It Just Keeps Getting Better

On Thursday, Constable Richard Watson pulled some major strings and treated the group to 'the royal treatment.'  Constable Watson and Constable Phil Cole escorted the group to the front door of Prime Minister Cameron at 10 Downing Street.  This was just the beginning of an amazing day.

After a bit of a walking tour of he area, we arrived at Buckingham Palace to watch the traditional ceremony of the changing of the guards........from inside the gates of Buckingham Palace.  We experienced the ceremony while standing on the Queen's front steps.  This can't even be described as a once in a lifetime experience as few people ever have this privilege.  We also had the opportunity to see the Nepalese Gurkha military unit relieve the Queen's guard.

We finished the day with lunch in the New Scotland Yard canteen followed by discussions with Metropolitan Police Officers about topics such as riot and demonstration policing tactics, policing the 2012 Olympics, and Constable Watson's infamous UK versus US policing comparison.  It was an incredible day...up until the point we had to say good-bye to Constable Watson :-(