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Centenary Camp (May 2007)

We Survived!

All over the UK, Scouts camped out during the exceptionally wet and windy Bank Holiday Weekend, as part of Scouting's Centenary Celebrations.

We, and 7 other Scout Groups in the Swindon area, camped at Roves Farm, near Sevenhampton. Over the weekend everyone did various activities, ranging from general camp jobs like washing up to Tug-Of-War and Bottle Rockets during the Bases afternoon on Saturday.

Friday saw us arrive on site to set up. The Scouts and Cubs pitched their own tents when they arrived in the evening, then supper was served and the Scouts went on a night hike, led by the Scout leaders, who took a "slight" deviation and got back to camp around 1 1/2 hours later than planned!

On Saturday everyone was up early for breakfast then kit inspection. At 11:00 there was the camp opening ceremony, then soon after it was time to prepare for lunch. After lunch all the Cubs and Scouts went round to sample the bases that all the Groups on camp were running for the afternoon. Everyone had dinner then there were some "camp fire activities" as the proper camp fire had got rained off.

Sunday followed a similar plan, at lunch the Cubs and Scouts helped to prepare their food which they should have cooked over a fire but owing to the rain this didn't happen either. During the afternoon we went to the barn to play some ball games. (I don't have much detail about Sunday - I escaped to go to work! :D. Andrew)

As many of you will know, during Saturday night the rain began. It wasn't too bad, but carried on right through Sunday. Come Sunday afternoon, as the rain got worse and the wind picked up, many groups decided to pull out on safety grounds. By Sunday evening, only our Scouts and Cubs, the Westlea Scouts and the Wootton Bassett Scouts were left on site to weather it out.

That evening we all pulled together to make sure that the night would be event-free. Tents were checked, plenty of hot drinks were on hand, and we ensured that everyone had dry clothes available. When bed time came around everyone was in high spirits, and whilst some leaders stayed up to keep night watch all the young people slept right through the night - some were still in bed at 8:00am! When they got up they were all proud of having survived the night, especially as there were so few of them.

The groups that pulled out but left their tents up were not so lucky. By Sunday morning, the marquee had blown down and many of the modern dome tents that sleep 8 upwards (not the hike tents) were badly damaged as the fibreglass poles moulded themselves into shapes not previously thought possible or splintered. If we had taken our similar tent for the Cubs to sleep in, we would no doubt have pulled out as well, but our traditional Patrol tents were fine and were barely flexing at all.

Well done to all the Cubs and Scouts on remaining so positive throughout the whole experience. we hope that this will stand you in good stead for future camps!

A further, huge thank you goes to Ruth ("Granny Chip"), our Akela's Mother-In-Law, who travelled all the way from Windsor to cook for us for the weekend. She kept us full up all the time and certainly made Sunday evening a lot easier - the Scouts usually cater for themselves.

Lastly, remember the camp slogan: "Are you smiling? ... You should be!"

The Swindon Advertiser visited the camp on the Saturday - read the article.