To be fair, whining was minimal this afternoon and our brave and resilient pupils amazed us by surviving TWO CHILLY HOURS in the sea. Almost all coped til the bitter end despite blue lips and freezing feet! The medal of honour should go to Ellie who didn't want to go in the water at all but lasted the full 2 hours, participated in every activity and is still smiling now; there is even a rumour that she admitted to enjoying it. Another hero is Santi who was extremely cold and a little nervous but again completed every activity and almost made it to the end of the 2 hours. We must also applaud Zebedee who was a star and made the bridge dash look easy. Borough Green kids certainly have resilience and grit!
Unfortunately we didn't manage to catch on camera the moment when Kian (our instructor - imagine cheeky blonde long-haired surfer dude) lifted Ben and Corey out of the water by their life jackets and everyone shouted, "Dunk them in the water!" Kian dropped them gently into the waves but obviously felt that Corey deserved an extra treat when he made us all wobble the surfboards for his raft/bridge dash; you won't be surprised to hear that a few feeble wobbles were not going to cramp Corey's style and he flew along the surfboard raft, plunged into the water like a pro and then swiftly exited before his body froze. Corey, we salute you! Ella, who had never been surfing before, elegantly ran the length of the surfboard raft as if it was solid ground or a catwalk; I (Mrs Martin) can tell you, from embarrassing past experience, that this is no mean feat and that making it to the end deserves a medal let alone managing to stay on your feet.
After the fun in the waves we all had a very welcome hot drink at the Tradewinds Cafe, enjoying the late afternoon sun while we dried out and warmed up. By this time the tide had come in and waves were crashing on the promenade wall - obviously irresistible to our young men who stood on the edge and let the water splash their clothes and faces.
I am pausing in the writing of this to watch Imogen dry her hair in the manner of a star of an advert for a hair product; yesterday she treated us to a very convincing catwalk demonstration. She clearly watches far too much TV!! Seriously, Immy is full of good humour, genuinely entertaining and has kept me going on the girls' corridor!
The girls have showered and put on warm clothes in record time and are back to their glamorous former selves. They are chattering happily about how proud they feel of themselves for surviving and enjoying Wight Water. We are looking forward to roast dinner, a film and a good night's sleep.
