Sunday, September 17, 2006

The Bit with the Astronaut who is not Buzz Aldrin

Ok, so I am going to stay with Dexter for a week. I still have to go to school but I will be too busy with Dexter and all his toys to post anything until 25th September. So I will just tell you the last bit of the school trip story...the bit with the astronaut who is not Buzz Aldrin.


It is quiet, like everyone is holding their breath and they have stopped looking at the rocket and are now staring at Mrs Trundle. You could cook raw meat on Mrs Trundle's face. I mean she is RED and her mouth is a straight line and her good eye is bulging. She is nearly running across the hall, closely followed by Mr Chuckle and the cleaner. The cleaner is odd and she is now dressed in some sort of white boiler suit but I have no time to think abput this before Mrs Trundle is on me. Oh flip.
'YOU!!' she says.
I nod. 'Wilf,' I prompt.
'I KNOW YOUR NAME!'
Oops. Mr Chuckle is pointing upwards and the cleaner is grinning. I am glad she is happy.
'Perhaps it would be better if we moved...Mrs er, Trundle?'
She continues to explode. 'WHEN WE GET HOME YOU ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE...'
'Mrs Trundle...'
'SERIOUS TROUBLE...'
It is at that moment, the rocket comes back to earth, or rather to Mrs Trundle's head. The bottle bounces briefly on her hairdo and water trickles down her face.
The silence in the hall is horrible. I hear Mr Chuckle gulp. This is it, I think. I am going to die. Dexter knows it too. For once he sticks by me but the rest move away, waiting for the killer blow.
'Brilliant!!' says the cleaner, clapping her hands and laughing. She hands Mrs Trundle a hanky.
'You think so?' asks Mrs Trundle weakly as she daubs at her face.
'A clear winner!' she says.
I take a good look at the cleaner. She is someone I have seen before, on the TV, in the papers...and I realise - she is not wearing a boiler suit, it is a spacesuit!
'Well Helen, ' says Mr Chuckle, 'I think you're right. Would you like to do the honours?'
'Gather round, Wilf and his crew, come on!'
So Miranda, the Bug Club and Dexter and me shuffle together in front of Helen Sharman, the actual British astronaut and I can hardly take it in because I thought she was the cleaner. I blush.
'This prize goes to Wilf and his team, for great inventiveness under difficult conditions!'
She hands me a replica of the Apollo 10 command module. And then all of us grab an edge and hold it up for everyone to see.
'See you in space, Wilf,' says Helen and she winks at me.
And the hall erupts with noise.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Really laughed when I found out the cleaner was really an astronaut! nice touch!

hey, wilf - guess what - i'm going on a sleepover at the science museum on the 29th of september!

only eigtht to 11 year olds are allowed so we're pretending it's for my eight year old daughter whose birthday was way back in august. it's really for my husband who's turning 50 on 1 october! so we've borrowed six 8-11 year olds as a cover (adults can only come if they are accompanied by a minimum of five kids).

can't wait! do you suppose we could hijack a flight simulator while everyone is asleep? will let you know how it goes!

candy

Wilf said...

I AM GREEN.

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Have a great time with Dexter, Wilf and I'll miss you lots and wait eagerly for your return.

Your posts are always so enjoyable to read.

hugs

Saaleha said...

Yaaay! I am so happy for you Wilf. I'm glad you guys won. That was great. And of course Mrs Trundle's shower will have cooled the fire (grin)

Unknown said...

Ha! I knew she was no ordinary cleaner!
I tell you what Wilf, I worry about the Terrible Trundle - she's too much like the Dreaded Trundle in Mathilda! And she was wa-ay scary. I do hope your Ms Trundle isn't so bad.
I'm so glad Helen Sharman came to your rescue - lucky, lucky boy.
Have a wonderful time at Dexter's - hope you get to do lots of fun things inbetween going to school.

Candy - your plan is nothing short of cunning! Smart woman! I love it.

Anonymous said...

Ah-ha! Told you she wasn't a cleaner..hee hee.

Wilf said...

Thanks, Susan. Dexter has so mcuh stuff and he breaks most of it but alot of the bits are still interesting and useful.

Wilf said...

Thanks, Saleeha. I don't care what Mum says, winning is fantastic!

Wilf said...

I think Mrs Trundle is getting a bit better. On the bus back home she said I had done, 'quite well'. It's a bout time she saw how brilliant I am!

Wilf said...

Kyhlan, you were right!

Anonymous said...

I actually met Buzz Aldrin once - a couple of years ago. He's a big man and full of charisma!

Wilf said...

Dear dba
I would very much like to meet Buzz Aldrin and so I am quite jealous. Helen Sharman is still a minor legend and an all round great human being, so I can't be too disappointed plus she is British and this is also quite nice.