50/50

I Can't believe this trip is already halfway finished and I can't believe this trip is only halfway finished! I hit the proverbial wall yesterday. Just exhausted. Everyone is amazing, we are very fortunate. However, every town wants to show us so much, feed us the best food and entertain us most nights. Btw, the UK is going to run out of meat and potatoes very very soon. Today, Sunday, is moving day. We are off to Hull for our fifth stop in 16 days. We have done four presentations with back-to-back shows Mon/Tues night. I believe we have met over 200 people thus far. The characters, holy cow the characters. We have met some great people. Chris and stayed at the same house at our last stop. Very very interesting. They were pack rats and this house was old old old. They had a friend of theirs over one night for dinner, an 83 yr old retired doctor that could drink me under the table. Believe me, I tried. The only thing missing from this dinner scene was Christopher Walken. Seriously, words aren't enough to describe the conversations and setting of this scene. I can only imagine Chris and I will laugh about it for many years to come.

This is truly an amazing experience though. I don't want to travel abroad any other way from this point forward. Having an interested group of local, passionate people show you their town is the way to experience the most. Looking forward to our next, packed town!

Archers Ready!!

Robin Hood, Braveheart, Jason Denenberg. Apparently all three can hunt to provide for a small village with a bow and arrow. We went to Nottingham Forrest on Friday. There were some really, really old trees...and that was it. Aside from the archery set up near the main tree attraction of course. Our group (12) split up into two teams and shot at our respective targets. We were playing for pride of course. The two guys that ran this were hilarious. I carried my team to victory with 45 out of 81 points...thank you Bill Long. It was a blast.

Ping...

Wednesday was Ping factory day. Being the exceptional golfer that I am, I couldn't wait. Who knew there was a Ping golf facility/factory in Gainsboro, England (pop roughly 30k). Honestly, I was let down. I had envisioned this grand process with amazing technology everywhere and pro golfers with machines out of a Terminator movie studying there every move. Nope. Guy takes a shaft, puts glue on it then attaches the head while another clears any access glue. Repeat. The entire process was very rudimentary. Great people though. I was amazed at the speed at which they processed orders for shipment. The goal is for a golfer to order custom clubs at their respective course on a Friday and play with them the following weekend. At least we were able to go to the driving range...

Good 'ole U.S of A

Friday night was fish and chips night with trivia at the local pub (Gainsboro). Not any trivia though, US themed trivia on account of our team. Host families, the team and other Rotarians all met there and had a great time, about 35 in total. The pub was packed. One of the questions: "How many letters are in the National Anthem?" After some quick guessing, my team (which contained Ana) asked if Ana and I knew the words. I promptly replied that not only did we know the words, but Ana sings and performs in front of thousands at baseball stadiums back home. Morris (another teammate and Rotarian) shouted "really?". I said yes (as Ana was saying "NO") and that he should tell Bob (quiz master) to ask her to sing. He did, she was great, and everyone cheered. I don't think I know who actually won, but everyone had a great time.

Miller Time!?

MGD ya'll. The first beer offered to me in England by my host family? Miller Genuine Draft. I flew 4500 miles to have the Champaign of Beer. All is well though. The entire group met at Royal Oak Inn this afternoon, a true English pub that has been around since the 1700's. Here I was able to sample a traditional English beer, Black Sheep. This beer is pumped out of the keg and is "alive". The yeast has not been killed off prior to being added. Wonderful taste. Black Sheep Brewery was born out of defiance, as you can imagine. A successful family had owned and operated a brewery for decades when they decided it was time to sell. All but one brother voted for the sale. So, upon the sale of his family brewery, he set up shop directly across the street and has been doing well since. I didn't get the year of these events however.

My host family has been great. Goeff and his wife Chris are both from Gimsby. Goeff went the long way to Royal Oak Inn and gave me a history lesson I won't forget. He showed me the old air field famous for housing the bombers that destroyed the damns in Germany during WWII. The food has been surprisingly good. Chris made her famous fish pie for my first dinner (think a mix between chicken-pot-pie and shepherds pie). We ended today by watching the Manchester United vs. Chelsea football match for the Premier League title. Fitting I thought.

JL