A sad good bye

A final day in London and we all set out to do some sightseeing. Bags packed and not thinking about the inevitable, we headed into the city, which was packed and crowded with people out to enjoy the heatwave.

We marveled at the sights and grabbed some last minute shopping before heading back to the hotel in the early afternoon.

It was sad to see this ending…

We almost lost a member of the group as Danie was almost left behind, a taxicab bringing him in the nick of time to the bus after he fell asleep on the tube. Nobody should say this tour was an easy one…

At Heathrow we headed for some duty free shopping to show folks at home we had thought of them, and then headed to the plane.

A long night’s sleep filtered through the group, as weary heads and bodies found some rest at 30 000feet.

It was over, the end was in sight. The marathon was done and we had survived.

We had travelled Europe’s best breweries, drunk their finest offerings and experienced some magnificent sights.

We had stories of stories, enough to fill several books. They were funny, they were ready to be shared back home. They were simply legendary.

This was an experience of a lifetime. We had known that going heading to Europe. But none of us would have guessed how much our journey would have instilled in us.

We may have headed out of South Africa as beer drinkers ready for a jol. We returned home as a bunch of friends, a Castle-bound family who had found something special in Europe, something we couldn’t explain.

As we said our goodbyes there were a few tears, a few sad thoughts and many hugs.

We knew this would never be the end. We knew we had ventured to find something out there that could match a Castle. We knew that this was the only task that we had failed in.

Our journey would be etched in our hearts, our friendships will live on long after the tour has been forgotten.

And as we left each other to head to our respective homes, we all had a smile knowing we would meet again somewhere in the near future.

And we would share our war stories of Europe over a Castle, with fun and friendship with us all the time.

London calling

London was calling and we were on our way.

A late checkout was greeted with great smiles as stories of Ireland’s hospitality greeted us Saturday morning.

There were other things on our minds now as we moved to the last leg of the trip and headed for Dublin airport.

Talk turned to home, to important things, events that would shape our lives. Of course, here we were talking rugby.

The Bulls loss to the Chiefs the day  before had given our driver Kiwi Mark some bragging rights to chirp us with, but the bigger game was waiting.

Stormers v Sharks, and with a fair bunch of support for both we headed to London.

Timekeeping was a major factor today, especially as we had a kickoff to make. As we made Heathrow, we found no customs waiting – a bonus as our time was limited and headed straight to our hotel.

We were spoilt tonight, the Hilton waited for us in Kensington – not too shabby Nige!

But rugby and beer was more on our menu than appreciating hotel groups and we were quickly off to Shepherds Bush to the Antipodean bar The Walkabout.

The rules were easy. If the Sharks score, the Stormers drink, and visa versa. With the Sharks getting ahead early there were a few grumbles from Stormers, but their revenge would come with two late tries for the Stormers.

The bar was the perfect setting, and before we headed for the big night, we had one last fines meeting. A big one. A rough one, but one to settle all outstanding debts.

The night ambled on and the beer flowed, as laughter once again accompanied us.

As things got blurry, we had the sad realization that this was the last night for us and tomorrow we would be heading home…a very sad thought indeed.

Later though – very later – some of those who ambled into the hotel in the early hours decided the fun wasn’t over. Armed with room keys for some key people – including Smeegle and Ramon – they set about rushing into rooms to startle them awake.

It was a strange sight for those awakened, and loads of laughter to be had afterwards.

Photos | Day 8 | London and a Walkabout

Hello London…say hello to The Castle Tavern Tour, thanks for having us! The Tavern Tour crew got to enjoy some local flavour and rugby at the Walkabout, in London Town! Fines, rugby, The Tavern Tour…could life be any better? We think NOT…