Today I'd been asked by my dad to accompany him to London with a group of his German model aeroplane friends who'd been visiting over the weekend. They're from Northampton's twin town of Marburg and there was a group of seven of them who wanted to see the sights.
We took the train down to Euston and Leonie, Reinhard's teenage daughter, was desperate to see King's Cross and platform 9 3/4! King's Cross was just a short walk from Euston and we were delighted to get to the station and see the sign for Platform 9 3/4 over a brick wall with a luggage trolley embedded in it! There was a large group of schoolchildren all wearing cloaks and having their photograph taken so Leonie was able to be photographed there as well! She was extremely happy!
From King's Cross we took the underground to Hyde Park Corner and then walked down to Buckingham Palace, where a huge crowd had gathered to watch the Changing of the Guard. This was the first time I'd seen this lavish ceremony and the Germans were fascinated, taking lots of photos and really enjoying the spectacle.
By now, my agenda was in tatters as it was taking far longer to get anywhere than I'd imagined! We walked through St James's Park stopping to look at the squirrels and a huge pelican sitting on one of the park benches! Unfortunately the route to Whitehall through Horseguards Parade was closed because of an impending Volleyball competition so we turned left and walked through Admiralty Arch to get to Trafalgar Square. As it was now lunchtime I suggested a pub nearby which went down very well!
I'd planned on getting the 3pm train back to Northampton but there was no way we were going to make it. I managed to drag my group out of the pub and down to see Horseguards, Downing Street, the Cenotaph and then Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We walked across Westminster Bridge, had a look at the London Eye and then caught the underground back from Westminster Station, and managed to get the 3.15pm train back. As the carriages were crowded, most of us had to stand until Bletchley but I think the day was a great success and they seemed to enjoy themselves very much!
On the way back to work to pick up my car, Dad called into the wholesalers to get some food for the evening as he was entertaining the club and their German friends at work. The poor man was shattered so I stayed behind to make all the salads before finally getting home at 6pm and having a well-earned soak in the bath!
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