The Economics and Business Studies department visits New York
It all started so well on Friday 12th February – everyone who was due to go to New York arrived outside school well before time and eager to go - it set the early precedent for the trip; time keeping throughout the next 6 days was crucial to its success and in the end it was excellent, as when the students were asked to be ready and at a certain point, they were there.
The format of the trip hit the highs at Heathrow airport and stayed there – Sarah Cridland on her first flight asks us whether the bags went on the same plane as the passengers! And at JFK, Ivor Bace tried to buy a certain magazine off the top shelf and could not do so, and when asked for identification said he did not have any on him!
The flight was quick and uneventful. We progressed smoothly through customs at JFK to be met by our tour rep and guide for the next day – Gordo. It was cold, very cold. On the way to our hotel, Gordo kindly pointed out many sites of interest, film locations and his morbid fascination over cemeteries. The hotel was located just off 5th Avenue, a stones throw from The Empire State Building and other amazing places, and so very central to everywhere we wanted to go. The accommodation itself was basic, but thankfully clean and above all very warm – too much so for some. Food was aplenty at the local delis and breakfast diners, with pancakes, waffles, and unlimited coffees to keep us going throughout the day. Lunch was taken on the hop at various delis, pizzerias and sandwich bars scattered about the city. Evening meals were booked for us at Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant, The Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood and John’s Shanghai restaurant, all giving us plenty of food and all were very accommodating, with one putting a candle on a cake to wish Rosanna Macnaughton a happy 16th birthday.
Friday was a long day in the end and a tiring one too. So once we had checked into the hotel, we wandered up to Times Square to take in the bright lights and sights and sounds and smells of the big apple. A quiet, easy evening was had by all.
Saturday morning came along quickly. Gordo met us at the hotel, and took us on a full guided walking tour of Greenwich Village, Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown, Ground Zero, Wall Street and much of the Financial District (but without a sign of Gordon Gecko). It was a cold walk with the temperatures below freezing all of the time. Gordo was full of facts and insights into the history of the area, and added in much information on the Economics and Business of the area as well, but his forte was his knowledge of the film and TV locations used!
The next stop was a good visit to The Museum of American Finance to look at the history of the dollar, the credit crunch and the stock market.
After a short subway ride, we went on a full tour of Madison Square Gardens. We saw how the arena works for a myriad of events, and how it copes with basketball, ice hockey, tennis, pop concerts and dog shows. Richard West found a new friend in one of the dancers there and all in all, it was an extremely interesting and informative tour.
Sunday and Valentines Day... it did not show up much anywhere in NYC. We all had a much needed lie in, before a long march up 5th Avenue, admiring all the shops and produce along the way... Tiffany’s, Abercrombie and Fitch, Coca Cola’s HQ, Macy’s, the Nike superstore, and top designer outlets and so on, all the way up to The Plaza Hotel and the corner of Central Park. We walked in the snow and past all the houses and carriages waiting for their rides to the Samsung Experience at Columbus Circle, where we admired how one firm was embracing the chances and challenges of many technological advances; others had a chance to get onto Facebook, play games or pretend to be a DJ. We then raced down Broadway to Madison Square Gardens to see the New York Rangers play the Tampa Bay Lightening at ice hockey. It was a match full of excitement and sheer entertainment, and a highlight of the trip for many. In the evening, we went up the Empire State Building (but alas, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were not there) and we took in the night lights and sights of NYC from up high in the cold and wind – great fun.
Monday was All Presidents Day in America and a public holiday, but places were still open and we had places to see and businesses to visit. The city did not rest for us, or us for it. We started with a behind the scenes tour of Madame Tussauds, looking at the history of the attraction and how it all began and how wax works are made, as well as seeing the possible future of cinema through a 4D show; and watch out for those new actresses of Georgina Tandy, Amy Savidge and Anna Boughton as super heroes! Then it was a short walk to Macy’s and an interesting business talk on the beginnings and rise of the department store – how it markets and brands itself and how it faces up to the competition and beats them. We then did some more touristy things, like go up to the Top of the Rock Observation Deck to look at the views on NYC during the day – a great sight as it gave us a new perspective of the city over Central Park, the Hudson river, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and beyond. In the evening, we returned to the Rockefeller Centre to go ice skating – the best place to go apparently – where Michael Philps and Harriet Lloyd-Smith glided along so smoothly, whilst Daniel Bell and Ivor Bace were not so agile.
Tuesday was our final full day and it was a very early start. We were up and out of the hotel by 6:30am and on a bus to Hackley School and it was snowing... gentle at first but more when we got out of the city. The school provided us with breakfast and lunch and gave us an extremely hospitable time. The students went to lessons guided by some American students and even the staff sat in on the odd lesson as well. This was an excellent venture, enjoyed by all and Facebook contacts continue to this day and students are waiting to write their application to go out there for a gap year as well; and they are eagerly awaiting the visit of the Americans to King’s. We left the school soon after lunch to make our way back to JFK... a long wait ensued there before they had to de-ice the plane before take off... and then we were home...
A long trip, thoroughly enjoyed by all and very tiring thanks to lots of walking but all made easier by the excellent behaviour and attitude of the students involved. Thanks go out to MJE and JMR for all of their invaluable help before, during and after the trip.
D A Lloyd