Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Top 10 Reasons I Loved the AGM in Miami

The ubiquitous "pink flamingo sunglasses" worn by (l to r) Sudie Lea O'Connor, Beverly Faber, Peter Trotman and Mary Platt.

10) Tropical weather (i.e. rain!)
9) Eating paella at the Botanical Gardens and getting acquainted with folks I'd seen but never really talked to.
8) Bell-themed Evensong service.
7) Seeing a well-behaved Shih-Tzu sitting in the pew behind me at the Friday Evensong service; he brought along his two human companions, also!
6) Standing on the 40th floor balcony of the Treleaven home, eating Cuban food and listening to a beautiful touch of Bob Major on handbells.
5) Getting a tour of South Beach, courtesy of Bill Buckner, and marveling at the "Hollywood film set" ambiance of it all.
4) Sitting outdoors, enjoying warm evening breezes, at Nemo restaurant in South Beach, eating great food with great friends.
3) Appreciating the incredibly hospitable Miami ringers, who always had a smile, no matter what was thrown at them.
2) Attending a reasonably short, well-run AGM meeting (thank you, Lyn Barnett), followed by an excellent AGM banquet with (guess what!) delicious food.

.....and the #1 reason I loved the Miami AGM

1) TONS of ringing time!!!

As an aside, there is one final reason I loved the AGM in Miami: hearing about next year's AGM in New York City. Look for the promotional buttons on the cork board in the St. James ringing room.