Tuesday 10 March

We presented our program today at the Rotary Club of Roanoke Valley, which meets at the Roanoke Country Club. It went very well and stimulated some interesting discussion, especially around the topic of education. We were treated to a good breakfast and enjoyed watching the sun come up over the golf course.

The highlight of Tuesday was a visit to the Roanoke Higher Learning Centre where we had the opportunity to talk with the director of the centre, which co-ordinates co-operative studying facilities contributed to by 14 different universities. The heads of the programmes from Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia both joined us and contributed to a fascinating discussion about education in our respective countries.

Our afternoon was spent at the Virginia County Administration building, the seat of local government. We were formally introduced to the Board of Supervisors (which you can actually watch on their website, as it is recorded and televised). We had been led to believe that it would potentially be a bit of a 'yawn', but this proved not to be the case at all. We found the manner in which the meetings are run fascinating, and, as usual, were made to feel very welcome.

Grant's hosts are members of Salem's Choral Society, and he attended their dress rehersal at the Sholoh Baptist Church in the evening. The team are not convinced whether it was the amazing soloists or the cup of Mill Mountain coffee that brought tears to his eyes.