Tourists and training

July 8
Full day of sightseeing including Westminster Abbey, Thames river cruise, Changing of the Guard, and the Tower of London. Very hot today, and we are all wearing out our shoes and cameras. Part of our day was spent with the world's greatest bus driver. His prowess behind the wheel was something to behold as he maneuvered a full size motor coach around central London with Mario Andretti-like moves.

Around supper time the group split up, with some heading off for some shopping and the players heading to the Wapping Tae Kwon-do School to train with some Brits. We were well received by Ms.  Campbell (5th Dan). Lovely lady with great students. We trained an hour with little people, then an hour with adults.

One of my days' highlights was meeting a little seven year old girl named Marena. She was my training partner, and what a sweetheart she was. The photo below is her and her twin brother. We had a great visit and talked about being a twin (I have twin six year olds). After the training session some of the members took us out for a pint at the local pub. Really fun time making some new friends. The Wapping TKD club was most hospitable. We look forward to seeing some of them this weekend. Amanda Grouette achieved rock star status, handing out Canada pins to the littles.

In some of the photos and videos below, you will notice a little stuffed animal. His name is Rufus, and he belongs to my son Carter (6). He asked me to take him along unless I got lonely. He is having a great time, Carter!  Rufus even made a guest appearance in the changing of the guard video. Check out the youtube link too.

The glass pillow in the photo below is the actual spot where Ann Boleyn's head was chopped off by Henry the 8th. Our guide did a nice little mime of that using Jenae Torscher as Anne!

You also might see a little cut out man named Flat Stanley, whom we have renamed "Flat Bastard." Amanda is helping a family friend with a school project by having him in some photos too. Tomorrow night I plan to give other travellers access to the blog too, so they can add their experiences as well. Anyone at the pub around 10 can join in the fun.

Enjoy the pics

July 6 and 7 - The trip that almost wasn't ....... for me

Hi all,

First, a huge virtual love hug for my lovely wife, Terri Ann. Happy Anniversary!
So July 6 was ..... interesting. Most of the Lethbridge group met at Legacy around 2 pm to catch our shuttle to Calgary. As the dutiful self-anointed tour director, I made sure everyone had their gear and passports before we departed.
 On the trip up to Calgary, we encountered the edge of what turned out to be a severe hail storm,but made it through to the airport without incident.
On check-in, the ticket agent informed me that I had presented her with a passport that expired in 2006. I told her that was impossible, because my passport is up to date.
Well it turns out that I had taken my old passport, which I didn't even know I still possessed. Needless to say, the rest of the group boarded without incident and left me behind with my stupidity.

Today's lesson is that I learned that you can buy a one-way ticket, Calgary to London on the spot for about $1500. ouch....

Thankfully Scott Quan came to my rescue and drove to my home, picked up my current passport and set a new land-speed record in a1995? Saturn coupe, to bring it to me about 10 minutes before the gate closed.

Thank you Scott. 

I don't really want to talk about the "random" screening at security, as I did my sprint to the departure gate. Lets just say that my whole Adonis-like physique is now on permanent record at the Calgary terminal.

I did get bumped to a better class of seat, with a lovely meal and  extra leg room on the British Airways flight.

The rest of the troupe arrived (early) were greeted by our travel agent holding a Legacy TKD sign, and wisked them by special shuttle to the hotel.

I was about 2 hours behind, landed in Heathrow, which reminds me of a futuristic scene in the file Gattica, and promptly got lost looking for the underground rail system.

I did eventually find the correct track (by now it was 11 am, July 7th) and dragged my luggage onto the tube, crossed my fingers and held on. 

Forty five fun-filled minutes later I arrived at the nearest station and then carried my luggage about 8 blocks to the hotel. 

After most everyone took their good hearted jabs at my stupidity, we had a meal, then split up to explore the city.The first person I met was an Austin Powers impersonator coming out of the London Comic-con.

Dan and Julie Torscher, and Darren White and myself hopped back on the underground to the centre of town, where we snapped these photos.

Welcome

Welcome to our Legacy Tae Kwon-Do Blog. We are preparing for our first overseas adventure to the 2013 Tae Kwon-Do International World Championship in Coventry, England. There are 20 travellers including 12 competitors from Legacy Tae Kwon-Do schools taking part.

It is a 10 day trip, with the first four in London, doing some sight seeing, then off to Coventry to compete. We will try to post daily updates, as well as youtube links to video action, so please come back often to see how we fare.

Best Regards,

Master Gibson