Last day in London, watching the Changing of the Guard and then shopping in Hamley’s Toy Shop on a cold, sunny, day before driving home as the miners drift back to work but the train unions unite against delivering coal

Up at 7.00am with myself the last awake. Another order of pots of tea, coffee and hot chocolate from room service and then the children fell to electronic games of “The Big Game” (soccer) and Frogger, whilst I learnt the first notes of the Sailor’s Hornpipe on my flute. We all share a good bath in turn and then Daniel is dispatched to buy me a Guardian newspaper from the kiosk below. Breakfast downstairs at last and I join in the family’s fun when I realise that it is free and included in the ‘weekender’ tariff. We check out and load all the belongings in the car before taking the number 2b bus again from Swiss Cottage to Victoria Station and walking to Buckingham Palace. There to see at last the changing of the guard.

The weather is fine, sunny, but very cold as the new guard marches up and enters the courtyard. A larger band then marches in as well and plays a quite diverse concert of music whilst guard detachments are exchanged at remote corners of the Palace. Then off marches the larger band and then the smaller band with the old guard. It is a well-attended ceremony and views are restricted by the weight of people but I am sure that the foreign tourists were impressed – I was. The family somewhat restless, I agreed to catch a taxi to Regent Street and Hamley’s Toy Shop. A long morning and early afternoon checking out every floor with Debbie before we joined Daniel in the electronic games basement. I decide to purchase a game of ‘boules’ but am persuaded against buying a full sized croquet set as we do not have the lawn space to play it properly. At last off by taxi again to the Hotel car park in Swiss Cottage and by car home, stopping in Stevenage for an early tea and to spend Daniels £5 weekender voucher on computer games in WHSmiths. An evening reading and resting and a sound night’s sleep back in our own bed at last. News today of miners slowly drifting back to work although the other Rail Union – The NUR – has now joined ASLEF in refusing to transport coal to rising fears for the Steel and Electricity Industries.