ANN, the President, called the meeting to order by wishing those members with a birthday in the month a happy day.

We were asked to look at the Guy Fawkes and choose which one we preferred.

We were asked to put our names down for this month’s walk and put our names on the list. The walk will take place on Thursday, 17., November and will be around the Tewkesbury Nature Reserve.

The WI Carol Service will occur at the Upton Church on the Monday, December 5.

We have been invited to Callow End and Queen Hill Christmas Parties.

One of us will win a Pearl Bracelet after last months talk, and we have arranged to visit Cheltenham Waitrose for an evening visit in December.

We arranged our Christmas Party with food and activities, and quizzes added to being entertained by a Magician. Sounds very good fun!

Our talk was given by a pilot called Manuel Queiroz, who, despite his name is British and made the decision to fly his hand -made aeroplane all around the world.

The planning for such an enormous flight was massive. The most important being to arrange how to carry 450 litres of fuel. After he had dismantled faulty wiring and completing all the controls in the cockpit, he was ready to set off.

It began by crossing the Mediterranean Sea and then moving to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Whilst doing this he decided to attempt to break several records. However, when arriving in Egypt his plan to see Luxor was stopped by the troubles on the Libyan border so Luxor was ruled out.

He crossed the Sahara Desert and on to the Indian Ocean where the bureaucracy was so awful that it held up all plans and Manuel decided to go to Columbo instead.

From Colombo he was going to travel to Vietnam but that trip was not available so he travelled through Penang in Indonesia but was held up with a dreadful storm over Banda Aceh, it was a well known Tsunami.

Next, Manuel travelled through Manilla where life included thieves and prostitutes as well as people who drove taxies.

Then on to the Mighty Pacific and the Island of Guan which is an American Protectorate. He flew through an electric storm which was very dangerous.

Then on to Honolulu and Hawaii. Manuel travelled across America ending in Halifax, Nova Scotia and then the Azores.

Finally, he crossed Lisbon where he was born, then, La Rochelle and back to the Isle of Wight and Staverton where he had started.

It took ten years planning but was rewarded by receiving the Britannia Trophy Award.

It was a brilliant talk much enjoyed by all our members.

HILARY DEE