Rotary International Convention Highlights

Friday. June 19
We have to get up early because we have work to do.
After a simple breakfast in our little cottage, which feels just like home we drive to Birmingham. Luckily we have the GPS or we would have never found our way.
Our friend Bob French, has some material we need to take to the Convention centre for our booth set up for the Rotarian Action Group for Microcredit. (RAGM)
Driving through the city is like driving through hell. Not that I know what that’s like, but I can only imagine.
After we arrive at Bob’s hotel we find our way to the NEC. There is a series of steps to follow and routes to take before we actually are allowed in the building. We do have special passes, but only two of us are allowed in. So it’s Bob and I, wile Ramiro browses around.


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Luckily Bob takes a taxi back to his hotel after we have set up and the drive home is a lot easier, because we are able to go through the country side. We make a nice fresh salad for lunch, do some laundry and at 4:00 pm we take the car and drive through the country to pick up our friends Steve and Marie Rickard who are staying about 20 km south of us. Meanwhile Gill is cooking supper and has invited them as well.
Since we have two hours to do the 20 km we might as well stop here and there for a cache which I have downloaded from the web.
We drive through all sorts of small villages, of which every single one has a pub. The country roads are so narrow, that if someone approaches from the other side, one has to give in and back up until there is a spot to pull over to the side, which is not easy, because the hedges run right along the road with not an inch to spare.
We have a nice visit and an excellent dinner. I feel a bit dragged down from this cold I developed and it makes me very tired.
Steve and Marie are being picked up by taxi at 10:00 pm. and we go to bed exhausted

Saturday, June 20.
We leave at 9:00 am to go to the NEC. Unfortunately we miss the House of Friendship Opening parade and see only a glimpse of the many costumes.
We go straight to the RAGM booth were we have to work a full two hour shift. We meet so many friends, which we only see once a year, that there is hardly time for lunch. Luckily we had packed a small lunch and we take turns sitting on one of the benches nearby, eating our lunch.
We take the train to the city for our District Governor Class reunion. There we get to meet the Lord Mayor and get served Tea. This tea was quite a bit different from the one at Brown’s that Gill treated us to.
We get to meet many of our classmates and get to hear some speeches. To my surprise I get called up to the podium for a presentation on the Montreal Convention.
I never appreciate being put on the spot like this and not being prepared to speak. But I suppose that’s where my Toastamsters training comes in handy, because now I get to do a Table Topic Speech; An impromptu speech. It did apparently go very well, because I did receive some positive feedback. Something about enthusiasm, blah, blah. (No, seriously, I do appreciate positive feedback).
We take the train back tot he NEC, where we left the car and drive back home.
I am exhausted and go upstairs to answer some e-mails, pay the parking ticket on line and organize my papers for tomorrow. Ramiro goes to Gill and Dee for supper.



















Sunday, June 21
Ramiro does not want to drive the car again and we ask if we can ride with Gill. I am feeling so tired and I am suppose to do a presentation at our Zone breakfast about the upcoming Institute which will be held in Edmonton in September. I am not prepared at all, and have no idea what I am going to say.
There is a bit of tension in the car as we drive to the NEC. I guess we all need to keep cool and lay low for a while.
I get called up after a quick “Pull yourself together Elly” in the ladies room, and manage to pull it off after all. Maybe it was because Incoming President John Kenny calls me a fireball. It must have encouraged me. Now I must live up to it. I did it. What a relief.

Today is the official opening of the Convention which starts with an opening ceremony for which there are two seatings. With over 16,000 people that is the only way this can be done.
The opening ceremony is fantastic. Excellent speakers and entertainment. We go home for lunch and rest for a while before we go for a walk and do a gecocache in the area.































































It has been rather cool, but tonight we are able to have our glass of wine outside. We drive to Warwick Castle, which is opened tonight for Rotarians and their guests only.
What an amazing place. There are food stands everywhere and you can choose from a variety of dishes.
We walk the grounds and watch the many demonstration. I lose track of Ramiro and at one point I am all by myself. I climb the stairs of the castle, visit the dungeons and along the way I meet friends from all parts of the world.
Finally I see Dee and we go for a glass of wine before we head for our meeting place. We do not stay until the end and drive back before 9:30 pm. That turned out to be a good decision, because we learn the next day that many people that took the bus did not make it home before midnight. We’re home just before dark and go straight to bed. Conventions can be tiring. I don’t consider them a vacation.




