On Friday 8th July 2011 the TourCats left Birmingham for an epic trip to the Netherlands.
It started at 12.00 when Ed arrived early at Reinout’s house – only to realise he had forgotten his passport. However, by 13.30 TourCats 1 (consisting of Reinout, Debbie, Ed, Jim and Tad) had set off.
TourCats 2 also had problems – the car hire company would not let Chris hire a car, despite having paid for it, and Quentin couldn’t finish school until 13.30. At 13.45 Chris, Kate, Quentin and Jonathan all piled into Chris’ beautiful (but slightly too small) convertible and raced down the motorway to catch up to TourCats 1 – it did not take long.
After travelling with the windows down and the music turned up high we arrived at Dover 10 minutes too late for the ferry. Luckily Kate had called ahead and arranged to get on the 19.30 ferry. We embarked and within moments the bottles of fizz were opened and the team donned their TourCats shirts.
Our mascot ‘Brum’ was also formally introduced to the team. Spirits were running high – there was no time for sea sickness – as everyone was thrilled the trip was finally here after months of preparation. Two of the weekends sayings were first used at this point – ‘Jim is on a horse, Debbie is on a boat’ and ‘I’m looking at Kent, Kent (Jim) and France/Belgium’ etc – they were funny at the time.
At 10pm we entered France, shortly followed by Belgium. Most TourCats had a quick power nap in the car while Reinout lead the way. Unfortunately a road had been closed so after a quick stretch of the legs and a check of the map we proceeded on to Bruges. This was the first of many ‘shortcuts’.
Upon reaching Bruges, via another shortcut we made it to our traditional Belgium townhouse – St Christopher’s Inn. We were served by a particularly smelly, dodgy man who was no match against the efficiency of Debbie!
We noisily bundled into our 10 person room to discover that there was a mystery sleeper, so after lots of noisy ‘sssshhhhhhh’ we left the hostel and went to find a ‘local’ bar Kate had read about on a review. Unfortunately the review was out of date – but it didn’t matter because we found a ‘quiet’ bar with outside seating and a very small dance floor and DJ. The TourCats took their place outside, adjacent to an outside urinal, which Debbie was memorised by and kept taking photos of those entering it.
As it was gone midnight when we arrived at the bar, caffeine was required so most of the TourCats sought out the essential qualities of Jagerbombs! This really started the night off with a bang. The Jagerbombs were followed by Jenever and Fluggles.
Before you know it Kate was up on the dance floor – soon to be followed by Tad, Debbie, and Chris and then Quentin and Ed. The 2m x 2m dance floor was full of bouncing cats. Kate made great friends with both the door attendant – as she was constantly in and out of the club – dancing one second, chatting to the remaining TourCats outside the next, back to the bar and then on the dancefloor – and the toilet attendant.
At 4.30am it was wisely decided that we should head back to the hostel – although the club was still filling up with people. We ‘quietly’ returned back to the room and got ready for bed. Unfortunately Quentin lost his toothpaste lid down the drain so there was a mission to retrieve it using toothbrushes and combs. It didn’t work.
At 8am Kate was first up, followed by Jim and Debbie. Tad was the last to crawl out of his bunk at 8.45, when we all went for breakfast in our new ‘away’ kit. Breakfast was spent re-living the night before and trying to consume as much liquid as possible before our trip to Sittard – the coffee was surprisingly good!
At 10am the TourCats were packed and went on a mini-excursion to the city walls where there was an impressive gate and windmill above the canal – Ed and Jim also discovered Smatch and Mega-Force. During the excursion there was an odd running man who kept sprinting from the town gate to the windmill through almost everyone one of our photos.
After a quick team photo shoot the TourCats handed in their keys and left via a shortcut left for Sittard. Thanks to Jonathan the TourCat-mobiles each had a walky-talky, which created much entertainment between the two cars!
We arrived in Sittard at 13.00, but there was no time for food – Kate was desperate for the loo. We were quickly shown to our changing rooms, but as we were already dressed the TourCats proceeded out on to the perfectly manicured field and into our dug-out.
Everyone loved the dug-out, especially as it had just started to rain. The Condors had been warming up for a while and it was evident from their skills and professional uniforms that they were a good team. However, the TourCats were not deterred and began warming up. Following a quick rain shower everyone took their positions and the game began.
The game started as it meant to go on with the TourCats leading the way. Every team member excelled themself and had a thoroughly good time. Both Quentin and Tad achieved multiple home runs; Chris and Jonathan provided an impenetrable wall in the infield, Debbie caught a fantastic foul-tip, Reinout produced strike after strike as pitcher, Ed triumphantly slid his way to home base, Jim kept everyone on their toes with his outfield hits, Lisa made an excellent debut and Kate ... well she made enough noise so the Bobcats back in Brum could hear.
