A much needed Trip to the Tropics on a cold April evening

We were delighted to have a friend of the society back once more to give us another presentation, this one a perfectly seasonal affair. Norman Hudson delivered ‘A Trip to the Tropics’, his take on a tour through some tropical islands, highlighting the flora of these idylls.

First, we went to Sint Eustatius and Saba, two of the lesser-known (and visited) Caribbean islands. Part of the old Dutch Caribbean colonies, these islands are situated in the Leeward part of the island chain; northwest of St Kitts and slightly southwest of Anguilla. The tour took us through the flora, fauna, landscapes and people of these islands and illustrated many stamps and covers, including some early postcards and letters.

After the break, we saw a display of The Traveller’s Tree and its appearance on stamps, covers and banknotes, followed by another ‘tree’ presentation on the Coco de Mer. Both of these trees grow in tropical climes and the talk was about the trees, their history and significance, dovetailed with philatelic material and other ephemera.

The evening was a great success and warmed even the coldest of our members! Steve Speak gave the vote of thanks to Norman and even showed his special ‘tropical’ shirt which he had brought with him for the evening, though given the temperatures outside, could not bring himself to wear! Photographs of the event are, as always, below this post.