| This year’s events This year is the British Egyptian Society’s 20th Anniversary and we will be holding a series of events to commemorate this. Our first event will be at the Egyptian Embassy on 13th May when H.E. the Ambassador will launch “Winter on the Nile” by Anthony Sattin, which is being published on 6th May. In early June, Dr. Sameh Aboul Enein, the Deputy Head of Mission, has agreed to take part in a debate on Nuclear Disarmament in the Assem Allam Lecture Theatre at Hull University. On 22nd June we are co-hosting an event with the Egypt Exploration Society at the English Speaking Union. The photographer, Sandro Vannini, whose wonderful photographs featured in the two books written by Dr. Zahi Hawass which we launched in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum last December, will talk on his 20 years of photographing Egypt, illustrating his talk with slides. This will be followed by a party in the courtyard, weather permitting. On 15th July we are planning a major event in the Institute of Directors; this is still in the planning stage but I can assure you it will be of major interest to our Egyptian members as well as others. At the beginning of October there will be a cocktail party for our members in the Cholmondley Room at the House of Lords which gives access to the Terrace. Finally may I say that we are still considering other events, including a major speaker for the 3rd Sir Michael Weir Annual Lecture, and these will be advised in due course? Naturally a flyer will be sent to all of our members before each of the above events. |
| Date: 22nd October 2009 A lecture by Dr. Helen Whitehouse from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford on Roman Wall Paintings in the Dakhleh Oasis On 22nd October at the Egyptian Cultural Centre, The British Egyptian Society and the Egyptian Cultural and Education are hosting jointly a lecture by Dr. Helen Whitehouse from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford on Roman Wall Paintings in the Dakhleh Oasis – An Evolving Story. Dr Whitehouse is an excellent speaker and I do urge you to attend. To read more and for application form click here  |
| Date: 8th December 2009 An evening with Dr. Zahi Hawass |
| Date: 3rd December 2009 The 2nd Sir Michael Weir Annual Lecture with Sir Magdi Habib Yacoub (3rd December 2009) |
| Date: 17th June 2009 BES Annual Dinner This year’s British Egyptian Society Annual Dinner with take place again at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall. The guest speaker will be Lord Malloch-Brown, a minister in the British Government with the right to attend cabinet meetings. A former Under Secretary General of the United Nations, he has a wide ranging view of world events. To read more and for application form click here |
| Date: 12th March 2009 Reception for H.E. the Egyptian Ambassador & Mrs. Hatem Seif El Nasr His Excellency took up his post during the 1st week in December and on Friday 13th February he presented his credentials to H.M. the Queen. The British Egyptian Society is holding a reception in The Library at the Reform Club to welcome His Excellency and Mrs. Hatem Seif El Nasr on Thursday 12th March, To read more and for application form click hereNoel Rands, Secretary |
| Date: 5th March 2009 Visit to the Petrie Museum My colleague, Mrs Cathie Bryan has organised to the Petrie Museum. This is one of the most important collection of Egyptian Artifacts outside Egypt and we are promised an interesting talk, refreshments and a guided tour of the exhibits in small groups. Well worth attending as the flyer will prove. |
| Date: 5th to 8th December Society Visit to Paris For the second year in succession I have been let down by doctors. This year two have dropped out of the Paris trip at the last moment leaving a horrid hole in this self-financing visit which would have to be covered by me and the Treasurer. It seems that making a commitment doesn’t mean very much these days. I have two train seats available plus a hotel room for a single or a couple (twin or double bed). GBP560 (£280 each) for the double/Twin or £390 for a single. If you are interested please call or text me on 07876 403242. I have to say that after this recent experience I do not think we will be arranging any more overseas trips. Such a shame/ Cheers, Noel Rands, Secretary |
Date: Thursday, November 27, 2008 The first lecture will be given by the Rt Hon The Lord Pattern of Barnes, CH PC at the Institution of Civil Engineers, one George Street, Westminster London SW1P 3AA. The title of this talk will be 'After the Crash' and the evening will be chaired by Baroness Symons. More Details: Click here |
