Derry is a captivating city with it's amazing city walls, which have never been breached since they were built in 1614. The city also has a tradgic past which in 1972 was the setting of a peaceful march that ended in terror as British troops fatally guned down 14 protesters. The event is more commonly refered to as Bloody Sunday. I actually stumbled upon a pub in the Catholic dominated nieghborhood called the Bogside, where I met with participants of that very march.They spoke of the hectic days during the hieght of the troubles and how it effected those in the nieghborhood. Three of them were brothers and all at one point or another spent time in prison for various actions. It painted a personal picture of  events, and has reafirmed my dedication and support for "Project Children" the Irish charity that I've been involved with for the past six years which brings together both Catholic and Protestant children from areas most effected by the Troubles. Somewhere down the line equality will win out and people will be given fair opritnities based on their merit not their religion. The pub life is ledgendary here and the  woman are professed to be some of the best looking in all of Ireland. The weekend I was in town there was the childrens regional finals for Irish dancing  being held in Derry. The majority of the participants were staying in my hotel and were running around in those brilliant costumes. I truely loved Derry and will certainly return.I forgot to mention that the pub I wondered into in the Bogside turned out to be the best thing I've ever did. It's a typical local pub for the lads of the nieghborhood, like many other "locals" in Ireland. It was raining and I rolled in for a pint at 4 in the afternoon...four other people were there. I thought I'd dodge the rain and get back to the hotel to clean up for the night. Well at 11:30 I come stumbling out of the joint having said my goodbyes to 35 different new friends and laughing all the way. I decided to join the lads again the next night and the Brothers brought me into Donegal to my first ever dog races....what a great couple of nights.

    The time was ticking and it was time to move on again to meet Anthony and his new bride Andrea who put me up in their home in Belfast. My Belfast experience was exceptional...not only was I treated like a king by A and A, I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing my Project Children boys again....and if I may add, these guys are'nt boys anymore. Their both 17 lean and mean. Actually they are quite gentlemen and both are doing great!! Martin is still in school studing sports management and Gary has taken up a profession as a brick builder. It was my pleasure as always to see both the families and be recieved with such genuine love. Oh yes I shared a few brews with both of my Northern Irish families....alot of catching up in alittle amount of time...these folks are truely special to me!!!   Back to Anthony and Andreas hospitality..wow was that fun. They put on a great home cooked dinner for me on my first night and treated me to a lovely dinner out on the second night. Their home was warm and inviting and I felt right at home. I greatly appreciate all the kindness I recieved in the South and the North of Ireland. I guess thats why I've been there the most and will continue to travel there in the future...there not a friendlier travel desination in the world to me!! My final leg and a reunion with some great travel friends in England!! 

       I flew from Belfast to Bristol where my Thailand traveling Mate Alex  retrieved me from the airport and invited me to stay with his family outside of Bath. If you have never traveled the south of England as I had not, you should try and work it into your plans. Its picture postcard scenery with rolling hills and quint villages of stone and wood captured my image of the past. I've always loved the Irish countryside villages with their asortment of beautifully colored shops, however what Southern England lacks in their vividness it makes up for in it's rustic simplicity. Uniformed in color yet unique in their charactor gave me the thrill of yet another experience. I had never spent time in England before this trip and I was about to get the Royal treatment from three different friends and two of their familys. Alexs' family has an old farmhouse plot overlooking a valley outside of Bath. It was my first taste of English country living. I was continueing my tremendous fortune by landing yet another wonderfully home cooked meal while relaxing in a family enviorment...something I love when I'm at home. I've teased Alex for months that I was dieing to find out what "Tea and Crumpets" were...obviously I got the tea part, but what in the hell is a Crumpet....and I certainly could'nt put on my bad English accent without a "Tea and Crumpet" expression...it's sort of like "Bly me Governer" ....just fun things to say with an assent but what are those English folks trying to say...maybe we should call it "American" so us on the otherside of the pond knows whats going on. Well I come to find out a crumpet is just a spongier English muffin, and after an all night bender makes for a great late night snack.

       Bath city is spectacular in it's beauty. It was first founded by the Romans and was a place for theroputic healing and prayer. I toured the baths which still flow today just like centuries before. The city itself carries an old world charm thats intimate in every detail. The Georgian architecture seen throughout the city but most prominantly in the Royal Cresent ( Filmed in Dickens Oliver Twist) is stunning. Believe it or not Alex evan took me around so that I could see the inside architecture of many of the local pubs....I'm sure they were great, just cant seem to remember. My final forien stop on my world trip was to visit Goose and Merlin ( Dave and John ) of Fijian Topgun fame in the lovely village of Chipperfield outside of London. I was invited to stay with Johns folks in thier lovely home. I had the inpecable timing to arrive a day or so prior to the biggest sporting day in resent British history.....The World Cup of Rugby finals which England was playing against the reining champion Aussies. I'll touch on that later. I hit the motherload of hospitality with Johns folks,  incuding me as part of the family with dinners and Breakfasts each day...Tina, thanks for the great meals. Dave and John are the type of guys that would bring out the party at a nunery, and they did'nt disapoint. From the get-go we had evening plans.....oh yea and I did see a bit of London...Open air bus tour on Daves day off as an overview of the city and London Tower on Johns day off...tag team tours they should be called....yada yada yada.....back to the partying . We went strong and hard each day. They introduced me to their friends and we hung out at their local "The Boot" where I was challenged to arm wrestle by Andre the Giant....not wanting to cause a local riot I conceded the victory....Yea right. The highlight of the visit was the Rugby Finals...about ten of us spent the day together. It all started at 8:30am..the match was being played in Australia and comensed at 9:00am, everyone got lifts to the pub because we had an idea that it was going to be a long day. Like St. Patricks Day on a Saturday in the states...all the pubs were packed. The rowdy fans had their white jerseys with the red Rose displayed with national pride anticipating a triuphant day. The game was nick and tuck throughout with bursts of joy and setbacks of disapointments. The man of the day was Englands kicker Johnny Wilkens who continuely kept the lads in the match. At the end of regulation the match was even with a last ditch Wilkens kick. All the boys I was hanging with were emotionally drained...similar to a Superbowl with your home team in it. The play carryed on and in an astonishing finish with time running short it was Wilkens that put the ball over the bar one last time for a fantastic English victory....personally I had no real routing interest, but to be included and share in my mates game long drama I truely felt pumped about the win....let the celebrating begin!!! The pub went balistic, beers were flying like bullets in a firefight. I was covered head to toe in alcohol, people were crying, laughing and screaming in delight..it was in a word a Riot!! This all took place before 11:00am we continued partying until 4:00am the following morning...people everywhere were insane, in the pubs, streets, resturants and night clubs..everyone was hiting it hard...what a great day!! And what a great ending to a wonderful 13 months of learning, experiencing and celebrating life with new friends on the road and Great friends and family throw e-mail and this site. Thank you all for joining me, its been a pleasure "Waking Up In The World" with you all!!!!!