Day Three - 2012 Olympic Site, Camden Street Market, and the Emirates Cup

Today we began the day by taking the walking tour of the 2012 Olympic Site under construction. The day has been beautiful and cool. We walked out to the site of the Olympic Stadium that was finished this month -- the final piece of turf has been laid on the field of play and they are ready for the games to begin there. The other venues are in various stages of completion -- the Olympic Torch is under construction -- about 50 percent complete. Next summer when the boys are viewing the Olympics on TV -- the guys will have a firsthand knowledge of the venue. (site: http://www.london2012.com/)

After the tour of the 2012 Olympic Games site construction – our next stop was the Camden Market. The Camden Market is a large open-air and covered festival of shops, food, and pubs that cater primarily to the under-25 set, punk rockers, hippies, musicians, and artisans. (I am sure that most of the revenue derived from Camden Market comes from tourists.) The Camden area of London is known as the birth place of punk rock. Jon, George, and I dined on Indian food and pizza for lunch. The food was tasty and cheap (I hope that I do not regret this choice tomorrow). I could have spent hours people watching at the Camden Markets – all genre and type of people were milling about and engaged in the sale and purchase of goods and services (e.g., clothes, tattoos, pub grub) -- punkers with crazy hair and clothing, bohemians with flowing clothes, grandma and grandpa, families, tourists from the four corners of the world, locals, and pets. I am sure that anything a person could need or think of (even if you did not need it) could be found at the Camden Market. There is so much junk that it is overwhelming - trying to find the nuggets of value is work - a lot of work..

Our next stop was Emirates Stadium – where the group got to watch two matches. Paris Saint-Germain defeated the BOCA Juniors 3 to nil and the New York Red Bulls tied the Arsenal to win the Emirates Cup. The high point of the afternoon was the Arsenal crowd’s warm and enthusiastic embrace of Henry Thierry. A sellout crowd of 60,011 turned out to see the Arsenal’s former striker perform. When his name was mentioned on the loud speakers before the game, the crowd gave him a standing ovation showing just how popular Henry still is in London (North London at least).

The stadium was great – it is by far the best venue for soccer that I have ever been to. Even though we were in the upper deck it was easy to get to (you had to walk up stairs -- no escalators or ramps) and the view was grand. There are no food or drink vendors roaming the stadium seating. If you want something to eat -- you need to get up and go buy at the concessions stands. Also, patrons are not allowed to consume alcohol in stadium seating -- there are designated spaces in the concession area for alcohol consumption. This is so different from the customs of the American game or any professional sporting event in America. The Arsenal crowd is a loud one and some of the songs and chants coming from the die hard fans are enough to make a sailor blush. The good news is that you have to listen carefully and think about what they are saying before you really hear it and that takes effort. The crowd also participated in an impressive wave which made its way around the stadium three times.

Our driver has been fantastic. He can maneuver the coach in the tightest of spaces. He has been doubly busy dealing with the local authorities. Last night the buses' fuel tank was emptied and the local authorities were tied up with another matter and did not get around to responding to him until today. Sometimes we forget how efficient our police are. It never occurred to me that you could call the local authorities with a major issue (missing bus fuel is big money) and that the police could not or would not be able to investigate the matter until the next day. I guess that a little perspective is a good thing.

The boys have a late afternoon game tomorrow. There is a change of plans - tomorrow the group will not be going to Stonehenge. We will have an additional day to tour London. We did the driving math for the trip and realized that it would be almost three hours up and three hours back, all spent in the coach, leaving very little time for actually touring the site. The group discussed our options and the group has decided that we would like to use our time taking in the country and interacting with the people rather then sitting on a bus.

That is all from me tonight.

Regards,

Kathleen

Day Two - The Game

The Game

After departing London we were on the motor coach for about 45 minutes before we got to the field. We thought that the boys did not have enough water – so after we dropped them off at the field we went to a local market to buy water. In England, at least in this location, you need to provide a deposit to use the carts. The supermarket was like our supermarkets back home – except ours do not sell wine, beer, and hard spirits. The boys changed into their uniforms and the game was about to start at a local field. It was interesting to note that the fields were not any better than most fields our guys play on. In fact, the field was not as good as Riverside or OHS.

The boys played Parkfield Youth club, coached by Ali Jobe, and lost 3 – 1. Both goalkeepers played admirable games. The field players also played well. The first goal scored by Parkville was on a PK. The rational for it eluded me, however, the English style game is quite physical and our guys got tired of being shoved around (they got beat up a little bit). Gary H. got injured his ankle in the first half, but was able to come back in the second half. But for the first two minutes of the second half the boys would have ended the match in a tie. Brian scored the only goal. The boys played tough, had many opportunities to score, they just did not finish. Overall, in my opinion and despite the score -- the boys held their own admirably.

The team invited the boys and parents into their clubroom where they offered us drinks and conversation. It was a good thing to see the boys interact with their peers from across the pond. Their parents were equally as welcoming. It was a lovely evening.

Many photos have been taken of the guys. Unfortunately we are having problems posting them. We will try to get this sorted out tomorrow. Our plan for tomorrow is to visit the site of the 2012 Olympics and then it is off to the game.