| Date: Monday, 10 November 2008 Ali Baba Supper Gigi Moustafa has again organised a supper at the Ali Baba Restaurant and yesterday, Saturday, in feverish haste I printed, labelled, stamped, folded and labelled again 160 flyers. Later a call from Gigi told me that the restaurant had made a mistake and the cost is £30 a head, not £25. So, I will call everyone who applies to join us and explain the difference. I do hope it doesn’t put too many people of what is a fun evening! More Details: Click here. |
Date: Thursday 30th October 2008 The Chairman and Members of the Executive Committee of the British Egyptian Society Invite you to an illustrated lecture by Doctor Jean-Marcel Humbert on Thursday, 30 October 2008, at the English-speaking union (37 Charles Street, London W1J 5ED). The lecture starts at 6:30 PM, to be followed by a drinks reception. More Details: Click here |
| Date: Monday 4th February 2008 Talk by Dr. Abd Elaziz Hegazy at the English Speaking Union On 4th February, our Chairman, the Rt. Hon. Baroness of Symons, introduced to our members and guests Dr. Hegazy, the former Prime Minister of Egypt and the Chairman of the Egyptian British Friendship Society in Cairo, at the English Speaking Union. |
Date: Thursday 27th November 2008 |
| Date: 11th to 15th May 2008 MEA Trade Mission to Egypt The Middle East Association is organising a Trade Mission to Egypt. Full details appear on our website. |
| Date: Tuesday 25th March 2008 Talk by Mr. David Arnold, President of the American University in Cairo Mr. Arnold has very kindly agreed to give a talk on “The Role of Higher Education in the Middle East: the case of Egypt” in the Khalili Lecture Theatre, School of Oriental and African Studies, Russell Square, London at 6.30pm on Tuesday 25th March 2008 at 6.30pm. |
| Date: Friday 14th March 2008 Wedding! On 14th March 2008 our Executive Committee member Dina married |
| Date: Wednesday 23rd January 2008 Bonhams January Egyptian Sale More details click here . |
| Date: Monday, 4th February 2008 “Egypt Today and the Road Ahead” by Dr. Abd Elaziz M. Hegazy More details click here . |
Date: 27th September 2007 |
Date: Tuesday 11th December 2007 |
Date: Monday 29th October 2007 |
| Date: 22nd September 2007 Launch of Forum Book at SOAS on 23rd October 2007 "The Book on last year's forum which will be called "Egyptian-British Relations - From Suez to the Present Day" will be launched at SOAS on Tuesday 23rd October as you will see from the attached Flyer. The book will be available to BES members at £7 a copy, much reduced from Amazon's special offer and the cover price. The evening is well worth attending." |
Date: December 2007 If anyone is interested can they please e.mail me at noelrands@compuserve.com or Farid at faridUK@aol.com Noel Rands |
Date: TBC
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Date: 16th October 2007
Bedouin Jerry Can Band |
Fri 5th October 2007 |
13th August 2007 Programme Summary: Depart London Heathrow on 21 October, returning Friday 26 October. The meeting of the International Friends will include presentations by the library's department directors, a visit to Villa Antoniadis to include a picnic lunch in its Gardens, a concert by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Chamber Orchestra, an optional visit to Islamic and Coptic Cairo organised by the Egyptian Friends, the opportunity for extensive tours of the magnificent building and its collections, dinner at the Greek Club and other leading restaurants. Tour members will become the first international visitors to qualify for Friends membership of the Library. The programme on 24 and25 Oct may change due to 5th anniversary events organised by the Library. There is no obligation to attend working sessions of the International Friends. BES members may select their own travel and accommodation arrangements, joining the International Meeting events as they choose. For further information, contact David Wardrop, Secretary of the UK Friends. (0207 385 6738 or davidwardrop@bulldoghome.com ). Note The direct British Mediterranean Airlines service to Alexandria end s on 26 October and will not be continued by its new owner, British Midland International. Websites: Noel Rands |
27th September 2007 Illustrated talk by Professor James Stevens Curl, one of the United Kingdom's leading architectural historians, and drinks reception at SOAS on 27th September 2007. |
