The UK and Ireland TCC Chapter held our spring 2024 meeting at Doggett’s Coat & Badge, with 38 members and guests in attendance. We were pleased to be able to welcome first-time attendees, new TCC members, and long-time devotees. Our attendees included Tim Skeet and Pam Barrus, two former TCC presidents, and Amanda Davis, the TCC Chapter Coordinator from Sarasota, Florida.
We were honoured to be able to host Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler. Tony gave an inciteful, informative, and entertaining presentation that covered everything from his definition of a country to his earliest days of overland travel and the creation of Lonely Planet. We also learned about Tony’s current and future travels and how he values travel that prioritises getting to know the locale in depth more than simply dashing off to count another new country. A number of excellent questions from several TCC members gave us a chance for further reflection.
During a break in the presentation, Colin McCorquodale asked for a show of hands for those who have been to a selection of difficult destinations. This was published in The Telegraph Travel Section recently, listing ten destinations “lost to modern travellers” — Pyongyang, Socotra, Meroe, Timbuktu, Chernobyl, Isfahan, Palmyra, Angel Falls, Leptis Magna, St Petersburg. Our group are clearly intrepid travellers, as many hands were raised for these destinations.
The UK and Ireland Chapter will meet again in October 2024, with the date options to be provided in early June. We hope to see you there.
Best regards,
Donna Marsh
Chapter Coordinator, United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland
