Mr v/d Z takes the Midnight Train

To (the other) Georgia, his 90th Country. Red wine made the visit qualifying.

Dana Eyjafjallajoekull Gets a Century!

I write these words from Doha, Qatar, where I am stuck on my way home from Nepal to London. I believe this is my 100^thcountry visit. I guess there is a silver lining in every (volcano) cloud.

It is a fitting way for one of us to reach the century mark, truly representative of our club’s karma. This visit wasn’t planned. It wasn’t desired, as I want to get home. And on my way here, I didn’t even realize Doha was in a separate country – I thought it was one of the Emirates, like Dubai, which I have already visited.

To mark this century, I would like to propose to our grand poobahs and esteemed Board of Governors that we rename our humble club the Eyjafjallajoekull country club, after the volcano that pushed me, unwillingly, over this milestone.

Hereafter, we would call ourselves Eyjafjallajoekull-ians. We would greet each other with the words: May you live long, prosper, and Eyjafjallajoekull. Our founding members would be described as “Eyjafjallajoekull-icious”. The only requirement to enter the club would be to pronounce Eyjafjallajoekull 3 times, while standing on one foot, patting our heads, and rubbing our tummies. When any of us reach the 100 country mark, we would officially change our last names to Eyjafjallajoekull, thus truly becoming travelling brothers and sisters.

As in most good Middle Eastern countries, the scotch flows here. And it is flowing through me, as I await my fate.

Yours in suspended animation and travel.

Dana Eyjafjallajoekull

Is Mr Brady Too Short?

Welcome from Beirut- that makes it 72 for me, and a tie with Mr. Brady. I have several other secret (and new) destinations lined up for the next two months, so I guess Chris is the one who needs to stay on his toes now....

David

Ballet slippers for Mr Negus

Mr Secretary,

I must admit that this is embarrassing, but just realized that Ecuador was left off the original list submitted. I spent a week there for work in 2005. As you can imagine, cervezas were consumed. Sorry to hit you with a trip, retroactively -

Saludos

Chris

PS. 72 has a good ring - It'll keep the others on their toes ---

et tu, Mr Greeley

Mr vdZ's announcement below moves Mr Greeley into third for the first time in the long and fine history of our club. No news yet if vdZ made it to Qatar, which is so close to Bahrain that a bridge is being built. vdZ has, with these visits, 9 of 13 countries in the Middle East.

Dear Secretary,

UAEE!! This would normally have been another exclamatory, but I felt this was
exceptionally slightly more appropriate: as United Are these Emirates as I am currently
with my Foster's bEEr. Could you confirm that this brings yours truly in a new
interesting position in our dear Club's ladder!? But more importantly: I am starting my retour
to A'dam on Friday with a two-day visit to BAHREIN, but haven't so far been able to track down
whether there are neat little boats or so from this island to the peninsula-country a tiny bit East
from it. Would you, or in fact any other of our distinguished members with travel
experience in the area, perhaps have a TCC suggestion for me?

BvdZ

IceSave

Mr Negus writes:

Since the newly arrived Mr Brady entered with 71 countries, and I have been stuck at 70 since joining, this has pushed me to immediately make a move. I passed through Reykjavik yesterday..... Icelandic Schnapps was consumed, and additional quantities were purchased for later consumption.

The Brady Bunch

Mr Brady enters the club ladder at a higher longitude than originally advertised. Rather than being at our southern end, he is substantially north of our equator (at 71 countries in fact, north of Mr Negus, and in a remarkable sixth position). Apologies for the under estimation. Mr Brady takes the lead in the Pacific Ocean, having visited four countries there, and the Caribbean, with one more country than our beloved Chairman and Founder. He also ties our Honorary Past President with nine countries in South America. Welcome Mr Brady!

No Country for (Not So) Old Men

[Our beloved Honorary Past President writes about a December 2009 visit to PNG]

Port Moresby is not high on my list of places to return to. A hard place to
get to. I needed 4 flights and about 36 hours. Violent, depressing,
corrupt, overrun by Australians extracting raw materials and precious
metals. I met the acting Prime Minister, but could only highlight the
issue of violence against women there, and the need for family planning
and services for gender-based violence. Others from the country club
will have to travel to PNG to tackle the other problems...

I understand that the rest of Papua is amazing, with unbeatable flora,
fauna, and gentle people. Perhaps in another life, I can visit there,
bypassing Port Moresby.

On the bright side, an unintended consequence of the Australian invasion
is the easy availability of high quality reds. So I had a nice bottle
of Shiraz in my hotel room, since I was cooped up there after dark,
cowering from the violence and lawlessness.....

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."