8th Mag - Issue 12

Est. 1936

8th Darlington Scout Group 2016 XII

SUMMER CAMP 2016 Including: Entertaining Columns, Detailed Graphics and Stunning Photography Full Coverage of Summer Camp 2016 PL’s Choice/Camp Olympics/Washday Wednesday/Erecting Camp/Night Games/ Hiking along Hadrian’s Wall/Scouts Own/Leaning Tower of Hexham/Gadget Building/ Games/X-Fire/Camp Fire/Cooking/Quiz/Go Ape!/Archery/Pranks & much more!

You should be as excited as these guys!

PAPE”R”MAIL editor-in-chief

M

y journalist broke his arm.

Or so he said anyway. In 2013 I was in year 10 and for work experience week I had lined up a freelance journalist who had reluctantly agreed to let me shadow him for a week. A few days before I was due to spend my week gallivanting around County Durham with him searching for scoops, he broke his arm at a charity cricket game.

Disaster! For me, this meant spending the week in school with nothing to do.

After a few days of pratting about in the school’s TV studio, I decided to write a report on the recent Scout camp I had been on and then another about the camp before that.

The reports weren’t especially detailed but they outlined the important things that I wanted to remember. I decided to put the articles next to some photographs from the camps and voilà; there I had it, the first ‘8th Mag’ in over half a century.

I showed it to the leaders and they were happy to support it. Fast forward three years and 12 issues later and I’m resigning as editor to go to

Uni in the first step of my long term plan for world domination. But first, here are some of my favourite memories from my first decade in the 8th – some of which were reported in 8th Mag. My most vivid memory from being in Cubs was program selling one evening and coming across a front door which had three doorbells! Intrigued by this pseudo synthesiser I pressed all three at once. A few seconds later I was angrily greeted by an old lady who shouted at me for causing such a racket when she was only a few feet away from the door inside. Still to this day, I wonder why she had so many doorbells yet expect children not to play with them.

I wonder why she had so many doorbells yet expect children not to play with them

My first June Camp in 2009 was awesome. It was my second ever camp and there were only another three Scouts attending. I loved everything about the weekend: the hike, the BBQ, the company… Even getting ‘accidentally’ stabbed by Harry wasn’t that bad. Quiet camps with few people have always been my favourites. Waking up before the rest

of my patrol, lighting the fire, and reading as the sun rose at May Camp 2015 is still one of my favourite camping moments. The tranquillity was unbeatable.

My first Summer Camp as a patrol leader was in 2012. After watching my PL do the job for three years I was looking forward to imitating his successes. I fell lucky and was appointed a great p a tr o l w h i ch made winning the camp trophy a smooth ride. I don’t think I’ve had a patrol as determined and hard working since.

I don’t think I’ve had a patrol as determined and hard working since

With the group open day looming in February 2015, the Seniors were appointed the job of repainting the Rover room and small hall. Although the task was seemingly simple and boring, the day of painting was one of the most entertaining days I’ve had with the group. Watch ‘100 Years with the 8th’ and you might see why.

Finally, the making of ‘The Camp’ movie at Summer Camp in 2014 will go down as one of my favourite experiences. From shooting the events of the whole week and conducting interviews with Scouts and leaders to the two days of editing together some 25 gigabytes of footage, it was all fantastic. Not only was it an honour to be allowed to make the movie, it was a barrel of laughs during all stages of production and, most importantly, people seemed to like the final result. (See Issue 5 for the full story) Anyway, enough reminiscing. I hope you take pleasure in reading this 4th Summer Camp special of 8th Mag and, as ever, remember to keep your eyes peeled for this issue’s deliberate typo.

Above: James and Liam at Eden Camp during Summer Camp 2012, Maverick and an electric drill, the cover for ‘The Camp’ 2014 movie

Summer Camp 2016 Target Wood, Hexham

I

t has been said before and it will be said again: Summer Camp is the highlight of the camping year. It is the longest camp of the year (a week long) and it is therefore the most testing. It tests the ability of a PL to lead. It tests the ability of the patrol to work as a team. It tests everyone’s ability to retain enthusiasm as people get more tired as the week goes on. It is marvellous fun though. For many there is nothing better than a jampacked week of activities in a field with the company of friends.

