Before our London trip we were tasked with raising money so that we could make the most of the opportunity, with a target of £1,500 to cover travel, accommodation and food. Early one Saturday morning in September some of us took part in a local 5k Park Run. We found this challenging as we are not runners, but we all survived (just). We also planned a Clothes Swap party, which was fun to do. Although we had a lot of clothes donated, we didn’t have many people attend, which was a shame. The clothes were then donated to Bags2School, which raised a little bit extra, as well as giving people less fortunate than us “new” clothes. We also held several cake sales as we know how much people like cake. Through the generosity of family, friends, GB and Church, we managed to hit our target, with a total of £1,595.32 raised.
Our London Weekend
We had to get up early on the Saturday and got a coach from Bristol Bus station to London. The coach trip was long but we were all buzzing with excitement. Once we got to London we went sightseeing to places such as, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The Woman London’s Memorial, and practiced our route down Whitehall for the next day. After that we did a little bit of shopping in Carnaby street (with our own money 😉) and spent some time recharging in a café, before going and checking into our hotel. The hotel was very comfy and we enjoyed staying there. Then we went for dinner at Wagamama’s, which was very tasty. After dinner we explored the local area, which involved Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. To finish off an enjoyable day we got some very delicious ice cream from the Ben and Jerrys shop. We then went back and got some rest to recharge ready for the next day ahead.
We had a very early start on the Sunday morning and headed down for an energizing buffet breakfast in our hotel. We then headed to the tube station with Amy and Becca and while waiting for our tube to Horse Guard, we met some veterans, who were also attending the parade. While queuing to enter Horse Guard, we met some interesting people, who told us some more about why they were attending the parade. We couldn’t quite believe how many people were attending and it was hugely crowded as we went in. We got into our formation behind the Boys’ Brigade and in front of the Jewish Lads and Girls Brigade. During the three hours of waiting, we met some veterans who told us their stories and we realised we could never understand what they had been through or experienced. We also spent time getting to know our GB patron, Margaret Casely-Hayford CBE, who had been a chair of Action Aid, (a charity some of us have been supporting at our church) and how she had success in life by being the first black female partner in a law firm. We experienced the minute of silence which was very powerful and hearing the last post live was an amazing experience. Before the silence there was a lot of noise and chatting and this all stopped, fairly quickly, for the silence. There was absolutely no noise across all of London, except the odd mobile phone ringing! We eventually began marching down Whitehall, walking past the crowds of people on the sides, and as we entered Horse Guard, we walked past Prince Edward who saluted our leaders. We also met some members of the Boys’ Brigade who we’d like to get to know more. Sharon and Eloise, watching from the sidelines seeing everyone go past, and us marching down the streets with the soldiers.
After the long hours of standing and marching in the parade in the sun, we headed to the Sky Garden to see the spectacular view from the top. Then we went to Pizza Express for our final meal in London, to refuel, and talked about our experiences.
After that, we got back on the coach with heavy hearts. We got home very tired but full of stories for our families about our experiences and great memories for spending an incredible weekend with some of our closest friends.
Overall, the weekend was moving and eye opening and we would love to get the chance to go again.
We are very grateful that we got the opportunity to go and for your generous donations.
If you would like the opportunity for your Girls' Brigade group to represent us at national events, register your interest here.
