History Scene 1

What’s the time? She should be here by now.

It’s five past nine. She’ll be here in a minute.

We’re at Paddington Station with our friend Tristan.

Hi.

And we’re waiting for Tristan’s friend Jay Marie to arrive from the airport. She’s just flown in from the States.

Here she is! Hi, Jay Marie!

Hi!

Stephen, Ashlie, this is Jay Marie.

Hello.

Hi! I’ve heard so much about you guys. It’s great to meet you. It’s so awesome to be in London.

Ah, great. So are you guys ready for some sightseeing?

Sure. Sounds cool.

OK, let’s drop off your bags, and we’re ready to go.

Cool!

OK, guys. So we’re going to take a double-decker tour around the city.

A what?

A double-decker. You know, a bus with two floors. It should be here any minute now.

Ah!

Oh! Oh no, Stephen! I’m so sorry. All over your pants.

My pants? No, no, no. It just went on my trousers. I’m fine.

Oh, look. I think that must be our bus coming.

The one without a roof?

Yeah, so we can see more.

Oh, great!

Come on, let’s jump on.

All aboard!

Ladies and gentlemen, to your left is St Paul’s Cathedral—

I didn’t catch any of that. What did he say?

I think he’s talking about that building over there.

It was on this site that the original St Paul’s was destroyed—

No. I didn’t get a single word of that.

Look, tell you what. I’ve got my guide book here. Why don’t I take over as your personal guide?

Well, OK!

OK, let’s see. Piccadilly Circus. Did you know that Piccadilly Circus was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street and the major shopping street of Piccadilly? The fountain with its famous statue of the Greek god Eros was added in 1893. Piccadilly Circus—

Oh Stephen, that is so boring! Listen, I’ve just looked it up on my phone and here is an interesting fact for you. Did you know that British people say, ‘It’s like Piccadilly Circus’ to mean that somewhere is busy and crowded and full of people?

Really?

Err, Ashlie. I’ve got the guide book. A book for guides!

Whatever, Stephen.

Did you know that Tower Bridge was built between 1886 and-

And you know that song ‘London Bridge is falling down, falling down’? Well, most people think it’s about this bridge, but actually it’s about another bridge.

And it was painted blue to match the colour of the Queen’s eyes.

Trafalgar Square. Did you know the column is 51.5 metres tall from the ground to the tip of the Admiral’s hat? It was built between 1840—

Did you know that one of the statues in the Square changes once a year to a new piece of art? At the moment, it’s that big blue one over there.

All right. That’s it! Give me that phone.

Give me that book!

Jay Marie! Jay Marie! Who do you want to be your guide? Me with my expert guide book or Ashlie with her stupid internet facts?

Huh? Well I was just listening to the audio tour. Sorry guys!

What?

Jay Marie!