From The Contest Queen

This was the last day of our trip.  We spent most of it shopping and seeing any sights we had missed the past week.

(TRAVEL TIP: Everyone is familiar with Harrods, but if you have the opportunity, pop into Fortnum and Mason, near Piccadilly Circus, to purchase their tea and jam.  You can also have afternoon tea at their in store cafe.)

The highlight of our last day was meeting Kevin Francis.  (Even more exciting for me than meeting Duffy.  I am so sadly addicted to this hobby!)  He is the current President of The London Competition Club, the largest and oldest competition club in the UK.

It was like meeting an old friend. We had the opportunity to have dinner first and the conversation was fantastic. We then came back to the hotel atrium and recorded my blog talk show. We had heaps of fun!

There are quite a few differences between entering in the UK, Canada and the US.  The biggest being the elimination of the NPE (No Purchase Entry option).  A few years ago, companies in the UK got a law passed allowing them to require all competition entrants to purchase their product or service before being allowed to enter.

This is where I feel a body such as the CCA (Canadian Contestors Association) would have been of benefit to lobby against such laws being passed.  Also, I wonder why companies would do such as thing?  As a marketer, charging your customers to enter your promotion seems to go against the grain of building excitement around your brand and forging long lasting relationships with customers.  Annoying or angering your loyal purchasers does not seem like the best way to increase sales.

Listen to the entire show for more of Kevin’s great stories, descriptions and antidotes.  See if you can hear the horrid squeaking of the plastic furniture in the hotel atrium.  Also, doesn’t Kevin looks like a clean shaven Dave Foley?!

We made sure we were up early enough to get to Buckingham Palace in time to see the changing of the guard.

Since I was still sick and we had a big evening ahead, we kept the activities simple and had a rest before heading out for a fantastic evening.

We met the Universal Music representative outside the Carling Academy Brixton at 8:30pm.  We arrived in time to see Duffy take the stage.  Unfortunately it was standing room only.  I was in no condition to stand for 90 minutes.  We watched her first few songs, then retreated to the bar where we could sit and still hear the entire concert.  We ensured we were back in time to see her final numbers and encore.  (If you have never heard Duffy before, check out the videos on her website.  She has an amazing voice!)

After the concert we were taken to the backstage to the After Party.  After a short wait we had the opportunity to meet Duffy.  In my rush to pack I forgot her CD – ARGH!  But I had talked Stephanie into buy one, so she had her’s autographed.

One really fun aspect of this hobby is you can win opportunities to meet people you would not normally cross paths with in your everyday life.  I loved the energy Duffy exuded both on and off stage.  Singing is what she was meant to do.  She almost glows with the passion for her craft.

Universal Music also ensured we had a taxi ride back to the hotel.  The transportation to or from the concert wasn’t included in the prize, but the local representative knew the area wasn’t the best at night and ensured we got back safely.  We were very grateful.  I only wish I had felt better to fully enjoy the whole experience.

The London Eye is the number one tourist attraction in London.  When Stephanie and I arrived we realized guided Thames Cruises were also available leaving from the foot of the Eye.  Since the cruises were scheduled and we could get on the Eye any time afterward, we went on the cruise first.

We passed on of the sights I really wanted to visit with Craig; The Globe Theatre.  (I must win my next trip in the spring or summer!)

We then went up the Eye and saw the most incredible views of London.

(TRAVEL TIP: City Cruises offer a better deal as you can hop-on and hop-off along with going all the way to Greenwich – where they mark GMT.)

On Sunday we headed over to my absolute favourite London landmark, the Tower of London.

When we arrived, we discovered the Tower was one of the locations for outdoor ice skating set up in London for the holiday season.

Once inside we arrive just-in-time for a tour by a Yeoman Warder.  (Each Yeoman must have at least 22 years of British Military service before they can even apply to be a Yeoman Warder.)

After the tour we got in line to see the Crown Jewels.  (No photography is allowed inside.)  The jewels are so big and perfect it’s hard to believe they are real!

