Sunday 16th & Monday 17th in Murray

I'm writing about Sunday, but should first report on Saturday's High Tea. Wow! A delicious soup followed by delicate sandwiches and savouries then fresh baked blueberry scones and finally the richest chocolate cake and strawberries dipped in chocolate. mmm. oh yes, then a refreshing grapefruit sorbet to cleanse our palettes. We were in the Magnolia Tea Room, Hazel KY, hosted by Pat and Scott. It was like being in The Ritz or Fortnum & Masons.

And so you can all see for yourselves, here's a picture too.

On Sunday morning we had free time with our hosts. I had the pleasure of going to church with my hosts in Murray, Greg and Terry DeLancey and then on to lunch with their daughter Heather and twin 11 year old grandchildren Blayne and Braxton.

Roger and Warren were our tour guides for the afternoon, taking us into the "land between the lakes" including a visit to The Homeplace 1850 - a working farm which is run exactly as it would have been in 1850. We were able to walk around in and out of the buildings and talk to volunteers dressed in costume and working. From there we drove into an enclosed elk and bison prairie where we were lucky enough to get up close & personal with some bison - sadly the elk weren't playing!

Bison burger anyone?

Refreshments were provided at Belew's Dairy Bar, a drive in where burgers and shakes are abundant. Not quite high tea, but a real Kentucky experience and very popular!

To complete our day we went roller skating at Circus Skate! Some of us were more proficient than others, but we all enjoyed playing on little scooters and tricycles. The others may be able to give a better description than me.

Teamwork!

Today again with Roger as our trusty guide we toured Murray town centre and learned about the regeneration projects which are preserving the heritage and improving the buildings in town. Pam and Laura were invited to visit the police station while Tes, Tom and I had a tour of the old post office, now home to the tourism bureau. From there we all visited Sportable Scoreboards for a factory tour and meeting with the company founder & MD, Mike.

We were invited to lunch with the Board (Club Council) of the RC Murray and some of our hosts. They rushed through their business meeting to allow us to give our presentation. The club's regular meeting is Thursday lunchtime & they have a membership of 120+ with a regular attendance of 80+.

The afternoon started with a visit to a local potter, Wayne Bates who showed us around his studio and demonstrated the art of Sgraffito - applying glaze then scraping some away to create patterns.

Wayne's work is on exhibition in national collections as well as being sold in New York. Amazing!

A opportunity to swim or work out in a health club (much appreciated after all the meals!) was followed by a picnic at the Playhouse in the Park in Murray followed by a performance in the playhouse of a one-man show recounting the early life of Teddy Roosevelt by Pete Lancaster a member of the RC Murray. It was brill!

On stage with Teddy

Tomorrow we will visit the campus of Murray State University before moving on to our next stop - Clinton and a reunion with the 6710 team leader Karl Buss.

Anne