Tuesday, 3 July update

And on the tenth day they were able to rest, but only in the afternoon. The morning visit to the International Spy museum was complimented by a whistle stop tour of the “must see’ places in DC before lunch. The Spy Museum focuses on spying through the ages and deals only with the spies who were caught as those who weren’t caught or exposed, obviously still remain secret. The cracking of codes required skilled mathematicians working closely with creative, “off-the-wall” thinkers. A team of Mrs Pike and Mr Kruger (on a good day) would have made a formidable force in the code breaking department.


Some of the tourist spots visited were the Vietnam Wall, Lincoln Memorial, a group photo in front of the Capitol and a quick look at the White House. Murphy’s Irish Pub wouldn’t be in the same class of tourist attractions but the boys probably enjoyed it more with the chicken rolls and crisps they received. Thereafter a minor shopping spree commenced.


An interesting aspect of the tour has been the amazing phenomenon that every time the group of 64 boys departs from a venue, something is left behind. One day someone should research this. The staff, as a matter of course, wait for all boys to leave before conducting a thorough search of the place they have left. Without fail, EVERY time, some item is found and returned to the relevant boy. Items retrieved have included wallets, cell phones, bags containing an assortment of items, used underwear (still unclaimed despite being marked), jerseys, shoes and a toothbrush (unused). We think this is all due to natural male adolescent forgetfulness. So, Mums, if your son hasn’t communicated with you, it’s probably nothing malicious – he’s just forgotten to!


The choir had an afternoon of relaxation, making full use of the hotel swimming pool.  The temperature over the last few days has been intense, reaching 38 degrees today.  After a 2hour rest/free time period the boys are now rehearsing in the hotel before meeting for supper at 7pm. We spent the evening in an upmarket Indian Restaurant in an elegant and sumptuous setting.  Rooms were decorated in dark wood and gold with large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.  The meal was buffet style and consisted of onion fritters, rice with three varieties of main dish and rice pudding.  The line for seconds began as soon as first servings were complete.  A wonderful meal.
This evening the Kearsney Old boys in Washington DC met for a dinner at the Rasika Restaurant where the Headmaster addressed them on progress at the College.