On the 28^th of May, 2011, the group had a free day to choose what interested them. My group chose to go on a search for “treasures” from Charity Shops within London. One place we went was Portobello Road, a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. On Saturdays this area is known for the Portobello Road Market, known for its second-hand clothes and antiques. While in search for charity shops on this street, I couldn’t help but notice the different scenes from the movie “Notting Hill” with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. There are scenes in this movie of the market, the bookshop where he worked when they met, and the row of houses on Portobello Street.

We had so much fun on Portobello Road looking at the different booths throughout the market. The search was for tea cups, tea pots, teaspoons and most of all a hat. We ended up with a large quantity of scarves, a hat and nothing we had set out to find. However, we had a delightful lunch and the weather was perfect!

On Sunday, May 22, we visited the small town of Lincoln. We attended a lovely Anglican church service at Lincoln Cathedral. The service was very similar to a Catholic service. The architecture of the cathedral combined with the echoing sounds of the boy’s and men’s choir made for a breathtakingly surreal experience. After enjoying the sights, sounds, and words of the service, we had a picnic lunch in a small church courtyard. Then, we had a lovely afternoon tea accompanied by chocolate cheesecake and other chocolate creations at a quaint little tea room. Then, we explored Lincoln Castle and had the opportunity to catch a glance at the Magna Carta. Overall, it was a beautiful and relaxing day in Lincoln.

Imagine a place where you can walk or run along and experience the beauty of the English Channel and the English countryside. This place is called the Cornish Coastal Path and it starts in the city of Looe and extends through most of Cornwall. I took a free day I had and as an avid runner decided to take the path and go on a run. I started out running in a cow pasture outside Looe, but it quickly turned into steep hills and beautiful scenery featuring the English Channel. I ended up running 8 miles and came down with my first ever case of shin splints, because of the steep hills, but it was all worth it. As I went along I felt a total peace of mind and I even stopped a few times and let it all sink in. This path takes you from town to town and while I didn’t go to any other towns, I could see how nice it must be to have something this amazing to walk or run on every day. This is something that I wish every town could have, because it provides a nice peaceful area to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and to have time to your own thoughts. When I would stop I would just stare out to the horizon as far as I could see and just think about life in general and come to good conclusions about my time over here in England. My advice is that if you ever get a chance to make it to Cornwall go on the Coastal Path, you won’t regret it.

As you walk the bank of the River Thames many a thing catches your eye, but perhaps the one thing that seems the most out of place is a giant wheel, it looks like a Ferris wheel, but this is no amusement park ride, it is the London Eye. The London Eye is a marvellous site and is very tall, around 135 meters! It also gives you a very nice bird’s eye view of London when you are at the top, you can see for 25 miles on a clear day (which lucky for us it was).

If you know where to look you can see Windsor Castle, but seeing Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and the rest of London from the air made the experience from the London Eye one that I will never forget, and an experience that I recommend to all future IS members.

On May 28th, we had a our first official free day where we could visit anywhere in England with a buddy, of course. All of us found our way to some part of London. Three of us (myself, Jon, and Terri) decided to check out the National Gallery. We were interested in art, being inside because the cold weather is catching up with all of us, and seeing as much as possible with a small budget.

The National Gallery is free and located in Trafalgar Square (which was hosting a huge football rally on that same day). On the outside, the building does not seem that large, but the gallery was huge. I had never seen so many paintings in one room not much larger than the average living room. The gallery has made great strides in how they organize their paintings. We had to leave quite early in order to catch our 2:30 show for Wicked, but we did manage to make it to 17th century art. The majority of what we saw was from the 1500’s which were often depictions of biblical stories and characters. As we moved into the 1600’s, many of the paintings became portraits and still frames. I thought it was interesting to see how the perspective changed. Another aspect that stuck out to the three of us were the subjects’ eyes. Some of them were very basic and others more involved with colors and shading, however, they all looked so real.

We all agreed that we could never do anything like these artists, and appreciate those who can. It was a good day for all of us, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something to do. If art is not your thing, then Trafalgar Square is just as interesting.

