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| Royal Crescent, Bath |
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| Roman Baths |
After a quick walking tour of Bath, including the Royal Crescent (now very expensive residential apartments) and the Botanical Gardens, we grabbed some souvenirs and were off for the trip to Queen's College in Taunton. With news that both the rugby and netball games would be played outdoors, we all kept a nervous eye on the darkening clouds as we travelled closer to the college.
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| Queen's College |
Another highly impressive and imposing castle-like structure welcomed us. After meeting our incredibly friendly Queen's PE staff, we were up to the dining hall for lunch with the other students. Queen's was built in 1843 and all students eat lunch in the dining room; so the beautiful wooden and stained glass room had a constant flood of students coming in and out.
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| A Queen's lunch |
We were then back to change for training and a warm up. Dr McEwen took the students through some lengthy stretching while the girls tested out the non-slip outdoor court. This process was delayed slightly by the need to clean off all the walnuts shells left by badgers, who have the strange habit of stealing walnuts from a tree about 100m away, and carrying them onto the netball court to crack them open (despite all the concrete they have to run on to get to the court in the first place). Unfortunately the boys' game began during the second half of the girls' match, however, the netball court and football field run right next to each other, so we were able to keep an eye on both games.
The girls played another terrific game of netball, finding some stronger competition from the Queen's girls, especially in the first quarter which was tightly contested. They found their groove and came away with a 24-2 win, despite a torn shoe sole, a slightly twisted ankle and a few slips and falls.
The boys had a sensationally entertaining game. At half time the score was even, though Queen's took a 20-10 win in the end. We couldn't be happier with the game play of the boys - there were some big hits and very tough defense from both sides. We had our first injury for the tour with JC popping out his shoulder and Dr McEwen very kindly popping it back in place. X-Rays at hospital showed there was no additional damage and despite the sling he is currently sporting, JC is doing well and already keen to get back into the ring. Being the beginning of their rugby season and having not yet played much, the Queen's boys found it very tough going, with one newbie commenting it was the hardest few minutes of his life. We put up a tremendous fight and the boys should be proud.
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| Presentations by the captains |
With afternoon tea and presentations from both schools - and Ben Thompson being awarded MVP of the day - it was time to meet host families or boarding parents, and head off for the night.
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| MVP |
The next day we were lucky enough to experience a whole school assembly. With only 500 students and being a Methodist college, this was a unique experience from the assemblies we are used to at TGS. The focus of the day's assembly was singing hymns, with the Director of Music going through some helpful hints and suggestions before leading the entire school through a series of hymns.
We then decided to pass on training to give the students some much desired down time. The prefect room is quite remarkable - a flat screen tv with the equivalent of Fox connected, a pool table, ping pong table (which kept teachers and students occupied for a long time), kitchen with toast and tea/coffee making facilities, plenty of couches and tables to stretch out playing cards and read, and access down to the fields for a run. Some of the boys elected to go for a swim in the heated indoor pool.
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| Wookey caves |
Then we were off for our afternoon excursion - Wookey Hole. What a bizarre place. The main attraction of the Wookey Hole is their system of caves several hundred feet underground. We did a tour of these with our eccentric guide and they really were incredible to walk through. However, upon exiting the caves there was also what we have dubbed 'Dinosaur Valley', a section of out of theme dinosaur and giant animal statues, then there was a paper making demonstration, a hall of mirrors and indoor playground, a mini-golf course and a pirate themed cafe .... Not to mention witch themed mini attractions, in line with the legend that the Wookey Hole caves were once inhabited by a witch who, along with her dog, were turned to stone by a local priest. It was a fun and silly way to spend an afternoon
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| Dinosaur Valley |
Feeling somehow enlightened and confused at the same, we were back to school for a final night with host families. We are very appreciative to Queen's College for so warmly hosting us. One more sleep til the big one - London, come at us!
Posted by K Kybus
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