This is the house where we spend a lot of our time here in Italy.

The outside, built of local stones and with big windows

overlooking Lake Trasimeno.

This is the dining area beside the kitchen. It's also

where we play Triolet, a board game, almost every

evening after dinner.

This is the view from the dining area, up four steps from the living room and four more steps from the entryway and "music room" which contains a piano and lots of native instruments from other countries..







This is the hallway leading into our bedroom and the sitting room where we read and use the computer to get your emails.

This is Candy, a gatto (cat), who keeps us

company along with her buddies Smokey,

Blackie and Phantom.

It has been just another typical Italian day. What can I say? It’s a tough life, but somebody has to do it. We got up today listening to the birds just outside our bedroom which is situated so that we can look directly into the treetops. The sky has been blue for the last week or so and the night quiet was interrupted just twice by the sounds of the wild boar being pursued by some courageous canine night hunters. We ate a quick breakfast and drove the three or so miles down the hillside into the little village of Tuoro. We had in mind to do what the Italians do, so we parked the car and walked into the piazza to find the local bar where people gather. We ordered our cappuccino with brioche (Mary Ann’s was filled with marmalade and mine with “crema”). The piazza was just as we hoped – busy with people of all sorts going about their business with a mid-morning break for “caffe.” There was a French woman studying her 501 Italian Verbs, the Pharmacia owner first greeting a friendly gray cat then shouting for a dog to stop its barking, and the procession of little old Italian women with shopping bags attached to their arms. We sipped our cappuccinos while we quizzed one another on the forms of the definite article and the way that Italian adjectives get changed to match the gender of the noun they describe. As we felt moved, we meandered back to the car to drive to a vineyard we had noticed on an earlier drive outside of town. The owner was there and she asked us (in English with a German accent) in whose house we were staying. When we mentioned the owner’s name, she knew it well, proceeding to tell us the story of the day her daughter had waited until the day of her wedding to find a musician. It was the daughter of our hostess who had saved the day with her wonderful skill on the violin. We must have felt like family too, because she insisted that we try her wine and encouraged us to go out into the vineyard where she just knew her “workers forgot to pick all of the grapes.” We can still taste those grapes and the wine but the memories are even richer. We came home and sat down to garden-ripened tomato slices topped with fresh mozzarella and basil drizzled with olive oil from the country where they know “olio d’ oliva.” Come and visit us but don’t bring your Daytimer. It doesn’t work here.

Mary Ann: I think it’s time for a little English language lesson. I know, you say you already speak English. But what I mean is it’s time for a little ENGLISH lesson. You know, the real, original kind. So here goes….

First let’s play a guessing game. Can you match these pictures with the English word?

Is this a.) A Dumpster b.) A Skip c.) The Inside of My Desk Drawer

Is this a.) A Trunk b.) A Boot c.) A Rented Rototiller carrier

Is this a.) An Umbrella b.) A Brolly c.) An English wettest-July-ever fashion statement

Is this a.) A Signpost b.) A Finger Post c.) 15 directions to the nearest pub

Is this a.) A Hood b.) A Bonnet c.) The thing that bumps you when you're looking for cars coming from the left and they're all coming from the right because of course in England everyone drives on the wrong side of the road.

How about this sign? What were they thinking??!!

And, well, the English sure do know how to hurt a guy.

I wrote all this today because I was feeling a bit cheeky, but now I'm jiggered so I'll go upstairs for a little lie down. Cheerio. (Yes, they really do talk this way!!)

Mary Ann: We’re learning a little bit about the rhythm and flow of our work here at Woodbrooke, and one thing we’ve found is that a short trip on our day off refreshes and revitalizes us enormously. Plus it’s such a temptation to be surrounded by all the richness and beauty of ancient history and what a pity it would be to miss it!

So last week we chose nearby Warwick (pronounced War-ick) as our destination. It was a short 30 minute train ride, leaving from beautiful Moor Street Station. It’s a lovely little place, quite different from the rather unattractive and very much larger New Street Station which is only a ten minute walk away. The tickets were 5 pound sixty pence each (about $11.20) and we had roomy seats in a clean coach with a table at each of our places.

