on Tin on the same website, which is quite possibly the first serious attempts by a British literary scholar to approach his work.

These translations have been widely circulated informally and on the web. For example, an enterprising English teacher in Croatia has been using some of these poems to help her pupils learn English. As the charming performances by these children suggest, Richard's translations retain the melos of Tin's poems.

YouTube clip 1

YouTube clip 2

YouTube clip 3

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Evening Standard review of West End hit musical 'Once', Wednesday 10 April 2013

Read about Croatian actress Zrinka Cvitesic at the heart of the new West End hit musical 'Once' Evening Standard

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Croatian Stand at the London Book Fair 2013

Read about Croatian Stand at the London Book Fair Croatian Stand

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Mapping Croatia

Mapping Croatia

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An initiative to be supported

arial vis port of vis

I would like to inform the members of the British Croatian society about an important project worthy of our interest and support. It regards the future development and the preservation of the beautiful and unique island of Vis It is particularly interesting for the British Croatian Society because the island’s place in two crucial periods in the British history. It served for a short time as a British base in the Napoleonic wars, from which time there are still the remains of several British fortifications, in need of restoration. Furthermore the island served as a secure base for the Allied air forces during the last years of WW2. Until a year ago, while they were still capable of undertaking it, British veterans from that war (some of whose lives were saved once they reached Vis) made an annual visit to the island to commemorate this episode and honour their comrades. However, Vis has a much older history, in relation to which a local volunteer cultural association ‘Lavurat za poja’ (‘To labour for the fields’) successfully organised an international symposium called “ Anatomy of an Island”, supported by the municipalities Vis and Komiza, at the end of September 2012.

fort veterans

The purpose of the symposium was to revaluate the local historic and environmental legacy and develop ideas and proposals for the intelligent preservation and use of existing historical attractions, to create and give a valuable cultural content to the island’s tourist industry, and to prevent undesirable and uncontrolled overdevelopment. For the introductory symposium the organisers gathered an impressive group of specialist lecturers in the fields of archaeology, architecture, economics and history who analysed different aspects of the island from their particular points of view. The symposium, apart from local inhabitants, was attended by 200 participants amongst them 32 students of architecture from Japan, Croatia and Slovenia. The lecturers worked for the second part of symposium with the students divided into 6 groups to develop ideas arising from the lectures during the first week.

boat

Among the specialists was one of the most famous Japanese architects, Prof. Kengo Kuma, who has two architectural studios in France and a chair at Tokyo University. He talked about his work in small and delicate environments. He was followed by Prof. Radovic, also teaching architecture in Japan, who talked about world trends in sustaining small environments. Apart from them one of the best known architects and selector for Venice Biennale 2010 Arch. Kazuyo Selima joined the symposium during its seminar week where she worked with the students.

Archeologists Boris Chargo, Lorenzzo Guzzardi from Siracusa in Sicily, Mirosalv Katic, Dinko Radic and other well-known archaeologists saw possibilities in enhancing the idea of the antique Greek colony of Issa, the oldest urban development in Dalmatia dating from 2400 BC. Ancient Issa, the outlines of which are still visible, was created when Greeks from Syracuse in Sicily decided to establish colonies along the Adriatic sea routes to facilitate trade with the Northern Adriatic . The Greek colonisation began with the development of the town and port of ancient Issa, which subsequently served as a starting point for further settlements such as Trogir and Stobrec. Issa was founded approximately at the same time as the Aegean Greeks founded Pharos. The archaeologists talked about antique Issa’s significance, explaining its layout and purpose, and how to read what is left of it. In the open debate that followed, all the participants in the symposium were invited to discuss how the site could be better preserved and made more interesting as a tourist attraction. Today the site of ancient Issa, near the central part of the town and port of Vis, is still not completely excavated, and what has been is rather neglected , certainly not well enough presented to attract much attention, except from dedicated archaeologists.

However the Greek site and its preservation was only one of the themes of the symposium. Other lecturers offered various insights on the island’s history, economy and architecture. The British historian, Malcolm Scott Hardy, author of the book “The British and Vis”, talked about some recent research placing the island in the context of political and military developments involving the British, Austrians and Russians exactly two hundred years before in 1812..

Considering that many of the islands along the Adriatic Croatian coast have been neglected (for example there are no boat connections between Komiza and the mainland), the Vis project should be of importance for the Croatian economy, because it stresses the need for control of future developments and their integration within the ecological, environmental and cultural preservation of the Dalmatian islands.

Realising the importance of the project, the ministries of culture and tourism have given support, making it possible to extend it for the next four years and for it to serve as a model to be followed by other islands.

A resident of Vis, the architect Bosko Budisavljevic, who was in charge of this exceptionally well-organised symposium and seminar, deserves much praise for this project, together with his many voluntary collaborators. The active participation of the present mayor of Vis, who hosted several excellent evenings and attended the various presentation, was particularly welcome.

More about this symposium with details of all the participants can be found on the web page:

Anatomija Otoka

Vesna Domany Hardy

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statement-of-intent

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a Croatian laywer living in the UK. As I have recently witnessed many questions from Croatians living in th UK regarding their/our legal immigration status, once Croatia joins the EU (especially during the recent speech Mrs Pusic gave at the EBRD), I hereby wish to share with all my fellow Croatians a new document published last week at the UK Border Agency website.

The UK government has introduced to the Parliament the European Union (Croatian Accession) Bill on 18 October 2012. Accordingly, the Home Office has published a Statement of Intent setting out the transitional restrictions which it expects to apply to Croatian nationals working in the UK after 1 July 2013.

Please find attached the Statement of Intent. This document is not definitive, but it gives a useful indication of what to expect in terms of rights and obligations.

Many thanks.

Kind regards,

Lana Rukavina

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Chris Cviic Memorial Lecture

Vesna Pusić, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister, gave the annual Chris Cviić memorial lecture on 17 October organised by the British-Croatian Society with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Her subject was Croatia in the EU.

Cviic lecture 1 Cviic lecture 2

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Letter from the President

Microsoft Word - Document1

Microsoft Word - Document1

Microsoft Word - Document1

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BLOOM Igra

bloom

Projekt je odlicno prihvacen od javnosti! Ljudi ga jako vole, pogotovo djeca i vec je jako popularan. I bez ikakvih uputa javnost intuitivno pristupa projektu i iako je BLOOM komponenta jednostavna i samo jednog tipa, svi s lakocom uspjevaju sloziti vrlo unikatne strukture. Ljudi vrlo brzo postaju ovisni o BLOOM igri - slicno originalnim LEGO blokovima koji su jako univerzalni i generalni - ali bas zato pruzaju mogucnost neiscrpnog broja kombinacija i "igraliste" su za vasu mastu! Imaginacije je jedino ogranicenje... S obzirom na velicinu komponenti (40 cm) Bloom strukture brzo rastu!

Dva velika paviljona koja smo mi u pocetku konstruirali (oba u labirint konfiguracijama kroz koje ljudi a pogotovo djeca mogu prolaziti) su vrlo brzo dozivjeli potpune transformacije od strane posjetitelja. Na neki nacin su nase pocetne strukture ohrabrile posjetitelje da se sami vrlo revno angaziraju. BLOOM je dizajniran na nacin suprotan minimalnim optimalnim strukturama koje se moraju sastavljati po strogim pravilima. jako puno poveznih tocki u strukturi (redundancija) omogucava visoku toleranciju strukture i puno mogucnosti za improvizaciju koja je sastavni dio BLOOM igre. Strukture genrativno rastu kroz interaktivnu igru...

Ja ovakav tip konstrukcija obicno koristim u svojoj metodologiji sa studentima na universitetu kad tek pocnu raditi na logickim strukturama (algorithmima) koje su moja specijalnost. Na taj nacin studenti dobiju vrlo intuitivan osjecaj za kod i matematicke strukture koje se naknadno razviju u generativne kompjuterske metode za dizajn. Trafalgar Square ce biti najznacajnija lokacija i ona ce se otvoriti 28.8.

DAZ blog

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Croatian Cyclists in London for Olympics

A 17 member team of Croatian cyclists arrived in London for the Olympics after a 32 day cycle from Zagreb. They were welcomed by Lord Bates and taken to see the Houses of Parliament before cycling off to Stratford to complete their journey.

Cyclists 1

Cyclists 2

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Welcome Croatia

 

Preparations are under way for a major Croatian festival, Welcome Croatia, to take place in the UK from January to June, 2013. The programme is expected to include:The launch of a photography competition Croatia through the eyes of a visitorin February 2012. This will run over 12 months leading to an exhibition of theshort-listed prize winners in February 2013.

  • Croatia, Sporting Powerhouse will be shown just before the Olympics with a top sports personality to open it and then tour around the UK during the festival
  • a map listing all the Croatian cultural objects in the UK and how to find them
  • working with major museums there will be a programme to display significant Croatian pieces in museum collections during the festival with accompanying talks
  • a Croatian film festival
  • an academic seminar on the early history of Croatia
  • publishing a Croatian cookery book with associated food and wine events
  • a project with school children in the two countries working together to explore their differences and similarities
  • music events from classical to contemporary
  • a Croatian literary programme

The festival committee, chaired by Sir John Ramsden, consists of the British-Croatian Society, the Croatian Students and Young Professionals Network, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, the Oxford Association of Croatian Graduates, the International Trust for Croatian Monuments, the Croatian National Tourist Office and the British Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

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Our Chair, Flora Turner, represented the British-Croatian Society at an event on February 1 to honour Dr Kathy Wilkes. Vivian Grisogono has sent this report. You can also watch the event by going to the link given at the bottom of this page.

Dr Kathy Wilkes honoured in Dubrovnik

Dr Kathleen Vaughan Wilkes (1946-2003) was an Oxford philosopher, lecturer at St. Hilda's, who achieved a special kind of eminence. Her formidable intellect was matched with indomitable courage whenever she was faced with physical danger and adversity. Details of her adventurous life and academic career were celebrated in the St. Hilda's Chronicle following her death.

Having become a Fellow of St. Hilda's in 1972 at the age of 26, she volunteered six years later to visit Prague, then behind the Iron Curtain, to give philosophy seminars, which were considered a dissident activity. She returned to then-Czechoslovakia several times, even after she had been refused a visa, and was tireless in helping Czech academics and students right up to the fall of the Iron Curtain in the 'Velvet Revolution' of 1989.

Kathy also spent time teaching in the then-Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, Brazil and China, but it was in former Yugoslavia that her courage and resources were put to the greatest test. She had become Chairman of the Executive Committee of Dubrovnik's Inter-University Centre in 1986, and spent time teaching there every year, as well as co-editing with William Newton-Smith an academic journal first entitled 'Dubrovnik Papers' and later `International Studies in the Philosophy of Science'. Kathy was in Dubrovnik in 1991 when the Serb-led Yugoslav National Army suddenly attacked the city with ruthless, sickening aggression.

For the 1996 -1997 edition of the St. Hilda's chronicle, Kathy wrote a moving article about what life in Dubrovnik was like under siege from September 1991 to January 1992. Her personal account evoked the full horror of the relentless attacks from air, sea and land against one of the most beautiful historical holiday resorts in the world. No journalist's report ever matched her descriptions in bringing home the full extent of the tragedy. On October 3rd 1991, Kathy spoke with calm determination to the BBC World Service for their Topical Reports: 'There's no water. There's no electricity. This is the only phone in Dubrovnik. There's fire all around. I think nobody including the Croatian President knows the extent of the damage here. The houses are on fire. About a quarter of Dubrovnik and the suburbs have been destroyed.' That was two months before the specially brutal aggression on December 6th 1991, the feast of St. Nicholas which marks the start of Catholic Christmas celebrations.

Kathy stayed in the city, helping the local people in every way possible, and sharing the misery and deprivations of the experience. She left only to collect aid to bring back to the city, travelling under very difficult circumstances. Besides being brilliant academically, she was very practical: she brought back medical supplies and even an ambulance while the siege was still on, and later on mine detectors when the area around Dubrovnik could be cleared. She seemed specially attuned to practical needs: in her article for the St. Hilda's Chronicle, written after the end of the aggression, she highlighted the disaster of Vukovar, a city which was suffering much worse than Dubrovnik, but without the international sympathy focused on the latter. She also pointed out that refugees were still crammed into Dubrovnik's surviving hotels, and the outlying villages were totally devastated.

Kathy received several honours for her courage, tenacity, vision and help, including one of Croatia's highest awards (Red Danice hrvatske), but the one she prized most was the honorary citizenship of Dubrovnik, which was granted in 1993. After her death, Kathy's ashes were scattered in the sea under the Lovrijenac fortress. In 2011 the city officials decided to mark their continuing appreciation of her unique contribution with a commemorative plaque on an historic square near the fortress, renaming the square after her. The formal unveiling ceremony was held on February 1st 2012 during the celebrations for the feast of Saint Blaise, Dubrovnik's patron saint. It was attended by a select group of people, including children too young to have known the war, alongside some of Kathy's old friends such as Mr Pero Poljanic, Dubrovnik's Mayor at the time of the siege; Mrs Berta Dragicevic, long-serving secretary of the Inter-University Centre; and Mrs Tea Batinic, owner of the Artur art gallery, in whose house Kathy stayed during the war. Four prominent people spoke movingly of her achievements from different standpoints: the present Mayor of Dubrovnik Mr Andro Vlahusic, the Town Council President Mrs Olga Muratti, Inter-University Centre Director Prof.dr.Krunoslav Pisk, and Mrs Flora Turner, Kathy's successor as Chairman of the British-Croatian Society.

Vivian Grisogono

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNMH_NOcroM&feature=related

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One of our members has sent the following information about the recent Klapa Motovun concert in London:

The Klapa Motovun concert at St Martin in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, January 17, 2012 was a resounding success, ending with a standing ovation. For those of you who couldn't attend, here are three clips. For those of you who did, a reminder of the wonderful music. Enjoy and feel free to pass on the links.

ZVONA MOGA GRADA
St Martin in the Fields, London, January 17, 2012
 
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2011 British-Croatian Society annual dinner
 

The 2011 annual dinner of the British-Croatian Society featuring the City of Dubrovnik was held in the prestigious surroundings of the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Pall Mall, London on Saturday December 3. The dinner, attended by over 100 people including the Deputy Mayor of Dubrovnik Mr Niko Salja and his wife, was supported by the City of Dubrovnik. Dr Robin Harris, author of Dubrovnik: A History, gave a talk entitled The Historic Achievement of Dubrovnik (now printed in the second of the new series of booklets issued by the Society). A raffle at the dinner raised 640 GBP for this year's British-Croatian Society charity Napredak from Dubrovnik (www.hkdnapredak.com). The following is a translation from an article that appeared in the Dubrovacki Vjesnik newspaper on December 12, 2011:

The twentieth anniversary of the ruthless destruction of Dubrovnik is still remembered in London. The British-Croatian Society, supported by the City of Dubrovnik Tourist Board and many members and donors, held their traditional annual dinner this year dedicated to the memory of the victims of the war.The evening was organised in the classical ambience of the Oxford and Cambridge Club, preceded by an exhibition of documents from the history of Dubrovnik in the exhibition hall of our embassy. This was a logical prelude to dinner, where the main speaker was historian Robin Harris, the well-known author of books about Dubrovnik's past and present. At the main table were Deputy Mayor of Dubrovnik Niko Salja, who came with his wife, and hosts Branko Sorkocevic Sorge and the President of the British-Croatian Society, Mrs Flora Turner. Miso Mihocevic was a special guest of honour.The hall, which was filled to capacity, included Ivica Tomic, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in the UK, with his guests, Mr Andrew Kojakovic and his daughters, Lady Jadranka Beresford-Peirse and her family, the Frankopan family and many prominent Croats and their British friends.Also at the dinner was the Maestro Oliver Gilmour, recently a resident of Dubrovnik. This provided the opportunity for the Deputy Mayor to announce a new addition to the overall cultural offer of the City - a project entitled the Dubrovnik Summer Opera which will begin in June with the staging of Mozart's opera Cosi fan tutte on Lokrum.A pleasant dinner at the elegant club finished with a raffle to raise funds for a charity supported by the British-Croatian Society.

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Message from AMAC
 
On behalf of AMAC-UK, I regret to inform you that Dr Svjetlana Sumpor’s lecture (titled “Ivan Rabuzin: His Art, Centenary of Birth and New Perspectives”), scheduled for this coming Sunday, has now been cancelled due to the speaker’s ill health.
 
We apologise for any inconvenience, and hope you’ll join us in wishing Dr Sumpor a speedy recovery.
 
We’ll keep you informed about our upcoming programme, and look forward to welcoming members of the British Croatian Society to our future events.
 
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Exploring British-Croatian
 
Some time ago we held a zoom meeting on the theme 'Exploring British-Croatian'. It is now available to see on YouTube. We will continue to explore 'British-Croatian' with further film clips later in the year.
 
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AMAC invites you to a talk about Ivan Rabuzin

Even though it is, once again, not possible to organise our annual meeting in person, we will have a virtual version of the event on Sunday, 9th of May at 11:00 am.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Svjetlana Sumpor will give a talk on the life and work of Ivan Rabuzin, and the opening of the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art.

The lecture will be followed by our annual meeting.

Please join us by following the link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87679360959?pwd=QjRmVGZiZWp6NkN3MVkxU244MkpJQT09

Meeting ID: 876 7936 0959
Passcode: 145237

We hope you'll be able to attend and we very much looking forward to seeing you.

Yours, on behalf of the AMAC-UK, Neva Kandžija

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C20 Society Building of the Month
April 2021 - Grand Hotel, Dubrovnik – Lopud, Croatia
 
Before the lockdown, the Britiah-Croatian Society worked with the UK's C20 Society to feature twentieth century Croatian architecture. We hope to cooperate with the C20 Society in 2022 in mounting a long weekend visit to look in depth at some of Zagreb's splendid buildings.
 
The C20 Society's building of the month in April is the Grand Hotel Dubrovnik on the island of Lopud. If you would like to know more about this outstanding building, you can read the C20 Society article here.

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Inspiring Croatian Diaspora Story: Dusica Hoban  – Making Individual Donations to Croatia from UK
 
An interview published with total Croatia news.
 
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Predrag Matvejevic's Our Daily Bread
 
Last year the lockdown prevented the British-Croatian Society from holding an event with the British Library on the occasion of the publication in English of Predrag Matvejevic's Our Daily Bread. Below is a review of the book from the LA Review of Books.
 
Remember the Bread
March 26, 2021   •   By Emina Melonic
 
Our Daily Bread: A Meditation on the Cultural and Symbolic Significance of Bread Throughout History
 
PREDRAG MATVEJEVIĆ
 
We live in a world that thrives on transience and disposability, a world of self-centered inwardness and collective atomization. To forget how to be human is easy, but luckily, there are books that still remind us of the mystery, sorrow, and beauty of the world we inhabit. Yugoslav scholar Predrag Matvejević’s Our Daily Bread: A Meditation on the Cultural and Symbolic Significance of Bread Throughout History, now available from Istros Books in a fine English translation by Christina Pribićević-Zorić, awakens us to the connection we have to each other by examining the way the bread we eat becomes a vehicle for human relations.
 
Matvejević (1932–2017) was one of the great European intellectuals. Having grown up in Yugoslavia, he was witness to constant cultural shifts and the often-strange blending and mutual influence of different cultures. The majority of his work was concerned with how cultures influence each other (for better or worse) and how the singular human being fits into the larger society. This, and much more, is the subject of Our Daily Bread.
 
Unless we are on the keto diet, all of us eat bread. But do we really give it a deeper thought? Do we ask where it comes from? Who makes it? What is used to make it? What are its sociological, economic, anthropological, religious, and cultural aspects? Do we feel close to it, or are we indifferent? Does it bring good memories of family life, of convivial meals with friends and loved ones?
 
