I was recently privileged to enjoy a blogging “perk” on a trip to Europe. The first part of the trip was a fantastic cruise on the Rhine river with several couples from my college days. But it was the second part of the trip which held the greatest anticipation. I was to meet face to face with five bloggers from different parts of the United Kingdom.

For five years I have been in contact with these lovely folks as we have followed each other in the blogosphere, the name we bloggers use to identify our not-so-private secret society. People who don’t blog tend to look askance at us and some consider the blogosphere as some kind of netherworld for frustrated writers, which it very well may be, but it is also a world of enjoyment.

British humor and language is rewarding in its own right, and it is provided in no small dose by each of these talented people every time they post an article. What they see in my blogging efforts remains unclear to me; all the more reason I was flattered that they would travel so far to meet with us in London. I suspect, since many of my blogs are about my charming wife, it was she who drew them in. Two of my new friends had a half-hour train trip from the outskirts of London, while two others had two-plus hour train trips from Northern England and the fifth, a flight all the way from Northern Ireland!

Unfortunately, all five could not meet on the same day so we split our rendezvous into a two-day meet-up. On the first day Patty and I and the couple we were traveling with met with two of my new friends for a delightful lunch near our hotel, then a short train trip over to see Hampton Court, the famous digs of a king whose reputation was being unfaithful to his wives…..Henry something-or-other.

Left to right: Blogger Peter Wells, our traveling companions Ellen and Les Aiello, blogger Jane Sturgeon and Patty and myself.

The next day we met with the other three at Covent Garden in London, again for a delicious lunch. We were serenaded by a wonderful band, a soloist with a booming baritone voice, then a walking tour around the center of town, culminating with a visit to another writer’s hangout (William something-or-other) called the Globe Theatre.

From left: Barbara Molony, yours truly, Linda Cosgriff and Marie Parker.

I could make this a lengthy blog describing the excitement we all felt at finally meeting each other after over a year of planning. But in short, it was an extraordinary chance to talk firsthand with incredibly nice people I have considered my friends for these past five years.

As Shakespeare himself might have said, were he alive today, “If writing be the food of life, blog on!”

P.S. I wasn’t going to post this picture due to the fact it was photo-bombed by a very elegant lady. But she was celebrating her birthday, so why not?