On Saturday, November 8, 2025, we have :
AGM: The club AGM starts at noon (card-carrying members only)
Speaking at 2.45 pm we have:
1st: Laura Coffey – Enchanted Islands.
Join Laura for on a mythical journey through the real world. Together we will travel through tiny archipelagos and explore mystical Mediterranean islands thought to be the setting of Odysseus’s epic journey.
We will encounter sea monsters and sex goddesses, fragile masculinity, toxic gods, polyamory and plenty of narcissism as we look again at this old text with fresh eyes. Together, we will explore what myths are, the importance of the stories we tell ourselves, and the magical task of mapping imaginary worlds.
Laura Coffey is not a classics scholar, she cannot read Ancient Greek, often finds herself utterly lost, and so is an unlikely author of a book on mapping The Odyssey.
Stephen Fry said it’s “a magical and hugely captivating journey – a simply marvellous read, hugely recommended”.
Laura’s book Enchanted Islands: A Mediterranean Odyssey, has also been selected by Wanderlust and Citizen Femme as a top travel book for 2024, and by Blackwells as recommended summer reading. It has been long listed for the Anglo Hellenic League Runciman Award
Laura is happy to sign copies after the talk.
You can find out more about the book: Enchanted Islands: A Mediterranean Odyssey
2nd: Richard Loosley – A Butterfield’s Overland to India in the 1970s by Public Transport.
Join lifelong traveller Richard Loosley who will talk about his early experiences on the overland route to India that he took with his business partner, Ashley Butterfield.
Richard retraces his journey across ten countries to India—armed only with a backpack, a sense of humour, and public transport. In this vivid memoir of the 1970s, Loosley shares tales of border crossings, hashish-laced buses, and the raw charm of a bygone era of travel.
A celebration of spontaneity, grit, and the joy of getting gloriously lost.
You can review Richards book at https://richardloosley.com/
Date & Time: Saturday 8th November 2025
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 before 14:45 and switch your phone to “do not disturb” or silent.
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.