Bit of a Repost but still...
So, picture the scene.

4 rather uppity French teacher's decide that the best way to get a group of 60 snotty 11 year olds into their new French lessons is to take them on a day trip to Boulogne. Yes, thats right, a DAY trip. The whole excursion was to last 24 hours....oh if only it was that simple...

We left the school at 11pm and set off on our merry way. A 'quick' stop of at Oxford Services turned into a 'long and frantic looking for the lost child and adult guardian' stop, where we spent just over 1hrs looking for this coupling. They were of course, signing up for an RAC membership and sorting out some double glazing for thier new front room.

Moving on from Oxford found us at the channel tunnel and onwards to France. After arriving we cruised down their lovely Autoroutes only for the gear box of one of the coaches to break down. We were to stop of at a Supermarche, so this required the one coach driver to drive to the shop, drive back for the other kids, and then back again.

Here the same family who had bought the RAC membership, decided to do a bit of a booze cruise, stocking up on liquors of all shapes and sizes. This 'over-stocking' caused their trolley to buckle and for the contents to splash /break upon/corrode the tarmac below (well if you will use the equivalent of a B&Q heavy loading trolley what do you expect?)

After moving on from the Supermarche, we arrived in Bolougne. Here, the coach driver decided to drive down a narrow (and busy) one way street. As with all good British bus drivers he was going the wrong way down said street. This caused much anger with our French counterparts. So much so, that said British driver got out and nearly started a punch up...


In Bologne, during a gentle afternoon of shopping and drinking, one of the parent helpers (read "Parents wanting a free trip to France") had her bag nicked from outside a shop. Cue, spending 4 additional hours at the police station with the teachers trying to translate all the proceedings.

After all of this we moved back to the Channel Tunnel, only to be stopped by the Ministry of Transport. (This was of course during the Foot and Mouth crisis so I stuffed my home made bacon sandwiches down my throat). We were ordered of the coach and seats were slashed open.

Of course, due to all the extra ferrying around that the coach driver had done, he had completed far more hours that he could legally and his tacograph showed this. Result? A 7 hour wait in customs while substitute driver is supplied by coach company.

Eventually, he arrives and we are taken home...


All this for 60 excited 11 year olds...



They didn't run the trip again



*sigh*
( Grinned2Death knows what Willis was talking about, Sun 10 Dec 2006, 23:13, Reply)