Archive for June, 2010

My vocational days have been cleverly and perfectly planned to combine my two current interests: catering/food services and adults with developmental disabilities. The vocational experience provided during this outing was nice in that it provided a centralized focus on events planning and catering services encompassing all areas of development.
My home host, Sheila Gregory, owns and operates a floral shop in Goostry, Cheshire, and I was treated to a visit to her shop in the center of Holmes Chapel. She then allowed me to accompany her on a trip to the wholesale supplier to walk through the vast selection of fresh cut and exotic flowers, production supplies, and potted plants. Having previously owned a flower shop, I was appreciative of the reminder of how hectic and time-consuming the floral industry can be. My hat is off to Sheila for building an exceptional business client base and having such a firm control over her ‘blossoming’ business!
I was also able to spend the day in the company of a very wonderful lady, Rachel Gate, who is the owner of Country Kitchen (tel/fax 01606 44605). Rachel provides event planning and catering services in the Cheshire area and offers a full array of menu selections to please even the most discerning palate! As we traveled through the countryside, Rachel and I were able to discuss the similarities and differences of the catering industry in the US and the UK. What was most interesting was how similar our lives are: we both manage to build our businesses without outside advertising, we believe in providing the finest quality of food presentation at an affordable cost, we treat our staff as our family, and we love what we do! Rachel took me to visit Athena Catering Hire (a supply rental facility), Heaton House Farm (a fabulous wedding venue) in Macclesfield www.heatonhousefarm.co.uk followed by a trip to Riverford Organic Veg (providing free delivery of organic produce) www.riverford.co.uk/wash .
What I appreciated most about this very full day of events was the warm hospitality provided by Rachel and her assistant, Georgia. The open, honest conversation allowed me to share as much about my home and business as I was able to learn about the businesses I visited. I truly believe that this is exactly what Rotary intends the experience to provide…sharing!
On an additional note, Rachel was injured in an accident a few days after my vocational day. My thoughts and prayers remain with her and her family/staff as she works toward her recovery!

England: Nil
USA: 1

maybe next time, Thanks Green for the help.

I spent Monday with Walsingham Planning Specialist Planning and Development Consultants. To start the morning off, I met with Roberta “Rob” obtaining a detailed background in the British planning system, particular from a private consultant’s perspective. I then had the privilege of sharing a cappuccino with Emma at Costa, a local chain coffee shop that is seeking to remove a condition of planning approval in order to increase seating capacity in the café. Being able to walk out into the community and see Knutsford from a professional perspective, rather than a tourist’s view, was interesting and insightful. Mike, a planner on staff with Walsingham, then oriented me to the Planning Portal, which is the online application submittal program used to submit planning applications to local authorities. Such an electronic application format certainly reduces the amount of paper necessary but does not eliminate the need for hard copies. Nonetheless, given I’m the “tree hugger” of our planning office, I was appreciated the electronic filing program.

It’s interesting to note that our friends here on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean endure the impacts of “nimbyism” and traffic congestion and incompatible infill (for my British friends – unsympathetic development schemes within conservation areas). Folks of the greater Manchester area face the same problems as we do in Gainesville-Hall County, Georgia…we just attack them in different ways.

Thank you Walsingham for a wonderful vocational experience and for sharing with me the “dark” side of the planning world! You all were great hosts for the day!

http://www.walsinghamplanning.co.uk/

Good morning once again!  We’re closing in our last few moments here in England.  I think the team will agree last night’s farewell dinner resulted in a whirlwind of emotions.  We were reunited with most of our former hosts which was wonderful, but at the same time very hard to do.  Last night we shared wonderful memories, differences and “first’s.”  While I only have a quick minute before we leave to tour Tatton Park, I do want to share one thing I did not last night.  Actually it’s more accurately described as “admitting” something.  This trip has made more emotional than I have ever been in my entire life.  I think anyone that knows me will agree, I am not often emotional and come across as “cold-hearted.”  I’ve experienced so much on this trip that has made me realize it is okay to show how I feel at times.  We’ve truly grown to love our hosts, the Rotarians and most importantly–each other.  Thank you everyone here and back home for all your support!  Cheers!

