Persian Golf

This week at the Ghallah Wentworth Golf Club in Oman, an 18-hole desert course with punishingly domed browns, Ms v/H lines up for a par putt and a one stroke lead on yr sec'y (not pictured, brow knitted). Our honorary past president and the peripatetic Mr v/d Z visited here recently and praised it highly, and, given the ease with which one can make a visit here qualifying, we now see why (a bright Spanish rose shall be noted for these proceedings).

Lake Victoria Sundowner

My obligatory alcoholic beverage taken with friends on their boat on Lake Victoria. Can I count this as two countries since, as you will notice, I have two glasses of wine in hand?

Mr Karam goes to Uganda

Speaking of irony. I have just visited my 62 country -- Uganda. I was about to invite you to the obligatory alcoholic beverage and I receive this e-mail. OK Dana, I might not be able to join you to celebrate your 100th country since I have a serious aversion to cold and snow, but please try and join me for a drink in Uganda for my 62nd country.

I have a overriding commitment tonight so I cannot make your reception, but I hope to run into you in the next two days.

Regards,
Bob

A Message from the Honorary Past President, Mr Hovig

Dear Country Clubbers,

I would like to invite you all to an important upcoming milestone. I may
be reaching my century in early 2010. To do so, I need your help, and
hopefully your participation.

I am currently at 98 countries. Short of an act of the gods, I will
visit Papua New Guinea in about 3 weeks to log my 99th.

The secretary and I have been conspiring on how best to celebrate the
century. We want to make the 100th country special. The club has
wielded the iron fist of irony since its founding. So what could be more
ironic than to visit one of the smallest countries in the world to mark
the century.

We would like you to join us for a weekend of skiing in Davos. Not a
country, I know. At least not yet. But it borders on Lichtenstein,
which would be a new country for many of us.

The plan would be as follows:
* fly into Zurich on Friday February 12th, and rent a car and make our
way to Davos (about 1 hour 45 minutes).
* I would return to London on Monday or Tuesday evening (February 15 or
16), after much new powder, lots'o grog, and hopefully muchas travel
stories around the fire in the evenings.
* sometime during the weekend, we would scoot to Lichtenstein for a
drink or dinner, or we could just stop along the way on Friday evening.

Can all let me know by the end of November whether you are interested in
joining yr sec'y and me in Davos in mid-February. I would need to know how
many are coming, and dates of arrival and departure, so that I can work
on a place for us to stay. If you would like to stay longer than 3-4
days, that is fine. But I will probably leave on Monday, unless a bunch
of you will be there thru Tuesday, in which case I'd leave Tuesday eve.

And feel free to invite select, well chosen non-country clubbers and
partners if you'd like. Select, in that they must be fun, and be ready
for lots of long winded tales of travel brilliance and buffoonery.

I hope to see you in Davos!

DANA

Ms. de Walden

Mr. Secretary and esteemed Country Club members,

It is with great joy that I convey my new status as married and Ms. Caryn de Walden. As such, Club records to be amended for my new name. While our wedding was glorious and memorable in France, alas it did not constitute a new country. And despite my efforts to honeymoon in my coveted new country visit of Belarus - Jan would have no part of it. May I ask does marriage enable including countries by marriage? That would finally provide a leap in my count which malheursement has been stagnate for the last few years. But then again, the best thing about the country club is the visit to new countries. I will strive on.

Cheers from a very rainy London, Caryn

A Castle in the Kingdom

Yr sec'y enjoyed a Castle beer in the Kingdom of Swaziland this past week. That makes 83 countries, and 20 since our founding seven years ago, which is just under three countries per year. At this rate, I'll have visited all countries in 2046. -s

Nipping at Greeley's Heels

Dear Secretary,

Unfortunately failed to go to Gaza City, and find myself in Rabat now, the good news of which, however, is that unlike the former this charming Atlantic city is situated in - and in fact since half a century is the capital of - a country. Let me come to the point: a new country, MOROCCO. Finding alcoholic liquids rather than say cashewnuts is untrivial, but I'm confident to succeed in that...

