Day two. Sleep was still difficult — still running on Jakarta time. Same problem I had on my last London trip.
Today was a Bank Holiday in the UK, so there wasn’t much open and no official programme until late afternoon, when the British Council team would give us a full briefing on the week ahead. The day started with an English breakfast at the Strand Palace hotel restaurant — enormous portions, as it always is.
I’d arranged to meet Indra Ameng after breakfast to explore the city. We set off around 10:30 toward Covent Garden, which is right behind the hotel. Walking through the cool morning air, I spotted an electric car being charged on the street — a small thing, but it made me happy. One of my longer-term goals is to own an electric car someday.
We kept walking until we hit the Dr. Martens store. I’d been wanting a pair of their boots for a while. We went in, I tried on a pair, and — after some deliberation that probably took longer than it should have — I bought them. Worth it.
It was still around noon when we finished, so we found a nearby restaurant called Garfunkel’s for lunch before heading back to meet the rest of the group at the hotel. One by one the other delegates came down from their rooms and eventually the whole group was ready.
We walked about 15 minutes through Leicester Square — London really is an excellent city for walking — and arrived at The Groucho Club, heading straight up to the second floor. Waiting there were several British Council staff including Caroline (Global YCE Programme Manager) and Stuart (Music Industry Consultant), along with Percy Emmet, who would be our mentor for the week.
Seats had been pre-assigned. I ended up on the edge, next to Stuart and close to the BC team — the equivalent of sitting in the front row in class. Perfect. I wasn’t going to miss anything.
The briefing covered the week’s schedule in full. The pace was going to be intense: morning departures, back-to-back venue visits, industry panels, and evening networking events. I went to bed early. Day three was going to demand it.