Category Archives: Main article

October meeting news from the London, UK branch by The Ant

With Simon Banks at the lectern, the London branch was introduced to two new speakers:-

First to entertain us, on a country that is often in the news for negative reasons was Russell Maddicks who spoke about Exploring Venezuela: A Land of Natural Wonders.  Russell highlighted how much variation in the country can be enjoyed…from stunning geographies, complex cultures & histories through to sociable peoples who know how to enjoy themselves!  In fact Russell’s many visits over a number of years have enabled him to author Bradt Travel Guides’ Venezuela edition J

Read more about Russell’s adventures at http://www.blogger.com/profile/03762827239193581989

Rona Cant in the second half of the afternoon gave the audience quite a different talk…Rona came to adventure travel later in life but since undertaking the BT Global Challenge Round the World Yacht Race, she has changed her outlook on her life & career.  Rona is convinced the she and many other people can benefit from the positive energy that independent travel can create.  Read more for yourself at Rona’s web site – http://www.ronacant.com/index.htm.

The London branch’s future meetings are detailed at London Meeting Programme.  

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, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

For more information, contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 7193 2586, or visit the web site: https://globetrotters.co.uk/local-meetings.html. 

Write in (3) …Is there a definitive list of worldwide travel clubs ?, as asked by The Ant

Putting together this eNewsletter, I wanted to explore travel clubs around the world, that like Globetrotters promoted independent travel for independent travellers.  And so far I have to admit I’m struggling and need your help.  Can you tell me about any travel clubs you know of and we can learn more about them (magazines, web sites, meetings etc.) ? Thus far I’ve come up with the following organisations who represent something similar to GTs:-

· http://www.travellerclub.org/ – Austrian travel club has been a travel community since at least 1996

· https://globetrotter.orghttps://globetrotter.org – German Globetrotters club, has been holding active meetings since publishing the “Trotter” magazine since 1974

· http://www.swisstravelclub.ch/http://www.swisstravelclub.ch/ – venerable Swiss Travel Club

Welcome to eNewsletter August 2011…

Hello all,

From a sunny, summery London J  Amidst Royal weddings, Olympic preparations & numerous big issues in the worlds of politics & finance, Globetrotters and friends are still managing to enjoy travel…  We in this edition of the eNewsletter talk about Croatia, Mac’s World, Mike Shawcross OBE, Portobelloland and what’s been happening in the UK based branches of the Globetrotters Club.  An eclectic mix and you’d be very correct…read on & find out how so !

What else is happening across the wider travel world ?

  • “Outside Lands” music festival in San Francisco, USA features a host of acts in a top location close to the Golden Gate Bridge…see http://www.sfoutsidelands.com
  • Slow Food Cheese Festival in Bra, Italy for those passionate about eating good quality food – see http://www.deliciousitaly.com/guide/north-italy-regions/piemonte-guide/piemonte-food-and-wine/item/667-bra-cheese-festival.html
  • UK newspaper “The Daily Telegraph” has a range of travel related competitions that readers might want to enter…see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-competitions/ for more details.  Good luck J
  • London’s Mayor is again holding the Thames Festival this year, September 2011, and details of this “one of London’s best” can be found athttp://www.thamesfestival.org/
  • Follow the progress of the “It’s on the meter team” and their round the world journey by London taxi at http://www.itsonthemeter.com/blog.htm
  • Follows the progress of Sarah Outen’s “London2London” adventure at http://sarahouten.co.uk/london-to-london-via-the-world/

That’s all for now, enjoy the read and keep sending me more of your stories, adventures and articles J

The Ant

theant@globetrotters.co.uk

July meeting news from the Chester, UK branch by Hanna, Angela & Eve

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

Write in (1)…Walking in Croatia by Vic & Angela Blundell

Walking Buddies

LOZISCA AND BOBIVISCA. Our walk starts in Lozišća, which has the most beautiful belfry on the island. We walk to the picturesque fishing harbour Bobovišća luka where you can take a break for sightseeing and swimming (weather permitting)   Every Tuesday. Own transport or share a taxi meet on bridge in Lozisca 9am. Please call ahead to let us know you are coming and we can give directions…Distance 5 kilometres. Approx 2hrs 30mins.

FULL DAY HIKE FROM SHEPARD’S VILLAGE GAŽUL TO VIDOVA GORA AND DOWN TO BOL  Old Sheppard’s village Gažul on Vidova gora. We walk through a forest of black pines arriving at the highest peak on this Adriatic island, “Vidova gora” a beautiful view of Famous Zlatni Rat Beach. Time for sightseeing and photos then we walk down hill back to Bol.      