For Matvejević, bread is an unbroken thread that binds civilizations of the far past to the present day. “The origins of bread,” he writes, “go back to the times when nomads became settlers, hunters became shepherds and both farmed. Some moved from hunting-ground to hunting-ground and from pasture to pasture; others cleared and worked the land: the vocation of Cain versus that of Abel.” The history of bread is the history of humanity itself. In many cultures (not only Christian), bread is a symbol of holiness and respect, serving as a vehicle for the sacred. As Matvejević writes, “Bread is the product of both nature and culture. It was the condition for peace and the cause of war, the promise of hope and the reason for despair. Religions blessed it. People swore by it.”
 
There is something universal about bread. It spans the boundaries that, as human beings, we tend to create, for better or worse. Our essence can reveal itself in the way we handle bread, whether we eat it alone or share it. We have fond memories of bread because it reminds us of something mysterious. Matvejević writes that “[t]he touch of bread is not something one forgets either. Is the crust smooth or crisp, is the middle soft or already stale? How do the hand, palm and fingers pick it up, hold it, break it? To whom do we offer and give it? How, when and where?”
 
Matvejević’s style is consistently poetic, yet he does not sacrifice historical fact. He traces the “depictions of different grains […] on clay tablets from the ancient cities of Uruk and Ebla, as well as in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics of Memphis and Thebes.” Classic works, such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, not only mention but elevate bread. Additionally, Psalm 104 blesses the bread, […] [A]ncient Greek choruses sang the praises of bread in dramas, tragedies, and comedies. […] Aristotle distinguishes between “soft and hard bread” in life and morals. […] Plato’s The Republic does not forget those who have only dry bread, yet still celebrate.
 
Studying the physical makeup of the breads people ate allows us to follow their migration patterns. Matvejević writes, [b]read followed paths that took it through space and time, memory and oblivion. It is hard to say where these journeys begin and where they end. […] Sometimes the paths returned the same way, at others they took a different route, all the while crossing the plains, scaling mountains, roaming deserts. Grain was transported across seas and along rivers by ship, and on land by carts and packhorses, and even on shoulders of men and women.
 
Matvejević’s illuminating words call on us not to forget our ancestors, all those men and women who toiled in similar ways to us. This is an incredibly important reminder in a culture that appears to crave nothing but endless distraction and shallow “entertainment.” Bread can remind us of our physical and metaphysical connection to others. As Matvejević writes, “Bread has forged many trails, old and new, past and present. […] Those who depart on a journey and those who return seldom eat the same bread.”
 
Matvejević masterfully explores the significance of bread in the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He shows that there are more things that bind us together as a human family than divide us and lead us into conflict. For the ancient Jews, making matzah was done according to strict rules, to make sure the dough did not ferment. All of these customs have spiritual connotations, and they are “a reminder of both the poverty of slavery and liberation after the exodus. The Pesach Haggadah notes that ‘This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt.’”
 
Christians naturally and inevitably drew from the Hebrew Bible, but the meaning of bread was taken even further theologically and liturgically. As Matvejević notes, “communion, the Eucharist host and monstrance, the tabernacle, the chalice, the Eucharistic transubstantiation and consubstantiation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, bread as the word of the Lord, the logos of faith, the symbol of the sacrament” — all of these are more than vehicles of faith: through the physicality of the bread itself, they connect the human beings to God as they seek succor, peace, and sustenance.
 
By contrast, Islam is not so much concerned with liturgy, mainly because of its focus on prayer and ethical understanding. However, grain is mentioned in the Qur’an many times. One of the surahs says, “It is Allah who causes the seed-grain and the fruit-stone to split and sprout. […] We give life to the dead earth and bring forth from it again.” Culturally, bread holds a high place for Muslims. It is made with care and gratitude, but most of all, it is shared with others out of common humanity and charity.
 
The most poignant part of Matvejević’s book is the final reflection on his personal experience of bread. He remembers many family members in Odessa who survived the Soviet gulags and for whom bread represented the possibility of life in the midst of hunger and poverty. Most died tragically, and this is part of the sadness that Matvejević feels. Yet this sorrow is at times transcended because it is precisely the bread that humanizes his family’s dark experiences of totalitarianism.
 
Matvejević intimately understands that bread isn’t simply food, that there is a spiritual interiority to this humble physical object. He writes that [t]he poetics of bread is scattered like grains through time and space, across countries and people, in everyday life and eternity. It reveals itself in poetry, paintings and prayer. It is present when dreaming and when awake, “between dreams and reality,” in the shortness of an instant and in the length of time. We carry it within ourselves, knowing it and forgetting it at the same time.
 
Just like our mortality, bread is always present. Memento panem — remember the bread so that you may remember who you are and who you may become.
 
¤
 
Emina Melonic is a book and film critic who resides in East Aurora, New York. She is a regular contributor to the New Criterion, Law and Liberty, and Splice Today, among other outlets.
 
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Grand Dishes
 
Flora Turner writes:
 
After four years in the making, the book Grand Dishes, Recipes and stories from grandmothers of the world is now on my table. It is a beautifully produced book with excellent photography and great stories with some 70 recipes that the authors Anastasia Miari and Iska Lupton collected and cooked with grandmothers around the world. 
 
As I can read, a number of discoveries were by chance, just like mine. On a flight London - Split I was sitting next to a very handsome young man who was travelling for the first time to Hvar for a boys weekend. He told me about his girlfriend's project to find special recipes from grandmothers from around the world . I offered to give her a copy of my book, ’The Sweet Taste of a  Dalmatian Love Affair,' and meet her back in London. 
 
A few months later, Iska, Anastasia and photographer Ella Louise Sullivan arrived in Hvar. Even before arriving at my house I took them to see an exhibition from  the collection of Dagmar Meneghello and promised  to arrange a visit to Dagmar on the nearby island of Palmižana. In the Sunday Times Anastasia has written an account of their visit: 
 
"One of my favourite dishes in the book reminds me of sitting in dappled shade in Palmizana, a village on the Croatian island of Sveti Klement, in the company of Dagmar and her gaggle of girlfriends. We ate fresh seafood gregada - a stew of grouper, prawns, clams and potatoes - while looking over the turquoise water.”
 
I spent three days with these young, enthusiastic girls so eager to know about love and life from women who had a grand title of grandmother. And there we were cooking together an octopus salad and laughing. Since all three had recently split with their boyfriends I was comforting them with my happy story.  And so they concluded: This book is not about what it’s like to be old. It’s about what it’s like to have lived. 
 
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Ivana Gavrić: Tales from the Keyboard - On an Overgrown Path, online
 
Saturday 8th May 2021.
 
All those with a ticket already will be able to use it for the new date, and anyone wishing to request a refund will receive one.
 
Ivana places Schubert and Janácek side by side, as on her debut disc 'In the mists', this time with early works of both composers. 
 
PROGRAMME:
SCHUBERT | Sonata in A minor D537
JANACEK | On an Overgrown Path
 
Tickets are available here.
 
 

Bojan Cicic, Rosary Sonatas

St John's Smith Square
Easter Sunday April 4, at 15:30 and 19:30. 
 
Both performances will be streamed on each event page on the St John's Smith Square website from the advertised start time. Content will then be available for 30 days afterwards on the Video on Demand section of the website.
 

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From Petrinja With Love
 
'From Petrinja With Love' is a short film showing the measures being taken following the damage to library material as a result of the earthquakes. It is in Croatian with English subtitles. You can view it here.
 
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'Exploring British Croatian'
 
Our next meeting (on zoom) will be at 18:30 on Monday March 22. 
 
We will show short videos of three speakers talking about their personal experiences of mixing Croatia and the UK. We hope this will lead to a lively discussion about how members of the British-Croatian Society have something of Croatia and something of the UK in them.
 
The link for this zoom meeting will follow by email later.
 
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Ivana Gavric concert
 
Ivana writes:
 
I was reminiscing with my mother last night how it was exactly a year ago I performed for AMAC-UK and what a wonderful evening it was; one of my last concerts. 
 
I would like to let you know that my second ‘Tales from the Keyboard’ concerts will be broadcasting on Sunday 7th March at 8pm for 48 hours via the platform CityMusicLive. 
 
The programme will include Chopin Mazurkas, Liszt Petrarch Sonnets and Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse.
 
I have asked the CML to give British Croatian society members a discount, as my way of saying thank you for the loyal support during this difficult time, so anyone booking with discount CROATIA15 will receive 15% off ticket. 
 
I recorded a short trailer for the forthcoming recital which can be viewed via this link. It is a radiant short Prelude by Chopin, which I will be playing on the 7th.
 
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Petrinja Teacher Training College appeal

Lady Jadranka writes: Zana Matulic Bilac, a senior conservator/restorer from Split, sends us this SOS message. 

You can donate direct, following the instructions below, or you can send a donation to International Trust for Croatian Monuments, 34 Cadogan Square, London SW1X 0JL, when, if you are a tax-paying British citizen, the Trust will receive another 25% from British Government.

The evacuation of the library of the Petrinja Teacher Training College

In the catastrophic earthquake that hit the city of Petrinja and its surroundings on December 28 and 29 in 2020, the building of the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Zagreb, the location department in Petrinja, was among the severely damaged objects. The library of the Petrinja Teacher Training College was founded in the 1870s and annexed to the Faculty of Teacher Education in 2007. Today, the library has a fund of approximately 28,000 volumes, including 400 protected cultural property items. The archival material created at the Department includes personal files, student files, secretary and accounting files and other material. Due to the necessary reconstruction of the building, it is urgent to evacuate and store the library collection and archival material. Evacuation requires material for cleaning, packing, transport and storage.

Activities related to procuration and evacuation are voluntarily coordinated and organized by the IIC – Croatian Group. The association is one of the eight regional groups of the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) based in London. It has been operating in Croatia since 2009 as an association that brings together experts dealing with the protection of cultural heritage.

Following the unfortunate earthquakes beginning with the one hitting Zagreb in March 2000, the association is continuously focused on professional help and support for colleagues in Zagreb and damaged cultural heritage. Last year, a volunteer project was started at the Volunteers' Centre Zagreb with the aim of better organization and inclusion of experts and students who are not members of the association. After the earthquake that affected the Banovina area, the association expressed its readiness for professional volunteer assistance to the Conservation Department in Sisak. The new project was launched on February 10, 2021, the first major activity being the evacuation of the library in Petrinja led by the member Dragica Krstić, head of the Department for Preservation and Storage of the National and University Library in Zagreb.

As part of the initiative of the IIC – Croatian Group and the IIC headquarters, a fundraiser was started within the international professional community to gather funds for the necessary material. Payments will be made directly to the library through a temporary account opened for that purpose. Since the IIC – Croatian Group is a non-profit association, focused on professional activities, in this way the assistance of the association excludes the financial intermediation in the service of the best implementation.

Preparatory work is already finished and the cost estimates are prepared in collaboration with the senior librarian Andreja Tominac.

Payment details:

Recipient:
Faculty of Teacher Education
University of Zagreb
Savska cesta 77
10 000 Zagreb
Croatia

IBAN: HR9124020061500080595
Model: HR00
Call number: 010321
Purpose of payment: Pomoć - knjižnica UFZG

Payments are to be made before March 1, 2021.

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Earthquakes Benefit Concert - New date

 
This concert is still going ahead online but will now be on
Saturday 20 February at 7.30 pm

Tickets at www.wegottickets.com

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A Theatre Performance 'The Return'
 
A message from Natasha Stanic:
 
A solo theatre performance, 'The Return', will be live streamed from The Cockpit Theatre tomorrow, Thursday, 28th January and available on demand on their Website for one month.  
 
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NERHT - New Europe Railway Heritage Trust

In summer 2020 BCS members Robert and Suzanna Dolata were shown round a hugely ambitious Croatian Railway Preservation Society enthusiasts’ project to reopen a railway line through the scenic Raša Valley in Istria closed in 2002.

A British based railway heritage organisation is advising the promoter Neil Vlacic, a Scotsman living in Labin. The project is currently in the process of being registered in Croatia as a voluntary society.

One of NERHT's supporters James Waite has written a book on narrow gauge railways in former Yugoslavia, see flyer. If you know anyone who might be interested in this work, perhaps you'll let them know about it.

The Istria project concerns the heavy standard gauge railway between the coast at Rabac and Buzet. It served the coal mine at Labin, but closed along with the mine in 2002. Track is in good condition – mostly, and buildings are generally intact. Regional and local government authorities favour the idea because of potential to revive engineering industries and generate inland tourism – think of great interest and economic benefits of preserved railways in England.

We will report developments. If you are a railway enthusiast, have a look at NEHRT web page and the attached leaflet about bygone Narrow Gauge Lines.

Robert Dolata

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Earthquakes Benefit Concert
 
A group in Northumbria will be putting on an online concert to raise money to help people affected by the recent earthquakes in Croatia. Carol Whinnom ([email protected]) writes:
 
While we know that in Croatia itself everything is well-organised and funds are being raised there,  there are lots of Croatians living in the UK and Ireland who feel they would like to help. We organised a similar concert after the Indonesian tsunami a few years ago, and raised a good amount of money. 
 
We already have two exciting - and very contrasting- high-quality artists who are eager to perform, and have more in the pipeline. We are always keen for more artistic contributions.   The Croatian Embassy has said it will help us with publicity but we'd appreciate your support too. 
 
Croatian Earthquake Fundraiser: the proposal
 
We intend to put on a concert to raise money to support the people affected by the earthquakes in Croatia on on Saturday 6th February 2021 at 7.30pm (GMT) which is 8.30pm in mainland Europe.
 
We will use Zoom to host this concert. People will be able to buy tickets at www.wegottickets.com in the U.K. and there will probably be a separate site for people in the Balkans or elsewhere to buy tickets. We will put a range of ticket prices, so people will be able to choose which price of ticket suits what they can afford. We will also remind people that they can also donate on the night via paypal.me/TheUkuleleandOtherMa to give money in U.K. pounds. There will be a similar link for people in the Balkans to donate directly.
 
We are asking for short video submissions from artists that we can stream on the night and, so that the event can feel “live” we’d love it if artists could also attend online and be available in the chat, to answer questions and comments from the audience.
 
To run the evening smoothly, we’ll have a bilingual compere to talk to the audience in both Croatian and English, plus a support team to answer technical questions, cue videos, moderate chat, etc.
 
Artistic brief
 
Please record us a short set – we suggest a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes, on video. You can contribute less than this if you like. Mp4 video format is the best for us. It doesn’t have to be professional level video shoot: the audience knows we’ve pulled this concert together quickly and under the constraints of the Coronavirus . A video filmed on a smartphone is probably good enough. We suggest you pay attention, though, to the sound quality. Check it is neither too quiet nor so loud it is distorted. If you prefer to do your set in one single recording, that’s fine, or you could record each song or tune separately: it is entirely up to you.
 
We will then ask you to send the video to us. We suggest using https:// transfer.pcloud.com/ or you can send us a download link, by Saturday 20th January. The email address to use is [email protected] We will test it, to check it looks and sounds good, and get back to you if we find any problems. It is fine to mention any new releases, merchandise, your website, or concerts you have coming up. It is kind of you to support this cause so we’d like you to get some support in return! Feel free to talk to introduce your music: British audience members may not know Croatian, Bosnian or Serbian artists and vice versa. Audiences might be interested in why you are keen to support this cause.
 
Then we’d ask you to share the event using your usual channels, social media, email newsletter, local newspapers & radio, word of mouth etc. https://www.facebook.com/ events/241734650742984 The Croatian Embassy in London and the British-Croatian Society are helping to publicise the event in the U.K. And if you think of anything else we could do, please let us know.

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Post-Brexit travel to Croatia by UK passport holders
 
Iva Gudelj, First Secretary at the Croatian Embassy, has provided the following post-Brexit advice for UK passport holders wishing to visit Croatia:
 
As for the information on Brexit implication on UK nationals in Croatia hereby we can inform that Croatian Ministry of Interior, who is in charge of border control and immigration, has published information on their website, please follow the link.

General rules and information on travel restrictions currently in place due to Covid19 are published here.

All inquiries and requests for interpretation of the rules may be sent to Ministry of Interior [email protected]

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Following the earthquake, the Croatian Red Cross has set up a link for donations
 
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Weʼre raising £10,000 to Help with Urgent Renovation work to the Croatian Catholic Mission in London.

I have raised 61% online and a further 10% offline.  It would be fabulous to get to the full amount with the support of the broad range of the Croatian community involved as well?

JustGiving link

Nicholas Frankopan

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calendarCroatia 2021
 
If you would like a copy of the calendar and have not yet placed your order, please do so as soon as possible.
 
You can see the calendar on www.britishcroatiansociety.com - just click on CALENDAR CROATIA 2021.
 
To order your copy, please email us with your postal address before December 10 and we will post it to you in time for Christmas. The price is £15 including post and packing for addresses in the UK and £18 for elsewhere.
 
Payment can be made through the website by paypal. Otherwise, please pay either:
 
  • by bank transfer to The British Croatian Society, account 60566500 at Barclays Oxford City Centre branch, sort code 20-65-18 
  • or by cheque made payable to The British-Croatian Society sent to: David Davison, Treasurer, British-Croatian Society, 5 St Edward’s Court, Oakthorpe Road, Oxford OX2 7UP
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Kazalište Planet Art

Tomislav Vlahutin has brought to our attention the online theatre production project of Kazalište Planet Art from Zagreb that may be of interest to our Croatian speakers.

'Obraćam Vam se vezano uz novi projekt Kazališta Planet Art – Online kazalište uživo kojim se uživo, online streamingom prenose kazališne predstave na hrvatskom jeziku što je, vjerujem, zanimljivo hrvatskim iseljenicima i hrvatskim manjinskim zajednicama diljem svijeta. 

Projekt je nastao kao odgovor na korona krizu, no ujedno je otvorio mogućnost da na ovaj način predstave mogu gledati po cijelom svijetu svi oni koji nemaju mogućnost fizički prisustvovati kazališnim predstavama na hrvatskom jeziku, a željeli bi to.

Predstave se online prenose s 4 kamere, prilagođene su TV i online mediju čime postaju, kako ih gledatelji opisuju 'kombinacijom kazališta i filma', a za cijenu ulaznice od 39 kuna (cca. 6 USD $) predstave može gledati cijela obitelj.

U ponudi su tri hit komedije Kazališta Planet Art: Velika ZvjerkaTko je ovdje lud? i Ritina škola koje se tim redoslijedom izmjenjuju nedjeljom u 20h po hrvatskom vremenu.

Riječ je o predstavama koje su među najizvođenijima u Hrvatskoj u posljednjih desetak godina.

Inače, Kazalište Planet Art jedno je od najuspješnijih i najnagrađivanijih kazališta u Hrvatskoj u posljednjih petnaest godina, prepoznato po svojoj kvaliteti, a u njemu igraju prva imena hrvatskog glumišta.

U attachu Vam šaljem opširniji tekst o projektu s vizualima iz predstava, a još opširnije sve informacije možete naći na ovoj web stranici .

Puno hvala!'

Marko Torjanac
Kazalište Planet Art
Vlaška 70a
gsm: + 385 91 1007 967
e-mail: [email protected]

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Le Petit Prince
During lockdown, Past Master and organiser of the annual Drapers’ Concerts Series, Sir Nicholas Jackson Bt, was busy writing an opera based on the story of Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. 

See the attachment for how you can join a performance on November 19.
 
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'Adopt a clock'
We are pleased to be able to tell you that we are sending more than £1,100 to the Museum of Arts and Crafts (Muzej za umjetnosti i obrt) in Zagreb towards the cost of restoring an early 18th century movement by Richard Colley, an ‘eminent maker’ from one of the great periods of London clockmaking, that was damaged in the recent earthquake.
 
Our donation was supported by generous contributions from members of the British-Croatian Society.
 
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‘Adopt a Clock’ project

The British-Croatian Society has supported the ‘adopt a clock’ project to help the Museum of Arts and Crafts (Muzej za umjetnosti i obrt) in Zagreb. The project helps to restore some of the damage to the exhibits by the earthquake. One of the damaged clocks has an early 18th century movement by Richard Colley, an ‘eminent maker’ from one of the great periods of London clockmaking, in a slightly later German rococo case.  The Society has limited funds but we responded by ‘adopting’ this clock with a British connection by contributing towards the cost of the restoration of the Colley movement. The restored clock features in an exhibition at the Museum and the support from the British-Croatian Society is acknowledged.

