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10 Reasons to visit New Orleans in 2017

Mardi Gras, America - Carol M. Highsmith
Mardi Gras, America – Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

From Mardi Gras and exploring the historic French Quarter to cocktail themed tours there is something for everyone in New Orleans, a place where centuries old architecture is the backdrop for all ventures. Here are 10 reasons why visitors should visit in 2017.

1) It is easier than ever to get there…

From 26th March, 2017 British Airways will launch a four times a week service from London Heathrow to New Orleans. The route will be operated by a three-class Boeing 787-8, with return fares starting from £599. This service marks the first direct flights from London to New Orleans since the early 1980s.

2) The city is a culinary adventure

In a city with more than 1,400 restaurants to choose from, New Orleans offers a variety of cuisines. From foodie festivals, street food, cooking schools and restaurants galore, there are endless options available that are sure to take taste buds on a culinary adventure. Local chefs and restaurants are constantly evolving, utilising local and seasonal ingredients that reflect the uniquely diverse culture of New Orleans.

Some of the best cuisine is showcased during the annual COOLinary New Orleans Restaurant Month each August, with restaurants offering special discounts.

3) New Orleans is one big stage 

It is said that in New Orleans, music echoes from every corner. The city is the birthplace of jazz and a mecca for gospel, R&B and ultimately, the rock and pop many love today. Musical magic is alive on the streets and in the clubs of New Orleans. Witness an impromptu live performance on Royal Street, experience unbelievable live musical performances from intimate venues on Frenchmen Street to places like the Smoothie King Center.

4) Mardi Gras

For a few weeks in the early part of each year, dozens of brightly festooned, themed Mardi Gras floats carrying krewe royalty, celebrities, and masked members lead marching bands and riders on horseback, flambeaux carriers and others through the streets of New Orleans. They bestow beads, doubloons, and other prized trinkets to millions of revellers witnessing “the greatest show on Earth.”

Carnival season officially begins January 6 every year and continues through Fat Tuesday, which falls on the day before Ash Wednesday. This year’s parades will take place between January 6th and 28th February, 2017. Click here for the 2017 schedule.

5) A lot more reasons to party!

Celebration is at the core of the New Orleans’ experience, and to get a true taste of the city, every visitor should join in one of these unforgettable festivals. Whether it is music, food or the arts one loves (or all of the above), they’ll want to join in as New Orleans lets its hair down and declares, “laissez les bons temps rouler!” (let the good times roll). Visit this page for a calendar of events. Many of these are free – French Quarter Fest, Satchmo SummerFest, Po-Boy Preservation Festival, Wednesdays at the Square and, and of course, Mardi Gras.

6) Free things to do

New Orleans offers a plethora of free activities to choose from. Walk among the centuries-old oaks of City Park, picnic in the picturesque Audubon Park or enjoy views of the Mississippi River at Woldenberg Park. Stroll along Bourbon Street, Frenchmen Street and Fulton, where jazz pours out onto the street, or duck into a club for the full experience. Many clubs don’t even charge a cover. Explore New Orleans neighbourhoods and their connection to jazz with six self-guided Jazz History Walking Tours. Click here for a list of free things to do in New Orleans.

7) New Orleans will host NBA All-Star 2017

New Orleans has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2017. The 66th NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday 19th February, at Smoothie King Center – home of the New Orleans Pelicans. This will mark the third time New Orleans has been the site of the league’s annual midseason celebration, having previously hosted the event in 2008 and 2014.

8) Visit the River Road’s plantation homes

The River Road is an easy jaunt from New Orleans. This is where visitors will find several majestic plantations including Oak Alley, San Francisco, Laura, Destrehan, Houmas House and more. These homes will sweep visitors back in time with period furnishings, folk art and craft demonstrations, lush gardens, landscapes and more.

9) Cocktails and brews

In New Orleans, a great drink is just as important as a great meal. New Orleans’ signature drinks are almost as famous as the nightlife bars and hot spots that make them, check out this list for a list of New Orleans cocktails and where to enjoy a Sazerac, Hurricane or French 75.  There are cocktail walking tours which tell you the history of the city whilst you taste some of these classics and you can even bring your drink from one bar to the next in a “cup to go”.

Beer enthusiasts should not miss the 8th annual NOLA on Tap Beer Fest. The one-day event, taking place in New Orleans City Park in September is the largest event of its kind in the region and allows beer aficionados to sample more than 400 local, regional and nationally homebrewed and microbrewery beers.

