ROTARIANS from Ledbury gathered at the railway station to board the early morning train which was the start of their exciting journey to Brussels. The idea for a visit to the European parliament came about following a talk at the Ledbury Rotary Club by guest speaker the MEP Jim Carver. Jim had once before spoken to the club about the family umbrella making business and expressed his appreciation for the work of voluntary organisations such as Rotary which give a great sense of community. Jim went on to give an overview and general understanding of how the European Parliament operated and invited us to come and see for ourselves. Rotarian Mark Waller thanked Jim for an enjoyable talk when awkward 'semi-political' questions from members were answered and fielded very professionally. Mark then accepted the invitation from Mr Carver to visit Brussels and set about making the arrangements for the group. Rotarian Una Morgan, who travelled with husband Gareth said " We were very lucky with the weather and had a good hotel just off the Grand Place. Two of our group had experience of living in Brussels which meant we knew the best places to eat, drink, buy cakes, chocolates or even handbags! At the Parliament we had two MEPs talking to us: Jim Carver and Kay Swinburne (formerly a Ledbury mayor and Hereford councillor). It was very interesting to hear both sides of the European debate and the building was impressive. Some of us visited Antwerp and saw the Rubens Prive special exhibition; others visited museums and galleries and shops in Brussels. It was a marvellous city to explore with many interesting buildings and parks. All in all we had a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable visit and we are grateful to Jim for smoothing the way."