British Association of Monaco March 2019 Page 1

Dear Members

February was a short month, certainly not lacking in events, one of the highlights in the

Principality being the long awaited inauguration of "One Monte-Carlo" – a flagship milestone in the history of the Principality as well as being the largest project ever undertaken by the

SBM.

The ever-changing face and skyline of Monaco always comes at a cost since large scale

constructions such as these inevitably cause much noise pollution, disruption of traffic and,

sadly, in some cases, a loss of view for a few unfortunate residents. But at least, as the finishing touches are made to the One Monte-Carlo site - and the controversial "igloos" are

finally removed to enable the gardens and fountains to be restored to their former glory - the

neighbours will undoubtedly be delighted as the construction workers pick up their tools to

move to other sites!

You may have been following the departure of Vadim Vasilyev as Vice President of the AS

Monaco Football Club; despite the challenges of recent months, the last results have been good and the overall results of his Monégasque tenure have been nothing short of excellent.

We now welcome his successor, Oleg Petrov who will, we hope harness his previous business

experience and acumen as he joins a Club in relative difficulty.

As a rugby fan, I am also looking forward to watching the remaining games of the Six Nations

tournament and am keeping a close eye on England, who, only last weekend, let themselves down against a very strong Welsh team.

Along with the beautifully Springlike weather, the evenings have been getting noticeably

lighter during the last month. For those of you with analogue clocks, it is worth

remembering that we shall be changing to Summer time at 2am on 31 March so, although we

lose an hour's sleep, we shall at least be able to enjoy the pleasant evenings to come, whilst

looking forward to the Summer. Interestingly, Morocco decided to forego this change last year and to remain permanently on Summer Time. Will other nations choose to follow suit, I

wonder?

We also take this opportunity to send our loyal congratulations to H.S.H. Prince Albert for his

61st birthday, which falls on 14 March.

Save the date for our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 2 April; if you have not yet

renewed your membership, please remember to do so well before that date in order to be

able to participate. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Until then!

John Luigi Megginson

President

BP 41, MC 98001 Monaco Cedex T: +377 93 50 19 52 E: bam@monaco.mc W: www.bam-monaco.org March 2019 CST contact: 06 60 21 63 99 Volume 18 Issue 3

British Association of Monaco March 2019 Page 2

PAST EVENTS

LUNCH at the LYCÉE TECHNIQUE et HOTELIER de MONACO As those who have already attended one of these events will know, BAM members are invited once a

month to make up a table of six to partake of a three course meal, prepared and served by the students of the Lycée. The purpose of our members attending (in addition to enjoying the food, of

course!) is to engage the students in English conversation so that they can improve their grasp of the

language. These lunches have proved so popular that February's lunch was already fully booked well

before the beginning of the year and the guests, including BAM's Doyen, 100 year old John Davis,

enjoyed Rillettes de Maquereau, Ragoût d'Agneau and a sinful Tarte au Chocolat – definitely not a day to stick to the diet!

THURSDAY COCKTAILS Since Thursday 14 February was St Valentine's Day, we decided not to hold our usual cocktails, and

also chose a new venue and format for our meeting on Thursday 28 February. A wide selection of drinks and nibbles was combined with a presentation by interior design

specialists ArchiDEC at which Carlotta Troubridge, specialist in interior

renovations and design and Emmanuelle Morin, decoration and furniture

expert, shared their expertise and know-how with BAM members in the friendly and stylish atmosphere of the SNM Rowing club Restaurant. If you

haven't tried this venue, by the way, they do an excellent and inexpensive lunch and also have a very

pleasant terrace – good to know for when the weather is fine. The workshop was dedicated to small space living and Carlotta and Emmanuelle presented their top small space tips and shared their design tricks that really work! We all came away ready to put their

advice to good use!

FUTURE EVENTS

LUNCH at the LYCÉE TECHNIQUE et HOTELIER de MONACO As mentioned above, these monthly lunches have proved so popular that the lunch on 1 March is

already fully booked. The next available seats will be for the lunch on 26 April when the menu will consist of Gazpacho et Gambas aux épices, Filet Mignon de Porc farci and Gratin de fruits rouges au

Grand Marnier – another temptation for the dieters amongst us! For reservations contact Yvonne

Bernhardt on 06 60 21 63 99 or email her at bernhope@libello.com.

BAM - HONORARY TREASURER Having served his full tenure on the BAM Committee, our current Treasurer, Steve Bull, has to

step down at the forthcoming AGM.

If anyone is interested in taking on this rôle, please contact the Administrator on bamadmin@monaco.mc for further details.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2019 – SAVE THE DATE This year's Annual General Meeting will be held at 6.30pm on Tuesday 2 April at the Maison des

Associations (Casa d'I Soci)

2bis Promenade Honoré II, Monaco.

Full details, Agenda and Proxy Forms will be sent out shortly.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MAY ONLY ATTEND AND VOTE IF YOUR 2019 SUBSCRIPTION IS FULLY PAID AND UP TO DATE.

Membership is €50 for singles and €80 for couples. Download your membership form HERE (PDF)

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY – Friday 8 March - 12.30pm To celebrate International Women's Day, we have arranged a reservation for a "Ladies only" lunch at the new Restaurant "Il Tavolo" of the Columbus Hôtel in Fontvieille. An inclusive menu of Fish and

Chips, a glass of wine and coffee will cost €24. Buses 4 and 6 stop at the "Roseraie." If you would

like to attend please contact Yvonne Bernhardt on 06 60 21 63 99 or email her at

bernhope@libello.com.

THURSDAY COCKTAILS IN MARCH Our first Thursday cocktails will be on 14 March at the newly refurbished Lounge Bar of the Columbus

Hôtel in Fontvieille. Situated overlooking the picturesque Princess Grace Rose Garden, the Lounge Bar

has been tastefully decorated in restful shades of grey blue with touches of bronze and provides a welcoming and relaxing space. The Hôtel is offering Happy Hour prices for drinks and snacks.

