Friday 3 November - Monday 6 November
Thursday 2 November
Preparations were started for our foreign tour. Hair was primped and coloured...
The kitty was primed and in the capable hands of Sue for this trip...
Bags were packed and we were ready!
The gang started gathering, coming together from all four corners of the UK - and Australia. The twos became four ...
Then the four became six...
Friday 3 November
As the sun rose over London we prepared for departure. Breakfast - then a trip to the shop to look for suitable refreshments for the journey.
Siobhan had made beautiful little make up bags with everyone's names on - really pretty. And we had (by now obligatory!) tiaras and little badges which had the address we were staying at on the back.
Oz Chris handed out beautifully wrapped little packages.
Little fimo brooches personalised with our names and our school uniform! Absolutely brilliant and so clever.
With brooch and badge pinned on our chests we had no excuse for forgetting our names or where we were staying. We were all set!
The train set off and the bottles were opened.
Judging by the stares on this pic perhaps we were louder than we thought!...
But Siobhan managed to sleep through the chatter.
Into the waiting taxis and off to the accommodation. A beautiful old farmhouse - good work Siobhan!
There was even a rather nice bath and everyone had the same thought! Unfortunately (or perhaps luckily!) we didn't have the time to realise its potential - and anyway - it wouldn't have been the same without Janice being there!!...
Time for a quick wash and brush up then back into Bruges for a meal and our first glimpse of the city.
Then it was back to the accommodation for jimjams, slippers .. and Chris's gin.
Quote of the day
~ "That's a nasty cough you've got there Carol - what are you taking for it?"
~ "Tena ladies..."
With having such a big group and using two taxis every time we had to be certain that everyone was there so Siobhan took charge of the house key and counted everyone out - which worked fine until Rosemary forgot her hat and nipped back in!
And we had to make sure that we had seven in each cab before we set off.
We worked out a rough schedule and descended on Bruges.
Groups formed and set off in different directions with meet up points arranged - and messages flew backwards and forwards as people found a nice place to eat or were off to go elsewhere and wondered if anyone wanted to join them.
Then it was time for us to gather for the brewery tour. Lovely idea (with beer at the end) but what they hadn't mentioned was all the UP!
Now ordinary UP is fine. There is no problem for some of us with ordinary UP as long as there is concrete, solid walls and no windows to look out from so that there is no sensation or reminder of height.
The problems with UP started with HIGH, neck craningly looking up to the sky HIGH - it then continued with SPIRAL as in non concrete, twirly staircase incorporating both UP and HIGH.
When our brains had processed that then there were the SPACES BETWEEN THE STEPS to deal with. Open spaces which were HIGH and going UP with nothing to shield you from seeing the DOWN which was a long way away.
Having contemplated all this Chris, Siobhan and I decided that we would wait for the others right there at the bottom and look at their pictures of the promised wonderful view later.
They came back down and we rejoined the tour going into a very low ceilinged room with tanks.
Already feeling a bit claustrophobic I then just heard the tour guide say something about going back down to the next level backwards holding onto the rails. I lost it and burst into tears.
Quote of the day
Chris, talking about our teachers at school...
~ I found Mr McCook's obituary.
~ Rosemary - Is he dead then?!
Firstly a wander through the city to find the canal cruise where we all piled aboard under the watchful eye of our boatmeister who fancied himself as the Flemish answer to (an aged) James Bond.
Fourteen (significantly less aged and definitely more sprightly and better looking) Miss Moneypennys dutifully got ready to 'ooh' and 'aah' at appropriate times as he talked us through his tour - whilst calculating how much he was making per trip/per day and per year at low season guesstimates. The answer was lots!!
If we had been playing on memory alone then we probably would still have been sitting there puzzling over it - and it probably wasn't helped by the fact that we had a lot of bottles to try and finish before we left the house.
Quote of the day
Carole, talking to Sally about the little name badges from Oz Chris
~ Ooh you've got really long hair on your thingy!..
But it was all too much for some of us.
We were soon back to the station so we group hugged and then went our separate ways homeward bound.
