Manx Museum - We then gathered a few folks, walked down the Promenade and in about 15 minutes came to the museum, met up with the remainder of the group in the lobby of the museum. The video projector was broken, so the group spread out in the museum, some getting well into the geology section before being called back to view the film at 3:00 PM. The film was impressive as usual - a great introduction. Half of the group dozed off - including me - my head flopping back at one point. Somewhat embarrassing..

Rae and Bob Tobey, Dublin Airport. This photograph was taken just moments before Manx Air took their hand luggage away from them. From here we slid down into the Night From Hell.

We then toured the exhibit, bought a few books, and closed the museum, leaving a little after 5:00. Went to dinner with our friend, Ivor Ramsden who began telephoning around to see what the prescription situation would be if the bags didn't show up. We had three group members--Merilyn Brown, Sally Smythe and Rae Tobey - who had put their prescriptions in their carry-ons and been separated from them by the lost luggage. We called them from the restaurant and told them that we were going to meet them back at the hotel and take them up to the hospital to get prescriptions filled.

Emergency Room and the Evening From Hell - We drove up to the hospital at about 10:30 PM - checked in with the receptionist, and then sat down to await the doctor. Very basic kind of waiting room, but relatively quiet with some bored security guys sitting at a desk - maroon furniture with chrome arms. Finally after about 45 minutes, the ladies were called one at a time into the office, and finally about 11:30 they all were called back inside. Ivor and I made some conversation, and then my brain shut down. I was exhausted, having gotten up at 5:00 AM in Dublin that morning. I tried very hard to stay awake, but it was difficult - getting up and going out to stand in the driving rain and wind - but to no avail. Finally, about 12:30, the ladies came back out for a time - were waiting for the pharmacist - and told me to go back to the hotel. Ivor took me back and I fell promptly to sleep. Ivor didn't get home until after 2:00 - the ladies got their prescriptions, and all went well, and he has now become Saint Ivor. All three women held up extremely well under the circumstances, but we now have a new rule - get the exact prescriptions - not just the generic or brand name, but the actual prescription and have it on you at all times. And, carry your medicines in your pockets.

The town of Peel, Isle of Man.

Day #12 - Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - Isle of Man - Peel and Glen Maye

 

Peel and West Side of the Isle of Man.
Weather was cold and rainy. Had our first meeting with Brian and Raymond - Raymond McKreem - they had two small busses, and we drove up onto the ridge that runs the length of the island, Ray talking about the TTs coming up, and one thing or another. We got to Tynwald Hill, but it was blowing and raining, so we continued on to the Tynwald Craft Center. Spent about 45 minutes there, folks buying small stuff - the stores open there at 10:30. Then, after a little while we got back in the vans and headed up to Tynwald Hill, but the weather was nasty so we went on to Peel.

One small part of the exhibits in the House of Mannanan Museum in Peel. Jim Walsh can be seen in the distance, inspecting the ship.

 

Peel Museum - Went in about 11:30 and I gave them until 2, but it should have been 3. We went together through the first two rooms - the introduction inside the dwelling, with the mannequins that breathed, smoke, and then through and into the self-guided parts. Still amazed, even though this was our second visit. The smells in each exhibit come from incense, according to the docent.

At lunch time about half the group went into the Creekside Pub, and were actually drinking beer at 1:00 -- ! Some of the group members were walking about on Peel Head, at the foot of the Castle, and though it wasn't raining, the wind was howling.

 

Waterfall in Glen Maye, one of the many magical glens that are part of the Isle of Man's public lands.

 

Glen Maye - Stopped about 5 miles from Peel, turned into the parking lot of a hotel, and then walked down into a wonderful world of waterfalls, rapids, stream - a magical place with hiking trails, bridges, and ivy hanging from the walls. An enchanted place, where one could imagine fairies, trolls and all the Celtic stuff. We got back to the bus and came up one member short. Jim Walsh had decided to walk all the way to the beach - 2 miles - so, we sent one bus back, and waited. We called for a time, then Annie and some of the girls went down and he appeared. He was out of breath but beaming, and nobody said anything negative about it. It became the metaphor for the next week - chasing fairies in the woods. We stopped at Tynwald Hill, the wind still blowing and raining, and we took some photographs and then moved onward, back to Douglas.

The Great Laxey Wheel, Isle of Man. This 1856 engineering marvel is one of the most impressive historic restorations on the island. To get a sense of the size of it, those are group members standing on top of the structure.