As this year the Society has been unable to hold its annual dinner at which each year money is raised for a deserving project in Croatia, the Society is encouraging its members to consider making a donation towards the costs of repairing the Richard Colley clock mechanism. If you wish to add to the Society’s support, please email [email protected] for details of how you can do so.

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Zagreb Loves You

In the last almost two months, we have really had the opportunity to see that we are not alone and that our fellow citizens, as well as our visitors or those who are yet to come to us, love ...

https://youtu.be/txZgLExm-vg

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We should never take our daily bread for granted
Anne Sebba reviews Our Daily Bread by Predrag Matvejevic in The Spectator

We should never take our daily bread for granted
In a moving combination of memoir and meditation, Predrag Matvejevic describes how a smuggled loaf to a starving PoW proved a life-saver

"In the seventh and final chapter of this small but lingeringly powerful book, the author reveals his motivation for writing it. His father, he explains, a Russian-born Yugoslav soldier, had been a prisoner of war of the Germans, part of a group consigned to do forced labour felling trees during the bitterly cold winter of 1942-43. One evening, freezing, starving and looking barely human, the group was stopped on the road back to camp by a stranger, a Protestant pastor who invited them into his house and, risking reprisals, nonetheless gave them a chance to warm up and eat some bread with a glass of wine."

Read more.

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'Poezija u gradu' 2020
A project in celebration of the poet August Senoa

Obavještavamo Vas da je danas, točno sedam mjeseci od zagrebačkog potresa, počeo projekt „Poezija u gradu“ u spomen velikanu  hrvatske  književnosti  Augustu Šenoi. S poštovanjem i zahvalnošću u spomen ovom jedinstvenom književnom velikanu građani će na deset osvjetljenih citylight površina u gradu moći čitati neke od njegovih najljepših pjesama: Zagrebu, Tri riječi, Budi svoj, Sunce i zvijezde i Srce pjesnikovo.

August Šenoa umro je u 43. godini života od posljedica upale pluća od koje je obolio kada je uz predan i intenzivan književni rad i kao požrtvovni gradski vijećnik po hladnoći skrbio za unesrećene u velikom zagrebačkom potresu 1880. godine.

Više informacija i fotografije nalaze se u prilogu.
Unaprijed zahvaljujemo na praćenju.

Kontak:
Sonja Zubović, 091 5846 478, [email protected]

PROJEKT „POEZIJA U GRADU“ U SPOMEN VELIKANU
HRVATSKE KNJIŽEVNOSTI AUGUSTU ŠENOI

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The International Trust for Croatian Monuments 
Progress Report 2020

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calendarCroatia 2021

If you have managed to get to Croatia this year, we would like some photographs from you for next year's calendarCroatia. But if you haven't managed a trip, why not look through photographs from previous years, remember fond places and people, and send us a selection?
 
Let us have your photographs as soon as possible and not later than mid October - we plan to have the calendar ready for purchase by mid November.

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‘Zagreb’s museums and historic sites are suffering severely’
An article by Sir Timothy Clifford from the Apollo

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calendarCroatia 2021

If you manage to travel to Croatia this summer, remember we would like your photographs for calendarCroatia 2021. If travelling is not going to be possible this year, why not enjoy looking through your photographs taken in Croatia over the years and email some of your happy memories to us for the calendar?

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The unluckiest museums in the world? Croatia faces string of natural disasters
 
 
'What next: Godzilla?' said a citizen of Croatia’s capital after a freak storm hit Zagreb on the night of 24 July, just four months after an earthquake caused severe damage to houses, the cathedral and museums. 
 
The biggest problem for the city’s many museums has been that most have been storing works in their basements after their buildings were made unsafe by the tremors on 22 March, at the height of the Covid-19 crisis.
 
Sanjin Mihelic, the director of Zagreb’s Archaeological Museum, who has been working to conserve its collections ever since then, spent all night in the basement trying to save his objects from the flood water. The Museum of Decorative Arts, which has been coping with a collapsed roof and no chimneys, had water coming up from the ground; its pumps could not cope with the 100 litres of rain per square metre that fell in just 10 hours. Detailed reports on damage to the works of art are being compiled.
 
Donations to restore cultural heritage damaged in the earthquake and storm can be made via the International Trust for Croatian Monuments website.
 
• Maja Razović Kocijan is the director of the Museum Documentation Centre, Zagreb

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What is a School? 

Michael Ross writes:
 
I am an author and my partner is an illustrator and wanted to let members know about a new bi-lingual book I have authored called 'What is a School?'
 
It can be a scary thing for a small child to go to school for the very first time. In my Arnie & Mia series for 3 to 7 year-olds, I have written a new Bi-lingual English/Croatian book for children called 'What Is A School?'
 
My illustrator, who is also Croatian, has provided all the wonderful illustrations. It will help children prepare for school and also help learn simple Croatian and/or English as well.
 
Welcome to 'What Is A School?' by Michael Ross on Amazon.

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Earthquake Hits Zagreb

The article is taken from the July/August 2020 edition of Minerva magazine, copyright rests with the magazine. For information about the magazine please go to minervamagazine.com.

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From the editor of Istros Books
 
Today is publication day for Catherine the Great and the Small by Olja Knežević. Olja is from Montenegro originally, but now lives and works in Zagreb and her novel won last year's VBZ (major Croatian publisher) 'Best Unpublished Novel Award'. 
 
Knežević's third novel to date, Catherine the Great and the Small follows the trajectory of a young girl through growing up in communism, coming of age in the breakdown of a country and maturing in a society in transition while she tries to bring up her children in a foreign country and yet hold true to her roots and to who she is. It explores the personal and wider political challenges the protagonist must pit herself against, and is touching in its honesty. 
 
Matt Janny, reviewing in The Calvert Journal, has this to say about the poetry of the book as Knežević tries to capture the natural beauty of the coastal home she has left, but is always drawn back to:
“Always at the start of summer we pine for the pungent smell of home,” she writes. “We are called back by the selfish pergola whose heavy, cloying smell fills our nostrils while we shoo away thirsty wasps. And the grape vines, dry and anorexic, untended, left to the mercy of the elements, but with a fragrance so piercing, smelling of sugar on the verge of ferment.” Rarely do writers capture what is not there so convincingly, without resorting to saccharine hyperbole. Nostalgia is synonymous with forgetting, writes Milan Kundera. But here, the narrator remembers faithfully; nostalgia gives way to reality.
 
John Alvey, in his Modern Novel literary blog sums it up nicely in his concluding paragraph to his review of the book:
 
"This is not a they lived happily ever after novel, not least because they lived happily ever after all too often does not happen in the real world. Catherine struggles, she falls, she fails, she picks herself up, she carries on, for herself and those she loves, and, somehow, she does not get the perfect situation but makes an accommodation with those around her, keeps her head help up high and marches on. We can only wish her well."
 
I've included more information about the author below, and anyone interested in purchasing copies of the book could visit the Istros Books website or visit their local bookstore, many of which are re-opening today after a long hibernation....
 
 
Olja Knežević was born in Podgorica, Montenegro and presently resides in Zagreb, Croatia. She has worked as an interpreter, a journalist and an editor for news in English aboard the Radio Ship, an independent radio station located in the international waters of Adriatic Sea during the 1990s and the war in ex-Yugoslavia; a project manager's assistant for Danish Refugee Council in Montenegro; a professor of English Language and Literature, and a translator for poetry and prose. In 2008 she completed her M.A. in Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, and was the recipient of Overall Prize for best dissertation of 2007/2008. That dissertation was to become her first novel Milena & Other Social Reforms, initially written in English, then translated and published in 2011 in Montenegro. In 2009 her short story The Classroom was published in FREEDOM, the Amnesty International's anthology of short stories based on Human Rights Declaration. She is the author of about eighty stories and columns published in various literary magazines and supplements, the best of which were collected and published in 2013, in a book titled London & Stories of the South. Her other novels include Mrs Black (2015) and Catherine, The Great and the Small, which was the 2019 winner of the prestigious VBZ Literary Award for the best novel written in Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian or Bosnian language.
 
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A letter from Bojan Čičić

My name is Bojan Čičić and I am the leader of the Academy of Ancient Music, Professor of Baroque Violin at the Royal College of Music in London, and Founder and Director of the Illyria Consort. In March last year I returned the violin which I had been using for ten years, an instrument by F. Ruggieri from 1680, to its owner the Jumpstart Junior Foundation, having used it for the maximum number of years possible. Upon returning this violin, I went in search of an instrument of similar quality for the next stage of my career, and was lucky enough to find what I believe is the perfect instrument: a 1701 violin by G. Tononi, made in Bologna. 
 
Attached is a letter with further details about the violin from Tarisio auction house in London, who are selling this instrument. The asking price is £383,000. So far I have raised £125,000, and need to find a further £258,000. I have set up a trust for this purpose, shares in which are £5,000 each. I have twelve months remaining in which to find investors who are willing to buy shares in this instrument.
 
The market for fine instruments is a very safe one; the value of an old Italian violin such as this one has only ever increased over the years, and even in the current global crisis, prices are slowly rising. The violin by Ruggieri that I previously played, for example, was bought in 2008 for €200,000, but by 2019 it was valued at £320,000. I believe that the same sort of return could be expected from the Tononi violin. Given the current volatility of the markets, the safest place to invest money may well be in old instruments. 
 
I am confident that your trust in me as a performer, and in this violin, will be rewarded in the years to come with many recordings and performances, and I look forward very much to the time when we are all allowed back into concert halls again. 
 
Thank you for considering being part of the Bojan Cicic Violin Trust.
 
Bojan Čičić
 
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Helping Zagreb's Museums
 
During the week, 4 to 6 May, the International Trust for Croatian Monuments has delivered to five museums in Zagreb urgently needed Conservation material and archival boxes to the value of £1,150.00.
The museums are; the Archaeological Museum,  MUO, the Ethnographic, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the  August Senoa Museum.
 
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Croatian Audio-Visual Centre
A message from the Hrvatski audiovizualni centar with a computer generated translation below
 
HRVATSKI audiovizualni centar će, kao potporu društvenoj kampanji #ostanidoma, na posebnoj stranici koja će se redovito ažurirati objavljivati popis svih online mjesta koja nude, većinom besplatan, streaming filmova domaće i inozemne produkcije.
 
Radi izvanredne situacije u kojoj su zbog prevencije od širenja koronavirusa zatvorena sva kina, pojedine su platforme, produkcijske i distribucijske kuće odlučile podijeliti svoje filmove i tako olakšati i potaknuti ostanak ljudi u domovima.
 
Hrvatski filmski savez je pokrenuo online videoteku na kojoj se mogu gledati filmovi nastali u njegovoj produkciji - za sada je ponuđeno 17 kratkometražnih i dugometražnih filmova za besplatno gledanje.
 
Videoteci, koja se može pronaći na videoteka.hfs.hr, u sljedećem će se razdoblju dodavati novi naslovi.
 
HFS Videoteka
Na ovim stranicama možete pogledati izbor filmova iz produkcije Hrvatskog filmskog saveza.
 
The CROATIAN Audiovisual Center, in support of the #ostanidoma social campaign, will publish a list of all online sites offering mostly free, domestic and international movie streaming on a separate page that will be updated regularly.
 
Due to the emergency situation in which all cinemas have been closed due to the prevention of the spread of coronavirus, some platforms, production and distribution companies have decided to share their films, thus facilitating and encouraging people to stay in homes.
 
The Croatian Film Alliance has launched an online video library where films produced in its production can be viewed - so far, 17 short and feature films have been offered for free viewing.
 
The video library, which can be found at videoteka.hfs.hr, will add new titles in the next period.

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Ivana Gavric playing Mozart
 
A chance to hear Ivana Gavric playing Mozart, Cheryl Frances-Had and Beethoven.
 
Wednesday 15 April 2020, 20:00
Southbank Sinfonia Replay
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Earthquake and the consequences for the August Senoa Museum
 
Jadranka Lady Beresford- Peirse has contacted the Society about the recent earthquake and the consequences for the August Senoa Museum.
 
The museum has suffered considerable damage to its roof and to the murals. The International Trust for Croatian Monuments has appealed to all Croatians living in the UK to help the museum in this hour of need. 
 
Donation can be made
 
- by cheque to International Trust for Croatian Monuments, c/o Jadranka Lady Beresford-Peirse, 34 Cadogan Square, London, SW1X 0JL, 
 
- or directly to: 
Udruga Svi naši Šenoe  ulica Ive Mallina 27,10000 Zagreb                    
Račun u Zagrebačkoj banci IBAN: HR3423600001102552586SWIFT ZABAHR2X
 
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Message from HE The Croatian Ambassador to the British-Croatian Society
 
I look forward to the moment - hopefully not too far ahead in the future - when we'll be able to resume British-Croatian Society regular meetings and gatherings, which are missed by all of us at the Embassy. 
 
Our Embassy has now all but switched to the remote working mode, and we are primarily focused on providing consular assistance to our citizens in the UK, facilitating transfers from third countries through London and similar services. Our parallel key task in this period is to support the Croatian Government's response to both the recent earthquake in Zagreb and the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
As you know, the earthquake that hit Zagreb and its surroundings on 22 March was the most powerful one in the last 140 years. The extent of material damage - especially in the centre of Zagreb - is very substantial, much bigger than initially thought, with many buildings becoming virtually uninhabitable. The event on its own was catastrophic, but the fact that it happened in the midst of the Government's fight to contain COVID-19 made the entire situation significantly worse, including by exacerbating the spread of the virus and taking further toll on the economy that had already been heavily hit by the pandemic. 
 
In the aftermath of the earthquake, Croatia activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, as part of which several countries have already made donations in material equipment. Following the analysis of the damage, the Government has concluded that the financial assistance will be most needed going forward, and has opened a special bank account for donations. A parallel account has also been opened for the fight against COVID-19. Details of both are below. 
 
If anyone who makes a donation wishes to let us know about it, they are warmly welcome to do so, and we will make sure that it duly registers with our capital.
 

Dear friends, I remain grateful for your generous support, care and genuine interest in Croatia both in difficult and less difficult times, wish you all the best in this challenging period, and hope to see you as soon as the situation allows.

 
 

1. Together for Zagreb (for reconstruction efforts caused by earthquake)

Account number/IBAN: HR1210010051863000160
Croatian National Bank, Trg hrvatskih velikana 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
BANK (SWIFT) CODE: NBHRHR2XXXX
Beneficiary name and address: Republic of Croatia - Ministry of Finance, Katančićeva 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Reference: Together for Zagreb
(for domestic payment - poziv na broj odobrenja je HR68 5371 - OIB uplatitelja)

2. Croatia against coronavirus

Account number/IBAN: HR1210010051863000160
Croatian National Bank, Trg hrvatskih velikana 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
BANK (SWIFT) CODE: NBHRHR2XXXX
Beneficiary name and address: Republic of Croatia - Ministry of Finance, Katančićeva 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Reference: Support for Croatia's fight against COVID-19
(for domestic payment - poziv na broj odobrenja je HR68 5380 - OIB uplatitelja)

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Free Books for BCS Members

Celia Hawkesworth has given the following brand new books to the British-Croatian Society for passing on to our members. If you would like a copy, please email in response - they will be allocated on a 'first come, first served basis' and available for collection at British-Croatian Society events (or can be posted to you if you are not in the London area).

Dubravka Ugresic, Lend me your character               
Dasa Drndic, Leica Format                               
                      Belladonna                               
                      EEG                                 
                      Doppelgänger                        UK & US editions
Olja Savicevic, Adios, Cowboy                    US edition
 
Also a review copy of Slavenka Drakulic, Dora i Minotaur in Croatian.
 
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calendarCroatia
 
A selection of photographs submitted for the calendar and calendarCroatia itself can be viewed on our website www.britishcroatiansociety.com. Calendars are still available for purchase at £12 including p & p UK, £15 including p & p rest of the world. To order a copy, please email this address [email protected]
 
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The Modern Movement in Croatia, an illustrated talk in co-operation with the C20 Society by Dr Darja Radović Mahečić on November 26.
 
Literary Evening with Marina Sur Pulovski and Olja Knezevic December 4
 
If you plan to come to these events, please email us
 
For the architectural event at the embassy on November 26, places are much in demand as this is joint event with the C20 Society.
 
Europe House is now the venue for the literary evening on December 4 and we are required by Europe House to submit a list of attendees for this event.

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International Trust for Croatian Monuments Progress Report 2019

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Talk Given by Flora Turner

In search of art for Croatia Lecture BCS 12. 6. 2019.

You can view images here.

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Extreme Chocolate Makers
Extreme Chocolate Makers (part of the Kaštela and Zinfandel promotional event on January 30 this year at the Croatian Embassy) will be broadcast on May 3 at 5:30 pm on Channel 4.

Britanski Channel 4 na obilježavanju 110 godina turizma u Kaštelima u Veleposlanstvu RH u Londonu

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calendarCroatia 2020 

You are invited to submit photographs taken in Croatia for the 2020 calendarCroatia. In addition to the calendar and an online exhibition, this year three photographs will be selected for printing and framing to be hung in honour at the Croatian Embassy.
 
Photographs are invited from professionals and amateurs of any nationality. All photographers will receive an invitation to the launch party for the calendar at which a selection of images submitted will be shown and the three images to hang in the embassy unveiled. We are looking for photographs that show Croatia in all its variety, not only as a beautiful place for a holiday, in as high a resolution as possible. People, places, abstract - all subjects and techniques are welcome.
 
Each person can send up to 4 photographs with the photographer's name and the title of the photographs to us at [email protected]. Please let us have your photographs as soon as you can, but not later than October 10.
 
If you have any questions, you can also contact us at this address [email protected].
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United in music
A concert with Croatian and English women composers
 
St. James's Piccadilly on international women's day 8th March starting 7.30PM.
 
Diana Brekalo (Trio Solarek) are going to perform music by Lily Boulanger, Dora Pejacevic, Johanna Senfter, Rebecca Clarke and Germaine Tailleferre with introductions about their lives by Anna Bear.
 
Tickets are available here.
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Renata Pokupic at the Wigmore Hall

Sunday 17 March 2019 7:30PM
 
Renata Pokupić mezzo-soprano; La Serenissima; Adrian Chandler director
L’Amante Abbandonata: Italian Cantatas from the Settecento.
 
For more information, please go to: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
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Forecasting
 
On Tuesday 26 February The Place Theatre in Kings Cross will present a performance by Croatian performance artist Barbara Matijević.
 
Barbara studied dance with the choreographer and teacher Kilina Cremona in Zagreb, and worked with a number of Croatian choreographers (Irma Omerzo, Iva Nerina Gattin, Katja Simunic, cie TRAFIK).
 
Giuseppe Chico and Barbara Matijević
Forecasting
Part of a double bill with Lewys Holt
 
Croatian performance artist Barbara Matijević playfully manipulates a laptop showing YouTube videos which have been selected to meet the human size scale. The result is a dizzying hybrid experience, blurring the lines between the banality of everyday situations and new modes of narration.
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AMAC-UK

Has  pleasure in inviting you to the Annual Charity Concert in support of Awards for Croatian Young Scientists

Vitaly Pisarenko - Piano

Programme to be announced

Saturday 23th February 2019, 7.30 pm 

Followed by drinks and canapés

33 Frognal, London NW3 6YD

Courtesy of Tony and Gabrijela Suchy

Tickets £30

RSVP with cheques payable to AMAC UK send to:

Zrinka Mikelić Bottrill, 23 Independent Place, London E8 2HE or bank transfer to: AMAC UK, account 00443076 at Lloyds Bank, sort code 30-94-04, quoting your name as reference

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Hanoi to Zagreb, Two Ends of a Diplomatic Career

Tuesday, February 5, 18-00 for 18-30
Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN

Sir John Ramsden will talk about the stark contrast of a diplomatic career that started in Hanoi and ended as ambassador in Zagreb.

