Last Friday evening, the speaker at Tenby and Distrrict Arts Club was John Archer Thomson, who treated members to some spectacular photography taken on his visits to Namibia.

In spite of being one of the driest countries in Africa, the speaker found it to be an exciting place for a photographer.

Situated in South West Africa, Namibia is inhabited by 11 tribes with as many different languages.

Immediately evident was the striking contrast between the red/pink colour of the rocks and the cobalt blue sky. The whole landscape had a surreal aspect.

Namibia boasts some of the highest dunes in the world, many well over 300m high. The flow patterns in the sand and its great variety of colour give a beauty to the landscape.

A different beauty was seen in the dried up river bed where the dessication cracks on the white sand are a stark reminder of the intense heat.

Plant life struggles to survive the arid conditions, some exceptions are the bushy euphorbia, the strange shaped la-la palms, the acacia and the quiver tree.

Insects abound: desert beetles, snakes, scorpions, spiders and ghekos proliferate. Larger animal life consists mainly of the springbok, the klip-springer antelope and the impala. The yellow cornbill and the monotonous lark are common.

Other fascinating photography showed petrified wood over 260 million years old, hulks of ships buried in the desert sand, cave art executed by bushmen many hundreds of years ago, and on the coast at Cape Cross an enormous seal colony.

Crossing the border into Botswana, there was a glimpse of a very different terrain and a variety of larger animals, such as the elephant, zebra, wildebeest and jackal.

John Archer Thomson's outstanding photography and his informative commentary gave a very special evening, taking his audience into another world.

The chairman thanked the speaker very warmly and reminded members that there was no meeting this week as it was half-term.

On Friday, February 27, Alison Neil will be with them again with her one-woman show 'The Sixth Wife'.

All are welcome to another special evening.