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In 2006 our Summer Camp took place from Saturday
12 to
Saturday 19 August at
Blackland Farm camp site near East Grinstead in Sussex.
After last years wash-out we were hoping for better weather.
To get us into a warm and sunny mood we decided on a
Commonwealth Games theme and allocated a country to each of
our campers. Our two teams were Oceania and Caribbean.
Saturday
Things did not
look too promising when we arrived at the site - it was
raining, the van with the gear had only just arrived and we
found that we were sharing our site with a wasps nest.
However, thanks to some hard work the camp was soon set up.
Thanks to Mark Sayers, Dave Butler, Jason and Tom for
helping us out.
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Exploring the Commonwealth
Each Cub had been allocated a country to research. During theweek we heard about them all |
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Flying the flag
Sam told us all about Barbados |
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Saturday dinner
A little later than advertised but the fish fingers and spaghetti went down very nicely |
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It's dark already
Well it was 9pm but Merlin and Dave worked their way through the mountain of washing up |
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Didn't I tick the 'no publicity' box?'
Akela comes over all shy as he tries to avoid Baloo's camera |
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Steaming
Marian says that the drinking chocolate is ready |
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Indoor camp fire
Meanwhile Mang and Chil start the week as we mean to go on with campfire songs every night |
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Sunday
Saturday night
proved to be wet and windy and we woke up to a grey and damp
Sunday. We'd invited the Beavers and their parents to visit
camp to see what we got up to and also to have a trip on the
Bluebell Steam Railway that runs very close to the site.
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Fast asleep
At 6.30am there was nothing stirring in the Cub tents - not even this one that had blown open in the night |
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Washing up
After breakfast it was back to the normal practice of the Cubs doing the washing up. Unfortunately it was too wet to do it outside so we had to use the kitchen |
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Cubs Own'
Being a Sunday we handed over to Shere Khan and friends for a short Cubs Own - our own sort of church service |
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More countries'
Alex told us all about Papua New Guinea |
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It's just there
Jonathan explained where to find his Commonwealth Country - Dominica |
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Handball
Despite the rain Dave set us up a handball pitch - something the Cubs would use for the rest of the week |
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3-way cricket
Meanwhile Chil was running a game of 3-way cricket |
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On the Bluebell Railway
The Beavers joined us for lunch but rain meant that the Cubs couldn't hike to Kingscote station so had to go in the minibus. Baloo's rain dance had paid off |
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On the Bluebell Railway
Daniel, Sam and Oliver enjoy the view as the train heads towards Sharpthorne tunnel |
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Horsted Keynes
At Horsted Keynes we had to wait while the train came the other way. We were entertained by watching Fenchurch doing driver training trips in the other platform |
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Our engine
This was the locomotive that pulled our train |
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At Sheffield Park
The loco runs round the train ready to take us back to Kingscote |
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Welcome break
While the loco changes ends some of the leaders take a break in the sun |
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Spend, spend, spend
The Cubs prefer to spend time and money in the gift shop. In fact they bought so much that some almost missed the train home |
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Homeward bound
On the return journey the Bluebell Railway reserved us a carriage so we didn't have to mingle with the public and could spread out a bit |
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More relaxed amongst the adults
Our visiting adults sat in the open plan carriage |
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Banking
Baloo sees how much money is left in the camp bank after the Cubs spending spree at Sheffield Park |
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Beaver's camp fire
Because the Beavers had to leave at 6pm we put on a special early evening camp fire |
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Let me see your funky chicken
Nice to see that the Beavers have got the hang of this song |
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Lets get funky now
Another action song |
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Bit black over Will's mothers
After the Beavers went home the weather took a turn for the worse |
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Pouring down
Baloo went to investigate a flapping tent door as the rain poured down. Luckily the Cubs were in the mess tent in the dry |
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Campfire's burning..?