His photographs of North Vietnam have recently been published in a book entitled Hanoi after the War. This unique collection of black and white photographs reveal a world of hardship, poverty and endurance, but also an ancient culture still very much alive, with scenes of wistful beauty amidst the austerity.

Sir John's talk will provide an opportunity to see these wonderful images of Hanoi and to contrast that experience with working in Croatia..

After the talk we would be pleased of you would join us for a glass of wine.

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'Finding Nemon' at the Jewish Book Week
 
Aurelia Young will be taking part in an interview about her book 'Finding Nemon' at the Jewish Book Week, Kings Place, at 2pm on Sunday 3rd  March. Click here for more details.
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Doppelgänger, E.E.G. and Belladonna

Since some of us last met at Conway Hall, there’s been a flurry of coverage for Doppelgänger and E.E.G. But we are thrilled, first of all, to share news that some of you may not know: Belladonna won the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation at an award ceremony last Tuesday at the Warwick Arts Centre. Many congratulations to Celia!

The Financial Times ran a brilliant review of E.E.G. by Eileen Battersby: “Funny, angry, informed and intent on the truth, no voice is quite as beautiful as that of Daša Drndić”

Boyd Tonkin has written a profile of Daša and an excellent review of Belladonna in online culture mag The Arts Desk: You can read it here

And a review of  Doppelgänger on the Rough Ghosts blog here

Katharina wrote a piece about Dasa for Granta’s online feature, Editor’s Chair.

E.E.G was reviewed in the Daily Mail, and it’s not absolutely clear that the reviewer liked the book at all . . . If you like, you can read it here

We also expect a review in the Guardian and White Review, and more besides.

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Register for Croatian Subjects outside Croatia

Central State Office for Croats Abroad invites Croatian subjects to sign the Register for Croatian Subjects outside Croatia.This is a digital base and communication net.

Info letak Registar hrvatskih subjekata izvan Republike Hrvatske

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calendarCroatia 2019 
calendarCroatia 2019 can now be viewed on our website www.britishcroatiansociety.com.
 
A limited number of calendars are being printed. They are for sale at £8, or £10 including post and packing for addresses in the UK, and £12 including post and packing for addresses elsewhere. Calendars can be ordered by sending an email to [email protected]. Payment can be either
 
  • by bank transfer to The British Croatian Society, account 60566500 at Barclays Oxford City Centre branch, sort code 20-65-18, quoting your name as reference
  • or by cheque made payable to The British-Croatian Society sent to: Peter Elborn, Events Secretary, 5 Well Road, London NW3 1LH

calendarCroatia 2019 options


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Berislav Unveils the Eye-Popping Video to the First Part of his Catharsis Trilogy

Berislav is a Croatian dancer, actor, model and singer, whose output is utterly unique, with no greater evidence of this than his incredible video to his track I Gave My Life.

By the age of 9 he had developed a love for dancing and started attending Tihana Škrinjarić school of dance before a move to Austria saw his dancing talent develop yet further. At the age of 18 he returned to Zagreb where he began a modelling career and embarked on numerous projects with Croatian music artists as well as participating in theatrical productions such as Hair.

Determined to be the very best at everything he was involved with he moved briefly to Los Angeles to attend the Sanford Meisner acting school in 2012, leading to acting roles in TV series and a number of commercials. Having signed a record deal with Croatia Records in 2015, he enjoyed his first full forays into recorded music, his first single being “Singing that Rock n Roll”, a cover of a song previously recorded by Stijene and featuring what has now become something of a trademark lavish and theatrical video.

Bringing the story bang up to date, Berislav has forged a partnership with James Perri (aka Jimi Polo), the producer known for his work with David Guetta and Daft Punk, and the two of them started collaborating fully in 2017, the first fruits of which is “I Gave My Life”. The track is the first part of the trilogy, the beginning of a journey, the clash between life and death and also features in the documentary film, 14 Barriers about a Croatian War veteran. The accompanying video is a tour de force of action, emotion and, in the very truest sense of the word, fantastic visuals.

Berislav acts as an Art Director for Taja fashion brand since 2003 and is the owner of an exclusive Health Club.

www.berislav.eu

 welogo281013

www.quitegreat.co.uk

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Annual Dinner
This year our annual dinner will be held on Friday November 16 at the Savile Club in Mayfair (www.savileclub.co.uk).
 
Details and how to book will be sent later, but you may like to make a note of the date in your diary.
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calendarCroatia 2019

Now that the holiday season is coming to an end, it is time to remind you that we would like to see your photographs for the 2019 calendarCroatia and exhibition.

We invite you to submit photographs in preparation for the British-Croatian Society's next calendarCroatia.

The calendar will be printed and for sale in November. There will be a launch party to which all photographers will be invited.

We are looking for photographs that show Croatia in all its variety, not only as a beautiful place for a holiday. Photographs are invited from professionals and amateurs of any nationality, in as high a resolution as possible. People, places, abstract - all subjects and techniques are welcome.

Please note that if you want your photographs to the considered for the printed calendar, they will need to be landscape format photographs. For the exhibition, photographs can be landscape or portrait.

High quality photographs can be taken on a smart phone, so please tell your family and friends about calendarCroatia 2019.

You can send up to 4 of your photographs, with the photographer's name and the title of the photographs, to us at [email protected].

Let us have your photographs as soon as you can, but not later than October 20.

If you have any questions, you can also contact us at this address [email protected]


calendarCroatia 2017 options



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 The International Trust for Croatian Monuments 

You can see progress report for the International Trust for Croatian Monuments here.

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Yugoslavia's Lost Utopias

New York's MoMA has a magnificent exhibition entitled Yugoslavia's Lost Utopias covering the country's monumental postwar architecture. It has been reviewed in this weekend's Financial Times. You may not be able to travel to see it, but the Financial Times article and other reviews are available online.

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We wish you a happy summer and look forward to seeing you when our programme of events re-starts in September.
 
Our 2018/19 programme will start with HE Igor Pokaz, the Croatian Ambassador, talking about is first year in London.
 
In addition to the reception to mark the publication of our 2019 calendarCroatia in November, we already have lined up two book launches. And of course we will again host our traditional annual dinner in a prestige location.
 
In the meantime, if you are a football fan, have a look at our facebook event page.
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The life of Dasa Drndic
The life of Dasa Drndic will be celebrated in an event in the UK in the autumn. Her obituary in The Guardian can be found in the link here.
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Information about a production of Tena Stivicic's 3 Winters

"I am writing to you regarding our upcoming show " 3 Winters" which shares a story about a Croatian Family over hundred years  and how the situation of the country has influenced their lives. After these weeks of rehearsals we now know so much about this beautiful country and have been lucky to count ourselves Croatian even if its just for a month. 
 
We would like to invite Croatian people to our performances. 
 
Here is a link to our website.
 
All the best 
Parisa Shahvalian" 
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The update from "The Cells that Unite us: the Story of a Fortunate Immigrant"

British Croatian Society members had an amazing opportunity to attend talk by Dr Gabrijela Kocjan on 22 May 2018 at the Jubilee Room of House of Commons.

The aim of the talk was to raise awareness of the contribution that Croatian immigrants make to the UK and to confirm that immigration benefits not just the migrants themselves, but also the UK. 

Here are the links to text and the presentation from the talk.

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Prljavo Kazaliste in London
 
The famous Croatian group Prljavo Kazaliste will give a concert in London on 7th June at The Grand Theatre, Clapham. Information and a competition have been announced on facebook.
 
VIP TICKETS with PROMO CODE - BCS Members only
 
The British Croatian Society has arranged for its members only a PromoCode which gives £4 off VIP tickets (instead of £65 you will pay £61 for your VIP ticket)  - Link for tickets.
 
To get £4 off with PromoCode you have to be a British-Croatian Society member. If you wish to take advantage of the discount, please reply to [email protected] and the code will be sent to you.
 
If you are not a member and would like to become one, please go to our website and complete the membership process - it is easy and inexpensive, and helps us bring Croatia and the UK closer together.
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LJERKA NJERŠ Exhibition

Embassy of the Republic of Croatia cordially invites you to a Private View of the exhibition of recent artwork by the Croatian artist

LJERKA NJERŠ

on Tuesday 24th April 2018 from 6.30 to 8.30pm at the Croatian Embassy Art Gallery 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN.

Open to the public until 3rd May 2018 Monday to Friday 10 am to 4pm except Tuesday 1st May when the Embassy is closed RSVP acceptances only to: [email protected]

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Weʼre raising £12,800 to help Bojan Cicic record Jarnovic violin concertos with Delphian Records

I am writing to you to tell you about my current endevour. I am planning to record three violin concertos by the 18th century composer Ivan Mane Jarnovic or Giovanni Giornovich, as he was also known. He was probably a Sicilian, but his family name comes from Croatian. The recording with take place 20-22 June this year in Oxford.
 
Outside Croatia, where his music can sometimes be heard, he is almost completely unknown, which seems very strange for someone who was so famous, as he was, in the 18th century. Our recording aims to address this injustice.
 
All of the three Concertos we will record were published in London during Jarnovic’s period spent in England in the early 1790’s. This was around the same time when Joseph Haydn spent few years of his life in London. Some of the Concertos haven’t been published in the modern edition since 1790’s and only be found at the British Library in London. I am planning to go there, make copies of the microfilms and make the first modern edition of these Concertos.
 
I have set up a crowdfunding page on Justgiving website and wondered if you could spread the word with the good people from the British-Croatian Society, or indeed anyone else wishing to support our recording.
 
More information on how to donate can be found here.
 
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Croatian Supplementary School in London
 
I am writing to you on behalf of Croatian Supplementary School (for children aged 5 to 14) in London. For the last 20 years we have been extremely lucky to be able to use rooms at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in London's Conway Street for our weekly lessons.
 
However due to restructuring of the rooms at the Embassy and the imminent building work, we are looking for a new home from September and we are hoping that you might be able to help.
 
We are looking to hire two rooms (classrooms), in a community centre, school or a similar venue on Saturday mornings (term time only). Our classes run from 10.30 to 12.30 so we would need the venue for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours each Saturday. We need rooms with desks and chairs (suitable for children) and a whiteboard/ blackboard. We would also need some storage space to store all our books and materials.
 
We are currently based near Warren Street in north-west London and we would ideally like to stay within reasonable distance as it is convenient for all of our teacher and students to get to.
 
If you know of any place that might be suitable would you please let us know.
 
Many thanks for your help,
 
Ivana Capps
 
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Olja Savičević
Farewell, Cowboy

WHSmith Travel have selected Farewell, Cowboy by Olja Savičević as part of their Fresh Talent 2018 promotion, so readers in the UK—or visitors passing through airports and railway stations—have a special opportunity to discover this lively, affecting contemporary Croatian novel.

Some of you may remember Olja from the book launch at the embassy in 2015. Please do consider buying this new edition for yourself or as a present for English friends who may not have read a Croatian writer before.

In her debut novel, Savičević playfully transposes the genre of a traditional Western drama onto the contemporary world, challenging the omnipotent heroes of childhood and questioning what constitutes heroism today. Her steamy seaside hometown of Split provides the perfect backdrop for this tale of loss and redemption, redolent of transient glamour and unrealised small-town dreams.


Savičević’s prose, which is always relaxed and descriptive, and sustained with conversational ease, becomes increasingly beautiful in moments of high drama....The humour and sheer anarchy of the action combined with the comic exasperation, unforgettable characters and Dada’s wry acceptance of the way life happens to be, make this subversively appealing novel all the more profound; even, unexpectedly, beautiful.

Eileen Battersby, The Irish Times


Dazzling, funny and deadly serious, this perfectly pitched novel about the legacy of the Yugoslav war heralds the arrival of an exciting new European voice.....Savičević has a rare ability to speak of the deadly serious with a hedonistic lightness that lures you into a spirit of abandon, only to go on to deliver breathtaking blows of insight.

Kapka Kassabova, The Guardian

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Renata Pokupic
 
An exceptional musical event dedicated to some of the most popular works of Mozart is scheduled for London's Cadogan Hall on 29 March 2018 at 19:30 featuring the celebrated Croatian mezzo-soprano Renata Pokupić.
 
Further details on the Cadogan Hall website.
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A lecture by Dr. sc. Radoslav Bužančić 
Head of the Conservation Department in Split, Croatia  
 
We need to have a list of those attending this event so please email your name(s) if you are planning to come.
 
BLACA HERMITAGE REINVENTED
 
Centuries ago, refugee Glagolitic monks found a safe haven in a cave in the rugged landscape of Brač Island's southern hillsides. From this humble start, their monastery grew and thrived over several centuries. In the mid 20th century, it took on a new identity as an eco-museum. The story of the Monastery is full of surprises. The plans for its reincarnation as an eco-museum make full use of the Monastery's fascinating past.
 
Wednesday 21 March, 18-30 for 19-00
Croatian Embassy
21 Conway Street
London W1T 6BN
 
Refreshments will be served
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Kathy Wilkes Memorial Conference and Dinner
 

This two day conference, dinner and concerts that will take place at St Hilda's College in Oxford on April 16 & 17.

Details can be found here and booking link here.
 
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The Ham and High newspaper wrote an article about Nemon's statue of Freud which is due to be unveiled in Vienna on June 4th.

 
You may be interested to know that Peter Frankopan will be giving a talk at the Travel & Destinations show at Olympia at 4pm, 2nd February.
 
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General Meeting

You are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the British-Croiatian Society to be held at 18-30 on January 24 in the Croatian Embassy 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN.

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Ivana Gavric at Wigmore Hall
 
Pianist Ivana Gavric will be returning to the Wigmore Hall on Thursday 28 December as part of their London Pianoforte Series. She will be playing a programme of Haydn, Chopin, Grieg and Schumann. For more information and tickets please visit wigmore-hall.org.uk
 
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Cambridge Society of Croatia

I run the Cambridge Society of Croatia.  We are currently updating our records for all alumni of the University who either are Croatian or live in Croatia or (even) have an interest in Croatia.   

We have just started a facebook page which can be found here.

Nicholas Frankopan

[email protected]

07818892524
0207 193 8901

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calendarCroatia 2018
 
 
We have now published calendarCroatia 2018  from photographs from our members and friends. The calendar contains 25 beautiful photographs taken in Croatia.
 
To purchase a copy of the calendar, please email [email protected] with your postal address. The calendar will provide year-long pleasure and will make an excellent Christmas gift. The price is £15 for posting to UK addresses and £20 to the rest of the world.
 
We have also taken one of the photographs to make a Christmas card that is also available for purchase. The price is £10 for 8 cards including post and packing to UK addresses, £12 for the rest of the world.
 
Payment can be made by
  • sending a cheque to Peter Elborn, British-Croatian Society,
    5 Well Road, London NW3 1LH
  • by bank transfer to The British Croatian Society, account 60566500 at Barclays Oxford City Centre branch, sort code 20-65-18, quoting your name as reference.
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Help us find the missing Bukovac

Please see the attached newspaper item 'Help us find the missing Bukovac'.

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“LOUDEST SILENT FILM” TO HOLD UK PREMIERE IN HULL

A very special event will take place in Hull on 9th November with a band made up of Croatian musicians Damir Martinović “Mrle” (frontman of Croatian rock pioneers Let 3) and Ivanka Mazurkijević.

The event will be a live score of a silent film. The attached the press release has further details.

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Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival in London has four new Croatian independent films screening at the Festival this year (20 September-1 October 2017).
 
The Festival is happy to offer the British-Croatian Society the discount code CROATIA17 which offers £3 off every ticket.
 
See all the films here.
 
Here's some more information on the four films:
 
Transmania
One film made by 15 directors, Each one, after seeing the last minute of the previous one.
 
The Constitution
The story follows four people who live in the same building, but avoid each other because of the differences in their assets, sexual habits, nationality and religion.
 
The Liberation of Skopje
The horrors and suffering of the Second World War are portrayed in bittersweet terms through the eyes of 11-year-old Zoran, whose father has joined the partisans to fight the German occupiers, and whose mother becomes involved with a German officer.
 
Voevoda
A mother, forced to abandon her child and home, leads a rebellious band and inflicts her own justice in the brutal men's world of 19th century.
 
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The International Trust for Croatian Monuments 
Progress Report

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A reminder of the British-Croatian Society's calendarCroatia 2018

We invite you to send us photographs taken in 20017 in Croatia for a Christmas / New Year card, an exhibition and for a 2018 calendar.

25 photographs will be selected to feature in the calendar. One photograph will be selected for the Christmas / New Year card. In addition we will feature some 40 photographs in an exhibition to be held at the gallery of the Croatian Embassy in London on November 30.  Calendars and cards will be available for purchase at the British-Croatian Society's annual dinner on November 23, at the exhibition opening and online.

We are looking for photographs that show Croatia in all its variety, not only as a scenically beautiful place for a holiday. Photographs are invited from professionals and amateurs of any nationality, in as high a resolution as possible. People, places, abstract - all subjects and techniques are welcome.   High quality photographs can be taken on a smart phone, so please tell your family and friends about calendarCroatia 2018.

Please send up to 4 of your photographs with the photographer's name and the title of the photographs to us at [email protected].

Let us have your photographs as soon as you can, but not later than October 20.
If you have any questions, you can also contact us at this address.
Here is the information for the latest THIRTEEN photographic exhibition. 

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News from the Nemon Studio, Boars Hill near Oxford

The Nemon studio and archive (www.oscarnemon.org.uk) will be open from 3 to 5.30 on Saturday 16 September. Alice Nemon-Stuart will be talking about the displays and explaining how Nemon worked as a sculptor in the studio recreation. Tea and chocolate cake will be served and it will be possible to buy hand cast Nemon busts of Freud and Churchill from £30. Entry is free.
 
Friday 29 the studio will be open from 10.30am to 12 noon for Friday Sculpture and Music which will be a monthly event. Pianist  Emma Holloway will be playing in the archive between 11 and 11.30. Refreshments will be served and entry is free.
 
Here is a link to a report  by Dalibor Prancevic, a Croatian Art Historian who visited the studio in May.
 
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Vivian Grisogono, a long standing supporter of the British-Croatian Society, has sent in the following request.

If you can help, please email her on [email protected].

Filip Šimenc is the grandson of my first cousin, Jozefina Dubravčić. He 
would like to find some kind of work in London, to extend his 
experience, and would welcome anything, with first choice being in the 
legal field of course.

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MEETING G2.3

Attached is an invitation letter (Croatian and English version) for the conference ‘MEETING G2.3 – CROATIA, FULL OF BUSINESS POTENTIAL’ that will take place on 6 - 8 November this year in Zagreb at the FORUM Zagreb congress centre.

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Lit Link Festival

The Lit Link Festival in Croatia is a three-day tour whose participants are writers, editors and publishers. This year the motto of the Lit Link Festival is “Despite Brexit” and the guests are British writers, editors and publishers. At previous festivals, guests have come from the following countries: 2013 – USA; 2014 – Canada; 2015 – France; 2016 – Italy. The festival consists of three evening readings in which both Croatian authors and British authors participate. Translations are completed beforehand and will be projected onto a large screen during the readings. The readings will take place in the northern coastal cities of Pula (29th June, Centar Rojc) and Rijeka (30th June, Astronomski centar), as well as the inland capital, Zagreb (1st July, Club Močvara/Mochvara).

