American in Britain Autumn 2018

AUTUMN 2018

AMERICAN IN BRITAIN Serving the American Community in the UK

FEATURES INCLUDE Eating Out • Wealth Management • Moving To England Theatre • American Expatriate Clubs & News • Cooking • Dentistry Travel • Meet The Artists • Hotel Review • Health Embassy Corner • Taxing Issues

AMERICAN IN BRITAIN

AUTUMN 2018

CONTENTS

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3 Eating Out 8 Hotel Review 11 Travel

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14 Taxing Issues 16 Wealth Management 19 Theatre 22 College Football

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25 Moving To England 26 Cooking

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28 Dentistry 30 Health 33 Meet The Artists

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36 American Women’s Clubs News

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39 Useful Numbers 40 Embassy Corner

ADVISORY PANEL:

PUBLISHER: Helen Elliott, Telephone: 020 8661 0186 Email: helen@theamericanhour.com PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Damian Porter, Telephone: 01737 551506 Email: damian@theamericanhour.com American in Britain, PO Box 921, Sutton SM1 2WB WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

Cover Image: Nassau, Bahamas December 22, 2016 - Atlantis Paradise Island: Helmets for the Old Dominion University Monarchs and the Eastern Michigan University Eagles prior to the 2016 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (Photo

by Ben Solomon / ESPN Images).

No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publishers.

Origination and Printing by Gemini Group

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AMERICAN IN BRITAIN

EATING OUT

EATING OUT

Galvin at Windows

Restaurant Reviews Wahaca

66 Chandos Place, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4HG Telephone: 020 7240 1883 Situated in Covent Garden, as well as several other areas in London and around the UK, including Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Chichester, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, and Southampton, Wahaca serves authentic Mexican food, served tapas style, in a lively and informal atmosphere. The restaurant is so popular you can’t book a table after 6pm, so an early arrival is highly recommended!

The menus are in the format of a paper table mat, and they lay out the various options available. Dishes can be served under several categories, including Nibbles, Street Food, Set Menus, Salads and Bowls and Bigger Plates.

My friend and I chose the Nachos with Chorizo from the Nibbles section, which cost £5.75 and are made up of nachos with Trealy Farm chorizo, house salsas, melted cheese, tomatillo and avocado dressing. Since the review I have already been back to the restaurant with my family, and this dish was one of the reasons I returned to the restaurant so quickly as they were delicious, and I will be trying to recreate the dish at home with chorizo as it gave the dish a spicy, oily taste which I love!

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For our main courses, we chose the Favourite Set Menu which cost £35 for two and included Devon Crab & Avocado Tostadas, Chorizo Empanadas, Sweet Potato & Feta Taquito, Pork Pibil Quesadillas, Buttermilk Chicken Tacos, Mexican Grilled Corn, and Grilled Tenderstem Broccoli. Dishes arrive as they are cooked, rather than coming in an order, and at times can come fast and furiously, but the different flavours all work well with each other, with some being much more spicy than others, but there is a good selection of beers, cocktails and soft drinks to help cool you down!

If ordering from the Street Food section, it is recommended that you choose 2-3 dishes, and these can include Tacos (soft corn tortillas), Quesadillas (flour tortilla, filled, folded & toasted), Tostadas (crispy corn tortillas with fresh toppings) and Platitos (small plates inspired by the market) with fillings such as Grilled Chicken and Avocado, Black Bean and Cheese and Sweet Potato & Feta Taquito.

The Bigger Plate section offers exactly that, a plate of food that is more for one person as an entire course rather than a sharing plate.

Dishes under this section include Burritos, Enchiladas and Grill dishes such as Grilled Achiote Chicken, Grilled Sea Bream Ajillo, and Bavette Steak, and these range in price from £12.85 - £13.75.

Vegetarians are well catered for at Wahaca, with a Veggie Set Menu and many of the dishes being filled with various vegetables and cheese.

The prices are Wahaca are also very reasonable, with many dishes being around £5.

The staff are very efficient, especially as they are so busy, but are more than happy to explain and recommend dishes, and are friendly in their approach to their customers.

All in all Wahaca has a great recipe for success, with good food, a great atmosphere and is a great choice for friends and families alike.

For further information please visit www.wahaca.co.uk

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Gravetye Manor Hotel & Restaurant Vowels Lane, West Hoathly, Sussex RH19 4LJ Telephone: 01342 810 567

Nestled amongst 1,000 acres of tranquil Sussex countryside, a short drive from East Grinstead, sits Gravetye Manor. This historic manor house was built in 1598 by the son of a local Sussex family who wanted to build a home for himself and his bride. Today you can still see their initials carved into the stonework over the main entrance.

Fast forward nearly two hundred years later to a time when the manor was owned by William Robinson, a passionate gardener, regarded by some as one of the greatest gardeners of all time, and a pioneer of the ‘English Natural Garden’. He first realised his new style of garden at Gravetye, which was subsequently admired and copied all over the world.

The manor first became a hotel in 1958, and established a reputation for offering the best kind of country house hospitality. Sixty years after first opening its doors to guests, we had the pleasure of visiting Gravetye.

After weeks of glorious unbroken sunshine we were disappointed to set off in torrential rain, however, as we drove the long winding approach to the manor, we were lucky enough to find ourselves bathed in sunshine. This allowed us to enjoy a drink in the stunning gardens before heading inside for dinner.

What a beautiful spot this is - deep borders filled with foliage in every shade of green and blooms so stunning, you could be at Kew or Wisley or any of the great Gardens.

As part of the celebrations commemorating the hotel’s 60thanniversary, the newly built restaurant was opened. This is a modern addition to the original 16thcentury building, simplistic in appearance, with floor to ceiling glass walls that provide uninterrupted views of the garden. We took our seats and felt as if we were sitting in amongst the flowers themselves!

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The menu is the work of Head Chef George Blogg, and changes not just seasonally, but daily to reflect the freshly available produce.

Every ingredient is locally sourced, many coming from the manor’s own kitchen garden.

With a Michelin star to its name, the style here is ‘modern British gastronomy’ featuring dishes such as Hampshire Chalk Stream Trout with forced sea kale, trout roe, potato salad and sorrel yoghurt, and Slow Cooked Pheasant Eggs with cured pork fat, roasted pink potato and charred spring onion. On this occasion, we selected from the seasonal three-course menu priced at £75, but other options include a Daily Fixed Price Menu (3 courses £50), a Tasting Menu (£90 for 7 courses), and a very appealing looking Sunday Lunch (£50 for three courses).

To start, I opted for Heritage Tomato Textures, a dish that resembled a work of art, comprising white peach pieces, torched prawns, gremolata and marigold all beautifully arranged in a circular pattern.

The flavours were delicate and together with the contrasting textures provided the perfect embodiment of summer in a dish. My partner chose Charcoal Flamed Native Lobster, with baby carrot, fennel tops and a verbena buttermilk sauce. He was in raptures at the lobster meat - enjoying every morsel.

Amongst dishes such as the wonderful sounding Dingley Dell Pork and Romney Salt Marsh Lamb, we selected Loin of Newhaven Haddock and Creedy Carver Duck for our main courses. I loved the flavour brought to the haddock by the chicken jus and caramelised cauliflower, which accompanied it. I was left wanting to lick the plate clean (I resisted, but only just). The spiced leg of duck was served with parsley root, pak choi and mulled damson, and was immensely enjoyed by my husband. With wine paired to our choices by a very friendly, knowledgeable Sommelier, we couldn’t fault the experience - service, flavour, quality, ambience everything was memorable and impeccable. It was no surprise then that our desserts lived up to the high expectations that had been set so far.

To finish I opted for the Guanaja Dark Chocolate Bar, whilst my husband chose a selection of British Isles Artisan Cheeses. Any concerns I’d had that the chocolate might prove too heavy or bitter, were quickly dispelled upon the first mouthful. It was heavenly.

Sweet without being sickly, enhanced with the addition of sea salt and cocoa nibs and light enough to enjoy the whole bar without regret.

The cheeses were served from a trolley - with the added excitement of being able to select the ones you’d like from a most impressive array. I don’t think either of us realised how varied and delicious British Isles cheeses could be.

We didn’t want the evening to end, and in an effort to prolong the experience, we retired to the lounge to enjoy our mint tea and selection of petits fours. Away from the modern interior of the restaurant the rest of the hotel has the charm and grandeur befitting an old English manor house. Upstairs there are 17 bedrooms including two suites, furnished with restored antiques, original paintings and quirky period features. Downstairs the lounges and library continue to reflect this quintessential English charm and provide the perfect setting to enjoy afternoon tea, or pre-dinner drinks.

Gravetye Manor is a beautiful place.

Whether you enjoy a three-course meal, seven-course tasting menu or Afternoon Tea, the exemplary food and service make it an experience you won’t forget. Just be sure to take a stroll through the garden.

EATING OUT

PF Chang’s Asian Table

10 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA Telephone: 01923 555161 Just near to the heart of London is the first UK restaurant of the US chain PF Chang. The location is a former jazz club on the edge of Chinatown and has been designed like an upmarket New York restaurant with exposed pipes zigzagging the roof overlooking a large bar occupying the lefthand side of the room and high tables on the right. A little further down the restaurant there are lower tables for a more romantic meal, and at the end there is a spacious open kitchen where the chefs buzz around weaving their magic.

We visited on a Wednesday night and despite it being early in the evening the bar, high tables and lower tables were full of people and there was a lively buzz of people having a good time. We were led to our table and once seated selected a cocktail from their ‘Bar Lab’ whilst perusing the menus. PF Chang prides itself on the quality of its ingredients and that it is sourced locally and the selection makes choices difficult.

We started with a PF Chang special the Original Dynamite Shrimp (£13.5), which is described as ‘always imitated, never duplicated’ and is a very generous portion of crispy tempura battered shrimps, spicy Sriracha aioli and spring onions, served in a cocktail glass. The prawns were fresh and smothered in a lightly spiced sauce and it WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

took all my restraint not to order another one! I can’t imagine how many they produce each evening, as we saw cocktail glass after cocktail glass pass our table throughout the evening, so I am sure the reputation of how good this dish is has got around!

We followed this up with the Original Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps (£9.5) where you take the finely diced rich wok fried chicken, mushrooms, spring onions and water chestnuts and wrap them in lettuce cups to form a healthy pancake. The chicken and mushrooms are well seasoned and the spring onion gives some texture and it is lovely that something so healthy tastes good as well. The next stop on our journey through the menu led us to the indulgent Handmade Lobster and Shrimp Spring Roll (£14.5) where the sweetest lobster claw and knuckle meat, shrimp and chives are lovingly hand rolled and fried. This is all served with a lightly spiced Thai curry aioli. The batter was light and crisp offsetting the soft lobster and crab and the aioli was delicate enough to enhance rather than smother the lobster and crab flavour.

I am now a convertee to sushi and I would recommend the Black Truffle Rainbow Sushi Roll (£10.5) and the Dragon Roll (£9.25). Both are special, and the strong flavours of tuna and salmon encased in perfectly sticky rice was a delight to our taste buds.

After a pause to enjoy our surroundings and a lovely fruity South African Chenin Blanc (£29), we tackled the mains and finally selected the Mongolian Beef (£11.5), rich and tender chunks

of Flank Steak caramelised with their signature dark soy sauce and garlic served with spring onion, and the Kung Pao Chicken (£10.5) along with fried rice (£5.25) and Wok Seared Tempura Cauliflower (£4.25), which although being really tasty, was slightly disappointing as it wasn’t in batter which I would expect a tempura to be.

The Mongolian Beef was rich and succulent and the Kung Pao sauce nicely piquant without being overpowering.

PF Chang has its own pastry kitchen downstairs (they call it a pastry lab) and it was this kitchen that created our desserts. It is unusual to have such a specialised kitchen but the results are proof that more should as my dessert, the White Chocolate Bomb (£7) was lovely, but my wife’s selection of the deconstructed Lemon Meringue (£6) was spectacular. I am of the opinion that there are too many chefs that deconstruct classic dishes just for the sake of it, and unless the ‘deconstruction’ improves the dish it shouldn’t be done. In this case the deconstruction truly improved the dish and the two types of meringue one soft one crunchy, the balls of lemon ice cream, shortbread, white chocolate and popping candy just danced over our taste buds. We couldn’t tell the staff enough times how delicious we thought the dish was!

PF Chang offers quality food in a modern stylish environment right in the heart of London, and for lovers of Asian food we highly recommend the restaurant - don’t forget to leave room for the desserts as they are worth the visit alone.

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Planet Hollywood London

57-60 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4QX Telephone: 020 7287 1000 Every time we have visited Planet Hollywood London, we have always had a great time as the atmosphere is vibrant and the food is good. It is always busy, and the evening we visited was no exception. Our children were very excited to join us, and enjoyed the buzz and party vibe as we entered the restaurant after a busy and sunny day in Camden. There were a number of other families, parties and couples around us also enjoying an evening out together.

Planet Hollywood, the world’s one and only dining experience inspired by the glamour of Hollywood, was launched in New York on 22nd October 1991. This innovative restaurant chain was launched with the backing of Hollywood megastars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Demi Moore.

Planet Hollywood London, opened its doors in its’ original Trocadero Centre location on the 17th May 1993 in London’s buzzing Piccadilly Circus, and I really remember my first visit to this ‘place to be’ in 1993 for my 20th birthday celebrations.

Earlier this year they celebrated 25 amazing years in London. In 2009, Planet Hollywood moved into its new home on the Haymarket (which is only a 3-minute walk from Piccadilly Circus).

As you walk through the entrance (by The Terminator) there is a large and welcoming cocktail bar. The main restaurant is a large space, and also comprises several themed areas: The Bond Room, British Room and the Beach Bar Style, Cabanas room. There are over 85 pieces of iconic movie memorabilia on display plus the popular Wall of Celebrity Handprints.

