President Brian Ireland introduced a potential new member, Richard Lawrence of Evesham, as a guest. Richard is now retired having spent 43 years in engineering.

We then welcomed our speaker, Peter Berry, who described the epic ten day journey that he and nine other train-spotters (as he described themselves) had made on a private steam train up the Khyber Pass in February 2005 at a cost of over £3000 each.

With a great sense of adventure, and a total disregard for health and safety that we take for granted, he photographed the amazing landscape, the peoples, the track as it zigzagged up the mountains, and of course the train itself. Indeed, on the journey back down the Pass, he seated himself on the front of the engine in order to get the best view of the scenery. His party were accompanied by armed guards to protect them and he even passed through the birthplace of the Taliban.

His slides of the scenes he had witnessed showed in graphic detail how people in other parts of the world live. And he was humble enough to confess that the money he and his colleagues spent on a camera alone could feed these local families for a year. He was extremely proud that the British had built this wonderful railway although some of us doubted that many Brits had actually got their hands dirty! How many workers died in its construction and how much they were paid is inevitably overlooked.

Following questions, Tony Davies thanked Peter for a thoroughly enjoyable and well illustrated presentation.

On Thursday 13 October, Peter Preece will describe how every picture tells a story. Do join us.

CHRIS DONOUGH