Speaking in June (on the 2nd Saturday of the month) we have :

1st: Candy Whittome – Wars, words and (cycle)ways: Cycling at 60

Books can be dangerous. When an old friend sent Candy “‘A Bike Ride” by Anne Mustoe, she took it more seriously than was probably intended.

Inspired by Anne, she set off on her bike in the summer of 2021 with zero experience of touring or bike maintenance, just curiosity and multiple questions about the nature of travel in the 21st century. Her journeys took her across Europe, into SE Asia and up north into the Baltics. She met Albanian law students working to develop their country’s legal infrastructure, Vietnamese whose livelihoods had been trashed by the pandemic, Estonians for whom exile to Siberia is part of the family history. The questions about travel remain, but the relevance of wars, words and cycleways were revealed.

Find out more at:

• https://www.cyclinguk.org/biography/candy-whittome
• https://cycletouringfestival.co.uk/whatson/
• https://www.polarsteps.com/CandyWhittome/3954031-cycling-east?s=BD69468D-8AF1-47F1-BCE0-A8E65A9C6650
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3RgaLVr0Yc
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Hunters-Crab-Fishermen-Cromer/dp/0957152809

2nd: Adam Weymouth – Kings of the Yukon

Kings of the Yukon tells the story of Adam Weymouth’s 2000 mile canoe trip across Canada and Alaska, from the source of the Yukon River to the mouth, following the longest salmon migration in the world. With the numbers of king salmon crashing in recent years, the journey examines what might be causing the declines, and explores how the many people and ecosystems that depend on the salmon are being affected as they disappear. The book won the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and the Lonely Planet Adventure Travel Book of the Year.

Find out more at:

• www.adamweymouth.com
• @adamweymouth

Date & Time:

Saturday, June 10, 2023

Doors open at 14:00 in London.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participates via zoom.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

Admission costs in advance:

• £3 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £6 for non-members. (save 50% if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please reserve seats in the hall in advance as this speeds up entry at the meeting and allows us to plan staffing, we may charge more for unreserved tickets.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications for future meetings.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

Speaking in April we have :

1st: Nick Fielding – Tracing the Atkinsons: On horseback in Central Asia and Siberia.

Nick’s talk is about the numerous journeys he has made on horseback through remote parts of eastern Kazakhstan, Tuva and Buryatia following in the footsteps of Thomas and Lucy Atkinson in the 1840s-50s.

Nick Fielding is a writer and traveller. He was Senior Reporter on The Sunday Times, where he covered the aftermath and implications of the 9/11 attacks, reporting from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Far East. Prior to that he was Chief Investigative Reporter of the Mail on Sunday, where he worked on many international stories, and a reporter for The Independent. He has published books on Britain’s intelligence services and on the detailed planning for the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

For six years Nick edited Asian Textiles, a magazine which covers the history and ethnography of textiles. He continues to travel extensively, mostly on horseback, over long distances in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Siberia. In particular he has travelled widely throughout the Djungar Alatau Mountains in Zhetysu.

Nick writes a blog about the Atkinsons called Siberian Steppes https://siberiansteppes.com.

Find out more: https://siberiansteppes.com/

2nd: Rosemary Alexander – Alternative Italy

Following on being invited to an acupuncture conference in Bologna, Rosemary decided to do a tour around some of the other cities in Italy, not just the tourist sites.

From the bustling beaches of Rimini to the art-filled streets of Florence, from the charming town of Lucca to the relaxing thermal baths of Bagni di Lucca, and the glamorous seaside resort of Viareggio, this talk will take you on a journey through some of the most stunning and diverse destinations in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna.

Date & Time:

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Doors open at 14:00 in London.

We would ask that anyone with symptoms or who needs to isolate participates via zoom.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

Admission costs in advance:

• £3 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £6 for non-members. (save 50% if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please reserve seats in the hall in advance as this speeds up entry at the meeting and allows us to plan staffing, we may charge more for unreserved tickets.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications for future meetings.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

Speaking in March we have :

1st: Gill Suttle – Scorched Earth: Bedouin if the Syrian Desert.

