Genootschap Nederland Engeland

Groningen Branch

Events
27 September 2010 (Monday)
"Tyger, Tyger or The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere" by John Gilroy
Event starts at 20:15 hrs at Venue A (see below)
Remarks: The talk will be about: `Tyger, Tyger`
17 November 2010 (Wednesday)
"Exploring Unexplained Mysteries, Global Cover-Ups and 2012 Prophecies" by Andy Thomas
Event starts at 20:15 hrs at Venue A (see below)
21 January 2011 (Friday)
"The Portraits of William Shakespeare" by Dr. Paul Franssen
Event starts at 19:30 hrs at Venue A (see below)
15 February 2011 (Tuesday)
"Dutch Connection in British History: Dutch Lives in the Oxford Dictionary of Nat Biography" by Lawrence Goldman
Event starts at 20:15 hrs at Venue A (see below)
8 March 2011 (Tuesday)
"A Stroll through the Axis of Evil" by John Pilkington
Event starts at 20:15 hrs at Venue A (see below)
12 April 2011 (Tuesday)
"Caste Howard (`Building it` or `Art collecting` or `Castle Howard and Brideshead`)" by Christopher Ridgway
Event starts at 20:15 hrs at Venue A (see below)
Remarks: The talk will be about: `Castle Howard and Brideshead: Fact, Fiction and In-Between`
18 May 2011 (Wednesday)
"Wonderful Things: Museums and Galleries in London or Dickens in the 21st Century" by Florian Schweizer
Event starts at 20:15 hrs at Venue A (see below)
Remarks: The talk will be: `Wonderful Things: Museums and Galleries in London`

Venue "A"`t Gorechthuis
Hortuslaan 1
9751 BE  Haren

Venue information 
‘t Gorechthuis, Hortuslaan 1, 9751 BE Haren, tel. 050- 5370855.
For travel and parking information, click here.
Groningen Branch

Chairman           Dr. G.H.V. Bunt
Hon. Secretary   H.J. van Die
Telephone         050-5340464
e-mail                 h.j.vandie@planet.nl

The Groningen branch of the Genootschap Nederland-Engeland (or GNE) has been in existence since 1920. GNE’s aim is to foster friendship and to broaden cultural relations between The Netherlands and Britain, and English-speaking countries generally. Our main activity is to arrange talks by English-speaking lecturers, who tour the branches of GNE to inform members about some aspect of British life, culture, politics, etc. We may also invite speakers of English who live in The Netherlands to talk to us. Occasionally British artists visit us to entertain our members with music, plays, poetry or other performances. We also organise events which have a more purely social character, such as an end of season walk. Throughout the season there is at least one activity a month. This is generally an illustrated lecture by a British speaker. These talks are normally held in ‘t Gorechthuis, Hortuslaan 1, Haren. In some years there is a Christmas Party in December and an end of season event in late May or early June.

Subscriptions and admission
Annual membership fee
The membership year runs from 1 July to 30 June.
Membership dues are:
€ 28 for individual members
€ 45 for couples (married/partners)
€ 8 for students

Events and lectures
Entrance to lectures is free to members. There may be a special entrance fee for other events.

Non-members are welcome to lectures, but are asked to contribute € 4 to the cost of the evening.
 
Programme for the 2010-2011 season
 
Mon. 27 Sept.: John Gilroy, Tyger, Tyger
Wed. 17 Nov.: Andy Thomas, The Truth Agenda: Exploring Unexplained Mysteries
December 2010: Christmas Party, to be announced later
Fri. 21 Jan. 2011: Paul Franssen, The Portraits of William Shakespeare
Tue. 15 Feb.: Lawrence Goldman, The Dutch Connection
Tue. 8 March: John Pilkington, A Stroll Through the Axis of Evil
Tue. 12 April: Christopher Ridgway, Castle Howard and Brideshead: Fact, Fiction and In-Between
Wed. 18 May: Florian Schweizer, Wonderful Things: Museums and Galleries in London
 
