September 2005 London meeting. Globies kicked off the new
season at our temporary venue The Concert Artists Association on
the other side of Covent Garden. Jules Stewart
started the season with his talk on the Northwest frontier area
of Pakistan. He told us about the history of the area, which
still has a large tribal element. Jules showed us the
Khyber Pass and explained the arrangements needed to explore the
pass, including getting a permit and a man with a gun to
accompany him up to the arch. (The Beetle also did this, same
thing: man and a gun.) We saw the monument to allied forces
killed defending the pass. We also saw the city of Peshawar
(a city Padmassana remembers only for the ceiling of the hotel
thanks to some dodgy food!) it was good to see what the city has
to offer visitors. Thanks to Jules for an interesting talk.
After the break, Juliet Coombe took us to post tsunami Sri
Lanka, after a few shots of the usual tourist places she showed
us the aftermath of the devastation. After seeing the
events unfold Juliet felt moved to do more than be an observer,
so flew out with her rudimentary first aid training to help in
any way she could. She helped doctors clean wounds and we
also saw difficult images of bodies being recovered. Later
she became involved in helping the children, first by having
paper and pens sent over from Australia and later letting them
use disposable cameras to help them understand and come to terms
with their loss. The train swept away at Galle is
remembered by everyone in the west, the children were fearful of
getting back on a train, but with Juliet’s camera’s they
overcame their fears and boarded a train again.
Globetrotters had a collection which raised £104 for her Perailya.com
charity.
Next month’s London meeting will be held on Saturday 1st
October.
Venue Change
Unfortunately, the building works at the Church of Scotland are
continuing and we are on the move again this month, this time to
a new venue near Holborn. We hope to be back to the normal venue
for the November meeting, builders permitting.
The October meeting will be held at Covent Garden Dragon
Hall, 17 Stukeley Street, London WC2B 5LT at 2.30pm
Website and map: www.dragonhall.org.uk
Neil Taylor will be talking about “Estonia,
Tallinn and the Baltic Capitals.” Neil is a Bradt author,
recognised for opening up the communist world to tourism and
regular traveller to Estonia. See:
www.bradtguides.com and Stevie Smith will be
talking about “Peddling to Hawaii” – a human powered
adventure across the Western Hemisphere. Picture a
frustrated office worker of twenty-five. He resolves to
grab life with both hands and embark on a thrilling adventure: to
go around the world by human power. With no prior
experience and no money, Stevie and his friend Jason managed to
cycle down through Europe, cross the Atlantic Ocean in 111 days
in a purpose-built pedal boat, cycle and skate across the USA and
pedal over the Pacific to Hawaii. Pedalling to Hawaii is
hilarious and refreshingly non-heroic, packed with thrills and
spills. It is also an inspiring account of a search for
simplicity and freedom. Stevie Smith is continuing with the
expedition. Discovery Networks Europe have broadcast three
documentaries about the journey .
London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown
Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden
at 2.30 pm on 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
Admission Members £2.50 Non-members £5
