Holiday in the Southern States of America

At our meeting on Thursday 5th September, our own member Brian Meakin gave an illustrated talk about his holiday in the Southern states of the USA. Brian went on a tour to fulfil his ambition to visit some of the towns in this part of America. Starting in Atlanta there was the opportunity to visit the church where Martin Luther King Jr. and his family had a long association. At Chattanooga’s Tennessee Valley Railway museum there were many steam locomotives on display and Brian was able to be on the footplate of one and sound the whistle. In Nashville the Country Music Hall of Fame had many reminders of famous performers and their golden discs on display. At Memphis a visit to Graceland - Elvis Presley’s home he  saw Elvis’s car collection including Rolls Royce, Cadillac and a number of Golf buggies. The decor in his house was to say the least very strange. On the way to New Orleans a stopover was made at the Oak Valley Plantation. There was a great contrast between the owner’s house and the wooden sheds provided for the slave worker families. In New Orleans it was Mardi Gras and Brian’s photos showed the many and varied colourful costumes in the parades, all accompanied by Jazz and Marching bands. Moving on to Houston the visit to the NASA Space Centre gave the opportunity to see the flight control room and the Atlas rocket which sent the Space Shuttle to the moon. Before departing for home from Houston a visit was made to Galveston, with a pier and amusement arcades was described by Brian as their equivalent of Blackpool.

Thank you to Ken McGrath for the write up.