Saturday, November 2, 2024

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:


Date & Time: Saturday 2nd November 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.

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For in person Tickets at the hall:

For Zoom online tickets:

On iPhone or iPad please use this link.


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