Friday, October 30, 2015
A Quest for the Holy Grail or a Trip to World Masters
A 21st.Century
Quest For The Holy Grail
Have you
heard the one about an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman? Well this tale
of valour and courage concerns four Englishman, and an Irishman and is told
through the eyes of Sir Colin the Elder.
Day
One
The 22nd. Day Of October In The
Year Of Our Lord 2015
With heavy
heart, I leave our small homestead in the village of Folkestone, to begin my
epic journey. My voyage will take me past the Badlands of our capital Londinium,
North to the settlement known as Luton. There, at some ungodly hour before
sunrise, I am to meet with my fellow companions and crusaders Sir George of
Loscombe, Sir Drew, The Celtic Warrior and The Dark Knight, Sir Oleg with his
trusty squire, the mysterious Artiom. I bid a farewell to my wife of thirty
four years, knowing that even if I am to return to these shores physically unscathed,
the memories of this campaign may well scar me forever.
Knowing how
tiresome the second leg of the voyage will be, a hearty breakfast is craven and
my hunger is satisfied by what the locals call a “full English”. In jovial
mood, even the delicacy of black pudding, a somewhat unsavoury sounding mixture
of pig’s blood and oatmeal, is vigorously consumed. With this ritual offering
devoured, my comrades in arms and myself are shepherded through waiting crowds,
towards the iron bird that will takes us to foreign fields and what we hope
will be eventual glory and honour.
Aboard this
strange craft, we are greeted by peoples of a religion I have never before
encountered. Dressed in their orange regalia, the female concubines of this
creed are accompanied by male eunuchs who, seemingly, are also happy to look
after our needs, all be it for financial recompense! One cannot feel but
sympathy for our fellow man in these circumstances, the operation of castration
has left them with bizarrely feminine voices. Indeed, one poor chap must have
only recently been conscripted and was clearly in pain, as evidenced by the way
he was talking and walking!
Filled with
apprehension for the forth coming battles, we decided to retire to our
chambers. This would be a first for me, my pre-combat ritual of curry and beer
forsaken. Instead, total alcoholic abstinence. Sharing quarters with Sir Drew,
we soon realised we had only one bed, all be it one of king sized proportions!
One day, some-one will write about this, turning the idea into comedy, perhaps
by those jesters Sir Eric Morcambe and Sir Earnest Wise.
Day
Two
The 23rd. Day Of October In The Year Of Our
Lord 2015
We are up at
sunrise and are once again pleasantly surprised by the quality and diversity of
the first meal of the day. Transportation arrives shortly after 8.00am and we
are whisked away to the battleground of Ashdod, some 30 minutes away. Here we
learn of our opponents for the day, for Sir Drew an Israeli combatant and for
myself, one from the shores of the Ukraine. I have the honour of challenging
first, the fifth bout of the day on battleground number one, with Sir Drew not
far behind, the sixth bout on battleground two. Our fortunes differ with Sir
Drew victorious and myself defeated, but not broken. Eleven gruelling contests
later and it is Sir Drew’s turn again, the challenger this time hails from
Kazakhstan. A stronger opponent, Sir Drew suffers his first loss of the day.
Battle weary and scarred, he will have one more contest against a Russian
before his day is complete. Unfortunately for him and his supporters, he fares
no better, but retires with his pride intact having made a valiant effort
throughout the day.
Refreshment
is sought from a local under cover market place, before we are conveyed back to
our lodgings to freshen up and seek nourishment of both the solid and the
liquid variety.
At our
hostel, it is the turn of Sir George and the Dark Knight, Sir Oleg to feel the
anxieties of forth coming battle. Having completed their own weighing process
at the battle ground, they were able to sustain their appetite without worry.
Their turn to retreat to their sleeping quarters at an early hour.
Day
Three
The 24th. Day Of October In The Year Of Our
Lord 2015
Once more,
up with the lark, fed and watered, we make our way to Ashdod to start battle.
