Category Archives: online meetings

Saturday, May 3rd, 2025

Speaking on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025, we have :

1st: Jo Bradshaw – Mountains of Patience – Climbing Everest and The 7 Summits. 

As the famous saying goes ‘All good things come to those who wait’ and this is particularly relevant to Jo and her 7 summits project. She will take you on a whistle stop tour to all 7 continents, from the jungle to the polar regions and everywhere in between whilst following in the footsteps of the first woman to climb all 7, Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei. What makes each mountain so unique and why on earth did she take on this monumental project whilst raising funds and awareness for children’s mental health charity Place2Be.  

Find out more at these links:

2nd: Maria Hickey – Japan Unfolded: A Cultural Journey with Maria Hickey

Join Maria Hickey (aka Sakura) on Saturday 3rd May for a unique cultural experience through Japan!

Maria, a passionate photographer, will offer you an exclusive look at Japan, showcasing its beauty through her lens. From lesser-known festivals to ancient temples framed by delicate cherry blossoms (sakura), you’ll explore a side of Japan that few get to see.

Having spent approximately three years living and working in Japan with programmes like the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, the Ship for World Youth Programme, Peace Boat and the GET Programme, Maria brings a wealth of authentic experiences. She’s even participated in the Queen Himiko contest!

As an avid artist with a love for crafting, Maria will also lead you in a hands-on demonstration of making an origami heart to take home. All you’ll need is a square piece of paper if you’d like to join in.

We encourage you to submit any questions for Maria in advance for the Q&A session.

Date & Time: Saturday 3rd May 2025

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

  • £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
  • £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
  • a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Unfortunately, we have had to increase the door prices to cover our costs as our venue hire costs have increased.

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

Saturday, June 7, 2025

Speaking on Saturday, June 7, 2025, we have:

1st: Ash Bhardwaj – Why We Travel

Join award-winning journalist, podcaster and broadcaster Ash Bhardwaj for a captivating talk inspired by his critically acclaimed book, Why We Travel, covering what makes a journey truly meaningful, and why do some trips fall flat? Ash shares lessons from his global adventures and bestselling book “Why We Travel”. Blending psychology, storytelling, and real-world experience—from trekking across Uganda to soldering in Estonia — Ash reveals how understanding your motivation can transform travel, work, and life.

Ash has reported from 50+ countries for the BBC, The Telegraph, Guardian, and more—and brings unmatched insight to the intersection of culture, purpose, and exploration.

2nd: Mary Fogarty – Sri Lankan voyages round my father.

Returning to Sri Lanka in 2023 – for the first time since 1986, when she went to visit her father who was working in Colombo – Mary was surprised by how much the country began to affect her.

She arrived at 3 am and only discovered what lay outside her hotel window three hours later – a beach of golden sand and the glistening Indian Ocean. Soon she was off to see bears in the national park, followed by Buddhas, stupas, temples and sacred mountains. In Kandy, visits to the Temple of the Tooth and the Botanical Gardens began to bring back memories of being there with her parents – with more and more flooding back at the tea estates in Nuwara Eliya and then the wonderful fort area at Galle, back once more on the Indian Ocean.

The country slowly took its hold of her, and she went back again last year to explore more memories and discover new ground. Now, with another trip looming, Mary outlines just why and how the country means so much to her.

Date & Time: Saturday 7th June 2025

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

  • £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
  • £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
  • a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Unfortunately, we have had to increase the door prices to cover our costs as our venue hire costs have increased.

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

Saturday, July 5, 2025

Speaking on Saturday, July 5, 2025, we have :

1st: Stuart Bradford – Across Russia from Moscow to Kamchatka

Stuart Bradford lived and worked in Russia for over seven years, a period which was the inspiration for his book Caviar Vodka and Tears. He will share some of his travel experiences in this huge and varied country, from Moscow overland to Vladivostok, and also the magical and remote region of Kamchatka.

Find out more at:

2nd: Laura Coffey – Enchanted Islands

Join Laura for on a mythical journey through the real world. Together we will travel through tiny archipelagos and explore mystical Mediterranean islands thought to be the setting of Odysseus’s epic journey.

We will encounter sea monsters and sex goddesses, fragile masculinity, toxic gods, polyamory and plenty of narcissism as we look again at this old text with fresh eyes. Together, we will explore what myths are, the importance of the stories we tell ourselves, and the magical task of mapping imaginary worlds. 

Laura Coffey is not a classics scholar, she cannot read Ancient Greek, often finds herself utterly lost, and so is an unlikely author of a book on mapping The Odyssey.

Stephen Fry said it’s “a magical and hugely captivating journey – a simply marvellous read, hugely recommended”. 

Laura’s book Enchanted Islands: A Mediterranean Odyssey, has also been selected by Wanderlust and Citizen Femme as a top travel book for 2024, and by Blackwells as recommended summer reading. It has been long listed for the Anglo Hellenic League Runciman Award

Laura is happy to sign copies after the talk.

You can find out more about the book: Enchanted Islands: A Mediterranean Odyssey

Date & Time: Saturday 5th July 2025

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

  • £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
  • £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
  • a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Unfortunately, we have had to increase the door prices to cover our costs as our venue hire costs have increased.

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

Tickets go on sale just before the meetings.

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Speaking on Saturday, October 4, 2025, we have :

1st: Lola, John & Danny Wild Guide Morocco

1st: Oliver Smith – On This Holy Island: A Modern Pilgrimage around Britain

Acclaimed travel writer Oliver Smith embarks on an epic adventure across sacred British landscapes – climbing into remote sea caves, sleeping inside Neolithic tombs, scaling forgotten holy mountains and once marooning himself at sea. Following holy roads to churches, cathedrals and standing stones, this evocative and enlightening travelogue explores places prehistoric, pagan and Christian, but also reveals how football stadiums and music festivals have become contemporary places of pilgrimage.

The routes walked are often ancient, the pilgrims he meets are always modern. But underpinning the book is a timeless truth: that making journeys has always been a way of making meaning. So often, Oliver finds, “the unravelling of a path goes in tandem with the unravelling of the soul.”

Date & Time: Saturday 4th October 2025

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

  • £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
  • £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
  • a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Unfortunately, we have had to increase the door prices to cover our costs as our venue hire costs have increased.

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

Tickets go on sale just before the meetings.

Saturday, November 8, 2025

Speaking on Saturday, November 8, 2025, we have :

1st: Speaker to be confirmed

2nd: Speaker to be confirmed

Date & Time: Saturday 8th November 2025

Doors open at 14:15 in London and on Zoom with the talks starting around 14:45 (London see Event Time Announcer for local times), please arrive early so we can deal with any issues with joining.

We would ask that anyone with respiratory symptoms participate via Zoom.

Admission costs:

  • £7 for members. (Members can access a ticket code below or from the members area.)
  • £10 for non-members. (save £3 if you join at this meeting)
  • a recording to watch later will be available to members and non-member ticket holders.

Unfortunately, we have had to increase the door prices to cover our costs as our venue hire costs have increased.

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

Tickets go on sale just before the meetings.