Winter 11 Featuring: The Buckingham Palace Awards Ceremony ...

he covered both history and culture
from before the Roman invasion, in a
style that was greatly appreciated by
members.
The Chairman and four other
members attended the annual
Branches Conference in Cheltenham
and were most encouraged by the
presentations from the Chairman,
Dame Mary and the new Director-
General, Peter Kyle. It is obvious that
both have put a great deal of time and
effort into the ESU since taking up
their roles and this was made clear to
Salisbury branch members at their
October meeting.
The speaker in October was Sir
Andrew Burns, who was appointed
UK Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues in
June 2010. A career diplomat who
served as British Ambassador to Israel
from 1992-1995, he was able to touch
on many aspects of a complex and
sometimes almost impenetrable
subject which concerns not only Jewish
victims but many other groups. He
was able to communicate these heavy
issues in an informed and balanced
way, free from bias or excessive
emotion with his warm yet
professional style.
SOUTH WEST REGION
Bath and District
In the Bath branch we are solvent and
in good heart; delighted that Alan
Cox, our branch President, who has
already given long and distinguished
service to the ESU, stepped into the
breach to take on the role of
Honorary Treasurer and is now
helping with the charity’s finances.
Four of our members attended the
Branches Conference in Cheltenham
and were very encouraged by the new
management team. The contributions
from the Chairman, Dame Mary, the
new Director-General, Peter Kyle and
the new Board Secretary, Steve
Hodkinson, made an excellent
impression and we came away
believing that the ESU is in safe hands.
At our invitation, all three will come to
Bath in turn to speak to us in the
period February to May; first, Peter, on
‘My Shakespeare, your Shakespeare: a
facilitated Discussion’; then in March,
Steve on ‘Disadvantaged Young
People in Sport – it is their Olympics
Legacy too’. And finally, at our gala
lunch in April, Dame Mary will speak
on the topic ‘Whither the ESU’
At branch level, we have made a good
start to our season of events. In
September, at the Bath and County
Club, Alan Borg gave a fascinating
and well-illustrated pre-dinner talk on
the history of the Knights of Malta.
At the end of the month, there was a
pleasant gathering of members at the
home of our Chairman and his wife,
where we enjoyed a well presented
account of the experiences in China
of one of our alumni, Sam Claxton.
In October, at the Cumberwell Park
Golf Club, Roland Symonds, from the
City of Bath Heraldic Society, treated
us to an interesting explanation of
heraldry, illustrated with several
examples of his own heraldic art.
We have a full and varied programme
for the rest of the season, culminating
with the AGM in May at which our
guest speaker will be Sir Andrew
Burns. He will talk, drawing on his
own experiences, on ‘Life and Politics
after the Holocaust; the role of a
British Envoy’.
Some may well be feeling the pinch
with rising prices and almost nonexistent
interest on their savings. Being
anxious not to exclude people who
might feel unable to go to the expense
of a function involving a meal, our
committee has decided, as an
experiment, to arrange an event,
where members gather for coffee and
then hear a speaker, without having to
pay for lunch or dinner; there will be a
nominal charge to cover expenses.
Due to the on-going public concern
over the conduct of some members of
the print media we have invited Sam
Holliday, editor of the Bath Chronicle, to
speak about public interest and the
freedom of the press.
Like many branches, we do not have
many young members. This is a
challenge and it is shared by many
organisations but if the ESU is to
thrive, we must find ways to attract
younger members to the ESU.
In 2012 we shall be contributing £500
towards a special theme event to be
DIALOGUE 53