Speaking this month we have:

1. David Illsley – The Ancient Kingdom of the Alpujarra of Granada.

   The peaks that tower over the ancient kingdom of Granada are the highest in mainland Spain, higher even than the mighty Pyrenees. Entrapped between their southern slopes and the mediterranean sea some 30 miles distant, lies the fabled area known as Las Alpujarras, the last exclave of the Islamic empire of Al-Andalus, secretive land which to this day remains revered for its astonishing zoological diversity, its sweeping ethereal landscapes and venerable cultural heritage.

   Just imagine: the slopes rise from the seashore to well over 11000 feet, the seasons are extreme and elemental, the thousand year old system of irrigated terraces still works perfectly, whilst there is a breathtaking array of wildflowers – up to 80% of European endemics, it is claimed – and the entire area somehow reeks of antiquity, with archaeologists suggesting recently that they have unearthed the tooth of a primitive hominid that is a mind-blowing 1.2 million years old.

   The aim of this short talk is to describe and illustrate this lovely area which I’m proud to say has been our home for almost 20 years, and to try to offer some insight into how its inhabitants have had to come to terms and adapt to such a beautiful yet challenging environment.

   David and Emma gave up the day job with the British Council in the Canaries in 1998, and after a month or so back in the UK set off on our bicycles for what was assumed would be a year off. However, they somehow seemed to get a bit carried away, and that year off has managed to extend itself, so that they now find themselves still squirrelled away in the mountains of Granada, where they run a small hotel, restaurant and multi -activity centre, together of course with their family of boys, labradors and an assortment of small animals.

   Find out more at laschimeneas.com or on Facebook.

   

   

   

   

2. Mark Wainwright – Above the clouds Mark Wainwright’s chequered career has included working as an editor, stonecutter, housing officer, and open data evangelist, among other things. In 2014 he lived for some months at the remote Tharpaling Monastery in Bumthang, Bhutan, teaching English to monks. While there he learnt to speak a little Dzongka, to avoid being attacked by bears, and to appreciate chilli as a vegetable.

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.

Speaking this month we have:

1. Nathan Millward – Sydney to London at 37 mphNathan Millward is a 35-year old male from the East Midlands who in his late-twenties prime embarked on an overland odyssey from Sydney to London. Subsequent trips followed, notably New York to Alaska, with recent time spent as Editor of Adventure Bike Rider and now provider of ‘adventure’ type copy to various motorcycle magazines around the world. Author of two books; The Long Ride Home and Running Towards the Light – Postcards from Alaska.

   Find out more at nathanmillward.com, www.facebook.com/nathan. millward.501 and on Twitter @natethepostman

   

   

   

   

   

2. Sam Williams and Sam Gibbons – The Cordilleras and their CommunitiesIn 2013, Sam Williams and Sam GibbonsFrendo travelled to Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. Close friends since school days, the Sams went to explore this part of the high Andes, taking in some trekking, climbing and mountain biking.However, when they left it wasn’t just the majestic beauty of the mountains that stuck in their minds – although this has never left – but the people and culture of this remote but remarkably accessible area.This presentation tells the story of how they set out to stay connected with the communities that made their trip so enjoyable, and how in 2014 they went back to find a way in which other adventurous travellers can contribute to the remote and vulnerable mountain communities.

   Sam Williams

   Sam is a researcher and consultant for charities, NGOs and universities. He currently works for the Institute of Development Studies. He has degrees in History and International Studies. Sam was born and bred in Devon and fell in love with the mountains while travelling in India. He has since visited 50 countries, climbing along the way. He has climbed in Tajikistan and Afghanistan as well as the Alps and the Andes and in 2010 was part of a team that made a number of first ascents in the Great Pamir Mountains.

   Sam Gibbons Frendo

   Sam works in Strategy and Policy for a research council, allocating funds for biomedical research. He has a degree in biology and PhD in Neuroscience. Sam’s love for the great outdoors was developed clambering over the granite tors of Dartmoor. He soon headed for some serious wilderness and has travelled extensively in Nepal, India and Latin America. His latest adventures have been trekking and mountaineering in the Cordillera Blanca and now we can’t stop him going back.

   Find out more at facebook.com/projectcordillera

   

   

   

   

   

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.

Speaking this month we have:

1. Denise Heywood – Legend and Lustre: Jim Thompson and Thai Silk.
2. Two Mini talks of 15-20 minutes.
   • Marion Bull – Devil’s Island.
   • Basia Filzek – Mongolia.

Our original speakers unfortunately had to cancel, we are currently updating the programme.

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.

There is no meeting this month.

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.

This month we have:

• Members Slides : Around the world in eighty minutes. 10 presentations of 10 slides

  This month we have a fast paced journey around the Globe..

  Speaking in the first half we have

  
  

  1. Simon Banks – Finding a coffee in Salt Lake City
  2. Francesca Jaggs – Nepal (Paintings)
  3. David Shamash – Spanish holiday
  4. Deanna Annis – Sarawak
  5. Gavin Fernandes – Dubrovnik, Croatia

  
  

  Then after the Coffee/Tea Break

  6. Dan Bachmann – Wadi Rum, Jordan
  7. Jean Chappell – Cuba
  8. Isabell Hennig – Around the world in 10 images
  9. Marion Bull – Opal mining in South Australia
  10. Dick Curtis – Dublin – no Molly Malone in sight

  
  

  Reserves

  1. Jacqui Trotter – Amsterdam for an evening

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.

This month we have:

1. AGM : The clubs AGM starts at 1:00pm (card carrying members only), then at 2.30 the meeting begins

Speaking this month we have:

2. Ashley Butterfield – Tales of a bogieman: Round India on a railway carriage (100 times) The pleasures and perils of taking assorted foreign tourists round India by rail, before the advent of the internet /mobile phone / Tripadvisor etc.
3. Andrew Lyndon-Skeggs – 1,300 km walk from Auch to Dieppe.

