The first of our two talks was given by Jill Nash, of Luxury Backpackers, entitled THE AMALFI COAST, FROM PIAZZAS TO PIZZAS. Jill is now also a travel writer and married to an Italian and spends part of her year in the UK and the remainder in Italy, the Amalfi coast being her second home.  The talk took us along the coast from Pompeii, through Sorrento, Positano and Ravello to Amalfi and also Capri and Ischia, this area of the Italian coastline now being a Unesco Heritage area. Jill then dwelt on Italian lifestyle – the importance of family life, food, wine and culture, particularly the food and wine! All our appetites were wetted with the mention of melizani parmigiana, gnocchi, gelato, and San Marco (the local wine) and limoncello, the lemon liquor.

“Our reward” – refreshments of tea, coffee and biscuits!

Following our refreshment break, and in stark contrast, our second talk was given by Sarah Hoyle, was her “walk” along THE INCA TRAIL. Sarah, a nurse manager at the Countess of Chester Hospital, did her rigorous trek for charity to give aid to the Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda, with whom she has become associated. She undertook the trek along with her son and his friend, (who she coerced into the challenge) firstly visiting Lima and Cusco, then walking the trail over 4 days.  We saw the beauty of Cusco Cathedral, followed by the Irabamba river up to Aguas Calientas, walked through the Sacred Valley, and climbed up to Machu Pichu. Again we shared Sarah’s camping experiences and wonderful food prepared by the porters, but all from the comfort of our venue in Chester. A fantastic feat on Sarah’s part in raising money for the Kisiizi Hospital

This was an excellent meeting, with two totally contrasting speakers which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Our Chester group is now growing in numbers, and we are seeing a core of regular members who are very enthusiastic.

Our next meeting is on 17th September. – Make a diary note! Topics are –

• “THE ADVENTURES OF AN ORDINARY PERSON” – with John Sunter
• “THE NORTHERN LIGHTS EXPERIENCE” – by Nigel Bradbury, who has worked with the BBC Sky at Night team and also Jodrell Bank Observatory.

Report compiled by Eve MacPherson, now one of the Chester Globetrotters Team

Chester meetings are held at The Grosvenor Museum, 25 – 27 Grosvener Street, Chester, CH1 2DD.

Tickets £3 including refreshments.

For more information contact Angela, Hanna or Eve for further information of this & future events at Chester via email at chesterbranch@globetrotters.co.uk