Wednesday was my last full day in London. I began by visiting some of the bookstores along Charring Cross Road. With limited space in my suitcase, I limited my purchases to a couple of used science fiction books at Murder One.

I had a good lunch in the crypt beneath St-Martin-in-the-Fields, then went upstairs to listen to the choir practice while I wrote postcards. The practice was followed by a choral Eucharist that was one of the highest points of a great trip.

Coming out of the peace of the church into the heart of London was quite a shock.

I had to hurry across Trafalgar Square to the theater for a matinee of Noises Off, a hysterical farce. I enjoyed it, but found the audience very odd. Many of them didn’t "get" the show.

After the show, I took the tube across town to the Rising Sun Pub. After supper by myself, folks began to show up for the monthly meeting of the British Science Fiction Association. The attendance was small this month. Many folks had already flown down to Jersey for Eastercon. Also no program had been scheduled since a tube strike had been feared.

Still, I got to meet some British fans and authors, including one author from the US. I was particularly impressed by Molly Brown and have read a couple of her books since then.

At 8:30 things were already winding down and I had to leave to get to the Tower of London. At 9:30 PM a small group of us were met by a Beefeater and briefed on the Ceremony of the Keys.

The Ceremony of the Keys has been conducted in the same way every night since . Simply, it is the locking up of the Tower, though the ritual is quite details. Only a few people are alowed to view it and advance tickets are required. I first learned of the ceremony in Tom Clancy’s Patriot Games.

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