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So
far in 2008:
| Sunday
1st June: Annual Party in Beaconsfield. There was a discussion
on the Adoption of Vietnamese Children, initiated by a talk
by freelance media artist Jessica Emmett (below left). |
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It
was a most enjoyable day, with good food, wonderful company
and even the weather behaved. Thirty six people attended,
with ages ranging from 4 months to 91 years, coming from
four countries: Vietnam, Sweden, Poland and the UK, but
all with connections to Vietnam. It was a great meal with
the variety of dishes, thank you all for your contributions.
We had a special guest Jessica Emmett who came from Manchester
to talk about her experiences of being an adopted child,
initially in Hong Kong, and her wish to know more about
what it is like to be Vietnamese.
We
had representatives of Mekong Club Greenwich Branch, Chuan
Va Chung and An Dat Diep who have been working very hard
to complete the application for a fund for a Vietnamese
class in Kidbrooke. Thank you, Chuan and An, Tra-My for
your hard work. Thank you David Baggot and Roy for your
work on policies in support of the application. We are now
hopping to hear from Greenwich Council about the result.
We
found very talented BBQers: Ian McDonald (pictured in action),
Philip Green, Harry and Roy - they can perform again in
our next BBQ which is being arranged by David at the moment.
Many wished we could have a longer time at our party, Harry
and Clive were geared up for the Karaoke session but had
no chance to perform, as children and parents needed to
be back and get ready for school and work on Monday.
Forthcoming
events: David is organising the venue for the Autumn
BBQ, the date will be confirm soon. Giang and Silvia are
planing for the Kent Mid Autumn festival for children -
we will be posting details soon.
VTM
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| Sunday
3rd February: Tet Celebration at the Embassy (in advance of
the actual day on the 7th). |
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| Sunday
27th January: Lunch and informal get-together in Beaconsfield.
|
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Any
more pictures for posting please?
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top
2007 Events
Normal
Tet, Autumn get-togethers and other informal events -
any pictures for posting please?
Our branch in Kidbrooke, East of London, obtained a
grant of £525.20 from Greenwich Council, in order to carry
out weekend Vietnamese classes for over 20 children in the area.
Further funding is being requested in order to extend this successful
Programme.
2005-06 Events
3/9/05 Autumn Barbecue
The Mekong Club Picnic and Barbecue from 11am in Petersham and
Ham Sea Scouts, TW10 7AH, near Richmond upon Thames (South West
London).
The day is packed with games, fishing in the
river, ferry trip, visit to Ham House and Marble Hill,
and the
signing up of new member.
David is a great enthusiast, organizing the
event for the second year running.
25/06/2005 Summer
Get-together
Hue Restaurant, 176-178 Lower Road, Surrey
Quays, London, SE16 2UN.
A new venture into this authentic Vietnamese
restaurant in the South East London. Giang ( club
member) and
friends from BBC, Mekong Club supporters and many regular members
attended. Clive Wood has a good idea for this visit.
24th February 05 Tet Nguyen
Dan
Many members joined-in with
the annual Tet Party, which was as always a happy occasin to welcome
in the lunar new year.
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top
2004 Events
Sat
27th November 04 Dinner
in London
2nd Oct
04 Ball in Buckinghamshire with oriental food, live
music and dance. Sandra and Mai have put in great efforts for the
evening. This is the opportunity to take your best dress/suite out
of the wardrobe. Everyone has a good chance to be a dancer this
evening.
29th
August Autumn Festival at
the Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts, Petersham, Richmond, an outdoor
event with use of a scout hut (with kitchen) David has arranged for
the use of a secluded field by the river near Richmond where members
can make barbecue/camp fire, play games, and walk along the river.
It is near Richmond park, Marble Hill Park (by foot ferry) and Ham
House. Public transport from central London is good and there is
parking. David and Clive organize the day.
End
July Malaysian Festival in Hertforshire with
traditional music and dance, beautiful food, starting from lunch
time and this is a good place for shopping too. Mai and family went
there with Gul and Martin last August and enjoyed very much.
