Even though my most specialest memories of the trip are the irrelevant ones - watching Psycho in my hotel room after traveling for 22 hours solid; milkshakes at Zack's diner; irreverent menu planning and Captain Picard's headache - I nevertheless feel a part of something big now, very big. The wars seem a lot more real now, and I still haven't recovered from my "memorial demon" - my family are getting sick of me dragging them across hill and dale to have in depth conversations about our local monuments. The places we visited on the trip occur to me whenever asked about the subjects we covered. Has it changed my opinions? Probably not - it's just set them into better definition.

For people going on the next trip, here's a few tips before you set out based on the things I've learned:

1 - pack for every eventuality. As we spent much of our trip trooping around battlefields, we came prepared for rain, mud, and artillery fire.

2 - pick up some of the language. Astoundingly, despite not studying French for a few years, it came back very quickly. I couldn't speak it, but I managed to cope with reading it far better than expected. One of the things that impressed me about Canada was the way bilinguality was incorparated into everyday life - their museums, street signs, advertisments and tour guides were geared for a populace who speak either French or English, very similar to the way Welsh and Gaelic are kept alive in Wales and Ireland - only much more extreme. Must be a design nightmare, especially because French phrases are always that much longer - the Canadian War Museum sign also contained directions to La Musee Canadien de la Guerre. When we went to a Canadian memorial service, it was conducted simultaneously in English and French in a very impressive manner, by the really quite cute head boy.

3 - try the local cuisine. I had to abandon the best pudding of my life to attend the Menin Gate memorial ceremony. That turned out to be the best memorial ceremony of my life, so ultimately all was well, though I still feel a little sore. Our host and tour guide in Canada was astounded we'd never eaten Timbits - a local Canadian delicacy - so procured some for our enjoyment. They turned out to be donuts the size and shape of cricket balls, and were duly delicious. Foreign sweets are always an insanse treat.

4 - deal with other people. Half the fun of being on a trip dealing with contravertial subjects is the disagreements. Oh, the arguments! Be opinionated - if you have something to say, then say it. If it's different to everyone elses, then say it twice as loud!

5 - on the way to Thailand and Austraulia, you'll be going on some serious long haul flights. Please, pretty please just for me, watch some decent films. There are always loads of channels - some with the latest blockbuster releases or rom-com fluff. Investigate some of the obscurer channels - you might just find something incredible.

Recommended films:

Snakes on a Plane, United 93, Flight-Plan, Final Destination, Die another Day e.t.c...

The rest is silence.

Unmutual

PS- lets end where we began. Spot the two thinly veiled fictional references in this piece, and I'll give you a cookie...