With the rain during the preceding week the ground was pretty slushy under foot. We could tell it was going to be a weekend for welly boots!.
Luckily the weather held so that come Thursday evening when the car, van and trailer loads of equipment arrived on site we could set up in the dry. Thanks to all those parent who came to help carry gear from the hut to the site.
The marquee and dining shelter were the first up whilst another team started to dig the waste pits etc. Come 2130 it was getting too dark to do much even with the generator running to provide light so everyone went home leaving Donna and Ian to have a quiet night on site.
Friday morning saw the rain start to come down, being heavy one minute and drizzly the next. Workers arrived during the day to continue setting up only to find that Donna and Ian had started early and had already sorted the kitchen area and the marquee. The first order of the day was to set up the toilet tents and continue to dig out the waste pits.
The ground started getting wetter and wetter under foot.
Some of the cub and scout tents were erected during lulls in the rain. Some of the scouts were bringing their own tents and had to pitch them when they arrived.
When the armada of cars carrying the lads arrived they were stopped from entering the field to prevent them getting bogged down. We didn’t fancy having the push anyone out of the mud! The lane by the field was jammed with cars for a while but once unloaded peace settled again.
Additional tents were erected and the rules of the camp explained to all. A quick tour of the camp followed and tents allocated.
There were four groups A to D for each of scouts and cubs. The respective cub and scout groups would work together for gaining points and work parties during the camp.
Wood gathering parties were sent out to build the log pile. The camp had begun. In true camp style it was time to eat and a hearty supper was had with everyone squeezing into the marquee to keep dry. The ground under foot however was slowly turning into a swamp.
To wear everyone out and ensure a good first night sleep the lads were taken on a three or five mile hike around the surrounding footpaths. Wellies were a must with several people loosing them as they got stuck in the deep mud. Donna somehow managed to loose both wellies at once but kept her feet dry!! This proves that leaders have the power to walk on water (or mud in this case). The walk didn’t go exactly to plan, especially when we found that some of the maps had different paths marked on them, but we all got back safely. Unfortunately we all arrived back together and the team back at camp who were putting the finishing touches to the camp were only prepared with hot chocolate for the cubs. While the cubs were sorted with drinks and put to bed, Skip organised a quiz with the scouts as more hot chocolate was prepared. Finally the scouts went to bed and the leaders could relax a little. A small leak in one of the tents was covered with a spare groundsheet and all was well. After a hard couple of days graft it wasn’t long before the leaders too turned in.
Saturday started early with the birds dawn chorus at 0500. The cubs awoke shortly thereafter at 0510 and were up and dressed by 0520 making enough noise for twice their number. Breakfast wasn’t until 0730 and so Donna was not amused. After explaining that they should go back to their tents and settle down for another hour or so we made the most it and got our heads down again. The sun started to shine.
For breakfast the scouts were to cook their own over an open fire whilst the rest of use made do with using gas stoves. The work details cleared away whilst the rest aired bedding and dried out anything that got wet.
At flag break we were all presented with t-shirts with the camp logo on. Perhaps white wasn't the best colour choice with all the mud around but they did look good for a few minutes. The scouts soon had them covered in mud and some even painted their names in mud on the backs (is that how they design football strips?).
Everyone then split into their respective groups for the activities. The activities were arranged such that each group had a go at each activity for their section (see copy of programme for details).
The activities for scouts involved :
Those for the cubs involved:
With frequent breaks for drinks and cake (by the end of the camp we would have eaten enough cake to get withdrawl symptoms when it was all over), lunch and supper everyone was kept busy.
Harvey had to leave the camp for the night to attend another function but his place was taken by Ian Porter of the 73rd who came out to lend a hand. Many thanks Ian.
A wide game of burst the balloon was played after supper. Here it was noted that if you hide in the toilet until near the end you can sneak down the side of the field and not get caught (or will you). The day drew to a close with hot chocolate and singing round the camp fire.
The next day the cubs had either noted the time or were too tired to wake early and so we arose at a sensible time to begin again. More activities and cake were had.
The beavers arrived out at the camp after lunch to join in. That night we had Scouts Own together with investitures of a new scout, a cub moving up to scouts and two helpers. Awards were also presented to Donna for all the work in arranging the camp, Dave for the years of good service he has done for the group and Louise for helping with the Beavers and such.
After supper another camp fire was enjoyed with the Beavers and parents present. This time some sketches were done in addition to the singing. Donna was in good swing teaching us all about how to move in time to fast food outlets (If you want to know the words ask Donna) and many other action songs.
After the Beavers and parents had gone home we had another wide game before hot chocolate and bed.
Monday morning was mainly spent in clearing and cleaning the camp and equipment while those not working played football.
The points were all totaled and awards presented. The winners of the awards were Group D.
The exodus taking the equipment back to the hut continued throughout the afternoon with some leaders still sorting out the hut into the late evening. Thanks to all the leaders for the hard work they put in making it a great camp.