The France Trip was incredible...!
On the 31st of May at 6am, 15 Hornchurch Tablers left the Queen's Theatre car park and set their GPS's for Dol-De-Bretagne in France. After a short ferry trip and a five-hour drive through France (strictly at the speed limit, eh Antonio and John....) we arrived at our sumptuous caravan accommodation and got comfortable. Here's a quick run through the weekend:
- Thursday
The fishermen among us spotted the lake, apparently full of carp and tench and were well pleased that the lake was 50 yards from our doorstep. Cue an impromptu fishing trip within hours of arrival. No catches but plenty of bites. A shopping trip to the on-site supermarket for "essentials" saw several hundred bottles of beer make their way back to the caravans. Dinner was in the restaurant "Table Ronde" - French for "Round Table"! Seated around a fifteen-person round table we dines well and drunk even better. Then the long journey caught us up and we had a quiet one, heading back by around midnight.
- Friday
The first golf trip was on the course at our site, the Chateau Des Ormes. The non-golfers went fishing, started the drinking early and Graham Fair landed the first fish, a 4-5lb Mirror Carp. Lunch in a very sunny St. Malo saw the first of the proper drinking session begin, with Stuart and Danny leading the way.
- Friday night
After a tip-off about a local nightclub called The New Bronson, we watched the England vs. Brazil game before heading to Bar Stuart, where copious amounts of rum were drunk in shots, readying us for the nightclub. The club was spectacular, with three different rooms and some strange European music. A couple of highlights included The entire nightclub doing a carefully choreographed dance to the theme of TV show "Bottom", Alan Rugless on stage leading the crowd in his own impromptu dance, The Playford Twist (a dance created by our own Richard Playford) and the foot-long rolls they served (Danny managed two and was still dancing). The last of us (Steve F, Danny G, Alan R and Bonjour Chris) missed the taxis home and didn't get in until 6am. Impressively, Alan made it to golf....
- Saturday
While Alan played his worst ever round of golf, many of the remaining blokes went fishing, headed to the pool or lazed in the beaming sunshine. Danny and Antonio played a prank on Steve, Graham, Chris and Alan, by emptying their caravan of all its bedding and their clothes. It was hilarious. The victims spent an entertaining afternoon tidying up so that they could sleep that night and enjoyed the general hilarity. A plan to go to a restaurant that night saw us head to the recommended "Le Flambee". It was absolutely dire, with poor service, a bad menu and miserable staff. We walked out and went back to the Table Ronde, who accommodated us brilliantly. A few shots in Bar Stuart and we headed home, still suffering after a heady Friday night. Steve, Graham and Alan took the opportunity to tie up all of Danny and Antonio's bedsheets and clothes in a bedsheet, joining in the funny prank game.
- Sunday
Steve, Graham, Alan and Chris awoke to another hilarious prank - all of the garden furniture had been stacked against their door and the handles tied closed, preventing them from leaving. Steve leapt manfully from the caravan and tidied up again while his tea got cold. It was genuinely hilarious and everyone laughed a lot at their plight. Then we went home. It was good.
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