12th
July Annual Meeting at the House of Commons, chaired
by Chris Mullin MP. Adrian Gallagher talks about the 50th
Celebration of the Dien Bien Phu on the 7th May 2004. The meeting
follows by a dinner at "Ha Noi Majestic",139 Westminster Bridge
Road, London SE1
11th - 17th
July Vietnam National Puppetry Theatre, Royal
Observatory Garden, Greenwich Park.
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2003 Events
On 24th
February, many members were
delighted to join the annual Tet Party
December
2003 Meeting in at Thanh
Binh restaurant "My life away from Home,Vietnam" by Danny, time to
be discussed (CLIVE: this can go in the May event)
9th November Meeting of regular members to discuss 2004 plan.
High Street Kensington.
14th September
Autumn Festival at the Pagoda in London.
Coordinators: Dong and Clive. Details will be confirmed by email or
letter to the members and friends.
25th May 2nd Anniversary Celebration- Anthony Fabian's talk
about the film "Harmony in Hanoi". "My life away from Home,Vietnam"
By Danny, time to be discussed (CLIVE: this can go in the May
event)
From memory! Beaconsfield: When was the party and a friend of
Ben ( Michael ?) gave the talk on his agricultural project in
Vietnam?
13 June - 1
December
British Museum Admission
Free
www.thebritishmuseum/newsroom/index.html
Television
footage and reportage photography transmitted
the
American-Vietnam war from the remote jungles of Southeast
Asia direct to the
living rooms of ordinary people in the West.
For the first time in history,
a major civilian audience was able
in total safety to monitor military
operations, as they happened,
in battle zones on the other side of the
world. Tremendous
numbers of people lost their lives in the conflict and
the
effects of this war will continue to be felt for decades to
come.
Correspondents, journalists, photographers and artists
travelled to the
battle scenes and their work largely dictated
popular understanding of the
war. Indeed, certain images from
this conflict ultimately contributed to the
cessation of the
American-Vietnam war in 1975.
The purpose of this exhibition is to present
an unfamiliar aspect of this
period. Most of the images we associate with the war come from
Western film and documentary makers, journalists and artists but
the 132 exhibits
included in this show are all works by the North Vietnamese themselves.
Some of these artists were engaged in the creation of propaganda
materials for the government, some in the recording of the war,
others simply exercising a creative talent. The majority were
patriots who worked alongside the guerilla army, fighting for
their country against a foreign force. Combining traditional and
contemporary techniques, they used an extremely diverse range
of media including hand-painted posters, paintings on rice paper,
watercolours, pen and ink sketches, drawings in crayon and chalk,
ink paintings, acrylics on cardboard, and printed compositions.
Vietnam Behind the Lines will be thematically
arranged in five distinct
sections: hand-painted posters and
official propaganda; wartime
communications and base camp life; combat and the new active role
of women; portraits; and depictions of working life behind the
lines on the land and in industry.
Vietnam Behind the Lines will be the first
exhibition of its kind in Europe
introducing a new audience to some of the most arresting and unusual
images of the American-Vietnam war. All works were recently purchased
by The British Museum, half with the support of The British Museum
Friends, with such an exhibition in mind.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a
fully-illustrated catalogue Vietnam
Behind the Lines - Images from the War 1965-1975 by Jessica Harrison-Hall
(paperback, £15.99) featuring newly commissioned photography,
inscriptions in both original Vietnamese and in translation, interviews
with well-known Vietnamese artists commissioned from Vietnam and
archival photographs by Vietnamese reporters.
Related Events:
Tran Trung Tin: Memories of War
(13 June - 1 December 2002, North Stairs) Sponsored by Asia
Ink
A complementary display of 11 oil paintings
on newspaper and photographic
paper by Tran Trung Tin - the only
Vietnamese artist of the period to paint
in a self-taught style,
radically different from the French neo-realism and
socialist
realism then prevalent. His images of girl soldiers,
orphaned
children, broken lives and broken buildings are balanced
by tender
depictions of lovers, mothers and spiritual renegades.
