We’re awake at 7am. Shower and breakfast in our room – not quite the Menzies – toast and cereal. With no urgency to get out, we take our time getting ready.
It makes a change not to be governed by the clock I bet the students feel the same wherever they are being hosted.
While I’m brushing my teeth Mr Walters can hear the extractor fan going in the bathroom “blimey you’ve been drying your hair for a long time” he shouts – he was serious!
I check the phones and there are no messages from home or Australia so things must be going well. I check my e-mails and again no issues. I check the blog and that seems to be being well used with over 10,000 hits since we have left home. It’s a team effort to keep it going. Mr Long is uploading the videos and photos which take a long time-the rugby video in Hong Kong took nearly 12 hours. I write most of the diary with contributions from the others and then Miss Jeffreys and Miss Rushworth take it in turns to read it out and to type it up before we post it.
Mr Walters and Mr Lewis are also doing a fantastic job as kit men. They sorted the laundry of the rugby kit in Hong Kong and then Miss Jeffreys sorted the hockey kit when we got to Sydney. While Mr Lewis ensured we don’t lose any of our 11 kit bags carrying boots, sticks, memorabilia, equipment and kit. With so many moves it is a logistical nightmare knowing where everything is but he has it sorted with his typical military precision.
I ring Mike Hagan (from Mater Maria College) and ask him if there have been any problems – “none at all” he said.
Tomorrow’s arrangements will see us attending assembly at 9am in Mater Maria. We will sing the Welsh National Anthem and our 3 captains will give a short speech (they don’t know this yet so it may come as a bit of a shock to Bethany, Kira and Tom Wedlake in the morning).
We will be going by coach to Palm Beach after the assembly at about 9.30am.
I ring Penny and Dave to check on Keelan, Steffan and Jack. They are currently on Palm Beachwith Penny’s son in law who is one of the camera men on the set of ‘Home and Away’. They will be filming on the beach all day tomorrow – we better take our autograph books! I wonder if they will mind 47 of our pupils appearing in the background?
We will return to the school for lunch before playing all 3 matches and then having a reception at the school.
We decide to make our way to Manly for lunch and the afternoon. While we are there we see Bethany Davies, Elaine Tucker, Rhodri Tyrrell, Lewis Macdermott, Katie Baran and Alycia Carpanini with their hosts. All seemed to be enjoying themselves.
We find Wi-fi access which allows Mr Long to upload the dairy and some photos and while we are there we receive a text from Rachael Williams – “What’s the dress code for tomorrow?” I had gone through it in detail on the coach en route to the school. I had also tried to make them aware that the contact details were for emergencies!!!
Mr Lewis texts her back the details and asks whether she was getting on well “its amazing, it’s the best experience ever!”
Miss Rushworth drags us all to Nando’s for tea. Unfortunately her sister wasn’t there to give us discount!
We aim to catch the bus back and get to the bus station just as one is leaving at 7.30pm. I look at the timetable and it shows we have to wait 50 minutes for another one. We decide to get a taxi instead and find one that can take the 6 of us.
Our driver Akeem is a really pleasant man and very chatty. I ask him where he was born “I was born in Algeria” he replies. “I think that’s where I am going skiing next year” Miss Jeffreys replies. There is much muffled laughter as no one wanted to put Akeem off his driving by laughing. Clearly Miss Jeffreys had Mr Mason for geography when she was in school. It transpires she is going to Andorra to ski!!
Back at the hotel a rare sight – Mr Walters has the iron out and is ironing his shirt ready for the post match function tomorrow.
We are in bed by 11.00pm and look forward to seeing the students again and hearing of their hosting experiences.
