From Nottingham, we headed to Prague for 2 days.  Prague is a beautiful city, and one of the main reasons is because it was not bombed in World War 2. Most of the old medieval buildings remain.  However, the architecture in Prague is not the only beautiful thing: an excellent part of Prague is their BEER; it is good and it is cheap. While there, we visited some beautiful cathedrals, drank beer, saw the largest continuous castle in the world, and drank some more beer.  

 

 

     

 

Next stop was London for a few days, but of course, before departure, we drank some more beer. We only had a few days in London, so we tried to cram as much in as possible.  We visited Westminster Abbey, which contains the tombs of Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Darwin, and many other famous people. Maybe they will bury Stone there!  

 

From the cathedral it was across town to the Tower of London. The Tower has incarcerated many prisoners in its day, and saw the execution of William Wallace just outside its gates.  The tower contains the Crown Jewels, an armory, and some of the Queens personal guard:  The Beefeaters. One highlight of the armoury is what the Guinness book of records says is the biggest set of armor in the world. I don't even think Too Tall could fill out this armor!!

 

The next day in London we decided to go to Buckingham Palace, and from there to Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. This is where people go to preach and tell you their views while standing on soap boxes and ladders. I stood there listening to people rambling on and on about nothing, including some of their own experiences/stories from the past.  It felt like being alone in a car with Stone on a road trip!!

 

 

         

 

Since arriving in the UK, I have learned much about the history by visiting such historical sights as Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, and Sterling castle.  In a way, I have also learned about my own history, because we in Canada of course, are attached to England through the Commonwealth.  This can be seen in many British things such as: The Canadian gates at Buckingham Palace, and the monument to General Wolfe in Westminster Abbey.

 

Now all this history is very interesting, but I wanted to learn some other history,  that I had never heard of before, the history of RUGBY.  Being in England I decided to go back to where it all began: Rugby School in the town of Rugby!!!  I was very excited to go see the famous school, and the Rugby museum which explains how the game came about.

 

To get there, I hopped on a train with another exchange student, and in no time I was there. First I decided to go to "The Rugby Museum", which is free to enter and contains memorabilia and donations from all over the world.  The museum is actually the original store of a shoemaker by the name of GILBERT.  He made the first Rugby ball at his shop, and it is displayed in the museum!  

 

The first part of the museum shows the evolution of the Rugby ball, and how the ball is made. I remember Stone telling me that the first time he played they had used a leather ball.  They then show the authentic kit that players use. There are even those famous "caps" that some of Ste-Anne's finest (like Val, Gill, and Keith have received). I learned that the velvet and rope caps were originally part of the kit, and players wore them during the game.  Now they are kept in the Rugby world through tradition and they are awarded to players who have played for their country.

 

 

The next part of the museum described the genesis of the IRB Rugby World Cup, and it has memorabilia from everywhere and everyone involved. After that, they broke down every country and explained their history in world Rugby.  This is when I came across something familiar, listed under the heading of the country of Canada. There is a full history of Canadian Rugby which explains that the first Rugby club in Canada was my very own "McGill Rugby Club!!!"  The museum gives the history of William Webb Ellis, and how he picked up the ball and ran forward, starting the game of rugby.  The first Rugby games that took place at the school involved up to 300 students!! Now that would be a great after game drink-up!

 

 

Finally, I went across the street to the statue of Webb Ellis.  It sits just outside the massive Rugby School itself, which is still a private high school (called a "public school,").  I went around the back of the school to two of the best Rugby pitches I have ever seen.  I then hacked around on the field with a rugby ball, slotting continuous drop goals!!  

 

The groundskeepers who were working on the nearby grass had the look that maybe I shouldn't have been playing on their pitch.  So I decided to head over to "The William Webb Ellis" pub for a pint.  On the walls, the pub had Rugby photos and apparel from all over. I had a pint and some bangers and mash, and then it was back to the train, and back to Notts.

 

Later on, I decided to do a daytrip to Oxford, the oldest University in England.  The town has many separate colleges which make up the university, each with its own chapel and quad.  I visited Christ's College at the back of the town, which was was home to the author of the book "Alice and Wonderland" (Lewis Carroll) who was a mathematics professor!! I visited the dining hall which has been seen in one of Jon Lavery's favorite movies of all-time ......Harry Potter!!  

 

Oxford is a nice town, and it has such an old and interesting history.  It has been home to some very famous people including Gareth Rees ( great Canadian Rugby player) and Keith Wilkinson also wore the blue in the famous Oxford-Cambridge rugby game.  I also got to see the Oxford rowing team tuning their boat.  They were getting ready for "The boat race" race against Cambridge which is one of the oldest sporting events worldwide, and it takes place in 15 days along the Thames.

 

 

        

 

Well, this is all for now. I am on Easter break and ready to travel for one whole month.  I will be skiing with Ginger Spice in Switzerland and drinking Guinness in Dublin on St. Patty's day.  I hope the Club has a good time celebrating downtown, and cheering on fellow club member and parade Queen Yerbury.  Happy Ste-Patrick's day everyone, and have a good Easter break.