Mang and Chil keep the fire alight. We heard afterwards that one of the Beaver parents didn't get home until 2am owing to the roads being flooded in the Woking area |
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Sunday dinner
Marian's shepherd's pie soon warmed things up |
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Another camp fire
Then it was time for the proper camp fire |
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Leading lights
The entrance to our site was marked by our solar lights which showed the gap between Cub and Leader tents |
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Burning bright
The camp fire was going nicely again |
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All lit up
The kitchen tent was one of the few lights on the field |
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Fire light
Mang and Chil check the words of the next song while Alex gives moral support |
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Sing along
Jack lends a hand |
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Looking brighter
Looks as if we might have seen the end of the storms |
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Refreshments
Marian arrives with the drinking chocolate and cake |
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Monday
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Breakfast al fresco
Things had got a bit damp underfoot in the mess tent so we moved outside for breakfast taking advantage of a bit of dry weather |
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Merlin and her team
It was a lot easier doing the washing up outside |
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Tent inspection
The Cubs lined up in front of their tents waiting to be inspected by Mang and Chil |
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Baloo leads the way
The Cubs headed off across the field towards the activity centre |
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Harnesses and helmets on
Before anybody could even think about climbing they had to get their protective clothing on |
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Up they go
The Cubs had 3 different climbs to try |
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Lucky I had my harness on
Adam lost his handhold but didn't fall very far |
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Hanging around
At the end of the session the Cubs played some games on the climbing walls including seeing who could hang on with one hand |
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Abseiling
After lunch it was time for abseiling. Unfortunately this was on an outdoor tower and it has started to drizzle again. As usual the first step was to get the kit on |
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Going through the rules
The Cubs listed as the instructors reminded them of the rules |
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A long way up
The top of the tower seemed a long way away |
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First down
Sam made it all look very easy |
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Just lean back'
The next 2 Cubs start their descent |
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Next victim please'
Oliver prepares to go up the tower |
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Off you go
The next 2 start their descent |
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At the Ashdown Forest Centre
After a break we headed over to the Ashdown Forest Centre in the minibus |
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Have I got it right?'
The Cubs ask the Visitor Centre lady to mark their quiz sheets |
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Listen carefully
Merlin gives Gareth and Jack a few clues |
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Now let me see...'
Akela and Shere Khan get to grips with the answers |
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Watching
Meanwhile, Baloo keeps an eye on things from a comfy chair upstairs |
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Camper's badge'
We cover the requirements of the Camper's badge during camp but there is just one thing that has to be done specifically - learning how to pitch and strike a tent |
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Masterclass'
Mang and Chil tell the mini-campers how to do it. (The others will do their tent pitching on Wednesday) |
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Over to you'
The Cubs take their turn while Alex watches to make sure they put his tent back up properly |
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Getting busy in the kitchen'
Marian starts to get dinner ready - chicken casserole tonight |
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Jacket potatoes
The potatoes had been baked in the camp fire |
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Come and get it
The cooks wait expectantly for the first table of Cubs |
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Tucking in
The leaders always enjoy their food at camp |
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Pudding
Bread and butter pudding - first time Marian has tried this at camp |
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Delicious
She looks pleased with the result |
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Anybody for seconds?
It goes down well with the Cubs too - nearly everybody wanted another helping |
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Red sky at night
Akela gets arty with the sunset |
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Going down
As the sun goes down behind the tents |
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Banquet preparations
Tuesday will be banquet day. Mang and team Caribbean discuss the options for their menu |
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Pretty colours
More pinks and golds from the sunset |
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Almost dark
Finally the sun has gone down. Must be time for camp fire |
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Tuesday
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Sunny start
After all the wind and rain of previous days it was nice to see a bit of sun for a change |
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Tent inspection before breakfast
Look at the welly boots - the sun may have been shining but the field was still very squelchy |
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Looking out
The Bananas team get inspected |
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Breakfast time
Shere Khan is in charge of the ketchup today |
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More countries
Tom tells us all about Trinidad & Tobago |
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Banquet preparations'
The shopping is here and wood for the fire - the Caribbean team start their preparations |
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Nobody home'
Meanwhile over at Oceania the Cubs have been sent off to get firewood |
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Now what did we buy?'