| 1 July 2007 Photographic dialogue between Palestinian and Israeli teenagers For more information: Click Here |
DECEMBER 3 – 17 2007 THE FLORA AND FAUNA IN THE ART OF ANCIENT EGYPT |
| Future Events for 2007 Click here for Full details Noel Rands |
9th March 2009 20th March 2007 |
Tuesday 13th March, 2007 |
Thursday 8th March, 2007 |
| Feb/March 2007 El Tanbura - Egyptian musicians and dancers on Tour Website: Click here  |
| HMS WHIMBREL (1942-49) Battle of the Atlantic Memorial project Click here |
The Annual General Meeting |
The Annual Dinner |
Paris Trip British Egyptian Society visit to Paris, December 2006 19 members and friends booked for the Paris trip. Unfortunately due to illness and family commitments 3 withdrew after making their booking and a further one drooped out due to illness on the morning of departure; a further member had to cut her visit short due to a business commitment. However, we were boosted in Paris by Wagdy Soliman and his wife (who were already in France) joining us; Wagdy arranged also for a coach to meet us at Gare du Nord and it gave the trip a lift when we walked around the road works outside the station and saw “British Egyptian Society” in the window of a smart vehicle. We had left on Eurostar at 10.40 on Friday 8th December, arriving in Paris at 14.37, half an hour late. The group (including Mr. and Mrs. Soliman) stayed at the Bleu Marine Concorde Hotel in Montparnasse. We had stayed there on the last trip; the hotel is well located and comfortable although late breakfast tends to get extremely busy. On the first evening 9 of us went for dinner at the famous Paris restaurant, “La Coupole”. In retrospect we should have offered this to the entire group which we hadn’t done on cost grounds; it was a little expensive. However, members always have the opportunity to decline. On the Saturday the morning was “free”; we had arranged two day tickets on the Metro for everyone which made travel easier. Our guide was the excellent Rola Cusson, who had escorted us on the last trip in 2004; our first visit was to the Musee Jacquemart Andre; this museum was new to us and was quite a find, set in what had been a grand family house. The exhibition featured “Treasures of the Thracians” and was quite magnificent. Some of us, including the writer, had not heard of the Thracians and the description by Rola of their history and seeing some quite magnificent gold items was rewarding. At 5pm we visited the Institut du Monde Arab to see “Venice and the Near East”. This is an excellent museum and this fascinating exhibition was illuminated with Rola’s detailed talk (via our individual headsets). In the evening the entire group had dinner at “Le Bistro de Breuteuil”, not far from our hotel. As on the previous evening the bookings had been made by Cathie and Tony Bryan and this proved to be an inspired choice. The meal was very reasonably priced and the restaurant had an excellent Parisian atmosphere. On Sunday came the highlight of the trip; the visit to the Grand Palais to see “The Underwater Treasures of Egypt”. The visit had been booked by Rola who was devastated to discover that the official English speaking guide she had booked and paid for failed to materialise (Grand Palais will not accept private guides). However, they agreed to provide us with individual headsets giving an audio tour. The exhibition was quite remarkable and had been superbly set out, exhibits ranging from 5 metre high statues to tiny gold artefacts, all recovered from the sea off Alexandria. Watching films of diving archaeologists discovering many of the objects on the seabed and then turning to see these same items around us was visually stunning. After this the “official” part of the weekend ended with two members returning on the Sunday and others staying until the Monday, with the coach again transporting the party back to Gare du Nord for the 19.19 Eurostar to Waterloo, arriving at 20.54. There was a general agreement amongst the visitors that we should make this pre-Christmas visit to Paris an annual event. Rola told us that there is a major Phoenician exhibition next December and she is working on a walking tour of the Latin Quarter showing Islamic influences. The redoubtable Cathie Bryan also has a walking tour under her belt that she could offer. Later in the year I will send out a circular to gauge support; and if we get sufficient interest and could book early enough we could risk a Business Class seat on Eurostar at a discounted rate.Noel Rands |
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