Kathy Silk
International Council Member, 1994-1996

The following notes and photo are from the cybercafe of the 1996 World Vegetarian Congress, in Johntown PA, USA:

President of the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom, broadcaster, free-lance writer, Gold Medallist Salon Culinaire, Olympia 1978, cook demonstrator, author of "First Steps in Vegetarian Cooking" (Thorsons). Group Leader of Bromley and Environs Vegetarian Group (for vegans too, like me). If you are local, ask Bromley newspapers for our address, and write to me, and then come to our meetings and social events. You could also invite me to speak to your group/club about our enjoyable way of life. Do write soon.

We send a newsletter with news (!) dates and details of our forthcoming meetings such as lectures by doctors, cookery experts, and on allied vegetarian subjects; we also have food-tasting evenings, cookery demonstrations, coffee mornings with bring and buy stalls, afternoon teas, buffet suppers, a summer picnic in a Member's large and lovely garden. We try to help with answers to your questions about the vegetarian diet or anything else related to our way of life. We ask for volunteers to help with many different jobs such as putting out chairs in the hall, making a good display of free leaflets on a table and packing it up again later, loading/unloading our car, making the tea, washing-up, preparing or cooking food if you are good at that, helping at stalls in the High Street or wherever, or at an exhibition or show or anything else that has to be done. If you are an artist, computer expert with computer, a printer with spare paper, have a large van for occasional transport of goods (maybe twice a year) or have a large pagoda type tent that we could put our stalls/tables in for use at outdoor events in the area, that we could borrow, we would love to hear from you right away -- please. If you have some good ideas for fund-raising, design of leaflets, or just money to spare, then please write to me even sooner. I have enjoyed writing this to you, as well as this amazing week at the Vegetarian Summerfest and World Vegetarian Congress 1996 at the University of Pittsburg, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. I wish that you could have been here too. Why not come to the next one - it's in Bangkok, Thailand in January, 1999. In the meantime, The Vegetarian Society of the U.K. will be celebrating its' 150 th anniversary next year, and we begin our celebrations during National Vegetarian Week 2nd - 9th June, 1997. Look out for details of this in local and national newspapers, on radio and TV and otherwise all over the place. And come and help -- please. See you soon.

Kathy Silk
Beckenham, Kent, England