Every Thursday. Meet 9am at Gazul Village. Please call ahead and let us know you are coming and we will give directions. 8. Kilometres approx 4hrs.

No charge for buddies to show you the way. Be aware we are not professional guide’s just fellow walkers who want to share our passion for this beautiful Island. Please note we do not operate in JULY or AUGUST. Own transport, public bus or taxi. Transport can be arranged sharing the costs for four or more persons..

Minimum 2 persons required max 10. Bring a Picnic lunch and bottle of water.                 

Many other Beautiful and interesting walks on request for private groups.

Write in (3)…A surprise guest @ the door by Simon Banks

“Doing the door” after the meeting has started is annoying in most respects:  we never start at 14:30…more like 14:45, when those who have made it on time are now less patient and all the last minute checks have been made with the oncoming speakers.

Those who are late, are therefore very late and miss the first 20 minutes setting of the presentation.  They are the disorganised (like me), the cyclists who think they can speed faster than time itself, the long distance public transport users with wows of the British public transport system (the “vandals” had stripped the signal cable again between the West Country and Reading yesterday),  the old and the infirm.

Having an elderly Mum I now understand their needs better, are just slow:  they need time to shuffle and not fall down the stairs.  Other late comers just lost their way: new visitors and infrequently attending members. So my patience was stretched when I opened the door to the 7th late attendee: a large elderly, bearded gent with stick and American accent.

“Welcome” I said.”Well thanks.  I am a member but don’t often get over to the UK to attend meetings, so thought I should make the effort”.

“Well thanks for making the effort” I replied and helped him down the stairs and into the room.

After the meeting, I invited him and our remaining speaker to the pub.  As both are infrequently in the UK, pints of Flowers went down well.   Once seated, we got chatting.

“So what brings you back to England then?”  An acceptable opening question you may think.  Would you expect a joke reply?

“To receive an OBE from Her Majesty”  What an answer!

Mike Shawcross in action
Mike Shawcross in action

Quick double take: no glint in the eye and one not of an age to joke.  But what a fabulous response to work in, next time some jerk asks me a similar question?

So, Mr Michael Shawcoss OBE (22 June 2011), Globetrotter Member from Hebdon Bridge W.Yorks, originally went to Turkey to do potholing there, then on to Canada and since 1989 has been living in Guatemala teaching and learning from the 22 indigenous tribal Indian peoples there.  But that’s not all.  In 1964 (pre-hippi trail) he hitch hiked back from India on £9 0/-.  It would have been £10, but he needed to renew his passport for £1.

Simon

To quote the UK government, via the 2011 New Year’s Honours’ List, Mike received his OBE “For services to aid projects helping disadvantaged communities in Guatemala”.  Mike returned to Guatemala on July 22 but managed to speak at the July’s Members’ slides meeting in London…

The Ant

July meeting news from the London, UK branch by The Ant

The meeting was on Saturday 2 July and was themed “Around the world in eighty minutes.”.  It involved 11 presentations of 12 slides, by audience members, taking us on a fast paced journey around the globe:-

  • Dan Bachmann : Troms (Norway)
  • Agata Zborowska : Peru & Brasil
  • David Shamash : Israel
  • Doug Allen : Stone Cutting in India
  • Jacqui Trotter : French summer
  • Mike Shawcross : High road to Patsula
  • Kevin Brackley : KGB Museum, Tallinn, Estonia
  • Brian Lawrence : Morocco
  • Roger Turner : Lebanon
  • Philip Ferguson : New Zealand
  • Dick Curtis : Hot foot from Crete

The London branch’s future meetings are detailed at London Meeting Programme.  

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, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

For more information, contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 7193 2586, or visit the web site: https://globetrotters.co.uk/local-meetings.html. 

April meeting news from the London, UK branch by The Ant

James Littlewood & Tracey Dornan – Boy girl bike road.   “She dreamt of seeing the world, but couldn’t justify the carbon. He had always dreamed of the challenge of cycling to Hong Kong. With no previous experience of cycle touring, lycra or life together this is the adventure of one couple and their view from the saddle on an attempt to circumnavigate the globe by bicycle and boat.  A cycle ride of 18,000 miles through 23 countries.”

Lord Ian Strathcarron – Byron and the Grand Tour.

Joy Unconfined

“Two hundred years ago, between 1809-11, Lord Byron completed his Grand Tour of the Mediterranean. He was 21 when he left London. After catching a packet from Falmouth to Lisbon, his entourage rode down to Sevilla and Cadiz. He then sailed from Gibraltar to Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Greece, Albania, back to Greece then Turkey, Malta again and then with a heavy heart home to England. His voyage was exotic and poetic, erotic and eccentric.