Tired but happy - and our two newbies - Oz Chris and Diana did not seem to have been too traumatised by the ordeal so that was bonus!
Thursday 2 November
Preparations were started for our foreign tour. Hair was primped and coloured...
The kitty was primed and in the capable hands of Sue for this trip...
Bags were packed and we were ready!
The gang started gathering, coming together from all four corners of the UK - and Australia. The twos became four ...
And finally seven.
With half the group in situ and other little sub groups wending their way through traffic to be in place ready for the early morning start we were as organised as we could be...
Friday 3 November
As the sun rose over London we prepared for departure. Breakfast - then a trip to the shop to look for suitable refreshments for the journey.
The cases were parked in a line outside the supermarket with some on guard whilst others went in to forage for supplies - just as the man in his little road sweeper came along the pavement!
After a bit of a stand off where we looked at him and he glared back at us - we moved the cases and without so much as a word or a glance he continued on his way leaving a damp (but clean) path for us to put the cases back on.
Once we were all together Sally gave out tickets and herded us through to the waiting area.
Siobhan had made beautiful little make up bags with everyone's names on - really pretty. And we had (by now obligatory!) tiaras and little badges which had the address we were staying at on the back.
Oz Chris handed out beautifully wrapped little packages.
With brooch and badge pinned on our chests we had no excuse for forgetting our names or where we were staying. We were all set!
The train set off and the bottles were opened.
And in no time at all we were there.
Into the waiting taxis and off to the accommodation. A beautiful old farmhouse - good work Siobhan!
There was even a rather nice bath and everyone had the same thought! Unfortunately (or perhaps luckily!) we didn't have the time to realise its potential - and anyway - it wouldn't have been the same without Janice being there!!...
Time for a quick wash and brush up then back into Bruges for a meal and our first glimpse of the city.
Unfortunate choice of name for Sally's drink.
Quote of the day
~ "That's a nasty cough you've got there Carol - what are you taking for it?"
~ "Tena ladies..."
Saturday 4 November
Google and guidebooks were consulted over breakfast and an itinerary began to take shape.
With having such a big group and using two taxis every time we had to be certain that everyone was there so Siobhan took charge of the house key and counted everyone out - which worked fine until Rosemary forgot her hat and nipped back in!
And we had to make sure that we had seven in each cab before we set off.
We worked out a rough schedule and descended on Bruges.
Lots of stops for coffee, hot chocolate or beer and plenty of time to watch the world (or others from our group!) go by.
Then it was time for us to gather for the brewery tour. Lovely idea (with beer at the end) but what they hadn't mentioned was all the UP!
Now ordinary UP is fine. There is no problem for some of us with ordinary UP as long as there is concrete, solid walls and no windows to look out from so that there is no sensation or reminder of height.
The problems with UP started with HIGH, neck craningly looking up to the sky HIGH - it then continued with SPIRAL as in non concrete, twirly staircase incorporating both UP and HIGH.
When our brains had processed that then there were the SPACES BETWEEN THE STEPS to deal with. Open spaces which were HIGH and going UP with nothing to shield you from seeing the DOWN which was a long way away.
Having contemplated all this Chris, Siobhan and I decided that we would wait for the others right there at the bottom and look at their pictures of the promised wonderful view later.
They came back down and we rejoined the tour going into a very low ceilinged room with tanks.
Already feeling a bit claustrophobic I then just heard the tour guide say something about going back down to the next level backwards holding onto the rails. I lost it and burst into tears.
But thanks to the wonderful ladies who surrounded me and kept me focused, talking to me (about their hair roots I think!) as I inched downwards on the ladder, I did it. Such wonderful support. Thank you all - I honestly couldn't have done it without you and would probably still be up there!
Good job there was beer at the end - I was ready for it!
Those that got to the top enjoyed a fantastic view.
Some of the chocolate shapes were ...interesting... so Jeanette bought some.
So back to the accommodation for a quick turnaround and out again for another meal with Trisha and Sue trying mussels for the first time.
