Still riding high after the triumph of last night we awoke at a horrifically early time – (later for some, including Theo Peters who had been caught walking down the stairs with his duvet and pillow at 1am?). After some last-minute packing we gathered downstairs for our much-anticipated trip to Ocean Park. The singing guests were not able to come which was disappointing (and devastating for those in the choir who had become particular fans…) but we got on the coach for what we knew would be one of the last times.
We walked into the park as a group and looked at a few animal displays. Sadly, the pandas were too busy mating (I’m told by Will Harris that they only can mate for 36 hours a year) so we couldn’t see them. Nevertheless, after a scary train ride up the mountain, we looked at lots of sharks where we witnessed what seemed to be one eating another shark- quite scarring stuff although a few of the younger choir members seemed more focussed on taking pictures of it, notably Orlando Oliver and Jack Finnis. Perhaps as more informed members of the group they realised that the fish must have been playing rather than hunting?!
We were then let loose in the park for the next few hours. The first ride was worryingly rickety and the double loop the loop turned quite a few stomachs, but this didn’t seem to discourage anyone! One my personal highlights was a huge tower where you were raised in chairs to the very top before being suddenly dropped. There was a beautiful view at the top, not that Tom Roberts managed to see this as he had his eyes closed for the whole ride.
The highlight for most people, from what I gathered, was probably the VR ride. This, not for the faint hearted, included going on the ride with a VR headset on. This was by far the scariest ride as we were taken through a jungle at high speeds. For Will Briggs and Tom Roberts, their headsets weren’t actually working so it was a much less thrilling ride with just a broken screen in front of their eyes! All of this was a bit too much for Ernest Newland as the sudden drops (which couldn’t be anticipated on the headset) took quite a bit out of him- this was one of his last rides of the day!
After an excruciatingly expensive lunch the C block group were borderline assaulted by some Chinese grannies who tried to cut the queue for a water ride. After we had employed the ‘inside line’ tactic, where we blocked out some of their group while letting Tim Manley (who almost was impaled on a turning pole in the process, such was the grannies pushing!) edge past them (after they had pushed in front of him) around a turn, we enjoyed our ride as they admitted defeat.
We completed a few more rides, the Hair Raiser almost bringing up a few people’s lunches, and we gathered again as a group (with a perfect numbering off). After a picturesque cable car ride back down to the entrance we walked out, drenched in sweat and ready for a shower and to go home.
After we had all (Alex Coley had to be forced into it by AJM) showered, we went out for our final dinners in Hong Kong (and some last-minute souvenir shopping). Then, with some expert handling of baggage by baggage handlers (no surprises there) we got on the coach to make our way to the airport. We were given an extensive explanation of how airports worked by our esteemed guide and indeed, I learnt quite a few new facts about Hong Kong – it was a shame we were leaving though!
We got through the airport without any problems, although I was almost taken out by the rubber handle of the moving walkway which attached itself to my clothes as I lent against it. The most notable moment of these few hours was when Adam Banwell managed to spot the legend Rio Ferdinand in a restaurant. By chance, Adam was wearing an England shirt and promptly Rio signed it without complaint! I’m told that some F blockers tried to get his signature later and he wasn’t as willing…!
On the plane, Edward Boileau had pulled the short straw as he was stuck behind Albert Soriano, whose seat leant back with the slightest force applied to it. Tom Pickard managed to sleep through the whole flight whereas Henry Butlin claimed to not have slept at all! Hector Lawson seemed to exhaust every possible movie and game on the in-flight entertainment, Ernest Newland woke up his whole section of the plane with an alarm which he had forgotten he had set and chess fanatics, George Vines and James Francis, gave a masterclass in how to make chess sound like an enjoyable game.
After an early arrival back at Heathrow we said our goodbyes and went on our way home.
A huge thank you must go to Mr Johnson, Mr Maynard, Mr Goode, Mr Grace, Ms Kemp and Ms Stevens! This has been the best tour in recent memory and our stellar performances at the end of the week were all due to the vocal health (helped by Ms Kemp and Ms Stevens), general happiness (bolstered by the Conduct’s regular performances), work ethic (mainly fostered by Mr Johnson), the slick running of the trip was all down to Mr Grace and our (for the most part) good behaviour was kept in check by the well respected Mr Goode (with his expert accompanying and organ playing in our concerts and rehearsals) and Mr Maynard (among his many other duties on the tour).
A massive thank you also goes to Isaac Cowley who has taken a roasting in most blogs in the last few days- he’s been a great sport and an alright editor. He’s definitely enjoyed providing much comic value for this year’s tour!
It is also time for me to say goodbye. I know I may have not written the blog every single day but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being ‘Blog Co-ordinator’- I think (hope) that everybody has been mentioned at least once! Good luck to the blog dogs for the next inevitably successful tour that the choir goes on!
Eton College Chapel Choir Tour 2019 