Anyway, the bus journey up was okay, but slightly boring. Over six hours on a bus. Three hours and 20 minutes without stopping. Not pleasant! Anyway, once we got to the Travelodge, everybody got their rooms sorted (eventually!), and some people went off out for the evening to consume alcoholic beverages for the purpose of intoxication. I was not one of those people, although I did have a bottle of Magners in the hotel bar while watching the X Factor final on the TV. The drunken old man in the bar who was shouting at the TV was more entertaining than the X Factor, it has to be said! I was quite lucky - my room had a lovely view of, erm, Tower Gateway DLR station and the tracks running into Fenchurch Street. Fun, fun, fun...
Monday morning, as stated before, was spent travelling to the Houses of Parliament and to the Supreme Court. When we got to Tower Hill station, there were two platforms going westbound for some reason, which was the direction we wanted to go in. There was a train already on one of the platforms, so we all jumped on it. At least three trains came and went on the other platform, whereas we didn't move an inch. When the fourth train came through on the other platform, we all thought the same thing, and ran over to the other train. Will (one of the lecturers who had assumed responsibility for the whole trip) almost didn't get on the train, and we thought he hadn't got on it, but he had. Diane, however (she replaced Emma), didn't get on, and we were laughing for ages. When we got to Westminster Station, Demelza waited for Diane, so Will was left with the responsibility of looking after 46 sixteen-to-eighteen-year-olds for a few minutes. Not that we needed looking after, of course! There was quite a police presence in Parliament Square, but that was because there were protests planned later that day against EMA cuts (which went off without any violence, as far as I could work out), and there was an armed guard outside the visitor entrance to the Houses of Parliament. Was I scared? A little bit, but not much, as I knew that he was their for our safety. There's only one word that I can use to describe the Houses of Parliament: huge. They're massive! The House of Commons is just as it's seen on the TV - pretty plain, lots of wood, you get the idea. And I've actually seen what the MPs would do when they vote on a Bill. The House of Lords, on the other hand, is such a vast display of gold, wealth, opulence. It's amazing! We weren't allowed to sit on the benches in either house, and we weren't told why. Still, it was a fantastic insight into our democracy, and how it works, even though I didn't see any MPs that I recognized! Unfortunately, the Q&A didn't happen, which was a shame, but I can't complain, to be honest. After that, we had about an hour free, so me and Joe walked up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, before deciding that it would be easier if we took the tube back to Westminster. Yes, I know, we're lazy, but I honestly couldn't care less! Then Will and the Economics students (seven in total, if you include Will) went off to the BBC, while everybody else went into the Supreme Court. A huge conversion project was made on the old Middlesex Guildhall, and now there are three courtrooms. Each case has either five, seven or nine Justices presiding over it. It's a great building, and I actually sat in on a case. I didn't understand much of it, but I can't divulge what I did manage to pick out of it.
After leaving the Supreme Court, we made our way to Westminster Station, but not before being confronted by a group of protesters who were protesting against the planned axing of EMA. There were about 100 protesters at most, which is pretty pathetic for London! After arriving back at the Travelodge, I was sat in the bar waiting for others to come back so we could go out into London for the evening. After arriving in Leicester Square, people gradually splintered off until there were six of us left. We all decided to go to Bella Italia, and had a great meal there, before returning to the Travelodge and sitting in the bar having a drink. No, I didn't get drunk, I will have you know! I am fairly sensible!
Tuesday morning was spent visiting the Old Bailey, and I actually got to sit in on a murder trial! As with any other court case, I'm not able to reveal any information about it, but it was quite interesting. The case that I (and others) were sitting in on finished before we had to go back to the bus, so we decided to go to Caffe Nero for a bit, which is where I decided to have my lunch. A panini and a coffee - very healthy! Not! Then it was back to the bus towards Marble Arch and Christmas shopping on Oxford Street, which was VERY busy - as you would expect near to Christmas! Didn't buy all that much, apart from a £2.99 mouse mat with the London Underground map on it, and possibly another coffee, but I can't remember. Then it was back onto the bus home, and after stopping at Gordano Services, for the next leg of the journey, somebody decided to put a film on. The film in question? Hot Fuzz. In my opinion, one of the funniest films ever made, and it was a great way to spend two hours or so on the bus, even though some of the action sequences were a bit over-the-top and drawn out too much.
Was it a worthwhile couple of days in London? Definitely. It's just a shame that Emma didn't get to enjoy it on account of being ill. Would I go and do it all again? Yep. Definitely. SO much fun, and I didn't get lost this time!
