American in Britain autumn 2013

Autumn 2013

Free Subscription Offer Inside Serving the American Community in the UK

Features Include: UK Sports • Travel • Eating Out Wealth Management • Property • Foreign Exchange Theatre • American Women’s Clubs News Arts & Antiques • Book Reviews • Hotel Review

Contents

Autumn 2013

Eating Out ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2 Hotel Review ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6 Wealth Management �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9 UK Sports ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������10 Theatre ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������14 College Transition �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16 Expat Book Reviews ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������18 American Women's Clubs News ������������������������������������������������������������21 Travel �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������28 Purchasing Property In The UK Or Overseas? ������������������������������30 Property ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������33 When In London ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������36 Immigration ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������39 Arts & Antiques ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������43 The American International Church ����������������������������������������������������46 Useful Numbers ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������47 Embassy Corner ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������48

Autumn 2013

Free Subscription Offer Inside Serving the American Community in the UK

PUBLISHER: Helen Elliott Tel: 020 8661 0186 Email: helen@theamericanhour.com Publishing Director: Damian Porter Tel: 01737 551506 Email: damian@theamericanhour.com American in Britain, PO Box 921, Sutton SM1 2WB Advisory Panel:

Features Include: UK Sports • Travel • Eating Out Wealth Management • Property • Foreign Exchange Theatre • American Women’s Clubs News Arts & Antiques • Book Reviews • Hotel Review

The swearing in of Ambassador Barzun Photo supplied by the US Embassy, London

No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publishers Origination and Printing by Gemini Group 1

Eating Out Restaurant Reviews

THE BALCON 8 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5NG Telephone: 020 7968 2900 Set in the heart of the West End along Pall Mall, only a short walk from sight-seeing central (Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace…) is the Balcon Restaurant. There is something very glamorous about this newly refurbished restaurant with its distinctive Parisian Chic atmosphere. The champagne bar in the centre of the restaurant is a particularly striking feature, framed by two ornate spiral staircases leading rather appropriately to a balcony which houses the champagne collection. There is a definite sense of occasion about this restaurant which makes it just as ideal as the setting for a cosy meal for two, as it would be for a larger group celebration.

2

The Balcon

The warm summer’s evening outside was echoed inside by the genuinely warm welcome we received. We sat down to study the menu and enjoyed some particularly tasty nibbles with our pre-dinner drinks. The menu offers a broad range of French inspired dishes, from the ‘Charcuterie’ with its selection of cold meats and homemade terrines, to the ‘Rotisserie’ offering roast meats, trimmings and accompanying sauces. Not forgetting some traditional casseroles cooked ‘en cocotte’.

I chose a Roasted Goats Cheese and tomato salad with basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to start. My partner opted for Green Asparagus, soft boiled egg and Maltese orange sauce.

We both enjoyed our dishes immensely. I particularly liked the variety of tomatoes which offered an artists’ pallete of colours including, amongst the various shades of red, some really flavoursome green tomatoes. The roasted goats cheese provided the perfect creamy antithesis to the crunchy tang of the tomatoes. Starters range in price from £6.75 to £11.50, with Charcuterie options up to £17.50.

Choosing a main course was a hard task. I could happily have chosen at least one dish from any of the aforementioned sections of the menu, but in the end I narrowed it down to the ‘Pan and Grill’ offering dishes including Organic Salmon Fillet, Scottish Beef Burger or Cod loin wrapped in Mas ham. I finally decided on Calamari stuffed with aubergine and rice, with seared scallops and sweet corn puree. My partner chose a house specialty: Scottish Beef and Foie Gras Cottage Pie with chanterelle mushrooms. Main courses vary in price from £12.00 to £25.50. My partner could barely contain his enthusiasm for the Beef cottage pie with a side of sauteed green beans and spinach. He ate every last morsel, allowing me only the tiniest amount to taste!

This would be my ultimate choice on a cold winter’s evening, but for him this is a winner in every season. I chose to pair my stuffed Calamari main course with Sweet Potato fries.

I really enjoyed the contrasting texture of the melt in the mouth scallops, with the Calamari.

I am not sure that sweet potato fries is the ideal accompaniment for such a sophisticated dish,

but I love them so much I couldn’t resist - and they certainly did not disappoint.

Struggling with the wine menu, in view of our very different main course choices, our waiter recommended a bottle of ‘Terroirs de Chablis’ Chardonnay to accompany our meal.

Crisp, and very quaffable; it was the perfect summer choice. As you’d expect from a French restaurant there is a good range of wines to choose from, including dessert wines.

The dessert menu offers some really interesting options that provide a refreshing break from the norm. Ranging in price from £5.00-£8.00, choices include Lemon and Rosemary Cake with Mirabelle plums, Cardamom roasted peach melba or Blackberry financier with green apple sorbet, to mention a few. However, both my partner and I had been admiring the impressive ‘Showcase of pastries’ which we had noticed being wheeled to several tables during our meal, and so our curiosity got the better of us. The Parisian pastries are mini works of art. We made our selection and found that indeed they did taste as good as they looked! Fairly small in size, they offer the perfect sweet ending to a meal, if you haven’t quite got room for a full-on pudding.

The Balcon has certainly managed to bring a little French chic into the heart of London, but not too much to alienate fans of fine British produce and cuisine, with their offerings of ‘Scottish beef ’, ‘Devon Lamb’ and ‘Traditional Pork Pies’. This restaurant manages to embrace the Best of British and French, the perfect ‘Entente Cordiale’!

BUMPKIN CHELSEA 119 Sydney Street, Chelsea, London SW3 6NR Telephone: 020 3730 9344 Website: www.bumpkinuk.com

Now where do we lunch on a sunny Independence Day in London that is going to be unique with a fun atmosphere, and will tickle our taste buds? We chose Bumpkin in Chelsea - a restaurant recommended to us. This restaurant, situated just off the King’s Road, and in a three floor Georgian townhouse, seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

It may have helped that they had American bunting and decorations out in preparation for an evening Independence Day event - and the sun was shining!

Bumpkin is all about authentic, seasonal British food, and they have carefully sourced the corners of Britain to bring some fabulous produce to the kitchens. They work with farmers who supply ingredients, which are ethically sourced and sustainable.

We sat in The Secret Garden, an al fresco area, which is an attractive picturesque terrace, and perfect for a private event or party. In the garden they have a BBQ oven, called Bertha.

It is also covered in case of the dreaded British rain. The inside of the restaurant, set with dark woods and deep burgundy upholstery would, however, provide a warm and comfortable setting during the cooler times of the year, and a seemingly great venue for a romantic meal.

The menu is extremely varied, making the choices hard. To start our meal I enjoyed Smoked Baby Back Ribs in a BBQ cider glaze (£6.95). The ribs were delicious – succulent and the taste perfectly complemented with the sweet BBQ cider glaze. My guest tucked into her Grilled West Coast Scallops (£12.95). They were grilled in the shell and served with bacon tomato jam, cauliflower fritters and sea vegetables. The scallops were grilled to perfection, moist with a sweet taste, and creamy texture.

The main courses are divided into four options: From British Fields & Garden-Fresh Salads, From British Shores, From British Farms, and British Classic Pies. Once again, I find we are spoilt for choice. Classic British dishes are of course included – Fish & Chips (£13.95), Baked Cornish Crab (£29.50) and some delicious sounding Pies.

For my main course, I chose the Garlic Bumpkin Chelsea

Prawn, Scallop and Monkfish Skewer (£21.95). I loved the combination of tastes from some of my favourite seafoods, and the dish was served with crispy toast, pickled cucumber, orange, grapefruit and prawn sauce – all adding to an amazing flavour sensation.

My guest chose the Slow Roasted Dingley Dell Pork Belly (£16.75). This dish was served with a cheesy potato bake and Bramley Apple Sauce. She invited me to sample the dish and the Pork Belly was extremely tender and flavoursome. The dish was substantial and comfort food at its best. There is also a good range of side dishes from their own garden.

Next time I would be keen the give the Grilled Asparagus or Macaroni and Cheddar Cheese Bake (both £6.95) a try!

After a short rest, we embraced our desserts.

I very much enjoyed my Iced Dark Chocolate and Honeycombe Slices (£5.95). This was served with fresh strawberries and a yoghurt dressing. Strawberries and chocolate always go down well with me, but the combination with the Honeycombe is sublime. My guest chose the Fresh Grilled English Strawberries (£6.50), served with a yoghurt dip and marshmallows dusted with raspberry sherbet – pleasing to any sweet tooth. She loved it!

The wine list is extensive, and includes some fantastic English wines. The list is comprised of wines which are either fully sustainable, fairtrade, bio-dynamic or organic, and priced from £17.50 a bottle. We enjoyed a delicious South African Chenin Blanc with our meal.

Next time I will be sure to order a glass (or two!) of English Sparkling wine.

This restaurant would be great for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, and the Secret Garden would make it a perfect place to meet with friends. There is also a Children’s Menu,

offering a main course and an ice cream for £7.95. A Roast Sunday lunch is also served.

Bumpkin have three further restaurants throughout London – South Kensington, Notting Hill and Westfield Straford – and I am interested to visit each of them to see if they can each offer the same charm and quality of the Chelsea restaurant. They now apparently also offer their own retail range, including home-made seasonal jam, chutney, mustard or pickle, or even British rapeseed oil.

British food just gets better!

WHYTE & BROWN Kingly Court, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW Telephone: 020 3747 9820 We can't pretend to know which came first, but it's truly astonishing how many sayings, jokes and riddles hang on the theme of the humble chicken and egg. There are books, blogs and festivals aplenty and even Wikipedia has an entry on the subject, but as far as we know Whyte & Brown is the world's first chicken and egg-themed restaurant.

Nestling (forgive the pun) in a peaceful courtyard just off London's Carnaby Street, Whyte & Brown is the newly-hatched offspring of Mother Hen and creative director Fiona Gale and head chef Paul Fletcher. Both are as passionate about working with food and drink independents and pioneers as they are about the quality of fine-feathered friends used in their cuisine, so everything at Whyte & Brown is conscientiously selected and carefully sourced. That means free range chickens and eggs from Devon, farm fresh Kentish vegetables, locally made artisan breads, cakes and ice cream, uniquely houseblended coffees developed with Musetti and award-winning Suki teas.

The restaurant is designed on two levels, giving guests a choice of downstairs dining in the stylish bar and Mediterranean-feel alfresco courtyard or upstairs in the airy main space. The modern, distinctive décor immediately impressed as did a buzzy but relaxed atmosphere on the midweek evening of our visit. On this occasion we chose to dine upstairs, where we were warmly welcomed to our table by the knowledgeable and charming Chris and Natalie.

We happily munched our way through a bowl of Fried Chilli Broad Beans or 'habas' and sampled some British craft beer while deciding on first courses from the 'Start and Share' menu. We chose the signature Harissa Hot Wings (£5.95), chicken wings perfectly baked to fall-off-the-bone tenderness and with a tangy chilli afterkick, accompanied by some extremely yummy caramelised orange wedges and a minty yoghurt dressing. We also enjoyed our goblet of Croquette Balls (£5.45), filled 3

Whyte & Brown

with melt in the mouth chicken, pancetta and bechamel, and Poulet Confit (£6.25), slivers of delicately-spiced chicken in a piquant marinade, laced with whole peppercorns and topped with tastebud-tingling lemon crispettes. Other unique starters include Bangkok-Scotch Egg on Pickled Cucumber Salad (£6.25) and Saigon Salad (£5.45).

Our 'Feed and Feast' mains were equally tasty variations on the theme (£9.45-14.95).

My guest had the Light Pastry Chicken and Langoustine Pie, chunks of roast chicken covered in a bechamel sauce, encased in butter puff pastry and topped with a whole langoustine. For the crustaceously-challenged, I'd describe a langoustine as halfway between a small lobster and a giant prawn.

Meanwhile, I adored my choice of Brick Chicken, crispy-skinned half chicken, marinated in lemon, thyme, garlic and olive oil, slow cooked and roasted under brick. It came with a generous side pot of gravy, notably delicious in its own right. To accompany our mains we enjoyed some superb creamy mash, seasonal vegetables and a tasty salad of heritage tomatoes in a basil dressing. You might also be tempted by options from the 'Chicken & Bun' range, like the smoky barbecue-sauced Pulled Chicken Bap or the caramelised onion and Parmesan-laced Chicken Caesar Burger.

Children are well catered for, with a special two-course menu at £5.95.

Drinks include a good selection of reasonably priced wines (bottles from £15.45, the majority available by the glass) and we thoroughly enjoyed our bottle of luscious Casa Juanita Malbec. Also featured are a range of soft drinks, independently-brewed beers and spirits and a cocktail menu fashioned by award-winning mixologist Ryan Chetiyarwardana.

Hard to believe we had room for dessert, but the mouthwatering puddings proved irresistible. My guest bypassed the tempting Beyond-Eton-Mess and Passionfruit Tart and went instead for Tipsy Trifle (£5.75). This was a marvellous melange of four kinds of orange - Cointreau, jelly, crispettes and fresh fruit surrounded by layers of chocolate sponge and custard, beautifully served in an individual glass ramekin and with a surprise scoop of blood orange sorbet. I succumbed to the 4

Chocolate Brownie of the day (£5.95), which, joy of joys, had just the right combination of texture, taste and temperature – crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, the brownie warmed to perfection but not so hot as to melt the exquisite ice cream on top. With utmost difficulty we skipped the lovely-sounding list of liqueurs and afterdrinks, finishing off instead with a delicate Earl Grey Blue Flower tea and an excellent cappuccino.

There is an equally attractive and wellpriced breakfast menu. With dishes like Eggs Anyway (£4.95), Scramble, Smoke & Sourdough (£6.95) and The Chicken & Egg Works (£7.95), Whyte & Brown's version of the traditional Full English, there's no need to raid the nest egg.

If Whyte & Brown seemed fabulous in the summer, it promises to be just as inviting in the cooler months. Fiona and her team's upcoming plans include seasonally changing menus and brunch. Guests can continue to dine in the lovely courtyard, which in winter will be covered, heated and supplied with hot water bottles and blankets.

It's not every day we get to sample a newlyopened London restaurant which also happens to be a fresh breed of eatery. Our first visit to Whyte & Brown was a truly delicious experience and won't be our last. Although we've yet to unscramble that vexing chicken and egg question, we'll definitely be returning to try the other tempting items on the menu -- plus more of those incredible Harissa Wings, a side of that groovy gravy and another brownie.

Brompton Asian Brasserie 223-225 Brompton Road, London, SW3 2EJ Telephone: 020 7437 4370 I used to go out around High Street Kensington tube station many years ago and at that time there wasn’t anywhere to go which was fresh and unpretentious and just served good food in a chic environment, in fact one of the only places to eat and drink was a bar owned by the ex-England Manager Terry Venables, which I think says it all when it came to the quality of food on offer. I just wish something like the Brompton Asian Brasserie had been around then, but better late than never.

The Brompton Asian Brasserie is the second venture for Russia’s most successful restauranteur, Arkady Novikov after the opening of Novikov in the heart of London in 2011.

Although the attention to detail is high in both restaurants, that is where the similarities end, as the Brompton Asian Brasserie is much more low key and, well, Brasserie-like (I guess that’s how it got its name!).

Brompton Asian Brasserie is split over two levels with the light and airy ground floor perfect for a business lunch or for the more casual diner, and the lower ground floor which has a more oriental feel and with cosy booths, mood lighting and a deep mahogany cocktail bar is more intimate. The kitchens for both levels are open plan, which not only enables you to see your dishes being prepared but even provides entertainment by way of a fiery wok station.

The food at Brompton Asian Brasserie is an eclectic mix of Asian and European with something for everyone. The menu is perfect for grazers like me who love to have a little bit of everything and I spent a fabulous 15 minutes or so sipping a chilled Sauvignon whilst contemplating my assault on the menu. Having mapped out my plan of action I attracted the attention of the waiter all ready to put the plan into place when horror of horror the waiter started to ask what type of things we liked. In many restaurants that would be the time to decide that you will never come again as they are now telling you what to eat, but here I would suggest you listen, as we did, as we were rewarded by dishes suited to us which we never thought we would like.

Our first foray was from the Small Dishes part of the menu and the Salt and Pepper Baby Squid with sweet soya and ginger dressing with the light and crispy batter a perfect foil for the fleshy squid. It comes with a few sauces, but my recommendation is don’t succumb and try it without, you won’t regret it.

The next course was one of the first recommendations from the waiter and were a number of Maki Rolls with the rice delightfully sticky and the tuna (£12 for 5 pieces) and soft shell crab (£15 for five pieces) fresh and crisp, a perfect contrast to the stickiness of the rice.

Our next journey around, on what is an extensive menu, was a visit to the Tempura section of the menu, where the Rock Shrimp style (£14) was accompanied perfectly by a chilli mayonnaise, which had a delightful kick without overpowering the shrimp and a Spring Vegetables with Ooba leaf (£9.5) which combined a delightful crunch of the vegetables with the crispiness of the tempura.

A slight pause I felt was in order to enable me to complete my assault on this seriously challenging menu to not only contemplate the quality of the food I had already experienced but to marvel at the amazing fresh fish display which

partly forms a number of the daily specials. The specials vary depending on what can be sourced that day which is a great sign as it guarantees ultimate freshness and quality. During this break I was able the fully assess the wine menu which will not disappoint every wine devotee and caters for every pocket. Having completed the pause and a glass or two of a cheeky little Sauvignon it was time for the main course! Again we decided to take our lead from the waiter which resulted in a delightful mix of dishes from The Wok and from the Robata grill.

