After sharing my rather earnest and slightly prissy travel diaries with you this week, I showed them to my son Rory. He roared with laughter and then reminded me that he completed a travel diary during our Mediterranean cruise in 2006. He has happily given permission for me to share some extracts with you.
What strikes me about them is how much more punchy they are; no unnecessary words. I also get the distinct feeling from some sentences that he has been listening to his father and picking up some choice language. But more than anything there is a great sense of humour. And see how he begins and ends each entry with the same words.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Get up, have breakfast, went to Genoa aquarium. There was sharks, penguins and dolphins and other weird fish like the ugliest fish I’ve ever seen, the ocean sunfish. It was bigger than a shark. It looked a bit like this [ see picture]
Went back to ship, had lunch, watched batman begins in cabin. Relax on pool side, play gameboy. A boy helps me and wants to trade with me. Had dinner, saw MOON show. It was wicked with amazing acrobats and singers and jugglers. It also had loads of lasers.
Barcelona
Naples
Got up, had breakfast, saw ruins of Pompeii. They were really fascinating, they were so cleverly designed, it’s amazing that the buildings were preserved after Vesuvius erupted. It was really hot. Dad nicked a piece of rock from Pompeii which stunk of 2000 year old piss! Had lunch at La Luna. Played gameboy at poolside. Me and dad did a quiz, we didn’t win. Had dinner, did games at kids club, I won the bingo! Saw George Michael tribute, he was really good.
GOODNIGHT
Livorno
Got up, had breakfast, saw Pisa and I climbed up the tower of Pisa. Me and Mum got really dizzy because it was leaning! We saw the huge baptistry and the huge church. Got back to boat, had lunch, I hardly ate it because I was exhausted. Had sleep in room, played gameboy at poolside. Did quiz, we came second but mum and dad had a fight. There was the first rain of the holiday but it came with a thunderstorm. Saw chat show hosted by Fogwell Flax talking to Colleen Nolan! He was really funny and so was she.
Goodnight.
What a contrast, not just with language (more concise) but with the activities (Gameboy etc). Loved the rock that smelled of 200yr old piss and the way he noted that you and your husband had a fight. 🙂
That sentence about the rock was definitely one of Dougie's!
I think we had just lost the quiz so there must have been a bit of a domestic about the answers. I just had to include it as it did make me giggle, how much kids pick up on.
It would appear from his writing that he has a very competitive instinct.
Yes, a family trait I think, after the fisticuffs over the final quiz.
Sounds exactly like my boys would have written- let's keep the verbiage to an absolute minimum, shall we? We can get our point across (and still make people laugh) without wasting any extra words. Loved the rock that smelled like 2000yr-old piss – sounds suspiciously like something MrL would say. I also noted that Rory wins a lot – perhaps you should have him pick your numbers for a lottery ticket the next time the jackpot's really big…
He still writes like that now, which makes me despair when I see some of his pared-down essays. Excellent spelling though.
He once won £100 at the races when we put his £1 on an outsider in the first race. Now he's 16 he can buy his own lottery tickets: I think he should make that a weekly task.
That's brilliant, I love his brevity "had din". I wish I'd managed to get my eldest to keep a better diary when we were away, but it was sporadic at best.
This was definitely a one-off. He's never wanted to do it again and I haven't forced it. But when I'm scribbling notes for my blog on holiday he loves to chip in with things he's remembered.
This boy is born to travel tweet!
Ha! Genius! Right, that's his job on holiday now.
So funny – love his short, sharp sentences ('had din' – classic)abbreviations and his competitive nature. Definitely suited to Twitter. He's a natural!
It seems to be the only aspect of social media he hasn't signed up to so if he doesn't get his own account he can be my Twitter PA.
Aww fantastic, I love how good his spelling is at 10. I am intrigued as to what the boy wanted to trade with him (Genoa).
Pokemon game apparently!
Loved the way he mentioned the fight! and I must admit my first thought on reading his lovely diary, was how lucky he and all our children are…so widely travelled at such a young age. I was 17 before I ventured to France!!
I was talking to Mum today about our holidays. She said when we flew to Norway in the 1970s we were on the first flight there from Newcastle airport. So to some extent we were restricted by available flights, whereas now there are so many. I keep telling Rory what a lucky boy he is!
oh wow..yopu are certainly blessed! sounds like such an exotic lifestyle!! good for you!!
I am your newest follower from uneventful central Pa..pls follow back if you can.
Thank you so much for visiting and following. I shall certainly pop over to see you. Mom to 8? Now that is quite something.
Another brilliant diary entry, love the contrasts! Yes, he does also sound competitive, but that's no bad thing 🙂 I wish I could read my diary that I wrote at a similar age. Stupidly I wrote it in a "secret language" and have no idea what it says now! 😀
He's quite competitive when it's something he's good at…such as quizzes! When it comes to something like football or rugby, he accepts he isn't very good with good grace.
How funny you should have written in a secret language. Shame you can't crack the code!
I didn't realise you were actually allowed up the Tower of Pisa. Love that you and Rory got dizzy! (Well, not really, but you know what I mean.)
It was closed for nearly 12 years until 2001 and then they began to allow limited guided tours. Very weird though, as you climb up the staircase inside the tower and feel a drunken stagger to the sides.
I'd read a whole book of that – to the point – fair keeps the pace going. The rock that smelled of 2000 year old piss really made me laugh – such a long sentence for a start!
I can see why you like his style, you being a Madame Scatter Gun yourself!! I think I should take some tips from @sonsgoneto
love, love the travel diary! And can I have your globe trotting life right now, please?! 🙂
Hello Maureen, thanks for commenting. I do wish he'd done more of these. Maybe I can tempt him to try again for our next trip – are you coming along too?
Absolutely hilarious! Good, spare writing – no unnecessary verbiage there. A gem!
I keep telling him how much people are enjoying his diary, but he's still just raising his eyebrows and telling me it's a one off. Glad you like it!
Excellent – yes punchy and to the point and you know exactly what went on. He should teach journalism when he graduates
There's an idea. Will suggest that as he has no clue what to do.
Breakfast is clearly important to him!
Indeed! If he were writing it now, aged 16, he'd be lucky to wake up in time for breakfast.