Author: DJB

Sunflowers by van Gogh

Connecting…across a distance

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After a very busy week of conference activities in Cambridge – going from early morning until late in the evening – Candice and I came to London for two days to rest and reconnect with each other and with our souls. Knowing that we were likely to need a break from seven days of nonstop travel, meetings, tours, discussions, and connections, we chose to see where the spirit would lead.  Little did we know that although we were quite a distance from home, we would connect to friends old and new in ways wonderful and unexpected. The train from Cambridge deposited us at King’s Cross Station on platform 9, and that was the first reconnection.  My mind immediately went to those summers of reading Harry Potter books to Andrew and Claire at the river house.  And I thought…hmmm, I bet Platform 9 3/4 is around here somewhere. Sure enough, there was a queue of twenty-somethings waiting to take their picture at Harry’s famous point of departure for Hogwarts.  We laughed, and reminded ourselves that our …

Ickworth

A brilliant week of English charms and global lessons

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In Cambridge – a lovely town with an international reputation for education – it was appropriate that the delegates to the 16th International Conference of National Trusts (ICNT) took in the charms of the East of England while also gathering so many valuable lessons from instructors both local and global. All in all – to use the British equivalent of great – it has been a brilliant week! The opening day’s remarks set the stage for discussions throughout the week.  Dame Helen Ghosh – Director General of the National Trust for England, Wales & Northern Ireland – began by reminding the delegates of the need to be open to change as we seek to conserve our heritage.  Jonathon Porritt challenged many of the assumptions the delegates brought to Cambridge, in a speech on our environmental challenges that was referenced throughout the week. Tuesday took Candice and me along with half of the delegates to Wimpole Estate, for conversations around cultural identities.  This emphasis arose from the 15th ICNT in Entebee, Uganda, in 2013, which raised …

Wimpole Hall Interior

Sheep and chandeliers

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“Sheep and chandeliers” is the title the National Trust of England, Wales & Northern Ireland has given to its brochure for Wimpole Hall and Wimpole Farm, where we joined a group of participants in the 16th International Conference of National Trusts for a day of in-depth discussions and tours on Tuesday. Over the course of the day, we gathered in small groups throughout the estate with National Trust staff and volunteers to discuss topics such as the spirit of place, ways to use the past to engage with contemporary issues, and cultural identities in a homogenizing world. All were fascinating, made even more so by the extraordinary setting of this estate and working farm. We learned of the site’s role in World War II, where it hosted American and British bombers on the large expanse of lawn in the front of Wimpole Hall, as well as some of the challenges of interpretation for a site with layered histories and traditional expectations of how an estate would be presented to the public. The discussion sessions were …

King's College Courtyard

Opening views from the 16th International Conference of National Trusts

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Cambridge, England, has proven to be a delightful host for the 16th International Conference of National Trusts, co-sponsored by the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO).  More than 250 delegates and guests have arrived for the preliminary INTO meetings and the five days of conference sessions, tours, and discussions. Candice and I arrived mid-day on Saturday for the INTO meetings, which began the next morning at Anglesey Abbey, a wonderful National Trust property near Cambridge. While most of the day was spent in meetings, we were given a delightful tour of the house, gardens, and mill by National Trust staffer Justin Scully and his team.  It was enough to whet our appetite for a return visit with the full conference later in the week. Each day we’ve taken our meals in the Great Hall at King’s College – a splendid space in which to enjoy good conversation with fellow delegates from around the world. And on Monday evening, it was also the setting for our opening …

Seattle PiP Launch

Growing the National Trust movement

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(The following is the text of a presentation I made on September 7, 2015 at the 16th International Conference of National Trusts in Cambridge, U.K. The session – Looking Ahead:  Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities – was chaired by Emily Drani, Executive Director of the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda.  My fellow panelists were Shivranjani Rajye, Trustee, Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Jodhpur, India; and Professor Ruan Yisan, Director, National Research Center for Historic Cities, Tongji University, China.) Thank you to INTO and to the National Trust for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland for the opportunity to focus on our efforts in the United States to build a growing and more inclusive historic preservation movement. Our goal is a movement that recognizes all the facets of our diverse history, enables all our citizens to see themselves in our collective story, and – as a result – become engaged in this work. I hope you will find elements that ring true with your work in your countries. Our preservation movement (and I will use the terms historic preservation and heritage …

