Day 2
The girls slept soundly in their beds till about 7.30am. It was a different story in the boy’s room. They were woken at 6.30am by a loud alarm sound. Every child denied setting an alarm clock so it was decided that it must be the fire alarm. Shoes and coats were put on to brave the rain and the boys walked briskly to the assembly point. Mr Britten followed quickly behind only to discover a very quiet Chateau with no one to be found. Epic Fail! This did, however, give the boys time and opportunity to unpack and prepare for the day.
During the stay at the Chateau, there is a daily room inspection. This is carried out by Chateau staff and the scores are posted on the notice board in all their glory. So far, the boys have an early lead! The early start obviously helped them get nine out of ten. The lowest score for a Salterford room was seven although it must be reported that another school scored only two!
The morning was spent on a tour of the chateau and some fun and games. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been great. The rain from last year’s trip to Cranedale has tracked us down and is just as determined to soak us through. It may dampen our clothes, but it will never dampen our spirits!
Lunch – Mixed veg salad, beef burger with couscous and green beans, selection of cheese with fruit.
In the afternoon, the children were split into three groups. Group A (Miss Venables) made bread inside, Group B (Mrs Birdi) went canoeing and Group C (Mr Britten) attacked the obstacle course.
The obstacle course was at its best. Loads of mud, loads of water and loads of dirty children. It was also quite cold. Fortunately, the children were made of stern stuff and didn’t let a little cold water get them down. Ben W decided that the obstacle course was a place where boys went in and men came out. If it got any colder, I think it would have probably been the opposite.
The canoe group got as wet as expected and spent more time in the lake than the canoe. Katie couldn’t wait to dive in a practice a bit of front crawl. Despite a few difficulties with escaping the wetsuits, the girls had a great time and had many tales to tell at dinner.
Dinner – Pate, Chicken and chips, chocolate mousse. Very popular – seconds and thirds were enjoyed by most.
The evening was spent in the rain. No surprise. The children were sent on a treasure hunt and were given a list of objects (in French) to find. One of the objects was the elusive professor. In French, this is written professeur gentil . Sadly, one could not be found.
The children are spending tomorrow at Bayeux and at the D-Day landings museum. Hopefully, it will be a little drier but apparently it wasn’t dry in 1944 so it will probably give them a better experience if it is raining. We shall continue to have fun and, hopefully, seek out the elusive professor!
