RUGBY TOUR.. Kinsale 7's by the sea

If you asked a question you would get fined. If you made a stupid comment you would get fined. If you didn’t follow the rule book you would get fined. If you wore the wrong clothes you would get fined. So basically you could do whatever the hell you wanted but you would get away with nothing.
"THE GREAT ESCAPE KINSALE"
Prison break was the theme this year. We were allocated black and white striped jerseys and it was compulsory to wear these at all times. On the back of each jersey were code names, prisoners and prison guards had to be referred to by these names at all times otherwise liquid penalties would be distributed on the spot or at court that evening. My code name was Ned Kelly and I was in jail for daylight robbery i.e. I stole Connie Li’s (a Chinese boarders) single bed so I could join it with mine and make a double bed however I continued to fall between the Gap. And as stated in my blurb I am Gap obsessed so a generally whenever I was talking to a nice boy one of the fellow prisoners would yell out: “Mind Ned’s Gap.. You might fall in.”
Luckily I wasn’t the only Aussie on tour. Bold Jack i.e. Monica from W.A was a fellow Aussie prisoner. However being an Aussie and the youngest tourist by a long shot – still in my teenage years basically I was in for it. It was mandatory for me to wear a bib and carry a dummy for the whole of tour, which to my dismay I lost in the first 10 minutes of being on the Kinsale 7’s by the sea tournament pitches along with my whole swag bag which I later found out was stolen by Bridget which was retrieved on the return flight. We each had a bar of soap on the rope so it wouldn’t be dropped in the shower and this had to be on our wrists all the time except on the playing pitch. Our first two games were against Sweden and England... need I say more. On the second day we scored some tries and actually won a few games- playing with a hangover or even when still drunk was the trick!
(Above is a photo of me getting fined for spitting out my gum.. i had to pick it up and put it in the bin without using my hands!)(can you spot me in photo below?) Annie: Ned Kelly (Blurb about me written by the tour committee!!)
The mighty Ned Kelly sometimes gets piles. She has a sticky temperament and likes bathing in honey. Been done up for fraud, fluffy dice laundering and indecent exposure. This ruthless character also violated an unsuspecting Chinese student. Ned is Gap obsessed. Has been caught discussing her Gap with minors and fell into a very large Gap (not her own) she still has scars to prove it. Please mind Ned’s Gap! This trisexual doesn’t do it with chairs but isn’t opposed to the odd settee. A hit with fellow inmates when doing the Nut bush with TimTams strapped to her Numnums.
The colander was my tour item that i had to carry with me at all times.. my head was the easiest place for it!!

London

BIG BEN My first experience of London was at 5:30 in the morning. We had just flown 23hrs from a hot summer Aussie day but all of a sudden keeping warm seemed rather impossible. A bus picked us up from the airport and we had so much luggage that the boys had to start loading into onto the back seat of the bus and cramming seats with everyone. Craving food and sleep we were disappointed to arrive at the hostile at 6am and realise we couldn’t book in till 2pm. “Oh no we are in London and what will we do for the day?” Stupid hey. However luckily it was somewhat easy to amuse over selves, I mean apart from the usual tourist attractions aka Big Ben, The London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, Convent Garden markets, Buckingham Palace – the changing of the guards... we spent most of our time checking out the cosy little pubs around Trafalgar Square after all the sun did go down at 4:00pm and the sudden darkness meant us Aussies needed a drink desperately! Plus if we wanted to gain a Heathrow injection (the raved about necessity weight gain of the Gappy) this was how we were going to have to do it…pints of London Pride and deep grilled chips or ‘crisps’ as the English refer to them as. Ask someone how they enjoyed their Gap year and you will gain the stereotypical alcoholic response.
Tourists
AUSTRALIA DAY SESSION AT 'THE CHURCH' SUNDAYS 12-4PM

Snowfall in England!!

Bearwood Driveway




Running down the the lake!

Prague

Praha!!

Out on the town in Czech Republic!

Austria- School Ski Trip!!

