Thelma and Louise prepare for take off in one week...

Good travelers pack light...pack smart..and prepare for ALL eventualities!!!  The pack light bit???? Still a work in progress....

The 'Thelma & Louise (without the messy ending!!) tour' takes off in two weeks....

FRIENDS ARE THE FAMILY YOU CHOSE...

The next touring experience for Julie Reece Tours is something very special. The 'Thelma & Louise (without the messy ending!!) Tour' is all about friendship and the power of travel to change your life. 

My now, very dear friend Jo Kirlew ( aka 'Louise') and I will be driving, walking and training it around the UK catching up with close friends and also doing some planning and meetings for future tours.

This friendship originally came about because of one of my W.W.1  adult commemorative tours to the battlefields back in 2011. I originally met Jo at a Lions Club meeting where I was a guest speaker and then later at a local school we were both doing relief teaching. We started talking and the topic came up about her grandfather Walter Kirlew who was killed in WW1 and buried on the Somme. I offered to include a visit to her grandfather's grave and to do a commemoration on Jo's behalf in the tour that year.

From that point on the amazing connection blossomed where in 2013 Jo came on the  'Champagne & Battlefields Tour' and for the first time she was able to visit the resting place of her beloved Walter. To add to the power of that visit Jo placed the ashes of her father Joe Kirlew with his father Walter. Since 2013 Jo has been part of three of my tours and hopefully there will be many more in the future.

WALTER KIRLEW'S GRAVE AT FRICOURT

 And so on October 7th 'Thelma & Louise' take off on the next adventure...

• Eight days in a cottage in Somerset
• Three days in Sutton Veny with dear friends Nicky and Rob Barnard
• Overnight to the university town of Cambridge to meet with the groups' manager at the Gonville Hotel (one of the hotels in the 'Garden Views' 2016 tour)
• One nighter in London...just HAVE to take 'Louise'  to the Camden Markets
• Onto Canterbury ..business + pleasure AND yet another meal at the oldest pub in Canterbury 'The Parrot' with long time mates Keith and Rosemary
• Several days in the Cotswolds ...Worcestor and Cheltenham
• Finally it is off to Liverpool to be with Ali and Phil McGinity and their kiddies+ a weekend in Angelsey...while Jo takes off to Hereford AND will meet her idol Jules from 'Escape to the Country' 

NICKY & ROB AT SUTTON VENY...TRAMPING THE FIELDS WITH THE EXPERTS! 



So stay tuned as we return to the place we both love to be with friends we hold dear plus to the new locales we are yet to experience.

Let's just hope the Thelma and Louise tour does NOT have a messy ending!!! Avoid all canyons and cliffs. xxx

THE BEST PUB IN THE WORLD..'THE WHEATSHEAF' WITH SOUL MATE ALI....

Promoting the 2016 'Jimmy's Anzac Pilgrimage Tour'

INFORMATION SESSION ON 

THE 2016 'JIMMY'S ANZAC PILGRIMAGE TOUR'

  

An information session on the 2016 'Jimmy's Anzac Pilgrimage Tour' is available to interested travelers. The event will be held at the Adelaide Hills Business Centre in Woodside on Monday 5th of October. 

The hour long session will begin with a presentation of 45 minutes featuring a short film of all the key highlights of the tour. This promotional film is particularly special as it showcases the leadership skills and talents of two former Connecting Spirits' Youth Leaders Ashleigh Martin and Flo Bourke. Ashleigh compiled a moving film using many of the tour photos from over the years along with the original music composed and performed by 2008 Youth leader Flo Bourke. Details on the daily itinerary, commemorative opportunities, hotels and catering arrangements will be outlined along with a display of relevant World War One artefacts. A question and answer time will complete the night's promotion. The session is FREE and includes light refreshments, tea and coffee. Bookings need to be done online via the  AHBC link listed below.

As places are limited to 12 you need to book early. Further sessions will be available based on demand.. I look forward to seeing you on the 5th of October at 7.00 pm. 

 <http://www.adelaidehillsbc.com.au/local-press-release> 

********EARLYBIRD BOOKINGS********

For those clients who book the tour at the end of the session, an Earlybird discount of $200 will apply to your tour cost along with the free copy of the book 'Jimmy's Anzac Pilgrimage'. A booking deposit of $500 will secure your place in the tour. Payment conditions will be outlined on the night. 

2015 A final look back as Connecting Spirits looks forward….

The Centenary of Anzac Day: Connecting Spirits at Westminster Abbey

Last month on that special day in April, the 2015 Connecting Spirits group  of 30 students and adults from Meningie Area School, Findon High School, Mannum Community College, Lameroo Regional School and Unity College completed a three week pilgrimage to the former WW1 battlefields of the western front. 

The fitting end to this amazing journey was Anzac Day in London on the centenary of that fateful landing on the shores of Gallipoli on April 25, 1915. So in looking back at this tour months on from its end, I return to that day and all of its memories.

4.00 am…London hotel Anzac Day 2015…the day began with bleary eyed travelers gathering in the hotel ready for the walk to the Australian War Memorial in Hyde Park. Normally it would only be a 15 minute stroll but due to the massive numbers attending the service and the extensive security checks in place, it took nearly an hour to enter the area of the service. Young Aussie and Kiwi expats were everywhere along with members of the military, political and Royal family. 

APRIL 30, 2015 Reflections on the 2015 Connecting Spirits journey…Sutton Veny

The Anzac children's service at Sutton Veny school. Our day at Sutton Veny school is one the students just adored. 

Our group was the only other Australian school taking part in this unique and long standing tradition in this tiny English village of honouring the Anzac men and women buried  in  this corner of the UK. 

Many of their headstones have dates that come after November  11, 1918….they had survived the war but not the peace. Ravaged by the Spanish flu, millions lost their lives post war and here these war survivors were some of its victims. 

 Each year the children  of Sutton Veny show that they haven’t forgotten these people from our country with a beautifully  child centred service. In the morning 180 posies are made with the three elements of flowers from the village. …rosemary for remembrance….and greenery for victory.  

This year our students worked with the SV kids and after recess our group showed them how to make traditional Ngarrindjeri feather flowers. It was a perfect day and another layer of friendship was created across the globe.