MIND THE GAP STUDENT: Stonehouse trip

MIND THE GAPPIE

As soon as Cath heard that Emma was a smidgen homesick after she left us in January, she was onto the websites and looking to get across to Emma and give her sister some loving - as is the job of big sisters. We found a good deal pretty soon and from about a month ago, we were counting the days till the three of us would be together again - the three amigos / stooges or whatever else comes in threes.

The plane trip was short although the week before had seen even more strike action threatened by Aer Lingus (they seem to threaten to strike every few months here) - meaning that we were unsure if we would actually fly at all! But we did and after a handful of short train trips, we arrived in Slough (correction... STROUD!!).

Slough! (correction... STROUD!!). But Emma lived in Stonehouse - we were meeting her at the Stonehouse station. Why Slough? (correction... STROUD!!). Well...... the STOOPID TRAIN SERVICE didn't think that it would be helpful to announce that at the Stonehouse station, the platform is so small that it's only long enough for two carriages to stand alongside it - so passengers must go to the front two carriages to get off the train. For cath and I - in carriage 'D' - we looked out when the train stopped - saw green farmland and went back to reading our newspaper. With Emma waiting patiently on the platform for us, wondering what was taking us so long.

Luckily, the next station was just 5 minutes away and there was a train going back in just 15 minutes. Of course, the fact that it was about 2 degrees meant we all froze our bits off while we waited, but Emma, to her credit wasn't bummed we kept her waiting (or if she was, she didn't show it) and we walked to her place chatting about this and that and nothing in particular.
In typical Murphy's law fashion, the conductor on the journey back to Stonehouse announced about 26 times that if we were wanting to get off at Stonehouse, that we must make our way to the first two carriages. BIT LATE NOW BUDDY-BOY!

We were still in time for food at the canteen though, so our delay was not costly - and Emz introduced us to her fellow gappies over supper. The school kids had seemingly never seen other people before, cos they tended to stare at us a bit, but luckily Cath and I were used to that from Japan so we simply ate away merrily.

Over supper with the gappies, it soon became clear how they got through their weeks.

Meals.

Conversation at supper involved what breakfast WAS like, how last week's suppers had been compared to tonight's, what Sunday's breakfast was likely to be like (Emma used words to describe it that I didn't even know she knew! Apparently it was / would-be 'DA BOMB!') as well as giving mention to a few lunch meals. There was complicated talk of 'two proteins' of margarines needing to be smuggled in pockets for their flat upstairs, of fruit and a desserts, as much 'choco milk' or tea as one could want (Heaven) and a general raising of enthusiasm when some or other meal part was mentioned.

What was clear to me from all this is that Emma is most certainly, Cath's sister.

Anyhoo, after chats, a bit of walking around, a movie and a few cups of tea, we headed to bed in Emma's lil room. Emma borrowed her buddy's bed for the night and Cath and I were left to fight over Emma's duvet. It was a comfy duvet. Here's Emma in her room (below).

The next morn, we ate and headed off to the station, with a quick posed piccie in front of Emma's gappie flat. cath was bemoaning her inability to pull off more than one look (Emma has a bunch of faces - thoughtful, funny, sexy (blue steel), etc - but Cath reckoned all of hers looked the same. So here (below) cath went for thoughtful. FYI - Emz's flat is at the top of the building behind.

CHELENHAM

So we went by train to nearby Cheltenham, a place known best for it's horse races which take place every March. I enjoy horse racing about as much as I enjoy root canal work or traffic, so we skipped the horsetrack and wandered around the streets, markets, buildings - finding places to eat and things to spend my hard-earned money on.

A few photies first. As you can see, we're very close...

And then, wandering around, we came across a nice-looking building. And when you're a tourist in a new place, you take photos of nice-looking buildings. So we did.

And the fountain in front of it too.

Cath said "We should look at the camera for this photo," but Emma said "No YOU look at the camera." That's actually a location joke, but you had to be there.

