We departed for our trip further north, with the few hours of driving from Uppingham to Yarm School broken up by a lengthy stop in York. This is a beautiful city, with the centre contained inside the medieval Roman walls. Here we visited Betty's Teahouses; a renown and popular parlor café specializing in high tea, particularly their scones. The kids were treated to Devonshire tea and we were delighted to see pinky fingers delicately raised everywhere as the kids enjoyed Betty's specialized tea and scones. As we edged closer to 3pm, we surprised Brydie with a birthday cake for her (Australian) 18th birthday. We then had a couple of hours to walk off our morning tea with shopping and sightseeing. In a case of remarkable time management, several boys managed to track down some turtleneck sweaters and shoot what can only be described as the quintessential boy band album cover. Parents - this one is a keeper.
Back to Brian and the bus to complete the trip to Yarm School. Every school thus far has been incredibly hospitable and impressive for their own reasons and Yarm no different. The school itself has a more modern feel than others we have visited and has classroom blocks set out in a similar manner to back home. Upon arrival, we were impressed to see a group of excited and confident students come forward to individually locate their own TGS billet and give them a warm handshake or hug. This friendliness set the tone for our entire visit to Yarm. Students were immediately off for the night with their families, with later reports of some staying again in castles, some in mansions on hundred of acres of property and others staying with the likes of a former Manchester United player. They have been very lucky indeed with the billeting experiences they have received.
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| Yarm School cafe |
The following day was game day. We began with some training sessions - the boys on the field and the girls stretching in another yoga session led by Susie in their dance studio. We reconvened in the School's cafe - proper barista coffee with tables and couches overlooking the river (which makes rowing very easy with the school's boat house on campus). We debated the possibility of Mr Fairley agreeing to build both a river (preferably complete with squirrels and sheep) and a cafe overlooking it through the middle of TGS, and decided he probably had more important priorities and we had best focus on enjoying the moment here at Yarm instead.
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| Helping carry an injured Yarm student |
We were treated to lunch in the school dining hall and this was another experience of its own. Hot food like fresh soup, pasta, lasagne & vegetables, salad bars, sandwich stations, hot and cold desserts ... Difficult to enjoy all this food knowing there would be a lot of physical activity shortly after.
The boys were up first, with the 10 minute walk to the fields as a good warm up. Australian flag stickers came out and as the touring staff moved through the school it became evident that our Winton boy, Wade, obviously missing home, had been branding some of the locals. As always, their patriotic spirit was appreciated by all.
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| An unsuspecting branding |
With the realization that this would be the last game of rugby ever played together, the boys played hard and left everything on the field. With a tight lead at the end of the first half, the TGS team dug deep and came through with a stellar 47-12 win. It was a very deserved victory and a brilliant way to end the tour. The excitement and happiness with this win was palpable.
The girls up next with a few nerves, having learned that the Yarm netball team is quite accomplished. At halftime the TGS girls had a narrow lead of only a couple of points, though with the boys having joined us to cheer and encourage, they grouped together and with brilliant teamwork and game play, came away with a 23-14, giving the TGS touring netball side a grand slam tour. Congratulations to the girls and their super coach, Prue!
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| Halftime Captain to Captain pep talk |
We were delighted throughout the tour to see host parents come to games to watch, and surprisingly more times than not support their Australian child more than their own. This led to many confusing conversations on sidelines with English parents referring to 'us' and 'we', including themselves on the TGS side. It was lovely to see the support.
With the bittersweet feeling of joy from dual wins and sadness over playing for the last time together, there were tears and celebrating. Ben and Tahryn led the entire touring squad through a celebratory school war cry which made an obvious impression on the Yarm spectators. We were off to our final post-game afternoon tea, with both sets of captains acknowledged and MVPs awarded. Congratulations again to Isabella Dooley and to Sheldon Brennan on their excellent performances. We were all surprised by a beautiful and decadent looking birthday cake organized by the Yarm staff when they heard we had a birthday girl on tour. Happy (European) 18th birthday to Brydie again! A very kind and thoughtful gesture.
This also meant it was sadly time to say goodbye to Dr McEwen, who needed to return to London after our final game. Pete was an absolutely integral and delightful addition to our touring party, and the students' admiration was represented beautifully on the amusingly oversized 'Keep calm, I'm a doctor' shirt they bought for him in York and all signed. I know this gesture meant a lot to him and he meant a lot to this tour - a big thank you to Pete for giving up time from his very busy schedule to take care of all of us.
Back to the final night of billeting with lots of exciting plans with their new friends. The TGS students bonded very quickly with their Yarm hosts, and the following morning there were a lot of hugs goodbye and promises to stay in touch. With the sporting component of our tour ended, it was time for one more tourist 'must do' before our return to Australia. Look out Scotland!
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| Billet friendships |
Posted by K Kybus
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