This page was last revised on 26th May 2018

‘The Abyssinian Difficulty’: Retracing a Victorian Expedition
              Expedition bridge

John’s latest Eritrea and Ethiopia trip – click here for details


‘Abyssinian Difficulty’ talks in 2018

               The Queen’s army

21st September – Winchester (a fundraising event for Oxfam and WaterAid)
7.30 pm at Winchester Discovery Centre on Jewry Street
(booking available nearer the time from the Discovery Centre on 01962 873603)

4th October – Winchester (a fundraising event for Oxfam and WaterAid)
7.30 pm at Winchester Discovery Centre on Jewry Street
(booking available nearer the time from the Discovery Centre on 01962 873603)

12th October – Winchester (a fundraising event for Oxfam and WaterAid)
7.30 pm at Winchester Discovery Centre on Jewry Street
(booking available nearer the time from the Discovery Centre on 01962 873603)

24th October – Blackpool (International Travel and Holidays Association or Travel Talks)
7.30 pm at Blackpool Sixth (Blackpool Sixth Form College) on Blackpool Old Road
(admission free to members – visitors probably £4.00 on the door – details from Joan Gaffiney on 01253 700799)

2nd November – Alton, Hants (a fundraising talk for Alton Counselling Service)
7.00 pm at Alton Assembly Rooms on the High Street (details from Elizabeth Knight on 01256 862721)

19th November – Chester (a joint meeting of the Society of Thirteen and the Cheshire and North Wales Region
of the Royal Geographical Society, with the Institute of British Geographers)
7.30 pm at the Grosvenor Museum on Grosvenor Street
(admission free to members of either society – visitors £6.00 on the door – details from Mike Nichol on 0151 346 1017)

23rd November – Portsmouth (a fundraising event organised by Oxfam Portsmouth Action Group
for Oxfam and Practical Action)
6.45 for 7.00 pm in the Cathedral Discovery Centre at St John’s Catholic Cathedral on Edinburgh Road
(booking available nearer the time – details from Dr Owen Plunkett on 023 9225 4959)


‘Abyssinian Difficulty’ talks in 2019

            John’s donkey

5th January – Central London (Globetrotters Club)
2.30 pm at the Church of Scotland on Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre on Russell Street
(admission £3.00 for members, £6.00 for visitors, on the door – details from John Pilkington on 01962 863965)

15th January – Keswick, Cumbria (Keswick Lecture Society)
7.30 pm in the Queen’s Hall at Keswick School on Vicarage Hill
(admission free to members – visitors £6.00, students and under-17s £3.00, on the door –
details from Alan Smith on 017687 71068)

6th February – Central London (‘Hand & Shears’)
7.15 for 7.30 pm at the Kings Head on Westmoreland Street
(admission free, but small donation welcomed – details from Sarah Chanter on 01491 572499
or from John Pilkington on 01962 863965)

5th March – Purley, Surrey (Purley Literary Society)
8.00 pm at the United Reformed Church on Brighton Road
(admission free to members – visitors £5.00 on the door – details from John and Bobbie Wilson on 020 8657 3189)

17th April – Ringwood, Hants (Ringwood Travel Club)
7.30 pm at the Greyfriars Community Centre on Christchurch Road
(admission free to members – visitors £3.50 on the door – details from Ann Cole on 01425 478764)


Russia and Europe: What Next?
           Army recruits

John’s other recent talk – click here for details.


‘Russia and Europe’ talk in 2018

            JP in Ukraine

7th June – Near Worthing, West Sussex (Steyning Festival)
6.00 pm at the Gluck Studio on Church Street
(tickets £10.00 – under-18s £6.00 – from the Box Office on 01903 812062
or from the Steyning Bookshop on the High Street – details from Adrian Gobat on 01903 879305)


Georgia to Afghanistan
                          Helping hand in Afghanistan