Category Archives: events

sponsored swim Friday 28 June 2024

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Our Fund-Raising Swim is on Friday 28 June 2024, 4 pm – 7 pm at our usual pool – Hinksey Heated Outdoor Pool, Abingdon Road, Oxford OX1 4RP.  We are very grateful to More and the staff at Hinksey Pool for their hospitality. 

This year we are raising funds to bring two young classical musicians from Nicaragua to Oxford to play Carmina Burana with the Youth International Twinning Concert on 13 July 7 pm at Oxford Town Hall.  We are also raising funds for NECAT, an educational charity for disadvantaged children in a poor area of León.  

This is our most important fund-raising event of the year!  We really need you!  León needs our support more than ever in these challenging times, and we want to keep this link with a city in the global south going!  We can learn from each other and enjoy the Latin American culture!. 

To register, simply email: jen_houston@hotmail.com. 

 You can ask for donations to go to our JustGiving site, and/or attach your own page to our JustGiving site:  www.justgiving.com/OxfordLeonAssociation

You can swim between 4 pm and 7 pm.  The “official” opening will be at 5 pm.

Please note that if the above time and date are not convenient you can still take part in your own time and location between 28 June and 12 July.

Half of the money raised will go to NECAT – Nicaragua Education Culture Arts Trust:

The Nicaragua Education Culture and Arts Trust, a UK registered charity, raises funds for sponsorship of after-school clubs and other educational projects and for the relief of poverty in impoverished communities in Leon, Nicaragua. The projects use the medium of culture and the arts as a vehicle for this education.

Whether you have taken part in lots of Sponsored Swims and will be trying to equal your personal best, or whether it will be your first time taking part, whatever you raise small or large will help the cultural exchange and also make a big difference to poor children in León and help to keep the centre going!  Refreshments will be provided for swimmers and helpers.  Let’s hope that the sun shines!

May meeting coming up

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The next meeting of OLAT is on Tuesday 7 May at 7 pm at Oxford Town Hall and on Zoom. 

This is going to be an exciting meeting as we are planning the visit of two young classical musicians from Nicaragua to play in the Youth Twinning Orchestra in July. It will be an amazing experience for the young musicians and good to have a cultural exchange from Nicaragua!  The orchestra will be led by John Lubbock, conductor of Orchestra of St John’s:

Carmina Burana – Youth Twinning concert – 7pm at Town Hall, Oxford – Orchestra of St John’s | Taking classical music out into the community (osj.org.uk)

We are still taking our presentation about life in León into schools and plan to bring the musicians into schools.  If you know of a school that would be interested, do get in touch.

We are going to hold the lovely Misa Campesina at Blackfriars on Sunday 1 September, at the 9.30 Mass.

We are planning the Sponsored Swim at Hinksey Pool but have not yet got a date.

There will be an Oxford International Links social on Saturday 8 June 6 pm – 11 pm at the Coach House, Headington Quarry to raise funds for the Orchestra event, do make a note of the date, more details to follow.

Thank you for your continued interest and support for León!  Hope to see you on 7 May, all welcome!

AGM tomorrow!

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sorry for the late notice, but the OLAT AGM is happening tomorrow,

Tue 30.1. at 7pm at the Town Hall and also on Zoom.

We will be looking at how the last year has gone and how to maintain links with León, raise our profile and future fund raising and will Elect Officers for the coming year.  

After AGM business we will discuss the Twin Cities Youth Orchestra Project 7 – 14 July, when young classical musicians from Oxford’s Twin cities will come together to play Carmina Burana at the Town Hall on Saturday 13 July. We are very excited that we will be bringing two young Nicaraguan musicians – Jose who plays violin and Cesar who plays cello – to Oxford.  They will have a week on the Orchestra Project and then a week visiting schools and places of interest.

We also hope to have the Misa Campesina later in the year.

swim for León

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Our Annual Fund Raising Swim is on Friday 14 July, 4pm  – 7 pm at our usual pool – Hinksey Heated Outdoor Pool, Lake Street, Oxford OX1 4RP.  We are very grateful to Fusion and the staff at Hinksey Pool for their continued hospitality. 

This is our most important fund raising event of the year, for our twin city of León, so do please come along to swim and support the fund raising, and get any friends involved and have some fun!  We really need you!     Nicaragua needs our support and solidarity more than ever.

Please see the poster attached.  If you could display it that would be helpful.  To register email Jen Houston at the address shown on the poster.

Misa Campesina comeback

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Exciting news: we can now confirm that the Nicaraguan folk mass, the Misa Campesina will be sung again this year – as it was for many years until 2019. It is scheduled for

Sunday 4th of June

There will be two rehearsals on the two Saturdays before the event, ie May 27 and June 3.

All singers and instrumentalists welcome to join the fun. The music is fun and easy to play, and there are a couple of very experienced people on hand who have done it many times before.

Email Jen Houston (jen_houston AT hotmail DOT com) for details or watch this space. We will confirm precise rehearsal place and times closer to the time.

