Last Wednesday (27 November 2019) BBC 1 showed a documentary based around a lengthy interview with Boris Pahor, a Slovene writer from Trieste, who is 106 years old and is believed to be the oldest living concentration camp survivor. He has always lived in Trieste except for a period immediately after the war.

The programme was entitled “The Man Who Saw Too Much” and the interview was conducted in Slovene, partly with English subtitles and partly with a live translation into English. It is available on BBC i-player for about the next three weeks.

A new refreshing drink using hemp extract and created by British-Slovene team, has won a “Best New Drink Product of the Year 2019” awarded by Food Matters Live, a community dedicated to changing the world of food and drink.

The winning “Botanical Rose and Raspberry Lemonade infused with CBD” is a delicious, all-natural and refreshing drink and a great alternative to alcohol. It was created by Oxford based drinks company Cannasa, which was founded by British -Slovene pair – Matthew Pygott and Gregor Pečnik.

Matt and Gregor aim to develop amazing hemp-based products by pushing the boundaries through innovation (they are the first to use microencapsulated hemp oil, which has no smell or taste of hemp), sustainability (they use compostable hemp derived label) and a great taste.

CBD, short for Cannabidiol, is the extract of hemp that has become increasingly popular with consumers in recent years. In the medical world, clinical trials are being held to see if CBD may help treat conditions like pain, insomnia, and anxiety. Cannasa drinks are sold in a range of shops including Harrods, Daylesford Farms, Revital, The Vegankind supermarket and many independent health shops around the country. For more information visit https://cannasa.co.uk/ .

Central European Seminar Series
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in London, 17 Dartmouth Street, London SW1H 9BL
All are welcome, registration is free but essential via Eventbrite.

As part of the UCL SSEES Central European Seminar Series and the World Festival of Slovene Science and Art organised on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the University of Ljubljana writer, translator and lesbian activist Suzana Tratnik will be speaking to translator Olivia Hellewell about her life of words and actions.

Suzana Tratnik lives and works in Ljubljana as a writer, translator and essayist. Her books and short stories have been translated into more than twenty languages, while she herself has translated an impressive array of fiction and non-fiction into Slovene, including authors such as Judith Butler, Eileen Myles, Kate Bornstein, Ian McEwan and Truman Capote. As a co-founder of the pioneering lesbian group, Škuc-Lezbična sekcija LL, and an organiser of Ljubljana’s LGBT Film Festival, Tratnik is as proactive in society as she is productive on paper; a synergy that she documented in her memoir Lezbični aktivizem po korakih (Lesbian Activism Step-by-Step; 2013). In 2016, a selection of Suzana’s stories became available to an English-speaking audience: Games with Greta and Other Stories (translated by Michael Biggins et al.) was published by Dalkey Archive Press. Discussion will turn to prominent themes in this work – marginal destinies in contemporary urban life, childhood in 60s and 70s Yugoslavia, and of course, her own experience of being translated.
The event is hosted by the Embassy of Slovenia in London and made possible by the generous support of the Centre for Slovene as a Second and Foreign Language at the University of Ljubljana and the Slovene Ministry of Culture. Slovene wine will be served, courtesy of the Embassy of Slovenia in London.

Slovenian author Suzana Tratnik is the Slovenian Embassy’s writer-in-residence in London this month. Two dates for your diaries:

Slovenian Lesbian Literature: Four Voices
Gay’s the Word Bookshop is delighted to be hosting an evening of poetry and short stories with the Slovenian Embassy at Gay’s the Word Bookshop on Friday 15th November at 7pm. Organised by their writer-in-residence, Suzana Tratnik, who has invited poets Kristina Hočevar and Vesna Liponik and fellow short story writer Nataša Sukič from Ljubljana to read from their work, translated into English.

A limited edition chapbook, Four Voices, has been created especially for the event with commentary on contemporary lesbian literature and working in translation. We will also have Suzana Tratnik’s Games with Greta and Other Stories on sale that evening. All welcome.

Venue: Gays the Word Bookshop, 66 Marchmont Street, London WC1N 1AB. More information at:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1381732145310061/

Suzana Tratnik and Olivia Hellewell in conversation
Tuesday 26th November 2019 at 6pm at UCL SSEES (School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies), London. Further information available shortly.

The BSS warmly invites you to our annual Carol Service on Friday 6th December 2019, at 6:30 pm.

This is our regular festive get together which is held in the beautiful church of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, Queen Victoria Street and St. Andrew’s Hill, City of London, EC4V 5DE.

The church, which was built by Sir Christopher Wren is a wonderful historic building and well worth a visit in its own right. Please come and join in our carol singing in English and Slovene.

Catch up with friends after the service as there will be potica (offered by the Society) and Christmas drinks (courtesy of the Embassy).

There is no charge but a collection is taken to support the work of the Barka charity in Slovenia.

Nearest underground Blackfriars. St Paul’s and Mansion House nearby.

The Slovenian Embassy in London has sent us information on the rights of EU citizens in the UK related to Brexit:

Apply to the Settlement Scheme

Brexit – What You Need to Know

Dravljani EU, prijavite se

EU Settlement Scheme – Important Information

EU Settlement Scheme – Support Available

EU Settlement Scheme ID Verification

Introduction for Community Groups

Veleposlaništvo Republike Slovenije vljudno vabi slovenske državljane, ki prebivajo v Združenem kraljestvu, na informativni dogodek o bodočem statusu državljanov držav članic EU po izstopu Združenega kraljestva iz EU.

Na vprašanja bodo odgovarjali neodvisni pravni strokovnjaki. V primeru, da imate konkretna vprašanja, svetujejo, da jih vnaprej posredujete v angleškem jeziku na rsvp.vlo@gov.si

Datum: 9. oktober 2019 ob 18:30
Kraj: Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU

Prosijo, da udeležbo potrdite na rsvp.vlo@gov.si

Dogodek bo sneman ter predvajan v živo na Facebook strani Veleposlaništva RS v Londonu in bo na razpolago še nekaj dni po dogodku.

Nadaljnje informacije v zvezi z izstopom ZK iz EU v slovenščini lahko najdete na spletni strani TUKAJ

Dogodek je organiziran v sodelovanju z: