2008 – Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve 2008

On Christmas Eve we went to London (quite an adventure with Skip’s leg in plaster). Ten Scouts, including myself, attended and Skip (later accompanied by my Dad) had the joyous task of looking after us. Our first experience was the trip to South Kensington to the Natural History Museum where we were going Ice- Skating. We arrived half an hour early and an extremely nice young lady let us on the ice straight away. I’m not sure if it’s because we were Scouts or that Skip was very nice to her! We had a lot of fun skating (guess who fell over first!) and were all exhausted by the end of our extended session. But it wasn’t over yet… 

After a short bus ride we arrived at our second destination, The Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane where we were shown round some of the exclusive rooms. I was amazed at the size of it all, let alone the cost! None of us lot could even afford to sit down in one of those rooms! Some of the views out of the windows in the Penthouse suites were spectacular, though. Panoramic scenes of London, over- the- rooftops views of Hyde Park, it was amazing.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We were then taken to the Kitchens, given aprons and hats to help prepare lunch. We were put into three groups. My group started by making pizzas. We were given a piece of dough, some tomato sauce, cheese(!) and various toppings and the assistance of a Chef. Next we made pancakes with the Executive Chef and his apprentice. The heat coming off the range was almost unbearable, and the frying pans got so hot we had to hold them with the corner of our aprons! Our final activity was making chocolate truffles and decorating mini chocolate cakes. Needless to say, this was the messiest, and most enjoyable, task!

We were then treated to a three-course meal in the Krug Room, a room to one side of the kitchen which had frosted glass walls to hide the room from our view. When the Executive Chef flicked a switch the glass changed to clear and we saw a magnificent dining table set for twelve. The meal was fantastic and we were all given a goody-bag to remember our day. Two of the boys also had Birthdays (one that day, one the next) and they were each given a birthday cake to take home too! 

Afterwards Skip and Dad agreed on why it was called the Krug room; their champagne never stopped flowing! You can experience The Dorchester online by visiting their website. The address is: http://www.thedorchester.com/ but the real thing is better…..I know, I was there.

When we arrived back in Cuffley, just before four ‘o clock, we ‘legged it’ (Skip hopped) to the Church. We were met by our District Commissioner and his mother and sat down ‘quietly’ to join a Christingle service. All in all, the day was a sucess. I’ll post some more of the pictures from London later, there are too many to include this time. 

Had a good time at the 1st Cuffley?

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