Choices from the Wok followed an Asian style with Singapore Noodles (£12) complementing a Black Pepper Beef with Sugar Snaps (£14.50) and a hot but flavoursome Chilli Chicken (£9.50). To complement these dishes we decide on a Braised Beef Rib (£24) which fell off the bone.

To be honest it took another 30 minutes (and 2 glasses of wine) from the mains to even consider the desserts on offer, but if you manage to keep some room you won’t be disappointed.

This restaurant is a delightful fusion of Asian and more traditional English food and is perfect for those wanting good quality food in a lively environment. n

Brompton Asian Brasserie

5

Hotel Review The Treehouses At Chewton Glen

I

may be odd, but whenever I experience a hotel or restaurant which is exceptional it is always with trepidation that I come back to it after a period away. This is because the experience was so good that I am never sure that my elevated expectations can ever be met and I don’t want to spoil my lovely memories. If you too have similar trepidations let me allay them now, as having revisisted Chewton Glen after a few years it is as great as it ever was. Chewton Glen is situated in the New Forest which boasts some of the most beautiful and least well known countryside England has to offer. It is on a par with the Lake District and the Cotswolds but has the distinct advantage of being much closer to London.

Chewton Glen is still a delightful mix of styles and character with all the class and elegance of a Country Manor of the 1920’s interwoven with not only a modern spa but now with ultra luxurious touches. One of those ultra modern touches are the new treehouses built in a secluded valley about 200 metres from the main hotel, but once you enter your suite you could be a million miles away as these suites give you the feeling of being at one with nature with their floor to ceiling glass doors and windows.

These new treehouses blend seamlessly into

6

the canopy overlooking a secluded valley just near to the hotel, and when arriving at the main house you are met by your Treehouse concierge who drives you in a little buggy to your suite.

There are three different suite types to choose from with a Studio Suite for couples looking for that romantic getaway, the Loft Suites still for those romantics but romantics with children (or parents as they are better known) as they have a secret galleried bunk area for the kids (sleeps 2 adults and up to 4 children) and for the ultimate luxury a Hideaway Suite which has a private dining area, a large deck and a large hot tub.

On entering our tree house the first thing that struck me was, just how light and airy it was and how clever the design was so that wherever you were you were treated to a lovely view of the natural forest outside your window. To our left was a small but well stocked kitchenette with everything you need including even a microwave, chocolates and marshmallows in jars and a fridge full of complimentary goodies!

And in front a lovely seating area where you

would snuggle up warmed by the log burner on cold winter nights looking out through the floor to ceiling doors onto a large outside terrace with sun loungers. To the right a kingsized bed that also faces the floor to ceiling windows which can retract enabling the outside to be brought inside and the inside out, which gives the suites their spacious feel, and the Flat Screen TV boasts every channel you could want and also plays DVD’s.

My pet love is rooms with something quirky and our suite had not one, not two, but three special touches. The first was behind the bed where what looked like a set of mirrored wardrobes yielded up a separate dressing room, perfectly hidden. The other two were in the bathroom where you have the choice of using the bespoke walk in shower or relax in the stand alone bath standing proudly on the pristine marble floor by the window giving the bather the enviable choice of either looking out over the forest or looking in and watching a favourite programme on the flat screen TV embedded in the wall.

Everything you could want is here, and what makes Chewton Glen special is that not only do they do the standard things well, they also go that extra mile and provide the little touches that moves it from good to great.

This is best demonstrated when we went out onto our terrace to take in the view and came face to face with a large hot tub into which 30 seconds later I was totally unwinding whilst sipping the champagne from our fridge. It is at times like this that I drive my fiancée mad by trying to name something I would like the room to have that it doesn’t, but after a while I just gave up as everything I came up with was there and more besides.

Guests at Chewton Glen are spoilt for choice when it comes to activities/sports. The choice is in fact so great that I expect that however long you spent here there would always be something else you could do. The hotel provides mountain bikes for those who want to explore the surrounding countryside and provides a number of suggestions for routes you might want to take. You can also borrow a pair of those green wellingtons (Hunters I

am reliably informed) at your front door if your prefer walking. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff as they ensure you enjoy every moment of your stay. Other activities include the 9 hole par 3 golf course (clubs provided) and indoor and outdoor tennis courts with a resident pro if your game needs a polish. Other activities can also be arranged which include clay pigeon shooting, archery, falconry and even apache buggy racing, which I understand is driving a buggy wearing a Red Indian headdress!

The spa has won a number of awards and was voted “In the top 10 of UK Hotel Spa’s in 2011 and once you enter you can easily see why. The centerpiece is the large classically styled indoor pool which is thoughtfully divided for those who want to swim and the younger guests who prefer to play. Leading off from the pool is the Roman themed hydrotherapy area where a variety of water ‘tortures’ await to relieve the stress’ and strains of the day!! The gym is state of the art and guests can choose between a serious work out (or not so serious work out in my case), or just

a relaxation in the sauna or outdoor jacuzzi.

In summer there is also an outdoor swimming pool to enjoy. The spa also offers a multitude of treatments with facial, massages and holistic treatments all tailored to the individual guests needs and those in the treehouses can request treatments in the comfort of their room.

The Vetiver Restaurant caters perfectly for all guests and specialises in dishes sourced from local produce and Treehouse guests have the extra option to order food from the restaurant and have it delivered to their door via hampers which are left in a secrecy cupboard. Breakfast can be eaten on their own private terrace looking out over the valley in their dressing gown which calmly starts your day just right.

I started my journey in trepidation as I just couldn’t see how Chewton Glen could possibly improve on my last experience and left totally relaxed, totally pampered and marvelling at how they have taken something so good and improved it. The only problem I have now is I keep eying up the trees in my garden to see if they too could accommodate a treehouse! www.chewtonglen.com n

7

Wealth Management - Second Guessing Markets recently have had a rocky time as investors in aggregate reassess prospects for monetary policy stimulus in the US. Is this something to worry about?

of risk, leading to a retreat in developed and emerging economy equity markets, a broadbased rise in bond yields, and a decline in some commodity markets and related currencies, such as the Australian dollar.

Gold, in particular, was hit hard by the Fed’s signals, with the spot bullion price falling 23% during the second quarter of the year on the view that rising bond yields and a strengthening US dollar could hurt the metal’s appeal as a perceived safe haven.

For the long-term investor, there are a few ways of looking at these developments.

First, we are seeing a classic example of how markets efficiently price in new information.

Prior to Bernanke’s remarks, markets might have been positioned to expect a different message than he delivered. They adjusted accordingly.

Second, since the patient is showing signs of recovery, policymakers can publicly countenance a change in policy “taking away the punch bowl.” This is not to make any prediction about the course of the US or global economy. It just tells you that policymakers and investors are reassessing the situation.

Third, for all the people quitting positions in risky assets like stocks or corporate bonds, there are others who see long-term value in those assets at lower prices. The idea that there are more sellers than buyers is just silly.

Fourth, the rise in bond yields is a signal that the market in aggregate thinks interest rates will soon begin to rise. That is what the market has already priced in. What happens next, we don’t know.

Keep in mind that when the Federal Reserve began its second round of quantitative easing in late 2010, there were dire warnings in an open letter to the central bank from a group of 23 economists about “currency debasement and inflation.” 1 Yet, US inflation is now broadly where it was, and the US dollar is higher than when those warnings were issued (see chart below), suggesting basing an investment strategy around supposedly expert forecasts is not always a good idea.

So, it would pay to exercise scepticism with respect to predictions on the likely path of bond yields, interest rates, and currencies in the wake of the Fed’s latest signals. Just because something sounds logical doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.

Fifth, a rise in bond yields equates to a fall in bond prices. Just as in equities, a fall in prices equates to a higher expected return. So selling bonds after prices have fallen echoes the habit some stock market investors have of buying high and selling low.

Finally, keep in mind the volatility is usually most unnerving to those who pay the most attention to the daily noise. Those who take a longer-term, distanced perspective can see these events as just part of the process of markets doing their work.

After all, the individual investor is unlikely to have any particular insights on the course of global monetary policy, bond yields, or emerging markets that have not already been considered by the market in aggregate and built into prices.

What individuals can do, with the assistance of a professional advisor, is manage their emotions and remain focused on their longterm, agreed-upon goals. Otherwise, you risk reacting to something that others have already countenanced, priced into expectations, and moved on from as further information emerged.

Inevitably, second-guessing markets means second-guessing yourself. n 1 Floyd Norris, “Predictions on Fed Strategy that Did Not Come to Pass,” New York Times (June 28, 2013).

James Sellon, CFA, Managing Partner Maseco Private Wealth Buchanan House, 3 St James’s Square London SW1Y 4JU T: +44 (0)20 7043 0455 E enquiries@masecopw.com W www.masecoprivatewealth.com

T

he world’s most closely watched central bank unsettled financial markets by flagging that it may start to scale back its bond purchases later this year.

Under this programme of so-called “quantitative easing,” the Federal Reserve buys $85 billion a month in bonds as a way to keep long-term borrowing costs down and help generate a self-sustaining economic recovery.

What spooked the markets was a comment

by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on May 22 that the central bank may start to scale back those purchases in coming meetings.

The mere prospect of the monetary tap being turned down caused a reassessment 9

UK Sports Our Quarterly Overview Of UK Sports

W

hat a fantastic summer British sport has enjoyed. Great performances with individual and team victories in sport after sport all over the world - rugby union, tennis, golf, cycling, athletics and cricket. Let’s review them all.

Rugby Union The British Lions are a touring team selected from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

They tour the Southern hemisphere rugby playing countries of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

When the British Lions set off for Australia for their three Test matches at the beginning of the summer hopes were high for an historic victory. Injuries in warm up games had cost the Lions some of their original squad but the first Test in Brisbane on 22 June resulted in a two point victory for the Lions, 23 points to 21. The Australians had the chance to snatch victory in the last few minutes but twice their penalty kicker, Kurtley Beale, missed two pretty easy kicks (even slipping over as he took the second!!), either one of which would have given the Aussies a one point win. Close, but a win to start the series.

The second Test in Melbourne on 29 June produced another close and exciting match

10

but this time the Australians prevailed by one point, 16-15. This time it was the Lions’ kicker, Leigh Halfpenny, who failed with a match winning penalty kick in the last seconds. His attempt was not as embarrassing though as Beale’s in the first match. Halfpenny had a long 50 metre kick which was on target but fell just short of the posts.

So all was to be decided in the third and final Test in Sydney on 6 July. The Lions’ coach, Warren Gatland, made a surprise, and to many people, disastrous decision to drop Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll not only from the team but also from the substitutes bench. O’Driscoll was a vastly experienced international and had been tipped to be named captain for the match after the injury to Sam Warburton. Jamie Roberts was picked to replace O’Driscoll. Vitriolic criticism in much of the media and elsewhere was rife!

Gatland made other changes to the team with Alex Corbisiero, Mako Vunipola (yup, they are British!) and Dan Lydiate coming in to the side.

Gatland, who also coaches the Welsh national team, was also criticised for selecting ten Welshmen in the starting fifteen. Well, Gatland proved his critics wrong. Corbisiero scored a try within 80 seconds of the start and although the Aussies fought back either side of half-time, the Lions eventually won by a massive 41 points to 16 to secure their first series win in Australia for sixteen years.

So, June and July got off to a good start for Britain’s summer of sport!

Tennis Then came Wimbledon; a Wimbledon that British tennis fans have been waiting for for 77 years - a British Wimbledon Men’s Singles Champion - Andy Murray! The legendary Fred Perry was the last British player to win the Wimbledon title in 1936, his third Wimbledon title in a row. That final though was nowhere near as tough as Murray’s against world number one, Novak Djokavic. Perry’s final opponent, the German Baron von Cramm, tore a thigh muscle when serving in the second game of the match and could not run, although he played on to the end of the match!

Murray’s winning score of 6-4 7-5 6-4 gives the wrong impression of the match. Although Djokovic did not look at his very best after his massive semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro, both players were stretching each other to the limit of their tennis abilities. The crucial period of the match was probably at the end of the second set and beginning of the third when Murray reeled off eight games out of nine to win the second set and go 2-0 up in the third. It took four match points but eventually Murray prevailed and Britain had its champion - at last.

In our Spring issue we had expressed the hope that this Wimbledon would produce some new blood in the latter stages of the

tournament. Well, the Men’s singles produced some early shocks with Rafael Nadal going out in the first round and Roger Federer in the second. This opened up the draw for players like Spain’s Fernando Verdasco (who gave Murray his closest match losing 7-5 in the fifth set after leading Murray by two sets to love in the quarter final), and Poland’s new star Jerzy Janovic who lost to Murray by three sets to one in the semi-final. Was that for the best? It was!

The Ladies singles produced even bigger shocks. Azarenka and Sharapova both out in the first week and Serena Williams beaten on the Monday of the second week - the round of sixteen. So we had an unexpected final of Marion Bartoli of France against Sabine Lisicki of Germany, Bartoli winning 6-1 6-4.

The French girl had the advantage of having played in one Wimbledon final before when she lost to Venus Williams. Lisicki, who had defeated Serena Williams, came on court completely overwhelmed by the occasion, virtually unable to play at times and crying on court during one of her service games. It was strange to witness such raw emotion from a professional tennis player, but Bartoli took full advantage of her opponent’s state of mind.

Sadly, Bartoli has since retired from tennis stating that her body could no longer stand up to the rigours of the circuit. She has been a joy to watch with her continuous movement and practise ground shots in between points and her unique service action. A fierce competitor, she would never give up and she will be much missed. The WTA has lost a star player and Wimbledon has lost its champion.

America did not walk away empty handed, Bob and Mike Bryan winning the Men’s Doubles title.

Golf It was reverse success for Britain and America in the US and British Open golf championships, Justin Rose of Britain winning the US and Phil Mickelson the British. Rather like Wimbledon tennis, no Englishman had won the US Open for 43 years, but Rose held off strong challenges in the final round from Mickelson (who became runner-up for the sixth time), Jason Day and Hunter Mahan. Whilst Rose will look back on his 80 foot putt at the 6th for a birdie, his 9 iron second shot two feet from the pin at the 12th to equal Mickelson’s eagle, his 20 foot putt at the 13th for another birdie and his tee shot on the par 3 17th to secure par (a hole where many contenders dropped shots), his biggest memory will surely be the way he played the feared 18th, another hole where leading contenders had consistently dropped shots. Holding a slender lead at the 18th anything could have happened, but Rose looked totally composed and focused on what needed to be done as he hit a brilliant drive to

the centre of the fairway before a fantastic 4 iron just off the back of the green. Two putts and Rose was champion. Poor Phil, but he was as gracious as ever in his disappointment in just missing out for the sixth time.

Off then to Muirfield for the British Open and back came big Phil Mickelson, who started the final round five shots behind the leader, played the final back nine on Sunday brilliantly and was four under par for the last six holes.

His final round score of 66, which some say ranked in the top ten rounds which have won a major tournament, secured his first Claret Jug and fifth major title overall. This put Phil alongside Byron Nelson and Seve Ballesteros in the major honours charts. If he can ever pull off that elusive US Open title he will become only the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam.

Good luck Phil, you deserve it - but don’t play well in next year’s Ryder Cup! Although the four majors get most attention and headlines, the men were completely upstaged this year by the ladies and, more precisely, the ladies of the European Solheim Cup team. Sorry guys but it was a demolition of the American team, a victory by 18 points to 10! After the first two days of fourballs and foursomes, the European team led by 10 points to 6, a huge advantage going in to the final day’s twelve singles. Only four points were required to retain the Solheim Cup but the Europeans wanted an outright victory and a first Cup victory on American soil.

Caroline Hedwall of Sweden set a Solheim Cup record by winning all five matches in which she played including the singles defeat of Michelle Wei. Anna Nordqvist of Sweden also set a Cup record by being the first player to achieve a hole in one which she made on the par 3 seventeenth in Saturday’s foursomes.

Europe also included the youngest player to play in a Solheim Cup competition, seventeen year old Charley Hull from England - and what a sensation she was winning two of three matches including a 5 and 4 victory of America’s darling, Paula Creamer. In a wonderful moment after that victory Hull asked Creamer to autograph a golf ball for one of her friends! Europe’s other young rookie was twenty five year old Jodi Ewart Shadoff, also from England, who won two of her three matches. Carlota Ciganda of Spain returned a 100% record winning all three of the matches in which she played and Beatriz Recari, also from Spain, won three matches from four.

Congratulations to the whole team.

Cycling Chris Froome has followed in the footsteps, sorry, peddle steps of Sir Bradley Wiggins and won the coveted Tour de France, universally recognised as the pinnacle of cycle road racing. Froome won the Tour by four minutes and twenty seconds

and became the 100th Tour champion which made his victory even more special.

Now Froome and Wiggins have not exactly been the best of friends in recent times. In the 2012 Tour de France, when Wiggins was team leader, Froome had to be ordered on more than one occasion to hold back in the saddle to let the team leader take team preference.

There is talk that maybe Froome and Wiggins, alongside Mark Cavendish, could ride together in the 2014 Tour de France which will start in Leeds. Who would be nominated as team leader, and who would obey team orders?

Would such a selection enhance their chances or would it all end in acrominy and disaster?

Not sure we would discount the latter!

