THERE was a return visit by speaker Nicholas Clarke, who started the evening with a slide show of his trip to Thailand and Malaya. Although several ladies recognised the towns he mentioned, most had not travelled the country in the same way.

He had started with a boat ride along the Mekong River , then on elephants to the camper van which transported them to the start of their main adventure, a trek through the hills, rice fields and jungle undergrowth , camping out in thatched huts at each village they stopped at on the route.

Most days varied from very damp to extremely wet and the humidity was such that is was impossible to ever dry out.

The people were welcoming and were always smiling so it was a delight to be invited to share their hospitality.

Even remote schools had satellite dishes to receive lessons and these were powered by solar panels , so the technology was quite advanced.

Bernice Peach thanked Nicholas for yet another fascinating travel show and the good news was that he had just come back from canoeing in South Africa so would soon have another talk ready.

The business part of the evening followed tea and the president was pleased to welcome a new member and several visitors.

The next meeting will be at Meadow Green School due to the village hall being used for voting.