Monday, June 22
No early breakfast for us today, we're taking it a little bit easier and take our time to get to the convention centre. At 11:00 am we;re at the RAGM booth, we had packed a lunch, which was a good thing, because it was difficult to get away from the booth, due to the shortage of volunteers.
We have to leave by 2 pm however, because we need to get hone in time to get dressed and be picked up for the Home Hospitality event hosted by one fo the clubs in the area.
An old retired doctor by the name of Arthur picks us up with his wife. We feel like we are driving with the queen and king Arthur himself. These folks seem to have quite a status, or do they just pretend?
We drive through the country side to the Bosworth battlegrounds for a tour, get to see the museum, where Ramiro poses as a knight. After a glass of wine with some of the less pompous guests in the cafeteria we drive to the pub, where a large group of other guests is waiting. We are all divided into groups and each table is hosted by local Rotarians and their spouses. After a lovely dinner and some speeches and banner exchanges we are driven home again. Another late evening.










































Tuesday, June 23
We like to be at the plenary session this morning and hear Mia Farrow speak. We have excellent seats and her speech is excellent.
Back at the RAGM booth we reorganize things a bit and now it is my turn to work the Montreal Convention booth from 3 to 6 pm.
There are hundereds of visitors to this booth, all asking questions about accommodations and other details for the convention. I learn a lot as I ask the questions and before I know it I am able to answer all the questions myself. Quite an experience to deal with such a variety of cultures. I find the East Indians quite pushy, They don’t take no for an answer and are also very demanding.
Those from the Arab countries are different altogether. They ask for the most posh hotels and in the end, book the cheapest.
We are very fortunate that Gill has cooked supper when we arrive home again. We’re pretty tired and are heppy not having to do anything. We are able to sit outside for a bit to enjoy a glass of wine.
We eat too much and drink too much.

Wednesday, June 24
It’s the last day of the convention, it’s gorgeous outside and we actually get to wear our summer clothes again.
Today’s speaker at the Plenary session is Jane Goodal, the lady from the apes. Our next RI President, John kenny was introduced, after which I hurried back to the House of Friendship for another shift on the Montreal booth. What a busy place that was.

The closing ceremony is focused on the Canadian Rotarians who will be hosting the next convention. We see a sea of red in the bleachers and waving Canadian flags.
As soon as it is over we leave the Convention Centre, change clothes and visit Baxterly church, right behind Hipsley Farm.
It’s time to start packing, because tomorrow we drive back to London for our flight to Canada.
We have one more dinner with Gill and Dee




Thursday, June 25
We are bringing back so much extra stuff that we need some extra bags. we manage to stuff everything in a borrowd bag, and are off to the airport early.
The flight to Edmonotn goes rather quickly. and once we;re home we try to get back into ur routine.
That’s it again for this time.
No more trips until the winter.
It has been a good experience, and Dee is all aexcited about Rotary after her first International Convention.

A Visit to London

Sunday, June 14
Our other friend Gill was already in London for a few days and is waiting at the Victory Services Club for Dee.
Gill is a member of this club as an ex British army employee. She held some impressive rank, well, at least that what she tells us.

Our place, which is only a few blocks away, is quite simple and a lot less expensive. We never expected having to haul our luggage up to four flights of stairs.
Since we arrive so late, I think they gave our room away. But we protested and were moved to a much better room on the street side the following day.





Gill has arranged for High Tea at Brown’s Hotel. Ramiro and I decide to walk and are able to walk straight through Hyde Park, along Buckingham Palace and other main attractions.
Some of the roads along our route are blocked as there are thousands of Tamals protesting for their rights. We figured, they are lucky that they live in this country and it seems that many Londoners agree as we overhear their conversations.
This is the first time for both of us, we’ve never had “tea”.

At first I did not think I should go as I am not a sandwich person, but Gill had arranged for a gluten free menu just for me, and I tell you, boy is this ever delicious. Not good for my waist line at all, but very good for the mouth and the taste. Especially the desserts, are so good, that the others are eating all my little Petit Fours, and squares.
The tea menu is larger than a four star dinner menu and we get to pick from all sorts of black tea, fruit tea, blossom tea, or rubber tire tea. (That’s what it smells like to me at least).
We each get our own tea pot and when our cup is empty, the cute little lady with the British, well practiced accent fills our cup again.
She is so proper and so polite, it almost makes you feel like you are the queen.
We talk and eat for over one and a half hour, then our time is up and we have to make room for the next sitting.
How are we very going to work all those calories off again? I guess we’ll have to walk home.
On our way back to the hotel we pick up some wine and cheese and visit Gill at her place for drinks, before we go downstairs for dinner.































Monday, June 15
I am up early and take a really long walk through Hyde Park all by myself. There are people on bicycles as well as runners, walkers, strollers, even people in suits on bikes on their way to work.
We spend the rest of the morning getting organized in our room and catch up on some e-mails.

