When we arrived on site, there was much to be done. For a start, there was a whopping great poo pit to be dug, 5 patrol tents to pitch, 5 dining shelters, the leader pod tent, the mess tent and the stores tent. Even with all this to do, it was still no excuse for Mike, Dave and Dan to dig the pit topless…
Sadly the mayor of Fowey was too busy to formally open the pit, but that didn’t stop us from having our very own grand opening ceremony! We even had a parcel tape ribbon to cut.
A massive well done and thanks to the scouts who came down in the advance party, as by the time the rest of the gang arrived on Saturday, almost all the canvas was up! Summer camp 2018 also saw the invention of the ingenious urination station, something which is soon to be patented by 62nd Enterprises.
The site itself was down a very steep hill, with a farmyard up at the top that luckily was large enough to house Mike’s lorry. As with any greenfield site, the only amenity was a tap, but this was no ordinary tap. It was in fact a death tap, a tap so dangerous that it had to be roped off, and scouts, only being level 1 operatives, had to ensure that goggles and high-vis was worn at all times to ensure drowning in the eyes did not occur. The scouts soon became fed up with the leaders’ attempts to make simple tasks incredibly complicated….
Clive was in his element as captain of the poo patrol, a crack team who cleaned and emptied our conveniences on a daily basis. Every scout got their turn, and did a sterling job! We also got underway with this year’s King Kubb championship, and rattled through the heats, each of which were 45 minutes long. Things really heated up in the Young Leaders vs Leaders Semi-final playoff, where after 45 minutes the Young Leaders were in a winning position, but instead of calling time, the crowd demanded we played until there was a clear winner, regardless of time! This was a godsend for the leaders, who went on to beat the somewhat sore opposition.
As you can see by the photos, we were bathed in scorching sun most of the week, giving us all a nice top-up on our tans. However Friday and Saturday saw the advent of rain, just as we were starting to take the canvas down, which up until then had been bone dry… *sigh*. Saturday was exceptionally soggy, so that by the time we had packed up we were sopping wet, which turned the minibuses into steam boxes! Although once again, everyone involved pulled their weight and helped us to get packed down super efficiently.
After a week of being worn constantly, Dave’s sandals were particularly poignant, a smell enjoyed by his minibus on the return journey.
