PORK pies, giant leeks and onions, banoffee pies and pork scratchings are new-found wonders for a Canadian group study exchange team, writes Amanda Kuttnick of The Camrose Canadian.

The GSE team from central Alberta is sponsored by my local Rotary district and arrived in the North-East just over a week ago.

The group comprised myself, Paul Moulton, Anne Blank and Rob Hutchinson. We have fallen in love with the history and culture and the wonderful hospitality of everyone we meet.

While it may be perceived that we're touring the countryside and lounging with Rotarians, that is hardly the case.

We all agree we've learned more history about England than any text book ever attempted to portray.

As a group we're also required to give a 30- to 40-minute presentation on Canada which includes a lesson on how to speak Canadian and a trivia quiz. We will travel and present to eight clubs throughout the North-East.

However, we did take a much deserved break on Wednesday night at the Black Swan pub in Kirkby in Cleveland.

By giving away a few Canadian pin-badges, we found ourselves posed behind the bar for a brief photo session. Landlord Ted Campbell didn't seem to mind; thanks again.

Our visit to Cleveland has been quite remarkable. We visited the Transporter Bridge, the Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum in Great Ayton, enjoyed the famous ice cream and I was able to take in a press conference at the BOC gas site at Tees Dock.

To gain the full English lifestyle, we're billeted with Rotarians. During our four-day visit here, my gracious hosts were Anne and Jeff Mawer ,of Kirkby, near Stokesley, and who could forget their beautiful dog, Libby.

As a writer/photographer for a weekly newspaper in the City of Camrose, Alberta, The Camrose Canadian, I was invited, with the assistance of Rotarian Derek Noble, to spend two days at the D&S Times.

Part of the exchange is take part in vocational experiences. I've noted a few similarities between the D&S Times and The Camrose Canadian.

Both focus on the agricultural and rural aspects and use the assistance of area correspondents. However the D&S Times is a much larger paper in both size and number of stories published each week. Purely because of its size, The Camrose Canadian would be frowned upon in England, as tabloids are known for more sensational stories and photos. However in rural Alberta, tabloid papers are most common and highly read, giving readers an in-depth look at the City of Camrose and its citizens. Our focus is providing a paper about people.

Staffing too differs. I work very closely with every department with a staff of 12. Our newsroom consists of myself, a general reporter covering local politics, health, education, social programmes and services, youth programming, the arts and anything else in between. We're also responsible for providing images, which I scan into the computer.

When deadlines roll around, our team of three is responsible for all the page layout, which takes only a few hours.

Outside work, I live in the City of Camrose with my boyfriend, Jim, and our one-year-old shihtzu puppy, Casey Jane.

I enjoy rollerblading, walking Casey, gardening and volunteering with the Kinette Club of Camrose (a service club similar to Rotary).

A big thanks to the Rotary club of Stokesley and the staff at the D&S Times for making this vocational study a reality