I have recently had several people request details on certain post items, so I though that I wuld clear some things up. One thing worth mentioning is that I went on the London Eye, as opposed to the London I. This error occured in the first post which was composed of phone conversation and IM transcripts. I mentioned it during an IM chat and, using "chatspeak", called it the "I" in an attempt to asave finger energy and prevent joint strain. I probably assumed that my family at least knew what I was talking about and thus used a shortened form. While we're on the topic of the London Eye, some people had never heard of such a creature. I think that the best way to describe it is a giant Ferris Wheel except slower. That and the carriages don't rock back and forth, making you feel like you're going to fall. It is actually quite nice. Also, now that we're back, I can disclose certain souvenir items that were previously kept secret. The "awesomest item for mom" from the Tower of London Gift Shop was in fact a DIY moving paper model of an executioner chopping someone's head off. We are now in the process of making said model. The Tower Bridge (which we visited afterwards) is a little bit different than most people expect. It's very blue. I was not anticipating so much of the colour blue. It is magnificant and if you see a picture of the bridge, you'll see a span connecting the two main towers. These are walkways, open to pedestrians like us. It's neat being up there.

Something else that some people were wanting more details about was the bet placed between myself and my Grandparents. The wager was placed on my ability to solve the Bedlam Cube, which is a cubular puzzle consisting of 13 differently shaped 3 dimensional pieces. The rules we decided upon were that all of the pieces must be used and there should be no gaps (spaces between blocks) in the puzzle. The deal was that if I could solve this puzzle, I would travel 1st class on the flight from London to Toronto and Grandma and Grandpa would have to go Economy (there was only one first class ticket). If I couldn't solve the puzzle, I would be sitting Economy and Grandma/Grandpa would fly 1st class. Unfortunately, I soon realized that solving the puzzle before the end of the trip would not likely happen, even for a cubemaster like me, and thas it would be likely that pieces would become lost in transit if they were not in their original packaging. I decided that all bets were off and looked online for a solution instead. Before doing this myself, though, I sent a coded plea for help to my father. The ensuing conversation was apparently quite funny to some, so I will post it here:

Marc Hache says: i love the way you write
jean-marc.hache@shaw.ca says: thanx. Just working on this BEDLAM CUBE.
jean-marc.hache@shaw.ca says: I always make sure to say PLEASE and thank you, and that was what got me into the London Dungeons gift shop today. I'll explain what i'm doing later.
jean-marc.hache@shaw.ca says: we should SEARCH FOR the hatchard's in Picadilly
Marc Hache says: Atta boy. You should think about going to bed. Another big day tomorrow.
jean-marc.hache@shaw.ca says: I just created a SOLUTION of water and sugar, I request that you follow the coded instructions that I just covertly sent. The CAPITALS should help you do it.
jean-marc.hache@shaw.ca says: relay the results ASAP, please and thank you
jean-marc.hache@shaw.ca says: let me know if you don't get it

By the way, it was my pleases and thank-yous that got me into the London Dungeons Gift Shop. I asked one of the costumed actresses if I could just go into the gift shop without the whole Dungeons experience. Because I was so polite, she granted my request even though she wasn't supposed to do so.

Another thing: I wish to dispel rumours that on our last day I had a bad day. I absolutely did have a good day even though my blog may seem to indicate otherwise. I would like to officially say that although certain days of the trip may have been better, it was in no way a bad experience. In fact, it was coming very close to a good experience, especially the Royal Yacht Britannia. We also saw some cool things on the way.

For those who are interested, I will be posting a complete list of souvenirs on Monday, August 4th or later