Vacation Dreams

Category: enewsletter

  • Funny Signs Again!

    Shirley from Kent in the UK saw the following in Bali:

    If you have any loose baboons in your pocket, you might
    want to visit the “monkey exchange” for something smaller! Also,
    did you know in Bali you can have “antiques made to order”?

    Janelle from Roseville, MN saw in a street in Hong Kong
    at a tailors shop?;…”ladies, have fits upstairs.”

    Dee from the UK was in Japan when she saw a vending machine
    selling cans of “Sweat”. Although it was hot, and the cans were
    cold – she decided not to buy one!

  • Ontario:

    As soon as we get information on the annual barbecue we will let you know what happened! For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

    Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

  • Scams – the "homeless mother scam"

    Tom from North Carolina wrote in to tell us his experience
    in Rome. He saw a woman ostensibly carrying a baby in her arms (all he
    saw was a rolled up blanket) and a child about 10 years old approached
    me begging in a very confined sidewalk area. The pitiful expression on
    her face would make an old grown man cry. He suddenly remembered warnings
    he had read – while the tourist digs in his pocket for some coins the
    kid circles around and slits the backpack or pocket. Fortunately he was
    carrying his daypack with camera, etc. in front and his

    Got any scam experiences you’d like to share with the
    Beetle? Then e-mail them to:
    Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

  • Texas:

    True to her word, Christina in Texas held a slide show on a weird and
    wacky take on Americana over the ages at the New Braunfels Public Library.
    Thanks to Jon and Beth for sharing their great slides and stories. A magnificent
    12 people attended and to start the theme, Christina organized a door
    prize of a “classic” US Travel Atlas. Trish has loved Globetrotters
    for 9 years, and won, so congratulations to Trish! The show was thoroughly
    enjoyed by all – and all that was missing was the popcorn!

  • Mutual Aid New Year's Eve Buenos Aires!

    Sue (Deputy Chair, London) would like some advice/tips/pointers
    on where to go and what to do in Buenos Aires at the New Year. Please
    contact the Beetle with any advice: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

    Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place
    or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual
    Aid section of the Website:Mutual
    Aid

  • Fave Websites of the Month

    Jon from Red Wing, Minnesota, suggests visiting this
    site, http://www.confluence.org
    The idea is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree
    intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. Pictures
    and stories will then be posted on the site. Take a look – it’s
    really interesting!

  • Travel Tips

    Kevin (Membership) Brackley from London says that he
    always carry a compass in Japan: the train stations are so vast, at least
    you know you are heading in the right direction for the exit you want!

    Got any travel tips for the Beetle? Then e-mail them
    to:    Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

  • Fancy visiting the Peak District: Friday & Saturday night 14th & 15th September

    Barbara Brooks, Committee member of the Globetrotters
    Club has arranged a stay at a gorgeous hostel: Alstonefield Youth Hostel,
    Gypsey Lane, Alstonefield, Derbyshire DE6.2FZ. There are five 4 bedrooms
    complete with en-suite facilities in two fabulous barns overlooking Dovedale.
    Lots of walking and fresh air on offer! The cost of accommodation only
    is £20 per person for the two nights. This offer is available to
    anyone, Globetrotter members and non members alike!

    For more info, e-mailBarbara,
    She hopes you can join her!!

  • Help Raise Money – Appeal!

    Tom Freemantle, a regular at the London Globetrotter
    meetings has planned a walking trip – 2,500miles with a mule from the
    Mexican border to New York following the journey of his ancestor Lieutenant
    Colonel Arther Freemantle in 1863, crossing America at the height of the
    Civil War.

    He is aiming to raise $20,000 for Covenant House New
    York – a crisis shelter in New York for runaway and homeless children.
    It helps youth of all ages with everything from free food and medical
    facilities through to education and job training. If you can help, please
    e-mail Tom ontomfreo@hotmail.com

    The latest details on the appeal and the journey will
    be on the web sitewww.mini-mule.co.uk

  • London:

    Members slides: we had a veritable marathon of Globetrotters showing
    slides. Part 1 included Dan Buckman showing slides on Belgium and
    Poland; Ernest Flesch showing slides on how people make their living:
    rice growing in China and Sumatra, threshing, picking and fanning rice;
    rubber tapping in Sri Lanka, and oxen pilled water wheel in Rajasthan
    and tobacco farmers in Yemen. Jean Clough , the Globetrotter gate
    keeper and more, showed slides on the funeral pyre of the grandson of
    the last king of Bali and regaled us with some of the more ghoulish facts
    on how bodies are burned. PhilKoniotes , always good for excellent
    slides and anecdotes showed us some fabulous slides of fish. Not just
    ordinary fish, but sharks, huge bump head wrasses, parrotfish cocoons,
    unicorn fish and er…porcelain toilets. The Beetle was on the edge of
    her seat, salivating and counting the days to her next dive trip!

    Part 2 consisted of Philip (The Whisperer) Ferguson who showed
    us slides of vintage cars and lorries and a train with Australia written
    on the side…in Cuba. Peter Mann started off with some slides
    of pubs in London called The Globe, yes, we know, any excuse Pete! He
    then sobered up and we visited a series of structurally and visually amazing
    bridges in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria.
    Dick (Curtis) made a couple of appearances at the projector
    and showed us a series of slides, all of which he reckoned had St Pauls
    in them. After much good humoured derision, he handed over to Jacqui
    (Trotter)     his erstwhile stand in who finished the Members Slide show
    with some pictures of Tasmania and lots of people riding penny farthings…

    Saturday 1st September

    Next on 1st September, we have Beth Wooldridge talking on “My
    Many India's”, as a tourist, traveller, student, travel-author,
    and woman – Beth's experiences around the sub-continent were often
    coloured by her different guises. After the break, Justin Marozzi
    will give a talk on “The Slave Routes of the Libyan Sahara”,
    retracing the ancient routes totalling 1500 miles, 1200 of which were
    by camel. Justin is also the author of “South of Barbary” a
    story of the expedition.

    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
    on Saturday 1stSeptember. For more information, you can contact
    the Globetrotter Info.line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website:
    http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/meetings/