Sir Drew joins us before hostilities commence, having partaken of the local spa
to relieve his fatigued body. First challenge is Sir Oleg against a warrior
from Kazakhstan. He needs to be victorious if he is to advance in battle, as
his foes are numerous. Victorious, his next adversary will be Lithuanian.
Sir George
must do battle with a colossal from Moldova. In a contest reminiscent of David
and Goliath, he is fearless in pursuit of his aspirations, but alas cannot emulate
our biblical hero. He is rewarded for his struggles with a bronze medallion,
something he and the rest of our crusaders are proud of.
Sir Oleg is
victorious once more, but his reward is to find a Russian champion awaits.
Fatigued, he is unable to reproduce his earlier heroics, gallantly losing to
the taller, more experienced man. Unperturbed, he now challenges the Russian
champion’s student, but drained and exhausted the vanquisher becomes the
vanquished.
Despite
results we are of good cheer, until we leave the arena at six thirty. Expecting
transportation to be waiting, we linger outside for another hour. Finally,
after much telecommunication, a small mini bus arrives and there is a mad
scramble among forty warriors for the seventeen place available aboard.
However, with no sense of the English need to que, we fight our way to the
front, leaving lesser mortals in our wake and take our rightful place in the
carriage.
Foot sore
and weary, Sir George, Sir Drew and myself are fed and seek solace at the inn.
Sir Oleg and his squire Artium, wander to take the night air. At this point, I
should express our gratitude to young Artium, he has been steadfast in his
self-appointed role of linguist and has been an invaluable aid to us all,
seeking information and communicating our needs to the outsiders from Russia.
Meeting with comrades from his motherland, he may have over done the
camaraderie, something he may regret in the dawn of the new day.
Day
Four
The 25th. Day Of October In The Year Of Our
Lord 2015
Celebrating
our conquests of the previous two days, we reward ourselves with a chance to
emerge in the culture of this foreign land. We are to take in the sights of
Jerusalem and experience the Dead Sea. Two coaches arrive at 08.30, they should
have been there at 07.30! Still, there were not enough seats for every-one, so
more transport was called for, which arrived after another thirty minute delay.
Sir George, feeling fatigued, had chosen to rest, which left the four of us,
two in the coach and two in the minibus. The sights of Jerusalem and The
Mountain of Olives were reached after two long hours, followed by a long stop
for keepsakes at a local bazaar. (No doubt the organiser of this expedition was
given financial recompense!) Out in the open, Sir Drew and I were sold Arabic
coffee by a Palestinian dwarf, a first for the pair of us.
Back in the
mini bus and onward again, this time an hour and a half in transit to The Dead
Sea. A unique experience that made all our trials and tribulations worthwhile.
Finally, two more hours on the road, and we were back at our lodgings.
Day
Five.
The 26th. Day Of October In The Year Of Our
Lord 2015
Transportation
is to be provided for us at nine in the morning, to take us on the first leg of
our eventual homecoming. True to form, a mini bus arrives, too small for the
forty or so travellers and thirty minutes late. Another delay whilst we await
more suitable mode of transportation. Finally, we are dropped off at what they
called terminal three at the airport. Surely, nothing could go wrong know.
Seeking information, we are told that our appointment with our flight ushers
would be at terminal one, and that we should await transportation outside. A
ten minute journey takes us to our destination where we are then interrogated
about our stay, once inside the building, by officials of the local peace keeping
force. We are herded upstairs only to be greeted by communication advising us
of the need to report back to terminal three, from where our next mode of
transport would depart!
At last,
re-united with my trusty steed back in the land of our fathers, we bid a fond
farewell to Sir Oleg and Artium. On-route to my abode, I leave Sir Drew and Sir
George just outside the city walls of Sittingbourne, before concluding this
epic adventure.
# posted by IBFBCSA @ 2:03 AM 
