Autumn is drawing to an end but that doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun! Winter in the UK opens up a whole new variety of things to do and see.

On Friday 31st October we are organising a little shindig for Halloween. We have reserved the upstairs area of Walkabout, the Australian themed bar on Shaftesbury Avenue from 8pm. They’ll be drink promotions all night, fancy dress competition with prizes and mention BUNAC at the door and you’ll get in for free!  

November brings our horseriding trip to Wales. Saturday 8th-9th November we’ll be heading west out of London, across the borders and deep into the Welsh countryside. The trip includes a full day’s horseriding in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park. The trip costs £130 and includes coach transport, hostel accommodation with breakfast and horseriding. Leaving promptly at 8am from ISH we arrive back about 9pm Sunday night.

It involves 6000 people, 140 floats and has been running every year for the last 800 years. That’s a lot of figures there but for a very good reason! The Lord Mayor’s show is a chance for the newly appointed mayor to parade around London on his gilded carriage. The parade starts at 11am from Mansion House, via St Paul’s to Westminster where the mayor stops by the Royal Courts of Justice to pledge allegiance in front of the Queen, then returns to Mansion House. Afterwards there is a firework display on the River Thames.  The best views are between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridge!

Recognised across the world, Remembrance Day is commemorated every year to honour all those that served in the armed forces during the First and Second World Wars. At 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, a two minute silence is observed which is the exact hour that the fighting stopped in 1918 to mark the end of World War One. Special church services and wreath-laying ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country on the nearest Sunday to the 11th. The most famous, televised one is at the Cenotaph in London where a representative from the royal family and prime ministers gather to lay wreaths.

It may be yet another festival but if you prefer the low tones of the saxophone compared to thumping techno music, then this festival is definitely the one for you! It has a wide range of British jazz performers, from artists that are just starting out, to artists that have been around for years! Thousands of people flock to London to see performers strut their stuff in a wide variety of venues, from clubs to restaurants and even small concert halls. Look on www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk for more information.

The 5th of November will mark the anniversary of Guy Fawkes’ failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. There was a whole gang involved but the best known member of the group was Guido Fawkes, aka Guy. From this he has made a name for himself and every year since then firework parties are held nationwide to celebrate the failing of the ‘gun powder plot’. Wherever you are in the UK on this date you’ll hear fireworks going off and a huge bonfire so look in your local newspaper for listings. Sometimes the local kids get together and make a dummy of Guy Fawkes made out of paper and old clothes and sit him on top of the fire to burn…its good fun! 

Even though us Brits don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving there will be some American themed restaurants that will have special Thanksgiving menus and events planned. The following restaurants are worth keeping an eye open for some Thanksgiving deals: Cheers, Bodeans, The Texas Embassy Cantina, Christopher’s American Bar & Grill, Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood and Smollensky Bar & Grill.

The following information was e-mailed to all American Blue Card holders back in September, but for those of you have arrived since then, or just for further confirmation please read this section thoroughly.

If you obtained Prior Entrance Clearance before leaving the USA you will be able to leave and re-enter the UK freely up until the 'valid until' date on your Entry Clearance. You can ignore the rest of this section!

If you did not obtain Prior Entrance Clearance before leaving the USA, you will be aware that you had been informed that you are not able to leave and re-enter the UK as a worker on the Blue Card scheme after the 30th September 2008. However, we have been informed by British government that this date has now been pushed back until the 31st October 2008. This is good news for those of you who did not obtain Prior Entrance Clearance before leaving the USA. You will now be free to leave and re-enter the UK, under the normal conditions of your Blue Card up until the 31st October 2008, or until your Blue Card expires (whichever is sooner). If you are planning to travel outside the UK after 31st October 2008 you will not be allowed to work when you re-enter the UK unless you obtained Prior Entry Clearance before leaving the USA.

If you have received a P38(s) tax exemption form from BUNAC you should be aware that the Personal Allowance for the 2008-09 tax year is to be increased from £5,435 to £6,035 from the 7th September 2008. This will affect you if you received a P38(s) from BUNAC and you are now on an 'NT' tax code, i.e. you are not paying tax at the moment. It means that participants eligible for the P38(s) are now able to earn up to £6,035 for the 2008-09 tax year.

