Summer Camp 2014 - Day 5

The Seniors finishing off their hike

The Seniors woke up refreshed on Wednesday morning after a few hours of sleep. Unfortunately they had a terrible case of bad hair – fortunately they were near Acomb (excuse the pun). After a ration pack breakfast/hot drink the Seniors packed up the two tents and continued their epic journey.

That same morning, back at camp the Scouts had been working towards achieving the stalker badge. This entailed learning how to sneak up on someone without them knowing, spying on someone and the art of camouflage. The highlight of this was putting the skills they had learnt into practise by smothering themselves in camo face paint and then attempting to sneak across the field towards the leaders without being seen. Although some Scouts were sticking out from the tall grass like a sore thumb, the exercise was great fun. Sadly, the face paints didn’t come off as well as anticipated and even the almighty power of wet wipes still left some of the boys with what looked like mascara on. The morning was then rounded off with warm pies which Alec had picked up from Cranstons in Hexham for lunch.

Smothered in camouflage paint: the Scouts

Swimming costumes and swimming trunks were then packed, and the group departed for their annual wash at the local swimming baths. By the time the van of Scouts arrived at Hexham leisure centre the Seniors had finished their hike and were waiting for them. Erika quickly paid the receptionist for the group to enter the pool whilst Scouts snuck into the changing rooms before staff could see the two inch coat of muck they were all carrying on their skin.

As campers eased themselves into the pool the sterile clear water soon turned a murky shade of brown with a scum of 5 days’ worth of dirt floating on top.

That evening marked the sad departure of Christopher Hewins; he was taken from camp, against his will, to go on holiday with his family. Also, the Carter clan and Mark’s parents visited camp and stayed to dine with the Scouts and Seniors.

Unfortunately, strong winds meant a game of Volleyball was out of the question however, to the Scout’s delight, Tom and Joyce Milner had brought huge bags of 'Haribo' for the campers.

At 10pm the Scouts were rounded up and chased to bed whilst Neil, Tom and Hannah enjoyed their Rover meal in Hexham before heading to one of the three pubs in Acomb (the Miners Arms) for a pub quiz. They finished third in the quiz – presumably out of three teams.