With Jacqui at the lectern, we had two contrasting talks geographically & politically:-

• Andrea Orban and Laurence West – An independent canter through Libya. Andrea & Laurence spent four years living & working in Libya, right up to the point that the recent overthrow of Gaddafi & his regime engulfed the country and this talk led the audience chronologically through its history. For example did you know Libya is 99% desert and is three times the size of Texas ? Or that the country has no rivers that drain into the sea ? Waves of peoples have forced their imprint onto Libya – Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Islamists, Ottoman Turks, Italians & the World War II conflict. Many have left monumental traces, such as the Cyrene & Leptis Magna. The country is famed for oil but also the best Olives in the Mediterranean countries.Our speakers couldn’t totally avoid the modern day troubles of Gaddafi, even though they enjoyed their lives. Travel was only made easy through the use of letters of introduction by government officials, discussing politics was taboo (people were never sure who was listening !) and our speakers were working with organisations approved of by the regime.

  Overall Andrea & Laurence’s talk was well received and gave many of us a good context of Libya & its continually changing history 🙂

• Jacqui Trotter – Summer in southern Scotland. As a last minute stand in for the published second speaker, Jacqui leapt to the aid of the audience with a whistle stop tour of southern Scotland ! En route to a friend’s wedding, Jacqui fulfilled a long held travel wish to visit a swathe of key destinations – Glasgow, Stirling, Glencoe, Oban & Inverary. Scottish National Trust properties came & went at a rapid rate of knots & Jacqui attempted to soak up as much detail as possible in a few days And she still made it to the wedding on time !! Well done, as ever Jacqui 🙂