Do you recall the Millennium euphoria last year, and the disappointments that ensued? The Bug that didn't bite, the River of Fire that became a river of smoke, the deserted Dome and the surplus champagne?

The Fellowship of Flying Rotarians decided that the hallmark of the New Millennium should be the pursuit of international fellowship, best exemplified by personal contact rather than words or ideas. On learning that the German Section were to hold their meeting at Salzburg to unite with the Austrian members, the European Vice President proposed that members should undertake a flying tour to include the Benelux, French and U.K. Sections before joining the Germans at Salzburg. This began with the U.K. Section meeting at Manston in Kent to visit the wartime underground defence headquarters beneath Dover Castle.

While the weather did it's best to interfere with the programme, giving strong winds and heavy rain on the first day, it relented sufficiently by Sunday for five light aircraft from Scotland, the Channel Islands and the Home Counties to fly across the Channel  to Luxemburg. There they received a warm welcome from the Luxemburg-Kiem Rotary Club, who had arranged for Georges Weyrich, a Rotarian and senior official of the European Commission, to receive them at the Commission Headquarters and give a talk on the origins and work of the European Union. Following the Rotary lunch to which wives and family members were also invited, another Rotarian, Frank Relles a senior executive of LUXAIR, had provided a conducted tour by company coach and on foot of the beautiful city and its surroundings. All was in English for the benefit of the visitors.

On Tuesday the party, now augmented by a sixth English aircraft and a Belgian IFFR member, flew down to Colmar near the Swiss border, where they were joined for dinner by members of the French Section, one of whom had driven 650 kilometres from Normandy to be present. The following day was spent viewing the old City of Colmar and its renowned Unterlinden Art Museum, before taking the coach to Mulhouse to visit the world famous Bugatti Collection of cars, assembled by the Stumpf brothers in the 1950's and now a French National Museum. There the older members of the party in particular, and their wives drooled over a unique assembly of vehicles ranging from an early steam carriage, through the luxurious saloons and sports cars of the pre-war and post-war eras, to modern Formula 1 racing cars.

On Thursday it was back to the airfield for the three hour flight to Salzburg, cruising above the scattered clouds with the snow flecked peaks in the distance. There we were received by members of the German Section who had flown in from a variety of different airfields, as well as the Iberian Section leader from Portugal. Friday was 'Mozart Day' spent touring the city on foot in warm sunshine under the guidance of an amusing English speaking lady guide who responded to the comments and questions of the visitors in sparkling fashion. The highlight of the evening was the Gala Dinner, enlivened by a quartet who rendered in lively fashion some operatic extracts from works by Mozart, having first explained to the assembled diners the meaning behind them.

Saturday saw the whole party, now augmented by five Italians who had flown in from Milan on the previous evening, taken by coach to tour the lovely hills, lakes, and villages of the Salzkammergut, best known to many as 'The Sound of Music' country. There we visited the church at St Wolfgang in which Maria von Trapp married her sweetheart, before boarding a chartered lake steamer for a cruise around the lake during which lunch, accompanied by some much needed liquid refreshment, was partaken. By this time the weather was really hot - in the high 70's.

That night the Farewell Dinner was held in a country farmhouse inn, high in the hills with a magnificent view down the valley, at which the friendships made or renewed during the weeklong trip were cemented, with promises of more reunions in the months to come. Sunday saw the whole party making the lengthy but uneventful flights home.

The Millennium Tour, for which a special bannerette was commissioned and presented to those who took part, was not entirely without incident. On the first evening one of the U.K. members, flying down to Manston in increasing rain and lowering clouds, without warning lost all electrical power in her plane, depriving her of all navigation and communication aids. Uncertain whether she could safely reach an airfield she landed in a field, causing damage to the aircraft but none to herself. After a phone call to the organisers one of the local members drove to collect her and she was reunited with the party that evening and able to take part in the Saturday activities. Another intrepid member, advised that his grass airfield was so waterlogged that he could not fly out with his family and their luggage, drove them by road to Luxemburg and promptly turned round, drove home to Kent, and the next day flew solo to rejoin the party for the rest of the tour. What determination!

Was the Millennium Tour a success, and did it achieve its objective of strengthening international fellowship and understanding? All those who took part have answered with a resounding 'YES', and enjoy happy recollections of a Memorable Millennium.

John D. Ritchie is a member of the Rotary Club of Letchworth Garden City and Hon. Secretary of the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians, UK Section. This article first appeared in "Rotary" magazine, October 2000