Autumn Camp 2009

Autumn Camp 2009

Hi Scouts,

During the weekend of 27/28/29th November 2009 we took 12 bold Scouts to Willesley Scout Camp site for an Autumn Camp.

We arrived in the dark on Friday night and pitched our tents, the garage and dining shelters plus the 1st aid and store tents, in the dull glow of the minibus headlamps!

After a few hours there was a lovely big campfire on the go and we cooked hot-dogs and made hot drinks for everyone before going to bed.

It was a cold and wet night...

On Saturday morning the embers of the fire were still burning and the campfire was soon going again, providing some warmth for the early risers.

A hot Brekkie and drinks was welcomed by all and it was soon time to explore the campsite whilst the Leaders tidied up the camp and made sure the tents would survive the weekend!

Later on some Go-Karting and climbing was organised for those who wanted to have a go, whilst others gathered and chopped wood in readiness for the bigger campfire in the evening.

Lunch was soup, bread and hot or cold drinks plus crisps, biscuits and fruit.

At approximately 3pm we all gathered in the Chapel and Invested the newest members of our Troop as follows;

Harry, James A, Pia, Jenny, Zak, Kelsey & Luke R

This was carried out in the traditional way by asking the Scouts to place their left hand over the Union & Group flags and making the Scout salute with their right hand whilst reciting the Promise.

I explained the meaning of the Promise they were about to make and asked the Scouts to provide some examples of the Scout Law, which they did most satisfactorily.

On Saturday evening we cooked spaghetti bolognese and then eventually settled down by the campfire to sing some songs, tell stories, have a laugh and roast one or two hula-hoops attached to twigs and branches!

We had a supper of chocolate biscuits, fruit and hot or cold drinks before finally retiring to bed.

It was a cold and very wet night...

On Sunday morning the embers of the big campfire were still burning despite the weather, which helped raise morale as the Scouts eventually rose from their tents to the sound of rain drops on canvas!

Breakfast consisted of lashings of bacon, sausage, beans, egg and bread plus hot drinks before starting the inaugural task of breaking Camp.

The ground was a mudbath and everything was starting to get covered in thick brown sludge, Leaders & Scouts included!

The Troop were given plenty of freetime in between taking the tents down, packing their kit away and loading up the mininbus and trailer, so that the whole of the day wasn't taken up doing Camp chores.

We eventually left Camp around 3pm and headed back to HQ to unload and put away some of the more relatively clean equipment into stores.

And so endeth the last Camp for this year.

OK, so the weather was cold & wet, the ground was boggy and we never got time to make Angel Delight.

But we survived!

And despite the poor conditions everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and make the most of the time outdoors.

It was a young and relatively inexperienced Troop who made the effort to come away so late in the year and characters were definitely strengthened.

They sometimes required a lot of coercing to get things done but they did it and for that they made me proud.

Just think Scouts, our next Camp should be in far better climes so everything from now on will be a doddle!

Well done to;

Tom, Ryan, Rahul, Jenny, Kelsey, Luke R, Pia, James A, Lauren, Harry, Jacob B & Zak

for taking part and to all the parents who helped us load and unload the minibus & trailer, hung up the tents to dry and washed up.

All the best,

The Scout Leaders