Day 9

Good to see comments coming in.

Ruth and I in Verona on our own sorting out a few arrangements while others are all in Acqualand keeping cool.

Not allowing me to upload pictures at the moment will do so later this evening when we are back in again to sort out more things.





Day 9 – 19 August - “Once upon a time ………..”

AM – lie-in for everyone after going to bed so late. Brunch of croissants, jam, cheese, cereal, chores carried out, then off to Verona. Very hot day. Went particularly to see the well known shopping area of Via Mezzini and first stop was to have something to eat. The bright yellow logo of a well known fast food outlet stood out like a sore M in the lovely town square and a number of scouts dived-in to feed their faces but, very refreshingly, the Hawk Patrol, namely Messrs Richard (Ricardo) Jones; Jack (the Lad) Knight; Steffan (Middle Son) Williams; Dewi (Picolo) Griffiths; Leslie (don’t call me Declan) Morris and Daniel (no peanuts, please) Davies, took a vote and decided to eat at a Veronese snack bar, working on the basis of when in Rome do as the Romans (also because it was cheaper than McDonalds). Brownie points (well, why not?) on two counts!

The Arena - venue for Thursday's visit to the opera to see Aida.

Walking back to the vans, once again the Hawk Patrol made its mark via Master Steffi who spied a sweet shop – not very big, but well filled with tall jars of all kinds of teeth rotting ‘caramella’. Pick and mix heaven! Poor lady serving must have wondered what had hit her as all vente nove of us piled in. The wonderful thing was, as all vente nove of us returned, sweetie sacks in hand, to the street, she waived away any charge on 3 Leaders’ stash bags! (and Gerry’s was pretty weighty!). How generous of her!

Another attraction of Verona was, of course, Juliet’s balcony and statue of same (Juliet of ‘Romeo and …….’ fame, that is). Folklore has it that to touch Juliet’s right breast increases a woman’s fertility. Gerry not at all pleased about this and gave strict instructions that all female Leaders were to keep hands firmly in pockets.

So, back to the vehicles for a straight run home and an earlier night – ha! Not so! A crackled message via Amazon Wendy’s walkie talkie gave out the message that, without any warning, her bus was under attack! The crack of a bullet leaving a high velocity rifle echoed through the van; heads ducked; passengers cried out in alarm, but without a wobble or check in speed, Amazon Wendy kept her trusty bus firmly in its lane, despite the discomfort of the warm, sticky substance which ran down her arms. Where was the sniper? Would there be another shot? Why pick on the Falcon Patrol? (Obviously, they’re not as good looking as the Hawks, but – come on – are they really ugly enough to take pot shots at?).

To Amazon Wendy’s right, Gareth (The Hair) Rogers, strong, silent side-kick to this female Leader, couldn’t help but ask these questions of himself while his sharp eyes darted right and left, seeking out the vantage point of their hidden enemy. It just didn’t make sense. He’d been in many such situations in his scouting life, but something wasn’t right; didn’t fit. As quickly as these thoughts gelled in his mind, something else triggered his sense of smell. Could it be – blackcurrant? Yes! Blackcurrant! Swiftly, he ran his finger along his colleague’s arm and put it to his lips. With relief and a short laugh, he turned and looking into the back of the vehicle, saw on the floor, a ripped and shattered juice bottle. Clearly, this had suffered too much heat and had exploded under the pressure. Not the work of the Mafioso after all, just the natural result of heat and fermented fruit. Ugly as they might be, Falcon Patrol lived to scout another day!

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