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Summer Camp 2004 was held at one of our favourite sites -
Cranham in Gloucestershire.
We have got loads of pictures from the week - you can click
on the thumbnails to get a bigger version of the picture.
SATURDAY
Thank you to everybody who came to the hall early to
help load up the van. As a result of all the help we were
able to send it on its way early which meant that there was
more time to get the kit sorted out before the Cubs arrived.
We divided the Cubs into two teams - Freebooters and
Swashbucklers. They were then put into tents. The
Freebooters had tents called Happy Delivery and Royal
Fortune while the Swashbucklers were in Queen Anne's Revenge
and the Satisfaction. All of these names fit in with our
theme of pirates. Baloo did some research and produced
sheets for each tent
explaining the background behind the name.
Shere Khan was only able to stay for Saturday night so we
made the most of her at our first camp fire and got her to
lead the Crazy Moose
song.
Unfortunately for them, the residents of "Royal Fortune"
were rather reluctant to go to sleep on the first night.
SUNDAY
Oh dear, not content with being last to get to sleep, the
residents of "Royal Fortune" decided to wake the leaders at
5am. Not a good move.
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Bad boys kit
We normally save full kit inspection until the middle of the week but the bad boys in "Royal Fortune" had some time to spare as they had woken up so early. |
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Sorted
Matthew completed laying out his kit |
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Breakfast time
The Galley kept us provided with our meals during the week |
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Scrub the decks
The Cubs always have to do their own washing up at camp |
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Flag break
Baloo started the camp with the first flag break of the week |
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The tea tent
This was a popular port of call as it provided hot drinks for the leaders as well as a constant supply of squash and water for the cubs |
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The squeaky bilge rat
The trouble with pirate ships is that they can attract rats. Our tea tent was no exception |
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Percy - the parrot of perfection
What sort of pirates would we be without a parrot? The parrot of perfection is a very choosy bird and only chose to perch on the best tents |
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French cricket
At first it seemed that the Cubs didn't know how to play it but by the end of the week there was barely a spare moment without somebody asking for the bat and ball. |
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Pirate flags
While the Cubs were busily making pirate flags Baloo read them a pirate story |
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Snooze
After just one night away one of the pirates found his eyes closing during Baloo's pirate tale |
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Dark nights
Once the Cubs had been put to bed the leaders retired to the Mess Tent |
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MONDAY
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A wet start
Monday morning started with a bang with a thunderstorm at about 1am and it was still wet when we got up |
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Take shelter
Baloo shelters in the tea tent |
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Cloudy Cranham
Although cloudy it is still a nice view across the toilet block and into the village |
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Hot and steamy
The sides of the kitchen had to be put up to keep the rain out. Not sure what is going on in there but it seems pretty steamy |
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Inspection
We started each day with tent inspection |
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Time to explore'
Despite the weather we thought it would be a good idea to explore the woods that surround the site. The Cubs set off up the hill |
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Navigation
We gave Nathaniel the challenge of navigating our way through the woodland paths |
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Onto the main track
Navigating through the woods isn't easy without a detailed map but at least the main paths are marked |
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Group photo'
The walk eventually brought us back to the campsite |
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Lesley inspects the mess tent
The Mess Tent had become just that after breakfast so the Cubs had to clear it up - and get it approved by Lesley |
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Blindfolded
Hathi and Mang had prepared a fiendish string trail in the woods. Before they could attempt it the Cubs had to be blindfolded |
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Freebooters on the trail
The leader of the group wasn't blindfolded and had to guide the others along the trail while preventing any water being spilt |
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Journey's end'
Swashbucklers complete the trail. |
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Tracking
While one group were doing the string trail the others were following tracking signs. Here we see the Freebooters at the "Gone Home" sign marking the end of the trail |
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Spare time
After the trails there was a bit of free time so out came the bat and ball again |
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Baloo collects the rings
We went for a game of Pirates and the Navy in the woods. Looks as if the pirates have won again |
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Be prepared
Allan had brought an umbrella to camp which proved very useful for keeping water containers dry. Why? |
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Camp fire's burning
A bit of rain couldn't stop us having our camp fire |
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Lets get funky now...
