BEST - The British Estonian Association
NEW - British Estonian Association has launched a website! http://www.britishestonianassociation.co.uk/
Ever wondered where Arthur Ransome learned to sail? Where marzipan perhaps originated? How to sing a Regilaul- or even what it is? All of these are questions that have been tackled by the regular and varied programme of talks given to the British Estonian Association - BEST.
Did you know that Britain and Estonia together fought a war that was bigger than that fought in the Falklands? The history of this was covered in a recent issue of Lennuk- our fantastic bi-annual magazine which gets its title from the name of one of the ships that the Royal Navy gave to Estonia in 1918.
BEST was set up in 2002 to promote and develop relationships between Estonia and the United Kingdom. We have sponsored concerts, talks and visits across the UK and hosted distinguished speakers from politics- President Meri and the Rt. Hon. Charles Clarke MP and many other figures from government in both countries. We have heard from distinguished academics from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies and the University of Tartu. We have also listened to fascinating ideas from a wide range of other fields: authors, business, technology and many others.
Our many concerts have included Sild, the beautiful and haunting Welsh Estonian group, Johanson ja Vennad, and Tõnis Mägi, one of the key figures who sang Estonia to freedom in the 1980s and 1990s. We have also enjoyed classical performances from Oliver Kuusik, the young tenor with an international reputation; from Sten Lassmann, a hugely talented young pianist, and the composer and violinist, Mihkel Kerem, as well as choral and orchestral performances by many other superb performers.
Music, culture, politics and history are key parts of our programme, but we also enjoy social events with an Estonian slant, and work closely with our sister organizations from Latvia and Lithuania for some other common events too. In 2006, we had the honour of hosting HRH the Duke of Kent at a joint reception to celebrate the visit of HM The Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh to the Baltic States that took place in October of that year.
British-Estonian relations are warm and friendly and BEST is at the heart of this growing relationship. If you would like to know more, or join the Association, then please visit BEST website, contact BEST by phone 020 7838 5381, e-mail london@mfa.ee or return a completed membership form and payment to the address: BEST C/O Estonian embassy 16 Hyde Park Gate London SW7 5DG
 
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