Thursday 16 September
9:30 am - 12 noon
The British Academy
Waterloo Place, 10 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1 5AH
Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus or Charing Cross

Get ready for another dynamo year with KCWC! We kick off with our usual “Socials and Sign-ups” meeting at the historic British Academy for the very first time, situated in two 18th century palatial homes. These houses were designed by John Nash, the favoured architect of the flamboyant King George IV, and are set in the place where the King’s mini-palace, Carlton House, once stood overlooking St James’s Park. The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the promotion of humanities and social sciences from archaeology to history and economics. Some famous fellows are Baroness Thatcher, Lady Antonia Fraser and Mervyn King of the Bank of England.

We look forward to meeting new members and getting together with old friends to catch up on “what we did last Summer”, as well as finding out what fabulous events are in store in the 2010-11 activity year. So, by tradition, there will not be a guest speaker. After songs by our very own a capella choir, the Treblemakers, our President Mary Narvell will give us her welcoming remarks.

Our hard-working Activity Leaders will give us a forecast of things to come, and the numerous entities who give us Member Benefits will be exhibiting what they have to offer our members. You will be amazed at how you could get your membership fee back by taking advantage of just a few of their discounts!

The Club now has about 60 nationalities and is run by almost 90 volunteers - members just like you! Meet them and find out what they have organised for you: travel, art and history lectures, museum visits, after hours events, wine tasting, fun parties for your kids, special events like the popular Nearly New Sale and our annual Fashion Show and Market. Get involved! Volunteering is a rewarding experience! Don’t miss this important get-together of creative women who can make a difference in your life. Invite a friend as your guest and show her what you are up to all year!

GENERAL MEETING SCHEDULE
9:30 to 10:30 am —– Coffee and activity sign-ups
10:30 am —– President’s welcoming remarks and announcements
12:15 pm —– Ladies attending Hospitality lunch meet at the lobby
12:30 to 2:30 pm —– Hospitality lunch at a nearby restaurant

SAVE THE DATE!
KCWC continues to be on the cutting edge and our first guest speaker for this activity year will speak on a topic that pervades the global arena and, at the moment, influences the foreign policies of many of the countries we hail from. As an international society of thinking women, we have already heard talks on Iraq and Afghanistan, but Mehrdad Khonsari of the Institute of Arab and Iranian Policy will plunge into a subject that we have never tackled before: WHERE TO, IRAN? This General Meeting will be held on Thursday 7 October at the Royal Geographical Society. Guests, spouses and partners are welcome. This is a must-attend event! The Q&A promises to be exhilarating!

SAVE THE DATE!
To celebrate Remembrance Day this November, youthful British biographer Miranda Carter will speak about three cousins who spent their childhoods in three countries and experienced one big catastrophe: the Great War. As poppy wreaths are laid at monuments all over Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as on the Continent, Ms Carter will speak to us about how the First World War came about by telling us anecdotes and astounding facts about the relationship among the three emperors: King George V and his first cousins, the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. This talk will take place at our General Meeting on Thursday 4 November at the Royal Geographical Society.