Day #13 - Thursday, May 23, 2002 - Isle of Man - Laxey, Cregneash, Chasms

Rain and wind continues, but there are breaks here and there. This morning we drove north to visit the mining town of Laxey. The highway loops through several small towns along the way, all of which have stunning views of the Irish Sea to the east. No matter how many photographs you show people of the Laxey Wheel, it takes their breath away in person. It is a huge engineering marvel dating from 1856. Its purpose was to pump water out of the lead mines thousands of feet below, and the use of flowing water is so ingenious that Lud McCrary was convinced that it is close to being a perpetual motion machine. The wheel was restored by the Manx National Heritage in 1992 and now draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. We hiked up the narrow canyon, through a number of different restored sites and then back to the wheel. The outer trails were closed last year during the foot and mouth crisis, but they are all open now. Group photograph taken at the conclusion.

We then traveled up to the northwest coast, turned the group loose for lunch in the lovely seaside city of Port Erin, and then gathered them back for our visit to the old crofters village of Cregneash. A wonderfully restored collection of crofters houses, the Manx National Trust requires all of those who work there to actually live there. A brilliant docent named Sue (she speaks Manx Gaelic) explained the everyday life of the village inhabitants, wearing clothing made the old-fashioned way. The movie "Waking Ned Devine" was filmed around here. The land is somewhat like Ireland's, but tends to be more lush -- it does rain a bit here.

Crofter's house at the Cregneash Village. The brilliant docent, Sue, is standing in the doorway wearing clothing that she made herself using the old methods.

Brian, one of our drivers, told us that the marker beside the sea was dedicated to a faithful donkey. We later discovered, after asking many of the island's historians, that Brian made it up because he didn't know. It was actually dedicated to one of the local judges, but we preferred the donkey story anyway.

The hike down to The Chasms. The old building in the distance on the left used to be a cliff-top hotel.

The Chasms - Then we drove up to an overlook, and the weather cleared for us so that we could take a cross-country walk along a national hiking trail to an incredible overlook called the Chasms. Fractured cliffs have worn unevenly creating a series of vertical cracks that drop away several hundred feet to the sea. The wind was howling, but the view was magnificent. Much like the Cliff of Moher, but without the crowds and restraints, we could look down upon the birds wheeling below us.

The Crash Site - We then walked eastward along the footpath to a place that is special to Annie and myself -- an airplane crash site where Annie's uncle was killed on April 14, 1945. Annie and I have visited it a number of times and are working on reconstructing the lives of the 11 Americans on board the plane who were killed that day. We have taken family members there and we have met local Manx there to discuss the event, but this is the first time we've taken "strangers" to the site. On this bright and sunny afternoon, we told the group about the ill-fated flight and the efforts a number of us have undertaken to illuminate the lives of those lost there. We are working on a project with the assistance of several Manx organizations to place a commemorative plaque on the site within a year or two. It was this airplane crash that first got us to the Isle of Man in 1998, but the island itself has brought us back often since then.

Ann Lydon perched on the cliff overlooking The Chasms.

The Isle of Man is an incredible place to visit. A remarkable variety of historic and cultural sites to visit in a tiny island only 37 miles long. It is most famous for its tailless cats and the TTs -- the motorcycle races that anyone who knows anything about motorcycles knows about. Race fans - some 35,000 strong - will begin arriving this coming Saturday, raising the resident population of 74,000 to over 100,000 folks. The races are held on the public roads, and barriers, cushions, haybales and the like now line the roads, grandstands are up, and everybody is poised -- there's a few of them here already.

Day #14 - Friday, May 24, 2002 - Cringle, MAPS, House of Keys, Castle Rushen

The morning broke with scattered gray and sun, still windy. I decided to get Ray to come over and help shuttle the group over the Tynwald and our meeting the Noel Cringle. He took one group over and then ours, and we milled about in front of the government building at about 10:25, and lo and behold, out of the two large, wooden doors, popped Noel Cringle, dapper in his suit, eyes sparkling. We shook hands and he ushered our group through the door and directly into the House of Keys chamber. The group members were sitting in the actual seats of the House of Keys members.

Noel Cringle, and the Manx Parliament

The Honorable Noel Q. Cringle, President of the House of Keys, Isle of Man. Mr. Cringle gave the group a 90 minute session on the workings of the Manx parliament and its history.

Noel is a commanding figure, his voice booming as he spoke from behind the ram's horns that dominate the Speaker's position at the head of the House of Keys. He began with a tidy little summary of the Isle of Man. "We've seen them come and we've seen them go," he announced frequently as he spoke about his own home, the length of time he's lived in it and the monks that built it about 300 years ago. "I live in the house that I grew up in," he said. "How many of you can say that?" And nobody could.