Pula programme:
29th June 2017, Thursday / 21:00 h – 23:30 h

"Dnevni boravak" in Rojc Centre; Gajeva street 3;
Free entry

Author's readings:
Joanna Kavenna, Zeljka Horvat Cec (Željka Horvat Čeč), David Szalay, Boris Greiner, Samantha Harvey, Katarina Luketic (Luketić), Gary Budden, Natalija Grgorinic (Grgorinić) and Ognjen Raden (Rađen)

Present editors:
Anna Kelly (4th Estate/HarperCollins), Rosie Goldsmith (European Literature Network), Mitchell Albert (Periscope), Gary Budden (Influx Press), Nathan Connolly (Dead Ink Books)

Rijeka programme:
30th June 2017, Friday / 21:00 h – 23:30 h

Planetarium in Astronomski centar Rijeka; Sveti Križ street 33;
Free entry

Author's readings:
Samantha Harvey, Igor Rajki, Joanna Kavenna, Zelimir Peris (Želimir Periš), Enver Krivac, David Szalay, Tea Tulic (Tulić), Gary Budden

Present editors:
Rosie Goldsmith (European Literature Network), Anna Kelly (4th Estate/HarperCollins), Mitchell Albert (Periscope), Gary Budden (Influx Press), Nathan Connolly (Dead Ink Books) 

Zagreb programme:
1st July 2017, Suturday / 18:30 h – 22:00 h

KLUB MOČVARA; address: Trnjanski nasip bb;
Free entry

Author's readings:
Maja Rucevic (Ručević), Gary Budden, Ivan Vidak, Samantha Harvey, Zoran Feric (Ferić), Barbara Matejcic (Matejčić), Joanna Kavenna, Andrea Pisac, David Howard (special guest, New Zeland), Damir Karakas (Karakaš), David Szalay

Present editors:
Anna Kelly (4th Estate/HarperCollins), Rosie Goldsmith (European Literature Network), Nathan Connolly (Dead Ink Books), Gary Budden (Influx Press), Mitchell Albert (Periscope)

***

The hosts of the festival are the Artistic Director of the festival Robert Perisic (Perišić), a writer whose works have been translated in England and the U.S., and the festival's coordinator, Ivan Srsen (Sršen), a writer, independent publisher and editor. The producer of the festival is the Croatian Writers Society.

The host on the stage will be Marko Pogacar (Pogačar), a writer and editor.

The Lit Link Festival plays out without a superfluous protocol, and in nice, informal spaces: "Dnevni boravak" in the Center Rojc in Pula, the Astronomski centar in Rijeka, and the club Močvara in Zagreb.

Some of the guests from festivals in previous years include: American authors Heidi Julavits, Adam Mansbach, Tao Lin, Buzz Poole, Canadian authors Miriam Toews, Sheila Heti, Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, Kathryn Borel, French authors Dominique Fabre, Armand Gauz, Albena Dimitrova, David Fauquemberg, Italian authors Flavio Soriga, Francesca Borri, Adrian Bravi, Paola Soriga, Spanish voice performer Ernesto Estrella, and a number of authors and publishers: Richard Nash, John O’Brien, Anne Meadows, Zeljka Marosevic, Andi Winnette, Michael Stein, Dominique Bordes, Emmanuelle Collas, Marion Duvert, Evelyne Lagrange, Benoît Virot, Oliviero Toscani, Miriam Capaldo etc...

See more here http://www.kriticnamasa.c om/index_en.php 

http://www.hrvatskodrustvopisa ca.hr/en/About-us/about-us-4

https://www.facebook.com/litli nk/

http://www.culturenet.hr/defau lt.aspx?id=77061

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Conservation Project in St Nnicholas church, known as Munster, Komiza, Vis

This is a conservation project led by Jurica Matijevic, Art Academy, Split, nine devoted young people, doing excellent work. We hope that the workshop will develop into an international project, like the one on Lopud.

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An update before the summer holidays
 
Before you go away we hope to see you at our final pre-summer event on July 6 when Peter Sanfey will answer the question "does South East Europe have a prosperous future?"
 
And please remember that again we would like your photographs for our calendarCroatia exhibition that will include, for the first time this year, a British-Croatian Society Christmas / New Year greetings card (details attached).
 
Our programme for September - December is already shaping up and the following are confirmed (full detail will follow later):
 
September 28 - Bojan Cicic, the renowned Croatian violinist, will be in conversation with Dr Bojan Bujic and will play for us
 
October 3 - James Gillespie will talk about Olga Watkins and her extraordinary life
 
November 23 - our annual dinner will feature Peter Frankopan as the guest speaker
 
November 30 - the calendarCroatia exhibition will open
 
A number of other events are being finalised, including this year's Chris Cviic Memorial Lecture that will be given by Professor Vlatka Hlupic.
 
If you are not a member and would l like to join, please go to our website www.britishcroatiansociety.com . It is not expensive to join and your contribution will help us to continue to provide a lively programme.
 
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Does South East Europe have a prosperous future?

 
A talk and discussion led by Peter Sanfey, EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)
 
July 6, 18-00 for 18-30
 
Croatian Embassy
21 Conway Street
London W1T 6BN
 
Refreshments will be served
 
Peter Sanfey gave the inaugural Chris Cvicc Memorial lecture, an update on the book he co-authored with Chris Cviic entitled Remaking the Balkans. 
 
On this occasion he will look at Croatia and neighbouring countries and, with his considerable experience of the region, try to answer the question he has set as the title of his talk.
 
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ArchaeoLink
ArchaeoLink is a non-profit organisation founded in the Division of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge.
 
Our purpose is to liaise with the communities in which archaeologists work - enabling knowledge exchange and to assist those communities to obtain educational, societal and economic benefits from their archaeology and cultural heritage.
 
Commissioned by the EU funded, Mend the Gap, project, we have, over the last 14 months, been facilitating the community of Vela Luka, Korčula, to obtain educational and economic benefits from their magnificent site of Vela Spila. You can see some of what we have been doing here.
 
With our assistance, some of the residents have created leisure work-shops to encourage the off-season visitor. See them here.
 
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Music Technology Workshop at the International Summer Music School Pucisca

One of our members, Nela Brown, is passionate about teaching music and coding and this summer she will be teaching the first ever Music Technology Workshop at the International Summer Music School Pucisca, which is taking place in Bol, on the Island of Brac (opposite Split) in Croatia from 21-31 August 2017.

The workshop will be delivered in English and Croatian and will be suitable for teenagers (15 years +) as well as adults.

No prior knowledge of music or programming is required, just laptop (PC or Mac), a pair of headphones (big ones are better than small ones!), and a USB key (so you can copy/ paste files quickly in case of a summer storm/ wifi outage.

The cost of the whole workshop is €290 (so super affordable, but does not include travel, accommodation or a visa if you need one for Croatia).

You can reserve your place by following this link.

Deadline for reservation is 30 June 2017.

More info about travel, accommodation etc. can be found here.

Workshop schedule will also be posted there soon!

If you have any questions please contact Nela directly on: [email protected]

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Night Fishing in Ugljan
 
An exhibition of paintings by Danny Israel
June 9 - 22
Highgate Gallery at the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institute
 
For further information, please go to hlsi.net
 
Night fishing in Ugljan came about after a visit by painter, writer and choreographer Danny Israel to this Croatian Island in 2014. “At night the fishermen illuminate the depths with powerful lights, to attract the fish to the surface. You never know what you are going to find….”
 
These paintings replicate the process with acrylic paint, and with sand and gravel for surface texture.
 
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BREXIT

An informal talk between Ambassador Grdešić and the Croatian Diaspora living in the UK regarding Brexit that will take place on the 9th June, at 6pm, at the Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street, London, W1T 6BN.
 

Below is the Croatian version of the invitation:Veleposlanik Grdešić moli da prema  mogućnostima,  a putem svojih kontakata, hrvatskim državljanima u Ujedinjenoj Kraljevini Velike Britanije i Sjeverne Irske dostavite informaciju o pozivu veleposlanika Grdešića za razgovor s dijasporom oko Brexita, a koji bi se održao u petak, 9. lipnja u 18 sati, u Veleposlanstvu RH u Londonu,  21 Conway Street, London, W1T 6BN.

Veleposlanik poziva na razgovor o mogućim posljedicama Brexita na status hrvatskih državljana koji žive i rade u Ujedinjenoj Kraljevini Velike Britanije i Sjeverne Irske.

Svrha je razgovora upoznati se s mogućim problemima, najčešćim pitanjima i očekivanjima hrvatskih građana, kako bi Veleposlanstvo po navedenom moglo upoznati Vladu R. Hrvatske i Predstavništvo EU u Londonu pred skoro očekivani početak pregovora o britanskom napuštanju Europske Unije.

Želja veleposlanika je da u neformalnom i slobodnom razgovoru čuje mišljenja i moguće prijedloge hrvatskih državljana, a s ciljem što kvalitetnije pripreme  hrvatskih stajališta na predstojećim  pregovorima.

Molimo da zainteresirani svoj dolazak jave [email protected]>.

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Croatian President
On 27 July 2017 the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia shall open its doors to the Croatian diaspora and the Croatian minority communities from all over the world.
 
This Saturday was chosen in hope that many diaspora members shall be visiting Croatia during the summer, or participating in conferences, festivals and sports events that have been scheduled for that period.
 
The President of the Republic of Croatia, Mrs Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović has chosen this way to pay tribute to the important role played by the Croatian diaspora with its continuous help and support.
 
The President recognises the role and the significance of the Croatian communities abroad whose members are the real ambassadors of our country through their tireless promotion of their homeland, and their tireless support of Croatian culture and traditions throughout the world.
 
Strengthening and development of ties between Croatian communities at home and abroad is important for economic as well as general development of Croatia.
 
We would be grateful if you could notify  your contacts through your regular channels as soon as possible so that interested individuals would have the sufficient time to plan their participation at this event.
 
The detailed programme shall  be published on web page of the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia (www.predsjednica.hr)  at a later date together with the information about the registration process and deadline.
 
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The design of biology and robotics - Mirko Kovac

discussion at the Royal Institution of the increasingly connected fields of science and design. This event will feature Daisy Ginsberg's multi-disciplinary work in synthetic biology and a talk from Mirko Kovac about how nature is influencing the design of aerial robots. 

May 10, 7.00pm to 9.30pm

For more information, please go to: www.rigb.org

Mirko Kovac is director of the Aerial Robotics Laboratory at the Aeronautics Department at Imperial College London. His research interest is the conception and implementation of novel mobility solutions for robotics and agent based autonomous manufacturing. Before his appointment in London, he was post-doctoral researcher at at Harvard University and he obtained his PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He has delivered keynote lectures and talks on bio-inspired robotics at leading research institutions and conferences world wide. He is also advisor to the UK government on the topic of aerial robotics and is regularly consulting on technology foresight and strategy development for industry. 

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Video of four ambassadors to Croatia regarding the WW1 Vimy battle
This video of four ambassadors  to Croatia regarding the WW1 Vimy battle can be seen by going to the link below. The stone for the memorial mentioned came from Croatia
 
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British-Croatian Society Summer Reception
to say farewell to the Croatian Ambassador, Dr Ivan Grdesic, and Mrs Grdesic as their time in London draws to a close.
 
June 12, 18:00hr
Atheneum Club
107 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5ER
 
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Ambassador Andrew Dalgleish on Brexit and rights of UK citizens in Croatia

https://youtu.be/585WBofEktY

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The Adriatic Kitchen
A new book - The Adriatic Kitchen - features over 70 recipes inspired by the Croatian island of Korcula. The author is Barbara Unkovic, who is of Croatian & British decent. The idea is to introduce others to the wonderful cuisine of Croatia, with an emphasis on seasonality and the island of Korcula in particular.
 
Here is the link to the book.
 
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A message from the Croatian Embassy for Croats living in the UK
 

Poštovani,

U privitku vam dostavljamo poziv Vlade Republike Hrvatske kojim se pozivate da dostavite prijedlog člana za Savjet Vlade Republike Hrvatske za Hrvate izvan Republike Hrvatske te dopis Veleposlanstva Republike Hrvatske u Ujedinjenoj Kraljevini Velike Britanije i Sjeverne Irske u kojem se predlaže produženje mandata gospođi Miri  Malović Yeeles, koja je voljna i dalje biti član Savjeta, odnosno da ju se ponovno predloži za člana Savjeta za Hrvate izvan Republike Hrvatske u Ujedinjenoj Kraljevini Velike Britanije i Sjeverne Irske.

S poštovanjem,
Kristina Juričić

Poziv

Kristina Juričić
Embassy of the Republic of Croatia to the UK
21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN

Office: +44 (0)20 7121 5912
Email: kristina.juricic@mvep. hr
Twitter: @CROinUK
Facebook: Croatian Embassy in London

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International Summer Music School Pucisca

More information here.

International Summer Music School Pucisca taking place on the Island of Brac.

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Annual Dinner
 
Please note Thursday November 23 as the date for the next British-Croatian Society annual dinner.
 
We are pleased to announce that, following the great success of his Chris Cviic Memorial Lecture, the guest speaker will be Peter Frankopan.
 
Details of the annual dinner and how to book places will be available later.
 
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International conservation workshop on the island of Lopud.
Please see attached article.

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Robin Harris Talk
Robin Harris is giving a talk in English entitled  'Stepinac - His Life and Times' at the Croatian Church this Sunday. He has written a well received book on the subject.
 
Archbishop Stepinac is a hugely important figure in Croatia, and the talk will no doubt straddle politics, history and religion. 5pm on Sunday 19 March at The Sacred Heart Church, 112 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2EF.
 
 
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Vuk Eisen, an active member of the British-Croatian Society, died last year. Below is the text of the address Tim Eisen gave at his father's memorial service.

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Hrvatska matica iseljenika

Hrvatska matica iseljenika i ove godine organizira svoje tradicionalne ljetne programe koji podrazumijevaju ucenje hrvatskoga jezika i kulture: Sveucilisnu skolu hrvatskoga jezika i kulture i Malu skolu hrvatskoga jezika i kulture. Također, u proljetnome semestru (6. ozujka 2017.) nastavljamo s provođenjem Hrvatskog internetskog tecaja HiT-1.

U privitku Vam saljemo kratke obavijesti.

Molimo Vas da ovu informaciju proslijedite svima za koje smatrate da bi bili zainteresirani. Detaljne informacije o ovim programima, kao i o ostalim programima i aktivnostima Hrvatske matice iseljenika, nalaze se na nasoj mreznoj stranici www.matis.hr.

Zahvaljujuci na suradnji, srdacno pozdravljam.

Lada Kanajet Šimić, prof.

HRVATSKA MATICA ISELJENIKA
Odjel za školstvo, znanost i šport
Dept. of Education, Science and Sport
Trg S. Radića 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

tel: 385 1 61 15 116, fax: 385 1 61 11 522
e-mail: [email protected]

The fourth Croatian World Games are to be held in the Croatian capital Zagreb from 18-22 July 2017 with a global participation of more than 800 Croats from over 35 nations. Croatian World Games are amateur competitions where participants are Croats and their descendants throughout the world representing the country that they live in now.

Croatian World Games previously held in Zadar in 2006 and 2010 and in Zagreb in 2014, are organised by the Croatian World Congress and the State Office For Croats Abroad, in association with other Croatian institutions and associations in Croatia and among the Croatian diasporas.

All Croats wherever they may be are invited to participate in the Croatian World Games which include multiple sports disciplines; athletics, bowls, judo, karate, basketball, football, indoor soccer, volleyball, beach volleyball, swimming, rugby, handball, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo and water polo.

Our wish is for a great number of participants, as well as representatives of the Croatian organisations worldwide, to take the opportunity to compete in sports, and to share companionship and participate in numerous cultural and entertainment events that will contribute towards strengthening of their ties with the Republic of Croatia and enhancing of their sense of belonging to the Croatian people.

If you wish to take part in the upcoming Croatian World Games please visit the following link to register by 1 April 2017.

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Nostalgic Journey with Frano Lasić and klapa Smrika

A humanitarian concert for the homeless children of Dubrovnik and Belgrade will take place at the Cadogan Hall in London on April 2 - details in the attachment or from Cadogan Hall.

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Take part in online survey about knowledge of the Croatian language in the population of Croatian Diaspora in the EU
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Annual General Meeting

Please hold in your diaries:

Tuesday 21 February 2017 1830 – 2030
for the Annual General Meeting of the British Croatian Society.

The Agenda for the meeting will follow.
Robert Dolata
Secretary

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NIMBUS CD recording of NICHOLAS JACKSON’S OPERA THE ROSE AND THE RING 

British-Croatian Society Patron Sir Nicholas Jackson has sent information about the recording of his opera:

NIMBUS ALLIANCE have just pre-released their CD recording of my Opera ‘The Rose & the Ring’ at the reduced price of £10 (full price £15) for members of the Drapers’ Company and our friends.

I am therefore circulating this ‘Link’ to friends who might be interested in acquiring a copy with the understanding that there is absolutely no obligation to do so.

With all best wishes for 2017 from Nicholas & Nadia

Here is a link for ‘The Rose & the Ring’ new release.

The £10 offer for friends of Nicholas Jackson and The Drapers’ Company is established and Nimbus are able to fulfil orders immediately.

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‘Bijelo Dugme’ concert

There will be a ‘Bijelo Dugme’ concert at Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in Feb 23rd 

http://www.eventimd

 
Bijelo Dugme Eventim Apollo LONDON tickets on sale now. Buy official Bijelo Dugme tickets for the Eventim Apollo show on Eventim.
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School of Croatian Language and Culture ‘Šibenik’

Information about the School of Croatian Language and Culture ‘Šibenik’, intended for the Croatian diaspora and Croatian students, is in the attachment, or can be viewed on the website www.sv-lovre.com.

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Talk about 'Cultural heritage in the area between Split and Trogir'

(For children aged 3 - 7)

A musical rendition of this charming story of how Hedgemond defends his humble house, while teaching us a lesson about caring for what we love.
Presented by Istros books and the children of the Croatian Saturday School, London.

William Goodenough House
35-42 Mecklenburgh Square, London WC1N 2AN
October 23, 12 noon & 2pm, Tickets: £3
BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE
Telephone: 020 3108 1000 Mon - Fri, 12noon - 6pm

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The Art Newspaper

Croatian heritage has a friend in Britain

Over the past 25 years, the International Trust for Croatian Monuments has raised more than £500,000 to repair the ravages of war.

Read more here.

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Lunchtime Lecture: Ivan Meštrović, Croatian Sculptor and his portraits

Flora Turner-Vucetic looks at the art and life of Ivan Mestrovic (1883 – 1962), Croatian sculptor, painter, draughtsman, architect, writer and poet through a discussion of his portraits. In partnership with the Society of Portrait Sculptors.

17 November 2016, 13:15
Ondaatje Wing Theatre, National Portrait Gallery
Tickets: £3 (£2 concessions and Gallery Supporters) Book online, or visit the Gallery in person.
Doors open at 12.45. Lectures begin at 13.15 and last approximately one hour.

Ivan Meštrović (1883 – 1962) from an early age gained a significant international artistic reputation exhibiting at major exhibitions in Vienna, Paris, Prague, Rome, London, Zagreb and New York in the first decades of the twentieth century. His one man show in 1915 at the Victoria and Albert Museum was a sensational event received by public and critics with great acclaim. He also inspired a discussion between the modernists and traditionalists and even raising doubts in some quarters about the effect of his nudes on public morals. He became a celebrity with much demand for his portrait sculpture. One of the early acquisitions by what eventually became known as the Tate Gallery was a very important “Deposition from the Cross”. Michael Sadler, Rector of theLeeds School of Art, wrote in 1915: “In you, we salute the greatest sculptor of religious sculpture since the Renaissance”. Meštrović donated his self-portrait in plaster for the collection. Flora Turner-Vučetić revives the memory of the art and life of this exceptional artist through a discussion of his portraits which were in many cases an expression of his respect and admiration for his subjects.

Flora Turner-Vučetić is an art historian, museum curator, diplomat, journalist and writer. She has worked as a Senior Curator in the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, a broadcast journalist and editor at the Croatian Section of the BBC World Service, London, and as Counsellor for cultural, scientific and educational affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in London. She was one of the founders and a past Chairman of the British-Croatian Society and remains a Trustee. She is presently a writer, freelance journalist and researcher. She has organised numerous exhibitions in the UK and regularly publishes mainly on visual arts and British Croatian artistic and cultural relations, as for example Mapping Croatia in United Kingdom Collections, Archaeopress, Oxford, 2013. She contributed to the symposium about Ivan Meštrović at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2015 and to the special isssue of the Sculpture Journal dedicated to Meštrović in 2016.

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A defining moment in European and transatlantic resilience: Croatian perspectives

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the President of the Republic of Croatia, will speak at LSEE on Tuesday, 11 October. The talk is entitled: "A defining moment in European and transatlantic resilience: Croatian perspectives". The event is free and open to all but registration is required. Register for the event here.

