142nd Troop Camp 2006 - Cumbria
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Friday morning started late as the Scouts recovered from their late night hike, so it was after 9am before Puffin’ Billy was back in action.
In case your new to these
reports, Puffin’ Billy is our trusted hot water system. It started life as a
beer keg, was turned on its side, placed over a fire and now has a funnel on top
into which cold water is poured. This pushes hot water out of a spout, which is
fitted into what used to be the top of the keg. The cold water is then almost
instantly heated and is ready for the next person. The now ‘Deluxe’ stand
includes brackets that hold the camp oven, griddle, or grid. The picture below
shows it in action.
After a slow start it was time for Camp Olympics, which this year included Egg throwing, Fell Chase, Raft Race and Slide Races.
The Egg throwing is quite
simple. Find a partner and throw it to each other without is cracking. Whoever
is the furthest apart without being covered in egg wins? We didn’t measure the
final gap but Robbie and Tom were last to have egg on their face.
The Fell Chase involved
Paul setting a trail of flour from the campsite along a 2-mile course (or there
about) over the Fell and back to the site. This year it ended with a swim across
the Tarn, which in the heat was more than welcome. Paul was given about 3 or 4
minutes start, however Rory, who eventually won the race, nearly managed to
catch him just over half way around.
Whilst at the Tarn it was
a suitable time to race the rafts. Because the Tarn was full of weed etc it was
not practical to have a head to head race. Instead it was a time trial where
each patrol had to ‘sail’ their rafts across the tarn to a point on the other
side. The only rule was that all members of the patrol had to be in contact with
the raft at all times.
Finally the slide races.
As part of the site is very steep we place a long sheet of plastic on the grass
and with a bit of water and washing up liquid we have a long and fast slide. For
the camp Olympics we had the longest slide, the most slides each patrol can make
in 1 minute, and the most successful climbs UP the slide in 1 minute.
At the end of the sports only 1 point separated the two patrols but in the end the Wolves were victorious and took the honours.
After lunch, and changing into some dry clothes, the Scouts took down their tents and built shelters using the skills they had learnt during the week. This time however they would be sleeping in them for the last night.
The day was finished with
a final campfire, with a few sketches, songs and jokes. And of course a reading
from Scouting for Boys before the Bog Wash and Cake.
This year, not to be
outdone by the Scouts, the leaders also took down their tents and slept beside
the remains of the campfire. Before you say something like how brave, it was
very warm and the marquee was conveniently close had it rained!
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