<Drum roll please>.... introducing The Next Step

We are a newly formed international group for women who have school-aged children here in Brabant. Goodbye nappies and sleepless nights, hello to embracing a clear mind ready to think about yourself again.  Maybe your kids have been off your hands for a while and you need to boost your social life? Perhaps you've just arrived in the area and don't know many people? It could be that you have a foot in both camps with one at school and a preschooler still lurking about. Any of that sound familiar?

Mums and Toddlers is a friendly and informal English speaking social group for parents and toddlers of every nationality.

If you have just arrived in Eindhoven from another country with a toddler or two, this is a perfect environment for you to meet other parents in a similar situation.

Come along for a coffee and a chat with other parents, some of whom having been living here for a few years and who will gladly share their experiences of settling in Eindhoven. Here you can find out all about the local shops, people, facilities, and the way of life.

We are an English speaking non-profit organization and we meet every second Wednesday at the Buurtcentrum De Rondweg, Camphuijsenstraat 1, Eindhoven from 9.30am to 11.30am. You can chat while your children play with the toys.

When expats first arrive in Eindhoven it often proves difficult to create a satisfactory social life. Obviously, most have left family and friends behind and they're looking to build a new circle of friends and acquaintances in an unaccustomed situation.

There are several organisations catering to this demand, and one of the best known is MeetUp.

MeetUp Eindhoven hold get-togethers every Friday evening, when the group alternately goes out for a meal or a drink. Membership is free. Lin Pinder is currently running the organization. Lin, a native of Scotland was confronted with the same problems as most people when they arrive in a strange city.  "When my husband and I first came to Eindhoven we found it very difficult to make friends - English speaking people - especially in my case, because I didn't work," she says.

“By surfing on the internet I found two expat sites that seemed to be what I was looking for; MeetUp and MeetIn. Due to unforeseen circumstances I soon found myself running both organisations." Eventually Lin decided to concentrate her efforts on the MeetUp concept, and the group currently has around 30 active members.

MeetUp is an ideal way to get in contact with people that have similar interests, and to make the most of what Eindhoven and the surrounding area has to offer. That could be through a visit to a film, a trip to an exhibition, or a game of midgit-golf; under the guidance of Lin and her supporting team most ideas can be realised.

Nationality, colour, age, faith and gender obviously play no role; everyone's welcome at MeetUp. A potential member could be a student, the new partner of a Dutch national, someone working temporarily in Eindhoven, or perhaps even a teacher at the Technical University (coincidentally the group currently includes two professors!).

If you’re interested you can find out more, and sign up, at the MeetUp Eindhoven website: http://www.meetup.com/EindhovenExpats

Lin and her husband have also started the site http://www.eindhovenexpats.com which contains useful information for those thinking of moving to Eindhoven.

by Geoff Naylor

Are you someone who loves to read and appreciates modern literature? Do you want to share your passion for books with other likeminded enthusiasts? If so, then perhaps Reading Circle Eindhoven is the group you’ve been looking for.

Reading Circle Eindhoven (RCE) is a group for readers of contemporary English (language) literature that live in or around the region of Eindhoven. The club has been in existence since 2005 and usually meets in the evening of the last Thursday of the month. Attendance of meetings is seen as an essential part of the club ‘experience’, although obviously this may not always be possible. “That’s why it’s suggested that members come from in or around Eindhoven,” says Geoff Naylor, the founder of RCE, “although it’s not compulsory. In the past we’ve also had members that lived in Maarheeze and Tilburg.” Meetings usually, but not always, take place at a members home.

The club’s objective is to stimulate interest in contemporary literature. Unlike some groups where a book is proposed, and a discussion prepared, by a single member, at RCE a book is chosen democratically from a list compiled by one of the members. From the outset it has been the intention that the group as a whole experience the selected novel for the first time.

Through discussion RCE hope to improve the members enjoyment, knowledge and understanding of what they are reading. Individually members will almost certainly be introduced to new writers and perhaps even venture into previously unexplored genre's.

Past selections have included help by Kathryn Stockett, On Chesil Beachby Ian McEwan and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s rare for a book to be enjoyed by all members.

At the moment the club includes members from America, Britain, Hong Kong and the Czech Republic, and in the past it also had participants from Spain and Mexico. It’s a truly multi-national, mixed gender group. The current age range is between 25 and 55.

“As you would expect tastes vary enormously within RCE,” Geoff adds. “Some members have read almost exclusively Science Fiction, Biographies or Thrillers. The club introduces them to new authors and provides an opportunity for a diverse group of individuals to share their differents views on literature and life in general.”

If you visit the RCE website, at www.tcw.nl/rce , you can find a list of all the books the group have read to date. Applications to join can be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By Geoff Naylor