Its the FINAL QUINCH-OS (doodaloo-dooo, doodaloodoo-dooo..)

Hello.. Is it beans your cooking for? I can see it in your rice.. I can see it in your… Fresco..?

So as you might be able to tell my brain’s a kind of soupy consistency after the last week caused by a mixture of illness, lack of sleep, stress and anxiety for the kids show. But it was all worth it and what a bloody fantabulous show it was (please excuse my French)!

So this whole week has been building up to the show and the kids have been nothing short of Awesome with a capital A so big it wouldn’t fit on the internet! Therefore we stuck with a regular capital A..

We organised several extra training sessions in the evenings for them to practice at the cultural centre which were attended in full force.

Hoops were being spun,

Juggling balls thrown,

Diabolo’s being flung,

And Acro flyers flown,

We looked on in awe to see how these kids had grown,

All these amazing tricks that we were being shown,

Made us swell with a pride,

That we couldn’t hide,

As fearlessly upon one wheeled bicycles they did ride,

They were alive and kicking,

As all the PWB crew were thinking,

“How much Badassness can we cram into one show!??”

Aaand back in the room. All of this amazing work wasn’t without its problems:

Bea’s hoopers depleted day by day until the moment before the hoop routine in the show where they decided they ALL wanted to be in it!

There was a corrupt version of the song for the hats causing the music to cut out half way through the act.

Paddy struggled trying to coordinate SEVENTEEN diabolo spinners who were never around to practice all at the same time.

The contact ball girls were overcome with a bout of collective stage fright just as the routine started, causing them to perform their act from the corner of the stage.

Two very talented children injured themselves in school ON THE MORNING of the show. Maynor sprained his wrist and Pablo cut his foot open on a glass bottle (ouch!).

However though it seemed the odds were stacked against us, the children (and the PWB team) sailed through these problems with finesse, grace and other pretty ballerina-like adjectives.

The show was a storming success and here are just a few of the fantastic moments:

Chevo’s unicycle routine (complete with rock star-esque screams from the girls).

Harry repping HARD (that’s representing for you un-hip folk) for the boys in the dance routine.

Axel and Rafa’s spontaneous last minute Acro routine after Maynor was too injured to perform.

Pablo still getting up on stage to do a unicycle skit involving a mango, the mango getting knocked out of his hand so he hops on his uninjured foot to get it (what a trooper).

The smile on the girls faces in the flawlessly choreographed synchro-poi routine.

There are so many more but needless to say it was an incredible spectacle to see all these kids supporting one another to create such a fantastic show.

After it was finished we presented the kids with the donations and were ALL treated to pizza by the Osteria Pizzeria chefs. Upon arriving back to the Cultural Centre we had had one final surprise in store: a fire show starring me, Poppy and our friend Eva who had come to visit.

After this had finished it was time for a huge flow of emotional goodbyes from all the children.. Or in Rafa’s case a constant chorus of “Paddy y Josh son novios” which translates to “Paddy and Josh are boyfriends” which we were okay with.

Once they’d cleared out we celebrated by packing up all of our stuff (in differing amounts of time) ready to leave for Granada the next day.

So to conclude it has been a very busy month for us in San Marcos. We have been tested, we have shouted, we have cried and we have sung. But one thing I know is that we’ve all been massively inspired by the enthusiasm and tenacity of the children of Los Quinchos. They have completely flown above and beyond what I expected the kids I met on this tour would be capable of and I, for one, know this is an experience I will never forget.

Thank you Los Quinchos

Paddy

Nica 2015