Slept like a baby: woke up several times during the night. After a full english breakfast, we had a saunter to St Katharine’s Dock, where I’d noticed a Starbucks yesterday. My caffeine levels replenished, we had a slow walk across Tower Bridge in the sunshine, and made our way to the London Dungeon. To be honest, the most scary thing initially was the price, but I was able to use one of the many vouchers I’d saved for the trip.
The queue, both outside and in, was long, but once we got inside, things moved at quite a pace. For someone who’s a little claustrophobic, I can’t say I enjoyed being trapped in the Labyrinth of Mirrors (imagine the horror, being forced to repeatedly look at yourself in the mirror, after very little sleep…scary!) Then came the trial, olde worlde style. A woman from our group was called to the dock for dancing naked in the streets. Despite admitting to being an Irish witch, she was let off. Then a young Welsh boy from the group was charged with peeing in the river and polluting the town’s water supply. Despite his disgusting crime, the ‘judge’ let him off. Then…you’ve guessed it…I was called forward (“the lady with all the hair”). As I stood in the dock, the Bailiff asked my name and where I came from. As soon as I said, “Newcastle,” the ‘judge’ said, “I’ve heard all about you Newcastle girls…” and pronounced me guilty of being a Geordie and sentenced me to death, along with the rest of the group for associating with me! We were all to hang from the neck until dead for my crime. I seemed to be memorable to the ‘cast’ of the Dungeon for some reason, as they remembered my name throughout. This posed a problem when I wanted to chicken out of the last ride – I headed to the ‘Freedom’ sign, but was ushered away by the Court Bailiff. The final ride, Extremis, was a shocker and it made me worry even more about my abseil next year (though, hopefully, it won’t involve falling, as Extremis did…)
One word of advice, a mini skirt is not appropriate for the London Dungeon…or any Dungeon, I should imagine. Read Day Two (B) tomorrow and find out about the Road to Hell…