Athletics Above all else, our accolades go to Britain’s Mo Farah who won both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres at the World Athletics championships in Moscow. He has become only the second man to hold both Olympic and World Gold Medals for both distances at the same time. He is both an incredible athlete and tactician; he times the moment when he wants to hit the front and with his constant glances to his right he watches for any impending challenge to his lead and, when it comes, he simply increases his speed to ward off any danger - he is quite amazing. A knighthood surely awaits!

Farah will make his marathon debut next Spring in the London Marathon; that will be worth watching. He has also challenged Usain Bolt to a charity race over, maybe, 600 metres, but Bolt did not look too enthusiastic!

However, the award for the most dramatic and exciting Gold Medal winner for Great Britain undoubtedly went to the Team GB captain, twenty nine year old Christine Ohuruogu. Coming from behind the favourite, Amantle Montsho, she took gold with a desperate lunge for the finish line to win the 400 metres final and break Kathy Cook’s twenty nine year British record in a time of 49.41 seconds. Montsho had been watching the TV screen coming down the final straight and clearly

felt that Ohuruogu could not catch her - she lost by four thousandths of a second!

Ohuruogu later went on to run the anchor leg in the 4x400 metres relay with Eilidh Child, Shana Cox and Margaret Adeoye in which the British team took the bronze medal.

Well done Christine who has now won, over seven years, an Olympic Gold and Silver and two World Gold medals.

The other two bronze medals won by Team GB went to American born Tiffany Porter in the 100 metres hurdles - no you cannot have her back - and the women’s 4x100 metres relay team, after the French squad were disqualified.

Team GB also had a number of athletes who made the finals of their respective events, many of whom are young prospects for the future.

Needless to say, however, that, yet again, the Men’s 4x100 metre relay squad, which finished in the bronze medal position, managed to get disqualified after passing the baton outside the boundary limit. Never mind - let’s forget that one and remember our successes!

Cricket Well, in many ways this is the best bit.

England v Australia in the five Ashes Test matches. We said in our Spring issue that Australia had their captain, Michael Clarke, and implied there was not much else, at least

11

in the batting line up - prophetic words. Now, we would not wish to dwell on the Australian team’s woes - but we will, and it started with Australia sacking their coach at the start of the tour!! Following that, Australia’s batter, David Warner, punched England’s young batter, Joe Root, in a bar and promptly got sent off to play elsewhere and missed the first two Tests!

Great for morale and team preparation.

So what would be the obvious outcome? A 3-0 Series win for England with two matches drawn, both affected by adverse weather conditions. A historic 4-0 victory for England was only denied in the fifth and final Test at the Oval by an umpiring decision to end play with only four Australian overs left to bowl and England needing only twenty one runs to win with five wickets remaining!! Michael Clarke was acting in a manner reminiscent of Roy Keane at Manchester United, screaming at the umpires to end play before England could secure their historic victory. The Aussies have often referred to England as “whinging poms” but Clarke’s behaviour in those final minutes was more akin to “cry baby desperation”!

Clarke even told umpire Aleem Dar not to touch him when the umpire placed a hand on his shoulder to try to get him to temper his temper. But, after all that, England won the Series and retained the Ashes convincingly!!

All in all though it was not a great Series, not like 2005 and 2009 in England and 2006/7 in Australia when England won all three Series to regain and then retain that little urn. In those Series both England and Australia had very strong teams that brought the best out of each other. This current Australian side was not of that stature and that seemed to affect the performances of some of the England team.

Who were England’s star players? Well, Ian Bell was superb throughout scoring 562 runs at an average of 62.44 per innings. Graeme Swann was England’s best bowler with 26 wickets at an average of 25.2 runs, followed closely by Stuart Broad and James Anderson both with 22 wickets at averages of 27.45 and 29.59 respectively.

Now England are off to Australia in three months to play another five Test Series starting in Brisbane on 21 November. The new Australian coach, Darren Lehmann, has already attempted to incite the Australian supporters against Stuart Broad because he did not “walk” after edging a catch to the slips and was given, incorrectly, “not out” by the umpires - Aussie whinging? He made this plea in an Australian radio interview and was promptly fined by crickets’ ruling body, the ICC. Well, no matter what barracking Broad receives from the crowds he will definitely not “go home crying” as Lehmann would like! More likely, Broad will be even more fired up to take Aussie wickets.

Lehmann’s attempt to make an England player look unsporting or even, as he called Broad, a 12

“cheat” should be compared to another incident some years ago when Australia’s Gregg Chappell bowled the last ball of a One Day International underarm and along the ground to ensure that the opposition batsman could not possibly hit a wining boundary - very sporting; remember that Mr. Lehmann?

More good news - the England women’s team have also defeated the Australians (women’s team that is!) in their Ashes Series. This is now played to a different format to the men. They play one five day Test for four points, three One Day Internationals for two points per match and three Twenty20 matches for two points per match. After drawing the Test match, England won two of the three ODI matches and all three T20 games to win the Ashes by twelve points to four. Well done girls!!

Soccer It is too early in the season to comment on the Premiership title race but we can review the European Champions League and Europa Cup competitions, the draws for which have now been made.

After defeating Fenerbahce of Turkey 5-0 on aggregate in the one qualifying tie involving a Premiership team, Arsenal made up the fourth side along with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea to go into the draw for the Group stage of the European Champions League.

Manchester United have been drawn to play (home and away) Shaktar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Sociedad. Not a bad draw with United and Shaktar the likely qualifiers for the knock out stage.

Manchester City have drawn current champions Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow and Victoria Plzen (not Plum!). Qualifiers should be Bayern and City.

Chelsea have drawn Schalke, FC Basle and Steau Bucharest. Should be Chelsea and Schalke to go through but we are tipping FC Basle to accompany Chelsea.

Arsenal have the hardest draw with Marseille, Borussia Dortmund (last season’s runners up) and Napoli. This is a hard one to call. Arsenal have never failed to reach the knock out stage and, hopefully, it will be Arsenal and Dortmund who go through.

By our Winter 2013/4 issue we will know which teams have progressed to the knock out stage Round of 16.

In Europe’s secondary competition, the Europa Cup, Tottenham Hotspur are in a Group with Anzhi Makhachkala, Sheriff Tiraspol and Tromso. Swansea City have drawn Valencia, Kuban Krasnodar and St. Gallen, and Wigan Athletic will play Rubin Kazan, Maribor and Zulte Waregem. As with the Champions League these ties will be played home and away and the top two will

proceed to a further Group stage accompanied by teams that finish third in their European Champions League Groups; this increases the quality of the Europa Cup in its latter stages.

Only Tottenham Hotspur look to have a near certain place in the next round.

The transfer window has now closed and the biggest story is the transfer of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid for £86 million (100 million euros) - staggering!

With the proceeds of sale Tottenham went on a spending spree buying seven players for over £100 million. Virtually a new team then for Spurs but will they play well together, and what impact will the loss of their talisman, Gareth Bale, have on the club? Interestingly, less than forty eight hours before the transfer window closed, Spurs lost 1-0 to North London rivals, Arsenal, whose only new player at that time, Mathieu Flamini, came on as a substitute.

The other big spender, yet again, was Manchester City who spent around £90 million on five new players. Interestingly again, they lost 3-2 away to newly promoted Cardiff City. It is early days but the two biggest spenders have both lost one of their first three Premiership matches.

Chelsea, under new manager Jose Mouriniho, acquired ten new signings for around £64 million, three being on free transfers.

Liverpool splashed out this year buying six new players (one for free) for around £50 million.

They bucked the trend of Spurs and Manchester City by winning all of their first three games.

After considerable pressure from their fan base, Arsenal finally spent some money buying Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for a record breaking club fee of £42 million, the largest single fee played for a player this year.

Finally, Manchester United under new manager David Moyes struggled to acquire new players. Several targeted acquisitions went by the wayside, Marouane Fellaini from Moyes old club, Everton, being the only significant acquisition at Old Trafford, and that only minutes before the transfer window closed.

So, of the big six Premiership teams some have bought a lot of new players, some one or two. It will be very interesting to watch which clubs had the right strategy. The Premiership table at the end of the season will answer that question.

Spare a thought though for Alan Pardew at Newcastle United who could only attract Olivier Kemen from Metz for £350,000 and Loic Remy from Queens Park Rangers on loan. Oh dear, did Joe Kinnear, the club‘s recent Director of Football fail to fulfil all the promises he made when he joined the club?

Looks like it!

Well, as we said, a magnificent summer of sport for Great Britain and now we look forward to another great season of winter sports - enjoy. n

Theatre The Drowned Man

Some Reviews Of London's Theatre

by Lydia Parker Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable at Temple Studios, Paddington I knew little about the company Punchdrunk except that a good friend who is a regular theatre-goer emailed months ago urging everyone to go see their latest production. She had seen all of their previous work and couldn’t wait to see The Drowned Man. I had never seen anything by Punchdrunk myself and had little idea what to expect; I was absolutely blown away. Although loosely based on Woyzeck

by Georg Buchner, The Drowned Man is not really a play; it is more an interactive theatrical experience with dance, incredible sets, sounds and music. All audience members are required to wear white masks at all times, as much to hide behind as we peer into the characters’ lives as to distinguish us from the performers, of which there are many. As I entered the space through a very dark corridor, I was led 14

into a lift with two other audience members and a woman who told us we were free to explore; she let one man off on one floor and then slammed shut the door of the lift, leaving us wondering where we were headed. The first floor I went to was a land outside of the “studio”: the parallel stories take place both inside and outside a movie studio, with the same characters but of different genders. I got so caught up in looking at the various rooms, including a casting studio, a night watchman’s office and a deserted movie theatre which claimed to be playing “Eyes without a Face”, that I forgot to follow actors around and find out what was going on. I was taken aback when snooping around a motel room which had an unmade bed and photos of Hollywood stars from old movie magazines taped to the walls, to hear a knock at the door. I opened it only to have the night watchman come in and look around, totally ignoring my existence.

The Drowned Man

I noticed a crowd around a house and saw a couple tussling with each other in a passionate and fraught dance on the front porch. After the man ran off, the female dancer turned to an audience member for comfort - he awkwardly held her, unsure of what he was supposed to do. I followed some performer to a bar where a performance was happening, only for the woman dancing to strip off and reveal herself as a man and have a strange encounter with the barman. Another anguished man came through and I followed him off to a desert where a group of mourners turned out to be scarecrows. I then found a small shack of a house covered in tarot symbols where a medium was in a trance. When I could tear myself away from looking at all the details, I decided I’d better explore the other floors, i.e. inside the studios. I found dressing rooms, sets, performers doing the “Infidelity Dance” while an unseen director barked orders at

The Drowned Man

them. A mime in a tent which had banners reading “Happy Birthday Dolores” danced with a sad-eyed woman.

Somehow I ended up in a prime spot for the finale: a murder was committed and at last I felt I was in the right place at the right time.

Everyone came together for the final dance number and one could see for the first time just how many performers were involved, over forty in all. It seemed to be over far too soon and I’d missed a lot just because I wanted to dawdle and look at all the details in the rooms.

I probably followed all the wrong characters - I didn’t have a clue what was going on despite the plot summary. None of this mattered however, as it made me want to go back and see it again and explore all the pathways I hadn’t got to, or just sit in a room, such as the bar, and let the action happen around me. It is theatre which makes you choose your own story as you piece things together, even if it isn’t a clear story but a series of images, both beautiful and nightmarish. Some audience members just followed a crowd or figured out who was the main character and stuck with them. I kept getting distracted by interesting minor characters who sometimes led me to a dead end or lost me entirely. Being responsible for your own theatre going experience can be a scary or dissatisfying experience but it is never boring.

Friends who have seen other Punchdrunk productions said they were disappointed by The Drowned Man, that it was too much to see and too similar to what they’ve seen before.

Apparently the first Punchdrunk experience is the best. However, I left feeling bowled over and hungry for more. If theatre goers are able to peer over a performers shoulder, look in their closets and hug them when they are sad, will they ever want to go back to sitting in a proscenium arch theatre at a safe distance? It remains to be seen. I cannot recommend The Drowned Man enough as an immersive artistic happening; it’s exciting, fresh, innovative and bold. But don’t go if you’re afraid of the dark.

Trafalgar Studios, 31 London Street, London, W2 1DJ Box Office 020 7452 3000 Once at the Phoenix Theatre Once is a musical for people who don’t typically like musicals - the lush score of original songs capture you from the very start and don’t let go. Once started its life as a low budget independent Irish film in 2007, written and directed by John Carney. The music was written by its two stars, musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. The film won many awards including an Oscar for best song and was a big hit in America. The stage director John Tiffany was then approached to adapt it for the stage in the States, where

Once

it eventually moved to Broadway and won eight Tony Awards, including best musical.

This simple, low key story of an Irish busker and the Czech woman who believes in his music has now made its way back to this side of the Atlantic, in a new adaptation by Irish playwright Enda Walsh.

The pre-show jam session of Irish and Eastern European music with all the actors playing various instruments and singing, prepares us for what is to follow - a joyous celebration of the power of music to bring people together.

The Guy is a singer/songwriter playing on the streets of Dublin when he meets the Girl, a Czech immigrant. She listens, mesmerised, to his sad song of lost love, but as he finishes, he leaves his guitar behind. She is convinced he is going to kill himself; her father, who taught her piano, committed suicide, and she wants to save this talented stranger. He is despondent, says he is not really a musician, just a hoover repairman who works for his father. She asks him to fix her hoover and she will pay him in music, which she does, as they play together in a music shop, owned by the gruff Billy, who is very protective of the Girl. When the Guy invites her up to his room to hear his music, he confesses his songs were all written about his ex- girlfriend who has moved to New York.

The Girl angrily refuses his request to stay the night, but he soon finds out she has a small child and lives with her mother and a house full of colourful Czech immigrants. Luckily they all are also musicians as is the bank manager to whom they go for a loan to make a demo of the Guy’s songs. The Girl pushes him along, convinced that if he takes a demo to New York, he will be a successful musician and win back his girlfriend. A romance starts to develop between the two of them that can only be expressed in their music. She has a husband in the Czech Republic whom she will not be unfaithful to even though she is clearly falling in love. The musicians, including Billy

and the Bank Manager, join together to record the songs in an all-night session. The Guy decides to go to New York and win back his old girlfriend, but not before he leaves the Girl a very special gift.

Watching a musical, or actually a play with music like Once, I am astounded by the talents of the performers who are asked to act, dance, sing and play an instrument. Everyone from the handsome lead Declan Bennett to Michael O’Connor who plays his Da, are accomplished musicians. The female lead was played by the understudy, Phoebe Fildes, the night I attended. She is apparently making her West End and professional debut but she gave a lovely, understated and very real performance.

She is indeed the driving force to the story and the audience falls in love with her quirky optimism. Jez Unwin as the Bank Manager has a hilarious turn when he sings out of tune his own terrible song to the ‘Guy and Girl’ in an effort to impress them. Aiden Kelly is wonderful as Billy, who wants to save his music shop from financial ruin, and ends up befriended by his sworn enemy the Bank Manager.

The real star of the show is the beautiful music which is presented in an unshowy, organic way, as if one were at a gig. Each song realistically comes out of a moment, such as when the Girl quietly plays her own song on the piano, alone in the empty music shop at night. The songs sometimes build from a simple guitar riff and Declan Bennett’s lovely voice, which are then joined by a piano, then violins and a cello, and more instruments till the song soars and sweeps across the theatre.

This is the antithesis of a flashy West End musical but is instead a play for people who love good music. It is a refreshing experience and may pave the way for a brand new world of musical theatre.

Phoneix Theatre Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0JG Box Office: 020 7492 0813 n 15

College Transition When Expat Kids Make The College / University Transition

T

here is no mistaking it. The crisper, cooler air hints at it, but the once vibrant green leaves transforming to the telltale hues of autumn give it away.

Nostalgia begins to seep into every room of the house as parents prepare their offspring to fly solo from the safety of their protective nest.

Expat parents have even more to think about when sending their children off to college, whether it be back to the home country or that of another host country. Our children are unique. They know it. They’ve most likely used that angle on their college admissions essays to point out the diversity they will undoubtedly bring to the campus of their choice. Their life experiences have been very different from most of the peers they will be surrounded by on their college campuses.

The globally mobile life style of global 16

nomads/third culture kids (TCKs), as we refer to them, brings with it a plethora of gifts, skills and benefits including a broad world view, languages, and cultural competencies.

But, as with anything, there is a flip side to moving across cultures during those critical developmental years (birth to 18). There are unique challenges TCKs must face on top of the usual transition issues they share with their domestic peers when entering college. There are four major insights that can help TCKs as they transition out of the expatriate culture.

TCK IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT Dr. Barbara Schaetti, who has done extensive research on TCK identity development, explains that, particularly upon repatriation, TCKs “wake up to the fact that they are different from others.” She calls this an “encounter experience.” If they understand that it is their international experiences that make them different they can come to grips and be comfortable with their differences.

TRANSITION CYCLE Every first year college student is making the transition to a new life stage as an independent adult, but global nomads and foreign students have the cultural adjustment to make as well for even the home country culture can be foreign to TCKs in many respects.

Understanding what takes place in each of the stages not only prepares them but helps them to appreciate that it is normal and temporary.

Involvement Stage– this is life as the TCK knows it. She is involved in the community, has friends, roles, responsibilities, and feels a sense of belonging.

Leaving Stage – begins the moment she is aware of an upcoming change. For the collegebound TCK this could be from the time she is making college visits to application time or to the decision time. There is a separating and distancing from roles, responsibilities and relationships. There are mixed emotions – sadness mixed with anticipation.

