QUEEN ALEXANDRA’S HOUSE NEWS
Spring term 2014
HAPPY 2014
Welcome back to a new term. I hope you had a wonderful
Christmas and have returned refreshed and ready for what
will no doubt be a busy year ahead.
HAVE YOUR SAY …
If you have any feedback for us regarding what you think is
going well, or what you would like to see changed, please
don’t hesitate to make use of the Suggestion Box in the
reception area. Also, I am always happy to talk if there’s
anything you would like to share with me personally. You
are also welcome to call into the House Committee Meeting
in the Drawing Room at 10.30am on Thursday, 13 February
2014 where the Chair of the Committee will be available for
half an hour before the main meeting starts. And finally,
there is a feedback book in the Dining Room where you can
record your comments regarding the House catering.
WHO LIVES AND WORKS AT QAH? …
At QAH we have people from all over the world including
Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, China, Cyprus, Holland,
France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
Mauritius, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia,
Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, USA and
Vietnam. Our residents study at a diverse range of
Colleges including MPW, The Urdang Academy, Imperial,
Ashbourne, RAM, RCM, RCA, ENB, RAD, LSE, Architecture
Associates, Central St Martins and the Institute of Modern
Languages Research, University of London. Next time you
see someone you haven’t yet met, why not ask them where
they are from and where they are studying. Equally, we
have a diverse staff from many different parts of the
world including New Zealand, Kenya, Britain, Poland, Eretria,
Nepal, Nigeria, Australia, Jamaica, Spain, Ghana and
Portugal. Can you guess who is from where? Complete this
table and hand it into Reception. All correct entries will be
entered into a draw on 01.03. for a box of chocolates 
Staff name
Anet (Principal)
Bella (Secretary/Pastoral Carer)
Shirley (Bursar)
Ian (Maintenance/Security)
Maria (Housekeeper)
Tim (Weekend reception)
Manika (Reception)
Uche (Evening reception)
Daniel (Reception)
Mark (Chef)
Dominika (Kitchen Porter)
Jacqui (weekend Chef)
Sam (weekend Kitchen Porter)
Marta (au pair ground floor)
Sao (au pair first floor)
Alicja (au pair second floor)
Ruby (au pair third floor)
Maria G (au pair fourth floor)
From what country?
A STORY FROM THE HOUSE ...
The thing I absolutely love about QAH is its’
warmth. Aside from really warm heaters throughout the
building, the relationships between people are warm and
hearty. QAH is the first accommodation where I have lived
alone for such a long time (half of the year so far) and I
cannot imagine my first place being any better.
I am not a very social person, so at the beginning I
spent a lot of time in my room. And I still enjoy being there
and sitting on my windowsill admiring the view from the
window. Actually every other photo in my Instagram was
taken from there.
I remember my first day in QAH. I arranged a
meeting with a Chinese girl called Athena. I went down on
time and saw another Chinese girl at the reception.
Actually, I was not really sure if it was another girl. But she
left and that made me think that it definitely was another
person. I was waiting for Athena for about 5 minutes, when
this girl came again. This time she was looking at me with
wonder on her face. Oh no, both of us have just realized
that it was us who arranged a meeting. So awkward. It
turned out that for some Asians all European faces look the
same. As well as for me, sometimes all Asians look alike. At
the end we had a wonderful walk together, and I cannot
imagine how I managed not to recognize her. She is so
different from everyone else!
Another thing that I absolutely enjoy at QA is the
people. I love the company I have found that consists
mostly of musicians. Maybe that is so because of my
childhood dream of being a musician… These dreams did not
go too far. Could you imagine how happy I was when I
decided to arrange ‘double lessons’ with Beatriz? She
started to teach me piano and I taught her some first
steps in drawing. I can’t wait till the next lesson! I love it!
Probably I will have more to say by the time I read
this letter again, and even now it is just a small part of my
experience here. Now I’m off to the TV room to watch
another film with my lovely friends at QA.
Anastasia Angeli
‘HI’ FROM ALEX IN THE QAH GARDEN!
Some of you will already know me as the wild bunny rabbit
who has lived in the corner garden of QAH since 2007. I’ve
been hiding a lot lately. I must admit I don’t tend to go out
into the garden much at this time of year. I prefer to stay
warm and cosy inside my burrow. I hope you’re keeping
warm and cosy too, and wish you all the best for a
successful and happy year ahead.
Cheerio, luv Alex Bunny Rabbit
Take care … regards, Anet and the QAH Team