I have been accused of being obsessive in these newsletters about the weather. A fair point that I must concede! We are at last seeing bright skies and the welcome heads of Spring flowers - this season is one of the delights of Britain that I always miss when in Australia.
April is of course dominated by the many ANZAC Day services that are observed around the country. Each Branch of the Britain-Australia Society organised or attended a regional service. Officers of the London Branch attended services in Norfolk, Cambridge and Sutton Veny and Sir Geoffrey Errington was our representative at Harefield Hospital. It is always a heartwarming sight to see some 2 or 3 thousand, mostly young, people rouse themselves for the 5am service at Hyde park Corner in London. I myself paraded at the Cenotaph and several of us joined the congregation in Westminster Abbey for the moving service there.
With the sunshine our thoughts oft turn to the garden...
The Britain Australia Society is very delighted once again to be holding the Garden Party Reception at the High Commissioner's Residence at Stoke Lodge on the evening of Wednesday 29th May from 6pm - 8pm. This is an opportunity to meet the High Commissioner, His Excellency, Mr Mike Rann, and his wife, Sasha, who are kindly hosting this event with The Britain Australia Society. It will be a wonderful occasion, so please let us know as soon as possible if you can attend! You will also be able to enjoy some magnificent Australian wines provided from The Lane, a winery in the Adelaide Hills, that was aquired by the Vestey Group in 2011. There will also be canapes provided throughout the evening, and Vestey Foods Group are also kindly providing prime chilled fillet of Australian beef for the occasion. Tickets are £30 for members and £40 for
guests.
Tickets for our events at the Reform Club and the Long Room at Lord's are nearly sold out! If you have reserved your place but not yet paid then please do so quickly to confirm your place. Both of these promise to be special occasions.
Today is probably the last day to take advantage of our advance booking for MINT Polo in Hurlingham Park. See below for the link and instructions.
We are very pleased to announce that the new All-England Club CEO, Richard Lewis, has graciously allowed us an allocation of Centre Court tickets for the first week of Wimbledon Fortnight. The ballot will be strictly for paid-up members only. See the article below for details of how to enter.
Speaking of paid-up members we thank all of those members who have paid by standing order or renewed via the website. This is the first year we have had the renewal process via Paypal on the website and there were some teething problems - but that is all sorted out now, so those who have yet to renew should have no difficulty!
Another Spring event that has proved popular with members is attending the annual cricket match between the Australian High Commission and the Royal Household at Frogmore Estate in Windsor. This will be on May 25th. If you are interested in attending then contact the office for details or see the website.
The year is trotting along nicely now and we do look forward to meeting many of you at one of these marvelous events. Don't forget to spread the word to your friends and colleagues about membership so that we can expand the Britain-Australia Society family.