10) Museums

From food, culture to music, New Orleans has a museum for every scholar at every age.  Learn about the cuisine of South East Louisiana at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, celebrate fine arts at New Orleans Museum of Art, ride a hummer during the WWII Museum Victory Theatre’s 4D cinematic experience and discover where Mardi Gras is made at Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World, the largest float-building warehouse in the world.

For a comprehensive list of museums please visit this page.

 

11) Lagniappe (A little something extra)

New Orleans is the perfect gateway to the rest of Louisiana and the Deep South, where visitors can enjoy beautiful state parks, a plethora of historic sites, take airboats tours in the bayous, and get a closer taste of the Cajun culture, and so much more.

Visit this page for a 3 days itinerary of New Orleans.

For more information, please visit www.neworleanscvb.com, @NewOrleansCVB on Twitter, ‘like’ on  Visit New Orleans Facebook and follow us on Instagram (VisitNewOrleans). Or visit www.louisianatravel.com, @louisianatravel on Twitter.

Travel Reminiscences by Stanley Mataichi Sagara

My name is Stanley Mataichi Sagara. My Christian name was given to me by my first grade teacher who was probably from the Midwest and had never had an experience with Orientals. Apparently my Japanese name was too hard to remember for roll call so all the Japanese children in my class were given Christian names which we carried through out our lives.

Having been born in August I have just turned 81. I have visited 66 countries, however some of these countries are no longer separate, such as Macau or Hong Kong. Likewise Taiwan may revert back to China in the near future.

Some of my foreign travels were while I was on military duty and some were when I was on eye care missions with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), and the balance were when I took tours to these countries. Several trips have been repeats. I still consider Japan as my favourite country, the birthplace of my father and mother. I still have a number of third cousins in Japan as I have second cousins in Brazil. My second choice would be Austria, where I was when WWII ended.

I was in D Company, 506th Pcht Rgt, 10lst Airborne Division. When the war ended eight Japanese-American paratroopers were transferred to the 82nd AB Division because the l0lst was scheduled to go to the Pacific Theater to help defeat Japan. Due to our race we were assigned to Europe, hover about 6000 Japanese American GIs were assigned to various units in the Pacific War as Interpreters-Translators. Each was assigned two big Caucasian GIs as body guards who accompanied them everywhere (even to the latrine) so they would not be mistaken for an infiltrated Japanese soldier.

I would very much like to visit Scandinavia, I have only been to Denmark so far. I have been to Copenhagen and Helsinki on several occasions but only in transit.

My special travel equipment is a nylon bath cloth made in Japan. It is helpful to remove dead skin and helpful to scrub my back. ($6.00). In my travels I try to keep my carry on suitcase under 28 pounds which I send as checked baggage. In addition I carry a shoulder bag which can be converted to a small back pack where I carry my shaving kit and other items that I need at my first hotel, in case my checked bag goes astray. In this way I do not need to access my checked bag for three days if necessary. I actually weigh my packed bag and may remove some items if the bag is too heavy. I try not to take any item again if I did not use it on my trip, except clothing to suit the difference in expected weather conditions. I also live out of my packed suitcase for a week prior to leaving for the trip so that I do not forget some important item or if I think I can do without an item, it is left at home. If you cant carry your own bag, its too heavy, Better repack! I do not take whole tour books, only those pages that are pertinent. I like maps and take good ones which are helpful to help write my travel journals. A small compass is very helpful, especially at night or in such places as subways.

The longest travel trip I have taken was for 38 days, which is about the most I want to take. They say “When you start to look like your picture in your passport, its time to go home! Australia had many surprises for me. I knew it was a big country and that we would only see a portions of it but a lot of country is a desert. I did get cleaned out of my essential possessions while in Oaxaca, Mexico. As it usually is, I have to blame myself. I kept everything in my shoulder bag which I set down on the floor while I paid for my parking fee at a public garage. Less than a minute was all it took. No one saw anything, so they told me.

I have trapped pickpocket’s hands in my pockets, once in Sao Paulo, Brazil and again in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico. I learned that its better to chalk it up to experience rather than involve the police. They can tie you up for hours taking statements, by someone who is not fluent in English and they may want the money or article involved as evidence, which you will probably never see again since you will be moving on in a day or so.

