Hallo Govna!

Before I go any further I need to clarify a certain point from yesterday's post. The tour was top-notch but short of perfect due to the fact we were not escorted by an officer of the Metropolitan Police Service.

The morning was spent at Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, and the Imperial War Museum. The square was enormous and I got to watch a falconer use two Harris hawks chase the pigeons away from the monument. I had never been in an art gallery until today and I have to say the National Gallery was amazing. The art was just beautiful and I could not believe how much I loved my time there. I am not exactly what you would call an "artsy guy" but I have a whole new appreciation for art after viewing all those spectacular paintings. The war museum was great and I especially enjoyed the history behind the Trench Warfare exhibit.

The resort complex of Pentonville was our destination for this afternoon. A senior segregation prison officer, Mr. Palmer conducted out tour along with Mr. Grimes; the entire event was quite proper. The history surrounding this local jail is very interesting; it currently holds over 1,000 prisoners of various levels of villainy. Interestingly Pentonville was built after the design of an Atlanta, GA prison in 1841. I guess the English copied some stuff from us Yanks. Mr. Palmer was a great host and if I had to go to jail while in London I think Pentonville would be my first choice.

Lincoln Inn and Ole Baily

We went on the Legal Studies walk this AM and our guide did a fine job in describing the workings of the Inns of the Court. The system of solicitors, barristers, and Queen's Councilors (senior barristers) seems a bit complicated but I understand better now after the tour. We actually saw many wonderful old buildings, one which was actually built in 1490 and it is still used daily.

The afternoon was spent at Ole Baily which is also known as Newgate prison. The building is actually a courthouse and prison with extensive history and most of the people tried there now are charged with murder. Our tour guide was a Sergeant with the City of London police department and he was great. He shared a great deal of history about London and the development of the courts. We toured from the depths of the old dungeons all the way to the roof top of Ole Baily; by far, it was the best tour I have been on sense in London. The courthouse was especially beautiful on the main floors and sitting in the courtroom was a little eerie as I considered how many people in the past had been tried in those chambers and then taken out to be hung until dead.

Camden !?!?!?

A group of us went to Camden market this afternoon in search of souvenirs and got so much more! I honestly can say I have never been anywhere else that rivals the weirdness of Camden. In a matter of feet I could have been tattooed, pierced, fitted for leathers, and so much more. The place was a zoo and thousands full of bizarre looking people. This may sound like a negative post but not at all. Camden provided a great opportunity for people watching and one that I will not soon forget. The thought did cross my mind that it must be great fun being a Met officer in Camden, never a dull moment I suppose.

Ramsgate the great!

We took a trip on the high speed rail line out to Ramsgate located on the English Channel side. The town was great and had a beautiful harbor. We stumbled upon the HMS Bulldog Sea Cadet Academy while walking around town. The former commander was nice enough to give us a tour and it happened that many of the former staff and cadets were present for a social. We spoke to many of them and had a good visit. I was also impressed with the current cadets and how they handled themselves. The program is sponsored by the Royal Navy and is basically an after school program for boys and girls who are at risk. It is structured in a para-military fashion and the young cadets learn such skills as sailing, drill and ceremony, marksmanship, knots, etc... It gives the kids a positive place and solid role models when those things are lacking at home.

The folks we spoke to were in their 70s and 80s and provided great detail about the town of Ramsgate during WWII and other interesting facts. It was a great day trip and I hope to return again some day.

Olympic gold its not but I will take the pin!

A small group of us were allowed to tour the Olympic village today. Kevin was our host and did a great job in showing us around the huge complex and answering many questions. The park has been purposefully located in some of the poorest Burroughs in the UK and the hope is it will usher in Urban renewal to the area. The buildings were amazing and we were told the project is under budget and ahead of schedule.

At the end of our visit Kevin gave each one of us lapel pins with the 2012 Olympic symbol, this particular pin will not be issued to the public so I am sure it will gain in value over night. I may use it to finance my next visit to London in 2016; actually it will be a great keep sake from this trip and I really appreciate our host and his willingness to spend the afternoon with us.

Hand to Hand and Hidden Cameras

Yesterday we split our time between Central Command and a Met training facility used for Officer Safety training. The briefing and tour at CCC was informative as well as the tour but the best was the officer safety training conducted by Kaz and Richard. They did a great job in explaining the Met's approach to training officer in dealing with citizens, especially those who become violent. The hands on training was great and the man in the angry suit did a great job terrorizing all the participants.

I stopped by the British Museum on the way back to the hotel and was amazed at the size and all the diverse items on display. A person could spend a week and not cover the entire museum. I will be going back before the trip is over hopefully.

All things Five-O!

Today we had a steady diet of Metropolitan Police information. This morning we started off at the Metropolitan Central Training Center which is located in a very fancy office building which also houses a newspaper and other various businesses. Ironically, the Met. police service is paying millions of pounds rent on the building space when a number of police buildings currently set vacant due to budget cuts. It would appear the mentality of English and American politicians is frightening similar.

We had two veteran officers share some of their experiences while serving on the Met as well as some of the major changes which have taken place over the 20-30 years during which they have been police officers. Listening to them explain their training, and use or assignment of equipment or "kit", clearly demonstrated a great difference between American police mentality and that of the English policeman.

In the afternoon we traveled over to the Charing Cross Police Station and Constable R. Watson was our host. We were allowed to tour some of the facility as well as handle equipment and vehicles. The tour through the custody area went smoothly and I am pleased to report that no one was shanked.

A side note about Metropolitan Police Service and their donuts; they have better sweets than American cops. They don't get to carry firearms for the most part but they get much better donuts; it would be hard for me to decide which would be more desirable.

Hope some vid will be available soon but no promises. Cheers! (The use of vid and cheers is so English).

PS. Rick and I went on an adventure this evening; we went to Green Park and after walking across the park I noticed a rather large building which seemed familiar, it turned out to be Buckingham Palace. The Queen did not invite us in so we moved on to St James Park and then on to Westminster Abbey. We covered a lot of ground and saw some beautiful sites. I look forward to going back next week to watch the changing of the Guard.