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7th December 2010 - Shona Thorpe A Visit to China President Sandy Laird welcomed members and wives to the Club's Open Day last Tuesday and our speaker Shona Thorpe. Shona and nine of her friends, aptly named The China Dolls, had recently completed a significant trekking holiday along parts of the Great Wall of China, the culmination of a fundraising idea with a difference put forward some fourteen months ago. Arriving in Beijing in mid October it was apparent that it was warmer in Biggar! Given an overnight to recover the group were coached the next day to Mt Simatai and the following day onto Jinshanling. Shona's astonishing range of pictures showed that for anyone trekking the Great Wall the route could be steep, rough and arduous with just a hint of danger. A return to Beijing and an overnight rail sleeper coach to Datong followed. Shona's description of chinese rail sleeper coaches opened our eyes; open plan, sleeping sixty with no curtains between bunks made for a truly unforgettable night. There followed three days of trekking and camping in Inner Mongolia. This is a land where people wrest their livelihoods from the ground without machinery of any sort and yet where the group stayed overnight the welcome was real and unaffected. A full day's sightseeing in Beijing concluded an extraordinary and successful fundraising adventure for them all. Mike Whitley gave the vote of thanks for an excellent presentation. The next meeting is December 21 when the speakers will be Charlie Todd and Jack Meikle on Dae Ye Mind Lang Syne. |