Day 4 - March 22, 2014

After another great breakfast at the Millennium Bailey Hotel in London, everyone met outside and loaded up the buses for the drive out to Heathrow Airport.  Once at the airport we made our way through security relatively quickly.  I am not sure if it was a quiet time at the airport, or if Heathrow is so big that they have everything down to a science, but everything was very efficient.  Once we were through, the group spent their time either sleeping, shopping or eating.  It took awhile, but our gate was finally announced and we made our way to where we needed to be.  On the way to our gate, many of the girls were excited to see the Sting legend - Ms. Beaker Gabert, who was passing through London on one of her international trips.  At our gate, we all hopped onto several buses and were transferred across the tarmac to our awaiting Boeing 767 for the flight to Sweden.

The flight went very well, and we arrived on time at Stockholm's airport.  This airport is considerably smaller than Heathrow and it was nice to get away from the crowds.  I would guess that this airport is even smaller than the Edmonton International Airport - which is an easy one to fly into/out of.  We shared the flight with a large group of Swedish high school students who were returning from a London shopping trip.  I am confident that none of our girls noticed the Swedish boys.

At the airport, once we collected our luggage and loaded the two buses, we were off to the hotel.  Arriving just at dusk, we had enough time to check in before everyone scattered for supper.  As the group sporadically returned to the hotel after a long day, the girls went to bed and the parents finally gathered downstairs for a much needed debriefing.  Most of the parents were there, and though many eyes looked around the room for our missing contingent of teachers, Mr. Caine stepped up and proudly represented the one noticeably absent profession.

Today was really just a travel day, but everyone is looking forward to tomorrow and our first game against the Swedes.  Game line-ups have been announced and tomorrow will see Sting finally hit the international ice.  Go Sting Go!

My observations for the day:

• It was great to see Greg Cherniak join the group today.  I have attached a photo of him and Darren Dreger at the airport.  The totality of three days in London had clearly caught up to Darren, but Greg appears fresh and well rested.  Weird.
• A few of us found the most delightful restaurant near our Swedish hotel with a very charming atmosphere.  Our hopes and dreams are with young Gavin K to do Canada proud.  A few others had dinner at the Hard Rock cafe, but I understand the atmosphere was a little more "hard core".
• British Airlines rocks!  The service on the plane was excellent and they had an entire crew of flight attendants efficiently making sure the team's needs were met.
• We had a Final 19 actually close down the lounge in Stockholm.  That may be a Sting record.  Photo is attached.  Looks like yet another in a long line of  Final pictures in Stockholm without Coach Darcy.
• Rum is clearly not a big seller here as the parent group actually finished all that they had in stock.  And reserve.  
• Finally, we were lucky to have the 2012 Foothills Cowboy Association Cowboy of the Year, Troy Pollitt join us tonight.  It did not take long to see that the cowboy makes the buckle, the buckle DOES NOT make the cowboy.  Oh my.

Day 3 - March 21, 2014

It was another fabulous day in sunny England for the Sting.  We are all gearing up for our trips to Sweden tomorrow, and Finland next week, to meet our friends and FINALLY play some ringette.

The last couple of days in London were a fun add-on to the 10 day trip we did in 2011.  I think when all is said and done that it was a good decision and provided memories that everyone here will remember forever.  As the writer of the Blog, this creates difficulties though, because I cannot really write about the team.  This portion of the trip is the least "formal", and everyone is doing their own thing.  I think everyone has taken full advantage of managing their own time - but I have not seen much of the group today and cannot share everyone's experiences with those following back home.  Sorry.

This is what I do know.  Most of the group was up at 8:00 this morning (2:00 am back home) to take full advantage of a beautiful day in London.  Again today, some families went off on their own adventures, while others merged into small groups with similar interests.  Shopping and sightseeing were the two big draws.  A large portion of the group went to see the London stage production of the Lion King this evening, and from the reports rolling in tonight - it was a great show.

All of the girls are still smiling and enjoying their UK experience.  Today's pictures are again somewhat limited as I'd prefer to share what the group did, rather than what I did.  The first picture shows the busy streets of London, the second a nice hill of daffodils at the London Tower, and the last  photo is a cool store that at least a few of the girls visited (Kens, Bryn, Holly).

My observations for day 3:

• If for any reason you are coming out of the London Tube (transit system) and there is a line for the elevators - wait.  Trying to climb out requires months of intensive training.  Whew!
• You can spend hours in the Piccadilly area, but trust me - there really is no circus there.
• Taking a photograph of the girls in a real authentic London phone booth may seem like a good idea - until you look inside of one.  Oh my!
• Every tourist shop has the cheapest prices in London.  Its true, just ask the vendor.
• London has been, by all accounts, a beautiful, clean and safe city.  Very nice.
• And finally, London pubs really do make the world a better place.

