Last Day!

 ADIOS! wow what a time...i must say quite the culture shock for a kid that has never lived in a town of more than 3000 people...off to Heathrow we go bound for the good ol USA...turns out the trip home would be a bit hairier than the journey over...8 1/2 hour flight to chicago cuz volcanoes on iceland are erupting, 3+ hour layover in chicago because of weather, and finally arriving in denver at 1 am...im so glad i only had to go to cheyenne cuz i heard the bus ride home was a bear sorry :( funny thing tho when i got up monday morning i was watching the news and found out the a tornado had hit missouri and when we were waiting in chicago they wanted to reroute us thru missouri think we dodged a bullet there....

day 13

Crunch time! now its time to take in all the remaining things ive missed out on before tonight...or just pack and go for a walk in the park either way i liked it. tonight is the farewell baquet at the Beefeater by the Tower. wowza how come every meal couldnt be like this. if u want something you bang on the table and scream at the waitress and the food comes in cast iron pots...barbaric but awesome!...after the dinner we returned to the hotel for one last pint at the hotel pub and a good nights sleep to prepare for the trek home....

day 12

TGIF! i didnt think that two weeks would be enough time in london. was i ever wrong. yea i didnt get to see everything i wanted to see but hey that gives me an excuse to return, but as of now im tired of the crowds, the noise, the smells, and the city in general...i cant help it im COUNTRY!...friday we loaded up bound for Cambridge. i was kinda tired of the whole tourist thing so i spent most of the day roaming around trying to find some undiscovered treasure. unfortunately i missed the boat literally and didnt get to go punting but i did get to see some cows grazing in the middle of town which i thought was just as great...pretty nice cattle too even tho they were the wrong color (red)...even though i didnt go punting i had a blast sitting on the bridge watching foreigners trying to control a boat full of passengers with nothing but a long pole to steer with haha...friday night i finally gave into the peer pressure of attending the london club scene. i knew it was going to be a long night when i was asked to check my hat into the coat closet because they are not allowed into the club :/ which i then proceeded to forget there ugh!

day 11

oh what will we do today? its a big secret...unfortunately the secret had already been revealed but thats ok. thursday we went to buckingham palace where we had the honor and privelege to watch the changing of the guard from inside the gates of buckingham palace. i feel very lucky to be part of only the second group that was able to do so. the changing of the guard represents what i think of when i think about British culture and history. its very formal and the grandeur of the entire event is awesome. i hear that the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown is very similar except they dont have 20 lb bearskins on their heads

day 10

ugh cant go to the Supreme Court, but hey can sleep in again. Wednesday afternoon we went to the Magistrates' Court where most minor or misdemeanor cases are handled. here we learned about the concept of lay magistrates and got to observe some court proceedings...i have to say alot like home...too fast to understand what's going on and what's being said. wednesday evening we went on a tour of the white chapel area where the Jack the Ripper murders occured. again would have been alot more fun if we werent surrounded by high rise offices, run down shops, and constant traffic. but nonetheless, it was very interesting and our guide did an awesome job of trying to set a mood despite the forementioned.

Day 9

Prison time! Tuesday we got to spend a morning locked up abroad. we went to HMP Wormwood Scrubs a medium to maximum security prison. by this time i have gathered that the British dont lock up as many people as we do despite their history...weird...and that to get locked up u kinda have to screw up pretty bad. prior to this visit i had been to two other prisons so the idea didnt really envoke any feelings of uneasiness but i must say it was great seeing the looks on the faces of a couple of the omaha students faces when we entered the cell block hahaha! despite the design of the institution i didnt really see a whole lot of difference between american prison and english prison. there were some much more scary individuals at sterling though than at wormwood. the attitudes of the CO's toward the inmates was a little different than that of american CO's. the officer giving our tour if i may quote darren had a more headlocks than hugs mentality.

Monday Monday

week two...we're almost done...monday we went to the Old Bailey in the City of London, which i found out is alot different than the metro of london. the old bailey crown court is where most serious criminal cases are handled. in the basement we got to see the remnants of the old roman wall that used to encapsulate the old city of london. we also got to go into one of the courtrooms and see some barristers and solicitors. fun fact...there is still a shard of glass in one of the walls from an IRA bombing years ago. that afternoon we went on a legal studies walk through where all the barristers offices are...really nice neighborhood. im not that interested in legal studies even though bogner wants me to take the LSAT...yea right...

Day Six

Sunday Funday! ah it felt good to sleep in...today we went down to Camben town to take in the Camden Market experience, and what an experience it was. if i was interested in by some drug paraphenilia or someone's garbage i came to the right place. also i cant believe they are serving food to people on toothpicks haha. anywho on the way back to the tube stop we saw some smoke on the horizon so Hieb being the fireman that he is we went to investigate. it turns out there was a high rise apartment building on fire and we arrived just as the emergency personnel did so we got to see how they handle those situations. after awhile we were board so we decided to go to the notting hill market. however it turns out that the weekends mean construction on the tube so after what seemed like a 20 mile walk we were in Notting hill, which is a lil classier than some parts of london. the market was closing up when we got there :( so we headed back.

