April/May 2024 Newsletter

AGM

U.S. Consulate General Edinburgh Management & Consular Affairs Consul

Vicki Ting

and

The American Women’s Club of Central Scotland

Cordially invite you to attend the

AWCCS 2024 Annual General Meeting

At the home of AWCCS Secretary Kathy McGlew

2/2 Circus Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 6TN

Thursday May 9, 2024

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 RSVP by Monday May 6, 2024

 

Greetings from your President

Greetings Ladies,

Spring! How I have looked forward to the beautiful green of rebirth! Our gardens are starting to bloom, birds chirping again and of course time has gone back so we have lost an hour of sleep. Ahhh Spring! Sometimes our winters are long and slow and sometimes they zip past, I imagine is it due to perspective though. Spring is bringing us new opportunities to travel, garden or just relax at home alone or with family and friends. The Embassy will be opening soon so keep your eyes on their website. Visa issues are still a part of our lives please do get in touch with us, you may find that you are not alone.

We’ve seen a growth in membership, and we are closer to 100 and starting to get back to where we were when I joined almost 20 years ago. Please reach out to us, we are only a text away. No one should feel alone. There are many coffee and tea lovers, movie goers, parents, pet owners, food lovers, knitters, investors, trippers, artist and more, around to keep you company, just look for us, email us, call us. We’re here. We are a family of Ex-pats, and you are part of our village.

Please keep your eye on all the activities so many to be had. We experienced the musical Hamilton together and it was fabulous but even better that we were able to experience it together. If you don’t see one you like, email Nancy and she will help you if you have an idea for one, maybe others would like to do the activity too. We had our FAWCO (Federation of American Women Clubs Overseas) 2024 Conference in Porto, Portugal, unfortunately I couldn’t go this year but our FAWCO rep Candace was there and she received the ‘Best Rep in the whole Wide World’ award! Please do go to their website It’s an opportunity for you to get to know the FAWCO organization and the many wonderful charities we support and they have grants available. Whether you know it or not, you automatically became a member when you joined AWCCS. This entitles you to many opportunities like scholarships and cultural exchanges for your children. Opportunities to go to conferences in various locations around the world, access to tax information and support and much more. It’s worth looking into.

Our AGM is coming up but we will not elect new members to our board this year. However, it’s your opportunity to meet your board members and make new friends. Please do have a think about joining though and helping our organization grow. A letter will go out to each of you in the next 4 weeks and we encourage you to consider joining our team.

Please do keep an eye on the website for update and information. Challenge yourself to participate more if you haven’t and encourage others to participate. This group is about you. You and I and everyone else who has chosen to join us as a family.

Finally, thank you all for being you and for all that you do to support us as a group family. I’m looking forward to seeing you all in the coming months, in one activity or the other.

Best wishes,

Cynthia

Upcoming Events

April

AWCCS April 2024 Coffee Morning—Edinburgh
at Gleneagles Townhouse
10 April 2024 @ 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
View
Glasgow Movie Night In (April)
at Shannon’s Flat
11 April 2024 @ 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
View
AWCCS Old Town Stirling Walking Tour
at The Golden Lion
17 April 2024 @ 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM
View
April 2024 Birthday Bash & Celebration of Friendship
at Waldorf Astoria Caledonian
18 April 2024 @ 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
View

June

Ballet Black: Heros at Festival Theatre, Edinburgh June 18
at Festival Theatre
18 June 2024 @ 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM
View

Save The Date

AWCCS AGM

Due to renovations  at the US Consulate General Edinburgh this winter, for this first time in decades we are unable to hold our Annual General Meeting on their premises.  (When we are at the Consulate, we are on US soil! Hopefully 2025 will find us there.)

The Good News: our AWCCS Secretary, Kathy McGlew, has volunteered her gorgeous flat in Stockbridge as our location for the AGM.  Thank you, Kathy!  Vicki Ting, our Honorary AWCCS President, will attend.  Those of you who have attended the December Cookie Exchange events in the past know the elegance and charm of Kathy’s home.

The invitation will come by email soon–do RSVP promptly.  It will be free to you as a member, and light refreshments will be served.

Although we have no elections in 2024 (that is in the odd-numbered years) there is news and business to discuss and accomplishments to celebrate!

Save the Date—it is THURSDAY 9 May, from 6:00 pm – 8:00 PM

If you can volunteer to help with any preparations or clean up, let Nancy know at nlynner@gmail.com

 

Recent Events

As ever the club has had many fun events recently including a coffee morning on February 21st at The National Museum of Scotland and March 14th at Edinburgh Printmakers

Skittles at The Sheep Heid Inn on February 17th was a particular highlight.

Club Announcements

University of Wisconsin Experience Scotland Program

Are you an Ambassador for Scotland?

By Nancy Lynner

Years ago the University of Wisconsin started a study abroad program in Scotland, and several AWCCS members were buddies to students, having them in their home, or meeting them for outings around Edinburgh.  This program ended abruptly with Covid-19.

The new program is different, and the administration of the University of Wisconsin River Falls calls their new version of study abroad “Experience Scotland”.  The local campus they use for both the Autumn and Spring terms is Newbattle Abbey College.

Cynthia and I met with administrators when they reached out to us to see how AWCCS might give a small amount of support to their program.  Here is what their plan involves:

The 2024 Spring term is January 18- mid May, and round about mid-April the students will benefit from hearing stories of how other Americans have carved out lives in Scotland.  As their term in Scotland draws to a close, many will begin to wonder if they’ll ever get back to Europe or the United Kingdom.

