London Inspiration and Excitement

The London 2012 countdown clock,
Trafalgar Square, London

The team had tickets to go to the Antarctica Exhibition, The Heart of the Great Alone, in the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace.

So, for the first time, they spent the weekend in London and had a fantastic time.

On Saturday, they queued for 4 hours 45 minutes.  Yes, you did read that correctly - 285 minutes, outside the Royal Academy in order to visit the David Hockney Exhibition - A Bigger Picture.


Jake was introduced to the concept of long hours standing in a snaking line, chatting to strangers, experiencing the delights of Pret a Manger sandwiches (a real delight), filling in activity books and watching 'Fast Track' and pre-booked ticket holders stroll past with a carefree air.

Nic & Philip are still not sure whether they convinced him that standing in a queue was part of the whole experience and would really make the whole day more memorable.

However, the exhibition was fantastic!  The size and bold colours of  the canvasses really made an impact.

 The following day the team found themselves surrounded by inspirational sights and sounds.

The Heart of the Great Alone was an exhibition of photographs from the famous Scott and Shackleton Expeditions to the Antarctic.

Both men and their teams were incredibly brave, determined and inspirational.  The photographs are stunning and the stories of the expeditions are extraordinary.  Shackleton's Endurance expedition and the amazing rescue and survival of him and all his team after the Endurance was shipwrecked is truly incredible.

Jake standing in front of a photograph of
Captain Scott

In the gallery reading about the rescue of Shackleton's men
 from Elephant Island

This was not the end of the team's inspirational day.  They headed out of the exhibition and onto The Mall to witness hundreds of runners Going the Extra Mile for Sports Relief.  It was an amazing sight and then, as they watched the 2:00p.m runners leave the Start Line, they caught sight of 5 times Olympic Gold Medallist, Sir Steve Redgrave.  Jake was able to get his new polo shirt signed, tell him a little about the bikewithJake challenge and then get a photo.


What a fantastic, inspirational day!

Jake waiting to meet
Sir Steve Redgrave