While visiting in Korea I purchased several bargain priced sneakers which were irregulars or factory over runs. They were about two or three dollars a pair. I gave the salesman a US ten dollar bill and waited for my change. He asked me how I was fixed for sport socks and placed a bundle (probably 10 pairs) on the counter. I said I’m OK and still waited for my change. He puts another bundle of sport socks on the counter, still no change. I hesitate, he places a third bundle on the counter. I think he is not going to let that US ten get away from him. It became amusing to me the way it was turning our, when I should have been angry at the salesman. I finally took the several bundle of sports socks, the salesman kept my US ten and I have still a good supply of Korean sport socks (one size fits all).

As an American of Japanese decent we were not permitted to enter the US military service. In fact the ones who were in the service were given early discharges, except the few that fell through the cracks.

Later when the all Japanese-American Regimental Combat Team was formed we were permitted to volunteer to join. I was attending college at the time and was later drafted at Ft Leavenworth, KS. I was given the Japanese language test (we all took the test) but I did not pass so I went to Infantry basic training in CampShelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. On my first pass to Hattiesburg I got off the bus and had to use the restroom. I only saw signs for BLACKS ONLY and WHITES ONLY but nothing in between. My first experience in the segregated south. I used the toilet in the local USO which had no colour bar.

Upon finishing basic training I volunteered for the Paratroopers, mainly because I could double my pay (Jump Pay was $50.00) My parents and younger siblings were in a government operated concentration camp near Cody, Wyoming with any income so I was sending them part of my pay check each month. They could purchase some items in the camp canteen or order from the catalogue sales or ask their friends to do the shopping for them outside the camp.

After the war I transferred over to the newly formed US Air force and completed my 20 years of military service. I joined the Lions Club soon after I retired and one of the projects we had was collecting donated eye glasses. No one could tell me what happened to the eye glasses after we collected them.

I later discovered that the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) a group of eye doctors and lay personnel actually go on eye care missions to third world countries to examine patients and give out recycled eye glasses, at no cost. I have been on some 16 eye care missions to some very interesting places, such as India, Thailand, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and many other countries.

I must point out that we do pay our own way but sometimes we get reduced air fare or our sponsoring organization may take care of food and lodging. On each trip we have the option of taking a side trip to visit some interesting places.

Mac and Stanley Sagara

I also joined Friendship Force International, an organization started by Pres Jimmy Carter. There are clubs all over the world. We visit other club members as a group and they in turn visit other clubs around the world by mutual agreement. Usually a week of hosted family visits. I went with the club to Russia for three weeks and on another trip I went to Freiberg, Germany in the Black Forest and to Oltzysn, Poland where we met some very nice people who really like Americans.

Apparently I do not have a face that people think of as typical American. Although I tell them I’m from America they still question my origin so to make it uncomplicated I just tell them “Mongolia” which satisfies their curiosity. There is more to this story, but this will have to do for now. Maybe later I’ll think up some more things about my travels. Stanley Mataichi Sagara (the Mongolian).

Footnote by Mac: The ‘Arab’ in the picture is Stanley Sagara. He brought the Arab outfit in Tangiers and it is genuine although I think it is Palestine rather than Moroccan garb Another friend William “Mike” Westfall took the picture and put in the caption. It was taken at our small AFRH-W Halloween Party. We do not dress like that every day (I do but not the others!)

If you would like to contact Stanley, he is happy to answer e-mails on: smsagara2@aol.com

An Appeal for Help in Rwanda by Michael Rakower

Here is an appeal by Michael on behalf of the American Friends for the Kigali Public Library (the AFKPL) for help creating Rwanda’s first public library. Michael is a regular contributor to the Globetrotters e-newsletter.

My wife and I recently returned to the United States from a one-year journey through Africa. During the last three months of the trip, we enjoyed the privilege of working in the Prosecutor’s Office of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. As part of the job, I poured through reams of scholarly texts, investigators’ reports and trial transcripts and interviewed witnesses during two trips to Rwanda. The more I learned, the more shocked and disgusted I became. The more I thought about the events that occurred, the more I questioned humankind’s decency, its purpose, and its future. In Rwanda, I met with a man who watched his mother bludgeoned to death, with a woman repeatedly raped and with a man who snuck his family across the Congolese border in oil drums. Even now, I sometimes lie awake wondering what is wrong with all of us. How can we allow these things to occur? Who among us is willing to participate in such acts? Who among us seeks to profit?

