Day 7: Fog, Falls, and Forkless Feasts

After a packed week of performing, rehearsing, and navigating the many musical adventures of our Canada tour, today brought a most welcome change of pace: a full tourist day. No uniforms, no music folders, no instruments — just a group of very deserving pupils ready to explore, experience, and (quite literally) eat with their hands.

The morning began with a leisurely breakfast, where we confirmed a developing situation: the national pancake shortage predicted yesterday has come to pass. Fortunately, the waffle reserves were still intact — briefly — before our pupils made swift work of those too. Spirits were high, and there’s already a buzz about the possible return of the pancake machine tomorrow. Honestly, the breakfast buffet has become its own subplot on this trip.

With full stomachs and high hopes, we held our daily “Third Floor Corridor HQ” briefing (now an institution), and set off for one of Canada’s most iconic sites — Niagara Falls.

The drive itself was smooth enough, but Mother Nature had a few tricks up her sleeve. As we arrived, so did a thick fog bank that rendered the falls practically invisible. Luckily, it didn’t last. Within half an hour, the mist began to lift, revealing the awe-inspiring roar and power of the Horseshoe Falls in full flow. The pupils quickly rallied — taking photos, braving the spray, and enjoying the sheer scale of the water crashing over the edge.

Next, we descended 125 feet into the bedrock for the Journey Behind the Falls — a network of tunnels and viewing platforms directly behind the cascading water. It’s loud, wet, and a great way to experience the falls. The pupils were entranced, taking it all in (and, of course, snapping plenty of photos).

There’s always a moment on these experiences where you realise: yes, this is just water falling off a cliff — and yet, the pupils stayed curious and engaged throughout. The gift shop helped, of course.

From there, we explored the nearby (now disused) hydroelectric power station, home to some genuinely fascinating exhibits about electricity, Tesla coils, and early power generation. A Faraday cage sparked a lot of excitement (and no actual electrocutions — always a win), and several pupils were visibly impressed by the interactive science displays. A surprise hit!

After science came Niagara’s famously tacky downtown strip — a riot of haunted houses, wax museums, flashing lights, and more fudge shops than anyone really needs. Some pupils ventured into the Haunted Mansion, others into Ripley’s Believe It or Not. A real contrast to everything else we’ve seen on tour — and the pupils loved it.

The coach journey back was a quieter affair — thanks to a playlist from our Year 9 boys that included Billy Joel, The Eagles, Bon Jovi, and Toto (credit to the parents for the excellent music taste). Meanwhile, our ever-dedicated Year 13s were working away on Bach chorales and Year 11s continued their all important revision.

Our next stop was the CN Tower. Once again, we were at the mercy of the fog — but in a stroke of perfect timing, the skies cleared just as we reached the top. The views were spectacular: airports, stadiums, motorways, and even the cathedral we performed in yesterday. The glass floor was a particular highlight — nothing quite like standing 346 metres above the pavement with nothing but a pane between you and the ground. One of our pupils did, however, manage to scare many members of the group by jumping up and down on the glass - fortunately it has clearly been designed for such eventualities - but its not often you see teenagers move that fast.....

From here, we made our way to Exhibition Park for the much-anticipated evening event: Medieval Times — a dinner and tournament experience that defies easy description but absolutely lives up to the hype…

Having been to similar shows before, I had a pretty good idea of what was coming — but I decided to keep things under wraps and let the experience unfold. And honestly, it was the right call. Their reactions were brilliant.

We were seated in the Blue Knight’s section, where we instantly became a loyal and extremely loud fan base for Valianté. The pupils threw themselves into the cheering with admirable commitment.

Our feast began with a steaming bowl of Dragon’s Blood (or, as it's known outside of the 14th century, tomato soup). This was swiftly followed by the main event — half a chicken. That’s right: half a chicken per person, served with no cutlery. Add to that a roast potato and a chunk of corn on the cob, and what you had was a dinner that demanded commitment, courage, and a complete disregard for clean fingernails.

Watching the pupils go from slightly sceptical to full Henry VIII was one of the evening’s unexpected highlights. A few looked genuinely alarmed at first but before long, they were fully into it, tearing into their dinner like seasoned warriors of the realm.

The show itself? Gloriously over-the-top. There was jousting, sword fighting, elaborate hand gestures, impassioned declarations of loyalty, and the occasional suspiciously well-timed fall from a horse. It was every bit as staged as you'd expect — although some of our more earnest pupils were shocked to discover that the whole thing might not have been entirely spontaneous. (If only they knew how hard it is to recruit knights with consistent availability six nights a week.)

Our Blue Knight Valianté fought valiantly but alas, was not crowned the winner. Still, our section cheered like like we did at the Canadiens Hockey Match last week (and - gosh - doesn't that feel like ages ago!!), and the atmosphere was fantastic. A special moment came when one of our own was crowned Warrior Princess 'Gen', which added an extra flourish to what was already an unforgettable night.

It was pure fun, pure silliness, and pure joy — a completely different sort of experience from the rest of the tour, and the perfect way to round off our well-earned day off. As far as team spirit, laughter, and full-throttle participation goes, our pupils absolutely nailed it.

Jousts happened. Sparks flew. Waffles were a distant memory.

Long live the Blue Knight.

It was the perfect way to round off a day that celebrated a different side of school tours: fun, freedom, and full-on theatrical silliness. The pupils were lively and happy on the return journey and are now settling into their rooms for a well-earned rest.

Tomorrow, we return to Toronto for more sightseeing and our final evening performance at the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada gala dinner. It’s hard to believe that in just 48 hours, we’ll be boarding the plane home.

But there’s still magic left in this tour — and we’re ready to make the most of it.

Until tomorrow!