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TOM FREMANTLE TALKS ABOUT HIS TRIP THROUGH AMERICA

Monday 1st December 2003

Last Tuesday the University was delighted to welcome Tom Fremantle who came to the University to give a talk about his journey through America accompanied only by Browny the mule. Head of English, Gerry Loftus, attended the talk:

This amusing and fascinating account by Tom Fremantle of a journey he made from Mexico to New York described his travels with a mule as his only companion for much of a 2,700 mile walk across America. His motivation had been to follow in the footsteps of an ancestor, who had travelled across America during the Civil War. However, unlike his forebear, Tom had also raised money for charity. A lot of money, not surprisingly, for such a long and arduous hike.

With a plethora of facts about America, new and old, and a highly personalised collection of slides documenting the places and people he met over more than six months on the road, Tom talked his eager audience through his long, slow trek, hardly pausing for breath. It was as if he was making up for the frustratingly sluggish pace (3 mph) of his mule on the road.

One moment describing the attraction of an amorous buffalo for his mule as “high octane stuff”, the next likening the taste of green tobacco leaves chewed by a farmer to “toxic Fisherman’s Friend mixed with antifreeze”, Tom’s colourful running commentary displayed all the self-assurance of a travelled raconteur who has also honed his account in published book form. We are already looking forward to a sequel, as he prepares to follow Mungo Park’s journey in 1795 across West Africa!

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Report by Gerry Loftus and the Web Team