Tim and Sean traveled from Yorkshire to London on Tuesday just before lunch. Before they left they went with Uncle Derek to see Uncle Jack. It was Tim & Sean's first time to meet him. It was a very powerful experience for Tim because he said for the first time he felt he could perhaps imagine what his Grandpa was like. Grandpa Archie Marsden felt very real to him. He said it was a wonderful experience and will tell us all more later. Uncle Jack couldn't get over how much Tim reminded him of our Grandpa Alan. To put it in perspective, Uncle Jack to Tim is like Uncle Derek to Sean. It was awesome.

Tim and Sean were very sad to leave Uncle Derek and Auntie Dorothy, but also felt very happy that their goodbye would be a short one and it was nice to say, "see you next week", instead of see you next time. The fact that they were heading to London to get ready to go to the ARSENAL game helped too. After they arrived at Kings Cross, they made their way to meet Ray at the station by his house. He was wonderful and helped them settled in. June had made them a delicious dinner and they ate with Ray, then Ray took them back to the station and they headed into London. Even though their ARSENAL football game wasn't until Wednesday night, first things first, they headed for ARSENAL'S stadium. They had fun checking it out and doing some shopping too. They stayed in London checking out the sites and sounds until about 10:00p.m. They were tired from their traveling and wanted to be ready for the next day.


They started Wednesday at Picadilliy Circus and then went over to to Buckingham Place to be there for the changing of the guards. They both said it was very crowded but enjoyed staying for about one hour and then headed to West Minster Abbey. Tim said he especially enjoyed the Abbey because now included in the price of the admission is an audio tour. This is either new, or we didn't know about it four years ago when we were with Melissa. They loved it. Just before they left they watched the movie DaVinci Code and after going to West Minster they want to watch it again to check it out even further. They also went to the National Art Gallery for me. I knew before they left that this was meant to be a English Football trip for both of them, but it was important for me to expose Sean to some additional culture beside Football. A few of my requests included National Art Gallery, the Tower of London (priority to Tim too), British Museum, West Minster Abbey & St. Paul's Cathedral. They spent 1 1/2 hours at the National Art Gallery so I was very pleased. Tim has gained some maturity over the past seventeen years, because when we went to England in 1991, he sat down at Trafalgar Square and wouldn't go into the National Art Gallery because it wasn't on our "agenda". We laugh about it now. I think they may have done a little shopping too after :). Then they headed for the game. They were very happy that ARSENAL won 4 - 0, and it was a wonderful experience for both of them. It sounded like it was everything they had dreamed of and more. They got back to Ray & June's after midnight after a huge day and even though Tim kept saying I better go to bed, I think we talked about 30 minutes because he couldn't stop telling me about how great their day was. Sean however, dropped right into bed and fell asleep.


Today they went to the Tower of London. They spent about 5 hours totally enjoying themselves at the Tower. They also went over to Tower Bridge and from the sounds of things all over London. I know they went to Harrods'sand I think Hyde Park today, but that could have been yesterday, I'm not sure. They did more shopping and ate at a wonderful Italian place that we had eaten at when we went four years ago. At 9:00 p.m. they found themselves sitting along the Themes listening to Big Ben chime. When I talked to them at 11:30 p.m. England time, they sounded happy and tired. Tim said that their feet were feeling the affects of being on them all day. They have been blessed with wonderful weather.


Tomorrow they have a double decker bus tour planned and the ride on the Themes. They will go to St. Paul too. They will either go to Abbey Road first thing in the morning or perhaps wait until Saturday, so we can see them on the web cam, they weren't sure. They are also going to try to go to the Britsh Museum either tomorrow or Saturday. So much to do, so little time. I am really starting to feel the affects of having them gone. I can no longer limit myself to my two squares of symphony. For comfort I believe I ate ....well too many to count...or who wants to count...not me. Today is the ninth day, but it feels like a lot longer then that. but thank goodness for phone cards.