Rosemary suggested that some of us moved round 4 seats in the middle of the meal so that we could talk to others as it was a long thin table. The Italian chap was most bemused when I took it literally and sat next to him on the next table.
Back at our house we tried gorgeous chocolate shots courtesy of Linda and Siobhan. Delish!
Then it was time to test our knowledge under the watchful eye of quizmaster Carol with all answers relating to 1967.
Such concentration.
Chris, talking about our teachers at school...
~ I found Mr McCook's obituary.
~ Rosemary - Is he dead then?!
Sunday 5 November
Off again on our next adventures.
Fourteen (significantly less aged and definitely more sprightly and better looking) Miss Moneypennys dutifully got ready to 'ooh' and 'aah' at appropriate times as he talked us through his tour - whilst calculating how much he was making per trip/per day and per year at low season guesstimates. The answer was lots!!
We came off the boat and headed for the nearest cafe for a warm up with hot chocolate and waffles.
Then once again people wandered off in groups to various places.
The afternoon meet up was for a segway tour for those who wanted to try it - and for those who wanted to take photos in case we fell off! Only Chris and Jeanette had done it before so everyone else was a bit nervous but it turned out to be great fun.
Linda made a new friend.
Think this is my favourite pic - all of us paying attention and Oz Chris wandering off gently to the side!...
Once we had worked out how to balance it was fairly easy and we all set off in a row like little yellow ducks with the tour guide at the front, Linda close behind him and the rest of us spread out with Chris at the rear to keep check on us all.
We stopped at intervals and our guide told us about the area we were in. As you can't keep totally still on a segway we were all concentrating furiously on trying to keep at least from wandering off sideways or backwards.
Every so often you would see someone starting to veer slightly and the guide would reach out his arm, grab the segway handle and hang onto them whilst they recovered their equilibrium - without even looking at them or pausing in what he was saying. So funny.
Then off we would go again.
'Do you have any questions?' he would ask. No we didn't - we just wanted to keep moving and stay upright!
There also seemed to be a lot of staring as we moved sedately round the town - not sure if this was because people were interested in the segways or because they had never seen so many over 60s on them at once!
But a great experience - and one that will definitely be incorporated into future trips wherever possible I think!
Then there was just time for a last minute visit or time for a last foray to the shops.
Then back for a meal prepared by Diana, Sally and Siobhan. Delicious!
It was nice to stay in as we were beginning to flag a bit with so much fresh air and exercise!
So relaxing just to sit around the table and chat - as if we hadn't done that for the last three days!!
Don't think Diana was happy that they were all at her sink!
Cheers to the chefs for a delicious meal and cheers us all - the wonderful Class of 67!
A nice, simple after dinner entertainment - the love and hate game where everyone writes one love and one hate on a piece of paper and the others have to guess who it is.
All very well if you can remember who has eliminated themselves by the fact that they have asked the question (can't ask your own answer),who has asked what of whom (is that good grammar??!) and how they have answered it etc, etc...
In the end we cheated a bit by raising our hands to show if one or other of our answers had been guessed and we eventually managed to finish the game!
We learned a lot about who loved/hated cats, rats, politics, beetroot, flowers, water in their marigolds, veggie dhansak, dressing gowns, Guinness, the sea etc, etc - and promptly forgot it again! When the word 'Ian' came out of the bowl it was guessed straight away - Rosemary hadn't quite got the concept of anonymity but we all howled with laughter.
Carole, talking to Sally about the little name badges from Oz Chris
~ Ooh you've got really long hair on your thingy!..
Monday 6 November
We were all up early eating differing concoctions for breakfast to finish all the food then we were ready for the off.
Time to say goodbye to the house which had served us so well and back on the train.
The remaining four bottles of fizz were opened and mixed with the last of the fruit gin.
We were soon back to the station so we group hugged and then went our separate ways homeward bound.
Tired but happy - and our two newbies - Oz Chris and Diana did not seem to have been too traumatised by the ordeal so that was bonus!
Cheers Class of 67 - a great weekend - here's to the next adventure!...
