By: Blonde One
Part of the Two Blondes preparation for our Gold DofE trip to the Isle of Man is to load the minibus. We have 8 people (all adult size), a very very large tent, 8 large bags, 8 small(er) bags and the usual paperwork mountain. Not to mention sweets, pillows, books, cameras and Shed Ted the DofE Bear. As the driver it is apparently my responsibility (I’m fast going off that word) to make sure that the bus is safely loaded for the ‘comfort and safety of my passengers’. This is going to be no mean feat and will require patience and a logical approach. Normally bus loading is left to our 3 Young Leaders who do a fantastic job but I think this time will have to be different. I’m imagining lots of packing and unpacking, trial and error and a few swear words thrown in for good measure. I have been a little anxious about this task for quite some time and as the day approaches I have tried to reassure myself that it will be easier than I think!!!! In my more positive moments I envisage having room to spare and find myself wishing that I had brought more shoes. Little Miss Blonde has reminded me that every week after a trip to the supermarket she loves to hand over the job of ‘fridge Tetris’ and watches in amazement as the seemingly impossible task of loading the fridge is completed.
I’ll let you know how the Blonde game of ‘bus Tetris’ goes!
I used to play Tetris. After failing to beat my best score for several months it dawned on me that there was a correlation between that and advancing age. I am now a Free-cell addict going for lowest score rather than fastest game.
There seems to be a long list of things that correlate with age. I am not sure I like,all of them!
reminds me of when we went overland to the mountains of Afghanistan in an old Bedford ambulance – our inspired leaders ordered all the gear and food for three months (believe it!) to be put at the back – despite the physicists amongst us gently suggesting that this was not a sound plan. The steering was extraordinary – feather-light is not in it – how we got from Liverpool to Dover and then on board ship was a wonder – an even bigger one was the sight in the Belgian field next morning (where we had slept in a ditch) when fear, logic and the ineluctable laws of physics eventually prevailed upon them to order us to empty the vehicle and repack it – significantly, this was near the coast where the WWI frontline met the sea so we had a double insight into the mess badly planned and executed operations end up (ps we got there and back with the loss of only one man – awol – and a mere 38-39 punctures).
An excellent story. I hope you ate all the food!