Our booth was next to the chalice and whip from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade – one of my all-time favourite movie franchises and hero!

With its impressive historic celebrity backing in mind, you would hope that the quality of the food matches the reputation of the venue, and luckily it does! The menu (it’s a book) is extensive, with a wide range of choices, but again the friendly waiting staff are on hand to give useful advice. The starters include Nachos, Garlic Pizza, Chicken Crunch, Buffalo Wings and Texas Tostados. We started with the VIP Platter (£21.50) – perfect for a family of four, providing a good sample of the other starters on offer. It includes Five Cheese Dip with Corn Tortilla Chips, Buffalo Wings, Texas Tostados, Chicken Crunch and Potato Skins.

This was a substantial platter and we especially enjoyed the spicy kick of the Wings. We also ordered (at the request of a very hungry 15-year old) Fried Jumbo Shrimp (£10.95) - six large Shrimp accompanied by a spicy sriracha sauce and served on cabbage slaw to complement the spicy sauce. I was allowed to sample one, and the shrimp was deliciously meaty, and tasted great with the sauce.

There is a mouth-watering selection of main courses, including Burgers, Steaks, Grills, Specialities & Fish, Sandwiches & Hot Dogs, 6

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authentic Asian, Pasta, Salads, Pizzas, and even an extensive Gluten Free Menu. Basically, a meal to suit every taste and appetite! There is also a great Kids Meal Deal for only £9.50, a good value pre-Theatre Menu, and a Group Menu for parties and bigger gatherings. They also offer special menus for Thanksgiving (22 November) including Pumpkin Soup and Traditional roast turkey.

Planet Hollywood is probably best-known for its Burgers. Their Burgers are served in a fresh baked brioche bun with a trio of assorted fries or a House Salad (you can upgrade to Sweet Potato Fries for £1 extra). They are also made from the finest dry-aged grass-fed UK beef from Royal Warrant holding butcher, Donald Russell.

You can choose 200 grams or 280 grams options, and they are priced from £13.50 with a variety of appetising options including Surf & Turf. There is also a Veggie Burger (£11.95) or Cajun Spiced Chicken Burger (£12.95).

My youngest son selected the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, topped with Hickory Smoked Bacon, barbeque sauce, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle. This will satisfy any burger lover (count me in on this one), and was successfully cleaned up by our son.

I chose the Surf and Turf Prime Sirloin Steak (260 grams) - 28 days matured grass-fed beef, chargrilled to medium (as always!) and served with shrimp, creole mustard sauce, a trio of assorted fries, grilled tomato and green beans (£27.50). The steak was delicious, succulent and complemented well with the sauce.

Options from the Grills, Specialities and Fish menu are all very appealing. Our eldest son (the hungry 15-year old), chose the Hickory-Smoked Barbecue Combo (priced at £16.75), which offered a full rack of tender baby ribs smothered in a deliciously tangy sweet barbeque sauce and served with fries and coleslaw (£17.95). This boy loves his meat, and unsurprisingly his meal was heartily enjoyed, proven by the empty plate!

My wife selected one of their Sizzling Vegetable Fajitas (£14.95) which were served with grilled mushrooms, broccoli sizzling onions, red and green peppers, fresh guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, mild red and white cheddar cheese, Mexican rice and flour tortillas, and she thoroughly enjoyed her choice.

The wine selection offers plenty of choice, and we enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Noir (Australian, £27.50) with our meal. The large bar also caters for a fantastic range of beverages including beer, cider, Martini and Champagne.

I knew we would have to save some room for

dessert - we had promised the kids after all! The dessert list offers a fabulous selection, and the range will appeal to any sweet-toothed individual.

If my main meal hadn’t have been so big, I would have ordered the Toblerone Cheesecake, but instead we helped the kids select, and ‘sampled’ theirs. We enjoyed a ‘Super Nova’ Shake Chocolate Comet (£8.50), which is a hand-dipped chocolate milkshake, covered in chocolate brownie frosting, candy, chocolate peanut butter cups, brownies and a cookie straw. The chocolate on the side of the mug just cracked off and we all shared the chocolate filled with the treats. We also sampled the hand-dipped Strawberry MilkShake; thick and creamy with 3 scoops of ice cream (£5.50) - yummy and prevented a chocolate overload! The Key Lime Pie Star Jar and Double Chocolate Chip Brownie are also now appealing as I write this review, but next time I visit, I am planning to indulge in the Chocolate Brownie Super Sundae (£13.95), which I may, or may not share! It looks like a meal in itself.

As you enjoy your meal there is always something to entertain you, from the music videos, movie clips and messages on the screens (tell them beforehand if you are going for a special occasion), to the memorabilia that surrounds you. The music is loud (courtesy of the DJ), and there were many songs the whole restaurant embraced and enjoyed together. I can recall tracks from Abba and Dirty Dancing, which particularly excited the group of ladies next to us! From memory, they also run a camera over the restaurant, which you could see on the large screens – maybe it’s something they do later in the evening, and it all adds to the fun and party-like experience.

The service throughout was very good, and seems to work as a well-oiled machine. Staff are cheerful, pleasant and helpful with menu choices, and cater very well to the kids.

Planet Hollywood also undoubtedly houses some of the most fascinating and important pieces of film history, and there are always the high school placemats where we managed to work out each famous face! Take some time to look around if you can.

Whether dining with friends, family, colleagues or clients, Planet Hollywood is an ideal venue for large or small groups, with parties easily accommodated, for either lunch, pre-theatre or dinner. It is a fun venue, which is more than just a restaurant. If you haven’t yet visited, add it to your list – either book before or get there early, as it can get very busy.

St John’s Wood Estate Agency

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HOTEL REVIEW The Salutation Hotel, Restaurant and Gardens Sandwich, Kent

There are certain things that are quintessentially English, like Afternoon Tea and Fish and Chips, and the quaint village of Sandwich is another.

Sandwich is a historic town on the River Stour and is one of the Cinque Ports, a group of five towns on the South Coast, significant in providing military protection to England.

Sandwich still has many of its original medieval buildings, including several listed public houses, gates in the old town walls, churches, almshouses and the White Mill, as well as the single lane toll bridge which brings you over the River Stour into the town.

One of the more significant buildings in Sandwich stands a stone’s throw from the river and is home to a restaurant, hotel and stunning gardens. This period building houses the current Salutation and was the brainchild of Gaspard Farrer, a banker who needed a seaside retreat from his job in London to help him with his asthma. Gaspard teamed up with his brothers and commissioned the foremost architect of the time, Edwin Lutyns, to build a summer retreat close to St George’s Golf Club and the picturesque Sandwich Bay in 1912.

On leaving the main road you enter a spacious courtyard surrounded by buildings stretching back to Lutyns era, and you immediately feel that you are stepping back in time. You enter the main house via steps sweeping up from the forecourt to double entrance doors in the west façade. The old reception hall, which houses the hotel reception, has two corkscrew columns, and leads to five principal rooms on the ground floor. To the right there is a lounge and an airy bar that leads on to a delightful terrace overlooking the bowling lawn and to the left the dining room and kitchens.

The Salutation is a boutique 17 bedroom hotel with several options of accommodation, including rooms in the main house, as well as self-catering options such as the Gardeners 8

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Cottage and the Coach House. We spent the night in the Coach House and it is so lovely I would happily live there! The converted Coach House, has a new, light wood and white kitchen with all the amenities you would need to self-cater, whilst investigating the surrounding area, and then upstairs there are two bedrooms (one en-suite), a second bathroom, and a large, open plan lounge and dining room with a huge fireplace along one wall. The décor and furnishing expertly complement the age of the building, and although there are clearly modern items (TV, shower etc.,) the overall feeling created by the furniture and décor is that guests feel like they are staying in a private house rather than a non-descript hotel room. This immediately makes you feel relaxed and at home. Our bedroom was dominated by a large king-sized bed covered by a soft duvet encased in fine crisp linen.

Having freshened up after our journey from London we went across the courtyard to the bar’s terrace to have a pre-dinner drink. The terrace is reserved for residents, and is a wonderful sun trap with a stunning view of St Clement’s Church framed by swaying popular trees, and is the perfect place to enjoy a drink whilst the sun sets.

The Salutation is not just a boutique hotel it also boasts a top quality restaurant which is reknown throughout the area. The kitchen has received a recent makeover and is now ultra modern, and this kitchen services all of the food served, including a laid-back lunch menu, a sumptuous cream tea, and à la carte dining including a five course tasting menu.

The restaurant utilises local produce including items from the garden, and celebrates all that is good about English produce. Having enjoyed our pre-dinner drinks we made our way to one of the dining rooms, separated from the kitchen by a wall of glass giving amazing views of your meal being prepared. We selected the tasting

menu and were not disappointed when a selection of snacks were served as the aperitif to our culinary journey. Smoked Salmon on a crisp bread with whiskey mousse soon disappeared, along with the succulent Pork Belly in a cheese crème. Then, before our first course, we were served a selection of homemade breads including a brioche, a Guinness sourdough and a focaccia with a moreish salty edge. The first course was minimalistically described as Trout, and the robust meaty fish was enhanced with a tangy, but not overpowering horseradish sauce. The second course, named Octopus, unsurprisingly, had fresh sautéed Octopus and White Crab with house made chorizo with avocado, pimento jam and octopus bisque and was good, but to me was far too complicated as the octopus, avocado and chorizo flavours clashed rather than complemented each other.

In keeping with the local produce (you are right by the sea) our third course was also fish, titled Halibut. Halibut is such an underrated fish and is lovely and chunky, but does need a sympathetic accompaniment to bring out the flavour, and here it was a bitter orange and olive oil emulsion which was a perfect foil. The fourth course was Pork. This was my personal favourite as I love well cooked pork belly which melts on your knife. This was served with lightly spiced Moroccan lentils in a crispy ball, giving a lovely contrast of textures. Desert, named Yuzu, was a light citrus sponge with a sharp and crisp Kalamanzi sorbet, which provided a well-balanced and light end to the meal. Having enjoyed the delights of the restaurant we retired to our welcoming bed and sank into the soft duvet to enjoy a truly relaxing night’s sleep.

The next morning we decided to enjoy the third prong of The Salutation’s offering, namely its stunning gardens. These gardens are well known, and people come from far and wide to enjoy the varied sections, and The Salutation has recently received an award from the Hampton Court Flower show.

HOTEL REVIEW As you walk through the 4 acres of gardens you pass through a myriad of plants of different styles and species, all enhancing the view of the stunning house, and it is no surprise that The Salutation is a mecca for plant lovers. If you are staying in the hotel these gardens are all yours to enjoy at your leisure until the gardens open to the public at 10am.

The Salutation is an eclectic mix as it is a hotel, a restaurant and a garden, and its sum is so much greater than its constituent parts. It is difficult to explain, but there is such a lovely calm about this place where you instantly feel relaxed and totally at home, which is perfect for that weekend getaway or a longer stay to investigate the stunning scenery and sights in the area.

The Salutation, Knightrider Street, Sandwich, Kent, CT13 9EW Telephone: 01304 619919 Website: www.the-salutation.com

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YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN

AMERICAN IN BRITAIN FOR A

FREE

FINANCIAL EVENT FOR AMERICANS LIVING IN THE UK Monday 5th November at 12pm Smith & Wollensky, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT The discussion will include a general US/UK tax update and cover several relevant cross-border tax planning topics, including managing US tax nuances of UK real estate ownership, using remittance basis taxation to leverage the closing window of opportunity to cleanse mixed accounts in the US through April of 2019, and optimising ISA investments to avoid US tax problems.

While US-based entrepreneurs may reap tax savings from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, the same is not true for American expat business owners. Beginning with the 2018 tax year, US owners of UK private limited companies will face negative tax implications from their business operations overseas. Developing an effective tax planning strategy this year will be crucial.

Roland Sabates, managing partner of Expat Legal Services Group and owner of American Tax Partners, will address the specific impact of this new legislation on American expat entrepreneurs and outline various strategies for reducing your tax burden.

To register your free place at this event, please email helen@theamericanhour.com and put Tax Seminar Registration in the subject We look forward to seeing you there Sponsored by:

TRAVEL

TRAVEL Reykjavik, Iceland Affectionately known as the island of Fire and Ice, Iceland is located in the North-Atlantic ocean close to the Arctic Circle and is very much a bridge between continents. It takes approximately five hours to fly from New York to Reykjavík, and three hours from London, so is fast becoming a stop-over for readers who are heading home to visit family or for the holidays. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, Iceland enjoys a cool, temperate maritime climate, with refreshing summers and surprisingly mild temperatures in winter.

Icelandic culture has been shaped by isolation and the extreme forces of nature, and these conditions have created a resilient population, where family ties are close, the sense of tradition is strong, and the bond with nature is tight.

During the heatwave that the UK was experiencing this summer, I decided that my husband, step-daughter and I were going to cool off by heading to Iceland, a country that has been on my ‘to visit’ list for far too long.

Although we knew it would be cooler than WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

it was in the UK, we were unlucky with the weather as they were experiencing a much colder summer than usual, which meant that our whale watching trip, that was going to be the highlight of our tour, along with the puffin watching, was cancelled. However, this may be the excuse I need to return, as I found the island wonderfully fascinating!

From a geological standpoint, Iceland is a very young country, still in the midst of its own creation. Shaped by the forces of nature, the, barren landscapes demonstrate the creativity powers of the four basic elements-earth, air, fire, and water-in a dramatic way. Active volcanoes, bright green valleys, glacier-cut fjords, black sand beaches, and roaring rivers are the most distinctive features of the Icelandic landscape.

And although they are very accessible, they still remain virtually untouched by human civilisation. In a fast-paced world of sprawling development, Iceland’s pure nature and empty expanses stand out as a luxury.

