Islington Conservative Future Update

As this is the first ICF mailout for 2007, let us take the chance to wish you and yours all the best for the upcoming year. Here are a few bits and bobs to keep you updated on what has been going on and what we have planned for the future. If you would like to recieve this update by email, please contact cf@islingtonconservatives.com to be added to our mailing list.


CF Executive

At an executive meeting in December, the following officers were appointed to the Executive of Islington Conservative Future for 2007.

President: Duncan Webster
Duncan is the former Chairman of Islington Conservative Future and is also Deputy Chairman for Campaigning in the main Association.

Chairman: David Tucker
David was born in London and has lived in Islington for four years. He works in Finance for a music company and enjoys politics and sports.

Deputy Chairman - Campaigning: Calum Elmslie
Calum is a final year War Studies student at King's College London. He is an avid rugby player and a proud Scotsman.

Deputy Chairman - Social: Toby Norfolk-Thompson
Toby is a City trader and has lived in Islington for the last four years. He enjoys organising events and photography.

Secretary: Ramona Simms
Ramona is currently training to become a barrister. She has lived in Islington for the last three years and enjoys following current affairs.



Sparkling Wine Tasting- Thursday, February 22nd

Back by popular demand, Islington Conservative Future will be hosting another of our wine tastings led by Jacob Gaffney on Thursday, February 22nd. The theme this time around will be Sparking Wines, and the wines sampled will include Spanish Cava, Champagne and Italian Prosecco.

International journalist, Jacob Gaffney, has contributed regularly to the world's largest wine publication, Wine Spectator, for more than seven years. During the course of his time with the magazine, Jacob has grown increasingly interested in organic and biodynamic wines, especially in terms of marketing and brand development, and was recently honoured as the guest speaker at the launch of Organico, Britain's first dedicated organic wine shop. Please read Jacob's very entertaining blog at www.interwined.blogspot.com. We also hope to have a guest speaker at this wine tasting.

Those of you who will have been to our past wine tastings will already be familiar with Jacob and the quality of the wines which are available for tasting and purchase. Our last wine tasting, which focused on German and Austrian wines, was a great success with over 30 people attending. Wines of Germany kindly donated a case of Doctor Loosen dessert wine for sampling and Ingmar Streese from the German Embassy in London came along to say a few words.

The event will be held at our offices at 67 Halliford Street, off Essex Road at 7:30pm and the cost will be £15 per person. If you would like to attend, please send payment preferably by cheque, or if places are still available, you can pay on the night in cash, provided that you let us know beforehand that you will be attending.

If you can’t make it this time, we hope to have a Middle Eastern wine tasting on Thursday, April 19th, featuring a selection of Israeli and Lebanese wines. We also hope to have a lively debate on Arab-Israeli issues.



Campaigning Nights

A lively campaigning group has been meeting in the office every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month from 7-9pm. Over a drink and a few nibbles, we aim to draft and print more leaflets, discuss policies, and give help and guidance on all aspects of campaigning. Please come and join us- all are welcome!



Spring Forum

Registration is now open for the Conservative Party Spring Forum which is set to be held in Nottingham on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th March 2007. You can register online at conservativespringforum.com or have a hard copy sent to you from the office. The agenda is currently being finalized, and accreditation will cost £31.50 for party members and £16.50 for party members who are students.



Facebook

If you are on Facebook, please join our group – Islington Conservatives. We have 12 members already signed up and there is room for more!



Future Events

2007 is set to be a bumper year for Islington CF. Along with the wine tastings which we hope to have at regular intervals, a few other events are in the works:

Scavenger Hunt – join us for a post-Easter scavenger hunt around the borough, followed by a few drinks. The provisional date is 14th April.

Club Night – we have plans to hold a club night at the Salmon and Compasses on Chapel Market, with Conservative DJs Ali Miraj and Richard Bretherton. The provisional date for this event will be May 29th.

Summer Barbecue – as always we plan to have a summer barbecue in July or August.

Go-karting – we would like to have an action-packed day at The Raceway at Kings Cross. No date set at the moment.

As always, if you have any other ideas or suggestions, please let us know.



Kind regards,

Islington CF Officers

www.islingtonconservatives.com