AACC U14 France 2026 - Day 1
Glasgow 
Bordeaux Chez Morand
And we’re off! 
The alarms went off at an hour that frankly shouldn’t exist, as the squad assembled for their 7:30am flight from Glasgow to Bordeaux.
Some bleary eyes, plenty of excitement and, remarkably, everyone made it onto the plane. Day 1 victory achieved before breakfast. 
BONJOUR FRANCE!
They touched down in Bordeaux around 11am, loaded up and headed off on the short 90-minute journey to Chez Morand, home for the week.
On arrival it was straight into the serious business of housekeeping and room allocation — otherwise known as “Who am I sharing with?”, “Which bed is mine?” and “Does the Wi-Fi reach our room?”
A light French-style lunch followed with breads, spreads, cheeses, hams and fruit before the boys wasted absolutely no time finding the pool. 
A short thunderstorm changed the afternoon plans slightly, so we brought forward the first expedition into Ribérac for the all-important supermarket run.
Everyone picked up a few snacks…
Well… almost everyone. More on that shortly. 
The boys also managed to locate the Golden Arches remarkably quickly. It’s reassuring to know that despite being in rural France, a group of teenage cricketers apparently possesses an in-built McDonald’s radar. 
Back at the house we had some team-bonding games before dinner:
Pizza
Salad
Lyall’s homemade garlic bread
And then, naturally, back into the pool for the final hour…
To relax?
Of course not.
TO PLAY CRICKET. IN THE SWIMMING POOL. 
Everyone is settling in brilliantly and the group has had a cracking first day.
Tonight, the juniors are engrossed in the Chelsea game, safely under the watchful supervision of The Navman, while the adults have finally escaped outside and are currently basking in the moonlight beside the pool…
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Nobody asking where their charger is.
Bliss. 
But no AACC Tour Diary would be complete without…
TODAY’S TOUR FUNNIES
GUY vs LECLERC SELF-CHECKOUT
Guy successfully purchases his snacks and leaves the checkout area.
Then spots something else.
“Oooo… I fancy this too.”
So Guy casually walks BACK INTO THE SHOP… carrying the entire bag of shopping he has already purchased.
He grabs a few more bits, returns to the self-checkout and scans the new items.
Perfectly normal.
Except he is now attempting to leave with a bag containing loads of items that — according to this particular transaction — HE HASN’T SCANNED.
Cue alarms.
Cue utter confusion.
Cue one increasingly panicked French shop assistant speaking no English.
Cue Guy speaking absolutely no French.
Neither side has the slightest clue what the other is saying.
International incident imminent. 
Thankfully, a lovely English-speaking couple stepped in, translated the situation and prevented Guy spending the opening night of the tour explaining himself to French supermarket security.
Guy 1 – Leclerc 0.
CHARLIE’S eSIM MASTERCLASS
Charlie successfully installs his Airalo eSIM.
Nothing unusual there.
A little later he proudly informs the admin team that it aint working.
Baz
“Charlie, looking at your mobile settings, I can’t see your eSIM…”
Charlie:
“Oh… was I not meant to delete it? The eSIM. I thought it was just on the app.”
Erm Charlie NO SIM = NO DATA.
“Oh… oops.”
New SIM sorted.
Charlie is officially back online.
France can relax again.
AND THEN THERE’S ARTHUR…
Everyone gets let loose in a French supermarket to buy snacks.
The other lads emerge with the predictable teenage essentials.
Crisps.
Sweets.
Biscuits.
Drinks.
Arthur?
Arthur emerges carrying…
Mince
Duck
Shallots
Onions
Spices
“Arthur… why have you bought all that?”
“Erm… just in case I don’t like the meals.”
Right.
“Arthur, do you like pizza?”
“Yeah.”
“Pasta?”
“Yeah.”
“Burgers?”
“Yeah.”
“BBQ?”
“Yeah.”
……
Apparently everyone else has come on a junior cricket tour.
Arthur has come on MasterChef France.
And that brings Day 1 to a close.
Tomorrow the cricket begins… 
Joint 
training • Hundred Match • and more foe pars for sure!
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