Read about the Golden Eagles Marching Band as they tour Europe. Contributors include Brooke Privett, a Golden Eagles trumpet player and Southeast's very own Rowdy the Redhawk mascot, as well as other members of the Golden Eagles Marching Band.

Edinburgh: Ice Cream! Brooke Privett - I had ice cream today for the firt time since I've been here, and it was truly magical! I had a McFlurry from McDonalds. It's strange, because all of their flavors were based on Cadberry chocolate, since that's there main chocolate supplier here. It was strange for there not to be M&M's, Butterfinger, or Oreo McFlurries. Instead there were Dairy Milks, Crispies, Smarties (which are basically M&Ms) and Wispas, which is what I tried. So Tasty

Edinburgh: Our National Anthem Brooke Privett - Tonight's performance I believe will be my most memorable of any of the performances. Remember the girl I told you about who's dad was just diagnosed with lieukemia? She found out he isn't doing so well, so Mr. B insisted that she go home, and he had all her arrangements made in about 3 hours this morning. In fact, she should be arriving in Chicago tomorrow afternoon.

Edinburgh: “I’m Ready for My Close-up Mr. Deville” Brooke Privett - Tonight was a night full of excitement, nervousness, and drama! The BBC began filming tonight, and unfortunately it rained, so we had to wear our black pants and no plumes. Yes, our white pants do look spiffy as a whole group, but they look bad individually, so I really don’t mind the black pants. When we don’t wear our plumes, we look like toy soldiers.

	Edinburgh: Back to Basics Brooke Privett - Yo! The BBC begins filming this week so we have to be at the top of our game, so Mr. Bernhardt had it arranged for us to have a rehearsal today at the barracks. We left at noon, arrived at the barracks and immediately began relearning the fundamentals of marching. I mean, we didn’t even carry our instruments! Now that’s basic!

	Edinburgh: Free Day! Brooke Privett - We have the day off today because we were supposed to go to Stirling, which is where all of the William Wallace activities are located, but that trip has been post-poned until next Sunday. It is a gorgeous day today! I’m a bit tired today though because a few of us stayed up until 5:30 this morning!!

Edinburgh: "What? It's Raining in Scotland?...No way!" Brooke Privett - Howdy! Well, it was another glorious rainy day in Scotland! Today has been a very lazy day for me. I slept until 11:30, which is a new record for me, had a Twix bar for lunch and then I headed up to the internet café where I stayed all afternoon with some of my friends watching videos on You Tube such as “Cruising in Kennett” and “Kitchens in Kennett.” Everybody got a good laugh.

Edinburgh: St. Andrews and...Joan Rivers?? Brooke Privett - Hey Ya’ll! So, last night’s performance in a misty rain didn’t go so well. We “got a talkin’ to” and everybody was pretty bummed. My flat mates and I stayed up until 2:00 am eating to get over our worries! You would not believe the amount of food we can eat! (Now, I’m not saying I ate all of this, but this is what we demolished) Pizza, fries, chicken nuggets, chips and salsa, cocoa pops, ramen noodles, Uncle Ben’s rice, Pasta shells, a cheeseburger, garlic bread, shortbread cookies...

Edinburgh: S'More Rain!! Brooke Privett - Hello all you happy peppy people in the land of 110 degree heat index! I saw that on weather.com yesterday. Since I wrote my last blog yesterday afternoon, I wasn’t able to tell you about our performance last night. Well, something happened last night during that performance that I never thought I would see in my life… I could see my breath in August!! Yes, it was 50 degrees, windy, and very rainy!

	Edinburgh: More Rain! Brooke Privett - Greetings from not-so-sunny Edinburgh! I have been on the internet all day uploading new photos to facebook and to my past blogs. If you find the time, go back through my old blogs and check out the new pictures. I had the best cup of hot cocoa today! It had marshmallows and whipped cream on top! MMMMM!!!

	Edinburgh, Day 11: Bummer! Brooke Privett - Well, it is currently 11:00 a.m. Some of you may be wondering "But Brooke, you're supposed to be in Glasgow today!"

	Edinburgh: Scotland Golf! Brooke Privett - Golfers of the world, time to get jealous!!! This morning, 3 guys, Dr. Conger, and I set off for our 9:00 tee time at Swantson Golf Course. This place is GORGEOUS!! It sets on one of the highest points in Edinburgh and you can see out for miles, even into the North Sea.