Despite the name, “ice” only covers about

10% of the land, but still represents the largest glaciers left in Europe. It represents a source of pure water and symbolises the purity of Icelandic products. Icelanders are proud of their close ties to nature, and dedicated to preserving this natural wealth through responsible conservation. According to the Environmental Performance Index, created by the World Economic Forum in 2012, Iceland is the world’s greenest country. Iceland is at the forefront of renewable energy production, and nearly every home in the country is supplied with heating and energy from renewable energy sources.

We flew into Keflavík International Airport and hired a car for our three day trip, and my advice for readers who also hire a car is send one of your party out of baggage collection to collect it as soon as possible, as the queue to collect the car took almost as long as the flight itself, and that is no joke! However, once we were in our four wheeled friend, we headed off to Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital city.

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The country is very flat, and in the summer most of the roads are lined with beautiful purple flowers, and sheep and Icelandic ponies can be seen in fields on a regular basis.

The journey took about half an hour and was easy to navigate, although finding the location for the key to our AirBNB proved slightly more tricky! However, once we had found it and had settled in, we went for a stroll around the area in which we were staying.

One of the main, and largest sights in Reykjavik is Hallgrimskirkja Church, which is really unusual architecturally speaking, and the interior is incredibly simple.

It was designed by the late Guðjón Samúelsson in 1937, who was often inspired in his endeavours by the fascinating shapes and forms created when lava cools into basalt rock.

Construction of the church began in 1945 and ended in 1986, with the tower completed long before the rest of the building. The crypt beneath the choir was consecrated in 1948, the steeple and wings completed in 1974 and the nave consecrated in 1986.

The church features, most notably, a gargantuan pipe organ designed and constructed by the German organ builder Johannes Klais of Bonn. Standing tall at an impressive 15m and weighing a remarkable 25 tons, this mechanical action organ is driven by four manuals and a pedal, 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes, all designed to reproduce 12

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powerful notes capable of filling the huge and holy space with a range of tones - from the dulcet to the dramatic. Its construction was completed in December 1992 and has since been utilised in a variety of recordings, including some by Christopher Herrick.

Standing directly in front of the church, and predating it by 15 years, is a fine statue of Leifur Eiríksson (c. 970 – c. 1020) – the first European to discover America. Records suggest that Leifur landed on the shores of the new world in the year 1,000 A.D., that’s 500 years before Christopher Columbus. The statue, which was designed by Alexander Stirling Calder was a gift from the United States in honour of the 1930 Alþingi Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the establishment of Iceland’s parliament at Þingvellir in 930 AD. Reykjavik has an enormous selection of restaurants and bars in which to dine, and we chose a restaurant that served raclette – melted cheese, with cold meats, potatoes, pickles and salads, which was delicious. Fish is an obvious choice with fresh fish caught daily locally, and we also opted for a delicious Thai meal on our last night. Food and drink is expensive, with pizzas costing from £20 each on average, and a pint of beer averages around £10, but as long as you know this is going to be an expensive trip and are prepared for that, you will get good quality food in restaurants with great atmosphere.

As we were only there for three days we had planned our trip down to the second, and on day two we had planned to drive The Golden Circle ourselves, which personally I thought was a better option than taking a pre-booked tour, as we could choose how long we stayed at each of the stops.

We headed off early in the morning, which was great as it meant we were always a few miles ahead of the crowds, and our first stop was the Thingvellir National Park, a region of untouched beauty steeped in ancient history.

Learn how it’s home to the original, outdoor site of Iceland’s first parliamentary assembly, the Althingi, that began in 930, and see the extraordinary Thingvellir rift, where the tectonic plates of America and Eurasia face each other over a narrow valley.

Our next stop, and one of our favourites, was the Gulfoss waterfall. If you can, turn off at the first turning advertising the waterfalls as this will prevent you from walking down a steep hill, and back up it again! The waterfall was amazing, with its crashing water and heavy spray, and we got completely soaked as we walked to the tip of it, so a change of clothes or a waterproof mac are highly recommended! It is a beautiful sight however, so well worth the stop.

From there we drove to a favourite stop along The Golden Circle, Geysir, a highly active Geysir Hot Spring Area with boiling mud pits, exploding geysers and the lively Strokkur which spouts water 30 metres (100 ft) into the air every few minutes. The newly opened

Geysir Centre offers exhibits and informative presentations year round. Geysir Hot Spring Area is one of the most popular tourist stops in Iceland, and we must have watched them erupt at least nine times, sometimes more forcibly than others!

The geothermal field is believed to have a surface area of approximately 3 km². Most of the springs are aligned along a 100m wide strip of land running in the same direction as the tectonic lines in the area, from south to southwest. The strip is 500m long and culminates near what once was the seat of the lords of Haukadalur.

The area became active more than 1000 years ago and comprises more than a dozen hot water blow holes. Although the geyser is less active these days, it did lend its name to hot springs all over the world. It was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans.

The highlight of our trip, and something that was also on my ‘to visit’ list, was The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa in southwestern Iceland which is one of the 25 Wonders of the World. The spa is located in a lava field near Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, in a location favourable for geothermal power, and is supplied by water used in the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station. The Blue Lagoon is approximately 20 km from Keflavík International Airport, and is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland.

Ticket prices vary, depending on the experience you would like to have, but we just bought entrance tickets, which included entry into the lagoon, a face mask whilst in the lagoon, and a drink (including beer and wine).

Extra drinks can be bought for an additional cost, as can treatments and extra face masks.

The water is a beautiful temperature, with steam rising as the outdoor air is very much cooler than the water. The masks can be applied in one area of the lagoon, and the bar is in another, and we spent two hours just enjoying the warmth of the water, and a cold beer!

As mentioned earlier, Iceland is one of the best places in the world to go whale or puffin watching, with various companies offering different trips from the harbour, including a rib ride where you can get very much closer to the whales and puffins, which is what we had chosen to do (again this is not a cheap experience),and as it got cancelled due to the inclement weather we will have to return in the hope that we will be able to enjoy this amazing experience another time.

One of the other experiences we missed out on, but knew we would as we went at the wrong time of year for this, is the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, where the skies light up at night in the most incredible colours. The best time of year to experience this is February, March, September and October and many companies offer trips to head out to see them, either on land or on a boat.

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13

TAXING ISSUES 2017 US Tax Changes Adversely Impact American Expat-Owned UK Businesses As a result of the US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“2017 TCJA”), American expats operating UK private limited companies will encounter a harsher landscape beginning in 2018. In this article, we explore one of the major changes of the 2017 TCJA disproportionately impacting American expat-owned UK businesses and suggest various strategies to mitigate the negative result.

The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Of 2017

Prior to the 2017 TCJA, American expats operating UK businesses through private limited companies could generally avoid US income tax on the residual earnings and profits until dividends were actually distributed. It followed that if a UK private limited company did not earn any of its income in the United States, the United States did not tax the income of the UK company unless a dividend was distributed or compensation was paid for services. Thus, using a foreign corporate entity to defer tax on net earnings overseas was always an effective pre-2018 tax strategy so long as the company was not classified as a controlled foreign corporation (“CFC”).

A CFC is a foreign corporation, owned greater than 50% by US persons who own at least 10% of the shares in the corporation. Under prior law, even if a foreign company was classified as a CFC, an American expat owner was still able to defer ordinary business profits from US tax unless generating investment earnings or income from certain related-party transactions.

A major policy change was implemented this year by the 2017 TCJA as the United States shifted toward a territorial based system of corporate taxation, which for US corporate taxpayers, may eliminate US tax exposure entirely. The underlying congressional policy is designed to encourage repatriation of foreign earnings back to United States. Unfortunately, individual shareholders fare miserably under this new regime when compared to US multinationals and other corporate shareholders of foreign corporations.

Overview Of The New Global Intangible LowTaxed Income (GILTI) Tax

The crux of the international provisions of the 2017 TCJA is a new GILTI tax on “intangible income” deemed attributable to US shareholders of CFCs. The tax is clearly 14

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mislabelled as, in practice, it catches a much broader range of income, encompassing most service-based businesses and retail or inventory heavy operations. In sharp contrast, CFCs with substantial manufacturing operations requiring significant investment in plant and equipment may be able to avoid the GILTI tax altogether.

The GILTI tax operates to tax the US shareholder currently as a constructive dividend on their proportionate share of the CFC earnings for the tax year if they exceed a threshold amount. This threshold is 10% of the book value of the shareholder’s proportionate share of depreciable tangible assets in service in the business, less interest payments made to the shareholder and not reported as income.

Congress did not have the stomach to impose a full 21% tax on the income attributable to the GILTI inclusion and enacted section 250, which allows a 50% deduction for US parent corporations, thereby reducing the tax rate on such income to 10.5%. An 80% foreign tax credit is also available to the parent, eliminating the US tax exposure for operators in countries with corporate rates in excess of 12%..

The problem is that an American expat owner of a UK private limited company is not entitled to either the 50% deduction under section 250 or the 80% foreign tax credit that would be available to a US corporate owner.

The unfortunate result is current tax exposure at US individual marginal rates (up to 37%) on the respective share of corporate profits, with no offsetting foreign tax credit for UK corporate tax paid. To make matters worse, while the profits deemed distributed under the GILTI rules will not be taxed again in the US once actually paid as a dividend, this dividend would still be taxable in the UK if in excess of the annual dividend exclusion, thus creating a serious foreign tax credit timing mismatch issue that could produce double taxation.

Strategies To Mitigate The Harshness Of GILTI For Individual Taxpayers

The harshness of the GILTI tax exposure to individual shareholders who have a significant ownership in a foreign corporation was not likely on the minds of the drafters of the 2017 TCJA. Unfortunately, American expats were inadvertently exposed to the GILTI tax with limited options to reduce its exposure before the act was passed. Unless Congress

addresses this unfair result immediately by remedial legislation, which is unlikely to occur, it is incumbent upon individual taxpayers who are US shareholders in a CFC to find an effective strategy to mitigate the harshness of this new tax.

Three of the more prominent strategies available are described below: establishing a US holding company, making a pass-through entity election, and making an election to apply corporate tax rates.

US Corporate Holding Company

One option to consider would be transferring individually owned shares to a newly formed US corporation. Once the stock of the CFC is owned by the US corporation, the GILTI tax exposure would generally be eliminated on account of the 50% deduction under section 250 and the 80% foreign tax credit for UK corporate tax paid.

Assuming the new holding company can control the CFC’s dividend policy, then it could cause the foreign corporation to distribute its earnings. These dividends would be nontaxable to the US corporation as amounts previously taxed under the GILTI regime can be returned tax-free to the American parent.

Moreover, if part of the earnings distributed represent earnings exempt from the GILTI tax (i.e. below the 10% threshold), such earnings would still escape US taxation on account of the new participation exemption provision of the 2017 TCJA. Once distributed to the US corporation, an American expat shareholder can then decide whether to distribute such earnings to themselves in their individual capacity. If they do so, the actual dividend received would generally be treated as a qualified dividend based on the US/UK income tax treaty. The tax rate on qualified dividend income is much lower ranging from 0% to 20% with most taxpayers paying 15%.

Depending on income levels, the qualified dividend could also be subject to the US Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) of 3.8%.

The combined result is a maximum US tax rate of 23.8%, which is much better than the 37% tax rate that would be incurred in the absence of the use of a US holding company structure. Also note that, within limits, timing of distributions can be controlled to optimise the rate of individual tax; however, such strategies will be somewhat restricted

TAXING ISSUES by the US personal holding company tax and accumulated earnings tax, both of which can be avoided for a while with proper planning.

One concern of the holding company structure is the potential double tax exposure that is created with capital gains from a future sale of the UK company potentially facing tax at both the corporate and individual levels.

Nevertheless, if the UK company is primarily a service business, heavily dependent upon the abilities of the owner/employee of the company, with little opportunity for substantial appreciation in the stock value, this may not be of major concern.

Conversion To A PassThrough Entity

Since 1996, US income tax regulations have contained the so-called “check the box rules” allowing taxpayers substantial flexibility in choosing how various entities will be treated for tax purposes.

Under these rules, a foreign entity with all of its members having limited liability will be classified as a corporation for US income tax purposes by default. Unless the foreign entity is specifically described in the US treasury regulations as a corporation, an election can be made to treat it as a partnership if owned by two or more owners or a disregarded entity owned 100% by one owner. Once treated as a partnership or a disregarded entity, the deferral opportunity is lost and earnings of the business would be currently taxable to the American expat owner; however, UK corporate tax paid by the business will be available as a credit against the personal US income tax liability. For this purpose, a UK private limited company is an eligible entity for which such an election is available.

Whether the pass-through treatment is the most effective strategy to mitigate the impact of the new GILTI tax depends largely upon the UK corporate tax rate as compared to the American expat’s US personal income tax rate. Timing issues can also arise, considering that UK tax could still potentially be owed on later distributions of profits.

A potential drawback to electing pass-through treatment is that a deemed liquidation would occur for US income tax purposes creating a taxable event. This could cause an unwanted US income tax liability if the fair market value of the assets deemed distributed exceeds the tax basis in the shares of the UK private limited company.

Thus, whether this approach is viable depends upon a careful calculation of the projected gain and the potential benefits of pass-through treatment when compared to other GILTI mitigation strategies.

to make an election to be taxed as a C Corporation under section 962. Once such an election is made, the lower 21% US corporate tax rate will apply to the GILTI income and the American expat shareholder will be entitled to a foreign tax credit under section 960 for the UK corporate taxes paid by the company.

Although not at all clear, many commentators have opined that the 50% deduction provided under the new section 250 of the US tax code would not be available to an individual shareholder as a result of making the section 962 election. Another major drawback is that if an election is made, future distributions of the previously taxed GILTI profits would be taxed upon actual distribution from the UK private limited company, thus diminishing the election’s usefulness relative to other mitigation strategies.