We then stopped for tea and scones bfore seeing the rest of the sights.

On our way to the White Tower, we spotted this piece of history.  It is part of the original Roman wall that surrounded “London” in the late 2nd century.

Inside the White Tower we saw the staircase the remains of two small boys were found during a restoration  of the steps. The disappearance of the Two Princes is one of the great mysteries of the Tower.

From one of the upper windows, we could see the Queen’s House that was originally commissioned for Anne Boleyn.

Due to my being ill and tired, we arrived just after lunch.  We stayed until the Tower closed and were treated to seeing the Tower Bridge all lit up as we left.

We headed over to Leicester Square to local a restaurant for dinner.  We were met by the odd sight of seeing an entire fair set up in the square.

(TRAVEL TIP: We were told by the Yeoman, that if you arrive early on Sunday, you can be admitted free if you attend a service at the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula.)

Thank goodness I am finally up to writing again!

Well I am crazy about the chick flick Notting Hill.  So I had decided on this trip I was going to shop on the famous Portobello Road.  In the movie the whole area looks so idyllic.

I had read that Saturday was the best day to go as all the shops and stalls would be out.  Little did I realize the crowds would be out in full force too.  They block off the road allowing for the maximum amount of shoppers.

We had so much fun squeezing in and out of shop, browsing all the stalls.  We even had street food.  I had a falafel wrap and Stephanie had piallea.  I wish I took a picture of the stalls with the HUGE piallea pans all simmering away.

On our walk we saw a huge billboard advertising Duffy’s new CD.

As we neared the end of the road we went searching for “the blue door”.  We had trouble finding it and then we discovered why.  It was BLACK!

Turns out about a year after the movie came out the door was sold at auction for charity and was replaced by the current door.

I also wish we had looked up more locations in the area as other key scenes were filmed close by.  Plus being ill, I couldn’t eat the amazing smelling fish and chips in paper.  I guess I’ll just have to win another trip to London!

I then took Stephanie to Oxford Street.  The city had blocked of that road too.  It was so busy it made the market look empty.  I have never seen such a large throng of people.  After squeezing in and out of a few shops we gave up and headed off to dinner.

I loved Portobello Road. I will definitely go back but in warmer weather!

(TRAVEL TIP:  Remember to dress warmly when travelling in Britain in the winter.  In my rush I forgot my hat and gloves.  By the end of Portobello Road I had bought a matching set.  I also wished I had packed my lightweight boots.  My feet were cold in shoes.)

I want to talk about two things I feel are important before I blog about the balance of my trip: the Law of Attraction and Travel Insurance.

The Law of Attraction
I had six hours on the flight over to London to think about why I, in my mind, had attracted in exactly what I wanted only to have it “fall apart” hours before it was to occur.  I came to a couple of conclusions.

1) Since everyone is doing their own attracting and learning lessons pertinent to them, sometimes their manifesting may override anything you want and desire.  I feel the fact Craig was not able to go at the last minute had nothing to do with me.  It had to do with what he was attracting in and things he needed to deal with.

2) I was to learn a few lessons that overrode a romantic holiday.  The fact I was ill the entire time means that it would have not been romantic even if Craig had come with me.  There are things we think sub- or un-conciously that manifest themselves in ways we may not expect, such as being ill.

What I did remember to think and do the entire time was to remind myself All is Well, The Universe is unfolding as it should and to breathe consciously.  For me, it help tremendously.

Travel Insurance
(TRAVEL TIP: Always purchase health insurance whenever you travel outside your home province, state or country.)

I had travel insurance for this trip.  Why didn’t I use it?  Well, 1) it was Stephanie’s first trip to London and I didn’t want her to spend a day of it in a hospital and 2) frankly, I didn’t think I was that sick.

One of the things I have focused on doing in 2008 was to listen to my quiet inner voice.  On the plane ride home, I thought, “I need to go to the hospital as soon as we land.”  So I did.  It turns out I was very sick.  The potassium levels in my body were dangerously low.  I was given 1L of saline, 2L of potassium, 2 potassium pills and 2tbsp of liquid potassium.  Craig said had he been with me on the trip he would have taken me to the hospital.

