Day Three

WOW! What a fabulous day for us all! Yes, really. Even the female staff enjoyed the National Railway Museum. We'd had a good night, although it was a bit difficult waking up some of the children this morning and a good breakfast was had by all.

We had sunshine for our stroll into the city and such was the sense of excitement we were 30 minutes early. Not a problem. The trick is to ensure you build anticipation by making them all wait outside in the cold, so they really appreciate going in.

We decided that as it was clear with good visibility that we would go on to the Yorkshire Wheel first. We haven't done this before, so even after 15 years of leading the York trip, there were new views to be seen by all. It's a breathtaking experience, not just because you have an extraordinary feeling of being very high, but on a clear day such as this, the flat panorama allows you to see for miles. There's no doubt that the Yorkshire Wheel increased to positivity of the experience, but we also opted to remove the clutter of paper and pencils to allow the children to really look at what's there. The benefit of digital photography is that we can select images to prompt memories later in the day, week or month. we felt a little sorry for the school group that spent much of their visit sitting at tables looking at worksheets on rail safety when all those awesome tributes to engineering were surrounding them.

Regrettably we were eventually forced to leave the inspirational surroundings of the National Railway Museum, but we had to in order to enjoy the Jorvik experience. We walked a short way round the city walls and headed into the centre where we were met by unsmiling staff – we're sure they wanted us to have a good time really! Almost all children became transfixed by the 'aromas' that met us as we entered Viking York; there's simply no escaping the overwhelming pong that meets your sense as you begin your journey. That's also a good sign in that they clearly all smell fresh and are washing thoroughly.

The male staff bravely volunteered to stand outside in the cold to supervise children who didn't want the gift shop, ultimately forced to by a Starbucks to stave off the effect of hypothermia. Whatever else the Jorvik pongs may have done, they didn't cause the children to lose voice and we brought many in the city centre to a standstill with the sheer volume of singing as we walked back to the hostel.

And so it's back into the TV Room to complete tasks in their York books. They're so exhausted that we're having an earlier room inspection and will let them get their little sleepy heads to bed sooner. Bless!

Lots of love from the 2008 Yorkies XXXX.

Day Two

We're delighted to inform you that we had a good night's sleep! This was largely due to exhausted children but partly due to Mr Brown's new nasal spray preventing a repeat of the cacophony of snorting that filled the nights last year.

The morning wake-up call was followed by sleepy, incoherent journeys from room to shower and shower to room, but there's something about children of this age that means the batteries are swiftly re-charged and energy levels soon resumed.

Breakfast was acceptable. They haven't returned to the glory of the full English that became the stuff of legend, but there are more options along those lines. It was a great pleasure to receive comments from staff and other guests on the politeness of our children.

Our morning was spent as Roman soldiers at Merton Park. Fantastic! If ever there's proof that learning can be fun, that's the place you'll see it. Admittedly, some of the boys looked more like they were holding feather dusters than short swords and Daniel did unfortunately lose when attacking a stuffed sack, but when we picked him up he was fine!! We made pots, wrote in Roman cursive style, ran patrols and practised combat skills. We avoided the gift shop.

Alas, this avoidance of shallow materialism was soon counterbalanced by the opportunity to spend as much as possible in a short time amidst the historic surroundings of the Shambles. The inevitable challenge of spending quantity overtook any real desire to find quality mementos of their York trip.

The Dig was our final experience of the day, in which the desire of some to become archaeologists was somewhat diminished by the awesome sight of the Yorkshire 'stool'. The harsh reality that we can discover more about ourselves through 'what we leave behind' seems to have changed some career prospects.

We left the city centre on foot to have our first stroll along the river. This gave us the opportunity to build our excitement as we looked across the river towards the National Railway Museum. Yes, we fully expect it will be more challenging for the children to sleep tonight in their eager anticipation of tomorrow's highlight!

Lots of love from us all,

The 2008 Yorkies.

Good Evening Everybody.

Well, we had a good journey up and most of it was in sunshine. Thankfully only one child needed the bucket, so for most children it was a pleasant experience. We collected Mrs Sutton from Grantham Services, although we understand she'd had several offers by the time we arrived.

Unfortunately, Mr Hayes and Mr Brown's healthy sandwiches were nowhere to be seen at lunchtime, so they were both forced to purchase Burger King's finest to stave off the hunger pains. Luckily Mrs Bennett has been fully trained in the use of the on-board tea and coffee making facilities and was able to spend a considerable number of miles ensuring no staff got thirsty. The terms of the official secrets act prevent us from telling you that only one member of staff fell asleep on the journey up, which is fortunate as Mr Brown would probably be embarrassed by such a revelation.

There were several cheers as we headed into York. The sight of bendy buses caused almost as much excitement for the children as it did for the male staff, and we managed to catch a rare sighting of a couple of lesser spotted Yorkshire trollops performing an amazing balancing act on six-inch heels.

The arrival at the Hostel prompted more cheers. The children discovered that getting cases up a steep staircase isn't always easy. There are more of them in larger rooms this year, with the exception of the female staff who are crammed into a broom cupboard (much to the amusement of the men in their spacious accommodation with ensuite). Best question of the night from a child in GHQ (the male staff room): "Why are there only four beds when there are six staff?" Clearly, some children think we get on very well!

The children are all in high spirits as we write. We've had our evening meal and everybody seems to have been happy with the menu. They’ve settled into their rooms and a little later this evening will endure their first room inspection, where they will learn to cope with attention to detail bordering on obsession. Everyone is getting on together very well, which is perhaps indicative of this group of children. We hope you enjoyed your Mothers' Day letters and have as warm a feeling about your children as we do.

Much love,

The Yorkies 2008

Labels: york trip

School Dinner Numbers Double
Our push to increase school dinner numbers has been successful
This is good news as winter approaches. If you would like to take school dinners please contact the school office.

Labels: school dinners