Ready for Departure

Two hours before our scheduled flight from Birmingham International to Newark, we are waiting in the departure lounge.

Lunch

Having finished a late morning ride on Birmingham's canals and viewed a photographic exhibition of "Obama's People" in the nearby Museum & Art Gallery, we have stopped for lunch in Victoria Square.

After the Convention

The convention is over, but we're spending an extra day in Birmingham to see a few sites and pack our bags for the trip home.

Closing Session

Delegates are streaming into the Arena for the closing plenary session, which is scheduled to begin 30 minutes from now.

On to Montreal Luncheon

At Wednesday's luncheon we sat with Cliff and Mary Elena Dochterman, among others. Cliff said he is the assistant bulletin editor at his club in California.

Plenary Session 4

Elizabeth and Dave Krchak of Champaign arrived early to get good seats in the voting delegate section at Wednesday's plenary session.

Town Hall

This was the scene in Birmingham's Town Hall just before the beginning of concert by the Treorchy Male Choir, a Welsh group with a 125 year history.

Street Patrol

Two members of the local constabulary patrol the plaza in Birmingham's city centre on Tuesday evening. The Host Committee is sponsoring concerts at several nearby venues tonight, and an international food festival provides opportunities for a variety of food (and drink) in the vicinity.

President-elects Leadership Luncheon

At the Tuesday convention luncheon we sat with Rotarians from Florida, California, and Scotland.

Malaria

Drake Zimmerman, left, of the Normal Rotary Club, was among those staffing the malaria booth on Tuesday in the House of Friendship.

Plenary Session 3

Rotary Foundation trustees chair Jonathan Majiyagbe introduces his fellow trustees at the beginning of Tuesday's plenary session.

Heart of America

We're now attending the Heart of America Breakfast for Rotary Zones 29 and 30. Across the table from us are Ray Ropp, a Normal Rotarian, and his wife, Carol. Ray is slated to serve as our district governor in 2010-2011.

Host Hospitality

We had a wonderful time at our Monday night Host Hospitality event sponsored by the Hagley Rotary Club. The event included the club's regular weekly meeting. Two other couples, like us housed at the Copthorne Hotel, shared the experience. The note is being posted early on Tuesday morning. We have arisen early to make our way the National Exhibition Centre for the Heart of America Breakfast.

Host Hospitality

Bill and June Willies were our hosts and provided transporation from our hotel to the Hagley Rotary Club meeting tonight as part of the convention Host Hospitality.

Fred Hahn

RI Director Elect Fred Hahn, right, chats with other Rotarians at our table during lunch on Monday. Present, past and future RI and Foundation officials acted as table hosts for this event, and Barbara and I sat at the table hosted by Fred and Marjorie Hahn.

President's Recognition Luncheon

District Governor Elect Jay Stortzum and Winnie were seated near us at Monday's luncheon in the convention centre.

Minstrels ...

... entertain Rotary guests in the central courtyard of Warwick Castle.

Dinner (continued)

Here's Barbara with our dinner companions under the tent at Warwick this evening.

Dinner at Warwick

Rotarians are massed in the fields adjoining Warwick Castle this evening. Long queues lead to the food service tents.

Carousel

Youngsters of all ages can be found riding the carousel near the entrance to the House of Friendship.

Paul Harris Tea

It's 1:15 and the Paul Harris Tea is underway in Hall 3. Among those we are seated with is Paul Morf, on the right, incoming president of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, club. Rebecca Gasca, on the left, is a former ambassadorial scholar and attended the World Peace Symposium prior to the convention.

UN Secretary General

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon spoke at the convention's opening plenary session on Sunday morning. He praised Rotary's polio eradication efforts and promised his own continued support for the campaign. He also encouraged Rotarians to support other global multilateral humanitarian projects.

Opening Plenary Session

The opening plenary session is about to begin in the LG Arena at the National Exhibition Centre. Other plenary sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be held here, too.

Concert

We're at the "interval" (i.e., intermission) of a concert in the Birmingham National Indoor Area. Featured vocalist is Katherine Jenkins, supported by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Interfaith Service

The Interfaith Service, held in the room that will later be used for convention luncheons, ended as it traditionally does with the singing of "Let There Be Peace on Earth."

Montreal Convention 2010

Rotarians at the Montreal 2010 convention booth are already registering for next year's international convention. On-line registration is available through the RI website.

