EDITORIAL
FOCUS is a unique community for expats and international professionals living in the UK. Our multinational team share their first-hand knowledge on all aspects of living and working here. Members gain access to essential information, events and seminars and dual career programmes. Operating as a non-profit organisation we are proud to have been supporting expats for over 35 years. We hope to see you soon at our office in Central London!
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Core Services Editorial
We all have our customs and traditions to mark milestones throughout life and throughout the year. Seasons are observed with practices that some find reassuring and heartening while others may find them odd or baffling. If you celebrate the holiday it would be your natural instinct to mark it with your own practices from back home. And if you don’t celebrate the season, you might well wonder what on earth everyone is doing in those jumpers eating mountains of mince pies listening to endless repeats of the same few songs. Well, welcome to Christmas in Britain. When putting this issue together I was amused to read about some of the traditions discussed in our cover article that I’ve come to accept as completely normal here in Britain but which new arrivals may scratch their heads over. Some customs here have become so second nature to me it would be strange now to not have them. For instance, if I return to the US for the holiday I always bring a box of crackers and a Christmas pudding, definitely not things you find there. For this issue, we cover everything you need to know about a modern British Christmas in our cover article starting on page 4 and delve further into the meaning behind 12 particular traditions in our Best of Britain section on page 24. We didn’t leave it there either – we have Christmas markets around Britain covered on page 20 and a guide to the best seasonal drinks on page 8.
But we’re not only about Christmas in this issue. Indeed, it’s often good to have a break from the relentlessness of it. As with every issue we cover a wide range of topics including a look at executive law degrees, how to navigate the British state school system and an especially fun read on the author behind Mary Poppins. Be sure to check out the accompanying tour in the Events & Seminars section. We hope to see you there or at one of our other talks and events and we especially hope to see you at our New Year’s celebration in January. It’s a FOCUS tradition and one we love to share with our members.
From everyone at FOCUS, we hope you enjoy the issue and wish you wonderful holiday season and very happy new year.
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FOCUS Staff
Executive Director Alessandra Gnudi
Director of Business Engagement Eva Stock
Director of Membership Alexandra Casanova
Director of Finance Irene Kuan
Director of Marketing Stephanie Vogel
Acting Director of Marketing Jaspreet Grewal
Director of Events & Seminars Maria Renzi
Website & Resources Paola Longobardi
Francine Bosco FOCUS Magazine FOLLOW US
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Editor Francine Bosco
Assistant Editor Naeemah Miah
Art Director Rebecca Hunt-Davis
Image Editor Cindy Stern
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Career Development Consultant Denise Donoghue
Career Coaches Satu Kreula Geraldine McKendrick Patricia Keener Vincent Pizzoni Nicolette Wykeman Karin Mueller Debbie Fisher
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