Burtonian John Parry gave an illustrated talk to 28 attendees on The Suez Canal. The first half of his talk explained the history of the canal, part of which goes back to the time of the Pharaohs, with the current canal begun in the 1860s under the auspices of the French. British involvement in the canal came quite late, when they acquired a major shareholding from the Egyptians. In the first half of his talk John explained much of the construction of the waterway through the desert landscape, and how it has been expanded over the decades to meet the needs of modern shipping.

The second half was given over to a visual tour along the canal, which John Parry passed through on a cruise ship in November 2023. By pure chance, two members of the audience had been cruising down the Suez Canal at that same time. Not only that, but they were even on board the very same ship as the speaker!