Transition Stage – starts the moment TCKs arrive in their new environs. This stage is characterised by utter chaos. Everything is new and different. There are no routines or structures in place.

Entering Stage – begins the moment the TCK either consciously or unconsciously decides she is going to settle in and become a part of this new place. Feelings of vulnerability, self-doubt, anxiety, and ambiguity may still be hanging on from the transition stage, but she is committed to sticking it out and making it work.

Re-Involvement – when the TCK realises, usually after a long school break, that this new place feels more like home. She has relationships, roles, and responsibilities and feels affirmed once again.

GRIEF The high mobility lifestyle of a global nomad means there is a lot of separation and loss.

When we lose people, things and places that are important to us we need to grieve over them. Allowing grief to run its course is considered ‘good grief.’ When TCKs can put a name on their loss, spend time with it, and mourn over it, they can come to closure and move forward. Being intentional with their good-byes helps confront the losses.

RELATIONSHIPS The most common complaint of TCKs at college is feeling like they don’t belong, don’t fit in, can’t connect with their peers. There are many reasons for these disconnects – having no point of reference for one another, lack of shared experiences, they build their relationships completely differently - but they need to find commonalities. They can be reminded that they are all going through the first year experience together.

THE GOOD NEWS Not every TCK is going to have a difficult time making the adjustment to college/ university. In fact, because they are used to change they often tend to fare better than many of their domestic peers. But for those who are not prepared, it can be difficult to recover from the unexpected challenges.

Advance preparation can significantly ease the adjustment process and allow these wonderfully gifted students to use their international experiences to make the most of the college years and beyond. *Suggested reading on TCK identity development can be found in Raising Global Nomads, by Robin Pascoe.

The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition is a guide book to help students who have been living outside their “passport” countries understand what takes place in re-entry and/or transition and gives them the tools and strategies they need to not only survive but to thrive in the adjustment.

This book addresses the common issues students face when they are making the double transition of not only adjusting to a new life stage but to a cultural change as well.

Parents will appreciate the chapter dedicated to how they can come alongside their students, prepare them for the journey and support them throughout this major transition. n The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition by Tina L. Quick is available on Amazon.co.uk and on Amazon.com in paperback as well as Kindle format.

Visit www.internationalfamilytransitions.com for more resources and information on TCKs and Transitions.

Expat Book Reviews A CAREER IN YOUR SUITCASE Jo Parfitt and Colleen Reichrath-Smith Summertime Publishing: $25.47 One of the biggest problems facing accompanying-partners when they move abroad is the loss of their professional identity.

Doing ‘nothing’ all the day might be fun for a while, but for how long?

If you are used to working, or if you left behind a career that you really enjoyed, it can be very hard, and finding another job in a foreign country is not always easy.

A Career In Your Suitcase by Jo Parfitt and Colleen Reichrath-Smith helps you to build a ‘portable’ career that can relocate with you, wherever you go.

One of the perks of being an expat spouse is that you are generally not expected to produce a second income; so this could be 18

a wonderful opportunity to find something that you love doing; whatever it is that energises you in the morning, and turn it into a new career, with a pay cheque.

The authors have included practical exercises and anecdotal stories, designed to make you look deep inside yourself, to help you discover your true passions and combine them with your skills.

There is also a whole chapter on networking: how to build one, and using it to create valuable opportunities for you and your career.

A Career In Your Suitcase will help you to find your creative flair, and give you the adaptability to rediscover the professional in yourself no matter where you find yourself living.

Antonella Moretti www.cucinanto.blogspot.ca

families face when adjusting to life in a new country. She highlights the significance of healthy relationships for expat children to thrive, including the importance of accurately identifying, expressing and coping with their emotions before, during and after such transitions. This includes learning to read their body’s cues and those situations or actions which might trigger positive and negative emotions. Awareness of how they tend to react in different circumstances helps children – and adults as well – make sense of their surroundings, an especially useful skill when encountering a new culture.

To develop a sense of attachment necessary for nurturing relationships, children must feel not only loved and protected, but also understood and have a sense of belonging, especially in a highly mobile environment. ‘While many expat children are quite adept at all stages and thrive in their cross-cultural awareness, I do see that it is hard for some to ‘belong’,' Simens says. 'It is hard to be loyal to someplace if you feel you are just passing through.’

In addition to concrete suggestions for helping children of all ages share their thoughts and feelings, Emotional Resilience and the Expat Child offers ways to maintain a supportive home environment and foster familial and other connections. Chief among these are sharing life stories and developing rituals. Simens encourages finding ways the individual and family can honour experiences and create memories of people and places that matter. No expat family bookshelf is complete without this insightful guide to enhancing the emotional resilience of young children and teens alike.

Linda A. Janssen US author of The Emotionally Resilient Expat www.adventuresinexpatland.com

EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE AND THE EXPAT CHILD Julia Simens Summertime Publishing: $18.00 When it comes to helping expat children navigate cross-cultural life, Julia Simens’ Emotional Resilience And The Expat Child: Practical Tips and Storytelling Techniques That Will Strengthen the Global Family is a mustread.

An educator, consultant, speaker and seasoned expat parent whose focus includes family therapy, early childhood education and international relocation, Simens has helped thousands of families transition between cultures and adjust to their global lifestyle.

A veteran of many cross-cultural moves herself, Simens knows firsthand the challenges

THE EMOTIONALLY RESILIENT EXPAT Linda A. Janssen Summertime Publishing: $16.42 (Amazon.com) After spending the last decade (and almost my entire adult life up to that point) following my husband around various locations in the United Kingdom and Ireland, I thought I had the whole ‘experienced traveller’ thing mastered, and frequently boasted that “I could move anywhere, in a heartbeat.”

Instead, on repatriating to Canada three years ago, I found myself diving rapidly into self-destruct mode from my weak and reluctant attempts to settle back into life as a Canadian. It never occurred to me that trying to integrate myself back into my own country of origin would be such a shock, or so difficult.

The well-travelled, social butterfly, and outgoing dinner party host that I exuded in my life in the UK, quickly evaporated and morphed into an unmotivated, unsociable, regret-filled wanderer. I spent my days wishing I had never left England.

The Emotionally Resilient Expat by Linda A. Janssen helped me understand that I was mourning the loss of my life as I knew it. That even the simplest of daily tasks can turn into gargantuan efforts when we are out of our comfort zones. Inadvertently, Janssen touched on every thought, feeling and personal struggle that I encountered in my life as an expat.

Reading the book, helped me to put some closure on the stumbling around that ensued as soon as I returned to Canadian soil, and comforted me with the knowledge that I hadn’t suffered a breakdown. I had simply returned to a life that I didn’t know anymore, and couldn’t immediately relate to! I had the emotional resilience to get on with my life,

but it took me a while to tap into that skill.

The excerpts from other expats that author Linda A. Janssen has included, were wonderful demonstrations of human efforts to forge a life in foreign surroundings and shows that this vast network of expats around the globe, all experience the same challenges, all trying to find ways to make the most of their everchanging lives.

The Emotionally Resilient Expat is a very readable survival manual, and the insightful and loving friend that you can pick up and take with you, wherever you may end up.

dreams of an American higher education.

Ana McGinley www.anamcginley.blogspot.ca

Kelly Singular www.burpqueen.wordpress.com THE STRESS-FREE GUIDE TO STUDYING IN THE STATES: A Step-By-Step Plan for International Students Toni Summers Hargis Summertime Publishing: $13.71 For many non-US students, enrolling at an American university seems to be the unattainable dream. To pack a suitcase, board an aeroplane, and sign up for a law degree at NYU or a business degree at Harvard – is something that only happens to elite students miraculously discovered by US college recruiters in the movies. Right?

Wrong. A new book: The Stress-Free Guide To Studying In The States: A Step-By-Step Plan for International Students, dispels the myth that admission to universities and colleges is limited to ‘the chosen few’ and supports the reality that international students make up 21% of the student population in the US. Toni Summers Hargis (a British-born expat living in the US) takes prospective students through the process of researching suitable universities and courses; assessing their potential for admission based on selection criteria; identifying options for financial aid; uncovering government regulations including the restrictions of living and studying under a foreign student visa; and dissecting American student life to give valuable survival tips for new students.

Succinctly, the author addresses the needs of her target audience i.e. young adults and their parents. Procedures are covered in a task-oriented, step-by-step format. Clearly presented facts are enriched by supplementary explanations, tips, warnings and resource lists.

Additional inclusion of topics like - how to write personal essays; homesickness and culture shock; room mates; sports; laws on alcohol and drugs; insurance; and study loads - make this book a truly comprehensive guide essential for prospective students wanting to realise their

The 2014 Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition Monday 3rd February, Hotel Russell, Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London

FREE SEMINAR PROGRAMME 10.15am Third Culture Kids 11.15am Dual Career- Making It Possible 12.30pm Taxation Issues Arising In Respect Of US Individuals Moving To The UK 1.45pm Immigration

To register your place for any or all of these seminars, please email: helen@theamericanhour.com 19

Advance Cleaning & Maid Service We help busy people like you get a better balance between the things you need to get done, and the things you rather be doing instead, once you get used to the fact that you have someone you can trust to help you, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without us!

You work long hours, you earn a decent living and you want to make the most of what little leisure time you do have to relax and enjoy yourself. So how do you fit in all the mundane tasks of everyday life of cleaning and maintaining your home.

Advance Cleaning “Lil’s Wheels” can provide you with a reliable and efficient service when needed, our programmes are both competitive and designed to be flexible to work alongside your busy lifestyle.

Contact Lily on

e: liliangray@me.com t: 07775 792093

www.advancecleaningservice.co.uk

S p e c i a l r at e S

pleaSe mention ‘american in Britain’

Marianna Faitos

NewYork City mobile Hair Stylist expanding to London.

Travelling throughout London offering all hair services.

Classically trained French styling by Jerome Obry (John Barrett Salon, Bergdorff Goodman) Vidal Sassoon Cutting and Barbering degree L’Oreal Colour Expert degree American Dream Extensions Specialist degree NYC and London Fashion Week

By Appointment only 07814466557 Marianna.faitos@gmail.com

American Women’s Clubs News FAWCO Chilterns American Women’s Club Hosts FAWCO Region 1 Meeting FAWCO (Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas) Regional Meetings are a great way for FAWCO club members to get to know FAWCO and network with sister clubs. It is open to all FAWCO clubs (also from outside the region).

October 11-13, 2013 the Region 1 Meeting will be hosted by Chilterns American Women's Club. The meeting will focus on getting member clubs to work more closely together, sharing club resources and “going digital” with social media. FAWCO member clubs from England, Scotland and Ireland are invited to attend. Visit the FAWCO Region 1 Facebook page or contact rc1@fawco.org for more information.

Call for Applications - Target Project Human Rights for Women For the new Target Programme Human Rights for Women, FAWCO and The FAWCO Foundation are seeking to identify a project which protects the rights and improves the lives of women worldwide. FAWCO is seeking applications for projects which focus on women's rights as human rights, including but not limited to those which promote peace and end gender-based violence, increase civil and/ or political participation, increase economic opportunity or promote social change.

Project applications are due September 30th and may be submitted by FAWCO Global Task Forces, FAWCO Member Clubs and individual members, and FAUSA and its members. For more information AWC atDetailed the Taj Majal about Target Project Guidelines and Selection Criteria as well as The Target Project Application, go to the FAWCO website (FAWCO website) or contact Johanna Dishongh, Target Chair, at target@fawco.org FAWCO Trip to IndiaYouth Cultural Volunteers in Dubai The inaugural programme for the FAWCO Youth Cultural Volunteers - hosted by AWA Dubai has just concluded. The week-long programme (July 16-23, 2013) was attended by seven FAWCO teens from Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The teens were hosted in AWA Dubai members' homes and had the opportunity to do hands-on volunteer at three different local charities. Participants also made new friendships with Emirati youths who were volunteers from the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. In the words of Julia Goldsby (AIWC Cologne): A plaque inside the Burj Khalifa states this: "I am the life force of collective aspirations and the aesthetic union of many cultures. I stimulate dreams, stir emotions, and awaken creativity."

For cross-cultural teenagers everywhere these words inspire us to work together. Please contact fawcoyouth@ fawco.org for more information. kcwc Having just celebrated our 30th anniversary year, kcwc is charging ahead with a full Autumn schedule of activities. Our members, who come from over 50 countries around the world, bring a special richness, diversity and energy to our club. We provide so many wonderful things to enjoy: inspiring lectures, opportunities to learn about art and antiques, art history and

literature, science, politics, current events and different cultures. And then there’s so much to do: adventurous trips, learning and sharing different languages, exploring London, going on walks, or playing tennis, bridge and golf. In short, we provide an abundance of intellectual and social delights! For women who are either new to London or who have lived here for a while, kcwc is a great way to enhance our lives and develop new friendships.

We will be holding our first General Meeting of the year on Thursday, 12 September, from 9:30am-12 noon at the The Lansdowne Club, 9 Fitzmaurice Place, Mayfair, W1J 5JD. Traditionally, our September General Meeting is a Social and Signing-up coffee morning where we get to meet and catch up with our friends, greet and meet new members who are just joining our club, and sign up for some of the wonderful activities planned for the year. Our guest speaker in September will address what may seem to be primarily a men’s issue: Prostate Cancer. Professor Paul Forster will outline the key facts about the disease, the latest developments in research and treatments, the role of women in prodding their men into action, and the ambitious plans that Prostate Cancer UK, together with its partner The Movember Foundation, have put in place to make up for lost time.

At our October General Meeting, on the 10th of the month at the Royal Geographic Society at 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, Professor Fawaz A. Gerges will be speaking to us about one of the most important current events on the international political scene - the Arab Spring, or, more poignantly, “The End of the Arab Spring?” Back by extremely popular demand, Professor Gerges is a Professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science where he directs the Middle East Centre. He earned a doctorate from Oxford University and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, has taught at Oxford, Harvard and Columbia, and was a research scholar at Princeton and chairholder at Sarah Lawrence College, New York. He has written several books, including The New Middle East: Social Protest and Revolution in the Arab World (Cambridge University Press, 2013), articles that have appeared in numerous international journals, and given scores of interviews for various media outlets throughout the world. We are looking forward once again to hearing his views on the current happenings in the Middle East.

Our November meeting, also at the Royal Geographic Society, will feature Sir Robert Rogers KCB, the Clerk of the House of Commons. As the chief executive of the House of Commons in Parliament, Sir Robert remains the principal adviser to the Speaker on the House's privileges and procedures. His other responsibilities relate to the conduct of the business of the House and 21

its committees, and he is also accounting officer for the House. Sir Robert will tell us what really goes on when the cameras are off! kcwc’s Antiques & Design group starts off the year with four special activities. First, they will enjoy a curated tour on Thursday 19 September at the Museum of London, “Clothes and the Stories They Tell”, where famed Museum of London Costume Curator, Beatrice Behlen, will lead them on a private tour of the museum’s Dress Collections, featuring clothing from the 18th century through to the modern day. Join Ms Behlen as she introduces us to some of the pieces currently on display explaining how to “read” clothes and reveal the stories each outfit tells.

Next the group will enjoy a very special private evening viewing and talk at the Queen’s Gallery: “In Fine Style - Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion” on Wednesday 25 September. The group is joining our British History group to invite members, partners and guests to see the exhibition on Tudor and Stuart fashion in its final days at the Queen’s Gallery. Bringing together from Her Majesty’s collections, garments, jewellery, accessories and armour with drawings and paintings by Van Dyck, Holbein, Hilliard and Lely, the display explores artists as stylists who helped present monarchs as magnificent leaders of taste, using sumptuous costumes as visual propaganda to convey messages of power, status, wealth and religion.

Croissants and contemporary jewellery are the topic of a breakfast talk by BBC Roadshow expert Joanna Hardy on Thursday, 3 October at Goldsmith’s Fair. kcwc beats Breakfast at Tiffany’s with this rare offer – a private introduction to a premier jewellery show with a world class gemologist! Ms Hardy’s expertise is evident in her Jewellery School of Excellence Master Classes educating the collector on contemporary design trends and what to avoid when making an investment in jewellery and gems.

Topping things off for the month, the group will enjoy a special private tour by the curator of the Bellville-Sassoon exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum on Thursday, 17 October.

Bellville Sassoon has been synonymous with high fashion for over 50 years. As Britain’s foremost couture label from the 1960s onwards, founder Belinda Bellville, with designers David Sassoon and Lorcan Mullany, dressed many of the world’s most stylish women, including Diana, Princess of Wales. This exhibition traces the history of British glamour from the couture houses of the late 1950s, to the celebrities who became clients of the company. It also explores the influence of ready-to-wear and Vogue patterns.

Our After Six in the City activity enjoys fun social events in the evenings. The group encompasses everything from fine dining to spending time exploring posh pubs, and activities such as cooking classes, sporting events and 22

concerts. They’ll be having their first Girls’ Night Out this season on Wednesday 25 September at The Pantechnicon, which is tucked away behind Lowndes Square in Knightbridge, enjoying cocktails, nibbles, and fun! kcwc’s Art History group is especially alive and well. On Tuesday 10 September they will hear a lecture on the British Museum’s exhibition, “Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum”, which is the result of close collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendency of Naples and Pompeii. This show brings together over 250 fascinating objects, both recent discoveries and celebrated finds from earlier excavations. David Bellingham of Sotheby’s, who has his doctorate in the art of Pompeii, will be our lecturer for the day. Then, on the 17 September, art historian and British art specialist Angus Haldane will discuss British Art during the Industrial Revolution, how industrialisation influenced and altered the landscape in the art of Turner, Wright of Derby, Lowry, and the poetry of Blake. The group will also sponsor an Italian art series: “Three Cities - three Centuries”, on Tuesdays, 24 September, 1 and 8 October. The first lecture explores the early ideas of the Renaissance in Florence looking at the key painters and patrons of the 1400, as well as the movement of Florentine painting to the court of Milan through Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo’s impact in Rome in the early 1500s. The next talk will cover Venetian painters such as Titian in the late 1500-1600s.

