Bedtime Bedtime...

We had breakfast and left... A fairly painless and relatively short journey home to Brentwood Cathedral.



We sung and danced (again) all the way back from Gatwick before saying emotional goodbyes.

Over the next week or so, we'll try to add a few reflections from helpers and VIPs.

Thank you for reading, supporting us, being with us in spirit and donating money to help fund us.




Someone said it was 331 days until Lourdes 2015. Better get fundraising again...

www.justgiving.com/206HCPT

Shops, Train, Rain & Prayers

Today began with a well earned lie in followed by shopping! Rosaries, water bottles, mints, whoopee cushions and glow in the dark Marys were all purchased in 206's favourite shop 'Palais du Rosaire' aka 'Lourdes Woolworths'. Despite a facelift, it is still great value and gives free gifts!

After lunch we had a thanks giving service for the week we've had together and made cards to leave in the grotto.

We then headed out for the road train ride around Lourdes. The French pilgrims weren't quite ready for the loud singing from 206! After a few failed attempts to shush us, they gave up. The Italians on the train loved it though!

Some people then went up to the fort and others did a bit more shopping. It rained hard (again), but this never dampens our spirits.

After dinner we headed out with our 206 candle:




After praying around the statue of the Crowned Virgin, we headed to the grotto for a final visit. We left prayer intentions before lighting our group candle. It's always a very special moment praying together.








We then headed to La Carrefore for our final fun evening of Uno, hot chocolate, croque mosiuers and pizza!

Rave Cave

"Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat"... Today began with a visit to the Grottes de Betharram, a series of caves deep in to the Pyrenees mountains.

Our guide, Camille, kept us entertained as we travelled by foot, boat and train admiring the amazing features of the caves. We managed to out sing the other group on the train!

After lunch we spent a bit more time taking photos for the scavenger hunt, before another cafe stop (we'll miss these!):




The evening saw the 206 talent show, awards and party. We had impressions, 'the story of Cathy', singing, dancing, hypnotism, stand up... Plus a Lord of the Rings through interpretive dance from TBG!

After the talent show and awards for VIPs, it was time for raving...

Trust Mass Day

Thursday of HCPT week is many peoples' favourite day... Trust Mass!

The day started off with us giving Cathy, our group leader, a surprise. We all put on masks for breakfast which we then took to Mass:





The Mass was lead by Met Deep South and fun was had by all. 206 made good friends with the NYPD police in attendance - even getting them to join in with our dancing by the altar at the end. They liked our trademark orange tutus and even gave us a proper NYPD sew-on badge.

You can watch the whole thing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICmmLVx7hRk

We then headed back for lunch, followed by our official group photo. Naturally there was a Cathy-mask second photo!

We then got back into our teams and started the photo scavenger hunt... The teams of France, Mexico and Australia went out and about in Lourdes taking a variety of photos. The winner will be announced later in the week, but it's safe to say good fun was had by all (and the Cathy masks were out again!):




The day ended with the TBG party.
Fancy dress is order of the day and we had Mario and Luigi, 206 (118) Runners, cowboys, fairies...




As always Brentwood put on a great evening and 206 left exhausted... "sleep, eat, rave, repeat..."... we certainly need our sleep before doing it all again tomorrow!

Sunshine in Gavarnie

Today we headed up to Gavarnie, high up in the Pyrenees for Mass, a picnic and a hunt for 'werebears' (a werewolf/bear cross-breed!).

We packed for all eventualities but as we left the hotel we kept our fingers crossed that the sun in Lourdes would stay with us... and it did! We had to use umbrellas for shade rather than shelter.

Mass focused on building our lives on Jesus and included a dramatic gospel drama where 206 got a little wet from the rain (which washed away the house built on sand).




We then had a picnic before adventuring further up the mountains on the werebear hunt. We stopped for a quick game of "bogies" (seeing who could shout the word bogies the loudest!) and '206 Hymn Idol' which went to deadlock before being declared a draw! Thankfully we didn't come face to face with any werebears but heard them scream.