While the landscape has changed negatively for American expat business owners in the UK, this new risk can be effectively mitigated with careful planning.

Exactly which mitigation strategy makes sense will depend entirely on factors unique to each business activity.

Ed Hood is a partner with Expat Legal Services Group offering business, tax, and estate planning services to Americans living in the United Kingdom and globally. In addition to his work with the firm he is an active professor and legal scholar who has coauthored several major legal works and received numerous academic awards during his long career at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Expat Legal Services Group offers unique legal services for American expatriates and foreign nationals with financial interests in the United States. Our firm serves the expat community in the areas of international tax, immigration law, and cross border business and estate planning using a suite of modern technology solutions. Contact Expat Legal Services Group today at info@expatlegal.com or visit the website at www.expatlegal.com.

The choice of an attorney is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertising.

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FINANCIAL EVENT MONDAY 5TH NOVEMBER AT 12PM Smith & Wollensky, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT The discussion will include a general US/UK tax update and cover several relevant crossborder tax planning topics, including managing US tax nuances of UK real estate ownership, using remittance basis taxation to leverage the closing window of opportunity to cleanse mixed accounts in the US through April of 2019, and optimising ISA investments to avoid US tax problems.

While US-based entrepreneurs may reap tax savings from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, the same is not true for American expat business owners. Beginning with the 2018 tax year, US owners of UK private limited companies will face negative tax implications from their business operations overseas. Developing an effective tax planning strategy this year will be crucial.

Roland Sabates, managing partner of Expat Legal Services Group and owner of American Tax Partners, will address the specific impact of this new legislation on American expat entrepreneurs and outline various strategies for reducing your tax burden.

To register your free place at this event, please email helen@theamericanhour.com We look forward to seeing you there Sponsored by:

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15

WEALTH MANAGEMENT US Year End Planning for Americans in the UK Autumn is typically a busy time, both professionally and personally. A few short months are squeezed between the end of Summer and the start of holiday season festivities. It is easy to forget to prioritise important year end planning for you and your family.

Given that 2018 is the first tax year with President Trump’s tax reforms in place, now is the time to review your individual situation and look to take advantage of tax-deferred growth opportunities, tax advantaged investments and charitable-giving opportunities amongst others. Reviewing your investment portfolio with respect to your wealth goals and the current tax, political and economic landscape can help you understand where adjustments need to be made to be optimally positioned for 2018 and beyond.

For those considering tax moves, you generally need to take action before 1 January.

The tax reforms have resulted in different marginal income tax bands, an increase in the standard deduction, and a change in the types and thresholds of expenses allowed to be claimed as itemised deductions. Additionally, it has resulted in a change in estate planning thresholds and the way income will be taxed for many self-employed individuals.

Whilst we are not Tax Advisers, and we always recommend clients discuss such matters with their Tax Advisers, from an investment perspective, there are a few planning areas to consider before 2018 ends. Keep in mind that the ideas listed are conversation starters for most investors and is by no means an exhaustive list. You and your Wealth Manager along with your Tax Adviser should assess any action based on your own personal circumstances.

Capital Gains Planning

For any taxable investment portfolio, you should consider whether it is sensible to realise long-term gains and harvest capital losses. Reviewing opportunities to offset investment gains with investment losses may help to reduce your overall tax liability, including the Medicare surtax. If you are filing UK tax on an Arising Basis you may benefit from the UK’s annual £11,700 capital gains tax allowance. If you have not used up your annual allowance, you should consider opportunities to accelerate UK gain recognition so that the allowance benefit is not lost. In this regard, it is important to assess the gain in both GBP 16

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and USD terms as foreign currency movement over the period of ownership can potentially have a big impact on gain recognition.

With any transactions that you decide to undertake, you should be aware of “wash-sale” rules that stop you from deducting capital losses on the sale of a particular security if you purchase a similar position within a 61-day period (30 days before and after the sale date).

Retirement Planning

With respect to retirement savings goals, it is generally sensible to take advantage of taxdeferred growth opportunities.

2018 maximum contributions are as follows: • $5,500 to Traditional and Roth IRAs (an additional catch up contribution of $1,000 is available for those aged 50 or older) – allowable and deductible contribution limits are determined based on filing status and income limitations • $18,500 to 401(k) plans (an additional catch-up contribution of $6,000 is available for those aged 50 or older). The total of all contributions to a US qualified Defined Contribution scheme cannot exceed $55,000 (or $61,000 if aged 50 or older) in 2018. An employee still actively participating in a company 401k plan may be able to make up to $36,500 in after-tax contributions before 31 December (in addition to the $18,500 in pre-tax contributions) • For tax year 2018/19, the maximum UK pension contribution allowance is tapered down from £40,000 to £10,000 for any individual who earns between £150,000 and £210,000 in the tax year.

Individuals with any outstanding available prior year catch-up contributions should consider utilising their available allowances before they expire. This may also be a way of using available excess foreign tax credits carried on your US tax return.

It is equally important to understand what retirement distributions may be required. In most circumstances, anyone with US qualified retirement plans are required to begin taking Required Minimum Distributions from the year in which you turn age 70 and a half. If RMDs are required in 2018 they must be taken before the end of the year in order to avoid penalties.

Individuals have the option to direct up to $100,000 in RMDs as a charitable contribution for the year which can lower an individual’s taxable income.

Charitable Giving

With the higher standard deduction thresholds now in place for taxpayers, it is likely that fewer individuals will be in a position of itemising deductions each year. This could result in charitable donations being lumped together in certain tax years to maximise the tax impact in the year donations are made. With this in mind, it may be sensible to consider whether a dual qualified donoradvised fund helps meet your legacy and taxsavings objectives. The tax deduction occurs in the year the DAF is funded, but donations can be spread out to various charities over the preferred number of years.

Additionally, as always it is important to think strategically about what assets are used to facilitate charitable donations. For example, consideration should be given to whether to donate low-cost basis stocks or highly appreciated assets rather than cash.

Gift Planning

In 2018, US individuals can gift $152,000 to non-US citizen spouses and $15,000 to other non-spouse individuals before the gift applies against the individual’s US lifetime allowance. If tax efficient wealth transfer is a consideration, then thinking about utilising this allowance can help you transfer significant wealth over time without triggering a gift tax liability.

Individuals can consider making a gift of up to $5,500 to a Roth or Traditional IRA for any US resident children or grandchildren who are not funding their own IRAs but have enough US earned income to do so. Contributions to IRAs for family members will be considered taxable gifts and should be coordinated with any other gifts that you make.

For any children or grandchildren that might attend primary or secondary schools with tuition bills or are of university age, you could consider paying the tuition bill directly to the institution.

Paying the institution directly can qualify as an exemption from the US gifting rules and will not reduce your lifetime allowance.

Business Planning

There were a number of changes announced under the Trump Tax Reform for US owners of foreign businesses. If you haven’t yet sought tax advice on how the changes

WEALTH MANAGEMENT impact your individual situation, it is important to consider doing so. In addition to the repatriation tax that impacted many business owners, the global intangible lowtaxed income, or GILTI for short, is set to have a material effect on tax payable on a go forward basis for many individuals. As is always helpful as you approach year end, it is sensible to get organised by first making sure your accounting records are updated and accurate.

If you are self-employed, consider contributing to an individual qualified retirement plan, such as an individual 401(k), SEP IRA, SIMPLE plan, or UK pension plan, if you qualify. This can allow you to make contributions as an employee and employer based on your earnings which may result in higher deferral options.

Accelerating Payment Of UK Taxes

If you claim foreign tax credits on the paid basis, it is often necessary to accelerate your UK tax payments into the same calendar year as the income will be reported on your US tax return. This will ensure that the credit is available to offset the US tax that would otherwise be due.

This point is typically relevant to the following groups: • Self-employed individuals • Partners in partnerships • Arising basis UK taxpayers • Individuals who have large, one-off transactions such as a major capital gain.

It is important to look to the UK/US Double Income Tax Treaty to understand which country has the primary right to tax and which must give credit. For UK resident individuals, including US citizens, the UK is awarded that right on most investment income, other than US real estate income and some proportional element of US dividend income.

Summary

There are several key actions you can take before the end of 2018 to ensure you have a clear picture of where you stand financially. A call with your Wealth Manager and Tax Adviser will help ensure you are on track to meet your goals and help to identify areas in need of adjustment so your plan can evolve as your needs change. Take the time now to discuss those changing needs, to fully understand where you are and where you want to go.

Risk Warnings And Important Information

MASECO LLP (trading as MASECO Private Wealth and MASECO Institutional) is registered in England and Wales as a Limited Liability Partnership (Companies House No. OC337650) and has its registered office at Burleigh House, 357 Strand, London WC2R 0HS. MASECO LLP is authorised and regulated WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

by the Financial Conduct Authority for the conduct of investment business in the UK and is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor in the United States of America.

This article does not take into account the specific goals or requirements of individuals and is not intended to be, nor should be construed as, investment or tax advice. Information contained in this article is based on MASECO’s understanding of current tax law and legislation which is subject to change. MASECO Private Wealth is not a tax specialist. Your ability to benefit from any of the tax mitigation planning mentioned in this article will depend on your personal circumstances. The levels, and bases, of tax relief is subject to change. You should carefully consider the suitability of any strategies along with your financial situation prior to making any decisions on an appropriate strategy. We strongly recommend that every client seeks their own tax advice prior to acting on any of the tax mitigation opportunities described in this article.

The American Hour If you would like to be invited to the events we organise for Americans living in the UK, please sign up for The American Hour ’s Monthly email newsletters, by emailing helen@theamericanhour.com with the email address you would like the information sent to, and your nationality.

Our monthly email newsletters

Andrea Solana is Head of Advanced Planning at MASECO Private Wealth where she helps to provide financial planning and wealth structuring advisory services to US expatriates in the UK and British nationals in the US. Before joining MASECO, Andrea spent the first part of her career with a well-known Washington DC based international tax and global wealth management firm where she gained considerable experience advising high net worth individuals with multi-jurisdictional financial interests to design and implement strategies for tax-efficient and risk-managed asset growth. She has written numerous white papers regarding fundamental financial planning and investment strategies for US connected individuals and has previously been a speaker on financial planning topics at numerous places including both The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Andrea graduated from University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce with a degree in Finance and Management and completed her MBA at Imperial College London.

Visit www.masecoprivatewealth.com for further information.

are sent out on 1st of each month, and include useful information, special offers and details of events we think you might be interested in.

We will send you separately invitations to Networking Events and Tax Seminars that are organised by Helen and are free of charge for our readers.

We look forward to hopefully seeing you at an event in the near future.

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17

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THEATRE

THEATRE Review of London’s Theatre Productions

by Lydia Parker Witness for the Prosecution at London County Hall Witness for the Prosecution was originally adapted by Agatha Christie in 1951 for the stage from a short story she had written in 1925 entitled Traitor Hands. Her producer, Peter Saunders, was so keen to see the story adapted that he wrote his own version which she rejected to write her own. Apparently, she was drawn to the challenge of keeping the suspense of a murder mystery going before a live audience in a theatre, rather than in a book which can be read at leisure. The play was a huge success and one can see why; it is enormous fun. This site-specific production, set in the Council Chamber of London County Hall, makes the courtroom scenes a more immersive experience, even using audience members as the jury.

Leonard Vole, a personable and handsome young man, has been accused of murdering Emily French, a middle aged wealthy woman he had recently befriended, making frequent visits to her Hampstead home. When he had heard about the murder, he went to the police station to see how he could help, and is instead arrested a few days later as it transpires he is the sole heir of Emily French’s fortune. Leonard has faith in the justice system and in his barrister, Sir Wilfred Robarts, saying “You don’t get convicted for things you haven’t done, not in England”. He is also sure that his devoted wife, Romaine, will provide an alibi as he was with her when the murder supposedly took place.

Janet Mackenzie, the housekeeper to Miss French, paints quite a different picture of the unemployed Vole, as a conniving, golddigging seducer who is indubitably a killer; she heard his voice at the time of the murder.

When Romaine arrives for an initial meeting with Robarts, she is smiling and cheerful, dressed in a black leather jacket and not at all the distraught wife. She states that she already has a husband. Leonard rescued her from the Russian zone in Germany for which she is grateful, but she is not married to him.

She implies that Emily French was sexually attracted to Leonard and that he knew exactly what he was doing. Robarts is perplexed by this alluring and confident woman, worried that she does not have his client’s best interests at heart, as she undercuts everything that Leonard has said.

When Romaine does appear in court it is as WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

Current cast in Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie at London County Hall. Image credit: Ellie Kurttz.

a witness for the prosecution, testifying against Leonard, that he came home on the night of the murder with blood on his cuffs, saying “I killed her”. Robarts believes that Romaine, a professional actress, is lying and trying to set up Vole for some reason. Without revealing too much, it is safe to say, the plot thickens.

Despite actors having to lug furniture in and out for changes of scene, the chambers work remarkably well for the setting, making the atmosphere all the more real. There is also lovely work from sound designer Mic Pool who adds audience gasps and off stage footsteps as well as eerie music to remarkable effect.

Although I usually feel sorry for actors whose only job is to stand around, the various police stationed around the court as well as the stenographer and clerks added to the court room experience.

Richard Clothier is excellent as Sir Wilfred, a good, solid lawyer who will go all out to defend a man he truly believes is innocent. Harry Reid portrays Leonard Vole as a likeable, naïve and charming man whose only fault is that his kindness gets him taken advantage of. He really brings home the very sinister side to the story, that one can be accused of a murder and have

no way of proving one’s innocence. Despite having little stage experience, Mr Reid has just the right combination of naturalness and size in his performance. Although a good part of the beginning is exposition as Leonard tells his long story, it kept me completely absorbed.

