Dr Claudia Sternberg, who is the senior lecturer in cultural studies at Leeds University, gave an excellent talk about civilians from different countries who were caught up in the First World War. It was fascinating to note that borders before the First World War were not as defined as they are today and that there was much more unrestricted movement of people. Dr Sternberg showed many letters written by both English and German people who were interned both in Germany and England. Many of them were highly educated people and could comfortably converse in several languages. Dr Sternberg outlined the fact that many groups before the First World War were formed to develop knowledge and skills in languages, just as our circle was formed in 1899 ! Many of the people in the camps were unsure about which language they should use in their letters and it was intriguing to observe all the various nuances. It does seem that at that time there was much more interest in foreign languages; we know from our own records that many textile people in earlier times were fluent in the languages that are represented today in our circle.