From: Daniel James Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 09:47:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ILF] Greetings from the USA! Hello everyone! I am now also finally back in the States (as the last one to leave London, I turned off the lights and closed the door behind me). Unlike Shannon, I only left myself a day to recover as I didn't return home until Saturday and had to work on Monday. I've been having so much fun looking at all of your pictures. I have quite a few of my own to add, but it will take a bit of time for me to get them all together but soon you all should have more pictures of The Funky Bus (including one of Don wearing the Fry Guy mask), Chris Dickman's house, The Spindle Lodge, Leicester, the train back from Leicester, a few miscellaneous shots of London (including inside the Russell Square tube stop, Harrod's, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, more shots of Big Ben than you can stomach, pictures of the Pinochet protesters outside the Houses of Parlement, still more pictures of Waterloo, the inside of my hotel room which should really thrill you all), and pictures of Ireland including our little Funky Car, The Gresham Hotel (and pictures of Shannon and I listening to Gresham Blues inside The Gresham Hotel). Anyway, looking at all these pictures I think back to our first meeting back in Terminal 3 and it seems like ages ago. So many things have happened since then that much of the trip is a big blur. I know I already said many thanks to you all from Ireland, but I just want to say again that you all are fantastic people and I love seeing you all each and every time. It was great getting to spend more time with the friends I made at last year's ILF in May and of course meeting all the new folk. I'm only sorry that there wasn't enough time to get to know each any every one of you. Loz--I saw you at Leicester but didn't get a chance to say hello. I hope that all of you will be able to make it to New York City this spring. I don't care when it is or where it is or what we do, I'll be there. One moment of gloating however--when I do get the pictures up from Ireland and onwards, I hope you all notice that lovely blue color up in the sky. I'm sorry to say that the day all the Americans except for Shannon and I left, the clouds left and stayed away most of the time except a brief amount of rain in Ireland, and a fair bit of snow after returning from Ireland. Thanks again to *everyone* who showed up. I don't want to say anything to specific people for fear of leaving anyone out, but as always I think it's the contribution of each and every one of us that lends to the success of these fests. Not everyone can say that they've got such wonderful friends and acquaintances all over the world but I think we all can. I love you all and I hope to see you again this Spring!!!