WED 16th...after doing a successful run through in the morning, we packed the set into the van and left for Hull. The boat journey was enjoyable...I ate a huge load of food in the all you-can-eat buffet and we drank some Hoegaardens before sleeping.
Thurs 17th...I was not expecting snow when we drove off the ferry!!! We faffed around for a while in a lay-by trying to figure out where we should put those stickers on the lights so we didn't blind everyone we drove past. Eventually we decided to have a breakfast of coffee and waffles in Bruges and solve the problem afterwards...which we did! Maybe the lack of coffee was why we couldn't be decisive!? Then it was the French open road, with a little stop for food in a Leclerc somewhere. Driving was tough going as it was very snowy. We arrived in the beautiful town of Troyes in the early evening, had a very nice dinner of Boef Bourgnoinge (I think) and went to bed.
Fri 18th...Woke up early to find an inch and a half of snow on the van. We heated it up, scraped ice from the windows and set off to Marseille. We sang songs and played my baritone ukulele as Mariae drove along in the snow. Stopped in the suburbs of Dijon so Emily could send some correspondence while we had a coffee, then got back on the road. As we passed Lyon, the conditions began to get better, and by the time we reached Marseilles the sun was shining, although it was still only 2 degrees! We faffed around trying to find somewhere safe to park in Marseilles before Paddy and I went to meet a friend from Durham who is studying in the city for a year. I ate Boullaingaises (I think thats how you spell it) the signature Marseille dish, which is a not very nice fish soup! I have realised that this trip would be a lot better/easier if I could speak French! Oh well...you work with what you've got...the lines from the show basically!!
Sat 19th...We woke up super early to be at the port for 8.30, which was totally unneccesary as we are still not going anywhere, an hour after we should have left! We sat in the van for some three hours in massive queues inching our way towards various kiosks to have our passports and tickets looked at. Avoided a few slow motion collisions with impatient North Africans before boarding at 11.30 (the supposed time of departure!!) I managed to find Fulham vs Manchester Utd on Canal+, which made me very happy!
Sun 20th...The ferry is expensive.The food on the boat was ridiculously overpriced; we ate a salad and desert menu for 20 euros before retiring last night. I watched a french reality tv show, 'the battle of the choirs', which was so boring I fell asleep! I awoke this morning to sunny skies and a more violent rocking of the ship. I wasted lots of hours watching a nature programme about fish, sharks and octopuses, then a France vs Russia handball match! Now it is almost 3pm and we can see Tunisia. We cannot go into the harbour however, I think we are so late we have to wait for a free period. We have been on the ship for 27 hours now and we were supposed to arrive at 8.30 this morning. Some time today we will get off onto African soil and drive to Nabeul, where I will post this from the hotel. Until then it's more rocking and rolling as we go round in circles in Tunis bay, and Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf...
We finally got off the boat at 6pm, before waiting for another 3 hours in the docks getting through customs. We were on the ship for 30 hours in the end. After making it through customs (thanks go to Emily...we couldn't have done it without her) we drove to Nabeul, and met Hamedi, the festival organiser and his crew. They asked us if we could do the show in English, which made us laugh as we ran through the first few scenes...it sounds much much better in French! We will see about doing it in English, though I think we won't as we can't help laughing! We went for a well earned beer in the in-hotel club before going for some well earned sleep!
Mon 21st...The cast are meeting in the foyer in 5 minutes to put the set up and get ready for our first performance at 12.30 today! I am very excited to be doing my first show on foreign soil!
Speak to you soon
Jaques
Bonjour mes amis! So what a journey that turned out to be! I hear the performance went well - was it in English or French?!! Oui, Jacques, je suis d'accord, tu dois apprendre le français. Have fun at the rest of the Festival. Just so you know, we're well snowed in here so make the most of the sunshine and warmth. A bientôt. Alison x (back in the TSF office)
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