And then, before we knew it, it was time for lunch. Emma was keen to recreate our French 'somma go to the shop, buy your own ingredients and make your own baggette' but I was difficult again - years of no pie shops (Ireland doesn't do pie shops) had left me drooling when we walked past a shop saying 'Lamb and mint pies' so the girls did the baggette thing and I ate pies.

Which we ate on a bench overlooking a nice grassy area...

Then more shopping - why did we go into a ski shop? I don't know - paper shops, charity shops, smelly-stuff shops, clothes shops (where Emma found a perfectly fitting pair of jeans that she really wanted but decided against and where Cath made me buy her a pair of cute cow slippers...

... before we eventually heading back to the station.

However, in an attempt to exacerbate our weekend train misfortune, the Cheltenham station authorities had, in their wisdom, moved weekend train times forward 15 minutes from those on the timetable, without putting signs up to say they had done so. Once again, it was 3 degrees. We had just walked for 30 minutes to be on time for the train. However at least from this annoyance came good - i suggested a trip to the warm pub across the raod - and lo and behold - what was on? The sharks versus the bulls! Now for Cath and I - the Super 14 was great for a couple used to being POISONED with the 6 nations standard of rugga! We got about 20 minutes of the second half before we had to head off.

That night - more movies - but only after Emma had taken us out for a cool supper. The little star - she's obviously making WAY too much money if she can offer to take two gluttons out for supper! After shopping around for the right ambiance, we found a cool pizza place where we ate our full.

The next day Emz, Lynn, Cath and I hiked to church where we were given a lengthy sermon - but seeing as we'd walked about 30 minutes to get there, I would have asked for my money back if the priest had let us go with just a 5-minute job.

Then came the DA BOMB breakfast which filled us up so much we decided to skip lunch. Instead we haeded across the road to play a bit of touch rugga, soccer, hockey and badminton.

HOCKEY

After playing some touchies (ah to play sport again)it was time for some serious soccer. Just as well I reckon - I knew the soccer was to be a serious affair when teams were picked, leaving a little nerdy lad to be picked last of all - even after the girls! The indignity of it all!

Then, to put me in no doubt as to how important the kids took this game, a little pik who was probably no older than 10 and who came up to about my waist walked up to me and firmly told me "You and I will play up-front!"

Meanwhile the girls had decided it was time for hockey. But the other girls hadn't counted on Cath being as talented as she is...

Instead of choosing teams, Cath decided she'd simply play against the rest... seems a bit unfair you say? I agree - there were only 7 others. They had no chance. I came across to take a few photies and was just in time to catch Cath taking the ball on the half-way line, dribbling past a few young would-be tacklers.

But surely the gappies would be tougher. Nope first Kate was left looking dazed and confused by Cath's skill...

Next up was Lynn - but after having Cath run a circle around her, she too was left looking sheepish and embarrassed...

And so to the last line of defence... could Emma stop Cath? HELL NO. She was facing the wrong way - having a fat chat with one of the youngsters in the goals. Cath left her little sis to pick the ball up out of her own goals!

THAT'S MY STAR WIFE BABY!!!!

The proud smile of a matchwinner!

The girls had baked a banana bread before the sport so we were worried one of the other gappies would have tucked in while we were out but luckily for them, they hadn't. I would have hated to report on a 'young person killed by angry bakers' story.

We went and picked up a few things for a supper that we decided we'd make for the gappies that night. On the way there was time for a few more piccies...


and what trip would be complete without the mandatory photo of a red English phonebox?

And so to supper, a few games of UNO - woohoo! - and a few more movies. We made Mexican tortillas which we ate while sitting in a circle on the floor of their living room.

They're a good bunch of okes - we had a cool time.


But alas - work was calling and we had time just for one more night in Emma's lil bed before heading off the next morning.


PS - the ENTIRE banana bread was polished off that night. Bloody gap hogs!