Venue for the cocktails on 28 March to be announced – please watch your weekly email updates for

details. Don't forget we are always willing to hear about any interesting new venues which you think would be suitable for our Thursday get-togethers so don't hesitate to be in touch with us.

OTHER NEWS

INAUGURATION OF "ONE MONTE-CARLO" – Friday 22 March

Following the much discussed (lamented or otherwise) demolition of the Sporting

d'Hiver four years ago and the equally provocative erection of the multifaceted

white "igloos" to provide temporary accommodation for the luxury stores

displaced by the rebuilding works, the SBM finally unveiled its much heralded and long awaited "One Monte-Carlo" project on Friday 22 March.

Officially inaugurated by S.A.S. Prince Albert,

the Prince was accompanied by His wife, Princess Charlene and four year old twins

Jacques and Gabriella, who thoroughly enjoyed

the occasion, Gabriella commandeering her

mother's bouquet of Spring flowers (not for the first time!) and the children breaking into dance in time to the music of "Lovely Day,"

sung by the Kingdom Choir, the Gospel group which had sung at the

wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Finally, came the inauguration of the "Promenade Princesse Charlène," a spacious pedestrian area running between the two rows of Richard Rogers-designed glass towers

and leading to an elegant new restaurant, "Mada One." Chef Marcel

Ravin of the Monte-Carlo Bay Hôtel and Resort has added to his portfolio

and reputation by creating this new-style international eaterie, which features an innovative new signature cake, "Le Munegu,"

christened in honour of the event. A fusion of a brioche and a panettone,

it sounds delightful and I for one can't wait to try it! The restaurant

opens on 11 March and will serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon and pre-dinner snacks as well as providing a takeaway service – much needed in this part of town and sure to

be heavily patronised.

One can't help commenting that, with all the acres of glass used in the construction of this stunning new site, the window cleaners of Monaco must be rubbing their hands with glee!

Also worth noting : the bus stop opposite the Hôtel Hermitage has now been reinstated – great news

for those visiting the main Post Office in La Scala as well as for Zara afficionados.

KERMESSE de l'OEUVRE de SOEUR MARIE – 8/9 March – Chapiteau de Fontvieille

Organised by the Lions Club of Monaco, the Kermesse opens on Friday 8 March from 10am and is open

all day, culminating in a Soirée Espagnole at 8pm. On Saturday 9 March it opens from 10am until

5pm, with the draw for the Grand Tombola at 4.30pm and then a Bingo evening at 8pm. First prize is a car so well worth a visit and you will be helping the elderly of Monaco. Entrance is free.

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MONACO-IRELAND ARTS SOCIETY – Friday 22 March – Auditorium Collège Charles III

The Monaco-Ireland Arts Society's next performance is "Irish Hellraisers," a celebration of the lives and inebriated times of actors Peter O'Toole and Richard Harris. It sounds as though it will be a

hilarious evening. At 8.30pm in the Auditorium of the Collège Charles III, av de l'Annonciade. For

further details ring 06 82 40 55 34 or 04 93 41 97 22 or visit www.monaco-ireland-arts.org.

SAVE THE DATE (1) – MONACO USA QUIZNITE – MONDAY 1 April - Stars 'n' Bars

Monaco USA is holding its annual Quiznite on Monday 1 April on the Stardeck at Stars 'n' Bars and we

propose to field not one but TWO BAM teams – a ladies' team and a gentlemen's team. If you would

be interested in joining a team please contact bamadmin@monaco.mc as soon as possible so that we can have our teams in place well in advance.

SAVE THE DATE (2) – JAZZ NITE WITH JILLY JACKSON & HER TRIO - MONDAY 2 May

Many of you will remember the great evening we spent with Jilly Jackson and her trio some years ago. Jilly has kindly agreed to host another evening for us, this time over dinnr at Stars 'n' Bars, where she

will not only sing from her wide ranging repertoire but also tell us something of the history of jazz.

More details will follow shortly but please put the date in your diaries so as not to miss out on this

great opportunity.

LARVOTTO BEACH – SIGNS OF LIFE AGAIN!

Although many of us are still bemoaning the seemingly somewhat premature closure of our beloved

Baobab Restaurant, we are glad to report that the Miami Plage and Neptune Beach Restaurants have

now reopened for business, with the Note Bleue showing every indication of an imminent reopening so we can once again take advantage of the beautiful weather to dine al fresco and breathe some fresh

sea air.

And finally : Don't forget the English Library, open every Saturday morning from 10.30am-noon in St. Paul's Church Hall, avenue de Grande-Bretagne. A constant supply of new reading, books for sale

and a friendly chat are all on offer. The newly installed lift is now working, making access easier.

BAM PATRONS We thank our Patrons

for their continued

support of BAM’s work

within the Principality.

John Luigi Megginson - President Ann-Marie Hayward - Member

Stephen Bull - Vice-President & Treasurer Audrey Blair Roux - Member

Lincoln Phipps - Member

Michael Greenwood - Honorary Secretary Patrick Coote - Member

Yvonne Bernhardt - Chair of CST Julie Lewis - Events Co-ordinator

Eric Blair – Ex-officio member, Honorary UK Consul Vivienne Taylor - Administrator

To provide a focus for British and Commonwealth citizens residing in Monaco and surrounding areas to meet

socially, represent their views in the Principality and to provide a welfare service for those in need.

British Association of Monaco Telephone : +377 93 50 19 52 Email : bam@monaco.mc BP 41, MC 98001, Monaco Cedex CST contact: 06 60 21 63 99 Website : www.bam-monaco.org