Copthorne Hotel

The Copthorne Hotel in Birmingham's city centre will be our base of operations for the balance of the trip.

House of Friendship Opens

RI President D. K. Lee lead a parade into the House of Friendship at 10 a.m. on Saturday for the ceremonial grand opening of the social hub of the convention.

Convention Registration

We have returned to Birmingham. After our visit to Cadbury World we drove to the airport and returned the rental car that we drove 500+ miles. We took the rail shuttle to the National Exhibition Centre, where we picked up registration materials (and avoided the long queues that will be there tomorrow). As this note is being posted, we are in a taxi bound for our hotel in the city centre.

Cadbury World

Friday morning we are in the Birmingham area touring the Cadbury chocolate factory. The gift shop, traditional last stop of any tour, offers many treats, including an 800 gram full-size chocolate rugby ball.

Courtyard Theatre

This is the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, where we'll attend a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company in a few minutes.

Shakespeare's Birthplace

On Thursday afternoon we visited the birthplace of William Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

We arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon in late morning, and at noon we were touring the cottage of Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare.

Number Nine

Our rental car, a diesel powered Ford Focus, sits across the street from Number Nine Bed & Breakfast, where we have stayed for the last three nights. This morning we move north to Stratford-upon-Avon.

Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle will be the site of a convention event next weekend, but Barbara and I paid an early visit on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.

Doctor Who

Another stop in Coventry on Wednesday was the Doctor Who exhibit at the Coventry Transport Museum. In the photo I am standing at the door of the Tardis.

Coventry Cathedral

In Coventry on Wednesday morning we visited the bombed out ruins of Coventry Cathedral.

North Cotswolds Rotary

Tuesday evening was devoted to Rotary fellowship. First, with help of Rick Hunt back in Charleston and the wi-fi network at my B & B, I sat in on part the Charleston Rotary Club's noon meeting via a Skype connection. It was 6 p.m. here in England. Then I attended in person the 7:30 weekly meeting of the North Cotswolds Rotary Club, held at the Old Stocks Hotel in Stow-on-the-Wold. The club had a lengthy discussion leading to a decision whether to continue a longstanding club project. The debate was conducted with intelligence, wit, passion, and civility, and the matter at hand was decided. Many thanks to President Will Mustoe and all the North Cotswold Rotarians for their hospitality on Tuesday evening.
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Stanway House

Tuesday afternoon we toured the privately owned Stanway House, an old mansion in the village of Stanway that is open for tourists a few hours per week.

Chipping Campden

Lunch on Tuesday was a picnic on the green in the town of Chipping Campden. Some of the supplies were purchased earlier at market in Moreton-in-Marsh. We've been taking short hops from one town to another via narrow roads.

Moreton-in-Marsh

We are at the weekly Tuesday morning market at Moreton-in-Marsh, a few miles north of Stow-on-the-Wold. Barbara is making her first purchase here, but we've only just begun.

Stow-on-the-Wold

We arrived about 5 pm on Tuesday in the Cotswold village of Stow-on-the-Wold. We checked into our B & B, then took a walk around town. It was relatively quiet as the day tour buses had left. We topped off the evening with dinner at the Queens Head, a local bar and restaurant. In the photo Barbara hoists a pint of the local ale.

Gloucester Cathedral ...

... was another stop on Monday's itinerary. We're finding travel times to be somewhat longer than anticipated, most due to my timidity in driving, especially on narrow secondary roads. I don't know how we could have managed the navigation without the GPS unit I brought along.

Caerphilly Castle ...

in southeastern Wales was our next stop after departing from Wells on Monday morning.

Wells

Our final destination on Sunday was Wells. We arrived in time to attend the 3 pm evensong service at the cathedral, although our attentiveness was limited by the exhaustion of the long first day of the trip.

Glastonbury

Upon arriving in Birmingham we procured our rental car, a new diesel Ford Focus, and headed south. Our first major stop was the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, shown here.

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We began the trip shortly before 6 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, loading our "Europe Through the Back Door" carry-on luggage into my car and heading for the Indianapolis Airport. We arrived there about 7:45 a.m. (8:45 in Indianapolis). We flew to Newark for an afternoon layover pending the departure of our flight this evening to Birmingham. As this note is being written, we are waiting in the boarding lounge at Gate C133 in Newark.

Coming soon ...

Watch for dispatches in June from the U.K. and the 2009 Rotary International Convention in Birmingham.