GEOFF Holden (or ‘Mister Jiff’ as he was known to his classes of 60 plus 16 to 19 year old boys) was an English Teacher in Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries.

He worked for the Khartoum government from 1982 to 1986 and he will be speaking about his experiences at Rawdon Community Library at 2pm on Tuesday, April 18th. His talk will be illustrated with photos from his time there and with some of the many interesting and unusual souvenirs that he brought home.

Geoff will be talking about his day-to-day life, in particular the two years he spent in Fasher in Darfur, in a world that was so different from the one he left behind in the UK and is so different from the world we know today: a combination of time travel and “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

He will also speak about the journey he made to South Sudan (then still part of Sudan) in the backs of lorries and on the roof of a train, and a trek he made with two donkeys around the extinct volcano, Jebel Mara.

Having told these tales many times to thousands of children across Yorkshire when he was a primary supply teacher, Geoff is more than willing to answer any and all questions you may have!

Tickets are £5 (£3 students) and are available in advance from the library or on the door. They include refreshments.