in Agra. We were 2-0 down before the team
was galvanised into action. We seemed to be
acclimatising to the weather and gradually
wore the opposition down. Goals came from
Constantin Kossen and Matt Richards, before
Taylor Buller dived to score a rebound off the
keeper to win the match.
Sat 21 August 2010 Archie Rose
On the way to Jaipur we stopped off at the
Ghost City (Fatethur Sikhi), which was
abandoned after only 15 years because of a
lack of drinking water. Stopping only for a very
traditional Indian lunch (a chicken sandwich
and chips!), we arrived at the Golden Tulip
Hotel which had the best rooms so far and a
roof-top pool for a swim before supper.
Sun 22 August 2010 Alex Dathan
We woke to rain in the 'Pink City' and at first
feared our match might be cancelled. We met
the Maharaja Sawai Mansingh Vidhyalaya
hockey team, and warmed up on another grass
pitch that hadn't been cut or rolled! The day
was relatively cool and we dominated from the
start securing a convincing 9-0 win with goals
from Tristan Marshall (4), Constantin Kossen
(2), Dougie Denton (1), Archie Rose (1) and
Matt Richards (1). After lunch we went to
Prince Albert's Palace, where we had the
pleasure of being entertained by a five-year old
magician, a performance I am sure that will not
be forgotten lightly.
Mon 23 August 2010 Tristan Marshall
After an early morning start, we mounted our
elephants for a bumpy ride to the top of the
Amber Fort. Most of us chose to try out our
bartering skills again in the Jaipur markets, and
our trip concluded with an exciting edge-ofyour-seat
rickshaw ride back to the comfort of
the Golden Tulip Hotel.
Tue 24 August 2010 Jamie Grantham
Returning to Delhi, the bus was quiet for once
with Corbett and Will Murray feeling under the
weather, but they were soon revitalised after
seeing their GCSE results. The evening fitness
session was hot and humid as expected - on
returning to my room I heard the noise of
hammering on George Lang's bathroom door:
he had accidentally locked himself in. A quarter
of an hour and two power cuts later, he was
rescued.
Wed 25 August 2010 Tom Drysdale
After a short coach journey, we had our first
photo opportunity at the Bahai Temple, built in
the shape of a blossoming lotus. We went on
an exciting cycle rickshaw tour of the narrow
street markets of Old Delhi, before visiting the
cremation stone of Mahatma Gandhi. On the
way back to the hotel, we stopped at another
World Heritage Site - the Qutab Minar, the
victory tower of the first Islamic dynasty. In the
grounds, a large iron pillar over 1600 years old
had writing carved on it saying if anyone can
reach both arms backwards around the rod,
they are God. I managed it!!
Thu 26 August 2010 Matt Richards
Today the tailor-made Indian suits arrived. Very
sleek! In the afternoon the weather was
uncomfortably hot and humid for our next match
against Gurgaon Hockey Club. Afterwards we
found out we were playing against several Over
20s and three national players! After some
choice words at half-time from Messrs Berry and
Cole we started the second half more forcefully
and grabbed two goals back with the help of
Jamie Grantham and Tristan Marshall. Mr Cole
was much more complimentary about our
second-half performance.
Fri 27 August 2010 Will Murray
After breakfast we met in the corridor (the
coolest place in the hotel) to discuss tactics
before our final game. We started well, with
two early goals from Tristan Marshall and Matt
Richards prompting the opposition to bring all
their top players on including their
internationals. To cut things short, we drew
4-4, with Tristan (hat-trick hero) and Nuno
sharing the man of the match award.
The evening meal was a real celebration with
speeches, awards and thank yous. Everyone
felt that the tour had been a great success and
the most fantastic experience.
Aluredian
35
Extracts
from
the tour
party's
diaries