The display is
accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue Tran
Trung Tin: Paintings and
Poems from Vietnam by Sherry
Buchanan.
Vietnam Study Day (Saturday 22 June
2002, Clore Education Centre: £20, BM Friends/concessions £15)
Lectures for a general audience by
international experts on Vietnamese
culture including Dr Nadine
André-Pallois, Dr John Guy, Jessica
Harrison-Hall, Nguyen Ngoc
Tri and Helen Wang.
Vietnam Film Season
(Clore
Education Centre: all films & events £3 or £2 BM
Friends/
concessions)
* Go Tell the Spartans - Thursday 11 July,
18.30
One of Hollywood's first Vietnam 'platoon
movies'.
Director Ted Post, 1978, 114 mins
* Full Metal
Jacket - Friday 12 July, 18.30
Director Stanley Kubrick, 1987 ,
116 mins
* Cyclo - Saturday 13 July, 14.30
Award-winning
gangster movie by the director of The
Scent of the Green Papaya set in post-war Vietnam. Director Tran
Anh Hung, 1995, 124 mins
* Hollywood's Vietnam - Thursday 25 July,
18.30
An illustrated lecture and discussion by film
historian
Michael Comber with film extracts of the explicit and
implicit
politics of movies dealing with the Vietnam War, from
The Green Berets to
Apocalypse Now Redux.
to
top
2002 Events
31St
December - Ben and Vy had at the
last moment diverted their planned trip to California instead of
Vietnam - when will there be more airlines serving Vietnam? What of
direct London - Vietnam flights? Mai and Roy were in India, so
Clive, John, Dong and Loi met at Lois house to say good bye to
2002 and, welcome the arrival of
2003.
29th
September was a glorious autumn
day and we all enjoyed Mai and Roy's hospitality in Beaconsfield. It
was the first opportunity for many to meet Vy, Ben's partner. There
were several new members including "Cindy" a Chinese student,
"Houng" and the latest student arrival from Hanoi, "Hanh". Hanh in
particular, welcomed the opportunity to make new friends. Hanh left
Vietnam to study in London. She had only been in London for a few
weeks. It was the first time she had been outside Vietnam. Clive
gave an illustrated talk about India. It brought back fond memories
and made him want to go again. With Mai and Roy going there in late
December, it was useful preparation for them to what is perhaps the
most stunning and shocking country on earth. There was another
celebration that day, Mai's birthday - how old Mai? . . .
On 15th
June, members met at the Thai
Garden Cafe near the British Museum to say farewell to Hang. With
her studies over and, her finances almost exhausted, it was time for
her to return to Ho Chi Minh City. Ben's marriage was a major topic
of conversation. Hang finally left the UK on 23rd June. The check in
staff at Stansted Airport were not impressed by her almost 50 kilos
of baggage.
After much interest and joy
at the news of the forthcoming arrival from Hanoi of John's future
partner, Thuy, we were all shocked and saddened at the tragic
news that Thuy had died just a few days before her planned journey
to the UK. It was therefore with deep and sincere sympathy that
Mekong Club members met on 29th September.
As time passes, our heartfelt wishes for John's strength and well-being
do not diminish.
On 24th
February, many members were
delighted to join the annual Tet Party at the Vietnamese Embassy. It
was good to hear the progress being made in social and economic
development in Vietnam. Excellent food and Mai's excellent voice on
the Karaoke followed. Such was the spirit that we celebrated "Tet" that it was easy to forget the heavy
rain outside.
With Mai becoming a commuter
between the UK and Vietnam and, other members being heavily engaged
in work, moving home and romance, it was several months before another meeting could be
arranged.
9th February
saw the first meeting of the year when
members ventured to deepest Camden for a meal at the Thanh Binh
Restaurant. A number of new members attended including our first
student member Thanh Thi Hang who was by that time deeply immersed
in her MA International Marketing Management. It was also the first
meeting where we welcomed Vy, Ben's partner. With her past life in
Vietnam and California we sympathised with her on a cold
February
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