Last night saw the ultimate conclusion of the shady 7th Syndikate programme. It started when a host of bloggers were contacted with cryptic messages from a certain Agent Curtis;  Miss Geeky has a fine summation on the activity on her blog. The final contact told agents to meet at the Albert Memorial at 18.30, where they would be met by a man wearing a tan mac, bowler hat and dark shoes at 18.45. Compulsory attire to be worn by agents included a hat, sunglasses and a newspaper under the left arm.

First on the scene was Rammi, quickly joined by Ant, Pete and many others. Intrigue was high; what would happen? Talk of rick-rolls, film premieres and an assassination attempt on London bloggers were mentioned, though some agents had their suspicions that it could be related to the Cold War Modern exhibition at the V&A. Agent Nicolin, unknown to the rest of the group as a plant, received a mysterious text message telling everyone to move around to the other side of the memorial.

Suddenly photographers arrived and started taking pictures of the agents; what could this be about? They would find out shortly as the man in the tan mac had arrived. Leading them past the Albert Hall, he cast suspicious glances back at the group of 25 or so agents following him. Speeding up, then stopping, the agents mimicked his every move which expanded to include arm flapping, slaloming around columns and hat tipping to passers-by. As they entered the South Kensington underpass, the man in the mac played his hand and lined everyone up against the wall. His instructions: line up in a 2 x 2 formation and quick march the rest of the tunnel, occasionally yelling ‘Stop!’, ‘No Talking!’ and ‘No looking around!’ in the very experienced manner of a Drill Sergeant.

After switching to single line formation for above ground maneuvers, the man in the mac led everyone to the front entrance of the V&A (walking over a very familiar symbol on the approach), where they entered the closed-to-the-public museum. Still not saying a word, the group were marched through shops, corridors and exhibits until they reached their final destination; the Cold War Modern: Design 1945-1970 exhibit.

Greeted by V&A staff and mastermind of the programme Seb, the agents were thanked for coming, and Seb explained a little about the 7th Syndikate, the exhibit and then invited everyone to help themselves to drinks and nibbles. Mugshots of agents were taken, promotional samples given out and interviews recorded after which the agents were invited to make their way through the exhibition and take in the artwork, architecture, films and objects plus anything else that had been inspired in some way by the Cold War era.

Upon completion of the viewing, more interviews were taken as agents discussed their view of the exhibition. Everyone seemed pleased by their 7th Syndikate experience and slowly drifted off back to the 21st century outside.