The one and only Rose

Last Thursday we were summoned from our offices by Director Peter Slowe to celebrate Rose Yelland’s big birthday. We enjoyed a champagne toast and Rose received a massive bouquet. She was seen leaving the office like a moving flower display.

We were not told how big the birthday was. I don’t think it was 18 or 21. Scott Mcquarrie was even seen to be suggesting Rose might have been 30. The answer remains a mystery.

Rose is a lady of many talents. As well as keeping the marketing department in order she plays a mean game of badminton and outshines everyone in the UK office. Pabbu from India reckoned he might be able to match her but suffered like the rest of us. Rose even has similarities with Margaret Thatcher. In the past she used to keep Denis Thatcher (Margaret’s husband) in order when she worked with him.

She is a font of many stories which keep the marketing department amused. If you have a chance ask her about her exploding kitchen. Assisting coordinating our representatives at different universities across the UK Rose is normally up with the gossip of who is going out with who and where people are going on holiday. Coordinating our many visits to schools and universities I am frequently greeted by a careers assistant asking is Rose not coming looking disappointed at the arrival of myself.

Oko from Mongolia and Catalin from Romania are both big fans of Rose’s cooking. She cooks a mean curry. Her steaks are well loved. Oko in fact loved one of them so much he went back for a second one!

Happy birthday Rose! We have our investigators out counting the numbers of candles on the cake.

- Ian Birbeck

This is a funny song dedicated to all our UK volunteers and many others that will need to transfer through London’s Heathrow airport. Things have gotten better since the opening of British Airway’s brand, spanking new Terminal 5 but be sure to allow yourself enough time to check in or make a connecting a flight. I hope you enjoy!

Faye leading a presentation

By Faye Stickings,

The past few months has seen the introduction of a new venture for the UK team of Projects Abroad – Projects Abroad Information Evenings.

Whilst the numbers at our Open Days across the country are always high, it seemed unfair that for a few, it meant travelling the width of the country to find out more. So, we have set out to bring these events closer to the public, by holding smaller regional events throughout the year. In the past few months we have held Information Evenings in Durham, Cardiff and Manchester. The events are much smaller than our usual Open Days; no classic Peter Slowe style speeches (or even a cup of coffee and a choccie biccie unfortunately), but they allow a more informal meet ‘n’ greet style session to take place. It gives our potential volunteers a chance to fire questions at our staff members on a one-to-one basis and meet some of our past volunteers.

Information Evenings will now be run throughout the year in the UK in the following cities – Durham, Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Bath, so for any of you looking to meet us, please keep checking here for a date near you.

I have been meaning to put up a post about my recent trip to the Head Office in the UK but up until now I couldn’t retrieve my photos from my camera. Drum roll please for a Projects Abroad blog first as we are do a photo essay on an Open Day that Projects Abroad put on in Bristol on April, 14th 2007.

Since my trip to the Head Office coincided with the Open Day in Bristol I jumped at the change to help out! Open Days are great opportunities for prospective volunteers to put faces to our staff members on the other end of the phone or email and to speak with alumni who have been on a lot of the projects, plus it gives me the chance to reconnect with my colleagues across the pond!

Join us on a look back at the Open Day in Bristol …..

The Wills Memorial Building of the University of Bristol (the undergraduate alma mater of our own Dr. Peter Slowe) on Park Street, Bristol

The weather was actually quite amazing and unseasonably warm the day of the Open Day. Coming from New York where it was cold and overcast, I was not complaining! I also believe I picked up several British mannerisms as in true British form I started this blog post by talking about the weather!

The event was held at the John Mackay Theatre at the Bristol Grammar School where our very own Senior Programme Executive Ian Birbeck honed his cricket skills as a school boy.

The John Mackay Theatre with a Teaching and Projects Abroad sign

The Teaching and Projects Abroad banner as you entered the car park. Doesn’t it look good? It took Rob and me a good 10 minutes to put this up although to our credit it didn’t fall down the whole day!

The Open Day kicked off with an introduction by Dr. Peter Slowe and a presentation by Ian. We then had a great presentation by Frederick Campbell-Jones who had some amazing photos of his time as a Medical volunteer in Mexico. After a lovely tea, we all split up into smaller rooms where a member of staff and alumni would speak about different countries and then projects. Here was my room where I spoke about Romania and Moldova.

But what makes the day so great is being able to speak to our staff members face to face, many of whom have had experience in the countries or projects people are interested in. Here is Rob, a Programme Advisor from the Head Office, and Jery Lee, our Desk Officer in Mexico. What a team!

If you are interested in attending one of our upcoming Open Days the next one will be held in London on June 16th from 2 to 4:30 pm. You can get more details and RSVP here, http://www.teaching-abroad.co.uk/more_info/open.php. Our staff would love to see you there!