Warwick is a fairly small town, best known for its medieval castle which is one of the largest in England. However, since it’s a rather steep price for admission and needs a good 3-4 hours to get through, we decided to postpone that adventure until another time. However, there were plenty of other sights to see, and wonderful streets to meander through. First, though, since it was almost noon when we arrived, we headed out on an expedition to find a good place to eat. Right in the heart of the town, in Market Square, we found a wonderful pub called The Rose and Crown, right across the street from The Tilted Wig (Don’t you just love these English pub names??!!) Don got chips with his sandwich, and, of course, they turned out to be large French fries, but we skipped the “pud” (dessert) menu altogether…..which left us room to stop by the local pastry shop to buy a Cornish Heavy Cake which was rather like a currant scone. Very yummy!!

We toured the very large St. Mary’s Church. The crypt, the lower level of the church, is the oldest part, built in 1126. About a third of the town was destroyed in a fire in 1694, including the rest of the church so it’s only 310 years old. We also saw the Lord Leycester Hospital (which never was a hospital at all) and several other Elizabethan buildings, along with a couple of pretty gardens. Another successful English outing!

Don: As I walk between buildings on this third Friday evening of our stay here at Woodbrooke, my mind is full. For one thing, it is one of the busiest evenings of our time so far with somewhere between 40 and 50 guests to show to their rooms and to point out all of the essential matters such as the locations of the “loo,” dining room, fire escape route, course meeting rooms, and the procedures to follow should one happen to get locked out of a room. Both Mary Ann and I are exhausted, physically and emotionally. The schedule has been full and we are still trying to absorb all of the “induction” (training) information we have been given. But all of these things are surface matters. The deeper issues are as complex and intense as the more practical matters are overwhelming. Woodbrooke is an exceptional institution that has startled me on many occasions with its commitment to principles of sustainability, equality, the importance of every guest and employee, and a deep respect for the widest range of race, belief, and nationality. At no time has this been more clearly demonstrated than a celebration we attended to honor the work of the gardener who was moving. It was a most touching affair honoring his part in the whole ministry of Woodbrooke. Garner, housekeeper, office worker, kitchen staff, or department head, they all are honored and equal participants in creating a place for people to come and be renewed in body and spirit. But the thing that has stirred us in the deepest places has been the presence of the 17 people from many of the most violent and conflict-troubled places of the world. They have come here to rest, to be held in a safe place, and to learn non-violent ways. They have been here for 10 weeks and they have worked their way into our hearts. We have eaten together, listened to their stories, looked at photos of their families, and played together. Today they begin to return home and in a week they will all be gone. One woman told us: “I am ready to die from a gun or bomb, but I what I fear the most is dying as the result of a soldier’s violent rape.” Another man said that it is not uncommon for him or one of his children to step outside his house in the morning to find a body in the street. It is into this kind of situation that these friends of mine will return. I have never before had to bid farewell to someone whom I knew might very well become a victim of the world’s lust for violence. I’ve had to say such a farewell to all 17 of these people this week. But I am so proud to know these courageous individuals. They give me hope.

Mary Ann: We’ve taken our first journey away from Birmingham and couldn’t have picked a lovelier site to visit than we did—Stratford-upon-Avon. It’s less than an hour’s train ride from here so we hopped aboard the 10:31 Central Train leaving Moor Street station, armed with two boxed lunches and our small backpack loaded with rain jackets (always a handy thing to have here in England), maps, and cameras.

The day turned out to be wonderfully sunny and cool and Stratford was the perfect place to enjoy it. Of course Stratford is known for its connection to William Shakespeare who was born here in 1564 and, although he lived for over 20 years in London, he maintained a home and strong roots in this small village. The home in which he was born still stands so we toured that, along with a very informative museum which is on the same property. We learned some interesting things there. His father John was a glove maker and was part of what we’d call the middle class. William probably started school about the age of five and finished by the age of 14 or 15. He never attended a university. He got married to Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was 26 (and pregnant) and they lived together until he died in 1616, bequeathing her in his will his “second-best bed”. The house is well preserved and the thing I found most interesting about it were the wall-sized painted linen clothes that hung in every room. They made it look a bit like they were covered with wallpaper, except of course they weren’t pasted on. The outside gardens were lovely, as the gardens all seem to be here in England. I was happy to refresh my memory about Shakespeare’s life and to have visited this site, since we’ll be coming back here in early July to see the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Macbeth.