On Monday, May 23, we left our present location—Harlaxton Manor—for a trip to Oxford where we visited the warehouse of Oxfam. Originally, Oxfam began as a famine relief organization and was named the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. It was started by a group of Quakers at Oxford in 1942 and since the name was a little long, it was shortened to Oxfam. Oxfam’s mission interlinks three areas: emergency response, development work, and campaigning for change. Because so many other organizations now help provide food aid, Oxfam focuses most of its support by helping to provide safe, clean drinking water and sanitation. We were given a wonderful two-hour tour of the warehouse and shown what products they send to help those in need—things many of us take for granted. Oxfam has charity shops throughout Britain that help to finance the projects.

You can learn more about Oxfam at: www.oxfam.org.uk.

Each group’s experience is different, but each group has the time element in common.  We pack a lot into three weeks, and the intensity of the rushing is a bit wearing on all of us. There are moments when we all look toward home with longing.  We are currently in the heavy-duty project development stage, the part where observation of fascinating innovations and innovators is now superseded by individual hard work and–in the words of the immortal Winnie the Pooh–thinking, thinking, thinking.  A LOT has to happen in just a few more very short days.  Each of the previous IS-ers knows what I mean.

In a few more very short days, in just a blink, we will be back in America.  London and Cornwall and Harlaxton–along with John and Marsha Rae, Kevin Brown, Mark Paterson, Karin the Coach Driver, Lorraine and Elsie and Brendan, Doug, Zyggy, Lawrence, Jan, Cynthia, Lesley, Dr. Kingsley, and all of our Harlaxton friends–will be left behind in the physical.  But certainly not in our hearts.  We will miss them with a longing that can never be quite satisfied even by a return because this experience is here, now, and cannot be repeated in quite the same way.  Each of the previous IS-ers knows what I mean.  This year’s group will learn, though that will take a bit more time and distance away.

To the IS-ers who have shared this journey in years past, let me thank you again for providing such a wonderful foundation for this year’s group.  Everyone has given so much to us because of the efforts and appreciation and behavior you put forth.  Everyone is sorry to see the students of The Innovation Symposium leave, and that is a very good thing.  You have created so many opportunities for each succeeding group.  (And to Kathleen, who hates all of my smooshy-gushiness, I’m going to say it anyway:  we couldn’t and wouldn’t be here without you.  You know I tell the truth.)  THANK YOU to you all.  We are all more grateful than words can say.

Even if your time in England was several summers ago, you’re no doubt still feeling that time effect–it seems like only yesterday, and your favorite moments are close at hand.  Magical and surreal.  Not to worry…we feel your presence with us.  You know what I mean.

On Monday, May 16, we visited Jamie Oliver’s 15 restaurant for a delicious full english breakfast. The food was incredible, but the best part of this adventure, by far, was learning about the incredible not for profit organization Jamie Oliver has made out of this restaurant. Basically, Jamie Oliver’s 15 resautrant consists of 18 (used to be 15) people from disadvantaged backgrounds training to be chefs. This restaurant takes in people who are down on their luck for a variety of different reasons and gives them a chance to become successful chefs. There is an extensive process involved in being accepted for the program. It’s important that the restaurant knows the individual is highly interested in becoming a chef and that they have some basic skills in terms of palate. Also, these candidates need to be in a stable enough situation that they will be able to concentrate on and complete the program. The students are trained in each area of the restaurant, so they have a full set of skills to be able to work in any type of restaurant position. Toward the end of their training, they set up internships and often times are offered jobs from the company they intern for. The most interesting thing about this project is that it is self-sustaining. There is no cost or profit. The money earned through the restaurant is filtered back into the program. It’s really a brilliant idea. It was really inspiring to hear about this program from an employee who was clearly very passionate about her job and the work of Jamie Oliver.

On Sunday 15^th of May, we visited the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, where the famous Prime Meridian of the World is located. You are able to stand in both the eastern and western hemispheres simultaneously. We were also able to observe the “time ball” which is a red ball located on top of the observatory. Every day at exactly 1 p.m. the ball drops to help others to synchronize their clocks to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

We were able to go through and observe the museum of astronomical and navigational tools. These tools were part of the history of precision timekeeping for navigational and astronomical purposes. The museum also held John Harrison’s famous sea clocks such as the marine chronometer. Two main figures in history, Galileo and Halley, used the observatory as well as many others.

This was truly an awesome educational experience. After the observatory, we spent time walking around the small town of Greenwich. Several of us went to the village market and some of the students walked around the grounds of the Royal Naval Academy. Overall, it was a great day.