5th August. Spanish gathering at Culture Club.

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY - WED. AUGUST 5.

Dear Member or Friend of the Society,

Yesterday's Get Together (15 July) was a very special one in that, despite a number of regulars being out of Hong Kong, a record number of people attended the gathering. Grateful thanks go to all 60 of you (maybe more, I lost count) who came along and enjoyed a humourous, but ultimately serious commentary about the use of social networks on the internet for communication purposes. The talk was given by Mohamed, who comes from Syria. He spoke in a remarkably clear, correct and, he assured us (confirmed by the female listeners), sexy Spanish. He did a great job, especially considering he left his notes in the taxi. We were all very appreciative.

Next time, on the 5th of August, Katerina, this time from Poland, but who also speaks marvellous Spanish, has promised to give a talk on Granada, where she spent a year. Of course, the Alhambra, one of Spain's major tourist attractions, will be featured. Please make a note in your diaries to attend that Get Together. Remember, that everyone who has an interest in communicating in Spanish will be very welcome. I must emphasise that the primary purpose of the gathering is to practise our Spanish, at whatever level. Socially, the evenings are also extremely enjoyable, but my personal opinion is that if people turn up because of the social aspect, but do not know any Spanish, this tends to deflect us from this primary purpose.

In connection with this motivation, our thanks must go to the native speakers from Paraguay, Spain, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Mexico (any more?) who attended yesterday's meeting. They really spread themselves around and gave valuable support to all those of us who are endeavouring to practise and improve our Spanish.. Every gathering is enhanced by their presence - thank you so much for attending.

Final thanks must go to Lennon, the owner of CultureClub ( www.cultureclub.com.hk), who provided us with a relaxing environment, as well as a lot of free snacks. Please always remember, however, that he is running a business, so do support him in his endeavour.

Saludos,

Chris Stubbs.

Member of the Society.