My dear CADS,
I hope this finds you all well. Despite it still being a little bit chilly, one can definitely feel Spring in the air!
Our February lunch was very well attended with over 30 people enjoying the delights of the KIGC. Our guest speaker was Kristy Bryars, one of the Strategic Partnership managers for the International Justice Mission (IJM), an organisation that works globally with local authorities to end slavery, human trafficking and violence against people in poverty. The IJM was the recipient charity of the raffle prize funds raised at our Gala Dinner in November, and the CADS Board decided that CADS would match the value
of the funds raised, so the total donation ended up being €1500. Kristy came to explain to CADS what sort of activities our donation supports. Kristy gave an interesting, informative and moving presentation. She was also very impressed with CADS and is now interested in joining our organisation. So a win, win all round!My dear CADS,
Peter Valentine has stepped down as Treasurer of CADS after taking on the role for over 30 years. We took the opportunity of the February meeting to thank Peter for his amazing contribution. In his time as Treasurer, Peter has had to support several CADS Chairs, demonstrating integrity, foresight, and lots of patience! He always delivered unwavering commitment and handled the Society’s financial matters with the utmost care and professionalism. We presented Peter and his wife Sally Jane with a decent bottle of Bordeaux and some flowers. Peter is still a member of CADS, so hopefully we will see him at many more events!
We also saw some new faces to the club; there were 4 guests who are considering joining the club, and we welcomed new member Mary Gillies (nominated by Scott Anderson). Helen Schippers has also recently joined the club (nominated by Alex Schippers), but unfortunately she was unwell and couldn’t make the lunch. Welcome to CADS, Mary and Helen!
CADS featured in the press AGAIN. The Sunday Times asked me for a comment (as the Chair of CADS), on the proposed legislation by the Dutch Government to make companies responsible for ensuring that their expat hires learn Dutch including the trailing spouse!
CADS out and about
January saw Julia Heidstra and me representing CADS at the UK Ambassador’s New Year drinks on January 6th. This kind of event is always useful to promote the club. Peter Smethurst and I also represented CADS at the traditional Burns Supper at the Ambassador’s residence in late January. I was invited to read the poem “To a Mouse”; an honour that I was able to fulfil without fluffing my lines (for once!).
Some personal news: I have finally sold my home in Amsterdam so can start my long-term project to move back to the UK. I intend to stay in the NL for the rest of my tenure as Chair (ends October 2026), but I envisage that I will spend more and more time in the UK until then. This means that sometimes I may not be able to host our monthly lunch. My fellow Board members have kindly agreed to step in and host the lunch if this situation arises. Thanks in advance for your understanding.
Calendar of events – 2025
Many of you are super busy and are often ‘surprised’ with the announcement of events and then cannot make it, so please put ALL these dates in your diary NOW!
(Please note that due to the availability of the venue, occasionally we are not meeting on the 3rd Friday of the month).
Thank you for your continued support and engagement with CADS. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.
