The Anglo-Hellenic League
Dedicated to promoting Anglo-Greek understanding and friendship, through charitable and cultural work.
News
Prof Kevin Featherstone joins the Council of the League
We are delighted to announce that Professor Kevin Featherstone has been appointed a member of the Council of the League, under the Council's co-option procedure (rule 6). The appointment takes place with immediate effect.
Prof Featherstone is the Eleftherios Venizelos Professor in Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor in European Politics in the European Institute at the London School of Economics & Political Science, where he is also Director of the Hellenic Observatory. He has held visiting positions at the University of Minnesota; New York University; Harvard University; and, the European University Institute (Firenze). He was the first foreign member of the National Council for Research and Technology (ESET) in Greece, serving from 2010-2013. In 2013 he was made ‘Commander: Order of the Phoenix’ by the President of the Hellenic Republic.
28 May 2020
Postponement of the Annual General Meeting
The League’s AGM was due to take place at the Hellenic Centre on 18 June 2020 at 5.15pm. Because of the continuing lockdown owing to Covid-19, the Council has decided to postpone the meeting until 28 September 2020. The AGM will take place in the Friends Room at the Hellenic Centre at 5.15pm on that date.
The Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements for 2019 will be circulated to members shortly. If members have any comments or queries on the document, please direct them to us by 18 June at info@anglohellenicleague.org. Elections for the Council in 2020-21 will be held at the meeting on 28 September. The agenda will be posted well in advance of the meeting.
All timings are, of course, subject to decisions by the UK Government.
Monday 19 October 2020, 7.30pm
A Taste of Greek Wines
Hellenic Centre (Friends & Members Room), 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS
Members who booked tickets for the wine-tasting event on 23 March should take note that it has now been rescheduled for Monday 19 October, 7.30pm at the Hellenic Centre. Tickets already sold for March are valid for the rescheduled date. If you have bought tickets and know you can’t make the new date, please contact us at info@anglohellenicleague.org and we will arrange a refund. There are eight or so tickets for the event still to be sold. Members and, now, supporters of the League are warmly encouraged to join us. We hope for a full house!
The tasting will be led by Lance Foyster MW. Lance is an experienced wine importer and a lifelong lover of Greece. He gained a degree in Classics at Oxford University before qualifying as a Master of Wine. Alongside his wife Isabelle Clark, Lance is co-founder and co-owner of Clark Foyster Wines Ltd., a specialist importer based in West London. Clark Foyster Wines began in 2003 and made its first imports of Greek wines in 2013. Both Lance and Isabelle have spent much time in Greece exploring the country and its vineyards. The company works primarily with small family-run estates in Greece, Austria, France, Portugal, Georgia, Australia and New Zealand. The wines imported by the company are handcrafted, many on a small scale. The company’s clients include London’s famous restaurants and wine retailers.
Greek wine is in a fascinating state of rejuvenation. For several decades, many Greek producers created “me-too” wines, using international grape varieties to copy the classics of France and Italy, mostly for the domestic market. But in recent years, Greek wine-makers have rediscovered many of the traditional grape varieties which better reflect the country’s heritage: Agiorghitiko from the Peloponnese, Xinomavro from the north, and Assyrtiko from Santorini, to name but three.
We’ll look at eight wines, all from indigenous varietals, covering red, dry white and sweet styles, and discuss the ‘work in progress’ that is making Greece such a dynamic and increasingly fashionable wine producing country.
This is a ticket-only event. The price of one ticket is £25 (donations above this price are welcome). Tickets are strictly limited in number and available to Members and supporters of the League on a ‘first come, first served basis’, with a maximum of two tickets per Member. If you are a member or supporter of the League and wish to attend, please contact us on info@anglohellenicleague.org.
Cultural Programme for 2020
Events on our cultural programme for 2020 have been cancelled or postponed until the autumn. Current details are available here.
RUNCIMAN AWARD 2020 and 2021
The Council of the League has decided to hold the next Runciman Award in 2021, to coincide with the celebrations for the bicentenary of the start of the Greek War of Independence. There will be no award in 2020.
Our sponsorship arrangement with Elias Paraskevas Attorneys1933 has come to an amicable end. We are grateful to the company for its three-year support and commitment to the Runciman Award. We are now seeking a new sponsorship deal.
The Runciman Award has been operating for over 30 years. We are committed to its future and think the time is right to have a brief pause, to take stock of what the prize has achieved and to agree new ambitions for the years ahead, taking account of the wider purposes of the League. While much is to be decided, we expect that eligible books written in both 2019 and 2020 will be admissible for the prize in 2021.
We are open to the views of our members and supporters, and also to the ideas of authors, publishers and our judges. If you have views about the future shape of the Runciman Award, please send them to us in concise form by 31 December 2019 at our mail-box: info@anglohellenicleague.org.
We shall make an announcement in the first half of 2020 about the relaunch of the Runciman Award.
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