Shere Khan and Gareth look through the shopping |
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Fit to burn'
Matthew and Christopher bring back wood for their fire |
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That's a big knife'
We let Shere Khan use her big knife on the pineapple |
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Thinking'
Meanwhile, Adam gets to work on the entertainment - jokes always go down well... |
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Waiting for inspiration'
Over at Oceania Charlie is working on the menu design |
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Taking it easy'
Chil has time for a sit down while the Cubs get wood for the fire |
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Wasp trap'
As one of the judges Akela is also free so makes a wasp trap for the kitchen |
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Chop chop
It is now 1.30pm and there is still a lot to be done |
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Working together'
Don't forget that there are teamwork marks to be won |
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Decorations'
With very few flowers to be seen the team resorted to bracken for their table decoration |
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Nearly ready to start cooking'
Just sorting out the fruit for the fruit cocktail |
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Coming together nicely
At the Caribbean things are also ready to start cooking |
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Simmering'
The Oceania team keep an eye on their rice |
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Decorating'
Adam and Jack are supposed to be preparing the Caribbean table |
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Medal ribbons'
Meanwhile Akela is putting ribbons on the medals that we will use later in the week. It's all about planning ahead... |
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Judgement
The judges arrive at Cafe Caribbean |
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Tricky
Having the drink inside the pineapple was a good idea but the spikey top almost took the judges eyes out |
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Entertainment
Sam and Sammy told jokes |
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Try it without the lid
Once Shere Khan realised that the Cubs had left the lid on the pineapple she whisked it away and suddenly it was all a lot easier |
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Onto dessert
The meal at Cafe Caribbean was almost over although the cheeky judges caused chaos in the kitchen by asking for seconds |
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Welcome to Bush Tucker'
Team Oceania welcomed the judges with a traditional Haka |
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Appetiser
It is well known that Akela has a weakness when it comes to salt & vinegar twirls so the Oceania team gave him some while he was looking at the menu |
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Entertainment'
Alex tells us about Maori legends |
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A starter to share'
Unlike to Caribbean team the Oceania gave the judges one portion to share |
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Oh dear
We gave Marian the task of taking the banquet photos. Now you can see why we normally keep her in the kitchen |
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Main course
Didn't go down too well with the judges |
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Plenty to go around'
The prawn kebabs wait for the Cubs - they have to eat their banquet meal too |
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Tucking in'
The Caribbean team have their lunch |
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Cheers'
At least Jack seems to be enjoying it |
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Akela is ready for his hot dogs'
After only getting a small portion of the banquet meals Akela is allowed 3 hot dogs and a nice cup of tea |
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Very colourful'
One tomato ketchup, one with Shere Khan's special mustard and one with HP sauce. Delicious |
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Banquet Menus
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Cafe
Caribbean Rum & ginger melon
Jerk chicken skewers with rice and peas
Tropical micks (according to the menu)
Drink - rum punch served in a pineapple |
Bush Tucker
Cook Island prawn kebab
Tuna a la Bruce & Sheila
Pacific Pavlova
Drink - fruit cocktail |
In the judges opinion the offering by Cafe Caribbean was
superior. When all the scores had been worked out they led
the Bush Tucker team by just 1 point with 145 points v 144.
The mini-campers went home in the minibus on Tuesday night.
We also had to send Merlin home as her hard work,
particularly in the kitchen, was making the other leaders
look bad.