One of the following points will relate to you:

- If you still estimate that you will earn under £5435 for this tax year then you do not need to take any further action.

- If you believe that your total earnings will exceed £5,435 but will stay below £6,035 you will need to contact your employer when you reach £5,435 and complete another P38(s). The new P38(s) will need to be issued by BUNAC. Please e-mail us at wib@bunac.org.uk with your current address and we can forward this to you or pop by the office to collect in person.

- If you obtained a P38(s) but it wasn't processed by your employer, your tax code will most likely will have been 543L. This will most likely change to 603L after 7th September. You may notice that you receive some extra money in your pay cheque after the September 7th. This reflects the extra Allowance backdated to April (the beginning of the tax year) or whenever you began working in the UK.

- If you obtained a P38(s) from BUNAC and didn't use it, but you estimate that because of this increase you would now be eligible for the P38(s), unfortunately it is too late for you to change your tax status. You will need to continue to pay tax in the normal way.

- If your tax code is currently BR, you will not see any change in the amount of tax you pay.

If you have any questions relating to your tax code, you are best advised to speak directly with your payroll department in the first instance.

Just to let you know, the minimum wage for the UK went up on the 1st October. If you are 22 and over, the minimum wage is now £5.73 per hour and if you are under 22 it is now £4.77 per hour. For more information on the new minimum wage go to www.berr.gov.uk/employment/pay/national-minimum-wage/index.html 

Free Entry – Edinburgh Castle

St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and St. Andrew’s day is traditionally celebrated on 30th November; however as it falls on a Sunday this year the St. Andrews day bank holiday will be officially observed on Monday 1st December. Some (but not all!) businesses will be closed on this date.
If you are lucky enough to have the day off on St. Andrew’s day, Edinburgh Castle, St Andrews Cathedral and St Andrews Castle will all be open and admission is free! So go along, visit the castle, and see the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny. The Stone of Destiny is where all Scottish kings placed their feet during their coronation.  It was originally in Scone and was stolen by Edward 1 in 1293 and taken to England, where it stayed for seven centuries.  Almost all English and later British monarchs have parked their backsides firmly over this stone during their coronation, including our present queen in 1953.  So go and see Scotland’s most famous lump of rock!
All sites are open from 9-30 am – 4-30 pm.

Hogmanay News

Hogmanay – what is it? It is the Scottish name for New Year’s Eve and it is a huge celebration in Scotland. Each year thousands of people descend upon Edinburgh and celebrate in style by taking to the streets. Edinburgh has one of the world’s biggest New Year street parties.
If you are going to be in Edinburgh for New Year and want to attend the Edinburgh Street party you will need to buy a pass, as most of the city centre will be blocked off and you can not get in without one. Passes have a minimal fee and you can purchase up to four passes per person.
Tickets will be available from early October, go to www.edinburgh-festivals.com/hogmanay for details of how to apply.
They go fast, so make sure you are on the ball - you don’t want to miss
out!

New Edinburgh Office opening hours

As most of you will be aware, Ria left BUNAC on Friday 19th September. Sheila who ran the office until February of this year, has returned to run the office. We will also be welcoming Gail McGuigan, who currently promotes BUNAC’s outbound programmes to Brits at Scottish universities. She will be helping out with the office on Monday mornings. The regular office hours will be:

For those of you that haven’t already joined us on Facebook, this is just a reminder that BUNAC has an official Work in Britain group. So if you are a CURRENT participant and want to keep up to date with all of our social events and stay in touch with other BUNAC participants around Britain, click on this link to join: www.bunac.org/facebook.
We hope you enjoy these pages!

Remember that BUNAC staff are always happy to help you with any problems or questions. Call (020) 7251 3472 or (0131) 558 9313 if you are in Scotland.

Incoming Programmes, BUNAC, 16 Bowling Green Lane, London, EC1R 0QH  wib@bunac.org.uk.