Finally, 17th Century Rome is explored, where patronage flourished and artists such as Carracci, Caravaggio and Bernini contributed heavily to the splendours of this Baroque era. Art historian Caroline Brooke will lecture.

On Tuesday 12 November the Art History’s “Walk through 500 years of British Art” offers a circuit of Tate Britain’s unparalleled collection from its beginnings to its end. This tour has been arranged to ensure that the collection’s full historical range, from 1545 to the present, is always on show. There are no designated themes or movements; instead, you can see a range of art made at any one moment in an open conversational manner. A Tate curator will be taking us around the newly laid-out galleries.

Then, on Tuesday, 26 November, the group will explore the National Gallery’s exhibition, “The Portrait in Vienna 1900: Klimt and Schiele”, where the striking paintings of Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka take center stage in portraiture in Viennese painting.

And of course, our ever popular Western Art Survey Course begins in mid-January. Now in its 18th year, under the guidance of Dr Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe, a top lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute, along with other expert lecturers, we will look at each major stylistic period. This includes Ancient Greece and Rome through to the Modern Era, encompassing a general survey of Western Art. Museum tours including visits

to the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection, Tate Modern and Tate Britain. This is the 18th year that kcwc will be offering this extremely popular course. kcwc’s British History Group will be learning about “The Huguenots of London”, one of the greatest waves of immigrates ever to arrive in England, on Monday 23 September. The group will then tour the area of Spitalfields where a large group settled when they arrived here and visit the Dennis Severs house, where can be found an authentic “experience” of life in the 18th century.

And if you’re completely new to London, join the group to find out about all the annual events that usually take place in the city at the Carlton Club on Thursday, 26 September. In October, the group will hear a lecture about the history and importance of the Inns of Court in London, the centre of the Britain’s legal system and will then get a walking tour of two of the most historic enclaves in London, The Temple and the Middle Temple Hall. Then, on each Monday in November, come and listen to four lectures given by Richard Tames that will reveal the development and influence of the British Empire, its power and impact through the centuries. kcwc’s Empty Nesters give those members with children away at university or recently graduated a chance to get together to share their experiences over dinner and a movie, among other activities. And Fabulous Single Ladies is for single kcwc members (divorced/separated/ widowed/never married) who would like to meet other fabulous singletons and go out together to the many events London has to offer.

The Contemporary Art group meets once a month to visit contemporary art galleries in London, usually on a Wednesday in the middle of the month, at different venue every time. kcwc’s Magic of the East activity offers the opportunity to explore the diverse lifestyles, traditions and culture of Asia and the middle east. On Wednesday, 23 October, they will pay a visit to The Central Mosque in Regent’s Park, also known as the Islamic Cultural Centre.

King GeorgeVI donated the land to the Muslim community of Britain in return for a donation of land in Cairo by King Farouk of Egypt and Sudan to build an Anglican cathedral. You’ve seen its prominent gold dome; now you can come and see this fantastic building from the inside! The group will also celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights celebrated by Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities. It represents the victory of good over evil and light over darkness, symbolising joy, love, reflection, resolution, forgiveness, light and knowledge. kcwc’s Photography Group holds what is essentially a monthly forum for the intermediate level photo enthusiasts to meet, review photos, critique and learn new techniques and styles.

The sessions are run by a photography teacher who sets up themes for each session.

oc gr

ie er

n si

nd Lo

on

We offe Sa r the me w da ide y d st se eli l ec ve tio ry n Th se of rv e Am W ice es er t t ic a

ea d, els o h o C W & s n n o er. oh ingt ord J r s u n St yo a il o , Ke m d eEn ax or

n

e on Ph

,f

HALLOWEEN THANKSGIVING CHRISTMAS

‘Kellybronze’ Oven-ready Turkeys,‘Stove Top’ & ‘Pepperidge Farm’ Stuffings, Canned Pumpkin, Canned Yams, Pumkin Spice, Chocolate Chips, ‘Gold Medal’ Flour, ‘Bordens’ Egg Nogg, ‘Keebler’ Pie Crust, ‘Ocean Spray’ Cranberry Jelly, Graham Crackers, ‘Hershy’ Kisses, Candy Corn, Candy Canes, Velveeta Cheese.

Check out our website: PANZERS.CO.UK PHONE: 0207 722 8162/8596 FAX: 0207 586 0209 EMAIL: SHOP@PANZERS.CO.UK

kcwc’s Travel Group has several trips on offer this season, including a tour of Kew Gardens, a World Heritage site, on Friday, 20 September, with a special visit to the Royal Kitchens; they have lain untouched since Queen Charlotte’s death in 1818 and have recently been opened for visitors. Join the group for a special walking tour through the hills of Unbria, Italy, in one of two trips the group will be taking in October. Nearer to home, you can explore the River Thames on a walk from Henley-on-Thames to Marlow on Friday, 18 October, and explore Eton College and Windsor on Wednesday, 6 November, with a local Blue Badge guide. This trip features a private guided tour of Eton College, including School Yard, Cloisters Court, Lower School (Eton’s oldest classroom), Upper School (17th century classroom) and College Chapel. The tour continues to College Hall (the original 15th century dining room) before ending in the Museum of Eton Life. A very special trip is also scheduled for Wednesday, 12 November, where kcwc members will go to Paris for the day and savour the history and gastronomy of one of the world’s greatest cities with two themed walks that bring the city’s history and cuisine alive in a unique and entertaining way. The event includes an innovative three-course lunch taken at three different restaurants. Over the course of a fourhour historic walk, they will take in some of the city’s iconic sites along with their starter, main course and dessert (including wine). After dessert and coffee, the walk extends to the culinary food shops of Saint Germain des Prés with tastings and retail opportunities at specialist food shops that maintain tradition with modern trends before heading back to the Gare du Nord by Metro for the return to London. kcwc sponsors two charities, Independent Age, which combats isolation and poverty amongst older people, and The Haven, a nonmedical breast cancer support group. They do everything, from scrubbing kitchens and serving food for others, But when these two charities don’t have a group project for us, we head off to other local charities to lend a hand.

Our London Walks group will walk in the footsteps of Jewish Londoners from nearly 1000 years ago to today on 7 October, as well as learn about the trials and tribulations of Jewish life in London. Synagogues and cemeteries are obviously part of the tour, but so are stories from the shops and streets where ordinary Jews made a mark on our fashion and cuisine. Be prepared to meet poets, politicians and a prince! kcwc’s Parenting team launches this year’s monthly gathering with a coffee and planning session on Thursday, 26 September. Now that the children are back in school, you are welcome to come and share any ideas about what you would like to get out of the Parenting Group this year, speakers you might like to hear, or perhaps you would just like to get to know other fellow 24

moms, especially if you are new to London or new to kcwc. kcwc’s Toddler Group focuses on children 18 months to five years, and they plan on fun and creative activities for the kiddies, as well as some “mums only” time as well.

RECENT EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS: kcwc Members’ Art Show at Debut Contemporary Gallery on 12 June where the talent and creativity of our members was showcased. Works included paintings, drawings, quilting, photography, sculpture, textiles, jewelery, ceramics and books. kcwc June Luncheon in Mountbatten Room at the Royal Automobile Club. Our Guest Speaker was Mme Ménéhould de Bazelaire du Chatelle, Director of Hermès Cultural Heritage On The Émile Hermès Collection: The Secret Beyond the Door. The final General Meeting of the year brought our milestone 30th anniversary to a stylish grand finale. Hermès, having graciously honoured kcwc by creating a bespoke anniversary scarf, gave our members a special glimpse behind the scenes of this worldrenowned house of luxury to reveal the history of the Hermès style. kcwc at Althorp Literary Festival where members felt like a “Princess for a Day” as personal guests of Earl Spencer at what is his family’s home for five centuries, enjoying a three-course luncheon prepared by the Earl’s personal chef, authors’ talks, time to visit some of the rooms, gardens and stables of the house, as well as the resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales.

(Note: Non-members wishing to attend our General Meetings and/or lectures as a guest are most welcome to attend for a £10 fee. This fee is applicable towards kcwc membership fee should the guest apply for membership on the same day).

For information about joining kcwc, please contact us at info@kcwc.org.uk, or telephone (020) 7863 7562, and request an information packet which will be posted free of charge. Visit: www.kcwc.org.uk.

AWC Club Relations Even though our own school days are well behind us, September still feels like a time of new beginnings - we remember a brand new lunch box, sharpened pencils and pristine notebooks that offered an opportunity to begin afresh, discover a new interest or delve more deeply into an already established one.

Let this Fall be your opportunity to discover something new about yourself, a friend or to make a new one. It is not often as an adult that you have the chance to meet a disparite group of people with a strong common experience that brings you together in a positive way.

Being an expatriate in London does just that and the AWC can help make that experience a

Outgoing kcwc President Susan Lenora, NBC News Foreign Correspondent Jim Maceda and wife Cindy, Vice President, Book Group Activity Leader Bee Robb, and Treasurer Adrianne Poulard pose in front of the Althorp House in the Spencer estate in Northamptonshire after the 10th Althorp Literary Festival.

On 14 June, nearly 80 members of kcwc, accompanied by some of their spouses and friends, attended the 10th Anniversary of the annual Althorp Literary Festival as guests of the Earl Spencer at his family's Northamptonshire estate. Joining the group in the photo is Conservationist and Author Stanley Johnson (front row centre) and his wife. Johnson spoke about his life's work, mentioning anecdotes about what it is like to be the father of the irrepressible Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

truly memorable one!

As we set out to take in all the new and wonderful experiences living in London affords us, it can be comforting to have the familar with which to touch base. The American Woman’s Club can be that for fellow American expatriates in London, a comfortable place to share the excitement and frustrations as you live in and assimilate another culture. Yes, we do speak the same language as our new home (mostly) but there are many differences to which one must adjust. It is nice “speak the same” cultural language, have similar expectations and a common frame of reference.

What can be more familiar than meeting over drinks in the afternoon with a group of your friends? Join us at the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen in Hyde Park every Thursday afternoon from 4-6 pm for a friendly chat and smile. It is a chance to get travel recommendations, restaurant favourites and tips for removing hard water spots! More of a morning person? Join Monday Morning Coffees group as they traverse the city in search of the best cup of coffee or pastries around. We also offer area coffees in particular postcodes if you’d rather stay closer to home. The

monthly New Member Coffee Group meets the third Tuesday of the month at the Clubhouse at 68 Old Brompton Rd. Enjoy a cuppa with us September 17, October 15, or November 12.

The ease of travel to the continent is one the best perks of this great city and this Fall the AWC is offering fabulous trips that still have space available. Join us as we travel to Normandy where our guide will bring alive the momentous events of the June, 1944 ‘D Day’ Invasion and detailed background of the whole campaign.

Partners and friends are welcome to join this luxury coach trip from Thursday, September 26 - Sunday, September 29. Our ‘members only’ trip to Budapest, Hungary (Monday, October 7 - Thursday, Oct 10) is sure to be fascinating.

Each day is packed with informative tours but still leaves time for some shopping for interesting local goods. If shopping is a favourite past time you don’t want to miss our annual Christmas Market trip. This year we will be headed to Vienna, Austria from 2nd - 5th December. We also offer fun Shopaholic events throughout London leading up to the holidays.

Only have a day to spare? Join in the Monthly Hike on Wednesday, September 4. We’ll be meeting at London Bridge Rail Station at 9:45 am for the Hever to Leigh hike. This is a fascinating and beautiful walk through ‘the Garden of England’. At this time of year the bramble bushes should be laden with blackberries so bring a container to carry some home! Wear appropriate clothing and footwear (it can be muddy) and be sure to bring a bottle or two of water. Prefer something a bit less strenuous?

Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, is steeped in culture and history.

Take a day trip on Wednesday, September 18 with the AWC to soak in the beautiful rural Warwickshire country side and visit the homes of Shakespeare’s wife & mother. We will be headed to Portsmouth on Saturday, October 12 so mark your calendars.

We’ve got a little bit of something for everyone. 'Bumps to Jumps' is meeting at the WWT London Wetland Centre on Friday, September 6 where Mums and kids can mix & mingle in a kid friendly atmosphere. The paths throughout are buggy friendly and there is lots for toddlers to do to keep busy including an otter feeding to watch!

Are you a professional at heart? Whether you have worked in the past, are working now, are paid or volunteer, if you apply professionalism to all you do, you may be interested in the Business Women’s Group. The kick off meeting this year is on Thursday, September 19 and will begin on a contemporary note featuring Emily Miller, Founder of Marshal Walker, to explore the advantages and pitfalls of digital networking.

Marshal Walker is an independent LinkedIn training organisation based in London.

Culinary explorations are always fun and

Drinks @ The Serpentine Bar & Grill, Hyde Park

we’ve got many planned throughout the autumn. The AWC has scheduled a private luncheon at Pfiona’s Restaurant on Wednesday, September 11. Pfiona’s is one of the oldest family run restaurants serving traditional British food with a modern twist. They specialise in quality British produce, served fresh cooked to one’s individual needs. Call the AWC office to RSVP

by September 5th. An afternoon tea is the perfect way to indulge yourself and is quintessentially British. Partake in this tradition at the Royal Horseguards Hotel on Thursday, September 19, it is fun to ‘take tea’ across the city to help decide where you’ll bring your guests when they visit.

We’ve too many activites to mention them all. Stiching Group, Theatre Group, Day and Evening Book Group, Drinks Etc., MahJong and Bridge are but a few and all offer chances

to socialise and try new things. Special one-offs such as climbing Big Ben November 11 and December 3 and a Fall Fantasy Football event keep us engaged and having fun.

Please join us at our Annual Activities Fair on Tuesday, September 24 at the Lansdowne Club from 10 am - noon. Activity leaders will be on hand to answer any questions and it will give you an opportunity to see if something new may interest you or to connect with others with like interests. The Lansdowne is located at 9 Fitzmaurice Place; near Berkeley Square, Green Park is the closest tube station. Luncheon after the meeting at a nearby restaurant afterward will give you a chance to get aquainted; no RSVP is necessary, a count will be taken at the meeting.

Bring your toothy American grin and join us!! www.awclondon.org, 020 7589 8292.

photos by Lisa Browne and Jennifer Herrold

Independence Day, Hyde Park 25

Cycling in Richmond Park

JOIN US FOR OUR 2013 BOUTIQUE DE NOEL MARKET benefiting the Junior League of London Shop for a good cause at the Junior League of London’s annual fundraiser, Boutique de Noel, a two-day Christmas market at the Kensington Town Hall on 15 & 16 November 2013. Kensington Town Hall is located on Horton Street near the High Street Kensington tube station.

Boutique de Noel begins with a Gala Shopping Evening on Friday, 15 November that includes premier shopping, cocktails and canapés, and live and silent auctions with a wide range of luxury prizes. Purchase a Patron ticket for complimentary gift bags.

Then the Shopping Day on Saturday, 16 November features 100+ unique vendors offering art and antiques, fashion and jewellery, toys and baby gifts, stationery and gourmet food.

Please visit www.jll.org.uk/bdn to purchase tickets, learn more about Boutique de Noel and our exhibitors and have a look at the exciting donations secured for the live and silent auctions. Tickets are also available by calling the Junior League office on +44 (0) 20 7499 8159.

Funds raised at Boutique de Noel support the Junior League of London (JLL), a registered UK charity (1103298) committed to promoting voluntary service, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Our 400+ members contribute their time, leadership and skills to the London community, all with the goal of improving the lives of local families in need.

Each year, through our community programmes, we invest over 20,000 hours of volunteer service and touch the lives of over 3,500 Londoners, including more than 1,000 children. Learn more about the Junior League of London, our community programmes and other ways you could support the organisation at www.jll.org.uk CAWC The Chilterns American Women’s Club (CAWC) is a group of approximately 140 North American and International women, including 26

some British women. With many long-term residents in our midst, as well as newcomers, we provide a network of support and local information to those new to the area. Our club offers the opportunity to network with others who have relocated to the Chilterns through meetings, outings, social occasions and charitable events. We are a great resource to newcomers and our returning members have made lifelong friendships and connections. Our Hospitality team has recently put together an extensive resource guide to help newcomers transition into their new life here in the UK. CAWC has a monthly General Meeting which takes place at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club and various other activities and outings throughout the month. At our general meetings, we visit with other members, share our latest experiences, and

sign up for various activities. The general meetings offer practical information and feature a different speaker or activity each month. We also have vendors who sell unique British and American products. This year our outings and activities will take us to: the Sunbury Antiques Market; Stratford upon Avon; Birmingham Christmas Market; tours of Kensington, Hampton Court and Blenheim Palaces; Portabello Road and the Battle of Britain Bunker at RAF Uxbridge just to name a few! We are very proud that our hiking group was recently featured on the BBC radio 4 programme, Ramblings, presented

by Claire Balding. With so many fabulous activities happening you will definitely find one for you: golf; tennis; Christian Corner; Out to Lunch Bunch; Book group; Creative writing; Bunco; Moms and Tots; Come Wine with me; Unencumbered; Finders Keepers; Let's Speak Spanish; Day Hikes and Stitch and Chat.