Gill Suttle recounts her journey starting from Palmyra (the spectacular Roman site so tragically destroyed by ISIS) and crossing the Hamad – a plateau forming part of the Badiat ash-Sham (Syrian Desert) between Damascus and the Euphrates – to the Jordanian border.

In the uplands of the Hamad, the Bani Khaled bedouin run vast herds of sheep, producing milk and cheese in the spring season. Gill spent time with these bedouin people, following their fortunes through the springs of two years, when they were hit by a terrible drought which threatened their entire way of life.

• Further details at http://scimitarpress.co.uk/travel-talks/.
• and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063620760267.

2nd: Chris Burrows – My Berlin

Chris lived in Germany from the late seventies to 1996.
Chris was first in Munich and then I went to live in Berlin. After I came back to London I took members of the Hampstead Photographic Society on many visits and road trips around Germany.

Date & Time:

Saturday, March 4, 2023

Doors open at 14:00 in London.

We would ask that anyone with symptoms or who needs to isolate participates via zoom.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

Admission costs in advance:

• £3 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £6 for non-members. (save 50% if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please reserve seats in the hall in advance as this speeds up entry at the meeting and allows us to plan staffing, we may charge more for unreserved tickets.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications for future meetings.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

Speaking in July we have :

Christopher Forse – On the Road in North America

Fifty years of road trips: from the early days of Greyhound buses and hitchhiking, to over a dozen self-drives. In two parts: the first on the joys and challenges of being ‘on the road’ in North America, with journeys through the East from the Canadian border to Key West. The second part will focus on the glories of the American (and Canadian) West, its scenery, its history, and its people including encounters with fundamentalist Mormons and Native Americans. And with accompaniment of the music that accompanied me (Chris) out on the Open Road!   

Chris Forse recently spoke to Globetrotters on his Thirty Years of Travel in China. He was a resident of Hong Kong for 33 years, and is now enjoying retirement in Warwickshire where he has been chairman of a U3A for six years, while enjoying travel, self-publishing and setting his travel photographs to music!

We are trying out a different format this month, Christopher Forse will be speaking before and after the break.

• The programme starts with announcements followed by
• Part 1 of the illustrated talk for 45 to 60 minutes
• A break for 20 minutes with complimentary refreshments (tea, coffee, squash, biscuits)
• Part 2 of the illustrated talk including some time for any questions

Date & Time:

Saturday, July 1, 2023

Doors open at 14:00 in London.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participates via zoom.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

Admission costs in advance:

• £3 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £6 for non-members. (save 50% if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please reserve seats in the hall in advance as this speeds up entry at the meeting and allows us to plan staffing, we may charge more for unreserved tickets.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications for future meetings.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

Speaking in February we have :

• 1st: Noel Perry -Travels in a Van called Speedbump

  Noel will talk about his travels in 20 countries in his van Speedbump.

• 2nd: Jeanie Copland – Interrailing with my granddaughter.

  Jeanie travelled with Hattie, her 20 year old granddaughter, we looked at each other with amazement, did we have a plan?

  We both wanted to travel in Europe, summer 2019, why not step out together.  

  We quickly scribbled a list each of six destinations and compared notes – Budapest, Venice and Rome were hot favourites – the planning began. 

Date & Time:

Saturday, February 4, 2023

Doors open at 14:00 in London.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

Admission costs in advance:

• £3 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £6 for non-members. (save 50% if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please reserve seats in the hall in advance as this speeds up entry at the meeting and allows us to plan staffing, we may charge more for unreserved tickets.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications for future meetings.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

In November we have:

AGM: The clubs AGM starts at 12:00 pm (card carrying members only), then at 2.30 pm the meeting begins

Speaking at 2.30 pm we have:  (Get Tickets)

1st Christopher Forse – Thirty Years of Travel in China.

