Friday, May 30
Today, we took a jaunt to Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms. Winston had this underground bomb shelter built to house parliament during the air raids of 1940-1941. I got the chance to see where many important MPs slept and worked, including Winston himself, as well as a cigar by Winston’s bedside–the very one he smoked! This tour was a good complement to Chartwell from the day previous, and new information I hadn’t known before.
We then walked down the road to see the changing of the royal horse guards, near Buckingham Palace. Their uniforms were quite splendid, and the ceremony was quite interesting. We continued walking to see St. James Park and much of the royal grounds. Perhaps the most memorable moment was when some of the guys and I all danced and sang in front of a royal guard (this elsewhere–not at the changing of the horse guards). At the end of our performance, he had not even flinched, but as Will and Justin cried out in dismay, the guard cracked a smile. It was rather humourous :).
I next found the street Cecil Court, lined with sundry antiquarian book shops. I saw and held a number of first edition books, including The Lord of the Rings–priced £570, a bit too pricey for me. I haven’t bought anything in the way of antiquarian books yet, but I plan to before I leave.
~James C.
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- A cuban cigar, the very brand Winston smoked (my teacher bought this for my friends and me)
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- The Churchill’s kitchen in the Cabinet War Rooms
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- A hallway in the Cabinet War Rooms
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- Clementine Churchill’s bedroom
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- One of the royal guards and I (not the one we made laugh)
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- A schedule of alarm signals in the Cabinet War Rooms (almost everything was preserved in its original state)
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- One of the bedrooms
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- Winston’s bedroom
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- An electric cigarette lighter in the Cabinet War Rooms
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- The entrance to the Cabinet War Rooms
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- A host of keys in the Cabinet War Rooms
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- The parliament building in front of which we saw the changing of the horse guards
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for day 3
A good education.
Hee, hee! I can just imagine you guys dancing and singing, although at first I was surprised!
The dancing on facebook (or something like that). Maybe James can show you when we see you all in July.