Debate 6: Boston College, MA

We had two full days in Boston before the debate on Tuesday night. On Monday we slept in before going on a Boston Duck Tour (an amphibious WWII vehicle driven by a charismatic lady in pyjamas called ‘PJ’) that gave us an excellent overview of the city from the Charles River. Afterwards John showed us around the Boston College campus, a spectacular collection of gothic buildings and tree lined avenues. Unlike our native Doxford the BC also had a 44,500 capacity football stadium bang in the middle of campus. We would like to take this opportunity officially wish the football team (many of whom came to watch our debate) the best of British for their match-up against their arch-rivals Notre Dame on October 13^th. On Tuesday we went out to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, which looks out over the water onto a beautiful vista of Boston Bay. Being political junkies we were very excited at the array of JFK memorabilia and exhibits. Overall the museum is very well put together and we both enjoyed it immensely. It was a particularly emotional return for Alex, who had plotted the early days of his Union Presidential Election Campaign, gaining wisdom from the exhibits on JFK’s victory over Richard Nixon in 1960.

However, the real highlight of Boston was the Food. We had been told by the US Debate Community in Vermont that John would feed us well and we were not disappointed! On Monday we were taken to a steak house called Capital Grille – a step up in class from the (delicious) Truck Stop where we had eaten the previous evening. Valet parking, a private dinning room and a delightful waiter named Jo, all made for a spectacular meal. Alex opted for the 24oz (682g!) Porterhouse Steak (pictured above), with Ali deciding to tackle the slightly more manageable 14oz Fillet. Both cuts were beautiful cooked and accompanied by a selection of delicious sides including the regional delicacy – Macaroni and Cheese with Lobster. Not only was the food great but we also had a chance to meet Ryan and Matt who we would be debating the next night.

The debate itself was held in a large hall in one of the oldest buildings on campus with lots of wood panelling and portraits – so Alex felt right at home. The hall was filled for the debate with about 250 people our largest audience so far - although about 100 may well have been there to get the extra credit one Professor was offering for attendance…We once again opposed the motion ‘THB the invading Iran would do more harm than good’ but his time we did it in a policy format which allows for a 3 minute cross examination (‘cross ex’) at the end of the 1^st four constructive speeches. This was the first time either of us had dome cross ex and it proved great fun especially with and audience. We both enjoyed the debate and ran away easy winners, as most of the BC crowd bought our ‘Iran is a crazy imminent treat we must bomb them now’ line. After the debate we were invited along with several members of the communications facility to dinner at Legal Seafood for our second stunning meal in as many days. The New England Clam Chowder we had for starter has been served at the last seven presidential inaugural dinners…

The debate was also filmed and should be available online via Boston College, we will post at link when we have it.

So that brings you generally up to date we are currently about 28,000 ft between Boston and Pittsburgh on the 6am (4am wake up call L) flight. We are in Pittsburgh for 3 days before we hit the Mid West. Will post all of this once we return to terra ferma.

A and A xxx