We had a final ice cream break in the sun before heading back down to Lourdes ready for our games evening. Who would be victorious tonight... Mexico, France or Australia?

After a good rest with some diary and postcard writing, the teams met in the hotel lounge to compete in 'Bob' and 'Peg':




It was a fun and competitive evening with Australia just edging ahead of France and Mexico:




The group joined together for night prayer before heading to bed ready for tomorrow's Trust Mass.

206 on Tour!

Today we toured Lourdes! We started in the morning in the domain next to the Rosary Basilica before heading towards the grotto.


We then had our water service where VIPs and helpers washed one another's hands.




Next stop was Le Carrefore for a well deserved cafe break with more Uno - we played all the way to 11th place!

After lunch we headed to the regional Mass where we met all the other local groups. It was good fun with lots of singing and dancing...



It was then the next part of the tour visiting various places where Bernadette lived.



There was then time for an ice cream cafe stop before heading back to the hotel ready for a special 'World Cup Opening Ceremony'. Each member of 206 was allocated a team: France, Australia or Mexico.

We then headed out to McDonalds and then the Torchlight Procession. We were treated to the sight of a spectacular sunset over Lourdes on our way:




We joined the procession from the start and again sang and danced all evening:





Thanks for all the likes and comments, plus of course the donations! Keep them coming!

www.justgiving.com/206hcpt

We've Arrived!

After our very early start, we made it!

Our first Uno game was at 7am at Gatwick Airport. Already you can tell this week is going to see many competitive games - who will be champ of the week?




Thankfully they served us a full cooked breakfast on the flight which was demolished in a matter of seconds... A few people hatched plans to get extras including the claim of the dietary requirement "double".

After a mini tour of Lourdes in the coach, as the roads were blocked with badly parked cars, we finally arrived at the hotel. We had lunch, unpacked and had a rest.

We then had an early dinner (very full tums today!) before heading out to the Noah's Ark concert. We sang and we danced to Rise and Shine for the first time, followed by songs from Katy Perry and 1 Direction.







Then early to bed ready for our first full day tomorrow... and ready to chant our new motto "EAT SLEEP RAVE REPEAT".


Remember you can help us out with the costs of the trip: www.justgiving.com/206HCPT

Find out more about HCPT Group 206 at: www.hcpt26.org.uk

"Let's Make a Difference"

www.justgiving.com/206HCPT

A former VIP turned helper has written about why he thinks you should make a donation to HCPT Group 206.

Read his article in full <here>.

The Night Before...

The day before Lourdes is always an exciting one. Seeing via Facebook and Twitter that other groups have already arrived and are having fun helps add to expectation...

Then it's time to pack. Dig out those oranges! Thankfully I remembered to wash them all earlier in the week after getting them out of the loft. There is some new additions including some funky new orange aviators:

Next thing is to find your passport and EHIC card, weigh your luggage (there are very strict checks in 206!) and double check you have enough socks packed!

Now time for an early night... 

Welcome & Thank You

Welcome to our new blog!

We'll try to give you a few updates about our week while we are in Lourdes. There will hopefully be a few guest bloggers who will share some of their experience with HCPT Group 206. 

While we are in Lourdes you can continue to support us by helping us pay for the trip:

• Buy a child an ice cream in Lourdes - £3
• Buy a hot chocolate and plate of chips for a child - £6
• Buy a child a trip to Gavarnie - £15
• Buy the orange clothing for a child - £40
• Buy a hot chocolate for the whole group - £60
• Buy a place for a child to go to Lourdes in 2015 - £700

Make your contribution at www.justgiving.com/206HCPT or by simply texting HCPT58 £3 to 70070 and £3 will be charged to your phone bill. You can change the amount to £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10.

HCPT 206 rely on the kindness and generosity of their friends and family to travel to Lourdes each year.

Huge thanks go to all those who have already donated and supported us over the last year, we will be praying for you and lighting a candle at the grotto upon our arrival.