Our club is part of the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (FAWCO), a network of over 17,000 expatriate women around the world. For more information on FAWCO, visit the FAWCO-website, at www.fawco.org.

CAWC is committed to supporting our adopted UK community by raising funds to support local charities. We hold an annual Christmas Bazaar in November of each year with all funds raised donated to charities. This past club year our Bazaar raised £18,000 and we presented checks to FAWCO, Scannappeal, Epilepsy Society and William’s Fund, which is a cancer research charity. This year our Christmas Bazaar will be held on Sunday, November 17 at the Bellhouse Hotel in Beaconsfield, and we will be supporting the Epilepsy Society and Hestia charities. We will have over 60

vendors selling a dazzling variety of goods, our famous CAWC Christmas gift baskets and American bake sale and café.

To date, the annual CAWC Christmas Bazaar has raised in excess of £200k for the club’s designated charities, including over £120k alone for the Epilepsy Society.

We would love to see you at our General Meetings this autumn on either: Wednesday, September 18; Thursday, October 17; or Thursday, November 14 at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club starting at 9:30 am. It will be a great chance to find out exactly what our club is all about and you will be assured of a very warm welcome!

For details on becoming a member please email our Membership Chair: membership@cawc. co.uk or go to our website www.cawc.co.uk.

AWS American Women of Surrey (AWS) kicked off the new year with a lively meeting on September 3, welcoming many newcomers, some of whom had only just arrived in this country. There was great excitement when the time came to sign up for any of the 35 new activities, clubs, and classes. There is something for everyone at AWS, whether it be cooking, crafting, genealogy classes, antiquing, visiting art galleries, or touring fabulous English gardens…No one has to feel stuck at home!

Our President, Betsy Cook Speer, announced that the theme this year would be “to use our power for good”. There are many opportunities for our members to help out with our charities and philanthropy. This year, FAWCO’s Target Issue is Human Rights for Women. With that in mind, at our inaugural meeting, we collected almost 100 bras for Free the Girls, a charity that helps women who have been rescued from sex slavery, giving them jobs selling new or gently used bras to other women. Join us and get involved at awsurrey.org!

Upcoming AWS events: • Tuesday, October 8, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. General Meeting (Theme: Royal Refreshments) at Cobham Hilton, 7 Hills Road South, Cobham, KT11 1JE. Bring your new and gently used bras to donate to Free the Girls!

• November 17, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

23rd Annual Gift Fayre ACS Cobham International School, Sports Centre, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1BL Fun for the whole family! Great for all of your holiday shopping needs. All proceeds will go to our charities.

• Wednesday, December 4, St. Ebbas Holiday Party • Friday, December 6, AWS Holiday Luncheon • Tuesday, December 10, Holiday Homes Tour.

27

Travel - Brighton

L

ondoners have been travelling to Brighton for beach getaways ever since the railway arrived there in 1841. The pebbled beach, Brighton Pier's amusement arcade and the Royal Pavilion are the main sights, but you'll also find hundreds of pubs and clubs catering to an energetic crowd.

Brighton is a town on the south coast of Great Britain. It makes up most of the city and unitary authority of Brighton and Hove (formed from the previous towns of Brighton, Hove, Portslade and several other villages).

Formerly part of the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, it remains part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex.

The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" dates from before the Domesday Book (1086), but it emerged as a health resort featuring sea bathing during the 18th century.

In June 1514, Brighthelmstone was burnt to the ground by French raiders during a war between England and France and only part of the St Nicholas Church and the street pattern of the area now known as "The Lanes" survived.

28

Brighton Pier

From 1780, development of the Georgian terraces had started and the fishing village became the fashionable resort of Brighton. Growth of the town was further encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent (later King George IV) after his first visit in 1783. He spent much of his leisure time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion during the early part of his Regency. In this period the modern form of the name Brighton came into common use.

Many of the major attractions were built during the Victorian era such as the Grand Hotel (1864), the West Pier (1866) and the Palace Pier (1899). Prior to either of these structures the famous Chain Pier was built, to the designs of Captain Samuel Brown. It lasted from 1823 to 1896, and featured in paintings by both Turner and Constable.

One of the most popular attractions of Brighton, and if driving down, one of the most impressive sights you see just before you reach the beach, is The Royal Pavilion, a former royal palace built as a home for the Prince Regent during the early 19th century, under the direction of the architect John Nash, and is notable for its Indo-Saracenic architecture and Oriental interior. Other Indo-Saracenic buildings in Brighton include the Sassoon Mausoleum, now, with the bodies reburied elsewhere, in use as a chic supper club.

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery in Pavilion Gardens, part of the Royal Pavilion

complex, provides permanent collections and temporary exhibitions.

Brighton Marine Palace and Pier (long known as the Palace Pier) opened in 1899 and features a funfair, restaurants and arcade halls, and is a huge hit with adults and children alike.

Just to the left of the pier is the Brighton Wheel - a smaller replica of the London Eye, and alongside this is Volk’s Electric Railway, which will take you a mile along the edge of the beach towards Brighton Marina.

Brighton Clocktower was built in 1888 for Queen Victoria's jubilee, and stands at the intersection of Brighton's busiest thoroughfares.

Beaches The seafront has bars, restaurants, nightclubs, sports facilities and amusement arcades, principally between the piers. Being less than an hour from London by train has made the city a popular destination. On the day we visited Brighton we watched men ‘shooting hoops’, several teams playing Beach Volleyball, and a large group of Salsa dancers on the band stand.

Brighton’s beach, is a shingle beach at high tide with a flat sandy foreshore at low water, and has been awarded a blue flag. The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath heads west along the seafront above the beach. There is also a nudist area which caused a huge stir when first noticed, and it is hidden by a bank of shingle to avoid prying eyes!

Brighton Marina has become a bustling area of restaurants, bars, hotels and also has a casino as well as a David Lloyd centre. Most of the restaurants look over the marina, and it only takes about 20 minutes to walk to from Brighton Pier. There is a large car park there for those without a boat, and in the summer it’s a great place to sit and watch the world go by.

Brighton's art community is showcased once a year in an artists' open house event during the Brighton Festival. On the seafront between Brighton's two piers is the Artists Quarter, a row of Victorian fishermen's workshops converted to small galleries and studio spaces, where artists, employing a variety of media and styles, publicly present their work.

Each May the city hosts the Brighton Festival, the second largest arts festival in the UK (after Edinburgh). This includes processions such as the Children's Parade, outdoor spectaculars often involving pyrotechnics, and theatre, music and visual arts in venues throughout the city. The earliest feature of the festival, the Artists' Open Houses, are homes of artists and craftspeople opened to the public as galleries, and usually selling the work of the occupants. Since 2002, these have been organised independently of the official Festival and Fringe.

Brighton Fringe runs alongside Brighton Festival, and has grown to be the second largest fringe festival in the world. Together with the street performers from Brighton Festival's "Streets of Brighton" events, and the Royal Mile-esque outdoor performances that make up "Fringe City", outdoor spectacles and events more than double during May. Brighton is the terminus of a number of London-to-Brighton rides and runs, including the London-to-Brighton bike ride organised by The British Heart Foundation every June, and the veteran car run and bike

Brighton Pavilion

ride. Transport rallies are also hosted on the seafront. Groups of Mods and Rockers still bring their scooters and motorbikes to the town, but their gatherings are now much more sedate than the violent 1960s confrontations depicted in Quadrophenia.

Lanes. The bustling criss-cross streets of the North Lane make a great hunting ground for unique retro, vintage and kitsch finds. And bargain hunters will love the weekend markets and Brighton Marina for discount shopping at factory outlet shops.

Culture & heritage Walking around Brighton, 400 years of history and style unfold before you. The Royal Pavilion is an eclectic mix of styles that has to be seen to be believed. Elsewhere, there are museums and galleries galore, special events throughout the year from car rallies to carnivals, and England’s largest arts festival in May. Brighton is full of colour and life, and its diversity extends to its choice of restaurants.

With more than 400 to choose from you can eat your way around the world. Along the beachfront between the two Piers there are several restaurants and cafés, and many fish and chip shops. Harry Ramsden’s is the most famous of the fish and chip restaurants, and many a time we’ve bought our cod and chips and taken it across the street to eat on the beach.

Music & nightlife Brighton’s club scene is internationally known for its innovation, variety and brilliant crowds.

Live music is a way of life in Brighton, and wellknown DJs are always in town and clubbers travel from far and wide for a night out in the city. On any one night you can choose between jazz, soul, R 'n' B, techno, indie, funk, gay, house, salsa, 60s, 70s, 80s, & 90s.

There is also a large cinema and several theatres in Brighton, as well as plentiful hotels and bed and breakfasts, so day trippers and holiday makers alike will find plenty to do on sunny and rainy days. n Photo credits: www.visitbrighton.com

Shopping Brighton truly is a shopper’s paradise. Explore the intricate maze of twisting alleyways and hidden squares in the 17th century Brighton

29

Purchasing Property In The UK Or Overseas?

Travelex International Payments Provide Some Tips On Saving Money When Making Large Cross Border Payments Associated With An Overseas Property Purchase 30

Managing property investment currency risk When investing in property outside of the US, you should take care to manage your exchange rate risk appropriately when the transaction is not denominated in US Dollars. Currency fluctuations can have a significant impact on the overall success of your real estate investment and therefore need to be managed closely.

Not only is it important to get a great deal on the initial exchange rate that you transfer your US Dollars at for the purchase of the foreign property, but subsequent costs such as mortgage costs, rental income and bills will still be affected by exchange rate changes and will often require management or hedging in order to minimise risks and maximise returns.

In this article we look to cover some straightforward methods for managing your property investment currency risk efficiently, as practised by a number of Travelex international payments current property investors.

provider is another way to help you get the best exchange rate on your property-related currency transfers.

When you enter a limit order, you will need to specify an exchange rate level, a currency pair, an amount of one currency and whether you wish to buy or sell that amount at that level.

If the market exchange rate subsequently fluctuates to your specified level, then your foreign exchange provider will buy or sell the specified amount of currency for you automatically based on your instructions.

Limit orders are especially helpful because people cannot be watching the actively fluctuating foreign exchange market all of the time, and so they might miss out on a favourable spiked or shortterm exchange rate improvement. Although limit orders are often used when dealing through stock brokers, this useful ability is rarer among foreign exchange providers. Be sure to ask whether your currency transfer provider offers limit orders if you think you might wish to use them.

Shop around for the best exchange rate when buying property abroad A key thing to remember when making the initial currency transfer for an overseas property purchase is that you are generally not locked into using your bank for foreign exchange transactions and forward contract hedges.

This means that you can shop around amongst banking alternatives for the best forex rate. US banks in particular are often culprits of offering customers very poor rates of exchange and using an alternative can save as much as 4% of the transaction amount in the rate alone. Reputable currency transfer providers like Travelex, offer specific International Payments service for high value transfers to make sure that all of your currency transfers will be both cost effective and straightforward to perform.

Furthermore, not only can you shop around for the best exchange rate on your large initial property deposit, but you can also get better exchange rates on your regular currency transfers if you plan on making periodic mortgage payments in a foreign currency.

Managing currency risk from foreign property investment with forwards Most real estate investments have a fairly long-term horizon. As a result, people who invest in property abroad typically tend to manage their long-term currency risk by using forex forward contracts as a hedge against adverse exchange rate movements.

These contracts permit you to lock in a market-determined exchange rate for a certain amount of currency for a given future delivery date. The forward exchange rate you receive is related mathematically to the prevailing spot rate and the current interest rate differential between deposits in the two currencies involved in the transaction.

Forward contracts can be used as much as two years in advance of when you anticipate actually needing the foreign currency to make payments related to your foreign investment property. This makes them particularly useful if you are buying “off plan�. n

Placing currency limit orders A limit order allows you to specify a desired exchange rate with your provider, for them to purchase currency automatically should the market reach your desired level. Placing a limit order with your foreign exchange

Travelex International Payments clients are consistently saved thousands of pounds, and for larger amounts, the savings can exceed tens of thousands. This is done by regularly checking the exchange rates of the major banks and key competitors to ensure you are given the most competitive quotes on your international money transfer - that's the International Payments Price Promise.

Please find out more from www.travelex.co.uk/aib

Magazine 2013

er 2012

Summ

Winter 201 2

on Of fer bscripti Free Su UK

Spring 201 2

Inside

ity in the Commun erican the Am Serving

• News erman igh Zimm ement With Le Manag terview : An In • Wealth de t eatre clu Ou g In x • Th • Eatin Features ge • Ta Travel Exchan orts • tiques Foreign UK Sp ts & An Tens • ws • Ar • Top y Ne s ert ub Prop en’s Cl n Wom America

Enclosed n Of fer bscriptio Free Su

Free Subscri Serving the ption Offer American Inside Community in the UK

ity in the Commun erican the Am Serving

UK

Price £5 Serving the American Community in the UK

g Out • Eatin Travel gration orts • • Immi • UK Sp p Tens Tax ues • • News y • To : tiq ert de An op Pr Inclu ts & mily • Features ws • Ar The Fa ubs Ne t With en’s Cl Ou om ys W Da n America • tre Thea

Features Inc lude: • New s • UK Spo Wealth Ma rts • Travel nagement • Property • Eating Ou • Top Ten t Theatre • s • Foreign American Currency Women’s • Health Clubs New s • Arts & Antiques

✁

Features inc lude: • New s • UK Spo Theatre • Tax • Am rts • Travel erican Wo • Eating Ou men’s Clu Insurance t bs News • • Property Arts & Ant • Top Ten iques Tips • Imm igration

I would like to take advantage of the free annual subscription to American in Britain Name: ...................................................................................................................................................................

Subscriptions

Spring

Address: .................................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................. Post Code: ...........................................

Telephone: .............................................................................................................................................................

Email: ..............................................................................................................

Would you like to receive our monthly email newsletter?

YES

NO

cccc

To apply for your free subscription please complete this form and return to us or email your details to helen@theamericanhour.com.

For further information please call Helen Elliott on 0208 661 0186.

32

Property Focus On Kensington, Notting Hill and Holland Park

F

or centuries, Kensington has been amongst the most distinguished of London areas. From the bon viveur of the Georgian and Regency years, through the Victorian decades of profligate mercantile expansion and a rapidly swelling uppermiddle class, into the 20th and 21st centuries, with its new wave of industrialists, newspaper magnates, bankers and businessmen, all have fought over the most desirable of Kensington addresses.

From the start, Kensington held royal connections. The land which was to become this most salubrious of London districts, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, was first granted by William the Conqueror to one of his closest advisors Geoffrey de Montbray. He in turn gifted it to the de Vere family who became in later centuries the ‘Earls of Oxford’ and, briefly, the ill fated honour of the ‘Dukedom of Ireland’.

It is after this family and their extensive London landholding that the area and underground station Earl’s Court is named.

The true residential expansion of Kensington began in earnest in the late seventeenth century when the asthmatic William III and his Stuart wife Mary II ascended the throne, replacing the latter’s deposed father. William’s health sought him to seek a royal residence away from the damp confines of the Palace of Westminster and the River Thames. William, after briefly considering Holland House (of which more

later), plumped for Kensington Palace.

Having purchased it from a close confidant, courtier and politician, William instructed the renowned architect Christopher Wren to reconstruct the obscure manor into the royal edifice we see today. Consequently, the area enjoyed prolonged exposure to the royal court and the great and the good of the nation flocked to the area and have done ever since.

Houses on Kensington Palace Gardens, parallel to the Palace and Kensington Gardens have been latterly dubbed ‘Billionaire’s Row’ because of the extreme wealth of its residents and the value of the properties. It is also the heart of Kensington’s diplomatic commissions, housing several prominent Embassies as well as Ambassador’s residences. By far the most prominent Kensington inhabitants are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who are currently renovating an apartment within Kensington Palace and will be moving in with the latest addition to the royal family, Prince George!

As with Kensington Palace and its adjacent roads, streets, gardens and avenues, the rest of Kensington is luxurious. This is particularly the case of those properties on Campden Hill and The Phillimore Estate which includes Phillimore Gardens, Walk and Place and is known for its

delightfully wide streets and appealing white stucco-fronted Victorian residences.

At the northern limit of Kensington, where the area merges into Notting Hill, is the beautiful pastel coloured Hillgate Village where former railway worker cottages provide modest two or three bedroom homes, with all the Victorian charm you would expect.

To the south is High Street Kensington, one of London’s best shopping streets which is also home to several restaurants, cafés, bars and night clubs. This includes the celebrated Kensington Roof Gardens which is housed atop the former Art Deco department store of Derry and Toms and at 1.5 acres is one of the largest roof gardens in Europe.

Kensington is very well served by public transport with the Central, District and Circle Underground Lines at Notting Hill Gate and District and Circle lines at High Street Kensington. Additionally, at the far end of Kensington High Street is London’s Overground at Kensington Olympia station.

The area is equally well connected by road with the A4 and A40 within easy reach.

Fashionable Notting Hill borders Kensington to the north and is now every bit as famous, immortalised in Richard Curtis’

33

eponymous 1999 film starting Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. The area was developed from the 1840s by the Ladbroke family and a large part of Notting Hill’s charm is amassed from these private squares which can only be accessed by key holders; the area is peppered with them, furnishing inhabitants with charming and secluded green garden spaces without the hassle of their upkeep.

