What is going on in America?

In this talk I look at the great country from an unusual perspective – two road trips on Greyhound buses half a century apart. I draw on diary entries and original photos (no selfies!) to show how in 1969, as a 22-year-old student, I was blown away by the sights I saw and the people I met.

In 2019, by then a retired journalist, I was ambushed by a crazy notion to go back and do it again. It was too good an idea to pass on, though I quickly realised that I would have to make allowances for a 72-year-old’s antiquated skills and aching body.

On the second trip I took photos on my mobile phone and wrote a book. I still loved the country and its people, though this time the divisions were so bitter and so resolute that I felt I was travelling through parallel universes.I came back with many questions about the country’s future, and this invariably leads to an interesting discussion at the end of the talk..