My understanding of the Rwandan genocide developed in stages. After reading about the country’s cultural history and the events that occurred leading up to and during the genocide, I finally started to comprehend what these murderers sought to accomplish. It may sound naïve and even a bit stupid, but until that point I never could comprehend one person’s desire to destroy another. Suddenly, the events of the Holocaust, which I had read about, spoken about and felt sorrow over for years, took on a cold reality. For the first time, my brain clicked into focus and I understood the mindset of a people that sought to destroy systematically the entire population of its self-defined enemy.

With this realization in mind, I visited Rwanda and saw a country devastated by its own havoc. Years after the tragedy, a palpable sense of ruin hangs in the air. Commerce functions at a virtual standstill. Street hawkers carry a threatening gleam in their eyes. Were they once machete-wielding murderers? You can’t help but wonder. Bullet-ridden, pock-marked homes and sidewalks with bullet casings protruding from the ground are common sightings. One senses that so many of Rwanda’s people fell so far below the edge of decency that they no longer know how to live without abuse. One wonders what will be the next phase in the struggle between the Rwandan people. Then one realizes that the simmering depravity that plagues Rwanda is not localized to that country. So much of Africa has endured horrific violence. Rwanda’s western neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the inspiration for Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

Having returned to the United States armed with little but a sense of helplessness and the desire to cause positive change, I teamed up with some dedicated people and joined the American Friends for the Kigali Public Library (the “AFKPL”). In connection with a Rwandan chapter of the Rotary Club, we are working to build Rwanda’s first public library. It is our hope that the library will serve as a place of solace for the wounded, a haven of intellectual growth for the curious and bedrock of enlightenment for all. We have already begun construction on the library, obtained commitments for book donations from publishers and we have raised approximately $750,000 of our $1,200,000 budget.

If anyone would like to donate his or her time, money or books to the cause, please do not hesitate to contact me at mrakower@hotmail.com.

We have more information about the AFKPL, which includes its contact information. If you would like to see this, please e-mail me. Also, for those of you living in England, an organization at the University of Oxford called the Marshall Scholars for the Kigali Public Library is contributing to the new library. Zachary Kaufman (zachary.kaufman@magdalen.oxford.ac.uk) is the contact there.

As a fellow Globie, I appreciate your support. Together we can cause positive change.

Sincerely, Michael Rakower

The Canadian Arctic by Robert, a former Chair of the Globetrotters Club

As I write this I am crossing the Mackenzie river on a ferry on the way to Inuvik, Northwest territories, several hundred miles north of the arctic circle and as far as the road goes north in Canada. It’s about 12:30 am and the light still shines bright here. Twilight is my favourite time of day and I have just enjoyed six hours of it as I drove further and further north. Shortly it will become lighter and lighter again as the seemingly eternal dawn takes over from the eternal dusk I love no place like I love the north-it really brings out my soul and makes it sing. I left Dawson city this morning. The distance from Dawson to Inuvik is longer than from Anchorage, Alaska to Dawson. I have enjoyed every minute of it–the mountains, the wild fall colours, the quiet, the sight of the occasional moose or fox or caribou, all of it. Most of all, I love the closeness of the people up here.

I stopped about 100 miles north of the arctic circle to help three Eskimos who had a flat. Their uncle had borrowed their jack and forgot to put it back. My lug wrench and jack didn’t fit so we flagged down two cars-a New Zealander furnished the lug wrench and a British Colombian furnished the jack. We used the occasion to have a kind of party and I distributed beer from my ice chest. The Eskimos told us that right here in this gorgeous place where they broke down is where the hundreds of thousands caribou would migrate in just a few days time. I hope that I will be able to see it – it was a lovely experience and was probably my favourite experience in fixing a tire. In many other parts of the world people wouldn’t stop at all; they would be full of fear and suspicion about being robbed or killed or maybe just numb from the demands on their soul where they live. Here it is life or death, and people are used to helping each other and being available for each other. I remember when I first arrived in the north of pulling over to the side of the road in the winter to take a leak and having several cars stop and ask me if I needed help. It feels so very very good to be here! Even though I left Alaska 13 years ago, I still carry my Alaska driver’s license, and have not doubt that it will always be my real home.

