On Saturday, September 22 at 9:00 A.M. the Level 13s along with 3 staff and 1 IG (me) left Hebron in Ooty for Brooklands Guest House just outside Coonoor at an altitude of 1500 meters. That is about 700 meters lower than Ooty.

The boys put most of their luggage on the roof of the bus for the trip down the rough, bumpy road. With stops to let upcoming vehicles negotiate the tight corners the approximately 20 km journey was completed in just over 1 hour.

Once at Brooklands we had morning tea and Neville, the student director, outlined the program for the Level 13s. The adults had the pleasant task of "come and sit in" if you wish. So, in the morning we went and sat in on the rehearsals for Les Miserables, an adaptation. They have certainly taken liberties with the script. The first performance is on Saturday. September 29 for the school. The Drama Week starts on Monday, October 1 for 4 nights. Level 7 on Monday, Level 9 on Tuesday, Level 11 on Wednesday, and Level 13 on Thursday, October 4. This is the last night before mid-term break which starts on October 5 and finishes on October 15.

The gardens of Brooklands contain many different species of plants. Here are just a few pictures.






In the afternoon some of the adults went for a walk in the tea plantation. The scenery is magnificent with mountain range after mountain range. Hopefully you can see this in the pictures.

The girls of the group spent some time Saturday morning working on the costumes for the play. Hand sewing the different coloured patches on skirts which had been purchased at the market for almost nothing.

The food was very good with lots for the hungry young people. There was good table conversation and all in all the weekend was a real treat. The weather was warm and sunny. I even had to wear my Tilley hat! When we got back to Hebron, Ooty, late Sunday afternoon, the first thing I did was find a fleece top. It was drizzling and damp! Back to reality.