Why I didn’t think I was that sick I don’t know.  I had Internet access and should have done a little research.  It turns out that if the standard treatments, such as Imodium, do not work and you continue to visit the loo for more than 48 hours you should see a doctor.  I should have gone to the hospital there.  Hindsight is 20/20.  So now I am awaiting for the results of tests they took at the hospital.  I am also visiting my family doctor on Wednesday.  I want to know what caused me to be so ill and if it requires further treatment.

So now you know why I was too sick to write.  I thought it was important for me to not only write about the good and the fun, but what else you can manifest in your life, unwittingly.  I hope by writing this post about what I have been through will help someone else in the future avoid a similar fate.

Now, back to posting about the fun!

You may be wondering what happened after Day 1.  Well, to be honest I have not felt like blogging at all.  Your first thought after a statement like that, might be that I was having such a good time, I couldn’t tear myself away from the sights to write.  As it turns out I have been ill.  I am not sure what I ate or what I caught, but I think I have seen every loo in London.  I have not had the energy to write.  As soon as I do, I will post all our adventures.

Having Stephanie here has real incentive not to spend the entire week in the hotel room, moping.  We have been going out every day.  Not to spoil the surprise you will have to wait read about the sights we have seen.

Thanks for being patient between posts, as my original plan was to blog at the end of each day.

Toot-a-loo!

After all the adventures we had the day before getting Craig’s ticket changed over to Stephanie, neither of got much sleep on the plane.  The flight landed at 6:00am London time.  After going through customs, getting our lift to the hotel and finally checking in we were ready to SIGHTSEE!

(TRAVEL TIP: To save money, buy all day transit passes allowing you unlimited use of “the tube”.)

I thought we would start at the best and work our way down from there.  Our first shop was Harrods.  We visited the Diana and Dodi memorial and I stocked up on Earl Grey #42. (This was reported to be Douglas Adams’ favourite tea and where he came up with the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything.)

We then popped over to Covent Gardens for lunch at Punch and Judy.  We got a crepe for dessert.  We didn’t realize the wrap was leaking so we went back to the hotel to clean up. Back out again.  Since it had begun to rain we decided to check out the Westfield Mall.  The marketing on the mall’s website makes it seem almost magical.  After we shopped and had dinner in the food court, I realized even thought the architecture was spectacular, and all the shops were different, it was still just a mall.  (Our malls should create food courts like this one!  No fast food.  Only really high quality food, fast.  AMAZING!)

The day went by really quickly and since we had now gone nearly 48 hours without sleep, we headed back to the hotel to get some well earned rest.

WOW!  What a turn of events!!

At 11:30am on Thursday, just 7 hours before our flight for London England was to depart, my husband called from work stating he wasn’t going to be able to go.  After several high level meetings, it was determined several projects demanded his attention, and since we had also already booked a Christmas holiday to visit my in-laws in British Columbia, he needed to stay.

I immediately called my sister to see if she was able to come to with me if I could get the ticket transferred.  She couldn’t.  She had let her passport expire!  (Having a valid passport is critical to our hobby.  1) It allows you to be able to go anywhere at anytime, and 2) it tells the Universe you are also ready to travel.)

So now who?!  I rang my friend Stephanie.  I knew she had a valid passport as she had just gone on her honeymoon the previous summer.  I also knew she had a very understanding boss who may let her leave for a week, on literally, a moments notice.  When she picked up the phone I said, “Did you want to go to London with me?” “SURE!”, was the reply.  “When?”  “In about 6 hours.”  “WHAT?!!”

While Stephanie made arrangements at her end.  I called Universal Music.  I explained the situation.  They were so helpful.  They did everything they could to get Transat Holidays to change the ticket.  After jumping through a few hoops, we had new travel arrangements just after 2:30pm.  (NOTE:  It was not a free request.  We did have to pay the $150 name change fee, but we felt it was much better than having me spending a week alone in London.)