To get in touch with Robert, contact the Beetle: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk , but in the meantime, if you have a tale to tell, share your travel experience with the Beetle!

Want to join the London Committee? Already a member of the Globetrotters Club? We don’t say no to people who have some time to commit and can offer some help! Please contact Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

FAQ's about the Globetrotters Club? What are your criteria for membership?

What are your criteria for membership?

We don’t have any criteria, anyone can join all we ask is that, they pay the membership fee, which is to cover the costs of running the club, any suplus or profit we make is used to the benifit of all members.

Some travel clubs may require that members spend a minimum period travelling, we do not.

How is it possible to know different addresses where we can stay for two or three days?

By joining the club you will receive a copy of our membership listing, detailing members preferances.

Please visit our FAQ page for more Q&A’s about the club or have a look around our website, where we have over 80 pages of information.

If you have any specific questions that you can’t find on the website then please feel free to ask a more specific question. E-mail: faq@globetrotters.co.uk

London Meeting, Saturday, September 3, 2022

Speaking this month we have:

1st: Chris Burrows – My Berlin

Chris lived in Germany from the late seventies to 1996.
Chris was first in Munich and then I went to live in Berlin. After I came back to London I took members of the Hampstead Photographic Society on many visits and road trips around Germany.

Glieneke Bridge Berlin Germany

2nd: Rebecca Lowe – The Slow Road to Tehran

In July 2015, as the Syrian War raged and the refugee crisis reached its peak, Rebecca Lowe set off on her bicycle across the Middle East. Driven by a desire to challenge preconceptions about this long-misunderstood region, her 11,000km journey took her through Europe to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, the Gulf and finally to Iran.

This is Rebecca’s talk about an odyssey through landscapes and history that captured her heart (and her stomach), but one – plagued by punctures, fearsome heat, repressive police states and an obscene number of kebabs – which also frequently came close to defeating her.  

Rebecca Lowe is a freelance journalist who specialises in human rights and the Middle East. Publications she has written for include the Guardian, BBC, Evening Standard, Independent, Huffington Post, Economist, Sunday Times Magazine, Daily Mail, and IranWire.

Rebecca’s book about her journey through the Middle East, The Slow Road to Tehran, was published in March 2022 by September Books in the UK and will be published in September 2022 by MVG Riva in Germany. She was previously the lead reporter at the International Bar Association, where she focused on human rights, and in 2018 she contributed to the adventure travel anthology The Kindness of Strangers: Travel Stories That Make Your Heart Grow. Rebecca is a Fellow at the Royal Geographical Society, and holds a BA in English from Cambridge University and an MA in Journalism from Stanford University.

 Find out more at:

Date & Time:

Saturday, September 3, 2022

Doors open at 14:00 GMT in London, a condition of entry is proof of vaccination or a COVID lateral flow test within 48 hours or a positive PCR within 90 days having completed any required isolation, the easiest way of showing this is with the NHS Covid Pass which lets you show your COVID-19 status in a secure way. We will be carrying out temperature checks and asking visitors to confirm they do not have any symptoms on arrival.

We would ask that anyone with symptoms or who needs to isolate participates via zoom.

Last month meeting was very successful, the hall is well ventilated and we had no cases following the meeting.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 GMT (London time see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

For forthcoming meetings we have

  • £3 for members to cover our costs. Members will be emailed a ticket code link allowing access to this option or you can access it from the members area.
  • £6 for non-members, non-members may join the club for £12 per year and get this and future meetings at members rate for £12, members can also watch the 3 previous online talks, members also receive Globe our members magazine and our annual members calendar, why not join and enter your pictures.
  • a catch up to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications for future meetings.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

Get in Person Tickets at Eventbrite

For Zoom online tickets:

Get online Tickets at Eventbrite

London Meeting, Saturday, October 1, 2022

Speaking this month we have:

1st: David Redford – Around the Horn

A description of two journeys to the Horn of Africa in 2018 and 2019, taking in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland.Encounters along the way include Lucy, a Chinese railway, one of the lowest places on earth, a camel market, hyena feeding, a Mig fighter and a cheetah sanctuary

David Redford is a retired hospital doctor who has fed his wanderlust by adding independent journeys to visits to low income countries on behalf of NGOs working in the field of maternal health.

