Chatting with the Londoners: Sometimes It Works; Sometimes It Doesn't

Bonnie: You’re a people person. What were some of your memorable encounters in London?

Scott: I had to visit Trafalgar Square of course. There were so many people to talk to. One fellow I met had bleached blonde hair spiked nine inches into the air. A woman approached and asked to take his picture and he said, “That will be ten pence.” She said, “I'm not paying to take your picture.” His response was, “Then you won't be taking my picture!” I was taking his picture without even asking. (Laughing)

I also attended a silent observance of the bombing of Hiroshima. There must have been 3000 people in the square and I only heard slight murmurs. 

I visited the grounds of Kensington Palace and watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. At completion of the guard change, I followed the relieved guards back to their barracks. I knocked on the door and some one said, “Who are you?” 

“My name is Captain Scott Haverly of the U.S. May I come in?”

“Sure come on in, mate.” I spent 20 minutes just chatting. I did it because I could. No one told me I couldn't.

Another day I started talking to someone in a business suit inside the fence at Buckingham Palace. I asked if I could talk to him for a bit. He turned out to be the head of security. He was the one who told me the crown jewels were in the Tower of London. The conversation ended when I mentioned a break-in at the Palace where an intruder had made it past the guards and ended up sitting on the queen's bed with her in it!  He wasn't about to engage in that discussion and abruptly ended the conversation. Not all of my conversations ended on a happy note. (Smiling).

Scott's Military Science Fiction Novel, The Last Apocalypse, written while on this European cycling tour is available at:
Createspace https://www.createspace.com/4569527
and
Amazon Books http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Apocalypse-Scott-Haverly/dp/1494465531/