Our mailing address is:
London School of Economics
Houghton Street, London, London WC2A 2AE

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LSEE Visiting Speaker Programme, Wednesday 12 October

Croatia's Lost Generation? Youth unemployment, education and training in Croatia since the crisis

Spaker: Dr Iva Tomić, Institute of Economics, Zagreb
Chaired by Dr Vassilis Monastiriotis, LSEE Research on SEE, LSE European Institute

Dr Iva Tomić holds a tenure-track affiliation as a Research Associate at the Institute of Economics, Zagreb in Croatia. She was awarded a PhD degree in Economics from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2013. Her main research interests are labour economics, applied microeconomics and public finances. During her visit at LSEE she will be working on youth unemployment issues in European countries, with a special emphasis on the Croatian case and its cross comparison with other Southern European countries.

Read more about the event here.

Date: Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Time: 18:00 - 19:30
Venue: Canada Blanch room, 1st floor, Cowdray House (COW), London School of Economics, London WC2A 2AE (LSE Campus Map)
The event operates on a first come, first served basis.

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All the Best - Croatian romantic comedy

Attached you will find a press release about the UK premiere of a Croatian romantic comedy "All the Best” directed by Snjezana Tribuson to be screened at the forthcoming Raindance Film Festival in London.

Photos and press release.

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London Film Festival
Croatian films at the London Film Festival and Raindance

On the Other Side - S one strane
A middle-aged nurse in Zagreb receives an unwelcome phone call in this profound analysis unspoken fears and disguised trauma. Vesna is a middle aged nurse living in Zagreb with two grown up children – her son Vladimir, a married businessman with one son, and her daughter Jadranka, a law graduate who is about to be married. One day, Vesna receives a phone call from her husband Žarko in Belgrade. Neither Vlado nor Jadranka, who have had to hide their surnames, want to see him. After all, he appears to have been convicted of war crimes. But repeated phone calls between Vesna and Žarko edges them towards resurrecting their relationship. Dealing with the psychological aftermath of war, Zrinko Ogresta’s film is comprised of stately camera movements and carefully composed images, focusing on Vesna’s face and the spaces around her. He creates an introspective mood that perfectly captures the feelings of his characters. The result is a profound analysis of absence and of disguised trauma, of unspoken fears and their effects on a new generation.

Monday 10 October 2016 20:45
Vue West End Cinema, Screen 7

Tuesday 11 October 2016 13:15BFI Southbank, NFT

For tickets information, please click here

Raindance
This month Raindance will be screening 8 brilliant new Croatian films during the festival.
Here are the links to the Croatian films on the Raindance website.

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If you wish to keep in touch with what is happening and would like to join our email list, please email [email protected]

The Bromley Guitar Society presents a classical guitar recital by the internationally renowned Croatian guitarist Zoran Dukic on Saturday 15th October 2016 at 7.30pm. This recital will mark his UK debut. He will be playing at St Mark's Church,Westmoreland Rd,Bromley, BR2 0TB. A few minutes walk from Bromley South Station.

Advance adult tickets £12.50. £14 on the door (cash only).

For more information about Zoran and how to obtain tickets, please visit: bromleyguitarsociety.blogspot.co.uk. Online tickets are available from the 26th August.

Contact us: [email protected]

 

Meet-Up

The next British Croatian Society Meet-Up takes place on Thursday 22 September 2016.
We will be meeting at a new venue, the Zander Bar in St. James’ Court Hotel, Westminster.

The intention is for people with any form of interest in Croatia to meet up, socialise and have a chat in an informal atmosphere. Whether you are a Croatian resident in London or someone who has recently visited Croatia for the first time and want to know more, this event is for you.

The event is of course open to both members and non-members. It provides an excellent opportunity for anyone to come and meet British-Croatian Society members and even to join if they so wish!

We have a reserved area on the left hand side of the bar. BCS members Brian Gallagher and John Pindar will be there from the start and you can find us by looking out for Croatian symbols.

Please note the Zander Bar is more formally known as the Bank Westminster and Zander Bar.
You should use the entrance to the right of the hotel, marked Bank Westminster.

We’ll be there between 7.30 PM and 10 PM.

Come along for a chat about all things Croatian!

Address: 45 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6BS (Our venue is identifiable by four large flags)

Nearest Tube stations: St James Park (District/Circle line). Follow exit signs for Palmer Street, ignore those for Broadway.

For full location details click here.

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Annual Dinner 2016

We will shortly be sending you details of the 2016 annual dinner, but in the meantime you may like to make a note of the date - November 4.

The dinner will be at the prestigious Queens Club.
 
Further details, as well as how to book will follow.
 
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I, WHO HAVE HANDS MORE INNOCENT at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The performance is based on the works of Vesna Parun, exploring her autobiographical works to give a chilling insight into the aspects of women's lives challenged by the patriarchal men of the Balkans. Performed by Vesna Tominac Matacic and directed by Ivan Leo Lemo, the piece is performed fully in Croatian with English subtitles and it has been gaining interest as a celebration of Vesna Parun's magnificent poetry and works.

http://www.hrt.hr/enz/vijesti- iz-kulture/

I, WHO HAVE HANDS MORE INNOCENT is performed daily until the 28th August at 19:25-20:35, this performance is at Zoo Venues 140 Pleasance Road Edinburgh EH8 9RR.

Tickets information

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Croatian majorette team

A Croatian majorette team from Orebić is competing at the 2016 European Majorette Championships in Crawley on 8-9 October.

They are a team composed of 26 girls and boys at the ages between 6-8 years.

They are asking for financial support in order to be able to participate at this event (covering travel, accommodation expenses).

If you think you might be able to help, please contact:
Sanda Menkadžiev at [email protected] m.hr

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Utopian Collective

The inaugural London Design Biennale opens in September at Somerset House with over 30 countries presenting newly commissioned works exploring the theme Utopia by Design.

A new collective of 8 Croatian designers ‘Utopian Collective’ are collaborating to create an interdisciplinary platform that looks at the role of design in society and as a catalyst for change. They also explore the experimentation inherent to collaborative work which encourages evolution.

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The play that is Oscar Wild

Jagoda Kamov is a Croatian actress who will perform in an Oscar Wild Play 'The play that is Oscar Wild' as a part of Camden Fringe festival. Click here for more details.

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Croatia and Brexit

The Government of the Republic of Croatia regrets the outcome of the British referendum in which a majority of voters supported the option of the UK leaving the European Union. Croatia will work to create a stronger and democratic European Union together with other member states, and will continue to further develop bilateral relations with the United Kingdom.

The legal status of Croatian citizens living and working in the UK will not change for a considerable time. There are no changes in travel regulations. The Croatian Embassy in London will provide information about any new important changes. You can contact the Embassy by writing to: [email protected]

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Carmen (Bizet), 8th and 10th June, Wyllyots Theatre, Potters Bar

Southgate Opera present Bizet's tragic tale of passion set in the sultry atmosphere of southern Spain. Sung in English with full orchestral accompaniment. Tenor Stephen Cviic takes the role of Don Jose in the performances on Wednesday 8th and Friday 10th June.

When: Wednesday 8th and Friday 10th June, 7.30pm
Where: Wyllyots Theatre, Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 2HN

How to get there: Train from King's Cross (theatre is near Potters Bar station)

Tickets: Theatre Box Office: 01707 645005 or theatre website

Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) (Mozart), 1st and 2nd July, St Paul’s Church, Clapham, London SW4

St Paul's Opera present a fully-staged version of Mozart's haunting comedy about the quest for love and enlightenment. Sung in German with English surtitles and dialogue, and accompanied by small instrumental ensemble. Picnicking space and bar available in the grounds before the show and during the interval. Tenor Stephen Cviic takes the role of Tamino.

When: Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd July, 7.00pm
Where: St Paul’s Church, Rectory Grove, London SW4 0DX

Gates open for picnicking at 5.30pm.

How to get there: Clapham Common tube station or Wandsworth Road Overground. Parking also available

Tickets: £25. Buy 10 get 1 free.

or from Nicola White on 020 7622 2128

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Multilingual Imaginations: Celebrating Asymptote’s 5th Anniversary in London

Here is a write-up of the Asymptote anniversary event with Tena Štivičić

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The Concrete Utopia. Ivan Picelj and New Tendencies 1961-1973

Thu 26th May 2016 to Fri 22nd Jul 2016
Cortesy Gallery 41 & 43 Maddox Street, London W1S 2PD
Monday – Friday: 10am – 6pm, Saturday: 12pm – 6pm
Admission free

About the event

Cortesi Gallery is delighted to present The Concrete Utopia: Ivan Picelj and New Tendencies 1961–1973, an exhibition that explores the neo avant-garde of the sixties and seventies via the work of Croatian artist Ivan Picelj (1924–2011). As one of the founders of the New Tendencies movement, Picelj’s work presents a fascinating opportunity to re-examine this exciting period.

Curated by Ilaria Bignotti, the retrospective features more than 40 works by Picelj, retracing the significant developments of one of the movement’s leading figures. Picelj is renowned for his persistent pursuit of the perfect relationship between perception and knowledge. Through his rigorous ideation and infinite patience for repetition, his forms become a concrete utopia, created as a better way to see, feel and experience the everyday in life.

Concrete Utopia

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Meet-Up

The next Meet-Up takes place on Wednesday 18 May.

We will be meeting at the National Theatre (downstairs) on the South Bank. There has been a recent refurbishment of the bar area which of course also serves tea and coffee.

The intention is for people with any form of interest in Croatia to meet up, socialise and have a chat in an informal atmosphere. Whether you are a Croatian resident in London or someone who has recently visited Croatia for the first time and want to know more, this event is for you.

The event is of course open to both members and non-members. It provides an excellent opportunity for anyone to come and meet British-Croatian Society members and even to join if they so wish!

We hope to bag a table early on in the bar area on the ground floor. BCS members Brian Gallagher and John Pindar will be there from the start and you can find us by looking out for Croatian symbols.

We’ll be there between 7.30 PM and 10 PM.

Come along for a chat about all things Croatian!

National Theatre: Upper Ground, South Bank
Nearest Tube stations: Embankment, Waterloo
Full location details: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

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The THIRTEEN

The THIRTEEN will exhibit at the Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN from May 20 to June 30.

THIRTEEN is an outstanding group of professional and accomplished amateur photographers.

Private view May 20, 18-30 - 20-30.

THIRTEEN in May 72dpi

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World Premiere of William Thackeray opera

Sir Nicholas Jackson composes new opera based on William Thackeray’s The Rose and the Ring,

First public performance will take place at Thackeray’s old school at The Charterhouse in the centre of London in May

Composer Sir Nicholas Jackson will be conducting his latest work, The Rose and the Ring on Wednesday 4 May at Drapers livery Hall, followed by the first public performance at The Charterhouse, London on Thursday 5 May. The opera, based on the novel by William Thackeray will include an array of young and exciting singers, including Kathleen Ferrier finalist Robyn Parton. They will be joined by the ‘Concertante of London’, led byMadeleine Easton, who has recently performed with the ‘English Baroque’ soloists and the ‘King’s Consort’.

The Rose and the Ring is based on one of Thackeray’s lesser known works, located in the fictional kingdom of Pafflagonia. Magic, royalty and romance dominate the themes of Thackeray’s novel. For Nicholas, it was an obvious choice for an opera, “My Grandfather had known Thackeray’s daughter and one day when rummaging through some books that I had inherited I came across a worn copy of her father’s The Rose & the Ring. Although written as a ‘children’s pantomime’ it is an equally good read for grown-ups with ingenious twists, I just couldn’t believe that this had not occurred to anybody else”.

The score is set to adaptations and orchestrations of Keyboard Sonatas by Scarlatti, a composer whose sonatas Sir Nicholas has had a long affiliation with. “As a harpsichordist I had performed and recorded about 40 of his sonatas and played through a great many more. I had also recently recorded for Nimbus my arrangement of one of his sonatas for Wind Quartet and Harpsichord. It has been said that all the sounds that Scarlatti would have heard, if he had opened a window of his house in 18th century Madrid, are contained in the microcosm of his 550 sonatas including flamenco dancing, castanets, the strumming of guitars and the wail of gypsy laments. But the gaiety of his music is sometimes overwhelmed by a surge of operatic passion.”

The public premiere of this work will be staged at The Charterhouse (5 May) in the very same building Thackeray would have visited daily during his time at the school in the 19thcentury. On 7 May the cast will be recording the work in its entirety to be released later in the year. It will undoubtedly highlight Jackson’s knowledgeable interpretation of Scarlatti as well as his dedication to raising the profile of exciting young artists.

http://jacksonmusic.co.uk/

For ticket reservations (10am-3pm Monday - Friday) please contact Dawn Woodford at The Charterhouse on 0207 253 9503, Ext. 2

For press enquiries, please contact:
Valerie Barber PR
Suite 2
9a St John’s Wood High Street
London NW8 7NG

Tel: +44 (0)20 7586 8560

[email protected]
www.vbpr.co.uk

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Meet-Up

Our next Meet-Up takes place on Wednesday 23 March.

We will be meeting the National Theatre (downstairs) on the South Bank. There has been a recent refurbishment of the bar area which of course also serves tea and coffee.

The intention is for people with any form of interest in Croatia to meet up, socialise and have a chat in an informal atmosphere. Whether you are a Croatian resident in London or someone who has recently visited Croatia for the first time and want to know more, this event is for you.

The event is of course open to both members and non-members. It provides an excellent opportunity for anyone to come and meet British-Croatian Society members and even to join if they so wish!

We hope to bag a table early on in the bar area on the ground floor. BCS members Brian Gallagher and John Pindar will be there from the start and you can find us by looking out for Croatian symbols.

We’ll be there between 7.30 PM and 10 PM.

Come along for a chat about all things Croatian!

National Theatre: Upper Ground, South Bank
Nearest Tube stations: Embankment, Waterloo
Full location details: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

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Music for Holy Week

Monday 21 March, 7.30pm, St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ED

The Elysian Singers, including tenor Stephen Cviic, conducted by Sam Laughton, present five centuries of penitential psalm settings from all around Europe: from France to Estonia, from Italy to Denmark. Mini-masterpieces by Mendelssohn (‘Hear my Prayer’) and Arvo Pärt (‘An den Wassern zu Babel’) rub shoulders with English choral favourites by Purcell and Howells.

Tickets: £15 (concessions for the unwaged £10), available from www.wegottickets.com

Nearest stations: Covent Garden and Leicester Square

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A Pair of Sparkling Eyes

Friday 18 March, 7.30pm, St Paul's Church, Rectory Grove, Clapham, London SW4

Tenor Stephen Cviic, soprano Antonia Cviic and other members of St Paul's Opera present an evening of operatic highlights with a romantic theme, including excerpts from Bizet's Carmen, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and music by Handel and Puccini, among others. Tickets include a glass of wine.

Tickets: £15 (concessions £12) on the door or in advance from www.wegottickets.com/StPaulsOpera

Nearest stations: Clapham Common tube and Wandworth Road Overground.

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You are reminded that you are invited to the Annual General Meeting and a committee meeting of the British-Croatian Society to be held on Tuesday 8 March at 18.30 at the Croatian Embassy, 21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN.

The meeting will include a report of the year and plans for the future, an update on the Society's membership and finances, as well as the appointment of trustees and committee members.

We are always looking for new ideas and would very much welcome your presence.

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On Saturday 5th of March, the Croatian Supplementary School in London is organising a workshop called Raising a Bilingual Child: Learning Together.

The workshop aims to support parents in bringing up children to be bilingual by sharing solutions to the challenges they encounter and exploring practical strategies for enhancing learning.

The workshop will take place at Croatian Embassy.

The workshop starts at 10am and it will finish around 11.30am.

The event is free, but you must register to attend. Please email [email protected] to book your place.

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Tena Stivicic will be one of the panellists at Multilingual Imaginations, an event organised to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Asymptote, the international journal of translation. This will take place at Waterstones in Piccadilly on Wednesday March 27 at 19-00 (tickets £5). Further information can be found at www.asymptotejournal.com/events.

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2 Cellos will perform at the Greenwich Music Time Festival on July 5. Tickets are already on sale. For information please go to www.greenwichmusictime.co.uk.

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Eastern Europeans for Dummies will be performed by There There - a 50% Romanian 50% Serbian theatre company - at Rich Mix on 18 March.

In anticipation of the EU referendum, Eastern Europeans for Dummies dissects immigrant stereotypes perpetuated by the politicians and the media. The project is supported by Arts Council England, Rich Mix, the Romanian Cultural Centre and Counterpoints Arts. Further information at www.richmix.org.uk

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Croatian Heritage Foundation Language Courses

University School of Croatian Language and Culture in Zagreb, June 25 - July 22. School of Croatian Language and Culture, Novi Vindolski, July 18 - 29. For further information please see the attached notices or contact Professor Lada Kanajet Simic ([email protected]).

The University of Zagreb & Croatian Heritage Foundation
Croatian Heritage Foundation

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Croatian jazz on BBC Radio 3

Elvis Stanic, jazz guitarist and accordionist from Opatija, appeared on last Saturday's BBC Radio 3 Jazz Line-Up with his international group JazzExTempore Orchestra in the composition 'Lanziamentos del Verde'. To hear it go to www.bbc.co.uk/programmes

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Leap Summit
5 -7 May 2016, Zagreb

Message from the Croatian Embassy in London

Leap Summit will gather more than 1,000 young people who are entrepreneurs, NGO leaders, students, leaders and opinion leaders in their respective communities. Main themes of the Leap Summit will be connected to innovations, entrepreneurship, modern technologies, career development and success stories. The Summit is under patronage of President of Republic of Croatia and is highly supported by University of Zagreb. The Leap Summit international conference hopes to gather a lot of Croatian participants who live outside of Croatia, to exchange ideas and positive experiences.

You can download pdf here.

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MIMIKA is excellent jazz orchestra formed from a younger generation of London based jazz soloists and run by Croatian composer and conductor Mak Murtić and singer Maja Rivić. They will play a gig in one of the best jazz clubs in London, Vortex in Dalston.

For further information, please go to:

www.vortexjazz.co.uk
www.facebook.com/events/456148251245920/

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Vukovar Water Tower

The Croatian Embassy has passed to us information about the project Vukovar Water Tower - Symbol of Croatian Unity received from representatives of the City of Vukovar. For further information, please contact the City of Vukovar:

Dr. Franje Tudjmana 1
32000 Vukovar
CROATIA
Tel. +385 32 456 524
Fax. +385 32 456 570

You can download pdf here.

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Dejan Lazic

Here is the link to hear the recording of the fantastic concert of Croatian pianist Dejan Lazić in the Wigmore Hall on 18th of January in the BBC Radio 3 series 'Wigmore Hall Mondays'.

At the end of concert he played his own composition '3 Istrian Dances Op 15a '.

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Croatian countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic

The famous Croatian countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic gave a concert at the Wigmore Hall on 27th of December. Click here to see a review of the concert.

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Adrian Chiles BBC programme

You may like to know about this BBC programme that is now available on iPlayer.

My Mediterranean with Adrian Chiles, Episode 1 www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06vngp4

This is what the BBC says:
Adrian Chiles converted to Catholicism ten years ago, but wonders whether his choice of church was an accident of birth and geography. If he had been born in Istanbul or Jerusalem, would he have been equally happy being a Muslim or a Jew? In this first episode, he visits the stunning Dalmatian coast, where he meets up with his Croatian mum and reveals how he got the nickname Holy Joe.

Next stop is Istanbul, where he has fun in the Grand Bazaar before heading out on the Bosphorus with a Muslim fisherman. During Eid al-Adha, a major Islamic festival, Adrian struggles to watch the celebratory sacrifice. He travels to Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Sukkot, and then moves on to Tel-Aviv to get drunk with a gay, atheist, Jewish celebrity chef. His final stop is an Evangelical concert by the Dead Sea, attended by Christians from all over the world.