   Businessman, photographer, resident of a 38.5 meter barge in Paris, gardener, lecturer on the Jazz Age in France, alumni of Magdalene College Cambridge, one time conjuror and Master of the Cambridge University Drag Hunt, plus early internet entrepreneur, Andrew Lyndon-Skeggs has now also walked across France.

   The idea for the walk came out of the blue and, having never done a long walk before, Andrew Lyndon-Skeggs decided to walk right across France. Two criteria only; boundary to boundary, and avoid the Chemin de St Jacques de Compostello. Oh, and, South to North. Why not? At least it avoids looking into the sun all day. The talk will include personal reminiscences, photographs and (if you want to take it) practical advice. Much looking forward to meeting you all.

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.

Speaking this month we have:

1. Jon Tindale – Squashed Possums – New Zealand

   In an unexpected twist to the travel memoir, ‘Squashed Possums’ is narrated by a caravan in the wilderness. The book tells the story of the iconic Kiwi lone caravan and one young man’s misadventures in New Zealand’s most remote corner as he finds out what it’s like to live in a true wilderness, surviving in the most basic of conditions.

   Follow Jon through four seasons, including New Zealand’s coldest winter in decades. Discover how he finds himself hanging off of the edge of a cliff and meet the Maori chef who survived 9/11. Encounter hedgehogs that fly, possums that scream in the dead of the night and the Mystery of the Missing Moa. Find out how Jon is rescued in the nick of time from the cult of Caravanology by the affections of a good woman who opens a door to the local Maori world.

   Jon Tindale now lives in the suburbs of London with his wife Amy and son, William. He is eternally grateful for central heating and a house that can’t be blown apart by the big, bad wolf. He works in social media and in his spare time can often be found in National Trust houses where his friendly banter with the volunteers is often misconstrued as making untoward advances.

   ‘Squashed Possums’ is now available via Amazon on Kindle. and as an old school paperback

   :

2. Russell Maddicks – A Culinary Trip Round Ecuador in 5 Iconic Dishes (including guinea pig)

   Squeezed between Colombia in the north and Peru in the south, Ecuador is named for its location on the Equator and encompasses high Andean peaks, steamy Amazon jungles, and a long Pacific coast, as well as the world-renowned Galapagos Islands some 1,000 km off the coast.

   The landscape is so varied that Ecuador has been described as a microcosm of every microclimate found in South America.

   This diversity makes it a magnet for tourists, mountain trekkers, birders, volunteers, and increasing numbers of US retirees looking for a warm, culturally interesting, economical, and safe place to spend much of their time.

   What many people don’t appreciate is that the country is also a foodie’s paradise, with a cuisine as varied as the terrain.

   Signature dishes range from the sublime – such as Andean locro de papas (a creamy potato and cheese soup), coastal ceviche (fish or prawns marinated in lime), and hornado (whole roast hog) – to cuy (roasted guinea pig), a must-try Inca delicacy for all adventurous carnivores.

   In this presentation, I will give a visual tour of all the top travel spots and unique adventure opportunities on offer in Ecuador with a special focus on the tastiest treats available in each region of the country.

   Russell Maddicks is a BBC-trained writer, translator, and journalist. A graduate in Economic and Social History from the University of Hull, England, he has spent the last twenty years traveling, living, and working in South and Central America, most recently as Latin American Regional Specialist for BBC Monitoring.

   Find out more: website or on twitter

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.

Speaking this month we have:

1. Karen Neale – A Fellow Traveller

   A Sketchbook journey Inspired by World Heritage Cities and Sites from Paris to Kathmandu.

   Visit karenneale.co.uk to find out more

2. Zara Taylor – Antarctica – Shackleton’s World

   A trip on the expedition ship Akademik Sergey Vavilov to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsular. Wildlife, Whaling and survival in this most challenging of environments.

   Related links

   • Oceanites
   • South Georgia Heritage Trust

     

     

     

     

     

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.

Speaking this month we have:

1. Graham Hoskins – An Amazing, Life Changing Travel Adventure in Just Two Weeks?

   Graham Hoskins has made it his business to find life changing travel adventures by motorbike that he can do in just two weeks. From Russia, to the Middle East, Africa and all over Europe, he has ridden many thousands of miles in search of his dreams. He tells the stories of the adventures using the films he made and hopes to inspire others to explore the world in short bursts!For details of the ‘Motorbike Diaries’ adventure documentary TV series’s, please visit: www.motorbikediaries.co.uk

2. Jacqui Trotter – Japan – three weeks in cherry blossom season

   Jacqui Trotter, Australian, a resident in the UK since 1988, (mostly) independent traveller, nurse and a Globetrotter Club member (since 1998), will be talking about her recent trip to Japan in ‘sakura’, cherry blossom season. Having a full time occupation means that trips so far away must pack a lot of things into a short time. While the ideal would be to dawdle and meander around, this trip is all about seeing as much as possible of this amazing land in the thee weeks available. Japan Rail Pass in hand, a personal hotspot (to aid connection and compensate for the language gap), one small bag on wheels and camera, the trip begins…. and one cannot have too many photos of cherry blossoms!

   

   

   

   

London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

Admission costs, £3 for Members and £6.00 Non-members. You do not need to be a member to attend, and we do not sell advanced tickets, please just come on the day, the doors open at 2:15pm and the program starts around 2:30pm with each talk lasting approximately 40 minutes.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

If you would like to keep up to date with what’s happening at the Globetrotters London meetings and to be sent email reminders prior to the meeting, please sign up here.