Thursday, 14. September 2006, 20:54:28
I went to London today.
In July my music teacher mentioned that the British Army's Music Corps were organising a day called 'Rhythm Force', which would take place in September, for music students all around the country. Well the summer holidays came and went and I forgot all about it. Then, in our first music lesson when we came back to school someone asked what was happening with the trip. The teacher looked around and asked if we were still interested in going. Then he drew a big wad of papers from his bag and started telling us what would be happening, he'd obviously been planning it over the holidays!!!
He said that we'd be going to Twickenam, London, on Thursday September 14th. He explained that everything would be free (a huge bonus!) except for food. Then he handed around a leaflet which had been sent to him by the Army. It said that there would be some really great activities, including; Paintballing (YESS!), an obstacle course, a climbing wall and first aid. So, it didn't look particularly musical but what did we care? It was a day off school!
At the end of the lesson I went up to the teacher and asked if he had any spare spaces on the trip. He asked why and I explained that, although she is not musical at all, I'd been wondering if he's let Dani go with us. I fully expected him to say no straight away, but to my surprise he took out the pile of papers again and looked down his list of people going. Then he looked up, smiling, and said "You're in luck, I have 40 spaces available, and so far only 39 taken. Dani can go." That just made my day, I'd been looking forwards to the trip, but it was even more exciting knowing my best friend would be there too!
Over the week we were given forms to fill in and sign, promising that we didn't have asthma and wouldn't sue the Army if we died during the trip. And instructions on what (not) to where. And various pieces of homework that we didn't understand because we'd been to excited to listen in the lessons they were set...And then the day finally arrived.
Since the coach was due to leave school at 7.30 I had to wake up at 6am and my mum also had to get up early, so that we could drive to school and be there for 7.15. When I woke up, rain was pelting down, battering the window, and we got drenched just dashing the six feet from the front door to the car!
When we arrived at school I found Dani sitting on the wall outside school, thoroughly soaked, having been sat there since 6.20am! She'd refused a lift from my mum, arguing that "your mum gives me a lift everywhere!" and saying that she'd get the bus. Only it turned out that she'd read the timetable wrong (a mistake she often makes) and there were no busses that early. So her mum had dropped her in, even though it was so early.
We stood around outside school for almost an hour, waiting for the scheduled coach to arrive. When he did finally turn up we found out he'd been lost. Now, getting lost in this town is no easy feat, my school is a big ugly building on a huge roundabout- it's easier to find that than to find the Selfridges building in Birmingham!
Anyway, once everyone was loaded onto the coach we finally set off, only we immediately got stuck in traffic. It took us 40 minutes to travel from my school to a small turning 60 meters up the road.
By the time we got out of the traffic it was 9.15 and we were almost two hours late, we hadn't even left town yet and we were due in london in 1 hour 45 min. No chance of that happening!
We arrived at Twickenam at about 1.15, so so so late. But once we entered the area where the event was being held we found that the lack of time (the event finished at 2.30) was no big deal.
The thing we'd been looking forwards too was a hige dissapointment. It was simply a big field with a few tents and a bunch of army recruiters attempting to make the army inviting. And, as those of you who've read my Work Experience speach know, the army is no carreer for me! The paintballing which we'd been so excited about was not
real paintballing, it was just people standing behind a fence shooting pellets at cardboard targets, and there was a huge queue. There was an even bigger queue for the obstacle course, which was not your traditional army style get-plastered-in-mud obstacle course, it was a safety-concious bouncy castle type obstacle course, which though it looked inviting was not worth waiting 45 minutes in a queue for. And there was no sign at all of a first aid course, unless you count the first aid tent for injured members of public?
On the plus side, there was a fairly good band playing covers of various rock songs, which we enjoyed singing along to. Or rather, Dani enjoyed singing and I croaked- my voice is rapidly dissapearing due to a cold that's been troubling me all week and is now morping into an irritating cough.
Once Dani and I had walked the perimeter of the field a couple times we decided that the most inviting option was queueing for the obstacle course. When, eventually, our turn came around we really enjoyed it, but it was too short!!! And then suddenly it was 2.30 and time to leave.
The return coach journey wasn't too bad, as with on the way, Dani and I spent the entire time listening to music and deciding what songs to swap. We also did a lovelly rendition (or so we thought) of Blink 182's 'Feeling This'.
Overall, although the event itself wasn't great, the day as a whole was quite good. I had a fun time on the coach

f you want to find out more about 'Rhythm Force' or if you want to read a more positive version of what was supposed to be happening, take a look
here.
xx
P.S I'm questioning my apparent ability to write a 1000+ word blog in a half hour, yet complete inability to write a 2000+ essay in two days for school!