Lucy Phelps as Romaine Vole has a difficult job as her character is very changeable. It must be obvious that Romaine is hiding something and yet it seems she gives the game away too quickly in her first scene. It may be suitable that her character is always theatrical, but it also meant she was less believable when she testified.

Credit must go to director, Lucy Bailey, for keeping true to the spirit of Agatha Christie by imbuing the production with real energy and urgency while drawing us into this strange tale with its twists and turns, never forgetting the danger of the death penalty for a possibly innocent man. Christie is a master craftsman of the murder mystery, but more than being a who dunnit, this play is a psychological drama about deceit and the very real fear that people are not who we think they are. Although Witness for the Prosecution is wildly entertaining it is also just the right amount disturbing, which makes it a timeless tale.

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19

The Jungle at the Playhouse Theatre

The Jungle, which has transferred from The Young Vic to the West End, immerses its London audience in the middle of the refugee encampment which was built up near Calais from 2015 to 2016. Playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson created the Good Chance Theatre in the Jungle in 2015, offering entertainment, music and workshops for the residents of the camp, which at its height numbered over 8,000. Rather than focusing on the activities on their theatre, the playwrights have written a fictionalised account of the founding of the camp by a few enterprising refugees from Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan, amongst other countries, and its demise a year later by French police with bulldozers. In between, a handful of well- meaning British people arrive, ranging from fresh out of Eton, Sam, to friendly alcoholic Boxer. The playwrights wisely do not centre the story on them but instead have Safi, a Syrian migrant and English literature major, act as narrator.

The Playhouse Theatre is completely transformed with audience members sitting on wooden benches (thankfully with throw cushions) around the action. On one side is Salar’s Afghan Café, and the tables that some of the audience sit at double as walkways for the actors. Televisions dotted around the place play Bollywood Films. Delicious smells emanate from the kitchen, cast members offer round sweet chai and fresh bread. As the play begins, it starts at the end: the French authorities have ordered a “soft eviction” of the camp, saying the environment is unsafe. They have offered only 1500 homes around France, most of which will go to women and children. Meantime, a boy has been killed on the motorway, trying to get a “Good Chance” by smuggling himself into the UK in a lorry. The police arrive with tear gas and the makeshift city is destroyed.

The play then starts somewhere at the beginning, telling different story strands while still trying to move the whole cohesively forward as the refugees deal not only with their own dire situation, but with the arrival of white British people who have decided to organise them.

Young Sam plans to map out the city and build houses. Eighteen year old Beth starts a school and teaches English. Boxer is good at mending and building, while Paula looks after the children, many of whom are unaccompanied.

It’s never clear exactly what Derek does other than bark orders and break up fights. Many of the young men are technically children but are looked after by the older men, such as fifteen year old Norullah, a cheerful trouble maker who works in Salar’s café and has become like a son to him. We hear the devastating story of Okot who escaped from Sudan only to be tortured in Libya as his captors demanded more money from his mother. Beth makes it her mission to help him get to the UK with the help of Kurdish smuggler Ali. Crises small and large occur but, as Safi 20

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says, there is hope as well: the Muslims gather to pray together, no matter what their sect, Omid happily plays his guitar which he smuggled from Iran, everyone is learning English and every now and again there is good news from someone who has made it to the UK. Everyone has a mobile phone which they check constantly, searching for news from home and finding entertaining relief from their boredom of being in this limbo. We are reminded of how the British people can leave at any time when Sam suggests that he and Beth go to a hotel for the night - just as friends of course – as they have been living in squalor for months and need a break. When Beth goes to rescue Okot from the police station, she takes both him and Safi to a hotel just to clean up the teenager who has been beaten by the police and needs a rest. It is illegal for refugees to be taken to a hotel as they have no passports, but Beth risks it anyway.

Although the play is happy to laugh at the sometimes misguided good intentions of the British, it is clear that they are there because their country is doing little for the refugees and they feel a need to help. Paula, most likely modelled on real life volunteer Liz Clegg, is the most effective in her clear intention to help the children. Sam takes on more than he can chew, but although he comes from a privileged background, probably much like the Oxford educated playwrights, his heart is usually in the right place and he just wants to make a difference, as does Beth. The scene where she teaches the boys English by having them describe how they try to hide out in lorries is entertaining, yet also drives home the point of how desperate and determined the migrants are.

There are outstanding performances that hold the play together and bring it authenticity.

Chief among them is Ammar Haj Ahmad, a Syrian actor, who plays the kind hearted Safi.

It is clear he will have a major career after this production and has already made a mark on the UK theatre scene. John Pfumojena, a Zimbabwean born actor, is brilliant as Okot. His The Jungle by Marc Brenner

monologue describing his perilous journey to Calais, through which he says he “died many times”, is delivered absolutely straight which makes it all the more moving. Mr Pfumojena is also the musical director and composer for the production, clearly an artist to be reckoned with. British-Iranian actor Ben Turner, is excellent as the fiery but warm hearted Salar, as is Mohammad Amiri as his young cheeky assistant Norullah. There is a nice mixture of trained, highly experienced British actors playing the migrants with performers who are actual refugees, such as singer Mohamad Sarrar and Kung Fu master Yasin Moradi.

Amongst the British characters, Rachel Redford as Beth and Jo McInnes as Paula stand out.

If I have one criticism, it is that the play tries to do too much and may have benefited from telling the story from one person’s point of view. Although we do have sympathetic Safi at the centre, there is always lots of activity going on, actors running around and shouting in an attempt to depict the chaotic atmosphere of the camp, but it is sometimes too much.

It seems petty to find fault when the creative team, directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, along with the playwrights and the designer, Miriam Buether, have worked hard to recreate the experience of The Jungle to share with the world.

This is an important play which poses questions with no easy answers. Did the British volunteers help or make a situation worse?

When refugees could have claimed asylum in mainland Europe, was it right to encourage them to risk their lives trying to get to the UK? The camp has now been destroyed but migrants still gather in the thousands in Calais, trying to cross to England. Although there is not much hope at the end of this play, the playwrights are still running their Good Chance Theatre for refugees in France. And hopefully audience members will feel moved after the performance to make a difference in their own way to help the refugee crisis by volunteering or donating. www.goodchance.org.uk

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21

COLLEGE FOOTBALL The Next Wave

by ESPN

Who will be the best college football players in 2018? Sure, there will be plenty of representation from Alabama and Clemson a list-high five players apiece - and a load of quarterbacks.

But it all starts up front with a gamewrecking Group of 5 defensive tackle. Not only does Houston’s Ed Oliver top most NFL draft boards, he leads the way here.

And remember, this is about what players will do in the rest of 2018, not what they’ve done to this point.

The 2017 season was fruitful for true freshmen making their mark on the college football world and bursting onto the scene. There is nothing to suggest that 2018 won’t feature the same excitement from true freshmen, especially with the new redshirt rule coming into play. College coaches will now be able to insert a player up to four games without burning his redshirt, which means we could see more true freshmen get a four-game try-out to showcase their abilities.

Every year it seems that more and more first-year players are making their mark, so who will be atop the list for the 2018 season?

SPOILER. No true freshmen made the list.

And what fun is a list like this without some heated debate? Without further ado, here’s our top 10.

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1. ED OLIVER DT, Houston Class: Junior Key stat: Currently No. 1 on Mel Kiper’s 2019 Big Board The last defensive lineman to finish in the top five of the Heisman voting was Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh in 2009. The unblockable Oliver could replicate Suh’s feat on the way to potentially becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

2. BRYCE LOVE RB, Stanford Class: Senior Key stat: 2,118 rushing yards in 2017 The speedster is just the third player in college football history to return to school after rushing for 2,000-plus yards and has a chance to become the first Heisman Trophy runner-up to win the award the following year since Georgia’s Herschel Walker in 1982.

3. WILL GRIER QB, West Virginia Class: Senior Key stat: Threw for 3,490 yards in 2017 Arguably the top returning quarterback in the country, Grier was second nationally in passing touchdowns and third in passing yards before breaking a finger last season. Armed with one of the top receiving corps in the nation, Grier’s recently launched Heisman campaign could be a viable one.

4. CHRISTIAN WILKINS DL, Clemson Class: Senior Key stat: Mel Kiper’s No. 1 senior defensive tackle There’s so much talent on Clemson’s roster it’s hard to pick one player as the team’s best, but there’s no question about who the heart and soul of the locker room is. That’s Wilkins, a senior defensive tackle who does everything from rushing the passer to catching passes on special teams, to ensuring the rest of the group is out on the field early for offseason workouts. Wilkins’ return to the defense this season was a surprise to many, but the truth is, the guy loves playing college football, and he has a chance to make his mark as one of the Tigers’ all-time greats.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL 5. DEXTER LAWRENCE DT, Clemson Class: Junior Key stat: No. 9 in Todd McShay’s way-tooearly mock draft You don’t need to watch much film to see how fearsome Lawrence is at blowing up the pocket or annihilating a run play. But the truly scary thing is, we’ve yet to really see Lawrence at his best.

In 2016, he was a true freshman playing behind veterans on the line. He got a lot of work, but he was still refining his craft. Last year, injuries plagued Lawrence’s season, and while he did his best to stay on the field and make an impact, it was clear he wasn’t 100 percent. In 2018, we might finally get to see what a monster Lawrence can be when he’s clicking on all cylinders, and that’s bad news for the rest of the ACC. 6. NICK BOSA DE, Ohio State Class: Junior Key stat: 8.5 sacks in 2017 The younger Bosa’s first two seasons have been a step ahead of the trajectory his AllAmerican brother, Joey, took before getting drafted in the first round after three years at Ohio State. That bodes well as Bosa heads into a junior year where he’ll be the top pass-rusher on a reloaded defensive line. Bosa’s balance, technique, speed and tendency to never give up on a play make him nearly impossible to stop.

8. RASHAN GARY DL, Michigan Class: Junior Key stat: No. 3 on Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board One of several talented juniors on Michigan’s defense, Gary has great speed and impeccable footwork for a 285-pound pass-rusher. He approached off season workouts with renewed focus, which should help him keep pace with the high expectations he created the past two seasons and as the No. 1-ranked prospect coming out of high school.

9. TRACE MCSORLEY QB, Penn State Class: Senior Key stat: Threw for 3,570 yards and 28 TDs in 2017 Those lamenting the departure of Saquon Barkley seem to forget the Heisman Trophy contender still in Happy Valley. McSorley has won big at every level of his career. He matured into an accurate, reliable field leader last year after filling the highlight reel in 2016. With 59 touchdown passes thus far, McSorley could become the best statistical quarterback in PSU history.

10. JARRETT STIDHAM QB, Auburn Class: Junior Key stat: Threw for 3,158 yards last season After a somewhat slow start to his first season at Auburn, the former Baylor transfer still threw for 3,158 yards and 18 touchdowns. With a year under his belt and more control at the line of scrimmage, his numbers could climb.

UNMISSABLE!

ESPN Player is your home of NCAA College Football here in the UK – sign up today and watch more than 700 college football games this season live & on-demand, including 35 Bowl Games and the College Football Playoff.

PLUS, three ESPN US TV channels 24/7 and complete access to award winning ESPN Films at the touch of a button! ESPN Player is available on a number of devices including desktop, mobile and iPad.

7. JONATHAN TAYLOR RB, Wisconsin Class: Sophomore Key stat: Averaged 6.6 yards per carry in 2017 By breaking Adrian Peterson’s FBS freshman rushing record with 1,977 yards, Taylor put himself on the national radar last year. Don’t be surprised if he tops his 2017 performance after a full season in the programme and while running behind arguably the nation’s best offensive line.

He has speed, power and durability, recording 10 100-yard performances and three 200-yard performances on 299 carries.

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AMERICAN IN BRITAIN

TAXING ISSUES

MOVING TO ENGLAND “You’re Moving To England?...

Why Would You Want To Do That?”

by Ann Allega It was the spring of 2004, I was in sales for Heineken USA and working and living in Arkansas. If you’ve never been to Arkansas, it’s a beautiful place, but a whole lot of nothing in large parts of the state. Same is true for Texas, where I’m from. So, being in sales, I drove and drove and drove all the time. On the last day of my job in Arkansas before moving to London (promotion with my husband’s job), I called on a liquor store literally in the middle of nowhere to take a last order and say good-bye. I told the owner/clerk/ only employee I was moving to England.

First, she said, “England, Arkansas?” And I said, “Um, no ... it’s England, like THE England, you know way over there, like across the pond” (though I’m not sure if that bit registered).

Seemed ages as she pondered this then said, “Why in the world would you want to do that?”.

And maybe she had a point. What was I really expecting? It all seemed so worldly and exciting as I anticipated the move.

Buckingham Palace, Afternoon Tea, world class shopping, travelling by underground - I’ll do it all! Everyone speaks English, the transition will be seamless! I’ve been to London once on holiday, no problem!

As you can imagine, after a few months, the novelty and bright lights started to fade, though I did finally get used to public transportation and not having a car. I learned to have no fear and move through a crowd like I was a horse with blinders on. I’d tell myself “move quick and with purpose, or you will get run over”. I’m really quite brutal about it now.

But I did start to love the pub culture, Sunday lunches, quiz nights, grocery delivery (this was 2004 remember), the NHS, Indian food, Eastenders, walking everywhere, the Eurostar, travel - so much was different from what I had ever experienced.

However, as time went on, I was really missing things from home. Friends, family, Fritos, the weather, the Gulf of Mexico, corn tortillas (I still struggle with this one) and I began to see lots of differences in people in London vs. what I was used to at home. I’m a runner and noticed early on, when you go for a run here, no one usually says a word to you. In Texas, you’ll get several acknowledgements “Mornin!”, “Hi”, “Have a nice day” as you run. Pretty much silence here, which I wasn’t used to.