Portobello Road is central to Notting Hill and is now famous throughout the world for the market stalls running down the street and is a sight of popular pilgrimage for tourists and residents alike. Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road answer the cries of the more discerning clientele of Notting Hill, with its designer shops such as Paul Smith and the two Michelin star restaurant, The Ledbury.

From its first inception, Notting Hill has attracted an “alternative” set, becoming a mecca for artists and musicians in its early years. This was followed with an influx of mass immigration to the district after the break-up of the British Empire in the latter half of the twentieth century. Such fusion created a diaphanous cultural difference to other parts of London which has, over time, only become more pronounced. The area is a melting pot of nationalities and identities all pulled together by a common sense of place and understanding which is evident at the annual Notting Hill Carnival.

Holland Park abuts Kensington to the west and is sandwiched between Notting Hill and Earl’s Court to north and south. Like Kensington, the area is one of high refinement and distinction with an aristocratic pedigree.

The locality owes its moniker to the park named after the grounds of the former baronial residence of Holland House, home for centuries to the influential Rich, Fox and Fox-Strangways

families. Sadly Holland House was badly damaged in WWII and the estate is now run as a public park with various exhibition spaces, notably The Orangery, an Opera House, the Design Museum and a Youth Hostel. The park also has football pitches, tennis and netball courts, a cricket square and nets and the famous Japanese garden.

The houses and flats that surround Holland Park and its environs are typically large grandiose affairs with high ceilings, charming original moldings and features mostly constructed in the late Georgian and Victorian periods. As such, the area is hugely popular with families and professionals alike and includes notable current residents such as Simon Cowell of X-Factor fame and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

Like it’s neighbours, Holland Park is well served by transport links, with the London Underground Central Line providing a fast and easy commute into inner London and the City. Similarly, Holland Park Avenue and Kensington High Street dissect the area and offer excellent road options for the commuter. Holland Park itself has a village-like atmosphere with Jeraboams delicatessen and wine merchant, Lidgate, the award winning butcher, Daunt Books the independent book retailer and various cafés and restaurants. Not far down the road is the Westfield shopping centre at Shepherd’s Bush with its scores of luxury shops, plentiful restaurants and cafes as well as a large Waitrose supermarket. n Should you wish any further information on these areas or any assistance with property related matters please don’t hesitate to contact Sally Hamilton at John D Wood & Co. on 020 7908 1100 or shamilton@johndwood.co.uk.

34

When In London Recommendations for discovering England’s capital city

I

remember moving to London; the overwhelming feeling of excitement and anticipation mixed with the intimidation and fear of finding my way in a new country.

I also remember the moment when London became home and I purposefully decided to hold onto that initial magic by rediscovering it all the time. Here are some of the recommendations I wish I’d had when I first arrived, and my ideas for places to explore when you feel like you know it all.

36

When You First Arrive London can be slightly intimidating on first glance but the best way to see how small it really can be is to walk. Walk, walk, walk.

Being at street level is the only way to get a true feel for the layout, see the difference between the eclectic neighbourhoods and find your new favourite hangouts down hidden alleys. I highly recommend taking a couple of hours one afternoon to get a feel for the West End in particular. You’ll be amazed to see how close things are and how easy it is to get around once you know the basics.

Start at Bond Street Station (on Oxford Street) and cut down through the spectacular streets of Mayfair to Piccadilly. Walk left towards Piccadilly Circus (a place you’ll pass through often) and take in the surroundings to see how it all connects. From this spot you have great things to explore in every direction. You can head up Glasshouse Street (the pedestrian path alongside Boots) and find yourself in Soho, one of London’s liveliest neighbourhoods and the heart of its night life. Or cross Leicester Square and wander into Covent Garden, theatre district and café central. You can walk back down Piccadilly and take in some of London’s incredible green spaces (and its most famous palace) in Green and Hyde Parks. You can mosey down Haymarket and into Trafalgar Square, the famous gathering place and a viewpoint for many of London’s biggest icons. Or, best yet, do a quick loop and get a little taste of all of them. After only a couple of hours walking, you’ll be a pro at getting around the city.

When You’re Looking for Something New After you’ve been here a while, you become used to the fast pace, the feel of concrete underfoot, and the heavy air that only the Bakerloo line can produce. London’s magic can get lost in the routine of daily life, and the urge to get out of town and see something new can be irresistible. But the city itself hides some great escapes that will leave you feeling miles from home. Richmond Park is impressively huge and, with its herds of roaming deer, you’ll quickly forget you’re in a world capital.

Victoria Park is packed with leisure activities for people of every age.

My constant favourite, however, is Hampstead Heath. This ancient forest covers 790 acres that have never been developed.

The footpaths take you through green tunnels of trees dripping with ivy before opening to meadows of waving grass and rolling hills.

You’ll pass swimming ponds and manor houses, and you’ll only remember you’re in London when you climb Parliament Hill to see the view across the entire city. Visit on a Sunday and end the day with a pub roast in

Hampstead or Highgate, two of London’s most village-y neighbourhoods. I recommend the King William IV on Hampstead High Street. At £10 per person it’s the best quality and value for money I’ve found in London.

When You're Missing Home Lastly, for those of you craving something American, there’s a great way to visit home without paying for the airfare: take a little trip to the south. Pitt Cue & Co., just off Carnaby Street, has the best BBQ I have tasted this side of the pond. The ribs are thick and sticky. The pulled pork is meltingly tender and drizzled in a perfectly paired BBQ sauce. And let’s not get started on the bone marrow mash.

Ok, let’s. These are the best mashed potatoes I have ever had. Ever. (Please don’t tell my mom!). Take all that and throw in the most extensive list of bourbons you may ever find outside of Kentucky and there is no reason for missing out on this divine American treasure.

After you’ve wiped the sauce from your face (but not the post-feast grin), roll your way two streets over to 'Ain’t Nothin’ But' to enjoy a deep south blues bar where you can be carried away by live music every night of the week.

When you do finally leave you’ll be expecting to walk out onto dirt roads full of old chevies.

So whether you’ve just arrived, have been here a while and want something new or are just missing home, London’s got you covered.

Just get out there and start exploring all it has to offer. n

By Noelle Poulson, Owner & Coordina-tour, YouK Custom Tours.YouK Custom Tours inspires locals to explore the hidden gems of London.

They can be contacted on info@youkcustomtours. com, or phone 07983 439560 or visit youkcustomtours.com.

Immigration Married SameSex Couples Now Eligible For US Immigration Benefits

R

oe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education, Bowers v. Hardwick, and now United States v. Windsor – the latest case to join the pantheon of landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights

decisions. In their 26 June 2013 judgment, the Court stuck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, effectively allowing married same-sex spouses the same immigration benefits as their heterosexual counterparts, for the first time in history.

Marriage Law vs.

Immigration Law In order to explain the significance of this decision, some background information might be helpful. In the US, family law is considered ‘state law’, which means that each of the 50 states can define marriage independently, including what types of marriages they will perform and what outside marriages they will recognise. Currently, same-sex marriages are allowed in just 13 of the 50 states, as well as Washington DC and five Native American tribes. In contrast, over 30 states specifically limit marriage to the union of one man and one woman. In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay marriage.

Most recently, Minnesota legalised same-sex marriages, which took effect this summer.

Immigration law, in contrast to marriage law, is considered ‘federal law’ because it applies to all states equally. Individual states cannot create their own immigration laws; this is reserved for the federal government.

Defense of Marriage Act In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ (DOMA). This Act is classified as federal law and therefore applies to all states equally. Section 2 of the Act provides that states are not required to recognise same-sex marriages performed in another state. For example, if two men were legally married in Massachusetts, the authorities in Alabama are not required to recognise the marriage and can treat them as two single men. Section 3 of the Act then limited federal benefits ‘only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife’.

Examples of federal benefits include insurance benefits for government employees, social security survivors’ benefits, tax relief, and the ability to sponsor non-US citizen relatives for immigration purposes.

People were often shocked to learn that the same-sex spouse of a US citizen, even though legally married in a US state, was nevertheless ineligible to obtain any immigration benefit based on the marriage. With tens of thousands of same-sex marriages between US citizens and foreign-born spouses, this harsh law meant that families were faced with a difficult choice. In order to remain together in the US, the foreign-born spouse had to qualify for her/ his own independent visa or live in the US illegally. Alternatively, many couples decided to start a life outside the United States.

Recent Supreme Court Ruling Relief arrived on 26 June 2013, when the Supreme Court held that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional and is therefore no longer law. The federal government is no longer limited to defining marriage as between opposite-sex spouses only, and can immediately begin offering immigration benefits to same-sex spouses.

The facts of the underlying case brought to the Supreme Court, United States v. Windsor, involved Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer.

Edith and Thea shared their lives together for 44 years in New York. They were married in Canada in 2007 and two years later, Thea passed away, leaving her entire estate to her wife Edith. Although they were legally married and their marriage was fully recognised by the state of New York, Edith was forced to pay more than $360,000 in federal estate taxes because the US government was prevented from recognising their marriage, thanks to Section 3 of DOMA. Edith therefore sued the federal government, seeking a refund of the estate taxes. In its highly anticipated decision, the Court found in Edith’s favour, ruling that DOMA’s rigid interpretation of ‘marriage’ and ‘spouse’ violates the US constitution.

In addition to striking down Section 3 of DOMA, the Supreme Court also simultaneously ruled on a case brought by supporters of Proposition 8 in California, a ballot measure opposing same-sex marriage in the state. The Court’s decision effectively legalised same-sex marriage in California, the most populous state in the country.

What This Ruling Means for Same-Sex Couples The Supreme Court’s decision offers immediate immigration benefits to samesex couples. US citizens can now begin sponsoring foreign-born same-sex spouses for permanent residency (green cards). In addition, the spouses of foreign-born workers who live in or plan to relocate to the US on a temporary work visa are now eligible to apply for dependant visas.

Regardless of where in the country a samesex couple lives – even if in a state that expressly forbids same-sex marriages – the US government must recognise the marriage for immigration purposes. The only requirement is that the couple was legally married in a jurisdiction that allows for same-sex marriage and that the marriage was entered into in good faith – not just to obtain an immigration benefit. Note however, that whilst same-sex couples can live and work freely in any of the 50 states, if they happen to live in a state that does not recognise same-sex marriages on a local level, they may be ineligible for state-level benefits.

39

In addition, it is important to remember that whilst a lawful marriage between samesex couples is now recognised under US federal law, the same recognition has not been officially extended to couples in civil partnerships, whether hetero- or homosexual.

Nevertheless, guidance is currently being sought as to whether a civil partnership will suffice where is it identical to marriage in every way but name, for example, a civil partnership certificate from the UK or a Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) from France.

Common Scenarios A US-citizen employee who has just married his Spanish partner now wants to transfer for work to his New York office. Is there a minimum amount of time they must have been married in order for his new husband to join him? Should his husband apply for a work visa or a green card? How long does the process take?

The process of applying for a green card whilst resident outside the US is referred to as ‘consular processing’. There is no minimum amount of time that a couple must have been married in order to start the process, although this can affect the green card’s validity. US citizens cannot sponsor their spouses (whether opposite- or same-sex) for a temporary work visa; sponsorship is limited to permanent residency (green cards). Depending on what country the couple lives in when they file the paperwork, the process can range from around four months up to a year. During this processing period, the non-US citizen spouse will need to continue residing abroad; she/ he cannot actually move to the US until the process is completed.

An American employee in a Boston company lives with his Australian partner, who has an H-1B work visa. They now plan to get married and the Australian partner plans to apply for a green card. How long do they need to have lived in the US before they can get married there? Once married, how soon can they apply for his green card and how long will it take to be issued?

Each state – and often individual counties within each state – has its own procedural requirements for marriage. In most states the local residency requirements are fairly short, and eligibility information is readily available.

Once the marriage certificate is issued, the couple can immediately file the green card paperwork; there is no minimum amount of time they must wait, although it is wise to first consult an experienced US immigration attorney to discuss timing issues. The process of applying for a green card whilst resident inside the US is referred to as an ‘adjustment of status’. Processing times vary considerably depending on where in the country the 40

application is filed, but it is normal to expect a wait of at least six months. The couple will be required to attend an in-person interview at a local immigration office, where the officer will ask questions and review documentary evidence to determine that it is a legitimate marital relationship. If successful, a green card will follow in the mail within a few weeks.

A female British employee whose company would like to transfer her to the US under an L-1 (intra-company transfer) visa. She and her civil partner have lived together for over 20 years and have two young children. Can her partner apply for an L-2 visa as her dependant spouse?

Under the current law, only couples that are in a valid marriage – and can produce a marriage certificate – are entitled to spousal visas, so unfortunately this employee’s partner cannot obtain an L-2 dependant visa. As an alternative, she may wish to consider a B-2 domestic partner visa, although this category does not allow for work authorisation and is less straightforward with regard to long-term residency rights.

A London-based employee is a dual US-UK citizen, married to a German citizen.

Her company now wishes to relocate her to the Houston office, but understand that same-sex marriage is not recognised in Texas. Can they live there together as a married couple?

US immigration laws apply to the entire country and same-sex couples are not restricted to living in one of the 13 states where same-sex marriages can be performed.

However, remember that individual states are not required to recognise same-sex marriages for purposes of local state law. Therefore, there may be local benefits – such as state tax benefits – that are not available to same-sex couples living there.

A company needs to transfer a US-citizen employee to New York. His husband is British. Given the tax burden placed on permanent residents, their employee’s British husband does not want a green card, but still wants to live in the US with his husband and be able to work there. What are his options?

One of the benefits of US citizenship is the right to sponsor certain family members for permanent residency (green card). However, there is no equivalent right to sponsor them for something less than permanent residency, such as a work visa. If the non-US citizen spouse does not wish to become a permanent resident, she/he will have to qualify independently for another type of visa. The most common work visas include the H-1B, L-1 and E-2.

An employee is a French citizen, married to his French husband. He will be transferred to California on a temporary work visa,

and his husband will be joining him on a dependant visa. Will his husband be able to seek employment in the US as well?

Some dependant visas allow spouses to seek employment whilst others do not. If the primary work visa holder is on an L-1, E-1, E-2 or E-3 visa, the spouse will be able to apply for a work authorisation card. In contrast, no work authorisation is granted to spouses of workers who hold H-1B, O-1 or TN visas. It should also be noted that the process of applying for a work authorisation card is not automatic: The application cannot be filed until the spouse is physically present in the US, and it can take up to three months for the card to arrive in the mail.

As a final point, remember that immigration law is characterised by constant change – as highlighted by this recent Supreme Court decision – and eligibility for benefits must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, please do not treat the contents of this article as legal advice.

Jonathan Davis Solicitor and US Attorney, Fragomen LLP Jonathan is a Solicitor (qualified in both England/ Wales and the Republic of Ireland) and U.S. Attorney at law in our London office. Prior to joining Fragomen, he worked as an Associate at a New York-based niche immigration firm.

As a member of Fragomen’s Foreign Consular Practice (FCP) team, Jonathan assists with U.S. and foreign consular-based applications and immigration into Ireland. Jonathan also has experience with substantive employmentand family-based U.S. immigration casework, including O-1 and EB-1 applications for individuals with extraordinary ability, PERM applications, and adjustment of status applications.

Fragomen LLP 4th Floor, Holborn Gate 326 - 330 High Holborn London, WC1V 7PP United Kingdom T +44 (0) 203 077 5256 jdavis@fragomen.com www.fragomen.com Researched by Sharon Muir

St Johns Wood Estates is an independent boutique agency with a superb level of knowledge and experience of 30 years, working in the most sought after residential areas and blocks in Central, Northwest and West London.

Our in-depth market knowledge and bespoke, personal approach differentiate us from other agencies. We offer you premium property sales, acquisitions, lettings and investment advice and a level of customer attention you won’t find anywhere else in London.

WE ARE BESPOKE, BECAUSE YOU ARE UNIQUE

020 7596 9123

58 Acacia Gardens, London, NW8 6AG info@stjohnswoodestates.com www.stjohnswoodestates.com

You are cordially invited to

The 2014

Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition on

Monday 3rd February 2014 10.00am - 5.00pm at

Hotel Russell, 1-8 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 5BE

This event is FREE TO ATTEND

Come along and meet our exhibitors who have products and services that support expatriates and their families.

There are also free seminars running throughout the day.

You will need to pre-register for the seminars as places are limited so please email helen@theamericanhour.com For further information on this event please call Helen Elliott on 020 8661 0186

Arts & Antiques Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900

by Abby Cronin

Gustav Klimt Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl, 1917-18 © Belvedere, Vienna

The effect of the liberal and democratic reforms posed a threat to the established social position of the ‘Old Viennese’ uppermiddle classes (Bürgertum). They held on to conservative traditions of ancestral belonging and identity which confirmed their place in the social order throughout the 1860s and 1870s.

But with the arrival of the ‘New Viennese’, social positions in hierarchical Viennese society were changing. The ‘New Viennese’, consisting mainly of Jewish audiences, championed modernism, avant-garde artistic experimentation and moral emancipation.

But in the late 1800s, as the economy became less stable, liberal sympathies came under threat. A divided political spectrum fostered the emergence of nationalist, conservative and anti-Semitic mass movements, which

T

he National Gallery’s current exhibition, Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900 explores changing visual conventions in portrait painting at the turn of the twentieth century.