Day 2 - March 20th, 2014

So in reality, today is simply a continuation of yesterday.  Everyone has made a valiant effort (Tate rocks!) at staying awake through yesterday and today to put a quick end to any jet lag issues.  A good night sleep tonight and we should all be back on track tomorrow.

After landing at Heathrow International Airport, the sixty in our group made our way to the hotel in two coach buses.  Before leaving Heathrow, we were finally able to get all of the girls together for an inaugural group picture.

Our hotel was extremely accommodating and within minutes of our arrival was able to get all 60 guests into their rooms.  It was seamless and very nice.  Jackie, who never quits working, left the group to secure "hop -on hop-off" bus passes for everyone while we checked in.

After that - everyone really did their own thing.  Some families had a short nap, some went off exploring on their own, and some went off in larger groups.  There is soooo much to see and do here that it is impossible to list everything that everyone did.  In the early evening however, most of the group (44) went up on the big ferris wheel called the London Eye that stands across the Thames River from Big Ben.  From all accounts it was a great experience and a good opportunity to see this beautiful city from a different perspective.

It is senseless for me to include pictures of how everyone spent the day as few of them would reflect what everyone experienced with our individual itineraries.  I have included the group picture of the girls, a picture from the London Eye, and a birthday picture of Captain Kensey who turned 19 in London today.  Happy Birthday Kens, you are awesome!


My observations for Day 2:

• The streets are narrow, everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, and bus drivers have no fear.  One thing that I had not considered, and keep messing up - is looking the other way before I cross the street.  Yikes!
• How can a receptionist at a major hotel in London not know what and where Abbey Road is?  Seriously?
• Simply sitting and listening to people here is interesting.  Fewer than half the conversations that I overheard today were actually in English.  This is truly a multi-cultural city and not what I was expecting.
• It is fun watching our Sting girls together.  Whether they are 17 or 13, they all get along and all belong.  Nice!
• Riding the "Tube" or subway here is easy.  Finding hand sanitizer is the challenge.
• Finally, and this is important.  The doors on the subway do not re-open like our elevators if someone sticks their body in between the closing doors.  On a related note, don't try to board the subway and lead with your chin.  No - not one of our group - but something I'll never forget.  He did stand tall with the cliche stiff upper (and fat) lip.

Day 1 - Wednesday March 19, 2014

The shortest day of the trip - but possibly the longest day as well.  Many of the girls had a short school day to accommodate our 5:00pm Calgary International Airport rendezvous.  There was a lot of excitement and even more smiles amongst all of the girls.  Finally - we are on our way.  The girls, parents, friends, siblings and grandparents did a lot of fundraising over the last two years and today it all paid off.

No issues at the airport.  The international gate was super busy, and if you love crowds as much as I do, it was a little taxing.  The smiles on the girls made everything good though.

We were on an Air Canada A330 Airbus and it was almost full.  Excitement certainly carried the flight for the first two hours, then there was a lot of snoring.  The flight was uneventful, infinately smoother than the last time Sting flew over Greenland, and the landing was gentle.

I am very excited.  This is a great group of kids, and a nice parent group.  Time to Rock the House in Europe!

Below is a picture of our airplane.

My only observation from Day 1:

• Never, ever book a red eye with a boys soccer team on board.  They didn't "power-down" until an hour before landing and I thought our group was going to take them out.  

A huge thanks to all of our amazing sponsors for believing in, and supporting our girls!

Emerald ($1500-3499)

C.N. Consulting

CEDA
Sportech - Jordan O'Sullivan

Sapphire ($500-1499)

Lacombe Ford

RE/MAX Realty-Dawn Parent

Tom & Donna Trenerry

Kanderra Investments

SRT Resources Inc.

Big Sandy Cattle Co.

G-Force Welding

Misutka Veterinary Services

CFC Custom Fibreglass Contractors Ltd.

K2 Designs

ME Global

Spectrum Testing

Clean Harbors

YB Quality Meats

Lacombe Kinsmen

Scott Kia

Viking Projects Ltd.

Apex Oilfield Services (2000) Inc.

Ruby (up to $499)

GLD Holdings Ltd

Fort Garry Industries

Rimbey Beauty Salon

Ecologic Transport Ltd.

ATB Financial

Robco

Col-Tech

Lomsnes Veterinary Hospital Ltd.

Triple J Backhoe Services

Mr. Mikes Steakhouse & Bar

Enhanced Maintenance Solutions Inc.

Klassic Stitches

ConocoPhillips