2000
Report

Many thanks to all the Blue Badge guides who took part in this event across the country. A special thank you to Phil Cookson, representing the APTG, who worked tirelessly to help the day go smoothly. The list is still being compiled but the events we know of are listed below. If you know of any more that have taken place please advise Suzanne Whitting via the Guild Office.

Public Tours
There was quite a lot of local media coverage and a particular thanks to Diane Burstein who promoted all the events on LBC which resulted in many people turning up for those organised for the public. They consisted of:-
Soho
Walk - Diane Burstein and Ann Jones (over 100 people turned up)
Clerkenwell
Walk in morning and afternoon - Jackie Taylor
Greenwich
Walk - Jackie Stater
Royal London
Walk - Richard Tames and Dieter Schneider
City
Walk - Joy Levene and Suzanne Whitting
Albert Memorial
Tour - Victoria Stavely Taylor
Primrose Hill
Walk - Marielies Jackson
St. Paul's
Tour for City bankers - Sonya Haines who then offered the tour in German to the public afterwards.

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London - Private Groups
Judy Pulley
was the guide for an APTG organised outing for a group of school children from Bow to have a sight seeing tour and then a trip on The Millennium wheel. Susan Kramer the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate for London accompanied them. was the guide.
Barbara Cross
was able to get permission to take a group of elderly people to Windsor Castle. Many thanks to Andrew Moir for allowing this.
Rosemary Snell
took a group of elderly people on a coach outing.
Gabrielle Nadin
organised an outing for staff of the German Embassy including a visit to the Tower.
Ros Hutchinson
took the staff of the Tower of London to Cambridge.
Geoffrey Warr
organised a walking tour of Chelsea for the Kensington and Chelsea National Trust Association.
Susan Wengrower
took a youth group on a coach tour in London and included a boat trip from Westminster to the Tower.
Wendy Myers
took a group from Pinner Parish church on a walk along the Millennium mile.
David Jagger
took a group from Aldington on a literary walk around central London.
Barbara Pukwana
took a group from St. Martin-in-the-Fields on a coach tour.

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South East England
Nigel Armitage Smith organised, as a result of a prize draw, a guided walk in Folkestone, collecting and returning people to Margate.
Sherian Morgan, Jane Fraser-Hay and Rebecca Howard organised walks in Arundel, Rye and Winchelsea.
Ken Francis gave a talk about the Royal Pavilion to members of the Senior Citizens' Good Companions Club.
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Salisbury
Salisbury Guides organised events throughout the week including: guided walks of the city, the cathedral and two cycle rides to Old Sarum.
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Winchester
Winchester & Area Tourist Guides
Winter walks on the theme "Winchester in the last Millennium" have attracted an average of over 30 people (and on one occasion 57 people), having been held throughout February and March. There were three walks on the International Day of the Guide, two covering the East of the City and one covering the West of the City, all very well supported.
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Devon
Torquay,
Frank Turner gave a presentation using archive material on the development of tourism in Torbay and this was attended by the Torbay Tourism Office . There was good press coverage and the presentation will be printed in the "Torquay Natural History Association's Transactions and Proceedings".
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Cornwall
The event was advertised by a broadcast on BBC radio with the Truro TIC. Guides gave a free guided walk in conjunction with the Truro TIC of the River Allen and River Kenwyn, along with some prominent landmarks.

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Colchester
Tours of the city churches ancient and modern. The Mayor & Mayoress attended.

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Manchester
Manchester Tourist Guides
Manchester received a lot of publicity from local radio and press. Six walking tours were given around the city. Donations were collected for local charities.
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Yorkshire
Yorkshire and Humberside Blue Badge Association
Steve Bell (Chairman), and Louise Keegan were interviewed for BBC Radio York and gave the interviewer part of a guided tour around the City. Articles were also written in the two local papers. Steve Bell, John Bakes and Jenny Denton did walking tours of York. Joy Mitchell-Kardasz did a walking tour in Leeds with a group from the Cervantes Institute and the English Language Department of Leeds University.
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Cumbria
An outing to Rydal Hall, Rydal Mount and Grasmere.
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Wales
Margaret Butler took a group of Alzheimers Carers on a tour of Cardiff Bay redevelopment area followed by a Welsh tea (which she provided herself).

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Northern Ireland
from Alan Clarke
Northern Ireland Tour Guide Association
On Saturday 19th February, professional tour guides around the world organise activities and events to mark the annual "International Day of the Tourist Guide." This year, local Blue Badge Guides, who are members of the Northern Ireland Tour Guide Association decided to organise their own excursion.

The trip began with a visit to Pogue's Entry in Antrim Town Centre, birth place of Alexander Irvine, author of the famous book, "My Lady of the Chimney Corner." Stopping in Antrim's Market Square to view the recently restored Castle Walls the group then walked through Antrim Castle Gardens to Clotworthy Arts Centre. Many of the guides were pleasantly surprised to learn that the impressive 17th Century Anglo-Dutch Water Gardens are one of the earliest of their kind remaining in the British Isles. Antrim Borough Council has also recently reinstated the spectacular and unique parterre garden close to the site of the original Antrim Castle.

The Castle site had been occupied by the Clotworthy family from the early plantation of Ulster in the 1600's through to the destruction of the property by fire in 1922. Clotworthy Arts centre, formerly the stable block off Antrim Castle now houses a busy complex combining art gallery and 90 seat theatre, with a varied range of programming through out the year.

The theme of the Ulster plantation, art and literature was to re-emerge again at the next stop for the Blue Badge Guides. Deborah Logan curator of Bellaghy Bawn give a most enlightening talk on the early Plantation of Ulster, linking the Bawn to the local landscape and historical context of the area.

Deborah is now looking forward to the influx of visitors from around the world who are increasing becoming aware of the Seamus Heaney Library housed within the Bawn. With the recent publicity surrounding the Whitbread Book Award, Americans in particular will be most interested to discover this collection of his work. As a native of the Bellaghy area Heaney has donated or loaned many original notes and other artefacts which cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.

The Northern Ireland Tour Guide Association would like to thank the Dunadry Hotel, Antrim Towns Development Company and DoE Environment & Heritage Service for helping them to celebrate the International Day of the Tourist Guide here in Northern Ireland.

Jersey
Jersey Tour Guides Association
Sue Hardy & Hugh Gill took groups of Tourism students on tours of the harbours and the Jersey Museum. There was good coverage on BBC Radio Jersey and in the Jersey Evening Post.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the coach companies who gave coaches. They were:
Clarkes
Armchair
Cavalier
Brentons
Tilleys
Epsom.

The Guild would like to thank Suzanne Whitting (GRTG) and Phil Cookson (APTG) for all the hard work and time they put into co-ordinating and publicity. We would also like to thank Peter Jamieson for providing information and reports on the Guild Website.

Contents

ITGD Introduction