On May 15 2010 we packed our favourite tweed bags, donned our pith helmets and took our finest blend of Earl Grey across the pond for a wild weekend of tea drinking, gin swilling, snow croquet (yes, you read right) and adventuresome yarns from Jason Lewis Esq. We felt it was about time we showed our American friends how to make a real cucumber sandwich and a real English scone, and my did we show them in style.

Undeterred by an early summer snowstorm, a hardy gaggle of adventurers descended upon Aspen Lodge in Estes Park, Colorado from all nooks and crannies of the US of A. In the finest spirit of the Mongol Rally, teams drove from as far afield as Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles. Others came from Oregon and Florida, with a scattering of folk from all over Colorado. Plus of course Mr Tom and Miss Antonia came all the way from the Land of Eng on the far side of the Atlantic Pond.

After Mr Tom had entertained everyone with amusing anecdotes from the world of The Adventurists, there was a screening of our National Geographic series Wild Rides. Next came the highlight of the day, a talk from Jason Lewis, the harder-than-a-box-of-concrete globetrotter who spent a whole thirteen years circumnavigating the globe by human power alone. Over the next hour Jason held us in thrall as he told tales of peddling oceans, skating across continents, using WD40 to cure salt sores, covering himself in Marmite to ward off pirates and being chased by giant saltwater crocodiles in his 13 year odyssey around the globe. 

For those of you who haven't heard of him (shame on you) Jason is the only human to have ever circumnavigated the globe by human power alone, travelling 45,000 miles across five continents, two oceans and one sea between 1994-2007. Jason's tales of his epic peregrinations were utterly superlative defying and left all present feeling shell-shocked, inspired and with a somewhat different view of Marmite. Never again shall any of us face the pirates of the Gulf of Aden without a trusty jar of the black gold. And we are all awaiting his soon to be released books with baited breath.

Jason's talk was swifty ensued by a smorgasbord of fine teas and even finer cakes. We drank Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Mandarin Orange Spice, Liquorice and green teas to name but a few. And we ate scones slathered with homemade jam and whipped cream, cucumber sandwiches made to perfection and melt in your mouth pecan cakes. And as we imbibed tea and consumed cakes we enjoyed a spot of croquet, in the snow. Since rather too much Hendricks was drunk during the course of this rather prolonged game of croquet we can no longer remember who won. But much fun was had, and The Adventurists Extreme Croquet series has thus been born.

So much fun was had by all that we shall most definitely be coming back to the USA for more tea in the months to come. America needs saving from the peril of the triangular scone, and who better to do this than The Adventurists.