Though I will say if you have an emergency whilst (love this word) out in public in the UK, people will leap to your defence and help. I was pregnant in 2006, almost fainted on a packed WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

train to London Victoria one morning, and this woman from out of nowhere yelled at the top of her lungs “HEY everyone, this lady needs air!

Make way, I need help!” And loads of people moved, made a place for me to lie down, and were fanning me with their morning Metros.

When we first moved, I was offered the chance to work with Heineken UK, which I had to have a real think about. I ended up deciding instead to pursue a Master’s degree in Addiction Psychology, and today I have my own Psychotherapy Practice. How in the heck does one go from beer to counselling?

I think part of it was that I hoped to figure myself out, and surely I’d learn enough to make myself happy no matter where I lived.

I was really struggling missing home, my parents, friends, everything I was used to.

I’m an only child and was feeling tremendous guilt for not being around the corner to help my parents. Dad was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and Mum in her late 80’s.

I went back when I could, once or twice a year, but still struggled with not being closer.

Luckily in my Master’s degree training I was required to go to a therapist myself. Good thing because I didn’t realise how I was completely a “grass is greener” person, dreaming only of being back in Texas.

I recently went on a cruise to Mexico with 49 of my sorority sisters from The University of Texas at Austin. Most of us hadn’t seen each other in 35+ years. When I arrived, I was considered the “world traveller”, the woman whose life was envied.

But moving to the UK is not all “easy peasy lemon squeezy”. Everyday things you felt you “just knew” in the US have to be re-learned.

Even though the Brits do speak English, words for everyday things differ.

“Paper towels” are “kitchen towels.”

“Restroom” and “bathroom” are replaced with “loo” or “toilet.” The temperature is reported in Celsius, and the list goes on.

Social customs can also be challenging.

Customer service may feel different. You may question when, and how much, to tip.

Workplace norms, or the challenge of being the trailing spouse, can add to these frustrations.

Triggers for home can pile on. Babies, marriages, holidays, and illnesses are big triggers for homesickness – whether happening in Britain or in the US. Dealing with all of this can require the right kind of space to vent your frustrations and feelings.

People often choose therapy because they

are experiencing difficulties and distress in their lives. You don’t have to be in crisis to have counselling, you just may be seeking help to get through a difficult/challenging time.

In the UK, there are many resources to provide support beyond expat concerns.

The NHS provides many options that you can find online or confidentially from your local GP. For concerns triggered by your expat experience, speaking with a qualified professional may help ease your worries and find practical ways to manage. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy is the largest and broadest professional association for members of the counselling professions in the UK with over 44,000 members. Support can range from face to face sessions to online (Skype) sessions or even phone or email counselling.

Sometimes, just having the ear and advice of a professional can help guide you through a rough time.

Eleven years later, one move back to Texas, and therapy for myself to adjust, I finally feel like London is home. Texas is also still home, and it’s ok to have two places that I love and that I call home. And I even whinge about the sweltering heat in Texas now. How did I ever stand it that hot?

Ann Allega, MSc, MBACP, FDAP, ACTO, MCiPN is a Psychotherapist in private practice with a particular interest in American expat clients. Before pursuing a Masters in Addiction Psychology from London South Bank University, Ann worked for Heineken and Miller Brewing Company as a Sales Manager covering several states. Ann, her husband Philip and son Austin now live in Greenwich in South East London and love travelling. In her spare time, she likes to cook anything Italian, go to the gym and read crime thrillers. Visit annallegacounselling.co.uk

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COOKING American By Birth, British By Choice!

by Julie Woodcock Before moving to England, I copied many of my familiar recipes and prepared lists of online cooking bookmarks, and today these are an important element in my British kitchen. Successful results with these treasured American recipes often depend on altering original ingredients and the adjusting cooking details. Trial and error are often my baking methods, so I have learned that keeping kitchen notes is a valuable time saver.

As I follow my American recipes, I refer to my 10 helpful tips of British ingredients, terms for adjustments, substitutes, and replacements.

1. Brown Sugar: Substitute Muscovado (a cane sugar, available in light and dark) 2. Graham Cracker Crumbs, for desserts: Substitute crumbled cookies (British biscuits, digestive biscuits work well).

3. Buttermilk: Plain yogurt is a substitute for buttermilk. (Buttermilk copycat option: Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into one cup of milk, stir the mixture thoroughly, and then let it stand for 5 minutes.)

4. Half and half: Substitute with single cream 5. Confectionary Sugar: Same as British icing sugar 6. Measurements: 16 tablespoons per 1 cup (3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoons) 7. Karo syrup (corn type syrup): Golden syrup replacement for corn syrup 8. Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Substitute dark cooking chocolate, chopped bar of dark cooking chocolate can be substituted for semi-sweet chocolate chips.

9. Cream of Tartar: White vinegar works as a substitute for cream of tartar when beating egg whites (1/8 teaspoon per egg) 10. Quick oven setting from fahrenheit (USA) conversion to celsius, fan gas (UK) reduce baking time slightly for fan assisted oven.

300F equals 150C, 130C fan 325F equals 170C, 150C fan 350F equals 180C, 160C fan 375F equals n 190C, 170C fan 400F equals 200C, 180C fan Recipes using self-raising flour will depend on a raising ingredient (leavening agent) which is already included in the self-raising flour to provide volume to your dish. Baking powder, the leavening agent in self-raising flour, can loose that raising ability over time. UK baking staples tend to have less shelf-life time than most US products so remember to check the product date to avoid using expired products.

Expired flour products will not produce 26

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successful results for your baked foods.

Plain flour does not have a leavening agent added and the shelf life is longer. A quick and easy adjustment to plain flour (all-purpose flour) can make your own self-raising flour when needed. Add 1 tsp baking powder (bicarbonate of soda) into 1 cup all plain (purpose flour), sift together and you now have self-raising flour.

As the days become shorter, I depend on my go to meals, which can be prepared with minimum advanced preparation. This is the easiest pizza crust recipe ever, as it only uses two ingredients. It works! You have pizza crust in minutes. Add your choice of toppings for a delicious hot treat.

Delicious Lemon Meringue Pie • Crust 1 1/2 cups cookie/biscuit crumbs 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (white table sugar) ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted Pinch of salt • Filling 200 grams soft cheese (substitute for American cream cheese) 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup (114ml) fresh or bottled lemon juice 2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional) • Meringue Topping 3 Egg Yokes 1/4 (4 tablespoons) granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (substitute 1/8 teaspoon white vinegar) (Option: whipped cream topping) 170C fan assisted oven

Easy Pizza Crust

Easy Pizza Crust (Simple, only 2 Ingredients) 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour 1 cup (227ml) plain Greek yoghurt Pre-heat oven 170C fan assisted Prepare only half for smaller size crust Thoroughly combine both ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and let dough mixture sit for 15 minutes Spread the dough onto a lightly oiled baking sheet or pizza pan then add the topping of your choice. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes (Pre-bake and freeze for later use if needed.)

Delicious Lemon Meringue Pie

Combine the crust ingredients in a medium bowl. Press mixture into pie dish and chill.

Add the filling ingredients into a large bowl mixing until smooth.

Pour the filling mixture into the prepared crust and chill while preparing the meringue topping.

In a medium bowl place meringue topping ingredients and beat at high speed until mixture forms stiff peaks. Spread on top of the pie and bake in 170C fan assisted oven for approximately 10-15 minutes. Watch the pie carefully while baking and remove the pie from oven when the meringue appears lightly brown. Let the pie sit for at least 30 minutes if possible before serving.

I hope that you find my no stress recipes to be a time saver during your busy day. These recipes can be prepared ahead of time – so one less thing to worry about!

Julie Woodcock

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27

DENTISTRY Behind The Magic Of A Smile Makeover Patients seek a smile makeover for several reasons. Whether it’s looking for a new partner, or to help with career progression or just to boost their confidence. With new dental technology and techniques, anyone can achieve a perfect smile. However, because a perfect smile is as unique as its owner, crafting that smile requires the personalised attention of an experienced specialist cosmetic dentist who understands both facial and dental aesthetics.

What Is Cosmetic Dentistry?

Until recently, cosmetic dentistry was often thought of as essentially limited to celebrities.

Today, however, the field of cosmetic dentistry has the ability to improve the dental appearance of anybody. When people attend a cosmetic dental clinic, the specialist dentist (prosthodontist) should have the ability to design their new teeth and smiles with the added goal of enhancing, complementing, and defining other facial features. Many general dentists overlook the simple ability that they have through cosmetic procedures to offer their patients non-invasive, safe, and fast alternatives to surgical procedures such as face-lifts that are used to make people look younger and more attractive.

When creating a perfect smile, it is important to consider more than just the teeth.

The patient’s soft tissues, such as the lips, have a great impact on overall appearance.

This can be seen, for example, if the lips naturally wilt towards the teeth. A specialist dentist would expertly place veneers to lift the lip and push it outwards. This would result in the achievement of a fuller and more youthful appearance to the lips as well as the teeth. It is important that the appearance of the teeth, and their effect on the rest of the face, is not underestimated. A skilled specialist cosmetic dentist can give you an enhanced smile that also enhances the rest of your features.

What Is A Smile Makeover?

As the name implies, a smile makeover can have a transformative effect on a person’s smile, yet, under the care of a specialist cosmetic dentist, it typically takes only three appointments to achieve the desired result. To reach the unique patient outcome, the position and/or look of the teeth is redesigned to bring harmony to the lower third of the face. The most common treatment is ultra-thin porcelain veneers. Typically, they are half a millimetre thick, and are bonded to the 28

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patient’s own natural teeth. In most cases, no preparation of the teeth is needed, whilst for a limited number minimal amounts of preparation of the natural teeth are required.

Veneers are mainly used to correct the colour, shape, size, and alignment of the teeth.

Even if the goal is improvement of just one of these issues, the results are incredibly effective.

For instance, many patients try to whiten their teeth, but due to staining from certain foods and drinks, as well as medications, they find that this treatment is ineffective for them. Such patients can achieve desired result from noninvasive porcelain veneers.

It is important that the appearance of the teeth, and their effect on the rest of the face, is not underestimated.

A skilled specialist cosmetic dentist can give you an enhanced smile that also enhances the rest of your features How Do We Achieve A Perfect Smile

During the initial consultation, the specialist cosmetic dentist (prosthodontist) will listen to the improvements that you want to make to your smile and your overall appearance. The specialist will then assess your teeth, gums, and soft tissues, and take x-rays, and photographs.

The prosthodontist will then discuss with you the findings, and propose a treatment plan to

achieving your desired result. The specialist can then mock up resin over your teeth, showing what your new smile could look like in a matter of minutes, with no injections or drilling.

Teeth at exam visit

Quick mock up with bonding material at exam visit

Appointment 1 – Day 1: If needed, this is the visit where the teeth are minimally shaped, and molds made. The patient below had the treatment with no preparation of the teeth. Temporary veneers are fitted, and will be worn for just under a week. Patients can test drive their new smiles with this unique step of highly aesthetic temporary veneers.

DENTISTRY for a smile makeover with a specialist, and a higher end laboratory technician (who will be on the premises to meet the patient and view the veneers in the mouth), would be £10,000£20,000. With proper oral care, the results could last 20 years.

With proper oral care, the results could last 20 years Appointment 2 – Day 2: This is a short visit. After wearing the temporary smile, the patient returns to meet the specialist, and the technician, to provide feedback on the look and fit of the veneers. Using this feedback, a master ceramist makes the final veneers.

Appointment 3 – Day 7: The permanent veneers are placed on the teeth for patient approval, and any changes are made on the same day by an onsite master ceramicist. The veneers are permanently fitted for the patient to wear home.

Dr Sherif trained and taught at Harvard University for five years in cosmetic dentistry post dental school. He then worked in Beverly Hills and maintained a private practice in California for several years. He is also licensed in New York. For the last six years he has practised in Harley Street, London. He is a GDC registered specialist in prosthodontics (cosmetic, implant and restorative dentistry) Email: Contact@VeritasDentalCare.com Visit www.VeritasDentalCare.com Call 020 7580 5954

Costs

With an onsite technician, a smile makeover can be completed in a week. The typical costs

Ann Allega Counselling

Ann’s counselling service is both online (very convenient and flexible) and in person in South East London. She can discuss which option you might prefer, or you might want to start with an assessment in person and then switch to skype online or vice versa. they are both equally effective, it just depends which you prefer.

‘‘

What I Can Help With • American Expats - stress of relocation • Depression • Anxiety • Addictions • Anger management • Work related stress • Relationship issues • Cancer • General Counselling (anything you want to bring) • PTSD • Children & Young People - including ADHD/ Asperger’s • Low self esteem

‘‘

Ann Allega, MSc, MBACP, FDAP, ACTO, MCiPN is a Psychotherapist in private practice with a particular interest in American expat clients. Before pursuing a Masters in Addiction Psychology from London South Bank University, Ann worked for Heineken and Miller Brewing Company as a Sales Manager covering several states.

I would say counselling with Ann has made me emotionally stronger! It has given me the confidence to approach things in my life in a different way and made me more comfortable with my decisions in how to deal with things. It has made me look at things from a different perspective and stop blaming myself for all that happens. Frances

T: 07803 526 090

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Contact me for a confidential discussion

E: ann.allega@yahoo.com

www.annallegacounselling.co.uk

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29

HEALTH The Benefits Of A Private General Doctor In the UK we are fortunate to have access to NHS healthcare; free at the point of delivery, based on needs not ability to pay, and available to all who may require it. However, many people also access the private sector for healthcare and with that draw on the benefits of seeing a private GP, this may well be the case for patients unable to access the NHS.

Speed of Access

One advantage of seeing a private GP is that they are readily available at a time that is convenient to you and offer a shorter waiting time. Most private GPs offer same day appointments and you should expect to be seen within hours of requesting an appointment, not days. Most private GP’s will see their patients on time, and time spent in the waiting room is significantly shorter then when seeing an NHS GP.

