Bench Walk!

Well, you are saying to yourself, what on earth is a "Bench Walk" and a very good question indeed!
The excitement at the Dorm Meeting reached fever pitch when Saturday's activity was announced. The boys went wild! They were so excited. Earlier in the week the Standard 10 and Standard 11 students had been advised of their teams for the weekend activity and the need for an identifying costume. They were not told what the activity would be. That was kept until the Friday night Dorm meetings.
Bright and early Saturday morning 9 of the benches from the Dining Room at Lushington were transported down to the Ooty railway station. The students all assembled at 10:00 A.M. and Mrs. A. explained the activity. It was really quite simple. As a team you had to carry your bench back to school as quickly as possible without being photographed by the paparazzi which were all over town. The paparazzi were actually staff members  who were assigned various areas of town to be on the lookout for a group of students carrying a bench.
If the students were spotted by the paparazzi, a photo was to be taken and a 3 minute penalty was added to their time. If the students were all able to get on the bench before the photo was taken, then there was no penalty! Quite simple! One team was only photographed once, if you can imagine. Another team was caught on camera for a total of seven times!
My spot was up near the State Bank where three roads came up from Commercial Road. As I was walking up the hill I saw a group of women police officers on their way to work for the day.
 One group almost got by as I had gone down one road and just turned around to see the bench going by at the top of the hill. A quick run up the hill and they were caught on camera. A "Good morning Hebron" brought them to a standstill as the clambered up on the bench for a mandatory 10 second count.
The second group actually spotted me. I had just put my camera down and was in the process of opening my water bottle when I noticed a group of students standing on a bench and waving at me! They were good natured enough to stop and let me take their photo. Of course they stopped right in the middle of the road much to the astonishment of many of the locals who were going about their Saturday morning affairs.
The first team made it back to school in 50 minutes and the last team took 65 minutes. This was before penalty times were added. Once back at school the students gathered on the Titch Pitch for a time of games and relaxation.
During the afternoon, Roger put together a slide show with some video clips and all the photos taken were examined to discover which teams had been caught by the paparazzi.
In the evening  we all gathered in the GSMH for games, snacks, and the prize giving. Group games such as Streets and Roads (cat and mouse), Pan drop, Mop twirl, and Chivalry, Horsemen and Knights rounded out the evening. It was great Saturday.
This week has been a normal teaching week along with dinner at the Weber's Monday night, Music Tuesday, Wednesday night Bible Study followed by dinner at Valsa's, and Thursday night staff meeting.
One of the treats of the Saturday morning activity was a chance to have a look around the Nilgiris Library which dates from the mid 1800's. The building is in quite good shape. The smell of musty old books is the first thing which greets your nostrils as you enter the building. You must be a member if you wish to borrow books and the parking is reserved for "Members Only!"
Friday night is the weekly Dorm meeting and there is a Student Council event scheduled for Saturday. While all this is going on there are the trails for the Track & Field events. This afternoon I spent time with one of the Phys. Ed. staff doing the trials for the Discus Throw! We have some great throwers. The actual Field Day will be held during Parent's Week just before the school break in early April.