 

On June 14th 2008 Solent sailors Ian and Gillian Strathcarron boarded their Freedom 40 Vasco da Gama at Bucklers Hard and sailed off to recreate Lord Byron’s Grand Tour. Their own voyage was propitious and perilous, mysterious and mischievous – but seldom abstemious.”

Read more about Ian in the steps of Byron at http://web.me.com/strathcarron/ByronGrandTour/Welcome.html

The London branch’s future meetings are detailed at London Meeting Programme.

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, unless there is a UK public holiday that weekend.

There is no London meeting in August, but we start afresh each September.

For more information, contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 7193 2586, or visit the web site: https://globetrotters.co.uk/local-meetings.html.

 

March meeting news from the Chester, UK branch by Hanna & Angela

Hi The Ant

We had a great meeting in Chester last Saturday the 19th of March, we are getting a regular stream of people now between 35 to 40 on average and we certainly hope that this is going to continue so by the end of the year we will have a little money saved up to go into 2012.

We had two wonderful speakers again, the first talk was about a cycle journey from Scotland to Italy for charity – Saol who is originally from Mexico and now lives in Chester had lots of interesting and funny stories about his experience on this trip.  Saol had wonderful photos to show and everyone really enjoyed his adventure.  The money that was raised during the ride went to help with schools in Nepal and Mexico.

The second speaker, last year’s Globetrotters’ travel award winner, Doreen Taylor did her talk about the journey she made to India – it was a journey back in time, following in the footsteps of Rudyard Kipling. The journey included the Golden Temple and some interesting train journeys, especially into the mountains.  Doreen kept us captivated with her personal experiences and quiet a few tips on where to go and things to see, it was a very enjoyable afternoon and while chatting to other Globies after her talk it seems that she has wetted a few appetites.

We had a good turnout again with lots of people meeting in the tea break, talking and exchanging experiences and tips.

Our next date for your diary is 28th May the talks will cover “My time in Hong Kong” by Madeleine Anderson who has lived there for some time, plus African Brew HA-HA a Motorcycle Quest from Lancashire to Cape Town by Alan Whelan

We look forward to welcoming fellow travelers and others on that day!

Thanks again for your help

Kind Regards

Hanna

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 atchesterbranch@globetrotters.co.uk

 

Meeting news from the Toronto, Canada branch

Tentative future presentations include:-

  • Friday 27 May : “Egypt and Jordan” by Jay Wopperer & Linda
  • Saturday? July : summer picnic, details to be confirmed
  • Friday 16 September : “Argentina” by Eduardo Barnett
  • Friday 18 November : “Guatemala with Horizons of Friendship” by Bruce Weber

Toronto meetings are held at 8.00pm on the third Friday of January, March, May (4th Friday), September and November, at Old York Tower, 85 The Esplanade, in downtown Toronto.

Everyone welcome especially visiting travellers 🙂

For more information contact Svatka Hermanek at hermanek@yahoo.ca, Bruce Weber at bruceaweber@hotmail.com / on tel. 416 203-0911.

Write in (1) …A large Glass of Red by Tony Annis

What a night, such a night, a night out a couple of days before a big party at my daughter’s, to celebrate her returning to see friends and family, as she now lives with hers in China.

A small café bar by the border of Belgium and France called “A Mou Morel”, at 15 Rue de Wervicq ‘Comines’.  On the Flemish side of the border,   but most people also spoke French.  A bar in the owner’s house, with the warmth of a place that is used by locals, as if it is their front room, rather than the owners’, with card players and friends chatting away.  On entering this small bar all glanced up and looked at us as if we came from the planet Zog !  Hardly ever did tourists arrive at this bijou place but when they did, they always returned again if they were anywhere in the area.  A very warm welcome to all of us as we came in for an aperitif before moving a few doors down to eat at a more than excellent restaurant.

Slowly like an old meandering river, the red wine flowed out of the bottle swirled slowly around, into this very large glass and the owner said, “Free for you, if you finish it” !

A large Glass of Red by Tony Annis

“I’m British”, I said, in my very best French and thought I saw her face blanch !  The locals all stopped their card playing and chatting, to watch this group make a fool of ourselves.  My daughter and her friend joined in the fun and shared a large glass of white !  Half way through drinking this good red wine, I began to wonder if I would make the restaurant and the bar began to feel as if it was my front room with lots of friends of mine enjoying themselves.  Considering this was very close to little Francesca’s party, I thought of it as training for the big one.  We did get to the restaurant and food was sumptuous and I only drank a little but even so, I think I was well oiled and the way home was thanks to my son in law, Bernard.  By the way I did finish the large glass of red and I think the landlady will check the nationality of the tourist next time – Just in case they turn out to be Brits.

