Archive for the ‘Experiences’ Category

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!

Anyone who knows me, or has heard about me, knows that I am a Beatles fan (ok, fanatic). I have books, memorabelia, clothing, photos, videos…and even my livestock are named after Beatles songs. When we learned that our travels in England would take us close to the Liverpool area, you can imagine my hope was to be able to visit the region where it all happened!

Wish granted…

I will make a slight admission of jealousy when Doug was able to tour the area before I made it there, but what a wonderful experience awaited me! My host, Tim, kindly drove me to the meeting point very early in the morning. Then team member Steven Jefferies from the District 1050 GSE Team very generously took his day off from work to transport Jeremy and I to Liverpool, then treated us to the full driving and walking tour of the city. We visited the museum, walked the Docks, had a nice lunch, reviewed history and folklore, and spent a bit of time sitting on the docks in the warm sunshine. What a perfect day!

What I will make particular note of is the overwhelming generosity and kindness offered by each and every host or representative of the Rotary Clubs of 1050. They have all gone above and beyond to ensure that we have an exceptional time during our stay. Every area of interest is explored, each GSE Team member from 6910 is spoiled and catered to, and nothing is left wanting. I will say that I was somewhat incredulous when it was said that this would be a life-changing experience, but I have been proven wrong. My life is truly changed by the warmth and caring nature of our 1050 hosts and all of the experiences I have encountered on my journey.

Several years ago when I was working in a fairly stressful job I used to look at a picture to “destress.”   It was a photo of a dock going out into a very placid lake with mountains in the background.   I would look at it for 5 or 10 minutes and be able to refocus on the job at hand without the stress I had before taking that trip to the lake.

While in England I have been able to visit that lake and the spot where that photo was taken.   The old dock has been replaced with a larger more modern dock, but it’s the same place.  Although I don’t have the stressful job anymore I still enjoy that picture, and now it has even more meaning, since I’ve been there.

It was a great experience, and I am extremely grateful to my hosts, Henry and Margaret, who drove me to the Lake District and made a dream come true.  Without their enthusiastic support it would not have happened.

It’s hard to believe that a week has passed since I posted my first comment to the team blog. We have packed in so much in so few days; it’s amazing we’re all still standing. Don’t get me wrong, it has been a very rewarding and enlightening experience…one we’ll remember always, but has been VERY busy and full of wonderful sites, museums and new people.

We’ve traveled from north to south within District, and since lasting posting we have visited London, Tarpoley and Sanbach, and are now in the Manchester area. I am staying with a wonderful woman, Rebecca, here in Moss Side on the outskirts of the Manchester City Center.

Our trip to London was quite surreal. I finally got to ride on a double-decker bus! I was a little disappointed that it was not the traditional red bus but nonetheless, it was still quite fun seeing the sites of London from atop the open, double-decker. We saw many wonderful, majestic places – including my favorites Parliament, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge and Westminster Abbey. Being the government-focused geek that I am, I the Parliament building breathtaking and found myself getting a bit teary-eyed. Seeing the crown jewels in the Tower of London was a neat experience. The beauty of the various crowns and orbs is difficult to put into words, and unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos. After visiting the Tower of London, Doug and I enjoyed a boat ride on the River Thames, which was narrated by a very funny chap. Although Doug and I were slightly bus-napped in London, we managed to find our way across town on the London tube to visit Buckingham Palace and spend a few “quid” at the famous Harrod’s. The team bonded as a whole as well as with District 1050 GSE team member Steve, as we observed comical street entertainment in Covent Garden Square and sampled fine British spirits in various London pubs. While stately and beautiful, London would not be a place to call home for me. It was just too big and too busy…it’s not Hall County!

After London, I lived briefly with the Webb family in Tarpoley, which is a quaint little countryside village located about 45-minutes south of Manchester. The Webbs and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Frogg Manor Hotel (www.froggmanorhotel.co.uk), which to say the least was by far the most interesting dinner experience I’ve ever had. The owner of this bed-and-breakfast is retired British Army and is quite the chef. I ate the best salad ever (which by the way the English have it going on as it regards side salads – very proper!) and a very delicious beef dish. As one may guess from the name “Frogg” Manor, there were a large number of frog figurines inside and outside. If you’re in the Tarpoley area, I highly recommend having dinner there. You won’t experience anything else like it.

Since last posting, I have had the privilege of learning more about the British planning system and observing the master planning process in action. I spent the day with Fionna Edwards, the Development Planning Manager for the Cheshire West Planning Department, and from the short time we had together, I was able to discern that Chester, Cheshire West, England faces the same development pressures as Gainesville, Hall County…we just tackle them in different ways. Traffic, incompatible development, loss of business from the Main Street (or City Centers here in England), loss of historic and environmental resources…all the same issues, just different names in a different country. Although I had already visited Chester, I was still in awe of the reuse of 500+ year old buildings for modern-day retail shops. I gained more insight into what we would refer to as the “Zoning Process” as well as learned a little about the long range planning process, or as the Cheshire West Planning Department refers to it – the Spatial Planning process – which will result in a local development framework or a comprehensive plan of sorts.