Salute to the Chairman

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We arrived in Cambridge mid-day on Saturday for the 16th International Conference of National Trusts.  Even through our jet-lagged fog, we were charmed by this beautiful city as we met two friends and colleagues from the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO) for lunch in an English pub across from King’s College. The meal and an afternoon nap were the refreshments we needed before heading out to dinner at the Polonia Club (who knew they had a Polish Club in Cambridge?).  The occasion was a delightful evening with the members of the INTO Executive Committee and Secretariat to toast our outgoing chairman, Simon Molesworth of Australia.  Simon has guided INTO for 10 years, first as head of the steering committee and then as the founding chairman, first elected to his post in New Delhi in 2007. Several of us spoke that evening about Simon’s service as the founding chairman of INTO, and his indefatigable work ethic through the years.  There was more than one mention of his joining our bi-monthly conference calls at midnight from Australia, …

Beach reading

Summer reading 2015

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This has been a busy summer, full of travel, family changes, work, and good food!  During the past three months, I’ve also had a chance to read a few books – a couple just okay, one interesting, and one terrific.  So here’s a short summary, from mediocre to recommended. The Language of Houses: How Buildings Speak to Us, by Alison Lurie.  I picked up this 2014 book – with its promise to highlight how buildings speak to us in ways simple and complex, formal and informal – with great anticipation.  Written by a Pulitzer Prize winning author, I expected great – or at least good – writing that would pull me along.  Unfortunately, I found it a simplistic and rather bland work that I had trouble finishing.  This is a topic that holds a great deal of promise.  Unfortunately, Lurie’s work doesn’t deliver. The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors:  A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship by Henry Petroski.  I bought  this quirky work in Seattle while on my cross-country trip with Claire in 2014.  …

Observations from the Road: The “How to Lose Your Vacation Zen and Regain Your Perspective (All in 30 Minutes)” Edition

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You know you travel a great deal when your first day back from vacation includes leaving on a 3-day trip to Denver. That’s the situation I found myself in yesterday. I was determined to keep my vacation Zen (and motivation to exercise – but that’s another post) as I returned to work. Yet the travel gods were conspiring against me. Southwest Airlines decided to reset the preferences in their customers’ accounts a few weeks ago.  The result:  things like Known Traveler Numbers (which put you into TSA Pre-Check) and other preferences which get you into the “A” check-in group (and assured of an aisle seat) were lost.  In setting up this trip, we didn’t realize those weren’t in place until it was too late. Now you may be thinking, “David.  Suck it up.  Lots of folks go through the regular security lines.”  That’s true.  But if you do it 2-4 times a week, the thrill of taking off your shoes and belt, pulling out your laptop, and getting reprimanded because you don’t have your 3-oz. …

2015 Feels A Great Deal Like 2013

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Just when Washington Nationals fans thought August couldn’t get any worse, comes this news item about the revocation of the Jayson Werth walk-off bobblehead from the Nationals’ website: Jayson Werth’s walk-off home run in Game 4 of the 2012 NLDS was one of the greatest moments in Washington Nationals history. While we tried to capture his jump into home plate and commemorate it with a bobblehead for our 10th Anniversary season, we were not satisfied with the final product. Therefore, we will be re-issuing a new bobblehead. The first 25,000 fans to enter Nationals Park on Sunday, August 30th for the 1:35 p.m. game against the Miami Marlins will receive a voucher redeemable for the new bobblehead. Fans will be able to pick up their new bobblehead on an offseason date at Nationals Park. In addition, you will receive a special gift for the inconvenience. More information will be available on the vouchers and on this site. This is the August when the Mets never lose, and on the off day when they do finally …

The Tastes of Vacation: Wrapping Up DC Restaurant Week

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Our DC Restaurant Week extravaganza wrapped up on Sunday evening with our 7th restaurant in 7 days: the new Fig & Olive DC in the glamorous Foster + Partners and Shalom Baranes Associates-designed CityCenterDC complex (home to the 1% who want to live in a fashionable downtown apartment…but I digress.) Six of this week’s seven eateries were new to us, which was part of the allure, and we saved some of the best for last. Friday evening, Candice and I visited Mintwood Place – a highly rated restaurant where we had sampled brunch in the past. We were excited about this dinner, as the restaurant is ranked #2 in Tom Sietsema’s 2014 Fall Dining Guide and is also a top-ten pick of Tom Kilman of Washingtonian magazine. After our meal, I’m here to say I cannot understand these rankings.  The food was good, but not the best we had during the week (or even the weekend).  Mintwood did only serve off the Restaurant Week menu, so I understand that some of their outstanding regulars may …