Globetrotters meeting 3^rd May by Acorn

Our first speaker, Windy Baboulene spoke to us for over 45 minutes, without slides or props, of his time as a youngster in the merchant navy and some of the outrageous escapades he got up to.

His first story concerned his favourite safari hat, and how one of his children had thrown it out of the car window whilst in a controlled safari park in the UK; was he brave enough to get it back? That would depend on whether his story of lone survival on the Serengeti Plains was The Truth or not. He went on to tell us the actual events behind his Kenyan safari so we could decide for ourselves. He and his fellow shipmates had been on safari, but had not taken it seriously. They had played “dares”, such as running away from the safety of the truck and dancing – on the plains in the Rift Valley – around an imaginary handbag, whilst the nearby wildlife watched on, amused. During Windy's turn at performing a dare, his 'friends' drove off and left him. Just for a laugh, you understand. Was he brave…?

Another one of Windy’s stories was about being caught out boasting about his skiing prowess and being taken by helicopter along with some new found friends to ski from impossibly sheer cliffs in the Rocky Mountains of Canada.

Windy's story telling was not just funny – it was interesting and engaging too. To know more, you’ll have to buy his book, The 'Hilarious and often Bizarre true story' (ABTA Travel) entitled 'Blue Road', available from Amazon – to take a look and to see more reviews, visit Windy Baboulene's Blue Road

Our second speaker, John Harrison spoke of his seven canoeing expeditions up the Amazon. His slides showed the beauty and also the dangers of being in such an inhospitable landscape. We saw how John and his travel companions occasionally suffered the ravages of tropical diseases, including malaria when they swigged quinine out a bottle – until they ran out – and Leishmaniasis, (a horrible parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of some species of sand flies) that causes huge sores. We also saw pictures of the Amazon, the river, its tributaries, undergrowth, enormous spiders and insects, of hidden tribes protected against explorers. John finished up by telling us of the trouble he got into with the French Guyanese authorities for having crossed over into French Guyana without a visa – they had after all travelled up the Amazon! The immigration officials in the capital, Cayenne gave him such a hard time, threatening all manner of penalties, including a spell in prison, until he realised that French speaking John was actually British, and being a part of the EU did not actually need a visa to travel into French Guyana!

Coming up in June

Saturday, 7th June
JACQUI TROTTER A Year travelling in South America – Jacqui, a regular London “Globie” enjoys a year travelling – sometimes with overland groups – and sometimes “solo.”

SIMON MYERS China – Simon spent five years in China before riding a Chinese motorbike and sidecar back from Beijing to London. His first book “Adrift in China” has recently been published.

London 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. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

Are you planning to drive across South America, take your family sailing around the Greek Islands, or to experience living in the Wilderness? An independent television company is looking for friends, couples or families who want to give up their existing lives for an adventure overseas. If this is for you, then e-mail Sarah and tell her where you want to go and what you want to do there, as she can help with the arrangements and provide some financial support. Her address is sarahg@ideallondon.com

JUNE 7: Ladakh Ken Axen, who also presented the amazing Bhutan, will be back to present Ladakh. “In the forbidding terrain of the Himalayas, a robust people embellish their frugal lives with rich endowments of faith”, Thomas J. Abercrombie, National Geographic.

Experience the beauty of this exotic land through a slide show by Kenneth Axen, PhD, research scientist, graphic artist, and serious amateur photographer.

For details of forthcoming meetings e-mail newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or register for e-mail updates, click here at our website.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.

As a result of the US Airways Charlotte, N Carolina commuter plane crash earlier in 2003, the FAA has notified US airlines operating planes with more than 19 seats to raise weight estimates for both passengers (by 10lbs) and carry on luggage by 5lbs. Meanwhile, airlines have been given 90 days to either introduce the new weight rules or carry out their own surveys.

UK airport operator, BAA, has called for three new runways to be built in the south east of England. BAA recommend one runway dedicated to short haul planes at London Heathrow, a second runway at London Gatwick and up to two more at home of Ryanair, and BAA’s fastest growing airport, London Stansted.

British Airways and Germany's Lufthansa have applied to restart services to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. American carrier Northwest Airlines recently announced that it had applied for permission from the US Department of Transportation to start flights to Iraq. The UK's Virgin Atlantic, which has flown emergency medical supplies into Iraq since the end of hostilities, also expressed an interest in providing commercial services.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

Big Red Barn Ent. in Vancouver, Canada, are presently in post production on a documentary called “Bikes on Ice”, where they sent a small digi-cam along with a team of 3 arctic cyclists to the Yukon and Alaska. They documented their journey – in journal style – they successfully retraced the bicycle journey from Dawson City to Nome Alaska in 49 days, done by two men in the year 1900 during the gold rush.

They are now looking seriously at another 6-7 expeditions to present for the series “X-PLORE” for CTV Travel, OLN and Discovery. “Bikes on Ice” was considered the pilot and will air on CTV Travel June 24, 2003 in Canada. They are looking for unique and exciting expeditions we can document for the series (one hour doc's).

Do you know of any expeditions in the works – sailing, polar, skiing, kayaking, canoeing, they're looking for a variety of possibilities around the world.

Please visit the www.bikesonice.com site and have a look at what our pilot doc. for the series is about and do visit our company site www.brbmg.com