We’ve seen a lot, have experienced British life in the City and the countryside, and still have more to see and do. We have visited the “Theater of Dreams” (Manchester United football – or soccer – stadium) as well the archrival’s stadium Eastlands. In fact, I sat in the Queen’s seat at Eastlands, which for our American friends is the football (soccer) stadium for Manchester City. Today we toured both the Lowry Museum (art museum highlighting the works of L. S. Lowry who is most famous for his matchstick people and animals) and the Imperial War Museum. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing the special exhibit of Don McCullin’s photography at the Imperial War Museum. He is very talented at portraying raw emotion in his photos. Just walking around looking, I was angered by the innocent victims of war and brought to tears by the images of children who had lost their families. Very real, very moving.

Good Morning!  Good EARLY morning to some of you in the States.  With less than a “fortnight” (did I spell that wrong?) left in our journey, we’re all experiencing great sadness and excitement.  I think we’re all looking forward to reuniting with our previous hosts, but sad that translates into the journey ending.

We’ve experienced our first “breakfast club” when we attended Manchester Breakfast.  We got to see a few more museums including an Imperial War Museum as well as an L.S. Lowry (English artist) museum.  Following was a highlight (for me at least) getting to eat pizza at an Italian restaurant.  I forgot how good it tastes (yes, I eat pizza from time to time in the States).  I also eat Mexican food which they don’t have a lot of here either.  Jeremy and I both agreed we miss that type of food.

For those of you that know my assertive (some may say “aggressive” instead haha) driving habits, I’d fit in quite well here in England.  I am wondering how driving will be for the rest of us when we return home.  Maybe the rest of my team will be driving like me and the Britons soon enough…:)  Cheers!

As you can tell from the title line, we were hosted by numerous clubs between the 25th and 29th of May, all of them very gracious and accommodating. The team was treated to a wonderful day with the Mayor of Macclesfield where we each received a proclamation certificate, followed by a tour of the Silk Museum (where Jeremy had a weaving shuttle mishap…) and then moved on to a wonderful presentation evening with Denton & Audenshaw.

Jeremy and Melissa would like to pay a special note of thanks to our hostess, Pam, for her charming wit and personality. We were well entertained and had a fabulous time in her company (although we are sure she was happy to see us board the train for London).

Another note of thanks to Roy for treating the team to a much-needed afternoon at his health club where we were all able to take advantage of a few hours relaxation after our transfer.

As always, we were sorry to leave our new found friends and know that we have created many memories and lifelong contacts. We appreciate the opportunity to be part of the Rotary GSE experience and look forward to whatever the next phase of our journey may bring our way.

London was full of great adventures and surprises.  Steve from the England GSE team was gracious enough to meet us in London to show us the sights.  I can say that London is BIG, way too many people.   The team spent some time on the legendary big red buses while enjoying the open roof experience (not so much for Melissa who isn’t a big fan of heights) and was able to visit some of the iconic images of London.  The queen wanted me to come by and visit, but it wasn’t on my itinerary, maybe next time.  My favourite part was all of the shops and restaurants.  It reminded me of New Orleans; plenty of fun places to eat, street performers in the markets, and as many good people watching opportunities as one could hope for.  My only regret is not having more time to spend in London.  Our team had a blast and made more memories, and some that we probably wouldn’t mind forgetting, luckily we have videos and pictures to keep the memories alive!

We returned from London to meet our new host families.  Until next time, much love from the GSE Team 2010!

So Much and yet it seems like so little time. As you can probably guess by the pictures and the couple of videos that have been posted the GSE team has been busy. From Rotary presentations, to tours of historic churches, and cross country car rally’s, we’ve seen plenty. I think I can speak for everyone that our host families have been amazing. I’m often thinking to myself that if I was hosting a GSE team member, would I be this accommodating? (Well, maybe not if I was hosting myself, but Jessica, Melissa, or Ali would probably be another story) A couple of highlights from my experiences: visiting the castle that was used to film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, finding out what a church looks like after a thousand years of use, figuring out that Ox tongue sandwich isn’t as bad as it sounds, trying this mythical meal for breakfast called a “bacon buddy with brown sauce” (I’ll go into detail at a later date), touring the Manchester City stadium (for some reason the air didn’t smell very good there, kind of a stench, something I’m told happens when you don’t win enough), and finally making some lifelong friends in my GSE team members. Until next time, be safe and know that we miss our loved ones back home (and our previous host families, miss you Ian, Vic, and Chloe)