Other activities
In 1988, to mark the William and Mary Tercentenary, a public speaking competition for schools was initiated by the GNE. In 1995, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the GNE was reason enough for the society to organize a young writers competition, set up in close cooperation with the British Council. The two competitions continued to grow in popularity and professionalism, thanks to the efforts of many GNE members and several generous sponsors. Since we have the BBC as main sponsor the two competitions are run in parallel as one annual event: the BBC Young Writers and Public Speaking Awards .
GNE organizes this competition for young people of course with more sponsors.
Thanks to the support of many parties, the Awards has now become a prestigious national event in the Netherlands - something the GNE can be very proud of!
For more information, please click this link BBC-Awards
Photos
Our treasurer, Cornelie Daae, has made photographs of all our meetings in recent times. To view these photos, click on this link: http://picasaweb.google.nl/cornelie.daae . You will see one photo for each meeting; if you click on this photo, you will be able to view the other shots Cornelie made.
Bulletins
Like other branches, we produce our own English language newsletter, the Bulletin, which comes out seven or eight times per season.
It is sent, by e-mail or by post, to all members. It contains information on upcoming lectures, brief reports on past events, news, notices and other items of interest.
Our latest bulletin can be downloaded by clicking here.
Note: depending on the speed of your internet connection, downloading may take some time.

The following back numbers may also be downloaded:
 
 

Lectures

During the GNE lecture season, talks are given about once a month and unless otherwise stated, these are delivered in English. The visiting speakers are all experts in their chosen fields and their lectures are both informative and entertaining. They may feature different aspects of British life, arts and culture, places and people. Occasionally we are also treated to a traveller`s tale. Wherever possible, lectures are illustrated.
An overview of this year`s programme is given below. For more details on the talks please click talks. For the full programme with dates, venues and entry fees per branch, please click branches.
John Pilkington: A Stroll through the Axis of Evil
John`s talk is titled `A Stroll through the Axis of Evil`; Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran are in the news for all the wrong reasons. Starting in Beirut, John will unravel a picture quite different to the news stories as he followed a winding route via the Euphrates, the Caucasus and the Valley of the Assassins to finish on the Persian Gulf. John Pilkington has been called “one of Britain’s greatest tellers of travellers’ tales”. Read more...
John Gilroy: Tyger, Tyger or The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere
John Gilroy retired from his post as Senior Lecturer in English at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge in 2005, but still teaches in its department part-time. He also teaches for the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education on both its residential courses and its international summer schools for which he is a course director.
John has lectured widely in Britain and internationally for organisations such as The English-Speaking Union, ‘Inscape’ Fine Art Tours and for GNE. He specialises in literature of the Romantic period and has published on Wordsworth, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Philip Larkin. His latest book, ‘Romantic Literature’, for the new York Connections series will appear in 2010.
Read more...
Julian Paren: A photographic evening: The Antarctic Experience or The global climate change
Julian has a choice of three talks:
1. A photographic evening:  Going South  - the Antarctic Experience
2. The global climate challenge
3. Exploring the islands and western coast of Scotland
Read more...
Andy Thomas: Exploring Unexplained Mysteries, Global Cover-Ups and 2012 Prophecies
Andy is a leading researcher into unexplained mysteries and is the world’s most prolific writer on crop circles. His many books include Vital Signs, described widely as the definitive guide to the circle phenomenon. His newest and much acclaimed title, The Truth Agenda, explores the link between paranormal mysteries and global cover-ups.
Read more...
Lawrence Goldman: Dutch Connection in British History: Dutch Lives in the Oxford Dictionary of Nat Biography
The illustrated lecture uses the Dictionary as a means of exploring the historic connections between Britain and the Netherlands in both directions, examining the Dutch who came to live and work in Britain from the Reformation onwards, and Britons who visited the Low Countries. Read more...