	Edinburgh: Parade Brooke Privett - Today was the day of the official cavalcade parade for the Tattoo, and boy was it fun! It was estimated that there were 100,000 people in attendance, and once again, they loved us. We really boogied down during the parade! Once again, my picture is probably on many random people’s cameras.

Edinburgh, Day 8: Fireworks! Brooke Privett - Today started off very interesting. We were told last night that we had to be in our flats at 1:00 a.m., which is very reasonable considering that we had a double performance tonight. Well, some people didn’t show up until 5:00am and were loud and disturbing other people. I sure didn’t sleep any after 5:00! Most people would find this irrelevant, but here’s the kicker…We’ve been put on a 12:00 curfew for the rest of the week!

Arthur's Seat Mary Beth Hicks - Today a bunch of us walked up to Arthur's Seat it is described as follows: "The remains of a volcano that erupted under water during the Carboniferous period, Arthur's Seat is located within Holyrood Park in the centre of Edinburgh. Although only 250m (823 feet) in height, Arthur's Seat is a notable landmark, dominating the city. Known also as the Lion's Head, Arthur's Seat is the highest of a series of peaks which take the form of a crouched lion..."

First Tattoo Performance Mary Beth Hicks - Last night we had our first did our first Tattoo performance in front of 10,000 people! Suprisingly I was not at all nervous which suprised me because I always got so nervous when I played in front of anyone. I think it was the fact that there were so many people that I knew that there was no way that they were judging me. Someone put it well today when they said that everyone in that crowd wants us to succeed no one wants us to fail. I can hardly explain how awesome the show was last night.

	Edinburgh: Opening Night! Brooke Privett - Today has been a very funny day! You want to know why? Because I did not know that tonight was opening night until we got to the castle! I thought all day today that this was another dress rehearsal and filming night. It’s okay though, because it kept me from being nervous all day.

Edinburgh: Dress Rehearsals Brooke Privett - It has been a fantastic day! We had the entire day free because tonight was the first dress rehearsal and filming night for the media. I did my entire souvenir shopping today, and I may need to pawn off some of my things in order to have some money!! Haha, just kidding! It’s funny, because the cashier will tell you your total cost and you’ll think “Ah, that’s not bad for all of this,” but then you convert it from pounds to dollars and you say, “Oh my…”

Edinburgh: Rehearsals at the Castle Brooke Privett - Well, I got up this morning and saw out the window for the first time the North Sea! It has been too foggy to see up until now. What a great view! Then I looked over to find my trumpet case sitting in its own pond! I knew I wouldn’t be able to use it today, so I decided to carry my trumpet around with me everywhere we went. We had a full cast rehearsal at the barracks at 8:00 a.m. and then we performed the show for a few locals there at the barracks. Everything went very well.

Edinburgh: The Longest Day Ever! Brooke Privett - Today started at 5:15 a.m. with no breakfast and pouring rain!!! We had a 6:00 rehearsal on the castle esplanade in ponchos and then we headed off to the military barracks for the rehearsal for the finale with the whole cast which was neat. But first, we had breakfast, so I was happy. During the finale we stand behind the Norwegian military band and can’t see the conductor because every one of them are 6 feet tall or more! They made fun of us and squatted down as they played! Oh, every one of those guys are blonde haired and blue-eyed, so I’m in love!

Edinburgh: The Haggis Experience Brooke Privett - Today started at 6:35am!! We went to the military base to rehearse on a surface that is similar to the esplanade at the castle. We met the rest of the international cast which was neat-o! After the rehearsal we headed to the Lord Provost (mayor) of Edinburgh’s house to perform for him. As we pulled up to the city chambers, there was a crowd of people waiting for us, mostly the British National News media. Seriously, we are celebrities! After we performed, the Lord Provost welcomed us to the City and told us that the city has been awaiting the GEMB’s return to the Tattoo. He then presented us with a gift and then invited us into the city chambers. I don’t even think Mr. Bernhardt knew what was going to happen.

	Scotland!! Mary Beth Hicks - So far practices for the Ediburgh Military Tattoo have been AMAZING!! My favorite act by far is the Kings Guard from Norway, they are so awesome. Every one in the group from Norway is serving a madatory 1 year in the military. They do a rifle show that is so awesome, it amazes me how precise everything is.