SATURDAY!!

headed down south...saturday morning darren, jake, pat, and i jumped on the high speed from St. Pancras station bound for Ramsgate. the high speed train is capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 130 mph. upon arrival to a very modest station compared to where we had come from we took a taxi down to the harbor. this was the first time i had ever seen the ocean and even though i think it was actually the english channel i was still stoked. we walked up and down the beach for most of the morning and then had fish and chips at a local restaurant. that afternoon we took in some second hand shops and the sailor's church there that has been converted in the headquarters for the local chapter of the Sea Cadets. overall, this side trip has been the most fun thing id done the whole time.

day five

TGIF!!! Friday woot its the weekend. Friday morning we took the tube out to the Olympic Village to tour the grounds and learn about the 2012 Olympics. the sheer size of the complex is impressive and equally impressive is that most of the buildings are temporary and are in fact already sold to private contractors that after the Olympics will come in, take them down, and move them elsewhere. wow! friday night i went on a walkabout by myself into south london. here i saw london bridge, nebraska street in southwark, and had a pint at a pub that wasnt owned by a chain it was neat!

day four

thursday we started the day with a nice stroll with pauline to Michael Messinger Hall, which is where Met police receive training in hands on techniques, self-defense, and conflict resolution. interesting enough the hall was traditionally used for the Titanic inquiries after it sank and still possesses some of the original equipment used in those proceedings. unfortunately, i had dressed a little too nice to participate in the hands on activities but i had a serious giggle watching everyone else beat Richard with the batons. that afternoon we went to Lambeth to the Central Communications Command for the Met. here we learned how calls from the public are screened and dispatched to officers on the street.

day three

finally, we can get to the meat and potatoes of what we were coming to learn about. first thing in the morning we went to Charing Cross Metropolitan police station where we got a briefing on what the Met does. we were also familarized with the typical "kit" of each officer which consisted of a kevlar vest, a bobby helmet, static cuffs, CS spray, and a wooden or acrylic baton, oh yeah and a radio. at the station we were able to see a few of the police vehicles including patrol cars, fast patrol cars, and vans (paddy wagons). Constable Watson then took us into the holding cells and booking area of the jail where despite it only being 10 am there were some less than happy chaps being booked in. we also got to see the electronic printing machine that they use. in the afternoon, we went to the central london police training center which has all but replaced the old center at Hendon. here we learned about the training that regular constables receive and learned about "special" constables.

day two

on tuesday we boarded the coaches again bound for oxford, stratford upon avon, and warwick castle. oxford was alot of fun because it was our first taste of english higher education which if i could say so is slightly different than american college. the buildings there are older than chadron state college for sure and some even older than chadron itself. ha. i really enjoyed the drive to stratford from oxford because we got to see the countryside and our tour guide did an awesome job of keeping us entertained with a bit of history on the way. darren and i had a chance to eat at the pub where shakespeare died, and despite that gruesome history the food and pints were very good. warwick castle was awe inspiring to say the least...i love old things especially if they havent been dressed up for tourists :( like the old hinges that used to hold the gates on the entrance...fascinating...

Day #11 CRASH COURSE!

alrighty then, ive been having a great time in london so far...so much in fact that ive neglected to keep updating my blog....sorry. anywho well ill start from the beginning then...in case you didnt already know because i never told you the flight here was my first flight ever on a commercial aircraft. i thought this was an important point because there is no better way to test your brass than jump on a plane that will cover half of the united states and all of the atlantic ocean. i wasnt really surprised by the flight because i had quite a few people preparing me for the flight. nonetheless, nothing anyone says can prepare you for the tiny seats, the constant drone of the engines, the terrible food, and in flight entertainment that teases you by showing half of a movie and then restarting it right when its getting good. however watching the sun come up from that little bubble window was the highlight of my flight since i was unable to sleep at all during the 7and 1/2 hour flight.
we landed in london's heathrow international at about 11 monday morning which is about 4 am at home and i hadnt slept since the previous night...we hit the ground running and loaded onto coaches bound for windsor castle. upon arrival i was excited to get off the coach and stretch my legs and more importantly breathe some fresh air, because 7+ hours of recycled air had taken its toll on me. windsor was interesting because the castle there is actually one of the primary residence of the royal  family most of the time more often than buckingham palace. after roaming around windsor for a couple hours we loaded back onto the coaches and headed for the center of london. along the way we got to see the place where the magna carta was signed and where elton john lives at least sometimes does. we arrived back at the royal national hotel a little after 5 pm and headed up to our rooms which i have pictures of and you will be impressed trust me...after a short reception dinner is was time for a pint and bed...i went to bed at about 11 pm here which would be about 4pm at home so i had been up for a lil over 32 hours phew what a day...

My First Post

Well created my very first blog in less than five minutes. WOOT!