TIMES AND TRAVELS

About the Book

This book consists of 28 annual letters written in the years 1992 – 2020. It started as an apology for not writing Christmas cards and grew out to annual accounts of the authors life which were shared with family and friends. They are written with vivacity and humour and a far cry from the usual round robins which irritate us so much at Christmas time. There is a letter for every year, but the date of their appearance varies from anywhere between December and May and one even covers two years in one go. The book begins with back ache and ends with Covid and hoping for better times.

About the Author

Jacoba ‘Coby’ Wilhelmina Sikkens, b. 1947, is of Dutch nationality and studied at Groningen University before joining the Department of Tropical Hygiene of the Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, in 1969. Two years there as Editorial Secretary were followed by four as Head of the secretariat of the Medical Research Centre in Nairobi. Joining the World Health Organization in 1975 she held increasingly responsible positions over some thirty-one years. Her work included frequent travels to WHO's Regional Offices and other destinations. From 1995 to 1999 she worked in Indonesia. She completed her career in 2006 as External Relations Officer in WHO Headquarters in Geneva. After retirement her love of travel persisted and she was found in Zanzibar, India or elsewhere while keeping a home base in France. She now divides her time between France and Spain and continues to travel extensively whenever possible.