It was Friday, March 13th, it was the last day of our trip to England so we were very sad… and it was raining!

We arrived in Salisbury and we immediatly felt that something odd was taking place.

It was incredible! Some people in the streets were dressed up, wearing red wig and a red noses, just like clowns. Some others were wearing red clothes, pyjamas, and they were all laughing. We wondered what was going on, because we had never seen that before! Were people in Salisbury particularly strange? Was all this happening because it was Friday the 13th? We went to the shopping mall to have lunch and there we saw a big poster that answered all our questions: it was in fact Red Nose Day.
Then we were told that on this special day, people are asked to raise money for Comic Relief, a charity which wants to fight against poverty in the world. The slogan of this day is “do something funny for money”, but it can be “wear something funny for money…”, or “buy something funny for money…”.

It was lunch time, we headed towards Saint James’s Park to have picnick like many Londoners and tourists. But St James’s Park was different on that day… The first thing we saw near the entrance of the park was a lawn full of crocus and daffodils. It was so beautiful! Then, we saw the squirrels. They were grey squirrels and they weren’t shy at all: they were eating out of our hands. We were then very surprised to see so many people in the park, and especially businessmen wearing suits, white shirts and ties, seating on the benches or on the grass and eating sandwiches. It seemed very funny to us, we had never seen anything like that before !

Covent Garden has always been a market place full of animation and activity. When we went to visit London with our collège in March 2009, we were quite pleased to hear that we could have some free time in Covent Garden : it meant shopping for us !

When we arrived in La Piazza, a large square in front of the covered market, we were happy to see there was till a « market » full of people there. We couldn’t believe our eyes : it was like a paradise for a young tourist ! There were many shops selling anything we would dream to buy (clothes, shoes…), but there was also a covered market called the « Jubilee Market » where you could buy all the typical English souvenirs a French teenager is looking for !

The First Place where most people go when they visit London is Buckingham Palace. but they ever noticed the monument and the statue right in front of the Queen’s residence? And do they even know statue is it? We have met her, here is what we heard her saying! Hello ! I’m Queen Victoria. Well, I am the statue in front of Buckingham Palace, the one nobody notices, they are all more interested in what is going on behind me… you know, the Changing of the Guard ! Today is Wednesday, March 10th 2008, and like every day, the tourists are gathering around me to see it. Suddenly, I hear a voice yelling « The changing of the Guard is beginning ! Quick! Hurry up! ». I look down to see who is yelling and I notice a quite short woman, blond-haired and wearing glasses. She is running towards the roundabout, followed by a group of teenagers. She must be one of these English teachers who organize trips to England for French pupils… and of course they don’t want to miss the ceremony! They are lucky, today, they are going to see two Changings of the Guard… the Horse Guards have just left… They are all gathered behind the fence, taking photos… They must be impressed by the Guards, their red jackets, their black trousers and of course their tall, furry hats… . I don’t understand these tourists… I am fed up with watching these Guards marching in front of me every day, following their military music… It’s always the same !