It had been a very nice feeling. Walking into room number 202 in Birkenhof hotel and feeling the coolness of the mountain air and the warmth of the winter sun all at the same time. I lay myself on a deck chair, on the balcony leading to my room then stretched my legs out so they rested on the rail. I was completely relaxed. I could have been sun bathing and for the first time in what seemed like forever I was wearing only a singlet top! The sensation of the warm sun touching my bare skin was instantly welcomed like an old friend who turned up unexpected on the backdoor step. I flicked through the pages of my book to find the mark I had left and began reading however as deeply intrigued by the content of this book as I was, the most exciting part was when my eyes wondered off the words and pages and found themselves so easily resting upon the snow capped peaks of Austria... If only I had bought my sunnies, I thought, this is what we live for. Swiss slopes Warth-Shroken.
Austria was a lot different Australia despite the obvious similarity in spelling. Being a foreigner I was extremely excited to arrive at the ski hire shop welcomed by a large bottle of snapps, this sort of luxury is not experienced at ski resorts such as Falls Creek in Victoria, Australia. I found the power behind a small shot of snapps exhilarating. It managed to scare away any inkling of chill that may have began to consume the body. We had an awesome group of staff members and parents i.e. fathers on the trip. John Talbot (Head of Geography) the organiser of the trip is a lovely man who bought his family along so luckily for me having his wife there meant there were now 2 females on the staff table. It was also wicked to have Ric and Jason (two young P.E teachers) who are good blokes. There tiny room was next to mine but the ‘shoebox’ was well regarded for getting totally shattered on a few servings of brandy and coke at 6 o’clock on a Tuesday before even reaching the dinner table - being a Aussie it went to my head a lot faster than theirs!! The activity for that night was bowling and it was hilarious I couldn’t see a thing and all the students were saying “Annie’s pissed, Annies pissed!!” so I didn’t live that down for the rest of the week. It was great because the Dads that came on the trip were very up for a laugh and they always made sure I had a drink in my hand. Tribey tended to be an inspirational parent on this trip. On various occasions he was spotted tearing off in his sliver car which was said to be “too high.” This was usually about midday after approximately an hours worth of skiing followed by a very yeasty beer. But I cant talk one afternoon after some late afternoon wine I was wobbling/skiing along and somehow stacked then whacked my jaw on a ski and was stunned for a little while, it was quite funny because I doing one last solo run with no phone and when I got to the bottom the lifts were closed so I had to hitch hike along this road to where the whole group was waiting for me, so again I was paid out!
Ric and Jas.. Livin' the Dream. The 2008 Ski trip to Warth Shrocken in Austria was an event to remember for many reasons. Not only due to the good nature of the staff members present but also due to their smooth organisation, ability to socialise and of course their frequent demonstrations of extreme talent on and off pist. Our hands were put together for the immaculate behaviour of all scholars who represented Bearwood with uttermost pride and diligence. Scholars gained new and exciting skills allowing them to evidently improve on skis and boards as the week progressed. The trip physically wouldn’t have been possible without two faithful bus drivers, Dave and Kevin, who were clearly committed to their bus, allowing us all to share companionship with their most frequent passenger and mascot sooty. Additionally the father figures who came along on the trip were applauded by the hotel managers for their extreme contribution in terms of funds towards the bar as well as allowing the bar staff to feel relaxed and appreciated whilst undertaking their daily job.

Bearwood College

I have never been so scared in my life. There were about 70 young, frantic Aussies crowding the airport, some with large backpacks preceding their hairlines others pulling pink Gucci suitcases on rolling wheels. Nevertheless we were all in the same boat, had the same frame of mind and most of all we didn’t have a fucking clue what sort of adventure was coming our way. On the plane my mind was consumed by warm thoughts of the return journey in a year’s time - looking out the small round window as the sparkling blue harbour smiled up at me as the plane began to touch down at mascot airport. Then I would then stroll off in stubbies and thongs looking like a rough hero with a good time gut with the need for some serious tender loving care. However the arrival at Bearwood College significantly changed my mood, I was no longer living in my thoughts but by the moment. Richard Ryall the second master picked us up from the train and gave us a grand tour around the streets of Wokingham, pointed the direction to Reading and showed us the glorious Sainsburys of Winnersh as we drove past. But it wasn’t until we slowly drove down the long pine lined driveway, when the branches like soft large hands reached out and pulled us in that I knew I would be absolutely ok. The Bearwood driveway has still has never ceased to take my breath away. People who have been on a Gap year always speak very highly of the experience. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you go it’s the fact that you’re living in a completely different country surrounded by things you have never had, seen, felt or heard. So on the 3rd of Jan 2008 many of us youngsters travelled to the other side of the world to experience this wondrous lifestyle and for an 18 year old who has just broken free of school rules and the HSC getting this far away is amazingly appealing. It’s the lifestyle that’s craved - a no stress day job, free grub, a bed and some pocket money for the odd pint here and there. Alex Battye and I were lucky enough to land at Bearwood College (below) a beautiful 250 acre site with splendid facilities: the imposing mansion house, the tree-lined drive, a lake, a forest, stables, playing feilds and a bloody fantastic community spirit!! So there I was, at Bearwood College, my first weekend in the country and suddenly I was heading off to France/ Belgium on the History tour. I had not a clue what direction I was going. I had only just realised that the U.K. was split into 3 separate sections – England, Wales and Scotland and that the title Great Britain includes Ireland. The trip was fascinating. I learnt a lot more on this school tour than I would have if I was a student myself. The guides were fantastic and had a many war time stories and poems down there sleeves. We walked through this muddy trench (below) and the rain made it so much more realistic- I have never been so so cold!
Drinking with the Teachers!!
Laboring with the Groundsmen!!
Cam - Our Summer Gappy - A professional cricketer from Brisbane!!
Battye Boy and Me!!