Speaking on Saturday, December 7, 2024 we have :

1st: Brian Anderson – The High Life – the altiplano of Peru, Bolivia and Chile

Brian Anderson is a Wirral based, tutor, lecturer and travel
photographer. For over 35 years he has travelled to 66 countries and
territories around the world. North to South, from the North Pole to
Antarctica, and East to West, from Japan to Rapa Nui (Easter Island).
Based on his trips to South America in 2019 and 2023, he now takes us
in this new talk, to the Andean altiplano (high plains) of Peru, Bolivia
and Chile.

In a richly informative, colourful presentation, Brian shares with us the
otherwordly landscapes and the amazing wildlife that survives in this
barren, high altitude (14,000 – 16,000 ft asl) region.

We will also meet the proud indigenous people – the Aymara and
Quechua – who live in these high altitudes, and look at their unique and
colourful culture which is rooted in the remote environment.

This talk is a must for lovers of travel, diverse cultures and wildlife.

Find out more at:

• http://www.andersonimages.co.uk/

2nd: Neil Pitts – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

My journey from Long Covid to the northernmost point of Europe

Following an 18-month battle with Covid-19 and Long Covid, Neil Pitts decided that he needed a challenge. So, in the winter of 2022, he and two friends attempted to ski the length of Norway. A journey that took more than 3 months.

This long-distance route, known as the Norge på langs, is approximately 2,500km long. Only one or two people complete it during winter each year. Most fail.

Neil’s presentation, which includes images from the journey, not only describes this incredible challenge but also gives an insight into the obstacles he had to overcome just to get to the start line. Plagued by the effects of Long Covid and injuries prior to the trip, he had also never been on Nordic skis.

You can read more about Neil and sign up for his blog via the website www.neilpitts.com or find him on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/neilpittsadventures/ 

Date & Time: Saturday 7th December 2024

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

• £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

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

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

On iPhone or iPad please use this link

In November we have:

AGM: The club AGM starts at noon (card-carrying members only)

Speaking at 2.45 pm we have: 

1st: Sheila Robinson – Uzbekistan

In the 1970s Douglas and Sheila Robinson spent 18 months travelling overland in Asia. Two children and nearly 50 years later we are still exploring. In 2017 we spent just under a month in Uzbekistan. Travelling by plane, trains, buses and cars we went to the Aral Sea (what’s left of it), the ancient cities of Khiva, Bokhara and Samarkand, the desert at Nurata and a mini trek in the mountains. It is a fascinating country with some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met.

2nd: Jim Holmes – English Breakfast and the story of Ceylon tea

The slopes of Sri Lanka’s southern mountains are clothed in neat rows of low bushes that produce one of the country’s greatest exports, tea. The famed ‘English Breakfast’ name is known the world over, and disputed, but the story of tea in old Ceylon is far less refreshing. I toured hillside tea estates, factories and met the villagers who still hand pick this everyday product to bring you the true story of the UK’s favourite hot drink.  From its beginnings in 1824, tea still goes through a growing and drying process that is little changed in 200 years, this is an industry steeped in tradition and the often questionable roles that colonialism set in place.

Introduction: Jim Holmes

Jim Holmes is a professional documentary photographer that has lived and worked around the world for over 30 years.  Assignments have taken him to over 50 countries where he worked extensively on humanitarian projects for numerous international agencies. Making S.E. Asia his home for over 20 years he used this base to work around the region for commercial and not-for-profit clients. Jim has also worked on the visual documentation of large river hydropower projects, as well as for well-respected travel guide and educational publishers.  

Find out more at:

• Web address: www.jimholmes.co.uk 
• Instagram:  jimhphoto
• FaceBook:    Jim Holmes Documentary Photography

Admission costs:

• £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

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

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

On iPhone or iPad please use this link.

Speaking on Saturday, September 7, 2024, we have :

1st: Chris Grant – Ethiopia – a land of extraordinary variety

Tucked away in the Horn of Africa lies extraordinary Ethiopia, a land with a truly ancient history, unique and hugely varied tribal cultures, amazing birdlife and a dramatic variety of other wildlife, with scenic beauties that range from the lofty Simien and Bale Mountains to the spectacular ribbon of picturesque lakes in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, and so much else.

The east of the country has venerated and ancient Islamic cultures, including the fourth holiest city in Islam, Harar. But the north of Ethiopia is devoutly Christian, with its own Ethiopian Orthodox Church that has existed for nearly two thousand years and which has given rise to amazing architecture and stunningly colourful artwork.

The deep south of the country is home to numerous unique tribal peoples with colourful and truly fascinating individual cultures that are unmatched anywhere in the world. 

