Early Sunday morning we boarded the coach bound for Molay in northern France, with 19 children, 10 staff and the Rev Julia. We enjoyed some movies and a varied music medley on the way to the Channel Tunnel.
Some hours after leaving Headless Cross (think it was only 11 hours but it felt like 11 days.lol) we arrived at a very luxurious looking Château, in Molay near Bayeux. After the negotiators (Helen & Bert) sorted out the accommodation it was off the coach and into the Historic Château De Molay. Inside we were greeted with a grand entrance hall and the rules about removing our footwear before going any further. The Château staff showed us through the entrance hall and into the ‘Red Room’ a large room with a grand marble fireplace and wooden bookcases, it looked like something out of a murder mystery film. Then we walked down a long haul way past the heated outdoor swimming pool and into the ‘Annexe’ where we were to live for the next few days. The bedrooms were not quite as regal as the entrance we were greeted with but they would do for our short stay.
After a comfortable sleep and a continental breakfast the first activities of the day were Circus Skills for our youngest travelers and Survival Training for the older Children and young leaders. The Circus trainees had great fun learning to juggle, perform tricks with a Diablo and much more. The survivalists learnt how to survive out in the wild and what they would be able to live on if they were without supplies.
The afternoon involved digesting the obligatory baguettes we had for lunch whilst learning how to work as a team without sight. Yes the children did a blind trail; walking one behind the other holding onto the back of another blinded team mate. Not only did they have to navigate under and over branches, rope obstacles and drag themselves through muddy puddles, the Château staff also wiped mud and grass over their faces. When they had finished they were all covered head to toe in mud and grass.
After everyone had had a wash and change of clothes it was over to the Archery range. It all started off very friendly with the children watching in amazement whilst the Rev Julia gave a master class in hitting the Bullseye! The last round however got a little tense when the archers were playing for their cutlery for the evening meal, with some members panicking thinking they may be having soup for dinner and all they had managed to hit was a fork.
After our evening meal we all met up in the ‘Red Room’ for a life-size game of Cluedo. The Château staff played several characters including a very convincing Amy Whinehouse! To gain a clue as to whom the villain was; we had tasks to complete including dancing, singing, hunting and pulling ugly faces. Once the villain was realised they were sentenced to a WETSECUTION! The villain was taken to the front of the Chateau for a WETSECUTION! and was then made to kneel down whilst a very large bucket of water is poured over them! Whilst this was taking place unbeknown to Sam some members of the 1st Redditch had conspired to have him WETSECUTED too, for refusing to join in with a muddy activity earlier in the day. If I tell you that he was NOT too pleased it would be an understatement!! During Sam’s soaking there was some collateral damage in the way of the Rev Julia getting a little wet too!
Tuesday morning we set of for Le Cité De La Mer a Submarine and nautical attraction in Cherbourg. We started with a tour of an decommissioned French Sub called The Redoubtable, the world’s largest submarine that’s open to the public. The second part of the afternoon was the underwater experience, this involved us having to wear protective clothing before boarding an underwater simulator to learn about the deep. On finishing the tour we were shown a video of it which was of great amusement because all the way around we had been filmed doing silly things which the children found very funny.
When we got back to the Château we had our evening meal followed by a disco where Ben and Adam decided to re-enact the final scenes from ‘Dirty Dancing’, trying to loft Laura above their heads.
Wednesday morning was a little sombre and to go with the mood the rain had started as we were packing the bags onto the coach. We arrived at Calais a little wind swept as the storm had got worse with high winds which had caused the Channel Ferries to be grounded so the Channel Tunnel port was very busy.
We arrived back at the Church on Wednesday evening, fully exhausted and a little deaf from the singing for the last eleven hours, but all in all it was a great trip! Please take a look at the photos in the album.