We welcomed a young man called Daniel Evans who gave us an enthralling talk about his journey into Alaska, Canada and the USA in September 2012.
He is a scholar at The Royal Geographical Society and when he was 18 years old he won a scholarship grant of £4,000 for four months. Extra funding from relatives and friends was also needed. Approximately 5,000 people applied but only 14 were successful. He decided on the above countries and spent half of that time in Alaska. He travelled by Greyhound coaches and stayed in Youth Hostels. He researched for a year beforehand getting a sense of what he would see.
His remit was to study peoples movements from one place to another, advancing geography and geographical learning. He said people travel so much faster nowadays and don't appreciate life around them at times. A change of scenery anywhere is to be relished and enjoyed using all our senses.
He showed some lovely slides of Alaska through autumn and winter including the Northern Lights, down the West Coast of Canada and USA to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. He remarked on everything being on a large scale with California having six lane highways.
At the end of his trip he had to present his findings with a lecture to an invited audience. He certainly passed on his enthusiasm for geography and the need to enjoy life around us.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 12 March at 7.30pm in the Community Centre. Mrs Kate Smith will come and talk about her travels with her boat called Rogue.
REMINDER - 8 MARCH - JUMBLE SALE
As I mentioned last month, our Jumble Sale will be at the Community Centre from 11.00am. Everyone welcome.
Visitors are always welcome at our meetings. If there are any queries, please contact Pam Cooper, President on 01508 491674 or Lesley Sanders, Secretary on 01508 492155.
