apples and hide and seek

Hello one and all!
I am back to a landline computer SO I thought, maybe I should take the opportunity and write a little blog about something that was absolutely hi-larious today!
So as many of you know...when I go on an adventure or really go out and do anything there rarely is a time that a story is not attached to the adventure...

For example: the other day a friend of mine (the current aupair for Sarah named Chantal) and I we decided we wanted to go to Petersfield by bus, to make Sarah's life easier. SO we ran down into town...and we missed the bus. It happened to be the last bus for 2 hours and I happend to have to pick up a Canadian friend (becky dempsey) at the bus station. OOPS. SO we started walking...long story short we had an adventure. A grand ol adventure to Petersfield by foot. It was NO short treck let me tell you. But to make my point--it was supposed to be a simple bus ride to Petersfield that ended up in a long alli-walking adventure. (not one of the first times that has happened here in England if my memory is correct)

SO Back to the story I initially wanted to tell you. I was in Petersfield today with Chantal and a new found friend Annie and we were basking in the sunshine in the Petersfield town square, waiting for Sarah to come and collect us from town. When I say basking, we were more or less sitting in a little circle in the square just talking and enjoying the warmth. When all of a sudden WAM I felt something hit my leg! It was an apple! Yes. An apple! I discovered that the apple tree was beyond the stone wall leading into the church 'patio' only 30 feet away...but there was NO wind and no birds to drop the apples with such force; so I was determined to find where these apples were coming from. Now, please don't let your imaginations get the best of you. It was not a large cooking apple...It was a little crab-apple probably the size of a grape or a rose hip. BUT it was an apple nonetheless.

Now, I got up and walked around searching for a sorce of this apple and couldn't find one...then I sat back down with the girls and was enjoying nice conversation and some ritz crackers...when WAM WAM AGAIN! My poor hand was hit with another apple! It hurt! Now, me coming out of a summer of night games and adventure...I picked up my apple and went searching for the person with the accurate-arm. I found a little boy just beyond the first wall who was riding around on his scooter, so I asked him (rather accusingly, which now I feel bad about) But I said 'Excuse me, but were YOU chucking these apples at me and my friends?'---'NO no it wasn't me' he said, then we heard some giggling beyond the stone wall just beside us....so I slowly crept towards the wall--NO one was there. I thanked the little boy and I began my search. I really really wanted to chuck the apple back at whoever kept hitting me. I know I know-- Turn the other cheek...but it was tooo tempting! Honestly, summer camp and reality often do not go hand in hand.

SO as I was creeping around the church with the little amunition in my hand, I found them! Yes I found them! A group of teenagers probably ranging from the ages of 14-16 and there were about four of five of them. Boys...cheeky as can be hiding behind yet another rock wall. I started running at them with my apple in hand shouting 'was this yours??' and they ran off. giggling like little school girls. So I quickly returned to my girls in the square and reported to them what I saw...so we tried to chase where the boys had gone, I asked a few people who we passed and they didn't really know, but we followed out 'senses'...back to the apple tree. (mind you I still had my one apple in hand)

We snuck back onto the church walk way and we seperated. The two girls went one way, I went the other and there they were...hiding behind the stone wall at the base of the little crab apple tree--waiting for someone else to throw the apples at! HA HA! I was trying to sneek up as quietly as I could and hit one with an apple--but the girls on the other side wanted to run and surprise them instead. OH well, it was funny. We started running after them and they quickly ran down a little road out beyond the square...we followed them for a little bit, then we stopped..I yelled 'YOU FORGOT YOUR APPLES!' and then we just started laughing.

We are three girls who are either 19-20 chasing after these young boys with apples. We had lost it!

Even though we had 'chased' the boys off, they kept coming back up the little road, but when they saw us they ran away. So we came up with a plan...we hid beside the library in a little spot where we thought they couldn't see us....and we waited with hands full of apples ready to pelt them as they came by. But I guess they knew the town better than we did (obviously) and they already made it back to the church courtyard. While we were in our 'hiding' place we could still see the little boy on his scooter. So I montioned to him 'where are they?' and he came up to us and said, they were at the church already but kept hiding when they saw us and he told us we'd better find a better place to hide. SO we did. He was brilliant that little boy. He became our secret set of eyes. He would scooter around the church and come back to us with their positions so we knew how to sneak up on them. Brilliant!

We split up again, the girls went one way...Ollie (the little boy) and I went the other way and we trapped them! Yes, we out smarted the group of boys. It was wonderful, I was still in my hiding position (again) when all of a sudden I heard shouts and screams! The girls had ambushed the boys and were chasing them towards me with their apples firing away! Well once the boys saw Ollie and I standing in their way they were trapped! I started running at them pelting (or trying my hardest) apples at these boys! Their screams were so high-pitched I was laughing so hard I could barely throw! OH man, it was SOOOO funny. Some jumped fences, some tried and failed....OH it was so funny. We got them! We won the battle!!!

When it was all finished and the boys disappeared, we thanked Ollie (who was probably nine or ten) for all his hard work and we laughed so hard about the whole situation. We just kept saying, I cant believe we just did that! Honestly, we're in the middle of town, and we just chased people with apples! How old are we? It was wonderful. Ollie took a picture of us pretending to hide from the bad guys and then he had to leave with his mum...who I think was quite confused by the whole thing, but since we were laughing so hard I think she was okay with the whole thing. At one point in the sneeking about I DID almost hit his mum with an apple as she came walking around the side of the church---but I think she understood what was going on to some extent so it was alright.

OH man, it was entertaining. We were going to have to just sit and wait for Sarah for an hour--but then we could play a real hide-and-seek game with people from town. It was brilliant! A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon in town.

It seems that whenever I go out I have a story of some sort to bring back with me...but life in my world is never ever boring to say the least. If you feel like an adventure--come join me! The girls here in England now just say, that you can't go out with alli unless you are ready for an adventure of some sort. oops. OH well. I enjoy my life!

I hope you all do something---adventerous today or on this Canadian Thanksgiving!!
I'm making pumpkin pie from scratch for the first time, and oooh is it an adventure! I love it! I haven't had pumpkin pie in two years so it is about time to much on one of my favorite autumn treats! Its cool--the wind is blowing--the trees are becoming colours of blazing sunsets and it is time for pie!

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