I have had a brilliant start to my year as President, jumping straight in with a Twinning weekend in Ghent.
As I am sure many of you will know, NLS is twinned with the Bars in Ghent in Belgium and Karlsruhe in Germany. This was the first twinning weekend since COVID, and it was clear that everyone was delighted to see things getting up and running again. We were treated to a fantastic weekend sampling Belgian beers, a food tour, an art gallery tour, delicious dinners and the inaugural twinning “running off the beers” morning 10k around a local park (not compulsory). Amongst all of this, and the laughter and making of new friendships, we even fitted in a lecture about international family law.
We sent a strong contingent from NLS including several previous NLS Presidents and I think even the non-lawyer partners who were “dragged” along had a great time! I was particularly pleased that Kirsty Gregson, trainee solicitor at VHS Fletchers, was able to join us. Kirsty bravely came along, not knowing anyone else who was going to be there or even really what to expect, but yet fully embraced all that twinning has to offer. I am quite sure that Kirsty got a lot from the weekend and I will invite Kirsty to do a guest blog in the next bulletin so she can tell you about her experience herself. I really hope it will encourage many more of you to get involved with future twinning weekends – it really is for everyone!
We are extremely lucky to have the connections we do with our international colleagues and opportunities that come with that. Special thanks must go to Kathryn Meir and Daniel Harley who have tirelessly forged and maintained those connections even over our hiatus; their representation of NLS really is brilliant.
As I set out in my President’s vision in the last bulletin, a key theme for me this year will be the pursuit of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. I therefore want to give a couple of special plugs in this blog.
Firstly, to NLS’ involvement in Nottingham Pride which is taking place on 27 July 2024. It is a fantastic celebration and showing of solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community and I am delighted that we are supporting it again this year. Please do come along if you are free; it is always really good fun. Further information and details of how to get involved are included later in the bulletin.
Secondly, to OneFest which is a week-long arts and culture festival giving learning disabled and autistic people the opportunity to perform pieces to audiences in Mansfield. It is all about bringing communities together and standing shoulder to shoulder. This year’s event is taking place from 11-17 July 2024. I went to some of the events last year, including the comedy and gigs, and therefore can testify to the fact that it will be absolutely brilliant! I know a lot of work has gone into making it bigger and better this year – they really are doing great things. Please do check it out here- https://www.onefest.uk/ - and if you can go to some of their events.
In the coming weeks, we will be busy at NLS with Pride, sports matches and networking events. I hope to see lots of you there!
Best wishes,
Lauren Crow
President 2024-2025