Longer Consultations

A private appointment means there is more time for your consultation. You can bring several symptoms or problems to the attention of your GP, rather than just the one problem as is often the case in NHS General Practice.

Most private GPs will offer a consultation time of around 30 minutes or even an hour. In this time you are given plenty of time to discuss your concerns, be clinically examined, be investigated thoroughly and referred to a specialist if required. You can expect a full medical examination and a detailed discussion about your family as well as personal medical history in order to fully assess your condition or any risk factor. This is done in an organised, efficient and timely manner. Therefore, your condition will be treated much more quickly, effectively and appropriately.

Flexibility

There tends to be more flexibility in private general practices, offering extended appointment times to provide their patients with ease of access. This may include early morning, lunchtime, evening or even weekend appointments. The London General Practice offer a 24 hour service. With doctors on call covering every hour of the day including Christmas and Bank Holidays visiting you at home, place of work or hotel.

Personalised Bespoke Treatment

There is normally greater choice in selecting a private GP with patients being able to choose who they wish to see. Patients may have the 30

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choice of GPs at a practice and can choose who they prefer to see. This may be for personal reasons or they may prefer a male or female doctor. Similarly, if desired, in the private sector you are more likely to be able to see the same Doctor each time you visit, enhancing the personal experience and quality of care.

Efficiency

Private GPs tend to have access to very best diagnostics, specialists and consultants.

Referrals are fast and much quicker. The turnaround time for test results is also quick with blood tests being returned on the same day.

For example, we aim to receive results of urgent diagnostic scans on the same day. This means that if you see a private GP in the morning you can expect to have a full examination and the answers to any blood tests or diagnostics by the afternoon, meaning that any concerns are rapidly addressed.

Private GPs tend to have access to very best diagnostics, specialists and consultants.

Referrals are fast and much quicker.

Visits

Private GPs provide house visits coming to you if required. A private GP can see you in your own surroundings and in the comfort of your own home, work or hotel at a time to suit you, for example, after work or at the weekend.

Private GPs also offer a one stop shop where patients can access additional services such as travel vaccinations, blood tests and health screens. Private GPs offer extensive health screening including cardiovascular health screening, screening for cancer, well woman and well man screening.

Dr Angela Rai The London General Practice was founded

by Dr Paul Ettlinger, one of London’s most respected and well established private doctors. The Practice is based on Harley Street, London and provides UK-based and international patients with a comprehensive range of excellent private healthcare. We pride ourselves on the flexible, personal care we provide to our patients, which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Practice consults for many private families, leading insurers, the entertainment industr y, numerous multinational companies and prestigious London hotels.

PRIVATE GP SERVICES Building personal, meaningful relationships with all patients is of the utmost importance for the Practice, as is allowing adequate time for a comprehensive, thorough and accurate personal health assessment.

The London General Practice has consultation facilities on Harley Street, which is linked to an excellent range of diagnostic and analytical facilities, many of which are available in the same building.

In addition to our comprehensive private primary care service, our preventative healthcare service includes general health screening, and also well-woman and wellman health screening, to address gender specific health concerns.

The London General Practice 114a Harley Street, London W1G 7JL (Entrance on Devonshire Street; between Harley Street and Portland Place) Tel: +44 (0)207 935 1000 www.thelondongeneralpractice.com

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MEET THE ARTISTS

MEET THE ARTISTS Sophie Mutter And Ed Watts: They Love To Be Beside The Seaside (All Year Round)

By Dr Susan House Wade Fig 2 Douglas Gull

Fig 3 Fisherman

Fig 1 Sophie Mutter and Ed Watts

I first met Sophie Mutter (fig 1) several years ago on a course at West Dean College, near Chichester, West Sussex. The two of us were part of a class of about eight students, and we were all studying the traditional art of Mexican papier-mache under Oaxaca-based artist, Boris Spider (see examples of his mostly large scale papier-mache figures on Instagram at boris.spider).

Sophie sat at the table next to mine, and I admired her talent in the creation of a brightly coloured, iguana-like 3D character, which constituted our main assignment over that one week period. What I didn’t know then was that Sophie’s regular job was making the bold, simplistic silk screen designs for which she is better known, and which are featured and sold in shops, galleries, and art and craft fairs throughout southern England, including the well-known West Dean Art and Craft Festival, held in June. In fact, Sophie’s work can be found as far away as Atlantic Dry Goods in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

From Harrow in North London, Sophie pursued the study of photography at Nottingham Trent University, but since she wasn’t all that interested, she moved on to a job at a picture library. This eventually landed her at OK! magazine as a picture editor. After 13 years on that London-based assignment, she grew tired of the daily work commute, and decided to relocate to Worthing, a coastal town in West Sussex, resplendent in architectural styles ranging from Victorian to Art Deco, and not far from Brighton.

At that stage, some five years ago, Sophie was doing linoleum cuts as a hobby, but after a course in screen printing at the previously WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

Fig 4 Dippy and Dome

mentioned and widely acclaimed West Dean College, she began to see that it was in fact possible to make a living doing something that she truly loved.

Inspired with her coastal way of life, Sophie’s work is largely informed by what she sees in her own seaside neighbourhood. She confesses to a fondness for the quirkier side of design. The brightly coloured, simplistic characters she

produces take the form of pleasantly affordable prints, cotton tea towels, and greeting cards.

Sophie also sells her creations through etsy at www.etsy.com under the trade name WeAreMountain. Follow her on Facebook at We Are Mountain or on Instagram we_are_ mountain. Her website is www.wearemountain. com. Shown here are her works entitled Douglas Gull (fig 2) and Fisherman (fig 3). The WWW.AMERICANINBRITAIN.CO.UK

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Fig 5 Century Plant, Portugal

Fig 6 Kithurst Tree, No 3

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MEET THE ARTISTS original of this fisherman, displaying his catch, stands outside their local fish shop. Another source of Sophie’s inspiration, though largely museum-based, is found in some of the more accomplished examples of Victorian taxidermy.

Ed Watts (also fig 1), originally from Sevenoaks, Kent, creates some amazing photographic imagery from the studio he shares with Sophie at the back of their Worthing home. Using his infrared photographic technique, the viewer is transported to what can most accurately be described as otherworldly landscapes.

Starting out with British Telecom, Ed soon opted to follow a different route. He took one years’ redundancy pay and subsequently embarked on a two year journey, which took him from Canada all the way to Bolivia. His favourite country over the course of the trip?

Ed found Colombia ranked tops on all counts, without any qualifications at all—he cites the nicest people and the great things to see there as his reasons why.

Ed, too, studied photography at Nottingham Trent University, the place that both he and Sophie hail as having the best photography studies programme in the UK. It’s also where they met, and it was their common interest in photography which drew them together.

During his student career, he built his own camera and he also tried his hand at pinhole photography. After those three years at Nottingham Trent, Ed moved on to commercial

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photography, focusing on celebrity portraits; a lucrative area, yes, but he prefers the landscapes which are his emphasis now.

Shown here are his works, entitled Dippy and Dome (fig 4), which depicts the historic Worthing seafront; Century Plant, Portugal (fig 5), and Kithurst Tree #3 (fig 6).

Currently, Ed draws a lot of inspiration from his walks on the nearby South Downs, frequently accompanied by their rescued whippet, Morse. This means he gets a close-up look at a new part of the country, previously mostly unfamiliar to him, which provides him with a fresh take on his own work. Look at the dazzling array of Ed’s currently available photographic production at www.artfinder.com and learn more about his commercial photographic expertise at www.edwatts.co.uk Though based in Worthing, the two still travel widely. They made a trip to Colombia two years ago, when Ed had the chance to visit again some of his preferred destinations.

Mexico also features prominently in their travel itinerary, along with Guatemala and Honduras in Central America. I would suggest that the sizzling colours found in those sunny locations have gone a long way towards informing Sophie’s work.

West Dean College warrants further discussion, not only because both Sophie and Ed have studied there, but also because it’s a real hidden gem of a place, with

surprising North American connections, and international significance. Edward James (1907-1984), the early patron of Surrealist art, was born in the big house there and he continued to reside at West Dean, on and off, during his lifetime. His father was the American born William James, the son of a well-to-do American merchant, but he was educated in England. The West Dean estate was purchased by him in 1891.

The saga of Edward James is lengthy and complex, but a highlight is when he landed in Mexico in the 1940s, where he created the Surrealist garden near Xilitla, San Luis Potosi, called Las Pozas, over the course of the next several decades. This garden is open to the public for viewing at the present. See www. laspozasxilitla.org.mx.

The arts school and its classrooms, stately home (which still features a few Surrealist pieces collected by James), and associated residential complex, are situated on over 6,000 acres of rolling green hills and pastures in the South Downs of West Sussex. Courses offered include nearly everything in the fields of art and conservation, and these range from short courses all the way to Masters degrees. Find out more at www.westdean.org.uk Dr Susan House Wade is a design historian who specialises in East-West cultural exchange.

Contact her at housewadephd@gmail.com.

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AMERICAN EXPATRIATE CLUBS & NEWS AWC London Fall is a busy time for The American Women’s Club of London. The AWC London hosts various activities throughout the year as a chance for all members to get together, mingle, and experience everything unique that London has to offer. This fall, we have several exciting member events, and we’d love to have new faces join us.

Special Guest Speaker On 23 October, we are excited to welcome Steve Pateman, the real-life inspiration behind the popular Broadway and West End musical, Kinky Boots. He’ll share stories of his life starting as a shoe factory managing director leading his company from every day footwear and fashion into the kinky boot market. His stories and anecdotes of this fascinating move tell how he went from the back streets of Earls Barton, to a BBC2 programme, The Kinky Boot Factory, which millions of people have watched worldwide, to the film Kinky Boots, and then to the subsequent Broadway and West End musical of the same name.

The real-life Charlie Price will have you in fits of laughter and cringing with his stories, as you follow his embarrassing moments in a life he never knew existed, as he meets a new and secret world surrounding kinky boots and all that come with it. Details: 23 October, 10am-12pm at the Royal Thames Yacht Club.

The Wallace Collection & Clarence House We are hosting a private tour and lunch at the Wallace Collection in late October. The Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays the wonderful works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation in 1897. Displayed at Hertford House, one of the family’s London properties in the nineteenth century, the Wallace Collection presents its outstanding collections in a sumptuous but approachable manner which is an essential part of its charm.

On 5 November, the AWC have been graciously invited for Highgrove Christmas Shopping at Clarence House. Clarence House is a royal residence in London, situated on The Mall, in the City of Westminster. It is attached to St. James’s Palace and shares the palace’s garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. It has since been the official residence of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall very kindly invite the women of the AWC and their guests to shop their Christmas Market.

The purpose of the shop is to raise much needed income for the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation - a grant-making trust that aims to transform lives and build sustainable communities by supporting a wide range of causes from culture and heritage to young people and education.

Finally, December brings our annual Christmas party. We will host the party at Ronald McDonald House, one of our dedicated charities. We’ll gather to celebrate the season, share delicious bites, and mingle with friends old and new.

Community Service & Giving Back The members of the AWC regularly serve their community, and we support three organisations on an ongoing basis. We are closely affiliated with the Ronald McDonald House in London, which offers accommodations for families whose children

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are receiving medical treatment at nearby hospitals. Monthly, our members meet to provide a home-cooked meal for current guests, complete with decorations and treats for young siblings. The Soup Kitchen at the American International Church provides breakfast and lunch for homeless and economically disadvantaged individuals in central London. Our members assist with cooking and serving the food, and we also staff a donation closet from which Soup Kitchen guests can select needed clothing and personal items. Lastly, the AWC supports London’s Doorstep Library. This excellent community resource sends volunteers into public housing estates armed with books to foster literacy and a love for reading among young residents. Our members can participate on an ongoing, weekly basis, or as substitutes allowing them to be guest readers as their schedules permit.

AWC London members are generous with their time, and through various fundraising events during the year, giving of their resources as well. In addition to giving back to our homefor-now, participating in Community Outreach gives AWC members the opportunity to forge friendships with other expats and feel a bit more connected to life outside their home country.

About the AWC Founded in 1899 as the “Society of American Women,” the American Women’s Club of London has provided a welcoming atmosphere to American women living in London for over 100 years. The American Women’s Club of London is a founding member of the Federation of American Women’s Club Overseas (FAWCO) and is a member of the Federation of International Women’s Associations in London and the greater London area (FIWAL).

We welcome all US citizens as well as persons with close ties or affinity to the United States. We look forward to welcoming you as a New Member. Please visit our website at www. awclondon.org to learn more!

The American Society in London The American Society in London is the oldest American society in the UK, pre-dating the Pilgrims, American Aid and The Harvard Club in England to name a few. Founded in 1895 to promote good fellowship between the USA and UK, it has a rich history including Gordon H. Selfridge as a past chairman and

AMERICAN EXPATRIATE CLUBS & NEWS American Society in London

American Society in London

American Society in London

Texas Exes

Let’s brush off all our costumes, because it’s nearly Halloween again! Calling all Kardashians, athletes, 90’s video games, or perhaps even Supermen.

On 27 October, the Texas Exes will be celebrating Halloween in true American style - from costumes (not just your scary fare of witches and goblins), to pumpkins burning bright and a monster mash dance off!

Those who come best dressed will take home prizes! We will have music and dancing, special drinks and good company!

So, mark your diary friends - we hope to see you there.

You won’t want to miss the Halloween party of the season - buy your tickets now or beware!

The Bolton Pub 326 Earls Court Road London, SW5 9BQ 27 October 8 pm to Late £10 on tickets purchased online by 26 October; £15 at the door. Visit: http:// buytickets.at/uktexasexes/187804 (as this is a charity event, please note that there are no refunds on tickets purchased).

Jacqueline Kennedy as a past event attendee.