Best Regards,

Kathleen

Day Two - London City Proper and The Tower Of London

Beefeater, Tower of London

The day started out with beautiful weather. We ate breakfast at the hotel. The food was uneven at best – who knew that you could ruin scrambled eggs? Some of our adventurous parents and boys enjoyed the very British beans on toast (with a little butter) breakfast (not me, but after the awful eggs – it is a probably a better alternative.). Our bus driver provided a motor coach tour of London proper, that included Westminster Abby, Westminster Cathedral , Parliament, the New Scotland Yard, the Sherlock Holmes house (even though Sherlock Homes is a fictional character), embassies, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s and other sites. The motor coach tour ended at the Tower of London where the group split up and engaged in a walking tour. And walk we did -- there were not any elevators or escalators and most of us walked up and down numerous staircases and walkways. It was a treat to view the crown jewels – they were an impressive display of riches indeed -- acquired (spoils of war) from all over the globe. The largest diamond in the world is housed there. This is the oldest collection of royal jewels still in use. We also toured the Towers and heard about the famous prisoners housed therein and learned about the instruments of torture used (although the British were not keen on the torture thing – they preferred to just do you in). The worst ones were the Sister Hugger where they bend the person over and folded them into three pieces and the rack which was looking fairly tame after the Sister piece. Walking the lockup made you realize just how small the space was. Most of the boys had to be very careful not to hit their heads when going through the doorways. We also had a chance to take a tour through the Armory – where English weapons and horses throughout the ages were displayed. The boys liked that exhibit. That exhibit had no line to stand in. There were many stairs to walk up and down but no line – unlike the Crown Jewels exhibit. The boys (and parents) got a real workout just touring the site.

The White Tower

After we toured the Tower, the group split up to eat lunch on our own – boy are we Americans spoiled by our bounty of good food. I have yet to eat a good meal here – they have all been adequate with some good/interesting foods. After lunch, some of us took a riverboat ride down the Thames River. Some of us went to the Churchill War Room. A few brave souls walked from the Tower to Westminster Abby (at least three miles) for our 4:15pm rendezvous. The city is preparing for a world beach volleyball championship and several streets were closed as they trucked in sand and set up the beach volleyball space. The weather has been beautiful – fall like at night. The smell of burning wood from fireplaces permeates the air.

Kathleen

Day 1 - London, Windsor Castle

Outside the bus at Windsor Castle

We then boarded the bus the boys piled into the back and most of the parents were in the front with Coach In-between. Our driver, Dave Robinson, introduced the group to the bus and was quite funny in a dry sort of way describing the bus facilities and their appropriate use. He also noted that waste from the bus was not jettisoned onto the open highway. He told the group that we would have frequent stops. Dave is the English version of a military brat. He was born in England and lived the next 9 years in Germany. His father owned a taxicab company. About 16 years ago he decided to upgrade his earning potential and obtained a license to drive a tour bus. He has driving ever since.

It was a 30 minute drive to Windsor castle. We arrived just in time to catch the tail end of the changing of the guard formal routine – complete with a marching band. The line to enter the castle was long; however, since we were in a group we missed the line and went through the group entrance. We were the only group.

Windsor Castle

At Windsor Castle each person could choose to take an audio tour or just walk the grounds. The grounds were beautiful. The castle was designed as a fortress and has been in continuous use and operation for the royal family for 100s of years. There were displays of amour, paintings (the Waterloo room contained paintings of all the victorious English Officers painted by the same artist) -- with the Duke of Wellington’s portrait in a prominent position. There were rooms with painted ceilings and ornately carved fixtures. The royal family owns thousands of paintings which are rotated in and out of the display (Rueben’s, Van Dyke, etc.) Different ruling kings/queens had distinct tastes. There were portraits of King Henry, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria among others.

There was a display of the Knights of the Garter colors through –out the years. It gave me a better appreciation of where the Maryland State Flag ago. Most of the colors were in the four block style like the Maryland flag.

Interred in the chapel were monarchs from various eras – we were able to walk over the grave of King Henry VIII. The organ was dazzling in gold and patterns. The Knights of the Garter still meet there. You can still attend church services at St. George’s.

From Windsor Castle the group went to the hotel. The guys had a training session with an English coach, David Byrne, from Watford. The session was a good one. He worked with the guys in small groups and worked with our players on the importance on keeping their heads up and working on their form. The guys had a full day of site-seeing and soccer with little sleep, we will all sleep well tonight.

On Saturday the group will leave at 9:00am for a tour of London and tower of London.

Kathleen

The Flight Over

British Airlines Flight 264 departed Dulles Airport a few minutes early – an auspicious start to our trip. The flight to England was a little over seven hours and without event. Once we were in the air dinner was served, I must say that the food was typical airline food. The plan was equipped with movies, television shows and audio selections that would provide a suitable distraction for anyone. We arrived at Heathrow without a problem – smooth landing -- the weather was cloudy and cool – in the low 70’s. The weather was a welcome relief from the Washington, DC summer. Going through customs was a breeze (less than 45 minutes for everyone) and our tour guide was waiting for us as we left customs. Caleb, Will, Gary and Alexi (with parental units) met up with us once we cleared security. While we were waiting for our motor coach, a large and comfortable machine, the group was rounded up by an airport representative and given some type of lecture/talk (I could only hear about every other word) and which the boys thought was a type of sidewalk comedy. It was entertaining at least.

Kathleen

Flight Information

Departure: 7/29/11 8:48PM flight BA 264 from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow. Travelers plan to meet at the British Airways Ticket Desk at 5:00PM.

Return: 8/6/11 6:00PM Dulles Airport. Flight BA 265.

Departure Day!

Hi Everyone,

When the FC Frederick 93 boys went to Germany in 2008, I setup a blog to chronicle their activities. Some said that the blog provided those who could not participate a sense of participation.

Unfortunately, I won't be making this trip. So we will have to rely on the a new set of writers and photographers on this trip.

I hope that everyone will have a great time!

Bob Coss