Newsletter – April 2016
April 5th, 2016When you travel from Ulan Bator to Beijing via the Trans Mongolian Railway, you will encounter at least three amazing things. The first is that you will cross the Gobi desert which is a vast, barren and featureless expanse which stretches in all directions as far as the eye can see. The second is that when you reach the Chinese border the gauge of the track built by the Russians across Mongolia is different from that built by the Chinese. Instead of changing trains as you might expect, three hours are spent jacking up your train to change the wheels for your onward journey.
Finally you are presented by the stunning scenery of the lush, green mountains and valleys of China, shrouded in mist. Here you encounter a culture which has changed little over hundreds of years. This scenery and culture were exemplified by the slides of our speaker this month, Gill Nicklin. She has spent several years exploring South West China gathering examples of traditional Miau costumes, many of which have taken years to make. She brought along examples for members to examine the exquisite needlework and colour and to try on.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday 7th June. There will be a presentation by Avoncroft Museum entitled ‘The Development of a Nailer’s Cottage 1840s to 2016’. This cottage, which has been moved brick-by-brick and rebuilt at the museum, is significant because it chronicles the decline of the nail industry in Bromsgrove and rise of car manufacturing. Visitors are most welcome at all our events – see Home page for details and contacts.