OLAT meeting Tue 24.1. plus short talk

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Dear Members and Supporters, ¡Feliz Año Nuevo a todos!  The next meeting of the Oxford León Association  is on Tuesday 24 January at 7 pm at the Town Hall and for those who can’t get to the Town Hall, and on Zoom, details have been emailed out, contact any member if you haven’t received them.
We will be looking at how the last year has gone and how to maintain links with León, raise our profile and future fund raising and will elect officers for the coming year.  We also hope to have the Misa Campesina later in the year.
After due business we will have a short talk by Martin Roger of NECAT about his trip to Nicaragua at the end of last year.  We will also hear from Christian who has recently returned from León. 
We look forward to seeing you on 24 January, all are welcome!

Sponsored Swim for León in our 35th Year online!

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Dear Swimmers and Supporters of Oxford León Association and Trust

As many of you know, OLAT has been holding a Sponsored Swim for over thirty years, to raise much needed funds for our twin city of León and support our charities Nuevas Esperanzas and Nicaragua Education, Culture and Arts Trust (NECAT).  Nuevas Esperanzas works with families around the Telica volcano near Leon on water and agroecology projects including rainwater harvesting, beekeeping and introducing new crops such as dragon fruit, after their crops were devastated in the hurricanes.  NECAT provides education and support to impoverished families in a suburb of León. 
Last year was the first year that we couldn’t hold the Sponsored Swim.  As this year is our 35th Anniversary year we decided that we couldn’t not hold it again this year, so we would try a different way and hold the Sponsored Swim online!  It is a pity that we can’t be together at the Hinksey Pool, but we can be creative and swim anywhere, and anytime during July!  Maybe you have increased your fitness in lockdown, or maybe your swimming has become a bit rusty – just enjoy yourself and pick your surroundings – maybe wild water swimming, or a spa!  Any amount that we raise will help, in this very difficult year.
Please register with JustGiving and link your account to the OLAT Sponsored Swim page, by adding the event to your page:
Sponsored Swim for León in our 35th Year! – JustGiving

Enjoy your swim, anytime, anywhere during July, then please circulate your JustGiving account to your friends to donate!  Nicaragua needs our support and solidarity more than ever!  Keep safe and we hope to see you in person next year!  It would be interesting if people could let me know where they swim and I will let people know how many diverse locations we achieve!
Thank you for your continuing support for Oxford’s furthest away twin!  Especially to those who have already been generous this year in supporting the Quizzes, it is much appreciated. 
Best wishes
Jenny Houston Secretary OLAT 

QUIZ on Friday August 28th

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Dear Members and Supporters and Twin Towners
¡Saludos a todos!
We hope everyone is keeping well and finding ways to manage in these continuing extraordinary times.
Huge thanks to all those who joined in the last Quiz on 17 July.  An amazing £606.34 was raised and the proceeds have already been sent to our two charities in León.
The Oxford León Association is holding another fun fundraising Quiz on Zoom at 7.45 for 8 pm on Friday 28 August.  Once again the Quiz Maestra will be our lovely, knowledgeable Jan Marshall, and Mine Host will be the avuncular John Tanner!  Do come and join us!
Our aim is to have an enjoyable evening while raising funds for the two charities that we support in León.  The first two photos attached show tanks to harvest rainwater for the community of Agua Fria on the slopes of the Telica volcano, built by Nuevas Esperanzas, which has been very impactful for the community.  The next three photos are from Nicaragua Education, Culture and Arts Trust, (NECAT) showing food supplies and face masks and hand sanitizer being distributed to the families in Sutiaba, a poor district of León, and a boy reading a letter from the children of Pegasus School, Oxford, which now has a link with NECAT!  It is very interesting to have a look at the wonderful work that these charities do on their websites/Facebook pages.
There will be no prizes and no entry fees, only the Kudos of being the Winner!  Last time the team from Ramallah won, can you challenge them?!  But as this is a Fundraiser, for our charities Nuevas Esperanzas and NECAT, we hope you will be happy to make a donation.
       Details about joining the Quiz on Zoom will be sent nearer the time.  You can take part singly or with others.  There will be 5 rounds with 5 questions in each round, on various themes             with an international flavour including one picture round – no questions on Oxford this time to give those from further afield a fair chance!  We estimate that it will take about an hour.            Do get comfortable in your box with your beer/wine/smoothie/tea and nibbles!  The doors will open at 7.45 to have a bit of a chat before getting down to the Quiz!
        Do make a note in your diary and join us for the Quiz on Friday 28 August at 7.45 for 8 pm and it would be really great to see friends from Oxford’s other Twin Links!  Do pass on to any          of your friends that enjoy a Quiz!
        In the meantime, here is a teaser to get you thinking! The answer will be revealed at the Quiz: There are five countries in the world whose English names, when written as block                        capitals,   contain no “closed” letters. By “closed” letters we mean ones with an area that could be coloured in eg A and O, whereas E, I and U are all “open”.  NICARAGUA would not                  count because A and R contain parts that could be coloured in and so are “closed” letters. See if you can think of these five countries. A clue is they are all in different continents!
        Stay safe and well and connected!
Best wishes
Jenny Houston
Secretary OLAT