The Center of the World - He then laid out one of his recurring themes. We are, you will see if you look at the map, at the center of the United Kingdom - it is all scattered around us, and we're in the middle. But, we're more than that. Take that globe that you had in your primary school, put your finger on the Isle of Man, and then rotate the globe around your finger. See? he said. We are the center of the world and it rotates around us. I see where President Bush is meeting with Mr. Putin and they're talking about reducing the number of nuclear missiles or some such. That's all well and good, he said, but we Manx have seen them come and seen them go.

This was the first time I've seen Noel perform. The first two times we met on a much more intimate basis, just Annie and I the first time, joined by Richard and Joie last year. This time he was the teacher, the Speaker, a proud Manx all at the same time. Weaving the story of the island together with the Manx parliament. The description may have been more detailed than some group members wished, and several nodded off at times, but he pressed onward, describing how, in the House Keys the Speaker is the last or 25th vote - can create a tie and then break it. Many times the votes come down very close. One of the important elements in their legislature is that the members are not members of parties - there's no absenteeism and no pairing so that members can be absent, as they do in Westminster and the US. The Speaker is responsible for shepherding debate, preventing repetition and moving them toward some kind of consensus or decision. He was particularly disappointed with the current House of Keys - 7 newly elected members last November - because they haven't been able to produce much. He is proud that the country has no national debt, is very solvent, and no unemployment. Nil unemployment as he put it. What unemployment that is measured is mostly comprised of people between jobs. Lots of help-wanted signs in the shop windows. Sadly, as Ivor pointed out later, the price of housing is being driven up by come-overs and stop-overs so that entry-level homes are difficult for young people to buy.

Tour Leader, Sandy Lydon (left) with Noel Cringle and Mary Cringle. Note the sartorial elegance of the Cringles compared with, ahem, the Tour Leader.

Noel also told the incredible story of the slow emasculation of the British-appointed Governor. In the beginning the Governor appointed the upper Legislative body and was the presiding officer. But, slowly and steadily, the Manx Constitution was amended, first to make the body appointed by the popularly-elected House of Keys, and then to slowly remove the Governor until he now sits in a corner at the back right hand side of the upper chamber. The current Speaker of the House of Keys later noted that when they were in the midst of doing it - and he was a member then - he realized that they were undertaking a bloodless revolution. A slow, civilized, bloodless coup.

Noel took us to all three chambers; each paneled in wondrous, old dark woods with stained glass windows (back-lit in one case where the wall was not an outside wall.) The last chamber was where the two bodies met jointly for final passage of laws - and the delicate and civilized balance between the two houses. He also noted that in the upper house the Bishop of the Church of England not only is a member and can speak, but also has a vote. He wondered aloud why that church should be so represented while the Methodists and Catholics, for example, had no such vote in the legislature. He suspects that the Bishop will eventually lose his vote and be moved, someday, into a corner such as the Governor.

During our last stop, his wife Mary quietly entered the row of spectator seats beside me, and he introduced her to us all. A lovely, warm and charming woman, she is the perfect farmer's/President's wife.

Finally, we all went up to the Quilt Room - the room dominated by the Millennial Quilt and the cases at the end with the gifts from the heads of state honoring the their 1979 Millennial event. He spoke and answered question as the group had coffee, poured by Mary. Topics he touched on included his year in Minnesota back in 1959, trade, the European Union, and Tony Blair's current deals with Argentina. He went down to Argentina, and in an effort to assist them, agreed to take their beef into the UK, hammering down the price and hurting the Manx cattle farmers. (I tried to write cattle ranchers, but it doesn't work - these folks farm cattle, there's nothing ranch-like about it.) He then grew much taller and shouted that he's tired of hearing about free trade and all from the US when their farmers are so heavily subsidized. I gave him a copy of the redwood book, inscribed with "From One Center of the Earth to Another." He liked that. He thanked us for coming and begged off, as he had to be somewhere - and saw us to the door of the chambers.

Noel Cringle is absolutely charming, gracious and erudite. Very very quick, and a formidable verbal adversary. At one point he reached into the far corner and caught Linda Roberts in mid-yawn. "Getting a bit bored, are we?" he chided. A masterful performance by a master. Tilly Shaw was particularly impressed with Noel's suit. "Did you see that suit?" she exclaimed. "I've never seen such an impeccably dressed man!"

 

Ray (left) and Brian, our mini-bus drivers on the Isle of Man. Ray had a very dim view of politics and politicians. Brian was the one who invented the story of the Donkey Grave.

A Note about Farmers in Tynwald - Later that day I mentioned to Ray McKeeman, our mini-bus driver, that Noel was just a farmer. "Oh right," he almost yelled, "bloody faaaarmers they are!" "The price of potatoes is always going up here," he shouted. "The price of everything that they produce is always going up! It never goes down! You don't have to tell me, I know they're just a bunch of farmer."

Politics? he said, "Politics is crap." And that's the problem, Ray went on. Because so many of us believe that is so, we don't vote, and it makes it possible for the right-wing parties to get elected on the Continent. We aren't impressed, and it makes the votes of the extremes that much stronger. Words of wisdom from a cab driver.

We had but a short time to have lunch - Annie and I ducked into the Isle of Man bank, changed some traveler's checks - because we couldn't use Manx pounds any more, then grabbed some sandwiches, and walked back down to the Sefton Hotel where we were going to be picked up. On the way, we passed a brand-new Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet on the Strand, and it had a line stretching at one point 10 deep beyond the door. It's only been there a week or so, and is obviously very popular. We then gathered up the group again and we off to stop #2 of this incredible day.

 

Ann Lydon and John Qualtrow, exchanging some of the memorabilia of Lt. Collins Liersch, the co-pilot of the airplane Combined Operations that crashed on April 14, 1945 on the Isle of Man. Ann left Collins' medals and took his bracelet to return to his family in the United States.

The Manx Air Preservation Society Museum at Ronaldsway Airport. We turned off at the "open" sign, drove up and went into the museum - Ivor was talking to a photographer and reporter from the local newspaper - she was quite short, dark, with hooded eyes. He was tall, redheaded, and open. Interesting pair. Ivor gave a short speech about the society, and then spoke about the importance of Combined Operations in the place. We then did a ceremonial handing over of Collins Liersch's World War II medals, and received in exchange his Air Corps bracelet that was found last year at the crash site. We will be returning the bracelet to Collins' family.

The House of Keys, Castletown. We arrived at the newly restored House of Keys and were the guests of the Manx National Heritage. Mr. Tony Pass, our friend from last year, is the Head of Properties and personally supervised the restoration of this building. It is, without a doubt, the most remarkable interactive, high-tech demonstration any of us have ever seen. We literally participated in 8 votes that actually took place over the years, with video screens on the walls joining in the debate, and a speaker at the head of the table that is so life-like that I asked Annie at one point, "Is that a REAL person?" Anyway, it is the most brilliant way to slip history onto a visitor that I have ever seen. It just opened earlier this year, and I suspect that it will win a ton of awards.

The House of Keys exhibit. Participants sit at the long table and actually vote on measures, being led by the hologram at the far left of the photograph. Other historic personages participate in the debate via videotaped segments that are shown on the walls surrounding the room.

Mr. Tony Pass, Head of Properties for the Manx National Heritage. Mr. Pass guided the restoration of the House of Keys. A resolution has just been passed by the assembled group commemorating his birthday, which it happened to be.

Castle Rushen, Casteltown. We then walked across the street where we were treated to a special tour of this wondrous castle and a reception at the day's conclusion. It is considered to be the best restored and interpreted castle in Europe filled with ingenious ways of telling the story, including high tech trickery at every turn.

Tony Pass in Castle Rushen with a bona fide tailless Manx cat.

Tour Leader Sandy Lydon proving that he is indeed related to the Earl of Stanley, one of the early rulers of the Isle of Man.

How they've done all this. For starters, the country is economically flush -- and has been for the past decade. There is zero unemployment -- and, the only unemployment they can find is folks between jobs. Building is going on everywhere. But, this has only been happening in the past 20 years. Before that, the Isle of Man was a small, rural island, part of the UK, and an island like Ireland that exported more people than anything else. Not any more. They've discovered the advantages of tax shelters, and the place is booming. And, since nothing had really happened on the island over the previous 100 years -- they have lots of history to save before the bulldozers knock it down. Thus the castles, abbeys and other sites were there for the saving, and they did. The Manx National Heritage is a remarkable agency that helps continue to put forth the theme that Noel Cringle told us earlier in the day -- that not only is the Isle of Man in the center of the United Kingdom on the map, but it is also, if you take your finger and put it on the island and spin a world globe, the center of the earth. "Many invaders have come," said President Cringle, "and they have gone. The Isle of Man prevails." It sure does.

The early arrivals for the TT Races, Douglas, Isle of Man. We departed as they were arriving.

The Tourist Trophy motorcycle races - they began this morning, and the bikes were flooding into the island as we departed -- that was by design -- we built the itinerary so that we wouldn't be there when the crush began. The TTs as they are known have been held since 1907, and, in worldwide motorcycle racing circles, it is the most famous. Last night, along the Promenade that circles Douglas Bay, there were sleek, European style bikes -- the ones where they lie face down and go faster than hell -- racing all about. About a half-dozen are killed each year, mostly while racing on the country roads at high speeds separate from the races. Because the Germans are the major attendees, they have signs in German all along the roads saying "Please Drive on the Left" to remind them. But, at least one usually forgets each year.

So, we left the Isle of Man with considerable regret -- it is, as I've said before, a magical place, having all of the views of Ireland, Big Sur, etc. scrunched into a small space and lovingly preserved and interpreted. To come to London is jarring. But, we'll be fine once we get used to the traffic and folks.

Day #15 5 - Saturday - May 25, 2002 - Douglas to London - Thistle Hotel at King's Cross.

Welbeck Hotel and Departure - 5:30 AM

All itineraries have a "bad spot" and this was the one for this trip - Because we have a 6:55 AM departure to London, we had to be up at 4:00 AM - finished packing, feeling a bit scratchy and stale - like a mouthful of cigarettes, though I don't smoke. Peter is serving the group a light Continental breakfast, and everybody seems to be in good spirits.

Customers line up at the first KFC outlet in Douglas. The fast food outlet had been open only a week, so the Manx folks are very curious about the food.

It is raining, though not really windy. Outside, the colored lights are dark, dancing a bit on their strings. The ocean is gray, lumpy, with small whitecaps. I went down to the Promenade and watched and waited for the bus. Scenarios going through my head about what I'd do if the bus didn't show up. Eventually, it did - not a new coach, but it would do. Went back up and asked the folks to begin moving down the hill - and they did, the wheels of their suitcases, ratatatting on the pavement as they wobbled down the hill toward the bus. Took about 10 minutes to get everyone on board and the suitcases in the storage compartment in the back. The windows are steamed up, so we can't really see out very well, but enough to know when we cross the Fairy Bridge, and we all wave and say goodbye. Pull up to the front of the airport and after I check and see that there are three stations open at Manx Air, we off-load the baggage, get into line. Everyone is paying much more attention to their luggage.

Flight - to London - The aircraft is a four-jet BAE whatever, holding 95 passengers. Almost entirely full, with two women with the Manx Air dresses on - rayon things with purple whirling things, and the three-legged symbol. Plane takes off on time, and up into the sunshine, out of the shroud of Mannanan. They serve a tiny breakfast, including a sausage, tiny omelet, roll and coffee. Eat all but the sausage, and then begin to nod off, the food and weariness catching up. About 45 minutes later we begin to descend, and can see the fields and hills of England below. The plane lands, and there's a jolly woman named Gaye who meets us with a placard. The group gets its luggage off the turnstile - all of it, mercifully! - and we trundle through the Gatwick Airport and onto a large bus. We load the bags and then get the group up and settled and head out onto the freeways to run into London. The trip takes about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Thistle Hotel - King's Cross - We unload the bags, I tip Michael (20 pounds), and then I'm at the counter and told that the rooms won't be ready until 2:30. I assemble the group, inform them, and then with the help of the concierge, we muscle our bags into a storeroom, and everybody ventures out to see London. Later that afternoon, the group trickles back, and many end up taking a nap before having dinner nearby.

The group will be splitting up tomorrow, with some of us remaining in England a few more days, while the others return to the United States.

Conclusions - From a tour director's point of view, it has been a very smooth trip. All that we had hoped for fell into place along the way. And, the benefits of foreign travel continue to be very clear. It is always healthy to get outside one's own hometown, county, state and country to see what issues the rest of the world is concerned about -- folks over here are watching Bush and Putin with great interest, very nervous about what might be coming with Iraq, but are absolutely mesmerized about the upcoming World Cup soccer matches. The details that they know about each of the players, their skills, etc. resembles what we might now about Barry Bond's ability to hit a curve ball, or the inside tackle on the 49ers -- but squared and squared again. These Western Europeans are wrestling with all the same problems we are -- traffic, the price of housing, health care, spousal abuse, etc. etc. And, in that sense it is comforting to see that there are some universals that bind us all (alas) together. That's one good thing about traveling abroad -- the other, of course, is to meet the remarkable folks all over this planet who are witty, happy, loving and enjoy having discourse with us as we do them. And, to get some ideas about how we might improve our own lives back home.

Next, Awards and Photo Gallery