Cheerio, yours ever, BvdZ

Secretary's note. This put Mr v/d Z at 87 countries, just one shy of our founder and chairman. Oh, and your sec'y enjoyed a Beer Lao in Vientiane last week. -s

Source of the Nile

Yr sec'y ordered and tasted a White Nile, southern Sudan's first beer from its newly built brewery, last night in a bar on the eastern bank of the eponymous river in Juba. Tastes a bit too fluvial, and it was quickly abandoned for a Tusker Malt, which, funny enough, was also had in Kampala earlier in the week. Kwaheri, Mr Earle!

v/d Z downs Viking

Mr v/d Z reported, via text message, "ICELAND, 86!"

Tanzania Chapter Meeting

Mr Secretary,
I am not sure this constitutes irrefutable evidence – the foto is blurry but we were still quite decent at this point - but I was in Tanzania recently and met up with a fellow country clubber for a sun-downer and, as it turned out, an excellent Ethiopian meal. The world weary will recognise this this as the terrace of the Irish pub on the water in north Dar es Salaam.

So my thanks to Robert for taking the initiative. Great evening. Grant.

Negus Elected 16th Member

Mr Negus, having received an aye from a 3/4ths majority of the members of our fine club, has been duly elected. Welcome!

My apologies to Mr Bob van der Zwaan who through an oversight was omitted from our correspondence on this.

The List of Countries Visited and The Club Ladder have been duly modified. Mr Negus enters at sixth with a total of 70 countries, half of which in Africa. Mr Grant asked about the delta of Mr Negus, who estimated it at three to five countries per year.

Bon voyage, Yr sec'y.

Mr K Embibes Entire City

Mr K writes "Oh BTW, I did manage to get to Namibia and drink a Windhoek. At this rate I will catch up to the leader in about a hundred years and five years to catch up with our nominee."

v/d Z gets Gold Star, 85th Country

Mr v/d Z is on the move again, this time to Israel, his 85th country. Anyone want to wager which region he aims to complete next?

Yr sec'y sipped a vieux magon in old Tunis last month too, putting him once again in a tie for fourth with Mr Earle.

Hoe Hoe Hovig visits Sierra Leone

I was in Sierra Leone a few months back. Had a bit of a swill at the bar in Freetown where Leonardo Di Caprio first met the hottie in the movie Blood Diamond. I tried my best to look rakish like Leo. Alas, I'm sure I resembled a less attractive garden tool in our shed....

You Gotta Have Heart

Mr Heart, after a lost demi-decade, wrote in to report that he lived in Lebanon from 2006-2007, where he learned about scotch whiskey. This moves Leigh to 69 countries, tied with WW.

Rhodes on the Road

Mr Rhodes has been on the road, just not notifying your secretary.  He has recorded visits to Bosnia, Croatia, Portugal, Indonesia, Malaysia and, pictured here (I think) is Ukraine.  Mr Rhodes leaps up two places in the club ladder and trails Mr Karam by one.  

Sempliner Recalls 12 Year Old Hong Kong Visit, 54th Country

Mr Sempliner recalled a visit to Hong Kong 12 years ago, resulting in the addition of China to his tally.  

Oman! v/d Z Opens Middle East Lead

Amsterdam, 8 February, 2008.  Mr v/d Z sent word via SMS of his sixth country visit to the Middle East, this time to Oman, opening a one country lead on Mr Karam.  Close observers of these proceedings will recognize the seasonality of v/d Z's travel to this region, having of course scored a hat trick just one year ago.  This is v/d Z's 84th country, still four shy of a tie for second with Mr Greeley.  v/d Z needs a camera in his phone badly; still no photo and no beverage recorded.  

Ms v H visits South Korea, ties Mr Sempliner at 52 Countries

Ms v H wrote to report that her KLM 747 had landed in Seoul and that qualifying actions were underway!  Ms v H has for years now been on the very honorable low ladder rung of our fine club, but with this visit she ties Mr Sempliner at 52 countries.