Arrival in Edinburgh Brooke Privett - Today has been a fabulous day! We got on the bus with our sack breakfasts (which were very tasty) and headed to Edinburgh. We had to be at a parade to kick off the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival by 12:30. We arrived at 12:15!!! It was very interest watching 100 band members get their uniforms on and their equipment together in a matter of 5 minutes, but we somehow did it. The parade started, and we became instant celebrities here! I have always said that my most memorable parade was this year’s past SEMO homecoming parade and I was one of the candidates. Well, not any more!! This parade was awesome.

York! Mary Beth Hicks - The past couple of days have been alot of fun. When we went to York yesterday we spent most of the time in the York Minster this AMAZING church right in the center or York. We toured the whole church (tower, catacombs, and main level). The views from the top of the church were priceless you could see the entire city. You only had to climb up 275 stairs in a VERY small spiral staircase.

York, Day 2: Performances Brooke Privett - Today was one of those days I’ll remember the rest of my life! It started off bright and early with breakfast in the cafeteria which was very good. I had a croissant with local honey, eggs, Canadian bacon, yogurt, and lots of juice! It was so nice to finally have something else to drink other than room temperature tap water (they do not believe in ice here and cold soda is expensive!) There was a section of the breakfast bar that had baked beans, seasoned tomato halves, and potatoes. Most peculiar! Today was the day of our first performance; a parade in downtown York and a stand still performance in front of the Lord Mayor’s house.

Practicing in York Brooke Privett - So, we loaded up the busses in London bright and early this morning and headed out for a 4 hour bus ride to York. York is a very neat city filled with history. I felt like I was in the middle of a movie set as we drove through the town filled with Victorian, Gothic, and Tutor style buildings. We are staying at Acluin College in single dorm rooms (which are fabulous, we even have our own bathrooms even though I would describe taking a shower in them a work of art! Pictures will explain.) We were given about 15 minutes to move into our dorms when we arrived, then it was off to our very first rehearsal overseas. We spent a majority of the time refreshing our memories on what we had learned at band camp.

Last day in London, Already! Brooke Privett - Good day! So, today in London was amazing!!! A group of us got up this morning, had a full english breakfast (for FREE) and headed out for our flight on the London Eye (the world's largest Ferris Wheel. Libby Mobley, you would have loved it! haha!) It was awesome and I took a lot of pictures. I will post those on here as soon as possible, I just don't have the time now. We've been traveling by way of the Tube today, which is neat. While I was getting my ticket today, the man says "I'm sorry, I'm scatterbrained right now. It's not everyday a pretty blonde haired, blue-eyed thing walks up to my window!"

	We're Here! Brooke Privett - Yes, the band is finally in England and we all have jet lag like no other! We left Cape Girardeau at 7:00am Monday morning on a 7 HOUR BUSRIDE (notice the caps) to Chicago, only to hop on a 7 1/2 hour direct flight to London.

	Our Plane Trip and First Day in London! Mary Beth Hicks - We left Cape Girardeau at 11pm on Monday the 21st after a 7hr bus ride we arrived in Chicago at 7pm. Our flight took off at 10pm and we arrived in London at 11:30 am on the 22nd. We then took a 3 hr tour of the main points of London, while this barely scratched the surface, it did take us to the main points aroud town.

	Band Camp, Day 3 Brooke Privett - Well, I did sleep fabulously last night, and have felt fine all day! In fact this has been one of the best days of band camp I have ever gone through. Everybody in the trumpet section is just sooo funny, and I am sore from laughing, where I used to be sore from push-ups!

	Band Camp, Day 2 Brooke Privett - So, its the end of day 2 for the band, and it's been a very productive day. Most of the band already has their music memorized and we have over half of the show blocked and rolling. We even have a big dance section where we do all these fun hip hop moves. I'm impressed with the caliber of dancers we have in the band!

	Band Camp, Day 1 Brooke Privett - After a Jazz rehearsal this morning, the full marching band began to arrive. What an exciting band we have! Everyone is fabulous! I have 13 trumpets in my section, which for a band of 100, is pretty phenomenal. Mr. Bernhardt (he's our director) has made me the Section Leader for this trip. Finally, after 6 years, I get to be section leader!

	Let the fun begin! Brooke Privett - Hello Ya'll! So this is my first official blog of the trip. I arrived in Cape last night and the Jazz Band met today. Oh, the jazz band is performing at the International Jazz and Blues Fest while we are in Edinburgh. Apparently 20,000 people are going to be there, so we have to be great!