I find a number of caches on the web in the area and we walk through Hyde Park again. This place is so big that you can walk every day for a week and discover different places.
Today, being Monday, there is not the crowd we saw yesterday, when there were families picnicking, people playing ball and horseback riders. Today is more a touristy day. We do fine a number of caches and discover Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens and many other monuments and fountains.
At the edge of Serpentine Lake we discover a nice place for an outdoor lunch.
On Edgeware street we look for a grocery store and stock up on fruit and Yogurt and pick up something easy for dinner, which does not need warming up.
It start to rain just as we are back in our room, and once it is dry again, we take a long walk and search for a few more Geocaches. What a great way to discover the neighborhood. We stumble on a small canal filled with little houseboats, hidden in an industrial area. So neat.

Tuesday, June 16

Gill is going to the Spa and we meet Dee at the Victoria Club and make plans for the evening.
Ramiro and I take the tube and visit London Bridge, Tower of London and find two more caches along the Thames.
We find a nice patio at an Italian restaurant where I enjoy one of the best salads ever. I take notice of all the ingredients and plan on making this same salad at home one day.
We take the bus to Tfalgalgar Square and Piccadilly Square before we walk back home again.
We’re having drinks at Gill’s room again and take a taxi to Paddington Rotary Club. It’s a small club, but there are plenty of out of the country guests, all in London on their way to the Rotary Convention in Birmingham. We make a presentation and have a wonderful dinner. We are so tired, we want to go home. But we let them twist our arms and go to the pub, where we are treated to drinks before we walk home again.
I go on line and book tickets for the London Eye for the next day.

Wednesday, June 17
We meet up with Dee at 9:00 am and take the Big Bus (Hop on, Hop Off)
We let ourselves be driven for quite some time and see a lot of the city before we get off at the Parliament buildings.
From there we take the boat tour and see even more of the city, including Greenwich.
We have just enough time for a quick lunch at Zen before we have to head for London Eye. At times this place is so busy that you can only go at scheduled times. We were lucky and were able to right away.
It felt a bit scary, standing in this large transparent ellipse shaped cube, but as long as you stay away from the walls and stay in the middle it is not so bad.
It is a great way to get a good view of the entire city.
Dee is ready to go back and Ramiro and I walk to Big Ben before we take the bus back.
It’s 6:00 pm before we’re back home. We quickly change clothes and after drinks at the Services Club Lounge we treat Dee to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. Today is her birthday.
They have this weird salad idea. A bowl of uncut fresh veggies. Tkae your pick and cut them up on your plate. Makes it easy on the cook. The food is fantastic. The Lebanese wine so, so.
I don’t recall the last time I ate so much. At the tea on Sunday perhaps?


















































































































Thursday, June 18

Ramiro gets up early and meets up with Gill. They are going to pick up the rental cars.
When he returns I have the luggage ready. When he returns to the car to load the luggage he discovers that he is getting a parking ticket. 60 GB Pound. That’s about $ 125.00.
It’s not easy for Ramiro to drive, A, on the other side of the road, B, in a traffic system you’re not used to and C, with standard transmission. We follow Gill trying very hard not to exceed the speed limit, to avoid another ticket.
Our next destination is Bicester. This is where my aunty Coby lives.
We follow Gill and Dee to the Outlet Stores and make plans for a time to meet.

At Coby’s house the neighbour tells us, she is not home. “She’s gone to the store” he claims. So we walk through the neigbourhood and when we return we discover that she has been waiting for us all that time, worrying where we might be.
We chat over coffee and tea and laugh a lot.
Coby picks a restaurant where we can go for lunch.
It's cool and windy and not nearly as nice as the days in London.
Coby is so full of life with her 83 years and has also a great sense of humor.

After lunch we go to the outlet stores hoping to find some deals, but even the stuff with 70% discount is still out of our price range. We meet up with Dee and Gill and go for coffee at Starbucks.
Before we go to our cottage we need to stock up on groceries. Coby leads us to the store and we load our carts full with wine, snacks, fruit and veggies and meat.

The drive to Hipsley farms takes another 1.5 hours. It is a beautiful setting. An old historical farm with all the old buildings converted into little cottages. Dee and Gill have the one on one side of the yard, with a large sitting area, large kitchen with everything you need, including a dishwasher. Our cottage on the other side has a sitting room and small kitchen on the main floor and on the loft a cozy bedroom with nice size bathroom.
We invite our friends at our cottage, named Dugdale. We have all the goodies from the store and make it almost a complete meal.
It’s time to check our e-mails again so we retire early.