Chris Forse  travelled extensively through China from a time when only one city was open to foreigners, and all trips were officially sanctioned group tours. In time travel became as free as almost anywhere on earth. Chris travelled to remote regions (Yunnan, Xinjiang, Tibet) and through distant borders into Siberia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Nepal  and Kyrgyzstan, experiencing adventures and culture shock, and breathtaking landscapes. Most of all Chris witnessed a civilizational transformation unparalleled in history, while accumulating treasured memories.

Chris was a teacher and resident of Hong Kong 1974-2008. He was also a part time columnist and radio panellist. Today he is chairman  of one of the UK’s largest U3As.. He enjoys self publishing and is writing a 300 page illustrated volume of his travels in the USA over five decades.

2nd Anthony Britton – Motorcycling to Greece via Montenegro and Albania -August 2022.

As a welcome post-covId challenge, Anthony set out with a small tent to motorcycle to Greece. A meander through France, Germany Austria and Italy was followed by a ride along the entire length of the Adriatic coast through Montenegro and Albania. When someone called it ‘Mad but cool’ he said that’s exactly what attracted him to the idea! 

The previously advertised talk by Simon and Lisa Thomas – 2 Ride The World.has had to be postponed due to the train strike.

Date & Time:

Saturday, November 5, 2022

AGM Doors open at 12.00 noon.

Doors open at 14:00 GMT in London for the main meeting.

We would ask that anyone with symptoms or who needs to isolate participates via zoom.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 GMT (London time see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

For forthcoming meetings we have

• £3 for members to cover our costs. Members will be emailed a ticket code link allowing access to this option or you can access it from the members area.
• £6 for non-members, non-members may join the club for £12 per year and get this and future meetings at members rate for £12, members can also watch the 3 previous online talks, members also receive Globe our members magazine and our annual members calendar, why not join and enter your pictures.
• a catch up to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

Speaking in January we have:

• 1st: Sheila Robinson – Georgia and Armenia

Sheila Robinson one of our Calendar 2023 competition winners is speaking about Georgia and Armenia which was their last pre-Covid jaunt!

Sheila Robinson is a retired Market Researcher who has always loved travelling since the 1970s when my husband and I spent 18 months travelling overland to India and SE Asia to more recent trips in Europe, Asia and North Africa.

• 2nd: Justyna Hellebrand – Seven Weddings Around the World in Under a Year

Justyna was invited to no less than 7 weddings in 12 months! They took place in Vietnam, South Africa, Poland, Iran, India, United Arab Emirates and Brunei. This gave her a good excuse to visit those countries so she will be sharing with you some of her travels and adventures during that period.

Justyna has been traveling the world extensively since she was 16 and still has not seen it all!

Justyna devoted over 16 years of her life to higher education in various fields and is still planning to study more when the correct opportunity arises.

Justyna has many interests among others: world/folk music, herbalism, origami, beekeeping and in recent years modern art aiming at saving the world from rubbish – making art from all sorts of recycled materials!

Justyna is also a polyglot and fluent in more than 2😀 languages and currently (over the past 10 years 😅) learning Hindi and Turkish.

Justyna treats solo travelling as a distraction from everyday life, not as a form of making money out of her adventurous trips or breaking any world records. With time passing fast she also speeds up her travels and tries to see as much as possible until life comes to an end.

• Jeanie Copland’s talk has been postponed until February due to the rail strike.

By tradition we follow this meeting with a New Year Party post-meeting – everyone is invited to bring food and wine or soft drinks (we are not allowed beer or spirits) and participate! (Please RSVP if you will be coming to the party.)

Date & Time:

Saturday, January 7, 2023.

Doors open at 14:00 GMT in London for people with reservations, 14:20 for general entry.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 GMT (London time see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

Admission costs in advance:

• £3 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £6 for non-members. (save 50% if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please reserve seats in the hall in advance as this speeds up entry at the meeting and allows us to plan staffing, we may charge more for unreserved tickets.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications.

For in person tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets: