So how lucky are we to have two sets of friends that are resident of the UK and know their way around, and a third set from the US there for most of the summer and who know how to plan really, really well? Very lucky.

We traveled for two weeks in August; a few days in Leeds, a few in London/Chertsey, and almost a week in Winchester. I’d spent no time in the England apart from a long layover back in the 80’s where one of my travel mates took us on a whirlwind taxi tour of London. And since my oldest friend has been living there for 20+ years it was about time we visited. We did visit when they lived in Glasgow, but that was 20 years ago so it was high time we got our butts to Leeds.

My friend, the artist Teresa Flavin and her husband Pablo Routledge were both academics is Leeds, he at the University of Leeds and she at Leeds Arts University. Both are retired but still involved in their fields. Teresa still has a studio in a very interesting space, East St Arts. We got a tour of her studio, and saw not only her work, but some murals on the outside. One is by a Palestinian artist of his children who are still in Gaza, along with a small sign saying how far he is from Palestine.

I highly recommend visiting Teresa’s website at TeresaFlavin.com.

We did a walking tour of Leeds, an interesting city in Yorkshire on the river Aire with a lot of Victorian architecture and its Industrial Revolution mill town roots. It’s bustling, with a population of 500,000+, with a fabulous market area and historic buildings that have been turned into arcades, like the circular Corn Exchange. I particularly like the city symbol, the owl, visible on buildings like the library and the Civic Hall.

And of course, a great walking tour must always include a pub or two. A nosh at the Adelphi, and a pint at The Angel Inn, where the indoor signs read “No Phones, No Electronics and No Swearing”.  I understood why most folks sat outside, although it was Pablo, our host, who almost got us ejected several times. Leave it to the only Brit in the group…

Deborah

Enjoy the show!