For the end of the season London meeting, we had the traditional Members’ Slides to entertain us and this time around we had as many new speakers as returning favourites. All provided the audience with a varied range of excellent journeys and adventures, illustrated with some stunning photos:-
Eric Hayman : slides and memories about the extensive steam rail network in Ireland that he travelled in the 1960’s, often by hitching a ride with the driver. A wonderful insight into times gone by and the life of those who lived nearest to the tracks.
Delia Cardnell : A colourful glimpse of Delia’s trip to Vietnam and especially her interactions with the children and families she met there.
Jacek Obloj : These fascinating portraits from a trip to Morocco showed both Jacek’s interest in the human face but also a close up and intimate look at a colourful and varied people in black & white.
Suneel Kaur : A recent trip to India to visit the Jain temples near Bundi provided the subject for this presentation. History, culture and lots and lots of steps added to the attraction of this ‘off the tourist trail’ site.
Liz Cooper : Beautiful close-up photographs of the insects, birds and animals of Thai and English islands. A timely reminder that it is not always necessary to travel a long way to see beauty in nature.
Kevin Brackley : A trip to Sweden to practice his yoga gave Kevin a fine opportunity to explore the quirky sculpture & art that seems to litter the urban landscape of Stockholm. Who could miss the Shrek roof decoration or the stickered bin?
Nick Preston : Katoomba and the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Australia, was the source of Nick’s inspiration. Waterfalls, Adam Lindsay Gordon, the Three Sisters and lots of leafy bush spoke of sun and warmth and Nick’s love of travel.
Neil Harris : the Crimea. Florence Nightingale, the charge of the Light Brigade, Yalta, Soviet architecture, beaches and the Russian naval base whose lease is almost up, all came up for a mention. Once a favourite vacation spot for the elite of the USSR, the Crimea is now the summer escape for Ukrainians, with package tourism starting to discover that the beauty & history of the region i.e. a real selling point.
Details of the forth coming meetings at the London branch, September to December 2009, can be found at http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/meetings/lon09it1.html
The London branch meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend. There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh in September. For more information, contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk.