The Globetrotters eNewsletter
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News and Reviews of our meetings in London

March Meeting News from London by Paul Roberts

The March meeting was attended by 68 members and 28 non-members, the meeting was hosted by Jeanie Copland as Dick Curtis was unavoidably detained by the London Wasps Rugby Club (happily they won).

Our first speaker was Jane Robinson who gave a talk about Mary Seacole. The talk covered Mary's early life growing up in Jamaica and her travels to many countries. Jane went on to tell the story of Mary’s journey to London to join the nursing efforts of Florence Nightingale, where she was rejected four times (due to racial discrimination), and told how Mary was determined to go to the Crimea on her own, cashing in her assets and setting out to build the British Hotel (“hotel for invalids”) close to the Balaclava front, were she provided care for injured soldiers. Jane went on to tell of Mary’s journey home across Europe overland after the war, arriving on England's shores, destitute and in poor health. You can read more about Mary Seacole in Jane’s Book

Our second speaker was Neville Shulman, OBE, who talked about Ecuador, meeting Ecuador's indigenous tribes and his attempts to climb its highest mountains including Mt. Chimborazo, (the world's tallest mountain at 6,310 m (20,697 ft) the farthest point from the Earth's centre (due to the bulge at the equator) but not the highest, as measured from sea level (http://www.scaruffi.com/travel /tallest.html)). Neville also visited the various sites for the centre of the Earth, which like the Greenwich Meridian has now moved to a corrected location due to the aid of satellites. Neville finished with some amusing stories about his time living in Hollywood below Betty Davies. for more information see http://www.shulman.co.uk/book.htm

April Meeting News from London by Padmassana

Owing to a family emergency, our first scheduled speaker Jonathan Kaplan was unable to come along, but luckily Membership Secretary Kevin Brackley was able to step in at 24 hours notice and give us a very interesting talk on the sights of South Korea. He showed us the capital Seoul with its modern bright lights and old temples before taking us south west to Gyeongju to see the old Silla dynasty capital. Across then to Cheju Island, 250km off the coast to see the natural wonders of the Manjang Lava tubes, Seongsan Sunrise Peak and the Giants Causeway like Jusangjolli rocks, before heading back to the mainland showing us the UNESCO listed old city walls of Suwon, before finishing off with the DMZ, the highlight of his trip.

Our second speaker was Anne Mustoe, as always a popular speaker at Globies, this time cyclist Anne showed us the Amber route which stretches from the Baltic down to the Mediterranean. Anne explained that the best amber comes from the Baltic. Anne's route took her from the tip of Denmark at Skaens, down into Germany and the city of Hamburg, a labyrinth of waterways as she tried to follow the Elbe. Her journey took her into the former East Germany, which she found that despite over a decade of freedom still closes down at night! In Wittenburg we saw some of Hundertwassers' quirky architecture with trees appearing to grow out of buildings. Via Leipzig, the home of Faust into the Czech Republic and Prague's spires and cobbled old town streets. Anne left the Danube and cycled through Austria and into Hungary and into Slovenia, visiting Ljubljana, where she had the chance to sample “Horse burgers” (not just the French then!), she finished her journey at Trieste on the Adriatic.

Many thanks to both speakers who gave us a very entertaining afternoon.

Coming Next: Saturday 6th May

Sam Manicon will be giving a talk entitled “Into Africa.” After 3 months motor-bike experience, Sam set off to ride the length of Africa having his share of challenges, surprises and disasters. “This year riding through Africa restored my faith in human nature.” He continued riding for 7 years and 200,000 miles around the World. After the break, Paul Harris will be speaking about “Crossing Cultures and the Art of Photography.” His audiovisual presentation draws on the experiences of a working photographer in the field, his inspirations, attention to detail, highs and lows. In 1989 three photo essays about British Explorers, Water and training Search and Rescue Dogs launched his freelance career calling on the insights, skills and tools needed for all subsequent assignments. His photography is his passport to encounters with people and places, a shaman in Mongolia, story tellers in Calcutta, and bungee jumpers in Queensland; helicoptering into Hawaii's' volcanoes, Iban longboats into Borneo's rainforests, a the nervous relationship with his camel, and Marmaduke in Niger's Tenere.

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

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