27th Oct day 14 next stop New York

.The trip to the airport was amazingly easy, Carol and I were so thankful as the traffic from our bedroom window on Gardiner Express was anything but speedy. We went wrong so missed all the traffic by just following the lake and then eventually picking up signs past the roadworks, such a blessing. No problems dropping off the car so we had plenty of time to have delicious coffee and fresh raisin biscuits (our scones) at the airport before we said our farewell. 

The most stressful part for me was the US customs leaving Canada with long queues and at times only 1 Customs Officer. The 2 guys in font of me missed their 11.30 and 12.00 flights to NY and Dallas respectively as a result. Thankfully I just managed to board and was the last passenger to get on for my 12.15 flight to JFK.

Had a good flight and met a friendly, very bright young guy called Richard who was on his way to Berlin to be involved in new season decisions on international airline travel logistics, groundbreaking stuff. He gave me a tel no for a friend in San Francisco who could tell me the best places to visit, how kind.

George was waiting for me at the airport which was wonderful he took me back to their period home in Brooklyn, so precious to spend an hour catching up with him. Claire had kindly left me a Subway ticket so I quickly changed and left to go to her philanthropy event at the swish offices of BNP Baribas on 7th Ave, Manhattan. 

The event was fascinating hearing from 3 different speakers Dr Beth Breeze, Meera Ghandi and Julie the bank's own employee. Beth is a lecturer at Kent Uni and is an expert on the facts and figures about giving from major donors in the UK and around the world, it was fascinating. Meera runs her own Foundation called Giving Back and is herself a philanthropist. She runs a school in India on the one hand and then a training course in the US to help gifted young women reach their potential, so they can positively impact the world, on the other hand. She also encourages rich individuals to consider the advantages of giving. Julie works with world banks and businesses to educate them about the financial benefits of sponsoring projects on their bottom line, as well as the impact it has on staff in terms of them getting involved in local, national and international programmes. I was so pleased I had treated myself to a smart outfit, I would definitely have looked like the poor relation otherwise in this setting. 

Claire had organised it brilliantly and it was good to see her in her professional capacity, as well as seeing her office. Beth is a friend of Claire's from her days as a student at Atlantic College in St Donats Castle, South Wales. The event had been arranged because Beth was speaking at a conference in Indianoplis later this week, so Claire invited her to stay with her en route. It was fun to spend time with them as we chatted about the evening on the Subway home.

Anwen 8 and Naomi 6 were still up when we got back, it was delightful to see how much they have grown in the 3 years since I last saw them. Both liked their books, Anwen - Mr Stink by David Walliams, she immediately took it up to bed to start to read it - Naomi read Oi Frog to me. She reads brilliantly for her age and had no problem with the rhyming. When the girls had gone to bed Claire, George, Beth and I enjoyed a chilled wine, nibbles and good conversation before retiring.