So after a little bit of confusion I actually ended up in Northampton for a couple of days this week, I must admit I was disappointed that I didn't get to glimpse Sherwood forest in all it's leafy green glory.... But.... I did get to explore a little more of this beautiful place that is England.
We left Portsmouth at about half four and after a three hour bus ride, food stop at IKEA included (omg my first ever IKEA experience) we fiiiiiinally arrived in Northampton. The students were incredibly excited as we rocked up to our sweet accommodation for the one nights stay.... As we opened the doors and walked in there were gasps and giggles of joy, some oooooooohs and ahhhhhhhs. For many of them it was their first night staying in such an establishment..... Now you may all be thinking..... Wow, what kind of place was this? Who on earth could have created such an amazing place to rest ones head.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Prepare yourselves......
It was a travel lodge.
And the students have a tendency to get way too excited when they finally get a chance to ditch the 'proper' behaviour and get rowdy. It only got as rowdy as a couple of pillow fights and some sugar highs off midnight snacking.... Which..... Let's be honest is pretty freakin rowdy.
I drew the short straw and the short bed so it seems (meant for a person even smaller than me, which is hard to believe) and spent the night on the floor getting up close and personal with the carpet.
Today saw us participating in a sports tournament which involved hockey, swimming and netball. My role was paramount to the lives of the children, I had to carry the first aid kit from court to court whilst testing my ability not to contract glandular fever or pneumonia. I was prepared for it to be cold and wet I was not prepared to be soaked through to the bone, not being able to feel my fingers or toes, huddled under a useless umbrella that kept blowing inside out and nearly taking me off the ground with it, with three students shivering and crying their eyes out because they are so cold that they don't think they will live to see another day. All I can say is....
Thank god for Sue and her stormy weather waterproof pants or my backside would have been a very nice shade of blue/purple by the end of the day.
Thankfully the rained eased off and the students smiles returned along with their enthusiasm, which enabled them to secure a spot in the semi final (the first time ever that their grade has made it that far). Unfortunately despite their best efforts they lost in the semi but in high spirits we all made it back onto the coach and began our journey home.
On our way back to Portsmouth we cruised past Oxford and I caught a glimpse of the spires from Oxford University poking their way up over the treetops (very cool) and also passed a place called the Thames valley which was seriously flooded. Extremely sad as it means a lot of the farmers cannot use the land to graze their animals, it also put into picture just how much rain England has seen these last few months, which is only supposed to increase until April. I think everyone and everything here is in some serious need of sunlight.
All in all, this week has been a great one, but.....
ON SUNDAY I LEAVE FOR IRELAND.
Diddly diddly diddly
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