Visit to Durham by RC Durham, North Carolina

We were very pleased to host a visit by nine members of the Rotary Club of Durham in North Carolina, USA during this week.
Thanks to Laurie Turner, we started the week on the Saturday evening with a Welcome Party at his home in Staindrop.

Secretary Stewart wonders who ate all the spuds!!

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On Sunday, we took our visitors to Raby Castle, near Staindrop.

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On Monday, we went - inevitably - to Washington Old Hall, George Washington's ancestral home in Washington, Tyne & Wear.

Front row (l-r):- Cecil Laverick (UK), Lois Cranford, Susan Ross, Shiela Miglarese, Asha Dash.
Back row (l-r):- BC Dash, Newman Aguiar, Ann-Louise Aguiar, Sam Miglarese, Stewart Atkin (UK), Jim Greensmith (UK).

From Washington, we then went to the Beamish Open Air Museum where our visitors were able to see something of our industrial and social heritage.

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On Tuesday morning we went to Housesteads on Hadrian's Wall to see something of our Roman heritage. We then handed our visitors over to the County Durham Development Company for a visit to NETPark - the North East Technology and Science Park near Sedgefield.

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The original plan had been for us to visit Alnwick Castle and Holy Island on Wednesday, but the weather up the Northumberland coast promised to be very wet and windy, so Plan B saw us heading south to Bowes Museum. On the way, we stopped for a short break at Locomotion, part of the National Railway Museum at Shildon.

Some of our visitors enjoying a cuppa beside some impressive locomotives.

Then its was off to Bowes Museum in the rain!

Thanks are due to Finchale Training College for the loan of their mini-bus.

The weather had improved as we left Bowes Museum, so we decided to take a quick diversion to High Force, further up the Tees valley. However, the rain returned with a vengeance!

Not quite Niagara, but spectacular, even in the rain.

Back in Durham - and dried out - we were guests of the County Durham Development Company for dinner at Lumley Castle.

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Thursday was declared as "Durham Day", to tie in with our regular weekly meeting.
After a quick tour of the city centre, enlivened with commentary from Rtns. Colin Beswick and Frank Davison ...

... we went to the Town Hall for a Civic Reception with the Mayor.

Then it was off to the Ramside Hall Hotel for our regular meeting - see a report of this meeting by clicking here.

After the meeting, we enjoyed a guided tour of Durham Cathedral, including parts not normally accessible to the public.

... And we had permission to take this photo in the Chapel of the Nine Altars.
Janet Thackray (in the red gown) was our very able guide - she has spoken at the Club on a couple of occasions.

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On Friday, we enjoyed a trip down to Whitby to savour some real fish and chips!

And on Friday evening we went to Finchale Training College for a Farewell Party for our visitors.

Ann Louise Aguiar deep in conversation with Jim Mulhall, our oldest active member.

President-Elect Sam Miglarese and Past President B C Dash seem to be looking for more wine!

We presented a suitably inscribed copy of "The County Durham Book" to each of our visitors as a memento of their stay in Durham. Ann Louise and Newman Aguiar are shown here receiving their copy from President Eric.

Lois Cranford and her daughter, Past President Susan Ross, look over their book with (from the left) Mel French, Cecil and Norma Laverick and Alan Taylor.

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It was a truly memorable week and a splendid example of the international understanding and cooperation that typifies Rotary.

Eric Colling

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