And binding all of this together are the ordinary people of Ethiopia who, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Animist, show an extraordinary warmth and quiet pride in everything they do. Their foods are unique, their clothes are unique, and they offer a genuine warmth of welcome to visitors. Ethiopia is by far the most varied and richly colourful country on the African continent.

Chris Grant has been associated with Ethiopia for over twenty-five years. His charity work has supported education and schooling in all sorts of ways during that time, and he has also led groups of visitors throughout this varied land for nearly fifteen of those years, continuing to learn about the fascinating history and cultures of these amazing people. I look forward to sharing some of my knowledge and my experiences with you and telling you about the sheer variety of this extraordinary country.

2nd: Jessica Finnamore – 10 weeks solo backpacking Central America

After graduating from uni last summer, I decided to take a year out to go travelling. I spent around 8 months in total in Central America, South East Asia, and India. This talk will discuss my favourite part of the trip; Central America, and what it’s like to travel there as a solo woman.

Date & Time: Saturday 7th September 2024

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

• £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

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

Tickets go on sale just before the meetings.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

Speaking in January we have :

Around the world in eighty minutes.

10 presentations of 10 slides

The format is talks by eight to ten speakers for ten minutes giving a fast-paced journey around the Globe.

There are four to five talks before the break and four to five talks after the break, with each speaker having around 10 minutes to speak. 

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.)

We will not have access to the kitchen to heat food, so please bring food ready to eat.

Date & Time: Saturday 6th January 2024

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

• £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

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 December we have :

1st: Peter Payne – Africa Along the Equator

A journey that includes a boat on the Congo River, Kinshasa, pygmies, Virunga, (gorillas), Ruwenzori, the Rift Valleys, Mt Kenya, Lengai (an active volcano), Kilimanjaro, ice caps on the equator, Tsavo and the Kenya coast.

2nd: Rosemary J Brown – Train Pass Tales 2023: On track through Switzerland, Iberia and Japan.

Have train pass, will travel. Join Rosemary on her rail trails across Europe and around Japan exploring cities, mountains, shrines and World Heritage Sites. All aboard for scenic Swiss trains like the Glacier Express and Bernina Express — trains in Spain along  the Camino de Santiago — and super-swift journeys on Japan’s bullet trains — with plenty of stops along the way.

Date & Time: Saturday 2nd December 2023

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

• £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

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 club 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: 

1st: Kevin Brackley – DC monuments and museums

Exploring, the sights, monuments and museums of Washington DC and the surrounding area. 

2nd: Atlantic Escapade – One couple in close quarters rowing across the Atlantic Ocean

Andy and Rosalind from Atlantic Escapade will be talking about their expedition to row 3,000 miles unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean in a very tiny boat.

Date & Time:

Saturday, November 4, 2023

Doors open at 14:00 in London.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

The Zoom meeting opens at 14:15 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

Admission costs:

• £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
• £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
• a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

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

Reserve a place in person at the hall:

Get online Tickets for Zoom at Eventbrite:

Speaking in September we have :

• 1st: Francesca Jaggs – Northern lights, and the world’s northernmost permanent settlement.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to witness the spectacular Northern Lights in person or live in the northernmost city in the world?

Francesca did not contemplate this much until a friend said that it was his dream but doubted he would ever fulfil it. She could not bear to hear this and found herself saying “Let’s do it!”

Francesca will share insight into the northernmost city in the world, Longyearbyen, located on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Talking about the unique challenges of living in this remote and isolated community, including the 24-hour darkness of winter and the constant threat of polar bears.

This was not a long trip but one that challenged the speaker considerably as she normally mostly heads to very warm places. As someone who had a deep fear of the cold, she will give an insight into how going completely out of her comfort zone ultimately led to a sense she would never be afraid of the cold again.

• 2nd: Mary Fogarty – Places I was dragged to by my Dad.

This talk will focus first on our life as a family in a newly-independent Kenya, where my father Noel worked for Nairobi City Council and we lived on a council estate in a field. Over the next five years we travelled all over East Africa, my father’s general goal being to see as much as he possibly could of his surroundings.

In his VW Variant we went on long trips into Uganda and Tanzania, climbing mountain craters, searching for the Big Five in the great national parks, and taking boats on lakes and rivers infested with crocodiles and hippos. Christmases were spent camping near the beach in Mombasa, and on his long leave, we went back to the UK on two different passenger ships, going down the African coast on the Indian Ocean, and putting in at exotic cities in Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa.

