Cathy and I went down to see the changing of the guard ceremony. We had read that the best place to see the action was either at the nearby St. James's Palace or the Wellington Barracks. So we went to St. James's and watched the band play before escorting the guards down to Buckingham Palace where they met up with the guards from the Barracks. We followed them and then joined the mobs at the gates. I couldn't help but fall into step with the wonderful music, very traditional marching kind of pageantry music. But once they got inside the palace gates and played a few more songs, suddenly they started playing Abba, specifically Dancing Queen!!! And after that they played A Groovy Kind of Love by the Mindbenders. And if that wasn't a mindbending experience I don't know what was! Then after they got that out of their systems, they went back to the serious stuff.

We toured the state apartments that Gord and I had done last week. The tickets we had purchased were good for unlimited visits with photo ID. The woman at the desk was very nice and offered to let Cathy in on Gord's ticket, saving her 15 pounds.

Got home in time to make dinner for three of the students who loved the comfort food of roast chicken, macaroni and cheese, caesar salad, and slow-roasted tomatoes (and of course a fresh raspberries on custard pie from downstairs). Most of them are really not eating very well as they are responsible for buying or cooking their own meals. They are living on ramen, canned soup, and other simple items. In fact they claim not to have had a real meal since they got here. I had made twice as much macaroni, so sent them back to the dorm with the leftovers.