Tony Annis 8th Feb.2011

 

Write in (3) in response to a talk given by Sarah Outen at the London branch

All – Committee member Jacqui Trotter received this kind email from charity Arthritis Research UK, following on a from a talk by sailing adventurer Sarah Outen at the London branch.  After being entertained so well, the audience contributed to an ad-hoc collection that has been well received by Arthritis Research UK 🙂

The Ant

Dear Miss Trotter,

On behalf of everyone here at Arthritis Research UK, thank you again for your very generous donation of £165.00. Your support is so valuable to us as it means we can continue to fund the vital research that’s needed to take away the pain and distress of arthritis.

It is very kind of the members of The Globetrotters Club to choose to support our cause following a talk given by Sarah Outen who did a sponsored event in our favour, we greatly appreciate this generosity.

Your gifts are helping to fund research to stop the pain of arthritis and hopefully prevent future generations being affected by this devastating condition.

Our pioneering research is helping to identify the genetic factors that lead to conditions such as osteoarthritis, which affects over 6 million people in the UK alone. Your gifts are also helping our top scientists to look at how taking supplements, like vitamin D, could stop the progression of life-changing conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.

If you want to find out even more about arthritis and what can be done to ease the pain, please visit our website www.arthritisresearchuk.org.  If you suffer from arthritis yourself, you can share your experiences with others.  And you’ll find a wealth of useful information about our research projects, different types of arthritis and much more.

Many thanks once again from all of us here at Arthritis Research UK for your kind donation.

Best wishes

Joanne Unwin

Supporter Services Administrator

t: 0300 790 0400

e: J.Unwin@arthritisresearchuk.org

w: www.arthritisresearchuk.org

 

Welcome to eNewsletter May 2011…

Hello all,

Time for a catch up from busy London 🙂  We’ve had Easter, a Royal wedding and a very pleasant spring all arrive since I last wrote…and now as I walk about, I can realise I can hear so many voices & accents from further afield.  I’m so lucky to live and work in such a varied, stimulating & vibrant city.

Part of that enjoyment is participating in the Globetrotters Club and putting this eNewsletter together…I like hearing about peoples’ adventures & enjoyment.

Anyway, enough of waxing lyrical – read on & enjoy…

What else is happening across the wider travel world?

  • Follow the progress of the “It’s on the meter team” and their round the world journey by London taxi at http://www.itsonthemeter.com/blog.htm
  • Follows the progress of Sarah Outen’s “London2London” adventure at http://sarahouten.co.uk/london-to-london-via-the-world/

That’s all for now, enjoy the read and keep sending me more of your stories, adventures and articles 🙂

The Ant

theant@globetrotters.co.uk

 

March meeting news from the London branch

For an extra busy London branch meeting (courtesy of Jacqui’s superb organising efforts with the speakers recently me thinks) we had two contrasting & excellent speakers:-

John Gimlette – Wild Coast Travels on South America’s Untamed Edge. Returning favourite John talked about travelling through the three Guyanas of north east South America…Guyana, Suriname & French Guiana – a very unknown & underdeveloped series of destinations.  John’s knack as a traveller is get involved locally in all his destinations, in all aspects of society & then recall his travels warmly and intelligently through books, radios & talks J  His style is less “this is what I did !” and much more “come with me on a journey”.  I hope that paints John in light that does him justice J

Read more about John & his world at http://www.johngimlette.com/

Sarah Outen – A Dip in the Ocean. Sarah’s talk was so different in so many ways and yet equally entertaining.  At twenty years old Sarah set of to fulfil a dream and grieve over the loss of her father – she rowed solo from Perth, Western Australia to Mauritius !  Her recollection of 4000 miles of that epic ocean crossing held us rapt late into the afternoon – her mishaps, frailties & doubts were exposed to the audience…but her story telling style made those seem core to her record breaking journey.  I think back a long way to my first travels at a similar age, inter-railing around Europe, and wonder where Sarah found the courage & determination…congratulations to you Sarah J

Read more about Sarah’s adventures, particularly her next epic, at http://sarahouten.co.uk/

The London branch’s future meetings are detailed at London Meeting Programme.

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 each September.

For more information, contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 7193 2586, or visit the web site: https://globetrotters.co.uk/local-meetings.html.

Meeting news from the Chester branch by Hanna & Angela

First of all we would like to thank everyone for a great turnout in January, it helps us greatly and gives us all new energy to continue!