The Experience Scotland Spring 2024 team would like 3 or 4 members to come to Newbattle Abbey College on Tuesday 16 April for a 2:00 PM – 3:00 session involving

  • A short (5 minutes) speeches to the 18 students on how you came to be living in Scotland from the USA
  • Questions and Answers
  • Tea and biscuits
  • A Student-led tour of Newbattle Abbey College campus

Reply to Nancy Lynner nlynner@gmail.com and the first who reply will be the AWCCS representatives for this opportunity.  Should this prove successful, there may be many future opportunities so that all members who are interested can get a chance to volunteer in this small but important way.

Help Wanted!

To organise June and July events in Edinburgh

Nancy is going to be away in June and early July, so if there are to be any events in June or a celebration of American Independence Day in July, we need volunteers to host three events.

For June 2024 we are looking for volunteers to create and host two events in Edinburgh: a June Coffee Morning and a June Birthday Bash.  One benefit of hosting is that you choose a date that works for YOU and at a venue that you like and that meets your own price range. If you would like to host one or both of these events, contact Nancy at nlynner@gmail.com.

In July, Edinburgh needs someone to host the American Independence Day Picnic. In recent years the picnic has taken place at Portobello Beach, where each family Brings Their Own Everything. Given Scotland’s unpredictable weather, this means that the event can easily be cancelled on the day and no food is wasted.

The host’s two responsibilities are:

  • To check the weather and decide the morning of the event if it should be cancelled, and to contact those planning to come and be contactable as to whether or not it will go ahead.
  • To show up early if the weather is good.

The weekend before July 4 is Saturday June 29/Sunday June 30 and the weekend after July 4 is Saturday July 6/Sunday July 7.  The host can choose the afternoon that fits their personal schedule.

This is an important American celebration and we hope someone who plans to attend the event will volunteer to be the host. Please contact Nancy at nlynner@gmail.com by May 30.

Member News

April

Susannah Stout
Kristina Royer (Bilonick)
Patricia Ramaer
Amanda Fevurly
Teneisha Ellis
Cyril Langston

 

May

Amanda Drollinger
Carole Dispenza-Henderson
Jessica Stubbs

Welcome New Members

Dr Nash
Adda Gorgis
Jennifer Bradtke
Robin Baird
Norma Englund
Maddie Long
Kelsey Beren
Michelle Oleson
Karina Bole
Judith Pevsner

Glasgow Events

April:   

 

Thursday 11 April – movie night at Shannon’s. 6pm to 9pm (sign up via website) 

Saturday 13 April – Coffee Morning.   Details to be posted on website. 

Wednesday 17 April – Stirling Old Town walking tour ( sign up via website). 

May:

Wednesday 29 May – visit to Robert Burns in Alloway.    Details to follow on web site 

Kahoot dates: 

Thursday 2 May.  7:15 to 9pm

Thursday 30 May 7:15 to 9pm

Many thanks,

 

Mary Jo and Shannon. 

Edinburgh Book Group

Contact: dka.finlayson@gmail.com


Friday, 19 April 

An American Marriage

by Tayari Jones

Home of Marily Macvicar

Start time: 10:30

 

Friday, 17 May

The Hidden Life of Trees

by Peter Wohlleben

Location TBD

Start time: 10:30

 

Friday, 21 June

Taft

by Ann Patchett

Location TBD

Start time: 10:30

Taxation

IRS returns for 2023 from “American persons” – citizens and greencard holders – are due this year on 15 April 2024. Overseas Americans with an income in 2023 of $5 or more are required to file a tax return, whether or not they owe the US government anything. Overseas residents are given an automatic extension to 17 June 2024 (since the 15th is a Saturday), but any tax owed must be paid by 15 April or penalties will start to accrue. A further extension to 15 October can be obtained, but this must be applied for.

 

As you file your FATCA report on foreign financial holdings, you may like to read about the failure of a recent case on behalf of “accidental Americans” in Belgium that argued FATCA would be in breach of the GDPR and European data privacy laws if account information is transmitted to the IRS.

See “Not So Fast Belgium – Canceling FATCA Is Harder Than We Thought”: https://www.americansabroad.org/media/files/news-news/7e66139f/not-so-fast-belgium-canceling-fatca-is-harder-than-we-thought-240129.pdf

Voting

Have you registered to vote in the November 2024 election? This may be the most important election in the country’s history. In 2020 only 7.8 percent of Americans abroad, excluding members of the military, cast ballots in the 2020 election, compared with 66.8 percent of voters back home. In other words, Americans living in the United States are nearly 10 times more likely to vote than those abroad. And more Overseas Americans register to vote than actually cast their ballots in the election. In 2020 only two-thirds of ballots requested were returned. Don’t let yours be one of them – REGISTER and VOTE!

 

Unlike US residents, Overseas Voters are required to register to vote annually. So if you have not yet registered, do so now. Choose any of three safe, secure websites to fill out the form to register/request a ballot for the 2024 election. Any of the three will specify the information required by your state.

Voter-suppression laws have moved registration deadlines up in the calendar. Further, while federal law requires states to send ballots to overseas voters at least 45 days before the election (i.e. by Saturday, September 21, 2024), we need to return our ballots about a month before Election Day (Tuesday, November 5, 2024) to be sure that our votes are counted.

Note that you should register to vote at the address from which you last voted, however long ago that may have been.

FAWCO

FAWCO Youth Cultural Volunteers Program 2024 will take place in Scotland June 28 – July 7, 2024 Hosted by AWCCS

AWC Central Scotland is the host Club and Amanda Drollinger is program chair. Applications for youth are closed and the Youth have been selected. Click here for PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.

As AWCCS club members we would love for you to volunteer to support the program in a way that works for you.Would you like to host two of the youth in your home? Help with airport transfer and be on the Welcome team? Attend the events on the program description? Plan and support the Welcome dinner or Farewell dinner? Please email Amanda at amandaawccs@gmail.com

 

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