Are you a sculler and would like to explore the city centre rowing in a boat?
Join us on the 2nd of December 1.30pm at Willem 3 for an Amsterdam city centre rowing tour. The tour will be followed up by dinner and drinks open to everyone, rower or not, at De Ysbreeker, 5.30pm onwards.
The Oxford and Cambridge Society of The Netherlands warmly invites you to attend:
The Annual Dinner at The Royal Tropical Institute
Sat 25 Nov 2023 | 6.30 pm | Amsterdam
The venue. The KIT Royal Tropical Institute is an independent centre of expertise, education and hospitality dedicated to sustainable development. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we help governments, NGOs and private companies build inclusive and sustainable societies worldwide.
We welcome alumni and their guest(s) to join us for pre-dinner drinks followed by a delicious three-course meal, including a special wine arrangement and a surprise speaker.
Transport. The KIT is easily accessible by public transport, only a 15 min tram ride away from Amsterdam Centraal. There are also parking garages in proximity.
Dress Code: Black tie is preferred.
Agenda
18:30 – 19:30: Networking and Opening Drinks
19:30 – 22:30: Three-course meal including a special wine arrangement;
Keynote Speech
22:30: Carriages Await
Optional post-dinner drinks
After party / post-dinner drinks @ Louie Louie. This year, we will arrange a small after-dinner gathering to continue socializing over drinks for those wishing to continue their conversations into the evening. If you plan to attend, please sign-up separately here, so we have a head count and can be in contact regarding location updates. The bar is 4 minutes walk from the dinner venue.
Keynote Speaker: Leigh Turner
This year, we are delighted to welcome Leigh Turner as our speaker. Leigh is a Cambridge alumnus with an impressive career in diplomacy, having served as the British ambassador to Ukraine and Austria. He is also an established author who will share his thoughts on what it takes to be a successful diplomat – and writer.
He grew up in Nigeria, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester and attended Cambridge University. In 1979, Leigh hitch-hiked through 27 states of the continental US. His diplomatic career took him to Vienna, Moscow, Kyiv, Berlin, Hong Kong, Vladivostok, Miami, St Helena, Buenos Aires, Beijing, Bermuda, Samarkand, Istanbul and Las Vegas. Leigh’s postings included a civilian job at the headquarters of the British Northern Army Group in Rheindahlen, Germany, 1980-81; first secretary (Economic) in Moscow, 1992-95; Counsellor (EU and Economic) in Berlin, 1998-2002; Director of Overseas Territories 2006-8; Ambassador in Kyiv, 2008-2012; Consul-General in Istanbul 2012-16 and Ambassador in Vienna, 2016-21.
In Berlin, Leigh took four years off diplomacy to look after his two children and became a travel writer for “The Financial Times”. You can find the results at his rleighturner.com blog. His books include the Berlin thriller Blood Summit, his satirical thriller Eternal Life; his darkly comic Seven Hotel Stories; and the Istanbul thriller Palladium. His latest book, the diplomatic and life handbook The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Diplomacy, was published in German in 2023 and will be published in English inautumn 2024.
Menu Choices & Tickets
Menu choices. This year there are two menu choices. Please indicate your choice, any dietary restrictions and allergies at check-out.
Menu A – Meat / Fish
Mackerel ceviche |cucumber | pointed radish | chives | red onion | red pepper | pea cress
Tournedos with chestnut puree | seasonable vegetables | elderberry sauce
Ticket prices & guest limit. There will be a price advantage for those booking your ticket(s) before October 20th. Prices depend on time of booking. . So, do make sure to get your tickets early, if you wish to attend. Members may bring one guest. However, if additional guest tickets are required, please reach out to secretary.ocnl@gmail.com to inquire the possibilities (based on capacity). We will try to do our best to accommodate these requests.
Early booking pricing (until October 20th)
Society Member – 87 EUR |Guest of Society Member – 97 EUR | First-time Attendee – 97 EUR | Student – 70 EUR
Regular pricing will apply for tickets booked after October 20th:
Society Member – 97 EUR | Guest of Society Member – 107 EUR | First-time Attendee – 107 EUR | Student – 70 EUR
Ticket Categories.
Society Member. Requires current membership. If you are not member, please obtain membership for 2023 here.
Guest Ticket. Guest of current member who is attending. Please state the accompanying member name at checkout.
First-time Attendee . Open to alumni who have not previously attended one of our events. Non-members may attend one event without membership. Any subsequent events require active member status.
Student. Open to alumni who currently hold student status and do not have a full-time income.
Booking deadline & cancellation policy. The last day for obtaining tickets is November 10th . Please not that ticket cancellation is also only possible until this date for a refund. Tickets may well be cancelled after, however, there will be no refund. We will operate a waitlist, so these types of cancellations may be refunded if a suitable replacement is found.
Forrest Walk & Visit Paleis Het Loo Park with Ping
Sun 15 Oct 202310:30 – 14:30
Paleis Het Loo Park, Appeldorn
Forrest Walk & Visit Paleis Het Loo Park
Join us for a walk around the forests surrounding the Paleis Het Loo. Ping will guide us, as on many previous walks, through the lovely terrain. Bring your own lunch. You won’t want to miss this early fall outing.
When: 15th Oct
Where: Apeldoorn, in the palace park of Paleis Het Loo (the palace park is the forest; it is big, so plenty of space to discover)
The palace was under construction since 2015 and finally opened this year. There is a restaurant/cafe place inside so we can eat/drink inside if people would like to access the palace. If people just want to walk in the palace park/forest, then it’s free.
If you have a museum card feel free to bring it and they can take a walk inside the palace garden and the palace itself after the walk.
The beautiful Singelpark is a circular walk of approx 6.5km, leading along historic sights.
Explore the hidden nature treasure of Leiden from the eyes of a local alumna!
FREE event. Bring friends, family and other alumni along this walk & enjoy a cup of a tea on us at the end.
Duration: around 2 hours, depending on whether we stop for coffee halfway.
Optional lunch at the end of the walk. The society will sponsor a cup of tea / drink for those attending. What a better way to enjoy a beautiful autumn afternoon!
Meeting Point:Leiden Central Station, front entrance at 10.30. If you arrive earlier, Dawn will be in the Bagel & Beans café from 10.00, it is opposite the station on the left.
About the park: The Singels were part of the fortifications surrounding the medieval heart of Leiden. The “longest park in the Netherlands” was opened in 2021 but is not completely finished. Improvements continue to be made. The route keeps to the water as much as possible and 5 new bridges have been built, with 2 more still to be built. The park is in Leiden but plenty of green on the route.
Accessibility: Unfortunately, the new bridges are steep with steps, so not suitable for wheelchairs, prams etc. There are alternate routes if necessary.
Information along the way: Dawn is willing to guide and share historical facts etc. Those interested let her know and stick with her. If you would rather walk your own pace, Dawn will have route maps with her.
The Oxford and Cambridge Society of the Netherlands 