Tom's Travels

I was in England for our second OECD Policy Review mission which finished Friday afternoon. I flew up to Aberdeen and with Bob, took a cab to Douneside for the Brydenfest which had started earlier in the day. I had been to Douneside before, so I knew what a wonderful retreat it is. We arrived just in time for dinner. On Saturday we had a full day of meetings and a Ceilidh in the evening. On Sunday we had more meetings in the morning. Some of the attendees went on to a meeting in Inverness while I and others returned to Aberdeen. David F. and I walked aroung town in the evening and then had dinner. In the morning I had an early flight back home, through Amsterdam.

This was the second mission for the OECD English Rural Policy Review. This time we flew into Manchester. I departed on the 18th and arrived in Manchester the morning of 19th. I took a cab to the Saddleworth Hotel in a rural area outside Manchester. The team met for dinner that evening and the agenda began on Monday with presentation from local officials. In the afternoon we took a bus to visit people in Rochedale (as in the cooperative movement), Oldham, Uppermill, Littleborough, then back to the Saddlworth for dinner and more meetings.

On Tuesday we bussed to Tickle Trout to meet with Lancaster County Council and Ribble Valley Borough Council. In the evening we bussed to the Hotel Windemere in the Lake Region and another dinner meeting. On Wednesday we traveled to the village of Plumgarth in Cumbria and then to the village of Melmerby. That night we stayed at the Ramside Hotel in Durham. On Thursday we visited Barnard Castle in County Durham. There we met with the estate owner and other land owners in the region. On Friday we departed for Meldon Hall and then to Manchester to meet our planes.