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Dejan Lazic has a lunch time piano concert at the Wigmore Hall on January 18. For details, please visit wigmore-hall.org.uk

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You may be interested in this radio interview with Gordana Johnson on the British-Croatian Society's photographic exhibition photographingCroatia.

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Email news & information

Peter Frankopan's 'The Silk Roads' is number 1 in the Daily Telegraph's UK non fiction list. We hope to have a talk by Peter in our 2016 programme. For more information about the book and Peter, please go to www.bloomsbury.com

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We have a full programme planned for 2016. If you are not a member and would like to support us by joining, please go to our website www.britishcroatiansociety.com.

2015 – a bumper year at the British-Croatian Society

A challenge: how many Croatian writers’ books are available to read in English? (we will give you the answer in a moment) London has seen Croatian authors, from established figures such as Daša Drndić to some of the many exciting new writers, at the Croatian stand at the London Book Fair each year. This generates a lot of interest. We spotted an opportunity to help British readers with an interest in Croatia, but no knowledge of Croatian, by publishing Writing Croatia. This lists Croatian fiction translated into English, as well as fiction set in Croatia by non-Croats, and a section of non-fiction books.

The answer to our question is that we have so far found 108 books by Croatian fiction writers that are available in English listed in Writing Croatia (there are probably more – so if you know of some we have missed, please tell us).

Writing Croatia is a follow-up to Mapping Croatia, a guide to Croatian works of art in UK museums and galleries, which we published as part of the Welcome Croatia festival in 2013. There are many more Croatian works in the UK than you might think, most of them in public museums to be seen free of charge. If you would like copies, both are available free of charge by emailing us at our address below.

How can Croatia make an impact in the UK? It is not easy. One way we tried for the first 6 months of 2015 was to build on the Croatian involvement with the London Book Fair, adding to it other events and branding them as

creativeCroatia
bringing contemporary Croatia to London in 2015

Various organizations were involved - the embassy fielded many of them – and we used the logo on our activities. The highlight was the embassy’s inclusion of the bronze sculpture of the young athlete recovered from the Adriatic in 1999 in the British Museum ‘Defining Beauty’ exhibition.

With the embassy we organized creativeCroatia events such as the concert with Diana Brekalo and friends that raised nearly £1,000 for the English section of the library of the school in Gunja destroyed by floods, and the presentation by Vanja Žanko at the ArtEco Gallery that brought us bang up to date with the contemporary art scene in Croatia.

It is always good to hear Dr Ivan Grdesić, the Croatian Ambassador, talk. We put him together with Peter Sanfey, a senior economist at EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) at an ‘in conversation’ event. EBRD has invested 3.1 billion euros in Croatia so bringing them together provoked a good relaxed discussion of current political and economic issues (if you want to know more about EBRD, you can do so at www.ebrd.com/croatia.html).

EBRD has been a good partner of the British-Croatian Society over the years in hosting the Chris Cviić memorial lecture. Chris was an influential figure on Croatian and Balkan issues and at one time worked at EBRD. This year Boris Vujčić, the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, gave a detailed presentation on the economy.

Tena Stivičić, one of Croatia’s foremost literary figures, later in the year appeared at another ‘in conversation’. With Roy Cross (a former British Council Director in Croatia) they talked about her play ‘3 Winters’ that ran to excellent reviews at the National Theatre, as well as ranging more widely over her work as a playwright.

It is always exciting to find someone who has been profoundly influenced by Croatia. Melanie Hodge is such a person. Melanie has taken the Croatian naïve tradition of reverse oil paintings on glass and made it her own. Her British-Croatian Society exhibition ‘Though A Looking Glass’ at Conway Hall was, according to Martha May of Conway Hall, “one of the most popular exhibitions we’ve held”. For more on Melanie and her work, please go to www.mjhodge.co.uk, or follow her on instagram: Melanie hodge; Twitter: @mjhodge: or Facebook: MJHodge Art and Illustration.

Flora Turner’s knowledge and appreciation of the arts is always impressive and she was on good form when she delivered a talk entitled ‘The Painted Coast’. With superb illustrations, she introduced the audience to the works of British painters in 18th, 19t and 20th century who visited Istria and Dalmatia. Earlier in the year she was the key component in the British-Croatian Society supported Victoria & Albert Museum symposium on Mesštrović, marking the 100th anniversary of his V & A exhibition in 1915.

The Society’s annual dinner was held this year at the prestigious East India Club, an extraordinary ‘home from home for gentlemen’ in the heart of London’s clubland. There can hardly be a more old-fashioned English location for a British-Croatian Society event!

Sensationally good photographs in our final event of the year: photographingCroatia brought together at the embassy the best of the photographs taken in Croatia submitted to us by amateurs and professionals. A fun event to bring to a close a good year for the British-Croatian Society.

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Adriatica.net looking for help at their stand on the World Travel Market

Adriatica.net will have their stand on the World Travel Market and have asked if we know anyone that speaks Croatian and that lives in London that would be available to work on their stand for the duration of the fair – 2-5 November from 9am to 6pm at London Excel. The person will have to distribute brochures and help with enquiries.

Please, do let me know if you know someone and we will then put them in contact with Adriatica.net.

 
Kind regards,
 
Sara Sabadin
 
Marketing and Events Officer
 
 
Croatian National Tourist Office
 
Third Floor, No. 1 Farrier’s Yard , Assembly London
77 – 85 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JA
 
t. +44 208 563 7979 | f. +44 208 563 2616
 
 
 

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Ivana Gavric

Fresh from being awarded 'Record of the Year' for her Grieg Piano Works disc by the Grieg Society and the Norwegian Ambassador in the UK last week, pianist Ivana Gavric will be performing Grieg's ever-popular Piano Concerto this Thursday, 8th October, at St James' Piccadilly at 7-30pm.

More information can be found at www.orchestraofthecity.com

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Memorial unveiled to one of Plymouth's greatest sons - former Labour leader Michael Foot

On Friday a memorial was unveiled in Plymouth to Michael Foot, a previous Patron of the British-Croatian Society and a keen supporter of Croatia. The Society made a modest contribution to funding for the memorial.

A report can be found here.
 
 

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THIRTEEN
in the Gallery of the Embassy of Croatia
28 May - 1 July 2015

Private view
28 May, 6.30-8.30pm
21 Conway Street, London W1T 6BN

In THIRTEEN, a diverse group of amateur and professional photographers work without the constraint of a single theme, each showing one side of their creativity. The images in the exhibition span a selection of photographic genres and techniques - colour or monochrome, traditional darkroom processing or digital manipulation.

For each of these photographers, in addition to the artistic and technical choice of subject and method, taking photographs is a means of individual expression - each image has a unique personal stamp.

Viewers are invited to consider each image on its own as well as in relation to the group, for their visual pleasure.

13 at the Gallery of the Embassy of Croatia

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May 19, 2015, 1pm
St Martin-in-the-Fields

Free Lunchtime Concert: St Martin's Embassy Series
Diana Brekalo

Join Croatian pianist, Diana Brekalo, as she performs a virtuosic programme of Beethoven, Kelemen and Lizst.

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Croatian Literary Events

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Croatia will again have a stand at the London Book Fair in April and Croatian literary events will take place at the Fair and elsewhere. The Tristram Bates Theatre, just off Leicester Square, is an ideal intimate small theatre for the following event based on the English version of Olja

 

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Marko Cindrić is a theatre and TV actor. He is also Artistic Director-Producer of Nu:Write Theatre Festival Zagreb.

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Ivica Buljan is an award-winning Croatian theatre director with international experience. He is the theatre and art director of zagrebtheatrefestival.hr.

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Nataša Janjić is an award-winning stage actress. Since 2006, she has worked at the Zagreb City Drama Theatre, Gavella.

creativeCroatia
bringing contemporary Croatia to London in 2015

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V&A Ivan Mestrovic Symposium

To mark the centenary of the hugely important exhibition of Ivan Mestrovic in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1915, the Victoria and Albert Museum is holding a symposium devoted to Ivan Mestrovic on Wednesday 24 June. It is organised in cooperation with the Mestrovic Museums in Croatia and three of their curators will give a paper. The speakers will include curators from the V&A, and specialists for sculpture and architecture from the UK and abroad.

It will be a fairly intimate event, with a roundtable format, and we hope interesting ideas will be exchanged. It is free of charge, but places are very limited, and an early registration is essential. To register please contact creativeCroatia at [email protected].

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International Trust for Croatian Monuments

Tuesday 9 June, 7.30pm
Holy Trinity Church
Sloane Square
London SW1

Read the full details here.

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New York Times review of Tena Štivičić's 'Three Winters'

Read the full review here.

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A Night at the Opera

AMAC-UK 2015 concert 'A Night at the Opera' to be held on February 28.
This will raise funds to support awards for Croatian young scientists.

You can view more information here.

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Croatian Embassy Fund Raising Concert

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Vlado Kristl at Tate Modern in November

An influential figure in Croatian avant-garde, Vlado Kristl’s work from his ground breaking animations produced at the Zagreb Film animation studio to his first live action film General I resni Clovek / The General, that was banned in 1962, will be shown alongside works by his contemporaries from the active Cine-Club movement in Croatia including Ante Verzotti, Milan Šamec, Mihovil Pansini, Tomislav Gotovac, Vladimir Petek and Ivan Martinac.

Kristl began filmmaking after his involvement in the abstract art movement EXAT 51, starting at the famous Zagreb Film studio he produced early films such as Krada dragulja / Great Jewel Robbery 1959 and his iconoclastic Cervantes adaptation Don Kihot 1961, a remarkable animation that radically reduced the source material recasting the Don Quixote and Sancho Panza against an abstract barren landscapes and fighting a rampant military.

His first live-action film General I resni Clovek / The General, an absurd drama set in a prison camp see Kristl as the lead inspiring an insurrection. The general of the title, whose appearance is heralded with laugher, bares an uncanny resemblance to President Tito that lead to the instant banning and destruction of the film – but not before a copy was smuggled out of Yugoslavia quickly followed by Kristl’s own departure.

Illustrated talks will explore the legacy of Vlado Kristl, EXAT 51 and the Croatia Cine-Clubs with film historian and persident of the Croatian Film Club Association Hrvoje Turkovic followed by a discussion with curator and researcher Branka Benčić.

 
For further information, please go to:
 
 
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3 Winters

Tena Štivičić's play 3 Winters is at the National Theatre from November 26

From the remnants of monarchy to Communism, democracy, war and the EU: Croatia 1945-2011. The Kos family argue, adapt, fall in and out of love.

World after world is erected and torn down around them. The one constant is the ivy-clad house in Zagreb, built by aristocrats, partitioned, owned by all, owned by a few; witness to four increasingly educated and independent generations of women.

But when the family assemble for Lucia's wedding, Alisa learns that her nouveau-riche brother-in-law has bought the once nationalised house. For the bride this is progress, for her sister it's a shady act of greed. For their principled parents, finally, it's one battle too many.

Against a country in turmoil, Tena Štivičić's 3 Winters creates the portrait of an eclectic family, held together by the courage to survive.

 
For tickets, please go to www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
 

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Stone's Throw Theatre present
 
Broken Promise Land
 
Sick of life in a war-torn Croatia, guided by MTV hits and Hollywood sitcoms, Stefica takes on a new name and embarks on a quest for an American education, and ends up in a Dublin lap dancing club. With frankness and humor, she teaches us the tricks of the trade and shares secrets she can't tell anyone else.
 
Based on real experiences, written and performed by Mirjana Rendulic (Amber; RTE, BBC 4), this piece dispels easy preconceptions about exotic dancers. After a successful tour in Ireland, Stone's Throw bring this compelling new show to Camden Fringe Festival.
 
The Play is suitable for 16+; minimal adult content.
 
'A silver award winner at New York Radio Festivals 2014'
'4 stars' The Irish Times
'Delivered by an instantly likeable Rendulic... it is captivating.' Sunday Times
'It's moving, it's funny and it's a must see.' Entertainment.ie
 
Venue: Etcetera Theatre ( 265 Camden High Street- above Oxford Arms)
 
Dates: Fri 22 - Sun 24th August 2014 at 3:30pm 3 shows only!
 
Bookings: Etcetera Theatre: 020 7482 4857 Tickets: £7.00
 
Booking information:
 

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Croatian Supplementary School

Hrvatska dopunska škola

The Croatian Supplementary School has been taking part in a research project with Goldsmiths, University of London, entitled ‘Critical Connections: Multilingual Digital Storytelling Project’, involving 5 supplementary schools, 5 mainstream schools and 3 overseas schools. This two year project (2012-2014), funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, involves pupils in creating and evaluating digital stories, developing skills in language and literacy as well as more critical and sophisticated use of multimedia tools. It is innovative and exciting work which supports schools in engaging learners and in developing a curriculum which is attuned to the needs of culturally diverse societies and a more interconnected and interdependent world.The Film Festival at Goldsmiths to celebrates and discusses pupils’ work. The school students have created digital stories in a range of languages (Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, English as a second language, French, German and Greek).

Takes part in
Goldsmiths College Film Festival
'Critical Connections: A multilingual Digital Storytelling Project'
17 June 2014 (9.45-16.00)
 
 
Venue:
Goldsmiths College, New Academic Building, University of London, SE14 6NW
(New Cross or New Cross Gate train station)
Campus map http://www.gold.ac.uk/media/campus-map.pdf (Building No2 on the map)
 
 
Registration
Six pupils from the School's oldest group (11-15) have created two short bilingual films (3-5 min):
 
    • A Journey to Croatia: Did You Know?
  • Happy Easter
This project, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, has involved pupils from five supplementary schools, five mainstreamschools and three overseas schools and the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, English, English as a second language, French, German and Greek)
 

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Floods in Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia: appeals for help

Croatian Church

The Croatian Chaplaincy is organizing a collection of financial assistance for those affected by the devastating floods. During this week you can send donations to the Chaplaincy’s account:
The Croatian Church, Sort Code 50-21-01, Account Number 57228701.
Please advise them of your donation by e-mail [email protected] so that they can forward them next week to the Caritas of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Should you wish to send your donations directly you can do that to the following accounts: Caritas in Croatia, account IBAN HR05 2340 0091 1000 8034 0, reference number 175
Caritas in Bosnia and Herzegovina account IBAN BA39 338 690 481 206 3318, SWIFT CODE: UNCRBA 22.
They will also be collecting donations during the Sunday Mass on the 25th May 2014 at 4 pm in the Sacred Heart Church, 110 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2EF for the flood affected communities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

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Red Cross

Thousands of people are left homeless, without food, water, and warm and dry clothes due to severe flooding in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They need your help! Donate to the Red Cross organisations which are leading the humanitarian efforts in the region:
Croatian Red Cross:
IBAN: HR 6923400091511555516
SWIFT: PBZGHR2X
FULL BENEFICIARY NAME : HRVATSKI CRVENI KRIŽ,
FULL BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: ULICA CRVENOG KRIŽA 14, P.P. 93, 10001 ZAGREB
You can also make an online payment via credit card for “Pomoć za poplavljena područja u Hrvatskoj/Srbiji/Bosni i Hercegovini“ here. Red Cross Serbia:
Instructions for payments in EUR, GBP, USD are here (select English in upper right corner).
Red Cross Bosnia and Herzegovina:
IBAN CODE: BA391610000000850119
SWIFT CODE : RZBABA2S
FULL BENEFICIARY NAME : CRVENI KRIZ FEDERACIJE BIH SARAJEVO
FULL BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: NEDIMA FILIPOVICA 9, SARAJEVO
More information and news are here (google translator is available in right sidebar under ‘Izaberite jezik’).

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The Seagull

The ZKM theatre company from Zagreb will be performing Chekhov's The Seagull in Croatian with English surtitles on Saturday, May 24 at the Nottingham Playhouse. For details and how you can buy tickets (£13 or £11 concessions), please go to Notingham Playhouse

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Invitation

Vera Stevens, the winner of the Welcome Croatia Festival photographic competition "Croatia through the lens", will now have her own exhibition at the Croatian Embassy and you are invited. If you wish to attend the opening at 18:00 on April 17, please email [email protected] by April 14.

Vera Stevens


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OURFC V Croatia

Croatia Poster

Lea And Daria | UK Jewish Film Festival

If you missed the film "Lea and Daria" at the Croatian Film Festival, you will be able to see it at the Jewish Film Festival, from 3rd to 9th February at "JW3", 341-351 Finchley Road, London NW3 6ET.

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Croatian Language School for Children

The Croatian language school for children aged 5 to 14 will re-open in January 2014. The school is situated at the Croatian Embassy in London, 21 Conway Street, W1T 6BN. The lesson are held there on Saturdays and groups and timings will be confirmed at a later date, and will depend on the number of children enrolled. For more information please visit
www.cro-school.org.uk, or contact Ivana Capps on 07949 772314 or email [email protected]

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Dubrovnik Foreign Circle Appeal

Over £3,000 has been raised by the British-Croatian Society in response to our appeal for donations to support the Dubrovnik Foreign Circle's proposal to provide the Dubrovnik Hospital children's unit with a spirometer.

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A Visit to Fort George, Vis September 2013

This September my husband and I went first to Vis where we had been invited for the ceremony of the reopening of Fort George. William Wenkel, the young London-based businessman and Swedish naval reserve officer, who has invested heavily in the restoration of the fort and has a 25 year concession to run it as a cultural and recreational centre, asked Malcolm to advise on the contents and layout of a museum. Housed in the fort itself the museum is to cover the three main periods of the military history of Vis; the occupation and fortification by the British at the beginning of the nineteenth century; its use as an Austrian naval base; and by the allies and partisans in the Second World War. Besides the museum the fort will have a gallery for various local or international artists in residence to exhibit their work. There will also be concerts, facilities for meetings, conferences and receptions, with a restaurant, wine cellar and terrace bar and discotheque.

Almost five years had passed since our last visit to the fort, then in a sad state of neglect and disrepair and overgrown. So, when soon after our arrival on Vis, William and his team took us to the fort to show what progress had been made, we were more than pleasantly surprised. Under the guidance of the Split conservationist Sanja Buble, and in spite of the many bureaucratic hurdles to be surmounted, the inevitable delays and complications with the excavations and reconstruction, and escalating costs, much has been achieved. But the work is far from finished and more costly work remains to be undertaken. What has been done so far is a very considerable achievement, realising the fort's potential as one of the most splendid venues for entertainment and cultural activity in this part of the Adriatic. The mayor of Vis, Ivo Radica, has been supportive from the start when he interested William in the fort as a place to host parties for the yacht weeks, the primary business of William and his partners, the profits of which are being invested in the restoration. The Vis municipality has made an essential contribution by asphalting the road to the fort and laying a pipeline to supply water.

On the evening of September 6, 200 years since the British built the original fort in 1812-13, with fanfares and the beating of drums by a Croatian naval band, Admiral John McAnally, president of the Royal Navy Association, formally ordered the gate of the fort to be opened. Instead of a salute by cannon, there followed the explosion of fireworks on the roof of the fort.

The carefully choreographed and symbolic opening ceremony was witnessed by an international gathering of guests, including the mayor and local dignitaries, Croatian Navy officers representing the President of the Republic, Ivo Josipovic. and the British Ambassador to Croatia and British military attaches. Mingling with these official quests were retired Swedish naval officers and numerous other Swedish friends and family members of William Wenkel and his business partners, British with homes on Vis, and a number of representatives of Austria in nineteenth century uniforms, including one magnificent individual in an admiral's uniform with sideburns to match (reminding one of Gilbert and Sullivan). When the guests were assembled on the roof terrace, Admiral McAnally delivered a speech, after which the Union flag was lowered and replaced by the flag of Croatia by Croatian Navy officers. The Admiral then presented the key of the fort to the Commodore Robert Hranj, commanding the Croatian Navy, who then gave a speech and handed it on to the Mayor of Vis, Ivo Radica, who in turn entrusted it to William Wenkel.

After that the sit down dinner was hosted on the top terrace with all night partying for younger members until early hours of the morning.

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Sir Arthur Evans in Dalmatia

The Welcome Croatia Sir Arthur Evans seminar at the Ashmolean in Oxford last week was a great success. For those who were unable to attend, you might like to see the text of the introductory session from the Director of the museum, Dr Christopher Brown. It is attached to this email.

