Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Alnwick






Monday 20th April
We left Perth Academy yesterday with tears and cuddles from the hosting families! After having to drag the boys away, we were finally on our way 15 minutes after we should have been.
We went to St Andrews, the home of golf for a short lunch stop and a wander through the town and photo opportunities on the 18th hole and on the bridge over the ‘Swilkern Burn’. It lived up to its reputation of being very windy and cold although the sun was out.
Next stop was Berwick upon Tweed, not to be confused with North Berwick, which is the most northern town in England. Sean Bale was smiling more than he has done all tour so far!
We arrived at Alnwick spot on 5pm, it is a beautiful town with a magnificent Castle and gardens, Aaron the bus driver had to take the long way round to avoid the narrow roads through the Town walls. The boys were all in pairs for these billets, the hosts were very well organised and welcoming, and we have had great reports on the boys behaviour and manners.

Today, we met at 9am at the school and went to the Castle, where some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. It is inhabited by the Duke of Northumberland shire and his family and was restored in the late 1800s after 500 years of battles and sieges. We had a walk through the town over lunchtime before heading back to school for a game of rounders, and then to the Rugby ground where we play tomorrow for our training session.
The boys trained very well, and are in good shape for tomorrow’s game. After training the boys were picked up by their billets.
Tomorrow, we visit The Holy Isle (also known as Lindisfarne), where we have to cross a causeway before we return to Alnwick for a 4.30pm Kick Off.

10 comments:

Sally, jemima & matilda said...

One week to go! Good luck with the final match. Jemima had her first day back at school today, she had a really good day. Tildy reluctantly went to kindy. Hanging out for your return, missing you.
Love
S, J & M xxx

cole family said...

Dear Gill (host mum)

Thankyou so much for looking after the boys. Jarrod had said that he had a fantastic time there. Lots to do!!

Thanks
The Cole Family

Gill,,host mum.. Perth said...

It was our pleasure having them. Enjoyed their sense of fun. Jarrod and Blake very quickly felt like part of the family. Jarrod is superb at hanging out washing, just incase you didn't know!!(His own washing...I didn't make him do ours :)!)
Hope they enjoy the rest of their tour.

Gill, Charlotte and Chris

Alison Martin..(sammys mum) said...

hey boys... Liam and Ryan

it was a pleasure having you both to stay. The house is so quiet now you have gone. Needing Ryan back to use up the milk.

many thanks for my gifts. I love everyone of them. I will treasure them. Even though you didnt have to leave me the 2 little boxer shorts that were found under the bed.

Take care boys

Enjoy the rest of your holiday

Sammy will keep me informed how you both are doing

Love
Mummy Martin

Lisa Frawley said...

Alison and sammy

Liam told me he had a really wonderful host family that remindered him of me , because i talk all the time and so does alison !!!!,
thank you so much for looking after
him He also said the food was great
Liams mum
lisa

leanne dermek said...

Hi Alison and Sammy

Thanks for looking after Ryan and yes the milk consumption has drastically reduced since he has been away!
Glad you liked the gifts and I hope those boxer shorts were clean!!

Thanks again, Leanne

craig burling said...

Burlo,

The telephone snd the e-mail process. They are both quite easy once you get the hang of them!!

Love Dad

Jan Curran said...

Hey Mitch, Mr Leslie, Mr Evans and Mr Bale,
Can't wait to see you when you get back to school. Everyone here is asking about you all and the how the tour is going. The time has gone so fast and we hope you enjoy every last minute!
Love Jan Curran xx

Angie (Blake's Aunty) said...

Hi Blake
We are loving reading all about your trip and seeing the pics, well done to the blog writer you are doing a fantastic job. Sounds like you are all having a wonderful time and playing some great rugby. We are very jealous of you visiting all those great places in Scotland, enjoy London and we look forward to catching up when you get home.
love Angie, Jamie, Will, Georgie & Angus xxoo

Sally, jemima & matilda said...

Hi Ferg,
I spoke to Mary Livermore and she said it would be great if you called in to see Jemima when you get back to school on Tuesday.
We are all looking forward to seeing you.
The amount of work that you have put in is obvious (Sean and Bryn too). The blog has been great and I think the fact that everyone has enjoyed themselves and everything has run smoothly says it all. Congratulations. Does everyone know that this may be the last tour you organise? Why? Because I say so!!
See you soon x
Love S, J & M xxx