DAY 5: York 

The boys were dropped off by their hosts at 07:30 at the Holiday Inn in Barnsley this morning, where we would all depart for a day of sight-seeing in the nearby town of York. It was about an hour’s drive with the bus. Today’s weather was really favourable for sight-seeing – it was a comfortable 12 degrees, overcast, but with no rain. Basically a lovely winter’s day by South African standards. The boys have been very worried about the lack of sunshine though, with one boy telling Chef today that he is feeling a little weird, and that he thinks that his skin is turning lighter, due to being Vitamin D deficient. A few boys have also asked me if they were not going to get sick due to there having been no sunshine for the past few days...When we were driving into York, one of the boys yelled out 'look, I can see blue, I can see blue!', just as the sun stuck out its head for a few minutes.

Luke Mather, one of the conductors of the Barnsley Youth Choir, accompanied us on our trip, and was a really informative tour guide. The day’s activities included a visit to York Minster, a huge 13^th-century Gothic cathedral, and then some shopping and walking around in the city centre. The shopping part got the boys very excited – that is after all the only point of going on an overseas tour, right? The expanding of cultural horizons, singing in new venues and meeting new people are clearly totally overrated experiences on growing boys’ bucket lists…

York is a walled city in northeast England that was founded by the ancient Romans. York Minster has medieval stained glass and two functioning bell towers. The city is known for its famous historical landmarks, as well as a variety of cultural and sporting activities, which makes it a popular tourist destination in England. We also took the boys to see The Shambles, a medieval shopping street in the city - most buildings date from between c.1350 and 1475.

The boys had some free time after visiting the Minster cathedral, and was told to meet us back at the Minster at 13:00. Because we weren't allowed to sing inside the Minster, Chef decided that it would be a good idea for the boys to then busk on the steps outside the Minster - this drew a substantial crowd and the boys enjoyed entertaining the people with a few African busking songs.

We left York at about 13:30, and then drove back to Barnsley where we were going to have a short rehearsal at the City Hall. Just before getting on the bus, a few boys wanted to use the toilet. Luckily there were a few public toilets right where the bus was parked. You did have to pay 40 pence to go though, but the boys quickly figured out that they only have to pay once and then the next boy can just go in after the previous boy, if they just checked that the door of the toilet does not close after you've been in there. I found it very interesting that in contrast to South Africa, where there are still some shopping centres where you cannot pay for parking with you cheque or credit card, in the UK you can pay   to go to the loo with your card. 

At 16:00 the boys were taken on a short tour of the Barnsley Museum, housed inside the City Hall. Thereafter, at 17:00, there was a reception hosted by the Mayor of Barnsley, where the boys sang a few songs, and was then treated to proper British teatime - tea, coffee, a variety of sandwiches and cakes were set out for the boys to enjoy, courtesy of the mayor. She complemented the boys on a wonderful performance last night, and also told us that our boys had the best manners that she had ever witnessed with a group of boys. This sentiment was actually reiterated by quite a few people today.

While the boys were having their tea, Chef, Meister and I happened to be chatting to a group of boys who were telling us about their productive morning of shopping. One boy showed us a milk chocolate bar that he had bought at the Minster gift shop in York, but the chocolate bar had an interesting story: apparently the boy saw this particular bar of chocolate in the gift shop, but it was somehow lying in the stationery section - the eraser section. The boy did not see the words Milk Chocolate on the wrapper, and assumed that it was a giant eraser... Thinking that this would be an awesome gift for one of his family members, as giant erasers tend to be, he bought the chocolate bar - then still disguised, in the boy's eyes, as a giant eraser. Only when the boys were sitting down for tea, and were showing each other what they had bought, did one of his friends point out to him that it was in fact NOT a giant eraser, but a chocolate bar. Indignantly, the boy cried out 'what? Did I pay 3 pounds for a bar of chocolate? How did that happen?', to which his friends pointed out, that in the defence of the chocolate bar, it DID say MILK CHOCOLATE on the packaging. Chef told him that, to ensure that he gets proper value for his money, he should just nibble a little bit of the chocolate bar each day - that way it will last the whole tour...

The boys were collected by their hosts at 19:00, and we are meeting them again tomorrow morning at 07:30, when we will have another morning of activities organised by the Barnsley Youth Choir, and then a concert at Emmanuel Church in Barnsley tomorrow evening at 19:00.