Saturday the 19th of March is slowly getting closer and it looks set to be a great meeting again with two fantastic speakers and the usual refreshments in the break so that you all can have a chat over tea and biscuits.

  • CYCLING THROUGH EUROPE – helping kids in Nepal and Mexico, speaker Saul Soto
  • INDIA “A STEP BACK IN TIME” – following in the footsteps of Rudyard Kipling, speaker Doreen Taylor

Hope to see you there

Cheers

Hanna, Angela, Eve

The meeting is at The Grosvenor Museum, 25 – 27 Grosvener Street, Chester, CH1 2DD. Tickets £3 including refreshments.

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

 

Meeting news from the Ontario branch

Tentative future presentations:

  • Friday 18 March – Paraguay by Neal De Florio / Argentina by Eduardo Barnett
  • Friday 27 May – Egypt and Jordan by Jay Wopperer and Linda

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce: bruceaweber@hotmail.com / tel. 416-203-0911 or Anna: annadohler@hotmail.com.

The Ontario branch meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November….see https://globetrotters.co.uk/local-meetings/ontario-ca.html for further details.

 

Write in (1)…Portobello Gold by Tony Annis

Portobello Gold…party celebrating Mike Bell’s 26th year as Landlord !!

Gaz Mayall and the, eight piece, Trojans trying to set up in a space that a three-piece combo would find small!  So like a jigsaw being slowly put together it took about forty five minutes to set up, as each musician emptied their instrument cases and then had to carry them out through the milling crowd filling into the bar, to give room for the next musician to set up.   The Portobello Gold Hotel/Pub with a large and extremely visual restaurant with good food is not small but the area where the bands play is smallish.  The popularity of this place is renowned round the world, with President Clinton having been here for the food as well as to appreciate the ambiance of a very different bar.

Especially on Sunday nights when the music is live with free entrance and where there has been live music for many years.  A place where many groups get a chance to show off their talents in Portobello Road, West 11, getting rarer and rarer in these small venues in London.  This is one of the places that I take foreign visitors when they visit London, this night was even more special than usual and I took a Brazilian presenter, who wasn’t familiar with Portobello and she loved it.

The sound of a great rocking band and as Gaz says, “We do what we want. Where else will you hear Little Richard, old ska, drum’n’bass and a Louis Armstrong record from 1928? We’re like musical chefs, mixing the ingredients.” Gaz Mayall is a musician, DJ, producer and record label owner. He’s the host of London’s longest running one-nighter, Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues – now in its 28th year – and the founder member of the ska band The Trojans. He also runs his record label Gaz’s Rockin’ Records.  The son of legendary British blues musician John Mayall and a friend from way back when; Mike photographed many of the famous groups when he travelled with a friend who worked for the ‘Melody Maker’ to many of the gigs of that era.  The bar is full of the images of groups and famous musicians of that time. Interestingly Gaz played a Hohner Melodica, not often seen or heard around now.  It was basically a windblown mouth organ – built into and operated by a keyboard.  The band played Rockabilly, Rock’n’Roll and Ska and as one of the musicians was Scottish and it was nearly ‘Burns’ night, we heard an amazing hard rocking bagpipes for a couple of numbers, like I’ve never heard ever before!

The packed bar...
The packed bar...
and the hard rocking bagpipes !
and the hard rocking bagpipes !

Photos courtesy of : © Tony Annis tony@annis.co.uk

The crowd of all age groups and mostly regulars of this bar jumped with no room to jive, clapped and stamped their feet in appreciation of a great night of enjoyment and fun.  So much so it felt like it was being at a friend’s party – Which of course it was: Mike Bell’s party in Portobello land.

Tony is a long time GT member and widely involved in many adventures, including my trip with him to western Brazil & the Ashaninka people 🙂

The Ant

Write in (3)…Follow up to "A guide to adventure cycling, as reviewed by The Ant"

If you can remember back to January’s edition I announced the following competition, after reviewing TrailBlazer’s latest book – A guide to adventure travelling by Stephen Lord.  My prize winning question was:-Competition time – the first person who can tell me who first cycled round the world & when, then they can have my review copy of this handbook for free?  Send your answers to theant@globetrotters.co.uk and announce the winner in a following edition.

And we did have a winner…step forward Gregory Mannion of Fountain Hills, Arizona, USA J  Gregory correctly answered that:- The first around the world bicyclist was Thomas Stevens who started his three year journey in 1884.

Here is my what I based my answer on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Stevens_(cyclist) Thanks once again to Gregory and also to all at TrailBlazer for providing such an interesting read & prize, particularly Caroline Gray :