Nord 2017 . Day 3

Day three and the first full day of activities.

After a decadently late camp breakfast (9am is nearly lunch time) we finished off our campsite while the Patrol Leaders had their briefing. They'll be very much in charge of their teams this week as they work on different activities around the site. We've got 6 patrol leaders in 3 patrols so there's a bit of cooperative management going on.

With the campsite all finished and tidy, lunch was followed by the afternoon's activities.

Our 3 patrols were doing model boat building, stone age axes, and popcorn making.

It looks as if the teamwork needs some refining.

The boat builders managed to make a log. The axe makers produced a stick while the the popcorn chefs produced caramelized charcoal.

All came back to the site for a lovely meal of pan fried pork chops before heading out to the main square to mingle and meet other Scouts.

Bed time has been set at 2300 for most of the Scouts and midnight for those over 13. Everyone managed to get in with seconds to spare on the curfew!

Tomorrow's activity is the overnight hike. I hate to think what time they'll sleep!

Scarefest 2016: Closing thoughts

Well, that's another excellent Scarefest done. Thanks to the Scarefest UK team at Gilwell for a fantastic event.

Despite being given the option to take advantage of the extra hour in bed with the clocks going back, most of the Scouts were up early packing their bags before breakfast.

Once it became obvious that the mist really was mist, not just excess smoke from last night's fireworks, we decided to delay taking the tents down in the hope that the mist would clear and the tents would dry out a bit.

This gave the Scouts another 2 hours to enjoy some more activities. It also gave the few who went to bed early last night to write up their thoughts on the weekend.

Thomas: I enjoyed all the mazes. All of them were very scary. The favourite maze was the Escape. All of them were very cool. If we go next year, I would really want to go.

Joseph: All the mazes are really good. The scariest of them all for me was the Escape. Someone got so scared he had to leave halfway through.

Dylan: I enjoyed the fireworks, they were outstanding! At the end there was an explosion and you could feel the heat hit your face.

Sion: I enjoyed the fireworks and the scary mazes. My favourite maze was the Factory. I want to go next year.

Having given up on getting tents dry, we packed up and headed home. A nice easy run around the M25 and M4 took a full 90 minutes less than the trip up on Friday.

Then it was all hands on deck to empty the buses and hang the damp tents out to dry.

We're not sure what the cubs had planned for their next meeting but it looks as if they'll be learning how to fold tents now instead ;-)

A fantastic end to our camping season. Loads of fun and a great first camp for the guys who joined us this term.

Got to check the dates for next year to make sure they fit the holidays but we'll definitely be back if we can.

We'll have plenty of activities going on over the winter, but this camping blog is going into hibernation for the winter.

Scarefest 2016

Well it's the end of the day (actually the start of the next one) and, although there are a few more activities tomorrow, it's pretty much the end of the camp.

Saturday got off to what is by camp standards a decadently late start. It was 8:30 before everyone was up and heading for breakfast.

The on site catering was excellent as usual and stoked us all up for a day of activities.

The day's activities, before and after lunch, included Crate Stacking, Caving,  Grass Sledging, Rodeo Bull Riding, Laser Tag, Archery, Caving, Total Wipeout and Fairground Rides. Everyone had their favourite and some Scouts managed to get 10 or more rides on the Cage.

Before dinner, we met back at the campsite to change into our Halloween costumes for a group photo then, with darkness falling, the camp really came to life.

Most of the activities were still running with the added excitement of the dark on some and spooky lighting on others. There were also a range of scary mazes now open for Scouts to really get into the spirit of things.

At the end was the spectacular finale, an amazing display of Fireworks, music and laser lights before heading back to our campsite for bed.

It's been a long, but very enjoyable day but, before they went off to their tents, the Scouts had time to write down their thoughts on the day.

Isaac: I enjoyed the three mazes and all of the activities.

John: I enjoyed the firework display that lasted 15 minutes and the cage.

James: I enjoyed the fireworks and all the mazes because the fireworks were well timed and the mazes adrenaline flowing. I also liked the radio. Watch our broadcast at scoutradio.org.uk/scarefest

Matthew: I liked the cage

Aiden: I enjoyed the the fireworks display as it was not only amazing but also in time to the music.

Dan: I enjoyed the firework display and all three mazes. The leaders were great for making this happen.

Evie: I enjoyed the fireworks and the laser tag

Lewis: I enjoyed the firework display and the mazes.

Ellie: I enjoyed skipping through the creepy mazes.  I hated all the stupid boys.

A few had snuck off to bed without leaving their feedback but we'll get them tomorrow and include it in the final camp blog.

Back on the road

It's Halloween and it's half term. That must mean it's time for Scarefest at Gilwell Park.

After loading the buses (loaned by Ysgol Y Deri again. Thanks guys) up, we hit the road. The plan was to get to Gilwell before the M25 got silly. It almost worked. Delays around Bristol and Swindon set us back quite a bit so we did get caught in the beginning of the rush hour build up on the M25.

Now it became a race. Could we get the tents up before it got dark?

Just about. The light was just running out as the last peg went in.

Dinner was an excellent Bolognese pre-prepared by chef Martin, then off to the evening activities.

Dodgems, Fire Circus, Scout Radio, cinema and the traditional Scout pastime - buying popcorn and donuts.

There's something like 600 Scouts on site so there's not much chance of it going quiet soon.

Hopefully they won't be too tired for a full day of activities tomorrow.