The Cubs sing along |
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Wash kit
The Cubs line up with their wash kits ready for a trip down to the toilets to clean their teeth before bed |
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TUESDAY
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Kaa's quiz results
Kaa did a quiz on Monday evening and gave out the answers on Tuesday morning after breakfast |
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Campers badge
The Freebooters were the first group to learn how to pitch and strike a tent |
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New arrivals
We needed a new tent as Jack and Jacob had arrived and needed somewhere to sleep |
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Over to you
Then it was time for the Cubs to have a go |
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On the tree trail
Meanwhile the Swashbucklers were in the woods looking for different trees that they could identify |
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Target practice
We had to postpone archery on Monday as the range was flooded. Instead, we slotted it in on Tuesday afternoon. Daniel looks like a real pirate with his eyepatch and parrot . |
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It is all about technique
The finer points of archery are explained to Jack before he is let loose with any arrows |
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Death in the tea tent
We had a bit of a problem with wasps but it appeared that the locals were doing their bit to help us |
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Akela's wasp trap
Akela made one of his wasp traps for the mess tent |
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A proper camp fire
In the evening we were able to have a proper outdoor camp fire again |
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Big flames
Kaa made sure that there was plenty of wood on the fire |
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Sing along
On your feet, this one has actions |
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WEDNESDAY
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Dewy grass
After a clear night there was a heavy dew on Wednesday morning - now you can see why wellies are on the kit list |
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The Kitchen Team
On Wednesday our young leaders decided to give the SMICCTSO team the morning off |
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Full kit inspection
After breakfast it was full kit inspection for everybody - a chance to find those lost clothes that hadn't been seen since Saturday night |
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The leaders tents
Meanwhile, the leaders tents were drying nicely in the sun. Kaa's radio mast made an ideal place to fly our flag - a sort of pirate radio station |
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Good kit
Some of the tents did very well laying out their kit for inspection |
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Full marks
In fact we couldn't fault Jack's kit which had been layed out exactly as on the sheet |
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Challenging
Not all the tents managed to achieve this high standard |
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On the challenge course
We went to The Grove to try out the challenge course. First obstacle was the pipe |
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Stepping stones
Then it was on to the stepping stones - some of which were quite slippery after the rain |
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Across the stream'
Then it was across the stream by using the rope bridge |
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Wobbly bridge
To get back across the stream you had to use the wobbly bridge |
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See-saw
Then it was back across the stream on the see-saw bridge |
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Up the hill
To get up the hill you had to go through the tube. Although there are ridges to grip on it got increasingly slippery and muddy |
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Up the wall
Finally you had to climb up the wall. The fastest pirate on the course was James Rusby with a time of 1 minute and 45 seconds |
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Into the dagger factory
In the afternoon the Cubs made daggers as part of their pirate costume. Baloo and Kaa are busily preparing the card |
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Under production
The Cubs busily make their daggers |
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On show
The full collection of daggers was kept by the leaders until the Banquet on Thursday |
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Surgery
Poor Luke hurt his leg and came to Baloo for assistance. Lucky he had his dagger as it appeared amputation was necessary |
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Big boys story
At dinner time Rhys found Baloo's pirate story and read it to the other young leaders |
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THURSDAY
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Inspection Winner
What difference a day makes. Jack wins tent inspection and Percy arrives at his tent |
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Pirate treasure
The Cubs were told the story that the rains had uncovered pirate treasure in the hills. We'd left some gold coins for them to find |
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Freebooters booty
The Freebooters show the pile of gold that they managed to collect |
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Swashbucklers stash
The Swashbucklers also managed to collect a good pile of gold |
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Scary pirates
After making their eye patches, hats and daggers the Freebooters are a scary bunch |
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Scary Swashbucklers
The Swashbucklers were also kitted out with their pirate gear |
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The Banquet'
The Freebooters start to build their fire |
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Get cooking'
The Freebooters fire is now burning nicely |
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Well alight
Hmm, looks as if the food might be rather well done |
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Judging the Freebooters'
The judges arrive and try their watermelon starter. The Freebooters had made a model treasure island as a table decoration |
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Tucking in'
Once the judges had left it was time for the Freebooters to eat the meal they had made |
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On the air'
Meanwhile up the field Kaa and Rikki were on the radio |
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Swashbucklers banquet'
The Swashbucklers start to build their fire |
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All coming together'
With the fire lit and table laid the Swashbucklers have time to pose for the camera |
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Fishy moment'
The Swashbuckler's choice of mackerel seemed like a good idea until Rhys showed them the whole fish that needed to be gutted |
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Working on the menu'
The Swashbucklers put the finer touches to the design for their menu |
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Judges arrive'
The judges arrive at the table. Allan was very impressed with the menu |
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Let me entertain you'
The entertainment arrived as the team sung "What shall we do with the drunken sailor" |
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Down came the rain'
Oh dear, the rain arrived before the judges could have their pudding |
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Wet wet wet'
It wasn't just a little bit of rain. The Cubs take shelter as a torrential thunderstorm hit the site |
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Nice weather for...'
Not everybody took shelter. As the rain continues to batter the site, Tom and Rhys played on the field |
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Rainbow'
Baloo managed to capture a rainbow in the site. The end seems to be heading for the woods where those gold coins were found. Maybe there are some more in there. |
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FRIDAY
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Bad hair day
There was a time when you couldn't get Cubs into the washroom. Now you have to make sure they have mirrors so that they can do their hair! |
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Eating alfresco at The Larches'
After the rain on Thursday evening the Mess Tent was rather muddy so we decided to have breakfast outside instead |
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Making pirate ships
Martin popped along to show the Cubs how to make pirate ships. Each Cub had to make one and then decorate it |
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Lesley chooses the best boat
When it came to choosing the best boat there was no competition - Lesley picked Akela's boat "The Navigation". However, when she found out it was his he was disqualified and Thomas won with his boat "The Darkness" |
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Shipwreck!
Martin launched The Navigation into the stream where it promptly sank |
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Freebooters launch'
The first race was for the Freebooters who all lined up to launch their boats |
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Swashbucklers launch
Then it was the turn of the Swashbucklers |
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Sailing nicely
Despite the best efforts of Nathaniel's water pistol the Swashbucklers boats are sailing nicely |
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Walking the plank
To get from one side of the stream to the other the Cubs have to walk the plank |
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Up to the waterfall
The first of the pirate ships approaches the waterfall |
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Last two
Thomas and Harry had the two slowest boats and so got to race against each other |
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The winner
Matthew's boat was the fastest |
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Drying out
After their races the boats dry out on a rock |
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Camper's badge'
After lunch it was the Swashbucklers chance to pitch a tent |
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Taking it easy'
After showing the Cubs how to do it the instructors relax |
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Hard at work'
The tent starts to get into shape |
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Village quiz'
After a week looking at the village across the valley we did the village quiz |
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Stained glass
There was some lovely stained glass in Cranham Church |
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In the churchyard
There were a number of clues to be answered in the churchyard |
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