The final result was 23-5 to the TourCats. To round up the afternoon the two teams mixed to create the ‘Tour-dors’ and the ‘Bob-cons’ for two innings and afterwards the TourCats presented the Condors with a gift and an invitation to Birmingham next year.
Following the games the male members of the TourCats met up with a few of the Condors for a drink in their clubhouse. Soon after, Debbie and Kate emerged from the changing rooms ready to take on the town. The sun was shining and a round of 12 drinks cost 12 euros!
After a few chasers we departed for our hotel in Maastricht, via a shortcut or two. The hotel was very plush and we were all in twin rooms – although when they said ‘twin’ they actually meant doubles – Kate and Debbie, Ed and Jonathan, Quentin and Tad, Jim and Chris and Reinout had his own room.
Having not eaten since breakfast the TourCats were eager to find some food fit for champions so within half an hour (after Tad and Quentin had finished doing their hair), they set off via a 8 seater taxi to the centre. After a couple more shortcuts Reinout took us to a fantastic local restaurant/bar that had a lovely barman/chef who could not have provided better service. After sorting out drinks – and cleaning up a wine glass which Jonathan knocked to the floor - he brought out some bread (which was gone in seconds), followed by some more bread (again instantly gone) and then two large nicose salads to go with the meals. By the time the meal came the salads were long gone. The majority of the TourCats had a dish which was only produced in Maastricht. While most of us adored it Quentin gave it a 7/10 – which I think meant he liked it, but perhaps grudgingly.
Following dinner and a brief stop outside to go to the cash point and speak to Reinout’s family, we proceeded to the main square for drinks. The ambience was lovely, but service a little slow so we moved on, via a shortcut, to a quieter, more local square. Here the service was better but the ambience lacking. So we moved briefly to a club, which was filled with teenagers, and then to a bar Jim and Kate spotted during the shortcut. It turned out to be a very scary, local joint so again we quickly left in search of another club that Reinout had been informed about. At this stage it was 1.30am and the club was not yet in full swing, so we moved off to another square where we sat for another drink. This was not a good move for half the TourCats – who decided they could not last much longer. The first to admit defeat was Jim! Only Reinout, Kate, Tad and Quentin were left standing, or indeed dancing, and just after the others left for the hotel we found a great club where we stayed until 4am. Reinout was the first on and last off the dance floor.
At 9am Kate emerged from the hotel, and armed with two double espressos she provided a base outside for the TourCats to re-group. At 10am she was joined by Chris and Jim, 10.30 by Ed and Jonathan, 11am by Debbie, 11.30 by Tad and Quentin and at 12.10 by Reinout. Driven by hunger we set off via 6 shortcuts (documenting each one on film) to a neighbouring town in Belgium for brunch. Here Quentin’s French and patience came in handy when the tired, starving TourCats were faced with an arrogant, difficult waiter who was not able to correctly take an order – not once, not twice, but three times. Ed, on the other hand, decided to go for the classic hangover cure – MacDonalds. Unfortunately this meant he had to sit on a nearby bench.
During lunch the ‘politie’ encircled a foreign car, which was parked opposite Reinout’s, and removed its number plates. Reinout quickly moved the car so it did not share the same fate. Not long after the TourCats, now watered and well fed, climbed back in the cars and set off in good spirits back to Calais.
A short distance down the road, TourCats 1 dived off the motorway for fuel. TourCats 2 tried the radio to no avail so carried on. After 2.5 hours in the car the inhabitants of TourCats 2 were restless and squashed. They had made good time on the motorway and it was decided that a short stop was required. Rather than a typical service station, TourCats 2 chose what looked like a small beach settlement located near Calais to stretch their legs. In reality, De Panne was a major beach destination for Flanders. Chris, Kate and Quentin dashed to the sands for a quick throw around – getting to grips with the ball not bouncing and undertaking some drills – while Jonathan went in search of ice-cream. After 20 minutes they were all back in the car, demanding that the next TourCats trip should be somewhere with a beach.
Unfortunately, TourCats 2 were not the only ones trying to leave the beach at this time and they were soon stuck in traffic. Once clear of the settlement they raced down the motorway, but again got caught in traffic at passport control – missing the ferry by a few minutes. From a lonely port, TourCats 2 waved farewell to TourCats 1, who had already boarded the ferry with champagne, and waited for the next boat.
Not to be outdone – Chris and Jonathan waited outside duty free until it opened and bought some champagne and chocolate liqueurs. Kate also purchased a bottle of rose, which was opened seconds before the announcement to return back to the cars. Needless to say it was a merry drive home.
The TourCats Netherlands Tour 2011 was a fantastic trip, which brought together many skilled individuals and created a winning team. The participants have commented that the bond developed between the TourCats is so strong they feel like they have a new family. This familiarity and confidence was an essential asset during the game and the enthusiasm and excitement is still running deep through each TourCat. There is no question there will be another trip – hopefully later this year – where the bonds between the Bobcats can be strengthened and they will become invincible. Alternatively it will be great fun!