2nd: Tharik Hussain – Looking for Muslim Europe

In 2016, following in the footsteps of the 17th century Ottoman traveller, Evliya Celebi, Tharik Hussain and his family went on a road trip across the Western Balkans in search of an indigenous Muslim Europe.

The result is his highly-acclaimed book, Minarets in the Mountains; A Journey into Muslim Europe, which was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Award. 

In this talk, Hussain explains why he had to ‘search’ for a Muslim Europe that has actually been there since the 8th century and in the process helps us better understand why Europe remains so uncomfortable with its Muslim self.

Find out more at:

Date & Time:

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Doors open at 14:00 GMT in London, a condition of entry is proof of vaccination or a COVID lateral flow test within 48 hours or a positive PCR within 90 days having completed any required isolation, the easiest way of showing this is with the NHS Covid Pass which lets you show your COVID-19 status in a secure way. We will be carrying out temperature checks and asking visitors to confirm they do not have any symptoms on arrival.

We would ask that anyone with symptoms or who needs to isolate participates via zoom.

Last month meeting was very successful, the hall is well ventilated and we had no cases following the meeting.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 GMT (London time see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

For forthcoming meetings we have

  • £3 for members to cover our costs. Members will be emailed a ticket code link allowing access to this option or you can access it from the members area.
  • £6 for non-members, non-members may join the club for £12 per year and get this and future meetings at members rate for £12, members can also watch the 3 previous online talks, members also receive Globe our members magazine and our annual members calendar, why not join and enter your pictures.
  • a catch up to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Tickets will be on sale soon…

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

Get in Person Tickets at Eventbrite

For Zoom online tickets:

Get online Tickets at Eventbrite

London Meeting, Saturday, December 3, 2022

Speaking in December we have:

1st Doreen Tayler – Curious Christmas Customs

Boxing Day!  What’s that all about?  And why do we eat turkey and mince pies during the festive season?  If you think we have our funny ways, how about the town where running in your red underwear on New Year’s Day is a custom, or the place where you celebrate the season by pooing?

2nd Matt Bishop and Reece Gilkes, the sidecar guys – Siberia.

Matt Bishop and Reece Gilkes are ‘The Sidecar Guys’. They are called ‘The Sidecar Guys’ as they hold the very niche Guinness World Record for the longest journey by scooter and sidecar.

During a 15 month trip they travelled for 34,000 miles through 35 countries and 5 continents to successfully circumnavigate the globe by scooter and sidecar.

Matt and Reece will be talking about the Siberia portion of their around the world journey by scooter and sidecar. 

They still do all sorts of different 3 wheeled adventures and recently completed a 10 day trip from Seattle to Los Angeles on a Ural motorcycle travelling across the Idaho, Nevada and California Back Country Discovery Route.

They run a sidecar experience centre in the UK and are also the hosts of The Armchair Adventure Festival, a festival based in the UK with the sole focus of celebrating any kind of adventure travel.

Find out more at: https://asseenfromthesidecar.org/

Who Are We?

Date & Time:

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Doors open at 14:00 GMT in London.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participates via zoom.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 GMT (London time see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

Admission costs in advance:

  • £3 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
  • £6 for non-members. (save 50% if you join at this meeting)
  • a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Please reserve seats in the hall in advance as this speeds up entry at the meeting and allows us to plan staffing, we may charge more for unreserved tickets.

Please sign up for meeting updates to get notifications.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

Get in Person Tickets at Eventbrite

For Zoom online tickets:

Get online Tickets at Eventbrite

London Meeting, Saturday, January 8, 2022

Speaking this month we have:

1st Ben Harris –  Expedition Tanganyika

Ben will be speaking about his unsupported kayaking expedition on Lake Tanganyika. His aim was to kayak the lake from its southernmost point in Zambia to its northern tip in Burundi, making him the first person to solo kayak the longest lake in the world.

However, it soon became clear that the lake had other plans. Ben was hit by challenges from the start. The trip soon became less about covering the ground, and more about overcoming the obstacles on the way. As he paddled northward, Ben capsized in crocodile infested waters, caught a bout of malaria and got chased off by a hippo. However, the lake had not yet thrown up its biggest challenge. Two weeks in Ben was hit by disaster, and the trip was forced to take an unexpected turn. He is looking forward to giving the talk on the 8th January.

See https://www.kayaktanganyika.co.uk/

2nd John Pilkington – China by the Back Door

Starting in Samarkand, John crossed the Pamirs to Kyrgyzstan’s oldsilk-producing city of Osh.