Stephanie raced home to throw together a suitcase, then race to the airport.  Since I was dealing with making new travel arrangements I ended up scrabbling a bit also.  In the end we were at the gate in plenty of time to board.

Since the day became so suddenly frantic, it wasn’t until I had settled into my seat for a 6 hour flight did I have time to reflect on what had occurred.  I had followed all of Helene’s advice.  I had even won EXACTLY what I had asked for, and more!  So why was I flying to London with a friend instead of my husband?  Was there a rip in the fabric of the Universe?  Did my dream fall into oblivion?  Get caught in the time/space continuum?

The only answer I could come up with was; because I was still going on the trip, it had to do with Craig.  Maybe a goal he set for himself that inadvertently over-rode my goal.  Or, for some reason, he needed to be at home.  I don’t think I’ll ever know.

I do know this.  I did it before, so I can do it again.  A romantic trip will be repasted on my vision board upon my return.  I don’t think I’ll pick London again.  I’ll let you know what I finally select.  I have narrowed down to somewhere warm with a great beach and fruity rum drinks.

When things in your life don’t turn out as expected, do what I did during that long flight.  BREATHE, ensuring you focus on a few deep breaths.  Then remember that whatever crazy scenarios your head comes up with, in a million years, you could never guess the real reason WHY.  Just trust ALL IS WELL and GO WITH THE FLOW!

If you regularly read my blog, you know I recently won a trip to London.

Right after I realized I had won, two thoughts went through my head: 1) WOW! This stuff really works and 2) Oh My Gosh, all the other goals I set for myself are on their way!

(Right after I interviewed Helene Hadsell on my Blog Talk Radio Show on August 4th I set the following goals for myself: to own a very profitable business, to be a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, to win a new car, to win a week long romantic trip for two to London UK, to win a week long family trip for four to Walt Disney World, to win a home makeover, to win a backyard makeover, to win an big screen LCD HDTV, to win a Wii, and to win a BlackBerry.)

Hold on!  Didn’t I ask for a week-long trip to London?  The trip I won was only 4 nights/5 days.  I thought, “Close enough!”, and merrily made travel plans.  Well, while making all the travel arrangements with the contest sponsors, Universal Music and Transat Holidays, I was informed we would be flying out December 4th and returning on December 11th.  Wait, wasn’t that 6 nights/7 days?  Yes.  They chose to extend the trip by 2 days.  So I got my week after all.  I was amazed how well Helene’s SPEC method (Select it, Project it, Expect it and Collect it) actually worked!  (BTW, did you notice? I asked the Universe for what I wanted and it arrived via Universal. COOL!)

But wait, there’s more!

As the information for the trip went back and forth, I realized we were not flying into Heathrow airport, but into Gatwick.  (If you have never been to London, Heathrow is close to the city connected by the Underground.  Gatwick is fairly far and one must take the train into the city, then changing to the Underground.)  I thought OH NO!  Not that I minded flying to an airport further out of the city, or even having to take the train, but our luggage is old (I bought it in 1990) and it wouldn’t be very easy to haul on and off trains.  I said to my husband Craig, we need new luggage.  He started to shop around.  In the meantime, I got the final travel documents.  I realized Transat Holidays had included transfers to and from the airport by car.  I said to Craig, “Since we are being chauffeured and with Christmas just around the corner, I think we can manage another trip with our old luggage and purchase a new set in the new year.”  He agreed.

Then on November 30th I got a call from Zellers.  I had entered a contest way back in May and I had won.  Could I come down to the store and pick-up my brand new set of luggage? They apologized for taking so long to call me, but they had to wait for the two smaller pieces of luggage to arrive from the other contest sponsor.  Incredible!  That goal wasn’t even on the original list.  The wish for new luggage was an afterthought and it manifested, almost, immediately.

Now, I wonder when my new car will arrive?