Besides being the home of Shakespeare, Stratford is a beautiful village all on its own and has lots of well-kept shops, several 16th century buildings, colorful narrow boats, and best of all, a large, much-used park that meanders along the Avon River. Since the weather was perfect for eating outdoors, that’s exactly what we did. We took out boxed lunches and sat on a bench by the water, enjoying the sight of people feeding the long-necked swans, riding on the carrousel, and strolling leisurely through the grass and trees.

Mary Ann: It was just a week ago that we landed in England and already it feels very familiar. Woodbrooke is a wonderful place for us, full of stimulating people from all over the world, combined with a beauty and tranquility that soothes the soul.

We arrived here last Friday afternoon after taking the “coach” from London. (In this country long distance buses are called coaches.) We spent our first couple of days settling in, which meant sitting outside in the garden, walking the nearby paths and streets, reading in the quiet places, and spending many hours around the dining room table enjoying equal (and large) amounts of tasty food and fascinating conversation. During that time, we managed to find the nearest shopping areas of Selly Oak and Northfield, and also enjoyed a (luckily) non-eventful rowboat ride on the little lake here. (Let’s just say that I could use a little brushing up on my oaring skills.)

On Monday we began our induction as Friends in Residence (FiRs). I was actually looking forward to having some structure and a more defined kind of work to do after these past months of mostly making our own schedule. And I wasn’t disappointed. They say our main duties as FiRs is worship, welcome and well-being. We provide a sense of hospitality and caring, tend to some requests from visitors and perform specific “housekeeping” duties, mostly in the morning and evening.

First I’ll tell you a little about Woodbrooke and how it’s used. Woodbrooke is a retreat and conference center so on any one day there could be up to 150 guests. For an example, these might include a morning training session for the Birmingham Probation Department, a Quaker Yearly Meeting Finance and Planning committee meeting in the afternoon, and a Team Building Day for a local management company. These are day use guests. Then there are those who are overnight guests which can be up to 75 persons. This weekend there is a 3 day workshop called Mirror to the Soul which is “for women who are interested in exploring their deep essential self through self-portraiture, art and collage.” Currently there is a group called Working With Conflict that will be here a total of 10 weeks. These are folks from areas of the world where there is a lot of violence and wars, like Palestine, Israel, Sudan, Nigeria, and Nepal. Plus there are a few resident PhD students who are taking classes or studying at Woodbrooke, and a few people here for rest and personal retreat. It’s quite a mix of folks which makes for stimulating interactions.

So here’s what we might do on a typical weekday, if there is such a thing. We begin at 6:45 am when we do our rounds in the buildings. This involves turning off night lights in the halls, opening up curtains in common areas of the building, and opening up the fire doors between corridors. Because of the size of the campus, this takes about 30 minutes and includes inside and outside and up and down three flights of stairs. I consider it my morning exercise routineJ. We are then available in the FiR office to answer questions, answer the front door, or get emails off the computer. After breakfast, we have a half-hour Meeting for Worship at which we may greet attendees as they arrive and then end the meeting with a handshake. There is a meeting 3 days a week from 9:15-10 which we attend to find out what is going on for the day. After that, we are free for the day unless we have to be at lunch to ring the bell for silent prayer. In the evening, we are expected to attend Epilogue which is another, shorter period of silence.

There are 4-5 FiRs at Woodbrooke so we share responsibilities. So on alternate days, we do our rounds in the evening when we close up everything for the night. Two days a week, we are completely free, and are encouraged to take the time for ourselves.

Weekends are another story. Though we are only scheduled every other weekend for specific duties, in reality it is very busy here and we must all be available to help out. We might have to sign people in, to show them to their rooms, to turn on the hearing loop for those who are hearing impaired, and to work at events and functions like this Sunday’s Garden Tour. Every 4 days, we are also the “overnight person” who is the one called to handle any emergencies like people locking themselves out of their rooms, or running out of hot water before other staff is on duty.

We are just learning our duties, but I expect it will be a good blend of work and relaxation. There is a good spirit here and a lot of laughter. We have scheduled to go in early July with a Woodbrooke group to see Macbeth performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon which is nearby. That should be lots of fun.

We haven’t scheduled any short trips yet, but we were able to enjoy London for a day when we arrived. It was quite nice to feel like we were in familiar territory and we managed quite well to find our way down to the Thames and Big Ben where we had gone last year. In addition, we watched the very entertaining inspection of the guards before they “changed” at Buckingham Palace. We wish you all could have been there with us.