What's New - Newsletter

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ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 2007

Newsletter

Once again, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a very peaceful and happy Christmas. 2006 has absolutely flown by for Wind Sand & Stars and already we are looking ahead to an exciting year. Our hugely popular ongoing work in Sinai is back in full swing with the first trips of the year heading out in the coming weeks and our teams both in the UK and Sinai are, as always, ready and enthusiastic to provide a hugely exciting ::0 experience with the highest levels of care and personal attention! After much planning and a huge commitment to help in Sri Lanka we are hopeful that our first school Expedition will take place in the coming months. It is quite clear to us that the extraordinary efforts made following the Tsunami will need to continue for the foreseeable future and as with all disasters of this scale the re-building of physical as well as social aspects of shattered communities takes years. So for all you schools looking for new projects-take up your next challenge! And for all of you out there whose New Year resolutions were to travel more, why not try our hugely popular Historical Odyssey or for the more adventurous, a ten day trek of three of the highest peaks in Sinai. What are you waiting for! Liz Dempsey, Assistant Director

Gordonstoun - The Team!

Huge thanks once again go to Gordonstoun School who, under the expert guidance of teacher Nick Fair and the Wind Sand & Stars team completed a highly successful re-generation of a Bedouin garden in the high mountain region of Sinai. The garden which was badly damaged by flooding some 10 years ago was transformed after nine days of extremely hard work including digging, heavy rocks and building the group were then able to plant seeds, the green of which were visible above the soil before their departure.

The Gordonstoun team once again showed resilience and fortitude in extreme conditions with temperatures reaching up to 40°C and the Bedouin are greatly indebted to them for their efforts and were thrilled with the results of all their hard work. At the end of the project the group decided to gain a deeper insight into the religious past and so climbed Mount Sinai and spent a morning at the nearby St Catherine's Monastery. Gordonstoun also took a visit to Cairo to see the Pyramids and Sphinx: of Giza as well as the Museum and they ended their Expedition by with a well earned rest on the very beautiful Red Sea.

WSS in Sunday Times!

We hope nobody missed our appearance in the Sunday Times Travel supplement on 28 January 2007.

Bedouin and Board

"Lured to the southern Sinai by the legend of it's nomadic tribes and biblical landscape, Christine Toomey found more than she bargained for when she went camel- trekking, camped under the stars and fell under the desert's spell."

To read the full article please go to Whats New/Articles

Solar Eclipse

Prof. Roger Griffin

On Wednesday, 29 March 2006, a Wind Sand Stars group witnessed a total eclipse of the Sun from one of the best viewpoints in the path of the Moon's umbral shadow, just west of Sallum in the Western Desert of Egypt, 15 kilometres from it's centreline. Whilst we unfortunately had to share our desert space with about a quarter of a million others who had the same idea, we had the advantage and privilege of having Professor Roger Griffin, Emeritus Professor of Ob- servational Astronomy, Cambridge University with us to impart his knowledge and wisdom on such matters and make the experience a thoroughly memorable one for all. Along the way we took in some of the most wonderful desert scenery as well as visits to El Alamein, the Pyramids & Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum and the fitting end to our journey was a dinner on the River Nile.

Summer Expedition
21 July-14 August 2007

For your chance to make an impact and contribute towards the lives of the semi-nomadic tribespeople and their communities as well as gain invaluable skills and have a fantastic summer!

Call 0870 7571510 for your brochure or visit our website: www.windsandstars.co.uk

WSS are members of Year Out Group

St. Catherine's Foundation

Liz Dempsey spent a very enjoyable evening at the British Library as a guest of the St. Catherine Foundation to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. The evening was to raise funds towards the conservation and preservation of the library within the Monastery which can reasonably claim to be the oldest surviving library in Christendom, so of course hugely important. It was especially good to see Fr Justin from St. Catherine's at the evening. WSS were thrilled to donate a prize of a place on our 2007 Historical Odyssey journey to the raffle and were very happy to hear that the evening was a great success.

BS 8848

WSS welcomes the new British Standard-BS 8848, a ground breaking standard representing a benchmark for consumers. It will apply to adventurous activities, establishing 'best practice' for anyone involved with the organisation of expeditions, visits and fieldwork outside the UK. The Draft period for comment on this document has now closed and we very much look for- ward to the standard being 'out there' in the very near future. To view a draft of BS 8848 please go to www.bsi-global.com

Historical Odyssey

Once again this most popular of journeys will be accompanied by the Revd Dr Andrew Macintosh, Dean Emeritus of St John's College Cambridge & Old Testament Scholar. This is a wonderful desert and mountain adventure suitable for all, with its cultural, historical and biblical associations. A two day camel trek with Bedouin from the Alaygaat tribe, trekking from the west of Sinai towards EI- Tih, the huge mountain range that separates the north and south. A very remote area, through which few people venture to encounter some of the most spectacular desert scenery. From Mt. Sinai and St. Catherine's Monastery, to the ancient temple of Serabit el Khadem, encompassing ancient sites including chalcolithic tombs and inscriptions of the Ancient Egyptians.

2007 Journeys

The above journey brochures are available in digital format and hard copy.

Wind Sand &Stars has moved!

Wind Sand&Stars has moved to lovely new office's in the Business Design Centre, Islington! Please note our change of address.

Wind, Sand & Stars
P.O. Box 58214
London N12GJ
Tel: 020 7359 7551 Fax: 020 7359 4936