September Camp 2014 (Low Moor)

A medium sized group of dedicated campers determined to go to Low Moor were dropped off at the Scout HQ on Friday 26th September to pack the van for a weekend camping. September camp has traditionally been held at Low Moor farm however due to bad weather and busy schedules, the Scouts hadn't been camping there in two years!

On arrival at the campsite, the group immediately ran into a problem. That problem came in the shape of a gate – a locked gate. With no resident in the farm house to unlock the gate, the Scouts had no choice but to haul all the tents and equipment a couple of hundred meters down the dusty track to where they were camping.

The group was tactically split in half leaving some more experienced campers to erect tents whilst others fetched more equipment. The sun started sinking into the horizon at ten to seven leaving splashes of orange and pink on the horizon. Despite being a picturesque spectacle, lack of light proved to be an issue. Thankfully, hard work and quick thinking meant that camp was erected in almost no time at all and the sausage rolls and pies for supper were well deserved.

Camp was awoken on Saturday morning to the sound of a jet roaring through the sky - presumably from Teesside airport which was only a few miles away. Camp kitchens needed to be built that morning because it was too dark to construct them the previous night. However before pits could be dug, pits needed to be cleaned so everyone went down to the river for a wash. Due to a sunny September, the Tees was shallow so Scouts and Seniors could leap onto mounds of pebbles and earth to wash on their own island. Whilst they were washing, people wearing parachutes elegantly descended down the sky.

Wood collecting, pit digging and billy sorting all needed to happen before a filling breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches could be made. This was followed by inspection.

The day’s events then commenced. For the Seniors, this entailed collecting and chopping wood for the campfire that evening, for the Scouts, ticking off the rest of the requirements for the stalker badge was on the agenda, and for Erika and Neil: a day of tranquil kite flying from half way up the hill.

The Scouts learnt about how different animals (such as cows, rabbits, and foxes) walk and the tracks they leave behind. This intense studying was rounded off with a stalking game. The objective was to (in pairs) silently, steadily sneak towards Tom to try and scare him without being heard. At first this mission seemed impossible but, with patience and initiative, a few pairs achieved the goal.

With all work out the way, everyone headed to the hill to play the mug game. Two teams, two boxes, and what seemed like a million mugs were required to play the game which saw mild cheating, comical violence and people betraying their own side to infiltrate the strong lines of defence and steal mugs for the other team.

Sweaty and stale, Scouts returned to their kitchen for some free time and to prepare a stunt for the camp fire that evening, meanwhile Seniors tried their hardest to rescue Erika’s bright orange kite which had crashed into a tree. Try as they might, the kite was well and truly stuck so they gave up and headed back to camp to play cards.

For dinner that evening was a sausage casserole. Hannah described hers as “herby”, Tom described his as “garlicy”. Seniors then started preparing their kitchen for guests as they would be hosting the group camp fire. Scouts, Seniors and leaders alike packed into the kitchen to bellow old camp classics such as ‘Campfire’s burning’, ‘Merrily-sings-the-donkey’ and ‘Quartermasters Store’. ‘Never going to Heaven’ also made an appearance and was exposed to some dodgy, yet topical, verses from the Seniors regarding some of the events of camp so far.

Mark and a cow

Night games were planned for Saturday evening however due to a pregnant cow at the other end of the field which nobody wanted to distress, and curious cows that kept coming too close for comfort around Scout kitchens, the night games were unfortunately cancelled. Instead, one of Neil’s renowned quizzes took place in the marquee. Holly went so far as to describe the quiz as ‘brilliant’!

Camp (especially Maverick) aroused on Sunday for the usual camp routine of flag break, wash, breakfast and inspection. Overall, Poppy’s Poppies (the name of Poppy’s patrol) claimed a narrow victory over Maddie’s Maddies (the name of Maddie’s patrol) with inspection points however it was extremely close.

Lashing together a chariot

Before it was time to start taking camp down, chariots were lashed together by the two Scout patrols and raced around the field. The race got off to a roaring start with the gentle drop of Neil’s handkerchief and both patrols running as fast as their little legs could carry them to complete the set amount of laps. It wasn’t long until Maddie’s Maddies were tired out though and reduced to a walking pace meaning that Poppy’s Poppies claimed first prize… before their chariot falling, helplessly, to pieces.

Whilst nobody was paying attention, a cluster of spiders had invaded and lined camp with webs of glistening silk. Sadly, there wasn’t much time for whining about spiders in hair and webs in mugs because the baked potatoes for lunch were ready. Wrapped in tinfoil, the potatoes had been slowly cooking all morning on the side of the fires – apart from in the Senior kitchen where they were cremated. Black, crispy, ash covered casualties were rescued from the fire. Some could be eaten; some couldn’t even be distinguished as baked potatoes anymore so were disposed of.

Camp was then carefully taken down in the usual fashion but with even more glumness than usual since September camp was the last camp of 2014.