The society is extending a warm invitation to Americans in the UK to join our upcoming events - a drinks gathering at the Tower of London in September and our Black-Tie Thanksgiving Dinner at Plaisterers’ Hall in November.

To learn more about these events and/or joining the American Society in London, please email info@americansocietyuk.com. And please follow us on Facebook: @americansocietyinlondon Twitter: @ASL_1895.

The Hampstead Women’s Club (HWC) The HWC is a multinational, social organisation for women living in the London area. Our purpose is to provide a sense of community through social, educational and charitable activities.

The HWC offers many activities to its members, from Arts & Antiques to Theatre, Hiking, Book Club, Speakers Series, Creative Writing, Wellness, Dining Out, Charity Volunteering and much more.

For more information about the club in general, visit our website: www.hwcinlondon.co.uk WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

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The Society Of Mayflower Descendants In The UK And Europe

The year 2020 will mark the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower. Plans to commemorate this important historic event are underway in the UK, the US, and the Netherlands. The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the UK and US is the official branch of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. In addition to expatriates who reside in the UK and Europe, the Society welcomes US residents. We offer options to transfer US membership to the European Society or to hold dual US/Europe memberships.

If you might be a descendant of a Mayflower passenger and are interested in becoming a member or learning more about the organisation, please contact mayflower. europe.info@gmail.com. Reach us on our public Facebook page: European Society of Mayflower Descendants. Or just send a personal email to Nancy Naro, Governor (nancy.naro@gmail.com) or to Molly J. Wagner, Historian (mollyjwagner_gsmd@ yahoo.com). Please let us know how you heard about the Society.

level up without burning out or opting out so they can bring their best selves to their work, homes and communities. She is passionate about helping people create sustainable peak performance and success by helping them increase their confidence, energy, executive presence and productivity. It was a highly informative session!

The focus of our September General Meeting was “What Does It Mean To Be A Civic Leader?” featuring an impressive panel of government and civic leaders.

Summer Fun We had two great over-subscribed events in August to get together for a good cause, build connections within the League and kick off the year in true London style. Thanks to everyone who came out to support us!

On 10 August, the sun emerged just in time for our JLL garden party at the Beautiful Allotment!

And on 18 August, we spent a great day exploring the Maltby Street market and the Bermondsey Beer Mile.

Join Us Since 1978, the Junior League of London has been an active and welcoming home for women who want to incorporate volunteering into their busy lives. We offer an average of 15-20 volunteers shifts each month across daytime, evening and weekends. There’s something for everyone, ranging from serving food at homeless shelters, to sorting clothing, stuffing letters for charity mailings, gardening and teaching English.

We accept new members in September and February, so if you interested in volunteering, developing and gaining new leadership and volunteering skills, making new friends and making a difference in your community, check out our website for more information and come to one of our information sessions!

Junior League Of London

It’s A Wrap We wrapped up the 2017-2018 year in May on a high note, with our annual gala fundraiser, this year held at the historic Churchill War Rooms.

Overall throughout the year, we directly impacted over 6800 people in the London community through our outreach, including: • Serving more than 2400 meals to the homeless • Providing clothing to over 215 homeless people • Sorting, ironing, steaming and hanging over 3100 items of clothing • Putting together 3000 letters for charity mailings • Packing over 5200 kg of food at food shelters (equating to 2600 meals).

Thank you to all of our member volunteers and supporters for helping us achieve this!

Leading and Learning Our 2018-2019 year has been busy so far with volunteering, learning and fun. Our General Meeting in July featured Susan Treadgold and a workshop on “The High Performing Woman.” Her vision is to empower women to 38

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Boutique de Noel Save the date of Tuesday, 27 November 2018, to get a kick start on your holiday shopping and join the Junior League of London for a soirée at Chelsea Old Town Hall! Now in its 39th year, Boutique de Noel 2018 will offer an afternoon of shopping with our carefully curated exhibitors, followed by an elegant evening event and of course more shopping with our exhibitors.

What you can look forward to: • Unique gifts from some of London’s best vendors • Exciting raffle prizes • Seasonal entertainment • Drinks and canapés • Lively evening of Christmas fun with JLL members, family, friends and the London community.

Funds raised at Boutique de Noel support the Junior League of London’s mission to promote voluntary service, develop the potential of women and improve communities, through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Tickets go on sale soon so check our website - jll.org.uk - for further details.

If you are interested in becoming an exhibitor at this year’s event, please register your interest by contacting us.

Strike Out Poverty Bowling Event Back by popular demand! On Wednesday, 17 October, we will be hosting our second JLL Strikes Out Poverty event in the private Kingpin Suite at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes!

Please mark your calendars and invite your friends, colleagues, and partners for a great evening of bowling, karaoke and more (pool, ping pong, indoor cricket, vintage video games and dancing) – all for a good cause! You won’t want to miss it! Get your tickets here.

USEFUL CONTACTS EDUCATION - SCHOOLS DWIGHT SCHOOL LONDON 6 Friern Barnet Lane, London, N11 3LX Contact: Karen Strickland Email: kstrickland@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 PRIMARY SCHOOL Old Woking Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 8HY Contact: Admissions Telephone: +44 (0)1483 750 409 www.islsurrey.org/ ISL LONDON 139 Gunnersbury Avenue, London W3 8LG Contact: Yoel Gordon Telephone: +44 (0)20 8992 5823 www.isllondon.org ISL QATAR Po Box 18511, North Duhail, Qatar Contact: Admissions Telephone: +974 4433 8600 www.islqatar.org/ Website: www.islschools.org Founded in 1972, the International School of London (ISL) Group comprises two International Baccalaureate (1B) primary schools situated in London (UK) and Doha (Qatar) plus an IPC primary school in Surrey (UK) providing education for internationally mobile students.

Although the languages of the school is English, the schools are known for integrating home languages and English as an Additional Language (EAL) into the internationally recognised curricula.

The schools are culturally diverse communities which foster a passion and enthusiasm for learning, and where students’ cultural and linguistic identities are valued and nurtured.

ISL Schools develop the attitudes, skills and understanding needed for further education and to become active and responsible contributors to local and global communities.

The ISL Group enrols over 1800 students from 88 countries, and teaches 25 languages.

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 WWW.THEAMERICANHOUR.COM

boarding (14-18) students from 50 nations. The excellent academic programme, 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 MUNDAYS LLP Surrey Office: Cedar House, 78 Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1AN London Office: 1 Berkeley Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8DJ Contact: Oliver Taylor Email: oliver.taylor@mundays.co.uk Telephone +44 (0)1932 590523 Website: www.mundays.co.uk Twitter: @MundaysLaw Mundays LLP are a top UK law firm based in Surrey and London. Ranked in The Legal 500 UK, Chambers & Partners UK and Chambers HNW legal directories as a leading law firm in the South using expertise to deliver the full range of legal services to individuals, families and businesses. Our highly experienced friendly team offer a range of knowledge. Delivering not just legal advice, but tailored advice that is appropriate to your specific circumstances.

MOVING DT MOVING (A GOSSELIN MOBILITY GROUP COMPANY) 49 Wates Way, Mitcham, Greater London CR4 4HR Tel: 020 7622 4393 Email: london@dtmoving.com Web: www.dtmoving.com DT Moving (A Gosselin Mobility Group company) 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, courtesy of our 56 global offices. With a customer satisfaction rating of 97% in 2017, we offer a quality service at competitive rates. First class storage facilities are available worldwide.

FOX INTERNATIONAL 10 Somerset Road, Cwmbran, NP44 1QX Telephone: 01633 488100 Email: international@fox-moving.com Website: www.fox-moving.com Contact: Stephen Denning

Fox International is one of the UK’s largest removal companies, offering a full range of moving and storage service to Americans throughout the UK, Europe and Worldwide.

TAXATION ADVANCEDAMERICANTAX.CO.UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 3289 1040 Website: www.AdvancedAmericanTax.co.uk and www.htj.tax Email: Help@htj.tax Our international tax team has over 80 years’ experience and we are fully qualified and licensed to practice before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

We are 3 independent but allied offices in the United States, the United Kingdom and now Singapore. Our team is united in our drive to serve the US Tax needs of our clients.

US TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES 3 Harbour Exchange Square, London, E14 9GE Telephone: +44 20 7357 8220 Contact: Joni Trulock, Group Marketing Manager Email: j.trulock@ustaxfs.com Website: ustaxfs.com Twitter: @ustaxfs With 30 years’ experience, our US/UK expat tax specialists provide US and UK tax return preparation, planning, compliance, and expatriation as well as all US business tax services, wherever you are in the world.

WEALTH MANAGEMENT MASECO PRIVATE WEALTH Burleigh House, 357 Strand, London WC2R 0HS 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.

To advertise in American in Britain magazine, contribute a feature, or promote your organisation in this Directory, please email Damian at damian@theamericanhour.com

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39

EMBASSY CORNER Must Be The Money: Common Scams And How To Avoid Them Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to obtain your personal details. Why? Simple – they want your money! No one group of people is more likely to become a victim of a scam; all of us could be targeted at some point. This is why it pays to be cautious.

Some common scams include: • Romantic scams, or as I like to call them, “scams of the heart,” are the most common type of scam. Fraudsters often create a fictional persona via social media platforms and online dating websites. They spend a long time building a relationship before creating a realistic and believable story about needing money. For example, they might claim they have been involved in a serious accident, held by UK customs officials demanding money, or need funds for a “life-or-death” emergency. You should be extremely wary of such requests, especially if you’ve never actually met this romantic interest in person • Financial scams. You might receive an email from a web-based email address (such as Yahoo or Hotmail) that asks you to verify your bank account. This is a hoax; scammers use this technique to obtain your personal information to make unauthorised transactions on your behalf • Identity theft. Whilst this isn’t quite as common, fraudsters tend to obtain personal information from government IDs and use a different picture to falsely pretend to be you – and open bank accounts or credit lines in your name.

Ultimately, the scenarios scammers use are entirely fictional. Remember, border officials in the United Kingdom do not ask travellers to pay large sums of money for entry. Hotel staff will not confiscate passports, and hospitals do not withhold emergency treatment for financial reasons!

Here are a few simple tips that can reduce the risk of becoming a target: • Question everything: the phone call, the email, 40

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links on social media, etc. More importantly, ask yourself: if someone is in extreme danger or requires assistance and they have the ability to contact you, they could just as easily contact the police, a family member, or the Embassy directly, right?

• Be alert: remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is! The reason why scammers succeed is because they sound so convincing • Guard your personal information: do not disclose personal details online or over the phone. Fraudsters use a variety of tricks to get you to divulge account numbers and passwords. If you get an email claiming to be from a legitimate source, such as a bank, and the email address does not look official (and the email itself is riddled with typos), this is most likely a scam.

If you have been targeted by a scammer, you should cease all contact with the individual(s) or “financial institutions” immediately. Replying will only encourage more scam messages; it is common for fraudsters to pose as different fictional people or organsations, try different tactics to convince you of their legitimacy, or to sell your contact details to other scammers.

Whatever you do, do not attempt to confront the scammer or investigate them yourself. You should report the scam to: • The Webmaster/website administrator, if you were contacted via a particular website • Your bank and/or any money transfer service you used, if you have sent money • Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre, run by the National Fraud Authority in association with the City of London Police: www.actionfraud.police.uk; and/or The US Federal Trade Commission via www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ if you are concerned about identity theft.

EMBASSY INFORMATION US Embassy, 33 Nine Elms Lane, London, SW11 7US uk.usembassy.gov Switchboard: (020)7499 9000 Business Hours: 8:30am- 5:30pm, Monday-Friday.

Closed on American and UK holidays.

An officer is available via the switchboard all day, every day, for a life or death emergency involving a US citizen in the United Kingdom.

Passport and Citizenship Services: By Appointment Monday - Friday Notary Services: By appointment Appointments available only online at uk.usembassy.gov Federal Benefits Unit: uk.usembassy.gov General Social Security information: ssa.gov Travel Advice: travel.state.gov

y lt as ve tm No ris ift h G C The Only Ball Marker for Golfers in Stormy and Inclement Weather Not only can it be used to mark balls in bad weather, it can also be used as a Nearest the Pin Marker, a Longest Drive Marker and a Locker Key Ring Looking for a New, Fun and Innovative Golf Gift for the golfer in your life?

Tired of buying novelty golf presents they won't use?

Why not buy a gift that he/she can use over and over again, but also has that fun factor?

Be the first to buy the golfer in your life Stormarker, the New, Unique, Innovative and Exciting Multi-Purpose Marker, designed and created by Helen Elliott, Founder & CEO of American in Britain!

Stormarker’s main purpose is to mark your ball if you have to leave the course mid-round due to bad weather, but it can also be used as a Nearest the Pin and Longest Drive Marker, and when not being used on the course its striking design make it a fun Locker Keyring.

Stormarker is lightweight and easily portable, and as it is 20cm in height and distinctively shaped as a lightning bolt (with its own name tag attached) will clearly mark the place of golf balls if golfers have to leave the course.

Because it is so visible from a long distance, it can also be used as a Nearest the Pin or Longest Drive marker.

It is available in five bright, attractive, vivid colours - Red, Yellow, Pink, Orange and White.

Golfers love nearest the pin and longest drive challenges, and if groups of friends, societies, charity days etc., want to add a bit of extra fun to the round, then all they need are Stormarkers, rather than the large, unwieldly, heavy metal markers that damage your golf bags when carried.

Stormarker will provide a fun and useful alternative to golf balls, towels and tees for those looking for stocking fillers as well as Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day and Mother's Day presents. They are also great for charity day, golf day and society day gifts and prizes.

Price: ÂŁ9.99 For further information, or to purchase these markers, please email helen@theamericanhour.com

The recipient of your gift will be delighted with this product, as it has only just been created, so they will be the first to own one and will be the envy of their golf friends.

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AMERICAN IN BRITAIN