Mr. Hughes' Blog - Day 6

Day six:

This was the second day of competition. Rock ‘n’ Roar would have difficulty improving on their performance, but St Trinians would have a chance to get the DVD working as a backdrop to their performance and sort out a few minor technical glitches. In a reversal of order Rock ‘n; Roar were going first at about 3.00 p.m. and St Trinians were following on at 6.00 p.m.

Dr Hughes was judging the Primary section in the morning so she set of early. The rest of the group set off for the venue at about 11.30 a.m. It was very hot and humid as we walked to the bus stop. I commented to Josie about the lack of rain. She replied that there had been a thunderstorm the day before. I had been completely oblivious to this as in the giant halls of the venue there are no windows, and with all of the buzz of the competition you are unaware of the outside world.

The teams went off to check that their robots were in good working order. Then I took Rock ‘n; Roar to the Food Hall for lunch. Emily and I sat down for the Chinese buffet and Lily and Abbie settled for a Western-style snack. I have to say that the Chinese buffet was excellent. There were about 20 different dishes and the ones I chose tasted delicious. However I have to say that I steered clear of the Onions and Intestines dish. After the main course there was the dessert. This consisted of a variety of mildly spiced cakes and plenty of fruit. During the meal we were joined by the rest of the group.

After eating we returned to the Competition Hall and both teams started their preparations for the performance. While this was happening I wandered around the rest of the Hall to see what else was happening. There was plenty going on in the Rescue section where robots have to find and rescue people. Whooping and cheering came from the some of the nearby football table (about the same size as a pool table). Saudi Arabia had one of the biggest and most enthusiastic teams, and much of the noise and commotion was coming from their table. Incidentally the Chinese organisers had provided a prayer room and alternative eating arrangements for Muslim nations.

I settled down to watch the performances having found a very good spot for the video camera. Rock ‘n’ Roar came on and did a great set. As they were towards the beginning of the Secondary performances there was a bigger audience and a better crowd. The atmosphere was helped by a vocal group from Portugal who clapped, cheered and sang to Rock ‘n’ Roar. The girls did very well: all they could do now is to wait for the decision of the judges.

St Trinians came on after the break. The DVD extract from the recent film played in the background, all of the technical bits worked well and the girls produced an excellent performance. This was the better of their two performances: now it was down to the judges. They would decide who was going to be in the last eight and these would perform again on the morning of the following day to decide the winners.

Shortly after the end of the competition we all traipsed down to the Food Hall for dinner and most of us had Spaghetti Bolognese (macaroni shaped pasta with beef or tomato sauce). I had far too much of this Western dish and consequently suffered from a Western ailment, namely indigestion.

We returned to the Competition Hall to tidy up and await the results to see which 8 teams had got through to the final. I expected St Trinians to get through and I had high hopes for Rock ‘n’ Roar. It was a very tense hour. We suggested that I take Rock ‘n’ Roar back to the hotel, but they wanted to wait for the result. The judges convened for a long time before announcing that because the marks were so close they would allow 9 teams (rather than 8) to go through to the Finals on the following day. Judging this event has an element of subjectivity in it and it would be unfair to exclude a team if the marks were very close. An excited crowd followed the judge as he posted the list of Finalists on the official board. St Trinians were through, but unfortunately Rock ‘n’ Roar were not.

At about 9.30 p.m. and with mixed feelings we walked down to the bus stop. We split and some of us returned to the hotel by bus while the rest of us started out walking back. The walkers were rewarded by spectacular lights on the Science and Cultural Arts building which continually changed colour. Our path was well lit by many spectacular light structures.

Following Dr Hughes’ unerring nose for adventure we struck out along a scenic lakeside boardwalk. A cooling offshore lakeside breeze had begun and this was very refreshing. As we walked by the lake we encountered a number of local people curled up on the boardwalk taking advantage of the cool breeze. Unfortunately Dr Hughes’ sense of adventure had led us underneath the bridge over the lake instead of on to it. After an undignified scramble back on to the bridge we continued our brisk walk to the hotel.

After about a mile and a half and with energy levels falling we hailed taxis and returned to the hotel. Everyone quickly turned in for the night in preparation for the following day.