North West Chapter AGM 2017

On April 8th, the North West chapter AGM was held in Warrington.  The chosen location for the meeting, a cafe called The Little Box of Treats, was a first for us all and turned out to be just right for our purpose.  The atmosphere was peaceful and relaxing and the menu was exactly what the cafe name suggests with a mixture of Asian food, English breakfasts, delicious cakes, afternoon tea with prosecco, a vast selection of teas from around the world, and freshly ground coffee - there was something for everyone.  I could not resist the beautiful-looking cakes!  They were light and delicious and really reminded me of the kind of desserts I used to enjoy in Japan.

During the AGM, a new committee was elected for the chapter...

Chair - Corrina Ellis

Vice Chair - Graham Roberts

Treasurer - Charles Williams

Events - Rachael Fowlie / Joanne Moorhead

Communications - Caroline Oakley

We are already working together to make this year fun and worthwhile for JET alumni in the North West.  Our next event is a collaboration with Japan Society North West on April 29th, a talk by author and literature critic Damian Flanagan entitled 'The Dark Secret of Natsume Soseki' (details here), is free for JETAA members. Come and join us for a captivating and entertaining talk about Japan's most celebrated author and then an informal wine reception afterwards.

For new JETs moving to Japan this summer, we  have two pre-departure events lined up; one at the beautiful and authentic Japanese restaurant Etsu in Liverpool on June 3rd, and another at Yuzu, often praised as the best Japanese restaurant in Manchester, on June 16th.  We encourage alumni to come along to support the soon-to-be JETs in our chapter and give them a send off to remember!

The picture at the top of this article shows the new NW committee.  Our roles are effective as of April 22nd and contact details can be found on this website, so please don't hesitate to get in touch, join our events, and let us know what else you'd like to see happen in the NW this year.

Thank you for reading this update.  I hope everyone is well and look forward to being in touch with more JET Alumni soon.

Kind regards,

Corrina Ellis.