This morning was lovely, because I got to sleep in. What a busy few days it has been, I was thankful to catch up on some sleep. The first activity today was a lecture from Dr. Jonathan Firth talking about the work being done by Virgin Galactic. The company is a branch of Virgin that has invested in building a space craft which can commercially take people to space. The trip is two hours and requires 3 days of pre-flight check-ups and training but anyone with $250,000 lying around can take a trip. The lecture itself was fairly entrepreneurial, but the kind of advances that the technology will lead to may contribute to humans one day colonizing space.
Next were optional visits! I personally opted for the London River Cruise along the Thames. Our guide was hilarious, and very bitter about all the foreign investment coming into London and causing the same problems we have in Vancouver. We saw many old buildings which used to be used as warehouses for incoming goods, that have now been turned into apartment buildings. We also saw the O2 stadium, “The Shard”, Greenwich observatory, the London Eye, the cable cars crossing the Thames and many many pubs. Our boat departed at low tide, and apparently at high tide the water is 7 meters higher than when we saw it. I sat with a Canadian named Zoe from Newfoundland that is absolutely lovely, and some of the many Australians on the trip. We discussed Canadian and Australian politics and learned a bit about Australian Universities. I also learned all the states and territories of Australia and what mummering is! (Apparently it’s when Newfies dress up in weird outfits and knock on people’s doors at Christmas time to have a beer and guess who is dressed up under all the clothes).
Finally, we had dinner and listened to some of the projects that were picked yesterday to present 3 minute lectures to the rest of the forum. Again, the students picked were wonderful and presented phenomenally in their 3 minute time limit. I took an early night so I could catch up on these blogs, and enjoy some time alone. Heading to Oxford Street and Hyde Park tomorrow to do some exploring in my free time while most people head over to Stonehenge.
Excited for the next few days!
Good night – Tessa.