Oh my goodness! I can’t believe this experience has come down to a little over 24-hours before we fly out of Manchester!?!?! What a bittersweet moment…one of looking forward to hugging our families and yet saying goodbye to wonderful, warm people – our new friends. I must admit that while I am anxious to see my husband and two little boys, saying goodbye at the Farewell Dinner was more difficult than I imagined. Seeing all of the gracious hosts and many other Rotarians and friends was touching, a lasting impression which words cannot describe. Many of you have taken us into not just your homes, but also into your hearts and families, and for that we are grateful. And it is those moments spent sitting around the table with my host families, sharing a drink of some sorts and chatting about the little differences between our cultures, which I will treasure always. Thank you District 1050 for your warm hospitality and your friendship. Cheers!

Good Morning!  We’re geared for our last vocational day!  Thank you to the Rotarians for coordinating very meaningful and interesting experiences.  Thank you also to our gracious hosts last evening, Rotary Club of Knutsford’s Howard and Hilary Kirk who hosted a lasagna dinner for our team at their home.  IT WAS FANTASTIC!  We were also hosted by Club President, Steven and his wife Lindsey at their home the previous evening.  We were able to witness the draw between USA and England in the World Cup in a very lovely atmosphere .   

Today I will be vising the David Lewis Centre.  This centre provides education and lifeskills for adults and children with epilepsy and other associated learning disorders and problems.  I look forward to the experience as well as hearing about my teammate’s adventures as we are in our last days of living in England. 

Please be sure to visit our face book page to see heaps of photos from our journey!  Thank you to EVERYONE that’s made this trip beyond exceptional.  I think my team will agree it’s been a rollercoaster (which I did not sleep through, Doug) of emotions for all of us.  This has truly been life-changing.  Tonight is our farewell dinner that we all look forward to being reunited with our former Rotarian hosts from around Manchester.  Tuesday evening will be our final presenation as we venture to our side of the pond Wednesday morning around 5:30 a.m. est.  We will arrive in Atlanta around 2:40 p.m. est give or take.  Cheers!

On Wednesday of this week, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC) Conservation Office. Paul and Steve provided me with a nice introduction to the British preservation process in preparation for a meeting with English Heritage regarding a potential planning application.

After the introductory meeting with Paul and Steve, I went on a very nice walk-about in Stockport with Fionna and Melissa who showed me various redevelopment projects – or as they say here in England, “regeneration schemes”. Seeing the “after” of various slides I viewed in theoffice was amazing. Stockport has accomplished great things in revitalizing its city center, from refurbishing historic buildings with residential units in the heart of town to bringing life back into the Market Hall.

And of course one of the highlights of our walking tour was standing at the bottom of the Crowther Street stairs, which were made famous by L. S. Lowry with one of his paintings.

Observing the meeting between the Stockport MBC Conservation Office, town planner and English Heritage was interesting and took back to my role as the preservation contact for Gainesville. While the British system is somewhat reversed of ours, meaning that design review is governed on a national level and not at the local level as with Gainesville, I still felt as though I could easily jump in the conversation. After that meeting and lunch, I traveled with Crispin to visit with the owner of a “listed” building (which is a building that is historically significant structure for which most any exterior – and in some cases interior – work requires prior approval) to discuss a roof problem. As I listened to Crispin talk with the owner, I heard myself speaking with owners of property in the Green Street and Ridgewood Neighborhood Local Historic Districts regarding their respective projects.

With all this being said, my match-up with the Conservation Office of Stockport was just perfect. Thank you to Paul, Steve, Fionna, Melissa and Crispin. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with you all!