It wasn’t just Africa either – we also visited the Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, Turkey and more on trips to and from Nairobi. And when we came back to the UK for good, Noel bought a campervan, and off we set across Europe. Also Scotland and the North! Was there never a rest?!

Date & Time:

Saturday, September 2nd, 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.

Tickets go on sale soon…

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

Speaking in October we have :

1st: Linda Fox – Gorilla Tracking

Linda’s talk will provide an informative and inspiring exploration of the world of gorilla tracking, offering a deeper understanding of these magnificent creatures, the challenges they face, and how responsible tourism can contribute to their conservation.

Gorilla tracking is an exhilarating and transformative adventure that offers a unique opportunity to observe and connect with one of the world’s most remarkable and endangered species – the mountain gorilla.

Join us on this virtual expedition into the heart of the wild and discover the magic of gorilla tracking.

2nd: Alan Palmer – On the Edge of the World.

In the autumn of 2022, political stability having finally been restored to the region, Alan returned to northern Pakistan after an absence of 24 years and some 35 years after his first visit in 1987.

He drove for six weeks, off road and along rough jeep tracks, through some of the tallest and wildest mountains on earth – the western Himalayas, the Karakorum and the Hindu Kush.

While revisiting some cherished old haunts, he also discovered other new, infrequently visited corners, hidden deep within this fabulous landscape, as he reached out towards the remote borders of Afghanistan and China.

In his talk, Alan relives his adventures, some old and some new. He relates his encounters with tribal groups whose homes lie deep within the territory’s hidden high valleys, from the Pathans of Peshawar to the Kafirs of Kalash, and from the Afridis of the Kyber to the Ismailis of forgotten Shimshal, while not forgetting the times he spent drinking tea with refugee Mujahideen fighters on the outskirts of Chitral. All this while he kept an ear close to the ground, listening intently for any lingering echoes of Kipling’s imperial Great Game.

Alan is the founder and director of his own company, Yak Travel – www.yaktravel.co.uk – which specialises in both gentle holidays and not so gentle expeditions to Pakistan, North East India and Morocco. He is a regular speaker at travel shows and travel clubs, both at home and abroad, and is a respected travel writer, too.

He wrote Moroccan Atlas the Trekking Guide, co-wrote Insight Guide Pakistan, and has contributed to numerous other travel books and magazines besides, including The Rough Guide to The Best 100 Places on Earth.

At the end of his talk, Alan will be selling copies of his books, “Moroccan Atlas the Trekking Guide”(rrp £14.99), and “Insight Guide Pakistan” (rrp £18.99), each at the reduced price of £10. All money received will go directly to the Morocco earthquake appeal via the British Moroccan Society’s GoFundMe appeal.

Find out more at:

• https://www.facebook.com/YakTravel/
• https://www.instagram.com/yaktravel/
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbeFQsXbenMiGh9bhm50TdQ

Date & Time:

Saturday, October 7, 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:

There is no meeting in August.

Venue Change: Due to the coronation on our regular date we have a venue change for this meeting, the meeting will be held at Covent Garden Dragon Hall  17 Stukeley Street, London WC2B 5LT

Speaking in May we have :

1st: Alexis Parrinder-Nicholls – Travelling with music: The power of music to navigate difficult situations and bring people together

Alexis has travelled with a guitar to over 30 countries, including Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Iraq, China, Senegal and The Gambia. These trips have often focussed around hitchhiking and exploring the most remote areas.

From jamming his way out of trouble with the Burmese police, to rapping at a wedding in a village not visited by foreigners for ninety years, a touch of music has often proven invaluable along the way.

Considering the music cultures in the different regions he’s visited, this talk will explore the role that music can play in traversing barriers, connecting people and generally being a force for good in the world.

Find out more at: https://www.youtube.com/@LaffCotchTV

2nd: Sharon Cunningham – Miss Honeyjam’s Mid-Life Cycle

Sharon is a mild mannered, mechanically challenged, middle aged school teacher who mostly likes sitting still. This is a talk about what happens when you watch too many YouTube videos about cycling during lockdown. It is about life at 15 mph, along the Rhine River, starting at its source, in Oberalppass in Switzerland and going all the way to Hoek van Holland, on a folding bike. By the end, you too will have all the information you need to plan your own cycle!

Instagram: misshoneyjam

Date & Time: Saturday, May 13, 2023

Doors open at 14:15 BST in London. (TBC)

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

The zoom meeting opens at 14:15 with the talks starting 14:30-14:45 BST (London time see Event Time Announcer for local times), please join early so we can deal with any issues with joining, if you have issues please try updating your zoom client first, we are very limited in what we can do once the meeting has started.

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: