Sunday, January 8, 2012

Day 5 London


The first free day in the magnificent city of London. The boys were given a list of choices, which varied from going to various museums to shopping. It is interesting to note that many of our troop seem to have the shopping gene fully integrated into their bodies.
I took a band of boys to the RAF Museum at Hendon, It began at the hotel with a brisk walk of two blocks to the Underground station and then a rapid trip to Westminster via the Central Line and then to Collindale on the Northern Line. A short walk in some very pleasant weather brought us to the Museum. We became so engrossed in the collection that all time seemed to fly (excuse the pun). We managed to look at Sopwith Camels, Fokker DVII’s spitfires, Lancaster’s and Flying Fortresses. The lives and dress of people and the wonders of flight were shown and discussed. It may be difficult to believe, but we were all so engrossed we actually forgot to take photos.
A quick trip to Piccadilly Circus deposited the shoppers, and a hardy soul went with me to the Imperial War Museum. This huge, confronting and eclectic collection had us enthralled. From Waterloo to the Gulf, all of Britain’s wars are represented in their collection of memorabilia and historical documents. We had the experience of a WW1 trench and a bomb shelter during the 1940 Blitz. (Mr Scritchley)

                                                                 
Jarryd and some big guns!!

                                                                
“Little Boy” a copy of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

After our various outings, Mrs Vial decided it would be a good idea for us to wash our dirty laundry so we found a laundrette nearby our hotel. She also wanted to do some hand washing and so we went in search for a cake of soap. It seems no one in London hand washes any of their dirty laundry anymore. She was determined to get her washing done and we ended up spending 45mins walking in and out of shops in search of some laundry soap.


Hi dad, having fun without me? What have you been up today? I bought lots of Liverpool stuff and went to Hendon to see the planes in WW1 and 2. I am having a great time.  Cheers for paying it.
Love Dylan

 Hey everybody, it’s Dieter and Alaric. Alaric is pleased that he is good at navigating the underground and assisted his team in navigating its way through London. And I went to the RAF museum and got lost in England at night time, which is always fun and I wasn’t even worried because I’m a pro at directions.  Also the traffic is nuts over here, and the pedestrians are also nuts. I’m really tired because it gets dark at 4.30pm and the whole day is like morning in Adelaide. And Alaric says hi.
Goodbye for now from the both of us, talk soon.





3 comments:

  1. Spend every pound boyos - mementos are great even 20 years on. Glad your homing devices are active - just don't miss the bus or train to next location tho. You can sleep when you get back to Adel - every waking hour counts. Love to Alaric and Dieter from the homies.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Dylan & everybody glad you are having such a good time. I went to the 36ers last night they got beat by Cairns by 5 points. Works been pretty busy & i am keeping Mama informed of your trip. She is coming over tomorrow night to check out the blog. Take care-love you mate
    Cheers Dad

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Tania, the trip seems to be progressing beautifully... wish I was there! Regards to Harrison and Jim. Ciao, Aliki

    ReplyDelete

Your comment will not appear until it is checked