Throughout this period liberal and democratic reforms were ushered in by the Ausgleich (Compromise) of 1867. Religious freedom, together with an expanding multi-faith, multi-national population, promoted urban and economic renewal. The State recognised equality of the many languages spoken, with the exception of Yiddish. These changes attracted vastly diverse groups to the city, and the population virtually doubled between 1880 and 1890. There were numerous national groups, including many with Jewish backgrounds.

Gustav Klimt Portrait of Hermine Gallia, 1904 © The National Gallery, London

challenged modernism in the visual arts as well as music, theatre and literature.

‘Who was who’ in middle class Vienna, 1900? Given the changing political and cultural climate, one way of viewing ‘who was who’ in mainly Christian Viennese society was revealed through portraiture. Portraits revealed the city’s middle classes at their most aspirational. Although the most important artistic style of portraiture was a painting on canvas, works could also take the form of drawings, photographs, postcards and even death masks. Wealthy sitters could choose from a variety of artists, depending on how they wished to be portrayed and how they wished to be perceived by their peers. If they wanted a traditional image, they tended to choose artists with established professional affiliations. But if they wanted a more modern image, wealthy patrons could commission artists affiliated with Modernism and the Secessionist movement founded by Gustav Klimt 1897.

Portraits intertwine with patronage, politics and the creation of taste. They tell a story which helps to establish the sitter’s identity.

And while that identity might be ancestral or contemporary, the visual representation of the sitter is shown in a specific historical and cultural context. Interpreting the visual presentation involves recognising the medium, the scale, dress, even posture. One’s status could be demonstrated and confirmed by a uniform, a rope of pearls, a tiara. Interior furnishings also mattered, for they are integral elements revealing the social position and lifestyle of the individual.

The portraits in the exhibition establish a dialogue between Beidermeier (Old 43

Viennese) and Modern (New Viennese) periods that began with the formation of the Secessionist movement in 1897. Secessionist artists explored the possibilities of art outside the confines of academic traditions. They developed new styles that owed nothing to historical precedents. Rather, their styles and innovative approaches were in keeping with the progressive and iconoclastic spirit of turnof-the-century Vienna. They understood the influence of Freud’s writings and introduced a psychological dimension to their portraits.

Klimt, the most famous Secessionist portraitist in Vienna, is well known to us today. His iconic portraits convey a changing style in art at a time when the avant-garde redefined traditions in portrait painting. During Klimt’s career there was an increase in the number of private patrons and a growing privatisation of the European art market. The works of Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka and their Viennese contemporaries represent a response to modern art movements in the West.

Klimt’s portraits display a refinement of decoration that fills the canvas around the sitter. Both the beauty of his sitters and the surrounding decorative aspects capture and define the subject’s social identity. His clientele came mainly from the upper middle classes and aspired to higher social positions.

They wanted distinctly modern portraits and had little interest in competing with the conventions of established aristocratic families. Seen here is the stunning portrait of Hermine Gallia (1904), a work for which Klimt made several preparatory drawings.

The portrait displays Gallia in a vertical full-length dress which flows like a stream of water along the contours of her body. As with so many of Klimt’s portraits, clothing seems to melt and merge. A subtle ornamental almost oriental exotic style surrounds Gallia, who is seen gazing out of the portrait. Even more remarkable is the portrait of Amalie

Egon Schiele Self Portrait with Raised Bare Shoulder, 1912 © Leopold Museum Private Foundation, Vienna (LM 653)

44

Carl Moll Self-Portrait in His Study, 1906 © Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna

Zuckerkandl (1917-18) which shows the influence of Fauvism. It is not really clear if Amalie is seated or standing. Here colour is more pronounced and the work moves toward abstraction while highlighting Amalie’s very distinctive face.

Egon Schiele, a contemporary of Klimt, painted through what has been described as a Freudian lens. His self-portraits took his own body as a medium of expression. His image in Self-Portrait With Raised Bare Shoulder (1912) reveals a tortured figure painted in thick, expressive strokes from a highly coloured palette. And in his self-portrait of The Family (1918) there is an aura of deep angst. Schiele’s portraiture was regarded as ‘outside’ and marginal to Viennese society. So too was Isidore Kaufmann who painted the Young Rabbi from N (1910). ‘Kaufmann’s rabbi stands as a witness against anti-Semitic accusations that Jews were “ugly” and “disrespectful”.

Significantly, his rabbi exists to address the

Isidore Kaufman, about 1910 Young Rabbi from N © Tate, London 2013

© Frederic Edwin of Church.

Niagara Falls 1867.in cultural difference Jews actively engaging Courtesy of the NationalinGallery. public debate about their position society in order to find shared platforms for culture’. (*) In contrast to Kaufmann’s rabbi, Klimt and others had wealthy middle-class Jewish sitters patrons who strongly identified with Western European culture and wished to demonstrate their respectable position in Viennese society.

Vivid contrasts in portraiture reveal how the upper-middle classes in 1900 Vienna chose to portray themselves. Whose culture was on display? When Carl Moll curated a portraiture exhibition at the progressive Galerie Meithke in 1905, he filled this important presentation with older art, regarded by many as outmoded.

Moll was fully aware of the work of the moderns but in his self-portrait (1906) he presented himself in the style of the past— within the Biedermeier period. In his portrait he presents himself as a professional working at home, at the desk in his study. The setting and style appear Biedermeier even though the portrait was painted in 1906. Moll’s portraits are more about looking to the Austrian past rather than contemporary styles. A much earlier example is Waldmüller’s Portrait of Schaumberg’s Wife (1846). This mid-century alt-Wiener portrait features Schumberg’s wife painted in a traditional style. It is interpreted as representing Schumberg’s affection for his wife. But it also shows the importance of domestic life and family values characteristic of middle-class Viennese in this period.

Assembling the portraits has been a challenging task for curator Gemma Blackshaw; her co-curator, Chris Riopelle; and Alan Farley, who helped to design the layout.

They have devised a way of displaying the portraits that will keep visitors engaged. Space in the main and largest exhibition room is organised using a false wall that runs through

the middle, with portraits shown on both sides, creating a sort of ‘portrait corridor’. This, Blackshaw explains, is exactly how portraits were originally shown at the time. Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900 is a remarkably ambitious venture. The curators have drawn on extensive scholarship and research to find portraits lost long ago either in archives or owned by private lenders. By bringing these portraits together we can learn a great deal about the middle-class cultural milieu and changing visual conventions in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. n

Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900 Exhibition Dates: 9 October 2013 -12 January 2014 National Gallery. Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/ Catalogue: Facing The Modern: The Portrait In Vienna 1900 Gemma Blachshaw with an Introduction by Edmund DE WAAL (*p.159—Shapira) CONTACT: Abby Cronin artsjournalist@abbycronin.co.uk Website: www.abbycronin.co.uk

Portrait of Schaumberg's Wife Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller 1846 © Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Vienna

The 2014 Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition Monday 3rd February, Hotel Russell, Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 5BE

FREE SEMINAR PROGRAMME 10.15am — Third Culture Kids In September 2013, the Daily Telegraph reported on a British Council survey that found over half of young Britains aged 18-24 wished they had at some point studied or worked overseas. The experience of living in a new country can be a tremendous advantage for children who are given the skills to adapt successfully to new languages and cultures. This session for parents, educators, and other professionals who are working with internationallymobile families with children of all ages will address some of the challenges and benefits of a childhood abroad and how, properly managed, the experience can enhance their future educational and career opportunities. – Hosted by Mary Langford, Langford International Education Consultancy.

11.15am — Dual Career- Making It Possible

Dual career can have a significant impact on an international assignment From the decision to accept an assignment to finding a career in the UK many factors can influence this process. Join Geraldine McKenrick, FOCUS career consultant, for a discussion on the challenges and opportunities that accompanying spouses face when seeking employment in the UK.

12.30pm — Taxation Issues Arising In Respect Of US Individuals Moving To The UK

This will cover both employee/employer assignee situations and US individuals coming to the UK. Hosted by Andrew Bailey & Scott Wickham, BDO LLP

1.45pm — Immigration

Hosted by Ferguson Snell, this seminar will be a practical session providing advice on the latest Immigration developments and the implications for businesses and will cover: Immigration Policies Updates, Global Immigration Management, Compliance and Risk Management, and United Kingdom Sponsor Licencing and Management.

If you have an immigration enquiry that you would like our consultants to cover on the day please email your enquiry in advance to fs@fergusonsnell.co.uk.

To register your place for any or all of these FREE seminars, please email helen@theamericanhour.com

45

The American International Church Revd. John A. D’Elia Senior Minister Of The American International Church What’s in a name?

We’ve been asking that question a lot around our church for a while now. What does our name mean? What does it say to those who drop in for a visit? What does it communicate to people who are looking for a place to find a church home in the middle of a big city?

So many Americans come to Britain to live and work and study, tens of thousands of us make our homes here. A generation ago it made sense that we’d all want to hang around together to work and play and even worship together. Organisations have been helping American expats build community in Britain 46

for as long as anyone can remember. Women’s clubs, sports teams, and even churches, all have served to draw people together by being a home-away-fromhome. Even this magazine American in Britain - exists to act as a bridge for people who are learning to makes their lives in a new place.

Since WWII there has been an “American Church in London” serving the expat community here.

It’s never been a place just for Americans, but on the other hand we’ve always tried to be an Americanstyle church alongside the other church traditions in our community. This church and others like it are a part of the fabric here, communities made up of visitors who call Britain home, whether for a short time or a long time.

But along the way something good and hopeful has been happening.

Americans who come to Britain have been engaging the culture around them, perhaps more than they did a generation ago. In our church we’ve seen a dramatic increase in members from Britain and countries all over the world.

On just about any Sunday in our church, more than 30 countries are represented in the congregation, singing, praying, and serving our neighbourhood side-by-side. We have become, almost without trying at all, a truly international community of faith. It’s a beautiful thing.

But it means that our old name no longer describes who we are.

So this Fall we are changing our name from The American Church in London to The American International Church. It’s a better reflection of who we are as a church, and also of who we want to be as we reach out to our neighbours and co-workers. Never again will people have to wonder if our church is only for Americans. Not anymore. It says so right on the door: The American International Church.

There is a miracle in the Bible that describes the start of the Christian church. The Day of Pentecost tells the story of God’s Spirit coming to empower and encourage the early followers of Jesus to help them share the good news they had come to believe. And what was the first thing the Spirit did? Miraculously, the first

John A. D’Elia

apostles of the church starting preaching in the languages of the people around them, people from all over the world. In those days, language was a massive barrier to sharing the message of Jesus, and the Spirit took that barrier and levelled it right in front of everyone’s eyes.

Right from the start, the message of the gospel was meant to be welcoming and inclusive and available to anyone who wanted to listen.

In our church we want to be that welcoming and inclusive and available. We might not be able to preach in every language, but maybe language isn’t the biggest wall we face anymore.

Maybe what we really need is a way of making sure every person knows that they’re welcome in this house. Changing our name to The American International Church is one way we can announce that invitation to every person who sees or hears our name.

And so that’s the main point of this month’s article: Come and see this new thing that God is doing, something that turns out not to be that new at all. Everyone, no matter where they’re from, is welcome to come and grow and serve in this place. It says so, right on the door.

May God bless you and keep you, and if you’ve just moved to Britain, welcome! You’re in for a wonderful adventure. n www.amchurch.co.uk

Useful Numbers EDUCATION - SCHOOLS

ACS International Schools Heywood, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 1BL Telephone: 01932 869721 Email: frose@acs-england.co.uk Website: www.acs-england.co.uk Contact: Fergus Rose Three superb locations close to London, ACS provides a stable environment, high educational standards and a happy social life for relocated youngsters.

DWIGHT SCHOOL LONDON 6 Friern Barnet Lane, London, N11 3LX Contact: Alison Miley Email: amiley@dwightlondon.org Telephone: + 44(0)20 8920 0600 Website: www.dwightlondon.org Twitter: @DwightSchoolUK Dwight School London, formerly known as The North London International School is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School and is one of the first schools in the UK to offer the full IB Programme.

ISL Group of Schools ISL Surrey Old Woking Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 8HY Contact: Claudine Hakim Telephone: +44 (0)1483 750 409 ISL London 139 Gunnersbury Avenue, London W3 8LG Contact: Yoel Gordon Telephone: +44 (0)20 8992 5823 ISL Qatar PO Box 18511, North Duhail, Qatar Contact: Nivin El Aawar Telephone: +974 4433 8600 Website: www.islschools.org

Email: hmulkey@islschools.org Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2012, the International School of London (ISL) Group has schools in London, Surrey, and Qatar.

The internationally recognised primary and secondary curricula have embedded language programmes (mother tongue, English as an Additional Language, and second language) which continue throughout the student’s stay in the school. A team of experienced and qualified teachers and administrators provides every student with the opportunity to grow and learn in an environment that respects diversity and promotes identity, understanding, and a passion for learning.

TASIS THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN ENGLAND Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Surrey TW20 8TE Contact: Karen House Telephone: +44 (0)1932 582316 Email: ukadmissions@tasisengland.org Website: www.tasisengland.org TASIS England offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma, an American college preparatory curriculum, and AP courses to its diverse community of coed day (3-18) and boarding (14-18) students from 50 nations. The excellent academic program, including ESL, is taught in small classes, allowing the individualised attention needed to encourage every student to reach their potential. Outstanding opportunities in art, drama, music, and athletics provide a balanced education. Extensive summer opportunities are also offered. Located close to London on a beautiful and historic 46-acre estate.

Legal Services

AMERICAN BARRISTER IN LONDON Stoke Newington Chambers 143 Stoke Newington Church Street London N16 0UH Contact: Kristin Heimark Email: hello@stokenewingtonchambers.co.uk Website: www.stokenewingtonchambers.co.uk British law is different. Call me for legal advice or representation in court. I'm an American expat and a fully qualified Barrister in England & Wales.

INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS

TRAVELEX INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS UKForex, 2nd Floor, 48-54 Moorgate, London.

EC2R 6EL. Telephone: 0845 609 1356 Website: www.travelex.com/aib Contact: Chris Humphrey – Head of Private Clients Email: ChrisHumphrey@ukforex.co.uk Save money when you make international money transfers For a secure, safe and fast way to perform all

your overseas money transfers.

We regularly check the rates of major banks and key competitors to ensure we give you the best overall quote on your money transfer – that’s the International Payments Price Promise.

With international money transfers to over 50 countries and 24 hour customer service Monday to Friday, it’s easy to see why we are the preferred solution for your international money transfers.

MOVING

DT MOVING 49 Wates Way, Mitcham, Greater London CR4 4HR Tel: 020 7622 4393 Email: london@dtmoving.com Web: www.dtmoving.com Contact: Tim Daniells DT Moving is a long established and awardwinning* international moving company.

Founded in 1870, we have vast experience in moving Americans to and from the United States and to other worldwide destinations. With a customer satisfaction rating of 96% throughout 2012, we offer a quality service at competitive rates. First class storage facilities are available. *Awarded six global moving awards since 2010.

TAXATION

WESTLETON DRAKE LLP 9 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4YF Telephone: +44 (0)20 3178 6041 Fax: +44 (0)20 3178 4083 Email: info@westletondrake.com Website: www.westletondrake.com US and UK tax advisors who specialise in assisting Americans living in the UK, and corporations and partnerships doing business in the US and UK.

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

MASECO Private Wealth Buchanan House 3 St James’s Square London SW1Y 4JU Telephone: +44 (0)20 7043 0455 Email: enquiries@masecopw.com Website: www.masecoprivatewealth.com MASECO Private Wealth gives peace of mind by providing expert guidance to US families on how to simplify their cross-border wealth management needs. We serve and care for Americans living at home or abroad through the planning and implementation of rational, practical and tax efficient wealth management strategies.

If you would like to advertise your company or organisation on our Useful Numbers page please contact damian@theamericanhour.com.

Entries cost £175 per issue or £600 for the year.

47

Changes to US Visa Regulations - Same-Sex Spouses of US Citizens to Receive US Visa Benefits On August 2, 2013, from the US Embassy London’s visa waiting room, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States would give visa applications from same-sex spouses the same preferential consideration typically granted to opposite-sex spouses. Therefore, as long as a marriage has been performed in a jurisdiction that recognises the marriage as legal, then the marriage is considered valid under US immigration law, and every married couple will be treated equally in their consideration for immigrant visas.

Secretary Kerry remarked: “One of our most important exports by far is America’s belief in the equality of all people. Now, our history shows that we haven’t always gotten it right…. And we are still struggling to make equal the rights between men and women and to break the glass ceiling and to make sure that all people are created equal…. We believe in working to do better and to live up to these higher values, and we try to do it in a lot of different ways.”

To read the full transcript of Secretary Kerry’s remarks, please go to: www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/08/212643.htm

The Holidays are Just Around the Corner!

Summer has come to an end, and the holiday season will be here before we know it!

Please double check the expiration dates of your US passports and apply as soon as possible if they need to be replaced. For more about Passport Services at the US Embassy, check out www.london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/acs/passports/index.html.

Before you travel abroad, please take a few moments to sign up for the State Department’s free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/registration/registration_4789.html.

Remember in the past when you had to go in person to the US Embassy to “register” by filling out a 3X5 index card? Now STEP has put that process online, and it is easier than ever. By signing up, you will automatically receive travel updates about the regions in which you will be travelling, and you assist us in providing assistance in case of emergencies.

Remember that our website has useful information ranging from security updates to travel and safety tips, so visit us at www.london.usembassy.gov/service.html.

We also encourage you to “like” our facebook page www.facebook.com/uk.usembassy

48