Speaking this month we have:

1st Ben Harris –  Expedition Tanganyika

Ben will be speaking about his unsupported kayaking expedition on Lake Tanganyika. His aim was to kayak the lake from its southernmost point in Zambia to its northern tip in Burundi, making him the first person to solo kayak the longest lake in the world.

However, it soon became clear that the lake had other plans. Ben was hit by challenges from the start. The trip soon became less about covering the ground, and more about overcoming the obstacles on the way. As he paddled northward, Ben capsized in crocodile infested waters, caught a bout of malaria and got chased off by a hippo. However, the lake had not yet thrown up its biggest challenge. Two weeks in Ben was hit by disaster, and the trip was forced to take an unexpected turn. He is looking forward to giving the talk on the 8th January.

See https://www.kayaktanganyika.co.uk/

2nd John Pilkington – China by the Back Door

Starting in Samarkand, John crossed the Pamirs to Kyrgyzstan’s oldsilk-producing city of Osh.

On an earlier trip, guards shooed him away from the Chinese border, but in 2011 he made it through to Kashgar, and explored the previously off-limits Taklamakan Desert.

We’ll have a quick look at the Jiayuguan gate on the Great Wall, before finishing in Ürümqi which has been transformed from sprawling hovels into a modern Chinese city.

These are the lands of the Uyghur people, whose lives and culture have been uprooted in the decades since his first visit

New Year Party – Postponed

Unfortunately due to Covid-19 we will not be able to have our New Year Party after the meeting at the hall, we invite members and visitors to a local pub..

Date & Time:

Saturday, January 8, 2022

Doors open at 14:00 GMT in London, a condition of entry is proof of vaccination or a COVID lateral flow test within 48 hours or a positive PCR within 90 days having completed any required isolation, the easiest way of showing this is with the NHS Covid Pass which lets you show your COVID-19 status in a secure way. We will be carrying out temperature checks and asking visitors to confirm they do not have any symptoms on arrival.

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

Last month meeting was very successful, the hall is well ventilated and we had no cases following the meeting.

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.
• We have had confirmation that the Church of Scotland hall is open and we will be running this meeting as an in person at the hall plus we will be streaming it on zoom and will be following the same procedures as the west end theatres.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets: