Stammtisch

Unfortunately, we have no date yet for our next Stammtisch, which was meant to be a BBQ at the Mansion House. When the sun does make an appearance again in Geordieland for more than just a few hours, we’ll try and organise something quickly.

However, in absence of a Stammtisch, you may want to join one of the many events organised by Newcastle City Council while hosting the “Newcastles” from around the world. On Sunday, 22 July, from 11.15am onwards there is a service held at Newcastle Cathedral to celebrate Cities, Peace and Friendship, with songs from around the world being performed by the Crossings Choir.

On Tuesday, 24 July the visitors from the various Newcastles will party the night away aboard the ferry “Pride of the Tyne”. Tickets are £20 and there will be welcome drink, food and music from Hannabiell and Midnight Blue. You can order via Irene Hatton or call 0191 211 6826. Departure is at 7pm prompt from the Pitcher and Piano and you’ll return at 10.15pm.

Another interesting event will be held at the Mansion House in Jesmond on Wednesday, 25 July from 7.30pm. The POT LUCK PALADAR is part of the EAT Festival and you can either make a dish particular to one of the many countries of the world that have a “Newcastle” in them (check the website for details) for the shared table or just come along and enjoy the buffet of world dishes. There will also be live music in the garden, Geordie canapés and a fun quiz with your chance to win a great prize. Click here for details.

Maybe you can help with this request – a letter needs to be translated from German into English. Unfortunately I can’t help as I am having difficulty reading the old fashioned handwriting (1930s). So if there’s somebody in our group that would be able to do this for a fee, please let me know and I’ll put you in touch with the relevant person.

We also had a request from a PhD student at Newcastle University who is currently working on a research project about language use. Alina is looking for German native speakers (between the ages 18-35 & with high level of English) who are willing to take part in a language experiment.

The study lasts for approx. 55 min and involves judging a sequence of short video clips and completing a language and biographical questionnaire. Participants will be tested on an individual basis at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences and will receive £5 for their participation. The tests will take place June-August and if you are interested to take part, please e-mail alina.schartner@ncl.ac.uk.

Another request to the Stammtisch was if anybody has any experience/insights into four universities in Germany, where an international student wants to do his Masters in Electrical Engineering: TU Munich, TU Darmstadt, Brandenburg TU (Cottbus) and Otto-Von-Guericke University in Magdeburg. The gentleman is interested in reputation of these universities, how his degree would be valued, cost of living in the above cities and if there would be opportunities to get part-time jobs in his relevant field in these locations.

Apparently since the introduction of the higher university fees, British students are now heading towards Germany to study there. Click here for the full article, that was recently published on gmx in cooperation with Spiegel Online.

Our cycling expert Tanja Cooper has asked me to forward you some information about her forthcoming challenge. She will very soon embark on a 1000 mile cycle challenge across the UK, starting at Land’s End and finishing her journey 14 days later in John O’Groats.

Her aim is to raise £500 for RoadPeace, a charity that offers emotional and practical support to crash victim’s families. RoadPeace is trying to improve post crash response and is also tackling bad driving and aims to make our streets safer for everyone. You can support Tanja and donate at www.justgiving.com/Tanja-Nick-Lejog

So fingers crossed that we will be able to do a BBQ in 2012 and in the meantime, I hope you will all have a superb summer holiday and look forward to seeing you soon!