Come to Tolmers day six

Well here we are on the eve of the last day of activities.
All rested from yesterday's hike, our Scouts were up remarkably early and done with breakfast and washing up quickly enough to get a good place in the activities queue.
Today was a water day with more than half of our Scouts spending some or all of the day on a craft of some kind.
There wasn't enough wind for sailing, so those that had planned to do that learnt to do Stand Up Paddleboarding (Supping) instead. After lunch, there was more water fun with 9 Scouts taking on the raft building challenge while others canoed on the lake. Attempt one at the raft building was not a huge success, sinking and depositing it's crew into the lake fairly quickly. Having learned from the mistakes, the MKII raft was much more robust and outlasted all the others on the water.
Other activities today included the Bungee Run, Giant slide and Shooting. There was a visit from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue who, of course, got pegged. The #followthedragon tag is gradually taking over the world!
After dinner it was off to flagdown and a surprise for two of our Scouts who celebrate their birthday on Saturday. As they have to leave tomorrow to go on a family holiday, they found themselves on stage with 800 Scouts and Guides singing happy birthday. They also got to join in with the service crew leading the camp in the daily rendition of Round the Old Camp Fire.
Camp fire was the final activity of the day and, again, some of our Scouts got to go centre stage and help with the action.
Tomorrow brings a bitter-sweet touch - we're all looking forward very much to the activities and the evening disco but we're very aware that it's the last day and it'll soon be time to go back to the real world.

CTT2016 Day Five

Well, we're now over half way through and, most importantly, everyone is still smiling.
Today was incident hike day - the famous Tolmers Incident Hike. 13k (8 miles) in some amazing Hertfordshire countryside.  It was hard to believe at times just how quiet it can be when you're this close to so many big towns and cities. Out of 90 teams taking part, we had 6 teams out walking; 5 Scout teams competing and a team of leaders walking at the back as sweepers, supporting the excellent CTT service crew. Our 5 teams were mixed again with Scouts from the two troops working together to navigate the hike and complete 4 teamwork challenges. The winners have been announced but not the full results so we know we didn't win but we don't yet know how close we were.
Just to prove how posh Cowbridge is, our leaders even managed to procure a cream tea mid hike!  Not many pictures today as the Scouts were spread out walking at a very different time and pace to the publicity crew. One special mention has to go to Team 54 from 2nd/4th Leighton Buzzard Guides. Our leaders spent some time with them as they fell behind and were caught up by the sweeper team. Normally, the back markers are the ones that moan and whine, making the sweeper task something of a chore, but these girls were great. They had one member who could only walk so fast so just accepted that they were going to be last in and concentrated on enjoying themselves, smiling, laughing and singing their way around. A fantastic positive attitude that their leaders and parents can be properly proud of.
Back from the hike, we realised that there had been a bit of a comms problem with the food shopping so the leaders had to be a bit creative with the contents of the food box in a "ready steady cook" style.
The resulting improvised concoction proved so popular that we're trying to cone up with a name so we can add it to future menus.
Of course, after the local Air Ambulance rep was so supportive of our pegging campaign, it would have been rude not to support them so a crew of Leaders took part in the charity bingo night in the Leaders only club, Joy's Joynt.
Just two more days of activities left and discussions are already underway about where to camp next year. Keep reading for news on that as it develops.

Ctt2016 Day four

Well, here we are at the end of day four. Another successful day in the combined 1st Cowbridge / 1st Melbourne calendar. Our Scouts, some whom met for the first time at the weekend, are working really well as mixed patrols. Tasks and challenges are becoming more or less automatic as the Scouts get into a routine. Another batch of #followthedragon pegs was released at flagbreak and the message continues to spread. After flagbreak, our Scouts went off to another day of activities and adventures. The leaders took advantage of the local hospitality and were served with proper cream teas at Joy's Joynt.
Never willing to pass up an opportunity, we've accosted most of the visiting VIP's with #followthedragon pegs. We've managed to peg, and photograph most of Hertfordshire Scouts senior management along with the Mayor and Mayoress, Hertfordshire police and the rep from Hertfordshire Air Ambulance (Joy's charity for this year and beneficiary of all our tea drinking donations) - see our Twitter feed for pics @1stCowbridge or search #followthedragon. The football series continues with Wales currently leading two matches to nil.
Flagdown was particularly poignant this evening as we all paused to pay respects.
to a young British Scout who passed away on camp in Finland. Wherever you're reading this, we ask you to spare a thought for Kent Scouts as they deal with this tragedy.
We're all hoping for a good night's sleep and some equally good weather for  tomorrow's world famous Tolmers Incident Hike then two more days of great activities.
#followthedragon

CTT2016 Day Two

Well, it's the end of day two and we're still a site of happy campers. An early 7am wake up call didn't dampen spirits, nor did having to cook breakfast. There was some dismay among the Scouts when they realised that the washing up fairy hasn't been able to keep up with our travels. Dishes left on the table don't dissappear and magically reappear clean ready for the next meal!
Despite this, we managed to be near the front of the queue for flagbreak and activities sign up. With over 40 activities to choose from, there's no danger of being bored. Today, our Scouts have done canoeing, caving, climbing, abseiling, archery, pedal karting, journalism, slippery slope challenge, gyroscopes (don't ask, the video that will be on the group website after camp will make you sick enough), and backwoods cooking. Some of the leaders volunteered to help out with the sailing too, an interesting morning as I've not sailed a small dingy in over 20 years. I did manage not to get too wet though and, more importantly, didn't drown any Scouts.
If you’re reading this back home in South Wales,  you'll be glad to know that our weather is considerably nicer than yours. It's been another hot day with the overnight temperature expected to drop to just 14 degrees!
If you're reading this on site at Tolmers, come and say hello at site 17. Keep an eye out for us around the site and give us a shoutout using the hashtag #followthedragon, or tweet @1stCowbridge.