Blog

Sanjay, one of our regular readers in India is justifiably proud of
Puri, the area in which he lives. He wants to tell us about the Chariot
Festival: Puri, on the shores of the bay of Bengal is one of the holiest
places in India. It was “discovered” by pot smoking backpackers
in the early 1960s. The Jagannath Temple at Puri comprises one of the
four dhams (holy places) for Hindus and is on India’s pilgrimage
circuit. The temple, built in the 12th century stands 65m high and is
in the heart of the town. The temple complex contains over 100 other smaller
temples of different Gods and Goddesses. You can also find one of the
finest beaches in India in Puri where beautiful and complex sand statues
are constructed from sand, on the beach.

The chariot festival is an annual event, attracting many thousands of
pilgrims and tourists and takes place during the early monsoon season.
This year, it fell on June 23rd. It is an amazing spectacle: the God of
the Universe, together with his brother and sister ride along the road
in a chariot in three chariots. The procession starts from the Jagannath
Temple and continues to another temple where it stays for eight days before
setting off back to their own temples.

Puri is connected by train and by road. There are also flights from
Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay and Bangalore. There is accommodation for everyone,
ranging from $4 a night to over $100 a night. Sanjay in Puri tells us
that he has recently formed a backpackers community club in Puri called
Rangers where rooms/dorms cost from US $ 4 a night. To get in touch
with Sanjay, contact the Beetle: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Next month: hiking in the Grand Canyon

Robert from the US says he is going to St Petersburg in early September
this year and wants to know what ballet performances are on during this
time.

After a good deal of investigation, and surfing of very of Russian websites,
the Beetle says that she has news that the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly
the Kirov) will be closed between August 13th and October 5th, but that
the Mussorgorsky Opera and Ballet Theatre will be showing Swan Lake over
the period including 6th September.

The Beetle says – where are you all!!! Are you all on holiday?

A quick reminder that the Globetrotters annual picnic
is at Meaford, Ont. (on Georgian Bay), it will be held at Vera Blowers'
on Saturday, August 11, 2001. Arrive on Saturday (August 11) around 10:30-11
am. You are welcome to stay over till Sunday & camp in her huge backyard.
For the less hardy, Vera has a couple of spare beds.

All are welcome! Car pools will be arranged.

If you would like more information on the picnic, car pools and Ontario
meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca
tel. 416-503-2933, Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911, or Paul Webb: tel.
416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of September and November,January,
March, May (with the next meeting on September 21) Usually at the Woodsworth
Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

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.. Phil Koniotes, 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 1^st September. 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/