Sir Arthur Evans is today mostly remembered for his archaeological work on the island of Crete, and especially his excavations at the so-called ‘Palace of Minos’ at Knossos. But before Knossos, there were many other regions and time periods that attracted his interest.

Influenced by his father’s diverse antiquarian interests – the famous prehistorian Sir John Evans – young Arthur travelled extensively across Europe, while still an Oxford History undergraduate. His first visit to Croatia was in the late summer 1871 with his brother Lewis as part of a larger trip that included Austria.

Evans returned to Croatia in 1875, again joined by his brother Lewis. That was the beginning of a journey through Bosnia and Herzegovina which he later published as a book to gain an enthusiastic response by the press and critics of the time. The book was widely read and even quoted in Parliament – Evans became an authority in the region ‘after a month’s travel and a single book’.

While in Croatia, Evans visited Zagreb, Sisak, and Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik). He was interested in everyday life as his writings and drawings suggest. For the archaeology of the region, especially in Dalmatia, and Evans’s efforts to bring it to light and make it accessible to the wider world, you will hear more later this afternoon by our distinguished speakers, Professor John Wilkes, Dr Susan Sherratt, Dr Susan Walker and Dr Helena Tomas.

The most celebrated period of Evans in Croatia was by far the years between 1878 and 1882, when he worked as correspondent for the Manchester Guardian. In 1878 he married Margaret Freeman and together they made Ragusa their home, where Arthur had taken a 20-year lease on a beautiful house overlooking the sea, called Casa San Lazzaro.

Evans came to dislike Austrian rule as much as the Ottoman. He would write: ‘The people were treated not as a liberated, but as a conquered and inferior race; their sense of right – which they do possess in a remarkable degree – is simply trodden underfoot.’ His anti-Austrian reports and activities led to his imprisonment and eventual expulsion from the area.

In 1932, at the age of 81 and after an absence of fifty years, Evans revisited Croatia with his sister-in-law Helen Freeman. He flew to Zagreb from where he wrote: ‘the traveller arriving by air, looks down on what is now a city of over a quarter of a million inhabitants, spaciously ‘town-planned’, with a bright garden band stretching to its centre, and interspersed with fine public buildings…’. Evans’s journey ended with a visit to Ragusa where he was welcomed as a hero. There he saw his old house, garden, and the prison where he was incarcerated in 1882. Such was Evans’s love for Ragusa that his half-sister and biographer, Dame Joan Evans would write that ‘for many years he had felt that he would best find rest in the flowery graveyard, barred by the shadows of Cypresses, that lies outside the walls of the city’. Although his attention progressively shifted to Crete, Evans never abandoned his interest in Dalmatia and the region as a whole.

The influence of Sir Arthur Evans extends far and beyond the realm of Minos and the island of Crete and even that of archaeology. His liberal views on the political situation in southeastern Europe and his knowledge on the people, the land and the different cultures made him an expert of the complex history of that part of the world.

The Ashmolean’s half-day symposium on ‘Sir Arthur Evans in Dalmatia’ presents us with a great opportunity to explore his travels in the region and to look at contemporary Croatian archaeology in celebration of Croatia’s accession to the European Union on the 1st of July.

It gives me particular pleasure to welcome the Croatian Ambassador Dr Ivan Grdešić (and Mrs Grdešić) to the Ashmolean on this special occasion. Finally, I should like to thank Dr Yannis Galanakis and ‘Welcome Croatia’ for organising today’s symposium, and Archaeopress for their financial support of the event.

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Shearsman Books to publish Tin Ujević's poems translated by Richard Berengarten

Shearsman Books are about to publish bilingual edition of small selection of Tin Ujević's poems translated by Richard Berengarten and Daša Marić. Tin's poems have hardly been translated into English, and this is the first real attempt to do so seriously, even though on a small scale. Richard's translations have been published on several Croatian websites, most significantly in the cultural and academic web-journal "[sic]", a venture of the University of Zadar. There is also an extended critical and interpretative essay on Tin on the same website, which is quite possibly the first serious attempts by a British literary scholar to approach his work.

These translations have been widely circulated informally and on the web. For example, an enterprising English teacher in Croatia has been using some of these poems to help her pupils learn English. As the charming performances by these children suggest, Richard's translations retain the melos of Tin's poems.

YouTube clip 1

YouTube clip 2

YouTube clip 3

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Evening Standard review of West End hit musical 'Once', Wednesday 10 April 2013

Read about Croatian actress Zrinka Cvitesic at the heart of the new West End hit musical 'Once' Evening Standard

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Croatian Stand at the London Book Fair 2013

Read about Croatian Stand at the London Book Fair Croatian Stand

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Mapping Croatia

Mapping Croatia

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An initiative to be supported

arial vis port of vis

I would like to inform the members of the British Croatian society about an important project worthy of our interest and support. It regards the future development and the preservation of the beautiful and unique island of Vis It is particularly interesting for the British Croatian Society because the island’s place in two crucial periods in the British history. It served for a short time as a British base in the Napoleonic wars, from which time there are still the remains of several British fortifications, in need of restoration. Furthermore the island served as a secure base for the Allied air forces during the last years of WW2. Until a year ago, while they were still capable of undertaking it, British veterans from that war (some of whose lives were saved once they reached Vis) made an annual visit to the island to commemorate this episode and honour their comrades. However, Vis has a much older history, in relation to which a local volunteer cultural association ‘Lavurat za poja’ (‘To labour for the fields’) successfully organised an international symposium called “ Anatomy of an Island”, supported by the municipalities Vis and Komiza, at the end of September 2012.

fort veterans

The purpose of the symposium was to revaluate the local historic and environmental legacy and develop ideas and proposals for the intelligent preservation and use of existing historical attractions, to create and give a valuable cultural content to the island’s tourist industry, and to prevent undesirable and uncontrolled overdevelopment. For the introductory symposium the organisers gathered an impressive group of specialist lecturers in the fields of archaeology, architecture, economics and history who analysed different aspects of the island from their particular points of view. The symposium, apart from local inhabitants, was attended by 200 participants amongst them 32 students of architecture from Japan, Croatia and Slovenia. The lecturers worked for the second part of symposium with the students divided into 6 groups to develop ideas arising from the lectures during the first week.

boat

Among the specialists was one of the most famous Japanese architects, Prof. Kengo Kuma, who has two architectural studios in France and a chair at Tokyo University. He talked about his work in small and delicate environments. He was followed by Prof. Radovic, also teaching architecture in Japan, who talked about world trends in sustaining small environments. Apart from them one of the best known architects and selector for Venice Biennale 2010 Arch. Kazuyo Selima joined the symposium during its seminar week where she worked with the students.

Archeologists Boris Chargo, Lorenzzo Guzzardi from Siracusa in Sicily, Mirosalv Katic, Dinko Radic and other well-known archaeologists saw possibilities in enhancing the idea of the antique Greek colony of Issa, the oldest urban development in Dalmatia dating from 2400 BC. Ancient Issa, the outlines of which are still visible, was created when Greeks from Syracuse in Sicily decided to establish colonies along the Adriatic sea routes to facilitate trade with the Northern Adriatic . The Greek colonisation began with the development of the town and port of ancient Issa, which subsequently served as a starting point for further settlements such as Trogir and Stobrec. Issa was founded approximately at the same time as the Aegean Greeks founded Pharos. The archaeologists talked about antique Issa’s significance, explaining its layout and purpose, and how to read what is left of it. In the open debate that followed, all the participants in the symposium were invited to discuss how the site could be better preserved and made more interesting as a tourist attraction. Today the site of ancient Issa, near the central part of the town and port of Vis, is still not completely excavated, and what has been is rather neglected , certainly not well enough presented to attract much attention, except from dedicated archaeologists.

However the Greek site and its preservation was only one of the themes of the symposium. Other lecturers offered various insights on the island’s history, economy and architecture. The British historian, Malcolm Scott Hardy, author of the book “The British and Vis”, talked about some recent research placing the island in the context of political and military developments involving the British, Austrians and Russians exactly two hundred years before in 1812..

Considering that many of the islands along the Adriatic Croatian coast have been neglected (for example there are no boat connections between Komiza and the mainland), the Vis project should be of importance for the Croatian economy, because it stresses the need for control of future developments and their integration within the ecological, environmental and cultural preservation of the Dalmatian islands.

Realising the importance of the project, the ministries of culture and tourism have given support, making it possible to extend it for the next four years and for it to serve as a model to be followed by other islands.

A resident of Vis, the architect Bosko Budisavljevic, who was in charge of this exceptionally well-organised symposium and seminar, deserves much praise for this project, together with his many voluntary collaborators. The active participation of the present mayor of Vis, who hosted several excellent evenings and attended the various presentation, was particularly welcome.

More about this symposium with details of all the participants can be found on the web page:

Anatomija Otoka

Vesna Domany Hardy

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statement-of-intent

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a Croatian laywer living in the UK. As I have recently witnessed many questions from Croatians living in th UK regarding their/our legal immigration status, once Croatia joins the EU (especially during the recent speech Mrs Pusic gave at the EBRD), I hereby wish to share with all my fellow Croatians a new document published last week at the UK Border Agency website.

The UK government has introduced to the Parliament the European Union (Croatian Accession) Bill on 18 October 2012. Accordingly, the Home Office has published a Statement of Intent setting out the transitional restrictions which it expects to apply to Croatian nationals working in the UK after 1 July 2013.

Please find attached the Statement of Intent. This document is not definitive, but it gives a useful indication of what to expect in terms of rights and obligations.

Many thanks.

Kind regards,

Lana Rukavina

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Chris Cviic Memorial Lecture

Vesna Pusić, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister, gave the annual Chris Cviić memorial lecture on 17 October organised by the British-Croatian Society with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Her subject was Croatia in the EU.

Cviic lecture 1 Cviic lecture 2

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Letter from the President

Microsoft Word - Document1

Microsoft Word - Document1

Microsoft Word - Document1

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BLOOM Igra

bloom

Projekt je odlicno prihvacen od javnosti! Ljudi ga jako vole, pogotovo djeca i vec je jako popularan. I bez ikakvih uputa javnost intuitivno pristupa projektu i iako je BLOOM komponenta jednostavna i samo jednog tipa, svi s lakocom uspjevaju sloziti vrlo unikatne strukture. Ljudi vrlo brzo postaju ovisni o BLOOM igri - slicno originalnim LEGO blokovima koji su jako univerzalni i generalni - ali bas zato pruzaju mogucnost neiscrpnog broja kombinacija i "igraliste" su za vasu mastu! Imaginacije je jedino ogranicenje... S obzirom na velicinu komponenti (40 cm) Bloom strukture brzo rastu!

Dva velika paviljona koja smo mi u pocetku konstruirali (oba u labirint konfiguracijama kroz koje ljudi a pogotovo djeca mogu prolaziti) su vrlo brzo dozivjeli potpune transformacije od strane posjetitelja. Na neki nacin su nase pocetne strukture ohrabrile posjetitelje da se sami vrlo revno angaziraju. BLOOM je dizajniran na nacin suprotan minimalnim optimalnim strukturama koje se moraju sastavljati po strogim pravilima. jako puno poveznih tocki u strukturi (redundancija) omogucava visoku toleranciju strukture i puno mogucnosti za improvizaciju koja je sastavni dio BLOOM igre. Strukture genrativno rastu kroz interaktivnu igru...

Ja ovakav tip konstrukcija obicno koristim u svojoj metodologiji sa studentima na universitetu kad tek pocnu raditi na logickim strukturama (algorithmima) koje su moja specijalnost. Na taj nacin studenti dobiju vrlo intuitivan osjecaj za kod i matematicke strukture koje se naknadno razviju u generativne kompjuterske metode za dizajn. Trafalgar Square ce biti najznacajnija lokacija i ona ce se otvoriti 28.8.

DAZ blog

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Croatian Cyclists in London for Olympics

A 17 member team of Croatian cyclists arrived in London for the Olympics after a 32 day cycle from Zagreb. They were welcomed by Lord Bates and taken to see the Houses of Parliament before cycling off to Stratford to complete their journey.

Cyclists 1

Cyclists 2

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Welcome Croatia

 

Preparations are under way for a major Croatian festival, Welcome Croatia, to take place in the UK from January to June, 2013. The programme is expected to include:The launch of a photography competition Croatia through the eyes of a visitorin February 2012. This will run over 12 months leading to an exhibition of theshort-listed prize winners in February 2013.

  • Croatia, Sporting Powerhouse will be shown just before the Olympics with a top sports personality to open it and then tour around the UK during the festival
  • a map listing all the Croatian cultural objects in the UK and how to find them
  • working with major museums there will be a programme to display significant Croatian pieces in museum collections during the festival with accompanying talks
  • a Croatian film festival
  • an academic seminar on the early history of Croatia
  • publishing a Croatian cookery book with associated food and wine events
  • a project with school children in the two countries working together to explore their differences and similarities
  • music events from classical to contemporary
  • a Croatian literary programme

The festival committee, chaired by Sir John Ramsden, consists of the British-Croatian Society, the Croatian Students and Young Professionals Network, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, the Oxford Association of Croatian Graduates, the International Trust for Croatian Monuments, the Croatian National Tourist Office and the British Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

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Our Chair, Flora Turner, represented the British-Croatian Society at an event on February 1 to honour Dr Kathy Wilkes. Vivian Grisogono has sent this report. You can also watch the event by going to the link given at the bottom of this page.

Dr Kathy Wilkes honoured in Dubrovnik

Dr Kathleen Vaughan Wilkes (1946-2003) was an Oxford philosopher, lecturer at St. Hilda's, who achieved a special kind of eminence. Her formidable intellect was matched with indomitable courage whenever she was faced with physical danger and adversity. Details of her adventurous life and academic career were celebrated in the St. Hilda's Chronicle following her death.

Having become a Fellow of St. Hilda's in 1972 at the age of 26, she volunteered six years later to visit Prague, then behind the Iron Curtain, to give philosophy seminars, which were considered a dissident activity. She returned to then-Czechoslovakia several times, even after she had been refused a visa, and was tireless in helping Czech academics and students right up to the fall of the Iron Curtain in the 'Velvet Revolution' of 1989.

Kathy also spent time teaching in the then-Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, Brazil and China, but it was in former Yugoslavia that her courage and resources were put to the greatest test. She had become Chairman of the Executive Committee of Dubrovnik's Inter-University Centre in 1986, and spent time teaching there every year, as well as co-editing with William Newton-Smith an academic journal first entitled 'Dubrovnik Papers' and later `International Studies in the Philosophy of Science'. Kathy was in Dubrovnik in 1991 when the Serb-led Yugoslav National Army suddenly attacked the city with ruthless, sickening aggression.

For the 1996 -1997 edition of the St. Hilda's chronicle, Kathy wrote a moving article about what life in Dubrovnik was like under siege from September 1991 to January 1992. Her personal account evoked the full horror of the relentless attacks from air, sea and land against one of the most beautiful historical holiday resorts in the world. No journalist's report ever matched her descriptions in bringing home the full extent of the tragedy. On October 3rd 1991, Kathy spoke with calm determination to the BBC World Service for their Topical Reports: 'There's no water. There's no electricity. This is the only phone in Dubrovnik. There's fire all around. I think nobody including the Croatian President knows the extent of the damage here. The houses are on fire. About a quarter of Dubrovnik and the suburbs have been destroyed.' That was two months before the specially brutal aggression on December 6th 1991, the feast of St. Nicholas which marks the start of Catholic Christmas celebrations.

Kathy stayed in the city, helping the local people in every way possible, and sharing the misery and deprivations of the experience. She left only to collect aid to bring back to the city, travelling under very difficult circumstances. Besides being brilliant academically, she was very practical: she brought back medical supplies and even an ambulance while the siege was still on, and later on mine detectors when the area around Dubrovnik could be cleared. She seemed specially attuned to practical needs: in her article for the St. Hilda's Chronicle, written after the end of the aggression, she highlighted the disaster of Vukovar, a city which was suffering much worse than Dubrovnik, but without the international sympathy focused on the latter. She also pointed out that refugees were still crammed into Dubrovnik's surviving hotels, and the outlying villages were totally devastated.

Kathy received several honours for her courage, tenacity, vision and help, including one of Croatia's highest awards (Red Danice hrvatske), but the one she prized most was the honorary citizenship of Dubrovnik, which was granted in 1993. After her death, Kathy's ashes were scattered in the sea under the Lovrijenac fortress. In 2011 the city officials decided to mark their continuing appreciation of her unique contribution with a commemorative plaque on an historic square near the fortress, renaming the square after her. The formal unveiling ceremony was held on February 1st 2012 during the celebrations for the feast of Saint Blaise, Dubrovnik's patron saint. It was attended by a select group of people, including children too young to have known the war, alongside some of Kathy's old friends such as Mr Pero Poljanic, Dubrovnik's Mayor at the time of the siege; Mrs Berta Dragicevic, long-serving secretary of the Inter-University Centre; and Mrs Tea Batinic, owner of the Artur art gallery, in whose house Kathy stayed during the war. Four prominent people spoke movingly of her achievements from different standpoints: the present Mayor of Dubrovnik Mr Andro Vlahusic, the Town Council President Mrs Olga Muratti, Inter-University Centre Director Prof.dr.Krunoslav Pisk, and Mrs Flora Turner, Kathy's successor as Chairman of the British-Croatian Society.

Vivian Grisogono

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNMH_NOcroM&feature=related

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One of our members has sent the following information about the recent Klapa Motovun concert in London:

The Klapa Motovun concert at St Martin in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, January 17, 2012 was a resounding success, ending with a standing ovation. For those of you who couldn't attend, here are three clips. For those of you who did, a reminder of the wonderful music. Enjoy and feel free to pass on the links.

ZVONA MOGA GRADA
St Martin in the Fields, London, January 17, 2012
 
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2011 British-Croatian Society annual dinner
 

The 2011 annual dinner of the British-Croatian Society featuring the City of Dubrovnik was held in the prestigious surroundings of the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Pall Mall, London on Saturday December 3. The dinner, attended by over 100 people including the Deputy Mayor of Dubrovnik Mr Niko Salja and his wife, was supported by the City of Dubrovnik. Dr Robin Harris, author of Dubrovnik: A History, gave a talk entitled The Historic Achievement of Dubrovnik (now printed in the second of the new series of booklets issued by the Society). A raffle at the dinner raised 640 GBP for this year's British-Croatian Society charity Napredak from Dubrovnik (www.hkdnapredak.com). The following is a translation from an article that appeared in the Dubrovacki Vjesnik newspaper on December 12, 2011:

The twentieth anniversary of the ruthless destruction of Dubrovnik is still remembered in London. The British-Croatian Society, supported by the City of Dubrovnik Tourist Board and many members and donors, held their traditional annual dinner this year dedicated to the memory of the victims of the war.The evening was organised in the classical ambience of the Oxford and Cambridge Club, preceded by an exhibition of documents from the history of Dubrovnik in the exhibition hall of our embassy. This was a logical prelude to dinner, where the main speaker was historian Robin Harris, the well-known author of books about Dubrovnik's past and present. At the main table were Deputy Mayor of Dubrovnik Niko Salja, who came with his wife, and hosts Branko Sorkocevic Sorge and the President of the British-Croatian Society, Mrs Flora Turner. Miso Mihocevic was a special guest of honour.The hall, which was filled to capacity, included Ivica Tomic, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in the UK, with his guests, Mr Andrew Kojakovic and his daughters, Lady Jadranka Beresford-Peirse and her family, the Frankopan family and many prominent Croats and their British friends.Also at the dinner was the Maestro Oliver Gilmour, recently a resident of Dubrovnik. This provided the opportunity for the Deputy Mayor to announce a new addition to the overall cultural offer of the City - a project entitled the Dubrovnik Summer Opera which will begin in June with the staging of Mozart's opera Cosi fan tutte on Lokrum.A pleasant dinner at the elegant club finished with a raffle to raise funds for a charity supported by the British-Croatian Society.

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