Wednesday
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Good morning'
With Akela enjoying home comforts it was Baloo that was up first. All the Cub tents were still sleeping at 6.40am |
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Crate challenge'
We had early activities at 9am so rushed breakfast and went straight to them |
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Up we go'
Alex adds another crate to the tower |
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Very tall'
Can't go much higher |
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Start again'
The next 2 Cubs start their climb |
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Hanging around'
With the tower collapsed the climbers are left hanging in mid-air. Christopher doesn't look best pleased about it |
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A visitor in the mess tent
When Akela got back to camp he was surprised to find a chaffinch inside the mess tent |
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Get ready for full kit inspection'
We always like to do a full kit inspection during the week so that we can see how many clothes haven't yet been worn because the Cubs have worn the same thing every day |
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Bananas tent'
The Bananas had it fairly easy as there were now only 2 in that tent |
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Blue Sharks tent'
Things were not going so well at this end of the site. For a start the kit is supposed to be laid on a groundsheet - not the ground itself |
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Yellow fin tuna tent'
Seems to be making a good start |
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Very busy'
All the tents hard at work sorting out their kit |
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Let a bit of air in'
Akela rolls up the sides of the tents to let the air get to the ground that was under the groundsheet |
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Not quite ready
The Coconut tent finish things off |
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Coconut tent
All ready and nicely laid out |
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Yellow fin tuna tent
In contrast to the last picture things are a bit more of a mess at this end of the site |
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Not just the Cubs'
We also got Alex to lay out his kit |
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Hard at work
Meanwhile in the kitchen lunch was being prepared |
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Camper's badge II
The mini campers did their tent pitching earlier in the week. Now it is time for the others to have their go |
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Down it comes
With 2 tents now empty following the departure of the mini campers we got the boys to take them down. This used to be Stingrays |
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Pineapple comes down
The other Cubs got to work on the pineapple tent |
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Under instruction
Mang gives some advice |
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In the bag
The Cubs return the tent to the stores |
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Naughty boys have to clean the loos
We always tell the boys that they'll have to clean the toilets if they are badly behaved. This time we meant it |
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Doesn't look too upset about it
At Blackland Farm each site has its own toilet block that the group has to clean so we were glad to find some "volunteers" |
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Ice cream
The ice cream van visited the field each day but this was the first time the weather had seemed good enough |
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I'll have a 99
The Cubs queued up for their ice creams |
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Backwoods cooking
Yes that is backwoods not backwards. Just means cooking without a kitchen |
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More foil
It always seems to involve a lot of foil |
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Chocolate bananas
The Cubs made chocolate bananas - slice the banana skin and put a line of chocolate buttons inside... |
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Get wrapping
Then wrap in foil... |
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Cooking
...and bake in the fire |
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Leader's pudding
Alex made sure that the leaders got bananas to eat |
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Sunny day
While the bananas cooked the Cubs had free time and the leaders enjoyed the nice sunny day |
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Take a break
Mang and Chil even had time for a well earned break |
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Dining alfresco
We decided to serve dinner outside |
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Clean hands?
We put some smelly handwash in the toilets so that we could smell if the Cubs had washed their hands or not |
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Dinner time
Freshly made lasagne with garlic bread for dinner tonight |
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Bananas for pudding
Baloo served the bananas - still in their foil from the fire |
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Delicious
The Cubs were very pleased with the result. Unfortunately the camera didn't capture some of the leaders views |
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Campfire
We joined the site campfire - and led the funky chicken song |
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Front row
Being seasoned camp fire goers the Cubs sat in the front row and actually wanted to sing - unlike the rows of chattering girls behind us |
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Thursday
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Grand howl in uniform
After more rain overnight it didn't really look like beach weather on Thursday |
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Tent inspection winner
Each day the winning tent gets the inspection winners pennant to fly on their tent - today it was coconuts |
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Fly past
We went to Pevensey Bay beach. The Airbourne show was on at nearby Eastbourne and this Hercules flew over us on the way to start its show |
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Gone swimming
The cloudy weather wasn't enough to stop the Cubs going in for a paddle |
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Brrr
Looks a bit chilly to me |
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Buried treasure
Alex disappears under a pile of stones |
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Lunch always tastes better in the open air
Marian and Shere Khan enjoy their sandwiches |
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A visitor
One of the locals called in to see what was happening |
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Stone throwing
Small boys
+ pebbles on the beach
= stone throwing |
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Big waves
As the tide came in (and the weather improved) some of the waves seemed quite large |
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Dinner
One of the treats of a day on the beach is having fish and chips |
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Who wanted the fish cake'
Shere Khan and Mang give out the hot parcels of fish and chips |
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All wrapped in paper'
The Cubs see what is in their parcels |
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Caught you!'
