Day One

Gatwick, Windsor, London
After a long flight we arrived at Gatwick airport. It was morning in London. This was back in the olden days, so they gave us breakfast on the plane, but many of us bought snacks from an airport shop when we got there. And that was the first time I had a Cadbury Flake (43 pence). Almost immediately after we got our luggage I put my windbreaker on top of my suitcase; in the process of pulling my suitcase the jacket fell off, and I didn't notice until we were nearly at the coach pick-up area. Luckily for me, one of the band directors picked it up, so I didn't have to retrace all my steps.

There were at least a hundred of us, excluding directors and chaperones, so our group was on several coaches. The Blue Bus carried everyone from my school and kids from four or five other schools. Our bus was driven by Alex, whom we grew to love, fear, and respect, often all at the same time.

Once all our luggage, instruments, and selves were loaded up, it was off to Windsor. I was sitting near the front of the coach, and though I knew that British drive on the opposite side of the road, it was entirely different being in a coach traveling speedily down the motorway and feeling like you're going the wrong way. My not-very-thorough journal says, "It was a nice drive because it was all green and there were rivers and ponds and horses and cows and sheep. ...and then Windsor was off on the left, all huge and very impressive."

Windsor is home to one of the royal residences. When we visited, however, Her Majesty was not in residence. We didn't have a large amount of time there, so we didn't go into the castle, but we did have a good look around the town. There's a big statue of Queen Victoria near the castle, and plenty of tourist-trap stores. My friends and I took the obligatory pictures with a red phone box, getting it out of the way early. We saw a place called Uncle Sam's American Restaurant that I now wish I'd gone over and read the menu to.
We passed a church with a monument in the front, and I took some pictures of it. I've forgotten what church it is now--I want to say St. Michael's, but that could be completely wrong. I did write down what the monument said:

1914-1918
Remember with thankful hearts the men of this royal borough whose names are here and elsewhere recorded. Brothers in arms, jealous for the common good, faithful unto death--they left the issue in your hands. Remember and be strong. They live on--brothers in love to all citizens of the heavenly city. Remember and be glad.

Remember also for good. Those who by sea, land and air laid down their lives.
1939-1945
Their names are inscribed within the church. Their memory lives that we who come after them may remember the debt we owe to them and fail them not.

(Some of the punctuation may not be entirely correct; it's hard to read in the picture.)

After a while we headed back to the coaches and went on to London, or, as the Romans called it, Londinium. We got settled into our hotel, the Barbican, which had two slow lifts and a tiny room for three people. We had our welcome- to- England- and- here's- what's- what dinner then; afterward we went out to look around. I went with a biggish group and we took the Tube (aka the Underground, aka the subway) to Piccadilly Circus. On the Tube I saw a guy with a bleached mohawk wearing a "Mind the Gap" shirt. Piccadilly was not as crazy as I'd imagined it to be; but there was someone playing the bagpipes when we got there. We wandered around, looking in store windows, and on the ride back we left behind a couple of girls from our school. They caught up eventually. I'm glad it wasn't me.

There were angels dining at the Ritz
but Berkeley Square was yet to come

When we got back to the hotel to turn in I got ready for bed and watched some TV, including lawn bowling on channel 14. It was a long day, but any day when you see a pub called the Stick and Weasel can't be all that bad.

Tomorrow: more London, including Covent Garden, Clive, and "Buddy."