So, we have finally experienced this “terrible weather” that awaits the GSE Team when we arrive in England.  The only problem was that it took a month to arrive, and it hasn’t been that terrible.  We’ve only had about 3-4 days of weather that was even partially bad; I guess we brought the good weather with us.  The Team had a great day on Thursday touring the area of Stockport, which was a Roman crossroads back in the day (and when I say “back in the day”, I really mean a thousand years or so, give or take a few hundred years). Everything in England is so bloody old (I’m trying to sound like a local) that it just seems crazy for these buildings and structures to still be standing.  In Georgia it’s hard to find a structure that’s 100 years old, let alone one that is still being used.

 I don’t think that I’ve spent much time talking about the differences in our sporting culture from England, so now seems like an appropriate time.  They have 5-6 major sports: football, football, football, football, football, and oh yeah this other sport called Cricket.  And for those back home that are obsessed with football, don’t move here just yet.  When I say football, I mean soccer.  Everywhere you turn people are flying these white and red flags to support England in the World Cup (I guess they are a culture of flag waivers, at least thats what English Steve told me).  And yes people, it’s that time again where there is a sport that everyone else in the world loves, but we look for “ESPN Classics” to watch and dream about college football. In-case you are inclined to support our team in the World Cup, England is playing the US in the first round on Sat.  The game should be on around 2ish for those back home.  I suspect that the US is an underdog for a victory, but hey it’s only one sport that we don’t dominate at (actually two, I don’t think we play Cricket either).  Until next time, much love and wishes from the GSE Team.

The team has discovered that Jeremy can be very introspective and photogenic at the same time, so we have taken it as our challenge to find him at his best! We will continue to add photographs as the days go on, so be sure to check in and see the updates of Jeremy’s photo travels…

After a lazy morning on Saturday, I traveled to Liverpool with my host family. Home of the Beatles! I visited The Cavern,

a bar where the Beatles got their start. The bar and stage area were several floors below street level, so it was very warm and loud with the music of a talented Beatles cover band. Afterwards, we moseyed

over to the docks area to walk through the Beatles Story Museum and gained great insight into their story. And last but not least, we drove over to Penny Lane for a glimpse into the area called home to both John Lennon and Paul McCartney and for which the song “Penny Lane” was named.

It rained Sunday morning, which was perfect for another lazy start. Such lazy mornings were nice because I had a chance to catch up on some much needed rest. I attended service at Whalley Range Methodist Church with my host Rebecca, and was welcomed with open arms by all who were there worshipping. It was a smaller congregation but very close, as was evident with the joint celebration of two birthdays. One of the members celebrated her 96th birthday!?!? She looked fantastic! One would never have guessed. It was so sweet watching her glow as she was handed a huge bouquet of flowers while we all sang “Happy Birthday” to her and another lady also celebrating her birthday.

After church, my new friends Julie and Zyla took me to Trafford Center, which is a massive shopping mall in Manchester with at least 200 shops!?!?! The crowds walking around on a Sunday reminded me of the crowds at Christmas time; it was very busy (it appears that the recession perhaps is less impacting on the retail sector here). The evening was rounded out by a wonderful barbeque at the house of Ed Bernard, who is a fellow UGA grad (Go DAWGS!!!!). We enjoyed delicious food and drinks, and the team, together, enjoyed the company of our hosts and friends from the Manchester Breakfast club.

On Tuesday, we were driven to meet our new hosts – the Rotary Club of Hazel Grove.  I’ve had the pleasure of staying with Ian and Julie Johnson, who like all of my other hosts have welcomed me with open arms.  Their home is in the more suburban area of Poynton, outside of Stockport.  After settling in, we all enjoyed a nice little hike at Lyme Hall, which is a very old home of a different character than others we’ve seen.  But the most interesting fact is that it is the home (or at least from the exterior) of Mr. D’Arcy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from the BBC miniseries.  Historic, non-historic, the house is a gorgeous estate home located on the edge of the Peak National District and has over 17-acres of gardens, surrounding open space, and deer roaming the hills.  Although breezy and a bit on the chilly side, it was still a very nice walk up to the “cage” because the view was fantastic.  Visiting the site makes me want to watch the series with Colin Firth as Mr. D’Arcy!