Day 2 - Cheers To Friendship
TUESDAY
Day 2 – Breakfast Gains, Market Bling & Smelly Beach Feet
BREAKFAST
After a good night’s sleep, we were all expecting a sea of bed hair this morning… sadly, very little to report on that front. Disappointing really. We were hoping for at least one gravity-defying barnet. We were impressed that the new members of the adult team made it to breakfast before some of the more experienced ones. This shows great enthusiasm. Well done! We are hopeful that there will be some shocking bed hair tomorrow at breakfast - staff or pupils, we don’t mind - so that somebody wins the annual award for Bed Hair of the week.
Breakfast, however, did not disappoint. The usual load of croissants, pain au chocolat, bread and cereal was laid out but with a glorious new addition: bacon and eggs! One adult was positively overjoyed.
Special mention must go to one determined young man who decided to kick off the day with a full-on early morning workout. Impressive stuff! But when it came to piling up bacon (twice) this award didn’t go to him. No, this title belongs to a certain young lady who approached breakfast like a true champion. There wasn’t much on her plate to go with the bacon, but it looked delicious.
The Market – Euros, Bling and… Slushies?
Excitement was bubbling as we drove past tomorrow’s destination, Bagatelle theme park. Small but mighty screams of joy could be heard from the back of the coach.
But today, it was all about the market! As staff counted out Euros and offered sage shopping advice, the children were already planning their purchases like seasoned pros. The top shopping list items? Berets, watches and of course… sweets because apparently crossing international borders just makes the sweet tooth stronger. Some groups had popped into the local fishmongers on the walk to the market, to look at the amazing array of seafood; lobsters, crabs, huge skate wings, langoustines the size of small children….. Parents, some of you would be very proud that your children not only knew the name ‘langoustines’ but have also tried them. And mussels…. Such culinary sophistication from St Michael’s!
Not everyone enjoyed the fishmonger experience, however, due to the smell. Fishy ,obviously. On we went to the market…
In one group, the first five minutes of the market visit went like this:
Adult: “Don’t buy the first thing you see. There are bargains further in. Try to haggle. Don’t pay full price.”
Children: Immediately spend most of their money on the first shiny thing they saw. Full price. No questions asked.
By the end of the morning, we had a coach full of bling: chains, rings, watches, hair clips. You name it, someone bought it. Though one young lad made it very clear,
“I’m not buying a ring. I’m not married!”
There were moments of true heart too. One kind boy spent all his money buying replacement sunglasses for a friend who had lost hers yesterday. He presented them to her later at the beach and honestly, there may have been a small tear in a teacher’s eye.
Another boy proudly said, “Family is everything,” explaining how each of his purchases was chosen with someone back home in mind. He had weighed up the option of buying his Mum some nail varnish, but after some discussion about the nail salon that his parents own, he decided that they probably had a fair size stock and chose something else.
As for comedy gold, a shout out to the blinged-up shopper who, having already emptied his wallet, declared loudly,
“Uh oh, the girls are at it again!” while they were eyeing up hair clips. Most intriguing was the boy who bought a huge cucumber - it takes all sorts - but he was thrilled with his purchase.
There was the occasional moment of buyers’ regret, as a couple of children wondered if they could take their purchase back to a stall as they had seen something they preferred. This seemed very unlikely on a weekly market, and difficult to explain in French unless you were in Madame Betteridge’s group - so it had to be a learning curve.
We must say a huge shout-out to the boy who spent most of the market time staring fixedly into the window of the boulangerie and refusing to move from the spot. Who can blame him for hanging on to the window for dear life, right in front of the cream gateaux display? His perseverance was rewarded by staff members caving in, and allowing him into the bakery to choose a treat. It was not a whole cream gateaux, in case you are worrying.
Once everyone had finished their spending spree, we headed back to the coach via a toilet stop at the Tourist Information Office. It didn’t matter that every other school party in Etaples - and there were many - had the same idea, and simply tested our school value of resilience as we stood in a long queue with crossed legs.
War Graves – Respect and Reflection
From the noisy hustle of the market to the peaceful stillness of the war graves, the mood shifted beautifully. As we arrived at the cemetery, there were quiet gasps as the children took in the sight of row upon row of white headstones stretching as far as they could see.
Every single child showed great respect, taking time to find names they felt a connection with. It was a special, thoughtful moment in the trip that we know will stay with them. One lad commented that he had thought it would be boring, but it was actually ‘really interesting’. As ever, we read “In Flanders Fields” before we walked into the cemetery, and the experience was as moving as ever.
Dynamic Risk Assessment
We were supposed to be having lunch on the beach at Berck - however, the group of heavily perspiring, red-faced adults decided it was far too hot and that a new destination for lunch was needed. There was much discussion with Dave the bus driver - he is a legend - and consultation of Google maps with Mrs Dean, who spends lots of time in France, Madame B and Mr Butler ….. Surely there would be a nice forest somewhere nearby, where we could picnic in the shade….well of course there was. But we did also need a car park big enough to fit a huge double-decker bus, which narrowed it down somewhat. Luckily Dave the Driver - he really is a legend - thought of the car park at Le Touquet airport, where he had noticed a shady area of grass. Off we went, and enjoyed our lovely lunch in a shady, well tended patch of land (well, it’s Le Touquet). It was only as we returned to the coach that Madame B noticed the sign saying “no picnics.” (In French, obviously.) No harm done.
Beach Time – Sand, Sea and Smiles
Finally, it was time to let loose on the beach. The sand was incredibly hot, yet within seconds, children were off: running, jumping, digging holes big enough to lose a teacher in, and burying each other . Some staff walked our young lady in a wheelchair and her friends down the boardwalk, further towards the sea and noticed that the sand and air were considerably cooler, so the rest of us upped sticks and headed down for a paddle. The instruction, please note, was paddle. This is written clearly on our lengthy risk assessments (they make War and Peace look short) - it definitely says ‘paddle.’ It does NOT, categorically, say fall over accidentally on purpose so you are soaked. “I slipped,” from one boy didn’t really convince us, having seen him hurl himself into the sea.
Time ran away from us, just like the fish from the smelly feet paddling in their waters.
It was a long and soggy, in some cases, walk back to the coach and there may well have been the odd chafed thigh from sand and wet shorts. Another learning curve - you can’t fault this trip for its educational value.
Eventually, we rounded them up for showers. (Yes, parents, they are showering and we can confirm there was definitely more water on them than on the bathroom floor… just.)
Evening – Football Frenzy and Full Tummies
We weren’t sure it was possible, but after all that they were still hungry. Dinner was devoured in record time. Why the rush, I hear you ask? Well, the football pitch was calling.
There’s something heartwarming about watching your children, with full bellies and sun-kissed faces, playing a friendly international match with local French children. The rivalry was fierce but the smiles said it all. A familiar French face from last year even made an appearance - for the old-timers on the staff, it was so lovely to see the same young lad that had played with St Michael’s Year 6 pupils in previous years.
As we write, everyone is fast asleep in bed - and all is quiet. There will be dreams of sea and sand, cheap jewellery and cucumbers, large gateaux , new friends made on a French campsite football pitch tonight - and another happy, happy day. Our opening quote, “ Cheers to Friendship,” was taken from how one pupil toasted the people on her table at dinner tonight, with glasses of water.
Keep Those Comments Coming!
Huge thanks to everyone who’s sent in messages already, your children absolutely loved hearing them on the coach today. Keep them coming! The more embarrassing, the better…Email them to us if we haven’t managed to sort a box for comments on here. It’s late, we’re tired…..
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventure. Bagatelle awaits!