Akela sneaks a chip from Matthew's dinner but Baloo catches it on camera |
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Homeward bound
The Cubs head back to the car park after a nice day on the beach |
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Friday
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Breakfast time
Amazing what you can do with potato waffles - this one is for www.humanclock.com |
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Back to the crate challenge
The group that did archery on Wednesday now get their turn on the crates - once kitted out of course |
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First group
The first few crates are easy |
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Looks a bit wobbly
But as the stack gets higher things start to move when you step onto them |
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Crash
The stack of crates falls away under Chris's feet |
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Swinging
As Chris is left swinging he crashes into the other crates bringing them down as well |
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Next group
Mang and Chil make sure the crate colours alternate as the Cubs get higher |
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Whoops
Sammy slips off the tower |
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Steady
He manages to get back on but things are wobbling |
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Crash
Sure enough the tower falls away beneath their feet |
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Off we go again
The next Cubs start climbing while Mang and Chil build the tower |
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Oh dear
That doesn't look like a very good position to be in |
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Crash
Sure enough, the tower comes down |
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Timber!
And for good measure Gareth knocks over Jack too |
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Let the big boys have a go
Mang and Chil find that the crates are a bit small for adult sized feet |
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Taller and taller
The Cubs building the tower have to climb up their own steps to reach the top |
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Stretch
Chris has to reach up to place the next crate |
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Unstable
Did he place it properly? When Mang puts his foot on it the crate moves... |
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Left hanging
...and down comes the tower |
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Second attempt
This time it is Jack that falls off first |
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Swinging
...and is left hanging about |
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Archers'
Meanwhile the other group are doing archery at the other end of the site |
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Loading'
Getting the arrow onto the bow and preparing to shoot |
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Baloo's turn'
Baloo and Charlie get ready to shoot |
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Scores'
Baloo (on the left) tells us he got a gold. Charlie (on the right) got red |
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Aim at the target'
Alex seems to be ready to shoot down a passing bird |
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Paper aeroplane flying
One of our Commonwealth Games activities was a paper aeroplane distance competition |
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Best tent
Once again Coconuts had won the best tent inspection pennant |
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International Cricket
Another one day international was held on the field |
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Reserve kitchen assistant'
With a reduced number of leaders Akela has to put his apron on |
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Stirring'
When it comes to stirring you wouldn't think Akela would need any help but Marian keeps a close eye on things |
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Now serving'
What a team |
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Friday dinner'
Spaghetti bolognese |
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Final camp fire
Despite our smaller numbers we went back to the main campfire on Friday night for our last camp fire |
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Blazing brightly
It was soon burning nicely |
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Sing along
By the end of the week we all knew the words |
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The ancient lamp lighting ceremony
Baloo lit his candle lanterns each evening |
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Saturday
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Saturday morning
We'd taken down as many tents as possible to reduce the work needed on the last day. The site looks a bit empty |
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Washing up
Surely that can't be Baloo with a tea towel? |
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Unusual technique
Alex attempts to take down his tent from the inside. I'm not sure Steve would approve |
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Litter pick
We wanted to make sure that there was no litter left on our site once we'd departed |
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Flag down
Baloo prepared to lower the flag for the last time |
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Best tent'
No surprise that the pennant went to the Coconut tent as they had been consistently best all week - well done |
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Medals'
At the end of camp we gave out the Commonwealth Games medals |
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Guest List
Robert Baylis*, Tom Butler, Matthew Chambault^, Christopher
Coppins, Alex Evans,
Daniel Evry*, Christopher Freeman, Liam Griffin*, Sam
Holloway*, Adam Hopkins*, Jack King, Sammy Lee, Aidan
McCormack^, Ben Morgan*, Jonathan Rose, Oliver Sayers*,
Gareth Slevin-Brown, Ross Vincent, Jacob Wiseman*, Charlie
Wright.
Mang was the camp leader and was assisted by Baloo,
Akela, Shere Khan and Chil. We were joined by Merlin* and
also had help from Alex Carter.
SMICCTSO sent along Marian Carter to manage the kitchen.
It was Nick's last duty as Akela before he moved away from
Bracknell.
All campers booked for the full week except mini-campers
marked * who camped from Saturday to Tuesday and ^ who came
Sunday to Thursday.
As usual the digital cameras were out in force. We took over
350 pictures which have been edited into the galleries on
this page. Most of the pictures were taken by Akela but
those marked ' are by Baloo. Pictures on here are reduced in size and quality and
we can't show all those that we took. If you'd like to have
a higher resolution copy of any of the pictures that you see
on here please ask.
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