Inspiring Women : November 2020

What else would you like us to know about your club? I took over as President at the end of April
via a Zoom AGM. It’s been a bit surreal, but we are managing to cope and adapt to the changes and
challenges we face during the pandemic. My VP/Director of Membership is gifted at giving me pep
talks and our board is working really hard and doing well. We have made some positive foundational
changes that will put us in a powerful position to continue to help our club flourish. I look at our
members as custodians of this historical organization. It is our responsibility to preserve our past
and cultivate our present so that we can ensure our future.
Tell us a little about your city and country in general?
This might be a hard one for me to answer as I’ve been
here for nearly a decade and am married to an English
man. Personally, I had been living here for a year before I
found the club. I faced similar challenges, but probably
not as much as the normal expat and most certainly not
anything like our new members who moved here just
before or during 2020. They are having to settle into a
new home when everything is different, chaotic and
restricted. They don’t get to explore London by coming on
one of our London Walks or Monday Morning Coffees in
unique locations around the city.
Londoners will be familiar with these, but here is a list of
less touristy gems: St. Dunstan In The East, Little Venice,
The Painted Hall, Spitalfields & Brick Lane, Neal’s Yard, The
Silver Vaults, Waterloo Vaults, Tulip Stairs at The Queen’s
House (Greenwich), Sky Garden, Sir John Soane’s Museum,
The Churchill Arms (pub), Columbia Road Flower Market
(Sundays), The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town (hidden bar),
Leadenhall Market, The Dickens Inn. I could keep going.
St. Dunstan In The East – a hidden gem
Christmas is a big holiday for most British people. The
season is lovely, and since Thanksgiving is not an occasion for celebration in England at all, Christmas
comes early. Nativity plays, carols and winter light festivals are traditional throughout the month of
December. Santa Claus is called Father Christmas and the traditional food left out for him includes
mince pies and sherry or brandy. Lunch or dinner is served on Christmas Day and usually consists of
roast turkey, roast potatoes, carrots, parsnip, mini sausages, Brussels sprouts and Yorkshire pudding
and more. Christmas crackers are
traditional and they contain those
paper hats you seen in movies as well
as a small trinket and a bad joke. Most
people watch the Queen’s Christmas
message, as well as all their favorite TV
holiday specials.
The following day, Boxing Day, is
generally spent with families and loved
ones. Typical traditions include
watching sports, playing games,
hunting (posh people), going for walks
and eating Christmas leftovers. People
also love to shop on Boxing Day as
traditionally the sales start that day.
AWC London members cooking at the Ronald McDonald House
42