On an earlier trip, guards shooed him away from the Chinese border, but in 2011 he made it through to Kashgar, and explored the previously off-limits Taklamakan Desert.

We’ll have a quick look at the Jiayuguan gate on the Great Wall, before finishing in Ürümqi which has been transformed from sprawling hovels into a modern Chinese city.

These are the lands of the Uyghur people, whose lives and culture have been uprooted in the decades since his first visit

New Year Party – Postponed

Unfortunately due to Covid-19 we will not be able to have our New Year Party after the meeting at the hall, we invite members and visitors to a local pub..

Date & Time:

Saturday, January 8, 2022

Doors open at 14:00 GMT in London, a condition of entry is proof of vaccination or a COVID lateral flow test within 48 hours or a positive PCR within 90 days having completed any required isolation, the easiest way of showing this is with the NHS Covid Pass which lets you show your COVID-19 status in a secure way. We will be carrying out temperature checks and asking visitors to confirm they do not have any symptoms on arrival.

We would ask that anyone with symptoms or who needs to isolate participates via zoom.

Last month meeting was very successful, the hall is well ventilated and we had no cases following the meeting.

The zoom meeting opens at 14:00 with the talks starting 14:30 GMT (London time see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

For forthcoming meetings we have

  • £3 for members to cover our costs. Members will be emailed a ticket code link allowing access to this option or you can access it from the members area.
  • £6 for non-members, non-members may join the club for £12 per year and get this and future meetings at members rate for £12, members can also watch the 3 previous online talks, members also receive Globe our members magazine and our annual members calendar, why not join and enter your pictures.
  • a catch up to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.
  • We have had confirmation that the Church of Scotland hall is open and we will be running this meeting as an in person at the hall plus we will be streaming it on zoom and will be following the same procedures as the west end theatres.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

Get in Person Tickets at Eventbrite

For Zoom online tickets:

Get online Tickets at Eventbrite

London Meeting, Saturday, November 6, 2021

Speaking this month we have:

1st Helen Crisp – Madrid – Midnight City

Helen Crisp relates the story of a city and its people through the centuries, with a nod to well-known attractions and sights, as well as hidden gems.

Madrid is Spain’s art capital, with its ‘Golden Triangle’ of museums and myriad art galleries, Madrid is also a city of dazzling nightlife, with a profusion of cafés and bars.

Spain’s top city for tourism, Madrid attracts more than six million visitors a year. This is the story of a vibrant, energetic city, one that remains an enigma to many outsiders.

2nd Neil Foulks – Road Trip New Zealand

“If you’ve got money, your health and time, then do it. New Zealand is the best place in the world.”

That was the advice given to Neil by that famous overlanding Yorkshireman Ian Coates. Full of enthusiasm he quit his job and set off just 3 weeks after The Overland Event 2017. Neil then spent 6,000 kilometres travelling around both of New Zealand’s islands.

Find out more at http://naffphotographer.com/

For forthcoming meetings we have

  • a donation £3 for members to cover our costs. Members will be emailed a ticket code link allowing access to this option or you can access it from the members area.
  • a donation of £6 for non-members, non-members may join the club for £12 per year and get this and future meetings at members rate for £12, members can also watch the 3 previous online talks, members also receive Globe our members magazine and our annual members calendar, why not join and enter your pictures.
  • a catch up to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.
  • We have had confirmation that the Church of Scotland hall is open and we will be running this meeting as an in person at the hall plus we will be streaming it on zoom and will be following the same procedures as the west end theatres.

For in person Tickets at the hall:

Get in Person Tickets at Eventbrite

For members online tickets:

Get online Tickets at Eventbrite

Date & Time:

Saturday, November 6, 2021

Doors open at 13:00 GMT in London, a condition of entry is proof of vaccination, a COVID lateral flow test within 48 hours or a positive PCR within 90 days, the easiest way of showing this is with the NHS Covid Pass which lets you show your COVID-19 status in a secure way. We will be carrying out temperature checks and asking visitors to confirm they do not have any symptoms on arrival. We would ask that anyone with symptoms or who needs to isolate participates via zoom.

Last month meeting was very successful, the hall is well ventilated and we had no cases following the meeting.

The zoom meeting opens at 13:30 with the talks starting 14:00 GMT (London time see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.