Bush Meets More Activists in Blair's Hometown

By taking Blair up on the rare invitation to visit Sedgefield, Bush was looking to decompress a bit after two intense days in London. Tea at Blair's house, lunch at a pub and a visit to a local school were on the schedule.

While Bush was in London, he gave a foreign policy speech defending the Iraq war; was jeered by tens of thousands of protesters; was the star of a state dinner at Buckingham Palace; met with relatives of British victims of Sept. 11 and of British soldiers killed in Iraq; and faced sharp questioning at a news conference with Blair just after terrorist bombs in Istanbul exploded at a London-based bank and the British consulate.

Blair said the attack in Turkey could not be blamed on Bush's visit, nor the U.S.-British alliance. Bush and Blair said the attacks would only strengthen U.S. resolve in Iraq.

From Air Force One on Friday, Bush called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend his condolences for the bombings, White House spokesman Sean McCormack said. In the short conversation, Bush also promised that the United States ``would help in any way'' and the two pledged a stepped-up fight against terrorists, McCormack said.

Bush and his wife, Laura, left Buckingham Palace, where they had stayed three nights, on a drizzly London morning. Escorted to the Lawn by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to an awaiting helicopter, Bush thanked the prince for the hospitality.

Later, as Bush's entourage arrived in the area of Sedgefield, a small town of 5,000 in an old coal-mining region, several hundred protesters filled the town green with chants of ``Bush out, Bush out,'' upside-down U.S. flags and posters labeling the president the world's ``No. 1 terrorist.'' A couple hundred more bystanders lined the main street, which was blocked to traffic.

``I think this country's being led by Mr. Bush and I'm not happy about it,'' said Bill Williams, a retiree from Rippon. ``The Americans really do believe that everyone loves them and they're doing good. Unfortunately it's not so.''

There were several, though, with a different view.

``I just think after seeing all the protesters yesterday that somebody should show the other side of the story,'' said Douglas Harris from Billingham. ``I think they're doing a bloody good job in very hard circumstances and uncertain times.''

Blair, who has represented Sedgefield in Parliament for 20 years, and his wife, Cherie, walked across a muddy soccer field to welcome the Bushes to Trimdon Colliery, a village a few miles from Sedgefield where they have a home. The couples exchanged handshakes and kisses on the cheek, posed for pictures with local residents and went inside Blair's modest red brick Victorian for tea.

The foursome was then heading to the Dun Cow Inn, a pub, for lunch. Bush doesn't drink alcohol, having quit about 15 years ago.

With Bush and Blair seeking to show that they are focused on more than the war on terrorism, the British leader was also taking the American president to Sedgefield Community Community College, a sports specialty school that has produced nationally recognized athletes. Bush was to see a soccer skills demonstration and get briefed on team-building exercises, Buchan said.

The invitation was Blair's way of repaying Bush for several visits to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, and to Crawford, Texas, where Bush owns a ranch.

Blair's home, called Myrobella, sits behind a high fence and across a narrow street from a dilapidated shed and field full of goats and sheep. Nearby are rows of narrow houses, their paint peeling.

It's a world away from the palace. Mrs. Bush said she was awe-struck walking the halls and took mental notes for her next state dinner.

The first lady said she and her husband were nonplussed by the tens of thousands of protesters who demonstrated against the war while Bush was here - most of whom the couple never saw. Police said the massive march and rally mobilized between 100,000 and 110,000 people.

``I don't think the protests are near as large as everyone was predicting before we got there,'' Mrs. Bush said. ``We've seen plenty of American flags, we've seen plenty of people who were waving to us - many, many more people, in fact, than we've seen protesters.''

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Associated Press writer Hannah Bergman in London contributed to this report.

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