I wrote to Sir Alec in 1995 to ask if it was appropriate for my husband and me to visit Ethiopia as a tourist as I was afraid it was taking away valuable resources from local people just to accommodate and feed us. I had been interested in Ethiopia for a long time and was pleased to find this small group tour with Noble Caledonia. I was already a supporter so wrote to Sir Alec. I was delighted to receive a very kind reply assuring me that it was all right to visit and indeed a good idea and that he thought our proposed tour sounded wonderful. My husband had not been keen bur agreed to go and he was completely won over by the country and people after a sticky start when he was very distressed by the poverty we saw in Addis. It was the first time we had seen such poverty ourselves. As well as our tour manager we had a very good local Ethiopian historian with us the whole way through the holiday who gave us a great insight into the country. Our holiday was in 1996. I am so sorry to hear of Sir Alec's death but know that he has done a huge amount of good in his time and his work will continue.
