Final Post

Dear readers,

As the title of this post suggests, this will be our final entry.
After three full weeks of travelling, our Expeditionary Force has returned home.  We were met by our families at the airport and everything was joy and gaiety as we rejoined our loved ones.
There was sadness, on the other hand, as we left Bedgebury and we left behind the new friends that we had made.  For the Redland teachers it was a definite farewell as Bedgebury has been sold and it will not be available to us anymore.  A pity, as it is a marvelous place which has been home away from home for at least six or seven years while on Bell courses at the Bedgebury site.  In many ways, Bedgebury reminds of Downton Abbey, the award-winning TV series currently on cable.  We urge you to watch it; we're sure it will resonate greatly with you, especially with the boys and girls who were 13 or 14 years old when they travelled to England with us.  It was our pleasure and our privilege to share in their lives during three wonderful weeks.

Lorena Álvarez & Enrique Yáñez

Last Farewell:

Fergus Lury, Centre Manager: 

Our friends from Mayflower: 

Our Bell Bedgebury teachers and activity leaders: 

At Heathrow airport:

Lalita John

Callum Palmer

During our return flight to Santiago:

Last picture:  Queuing up at Immigration in Pudahuel.

9:31 a.m. Saturday, September 22nd, 2012.

Our English adventures come to an end.

Let's end this blog with some music.  Here's Callum's and Lalita's Farewell Video, the one they prepared for the final ceremony of our course at Bedgebury.  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s51kSb7VbtU&feature=youtu.be

Keep this blog alive forever.  Visit often.

Live long and prosper.

Thursday Evening

Dear readers,

This will be our final post from England.  I am sitting in the Begdebury library as I type these last impressions of our trip.  The sun is shining outside, although the weather is definitely turning, the mornings are chillier and the sun doesn't warm you as it used to just a few days ago.  We have been very fortunate in that we only had about three minutes of rain during our whole stay in this country, and that was while we shopped in Oxford Street, in London.  Aside from that, the weather has not only been balmy but rather downright warm.  While I write, the children, or the members of the Chilean Expeditionary Force, rather, are saying their good-byes to Bedgebury.  Most of them have said that they don't want to leave, but all things must come to an end - including the good.
Once again, this has been a very good trip.  Aside from a couple of accidents, things have all gone according to plan.  We have packed an incredible number of experiences into our three weeks which, when you think about it,  makes you wonder why no one has collapsed yet.  It has been a very intense time in England and I'm sure that the boys and girls will remember this experience forever.

Here are some of the things we did on Thursday evening.
First we had a final ceremony where our Eighth graders presented a short show and then some awards were given out.

Elisa was not looking her best that evening.

And this is a short video of that ceremony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMpS77rZbDE&feature=youtu.be

Next, we had dinner and then the Redland teenage Force left for their rooms so that they could change into proper attire for the main activity to come, Casino Night!
The following are only a few of the many pictures we took.

Here is some video footage of that amazing experience:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz8fu5JdPLw&feature=youtu.be

As the evening came to a close, we all met in our Common Room where we would be informed about the following day's schedule.  Fergus, the Centre Manager, spoke to The Force:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od0P9XpiVHk&feature=youtu.be

And then, surprise!  PIZZA!!  This was a surprise farewell pizza that Fergus and his team, Lalita John, Callum Palmer, Karen and Hazel had prepared for us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7P8dRDfTlY&feature=youtu.be

One of the boys, who shall remain unnamed, was able to gobble down four, maybe five, slices of pizza - and would still ask for more after all the pizza was gone. But his name shall never be revealed.
We could, perhaps, provide his initials.
We'll sleep on that.

And then it was time to go to bed.
We have a long trip ahead of us before we are reunited with our loved ones.

Our Final Trip to London

Dear readers,

Thank you for bearing with us and keeping us company during these weeks while we've been away in England.
Our final trip to London took place on Wednesday, September 19.  We planned it differently in that we did not travel by coach; instead, we went by train.  As you probably know, trains are used extensively in this country, especially because many people have moved out of the cities and gone to live in smaller towns and villages within commuting distance of larger cities like London.  All train stations have a large parking area where commuters leave their cars, motorcycles, or bicycles even, and take the train.  Our trip into London took 50 minutes.
These are some pictures of The Force waiting to ride into London.

Once in London, we took the Tube and got off at Madame Tussaud's.  The children enjoyed the visit very much.  They took many photographs of some of their favourite celebrities.
Here's some video footage of the ride on the Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_02JcZJk0wk&feature=youtu.be

When that visit was over, we met outside and got back in the Tube.  We got off near the British Museum.  Before going in we had our pack lunches and relaxed on the grass outside the museum.  Then we went inside and spent a long time visiting its many collections and permanent exhibitions.  Some of the most interesting continue to be the Egyptian collection, as well as the Rosetta Stone.
The following is a little filming we did outside the museum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AauBTzTXmQk&feature=youtu.be

When we exited the museum, we walked to Covent Garden.  We had been telling the members of our expedition since Chile that Covent Garden was a good and less expensive place to buy souvenirs and presents for their loved ones.  So they did.
This is a short video of Covent Garden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFjwmgVEq_g&feature=youtu.be

Then it was time to head for Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus.  We had some free time to walk around and reconnoiter the area.
The following is a short video depicting the hustle and bustle of the big city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPb-UKdZF4c&feature=youtu.be

We then met up again and headed for Planet Hollywood, where we would have our dinner.  Here are a few photographs of that meal.  The music was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think.  The children seemed to enjoy themselves.