Update

Hi all,

The boys are currently out on the first of 3 nights with families of students from Santa Margarita. Again we were welcomed with hugely open arms by Dave and his team of coaches from Santa Margarita. Full credit to the Talley family who have taken 5 boys from AGS (I've arranged to meet with Mrs Talley at 9am tomorrow morning for red wine and a debrief as I'm sure her comment that they have been excited for weeks about our arrival is all lies!). As per usual the boys are split as singles or pairs amongst a very hospitable set of American families.

Now to the days events:

Mon 1 Oct
7:30am - 30 min run up to and around Universal Studios- led by the ever popular Mr Gordon
Buffet breakfast upon return with the heavy hitting combo of Paddy and Josh all fired up over excellent tips on seeking 'friendship' from Helen Carter (worth noting the author loves your work on the recent blog Dean Ellis- very well put!).
Next was the check out which all in all was very successful - appreciation to the boys on that front for being well prepared.
A day out at Huntington Beach- lunch, shopping, swimming, volleyball, banter, etc
Arrival at Santa Margarita CHS at 4pm and then onto the billet's home

Tomorrow we all meet in at school at 6am for an hour run through the desert (much better than a usual SM squad run at 3pm in 38 degree heat- the temp today!), then off to Laguna Beach followed by a welcome party for all billets and AGS boys.


Points of Note:
1. Yes, Mr Jordan woke at 6am this morning in absolute excitement about the 7:30am run- this gentleman needs to get a life.
2. Yes, R Martin played a terrible game of volleyball today, with the captain of Team China (although not Chinese himself) S Baek crossing over the net during a point to throw young Ryan, his opponent, face first into the sand, screaming "take that you amateur". K Magwick served up the winning point, which incidentally saw Mr Skeen's team win.
3. Yes, sadly P Carter has some style- very classy jacket purchase today young fella
4. Yes, the gang of surfers, notably A McDermott and J Ellis are now dying to hit the beach in Hawaii after seeing the swell at Huntington Beach today. Instead they took to sun bathing on the beach, with T Batts the lucky one to sport a nice red tan.
5. Yes, J Grieve, continues to command the back seat of the bus proclaiming if that if anyone wants it they will have to fight him. O Clarke continues to patrol the front with another small gang that are acting as a superb buffer zone between staff maturity and teenage idiots
6. Yes, H Kerr continues to be the voice of reason. This young man is the most outstanding thing since the 2007 All Black quarter final defeat at Cardiff.
7. Yes, a certain unnamed staff member, who incidentally wrote the gear list and delivered a meeting on all the details and logistics for the trip did in fact pack his bag for the tour in a record 3 mins flat. Unfortunately this included no underwear. No comment will be made on this matter.


So that was the day. Although very tired, the boys will benefit from an early night at their billets this evening, with a 6am run clearing out the cobwebs in the morning. As always thanks for the interactions with the blogs from home- many laughs were enjoyed this morning at the expense of others. All very healthy fun, among a group of outstanding young men.

Sleep well