Above: Scouts, Seniors, Rovers, and leaders pose for a photograph before setting off to Target Wood WORDS BY LIAM PAPE MATTHEW CURREY

AND

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NEIL DUNCAN, LYNNE PAPE AND TOM ROBINSON

Map of Camp

Key 1 - The Marquee 2 - Leader Tents 3 - Scout Foot Tents 4 - Senior Food Tent 5 - Rover Food Tent 6 - Scout Patrol Tent 7 - Senior Girls Patrol Tent 8 - Senior Boys Bell Tent 9 - Rover Patrol Tent 10 - Flagpole 11 - Games Area 12 - Senior Hike Campsite

(not to any kind of scale)

12 2

2

2 1 10.

8 4

6 3

TARGET WOOD was the location for Summer Camp 2016; a wood with accompanying fields directly between Hexham and Acomb. The 8th has been there once before in 2014. The group were intending to return to the Ginger Pig site in Pickering this year however there were concerns about the field’s condition since a flood defence system was implemented last year.

Over twenty campers arrived bright and early on the morning of Saturday 23rd July to ardently pack kit. As usual, Anth had kindly offered his van and, with the absence of the usu-

11

7 3

23 SATJUL

2

6 9

5

al 4x4, the Carvey clan had brought a Sam Turner’s van to carry a share of the colossal amount of kit that was going to camp. Once everything was loaded onto the vans, there was the usual photo, Scouts said goodbye to their families, and the group departed for Target Wood.

On arrival at the field, Alec greeted the farmer who was in the process of mowing sections of the field so the group had an area of short grass to camp and play games on. The marquee, army tent, patrol tents, toilet tents, and food tents were then erected before patrols split up with half

going off into the woods to wood collect and half staying in camp to build kitchens. The group had invested in new food tents this year, ditching the small, leaky converted Bradfords and opting instead for large dining shelters.

Scouts said goodbye to their families As the sun began to set, everyone headed over to the volleyball court for the first rounds of the tournament. The Rovers and leaders took an unsurprisingly early lead.

24 SUNJUL

AFTER RISING, flag break, and breakfast on Sunday morning there was an inspection. The first inspection of the week is often the most important because it indicates how well a patrol is likely to perform during the week and can also warn PLs if they need to pull their socks up drastically. After a timely and thorough inspection, leaders concluded that both patrols appeared to be performing adequately after 24 hours in camp.

Everyone kept their uniform on after inspection for the Scouts Own. The service included pray-

Lunch was fish finger sandwiches followed by an afternoon of gadget building in the humid weather.

The usual favourites such as tables, frying pan racks, and tea towel holders were constructed from sisal and sticks but also some less common gadgets such as the gong in the Rover kitchen and the washing up bowl stand near the girl’s toilets that Lynne built (and was very proud of). Up to 10 points are awarded for gadgets during inspection each morning.

There was a delicious Thai chilli mince with rice and vegetables for

the service, on the whole, had hopefully been thought-provoking if nothing else ers, songs, and stories with the underlying theme of section mottos and how campers should be aiming to achieve them. Mark said that his personal favourite was the Cubs’ “Do your best” however Scouts should “Be Prepared” all week - PLs especially should always be thinking ahead. The open discussion about mottos led Mark to conclude that “empty vessels make the most noise” but the service, on the whole, had hopefully been thought-provoking if nothing else.

Descending: Lynne and her gadget, Josh and his gadget, a billy rack

Once everyone had got changed back into their camp clothes, the Seniors took the Scouts wood collecting, they moved the girls’ tent westerly a few feet, and moved both of the Scout food shelters forwards. The leaders had asked them to this as during meal time it was noticed that the lengthy walk from the kitchens to the food shelters (which are usually indented from the line of patrol tents) was time-consuming.

tea before campers played a large game of ultimate Frisbee.

Sunday evening gave the Seniors a chance to try out ‘For Fluxx Sake’ – an 8th adaptation of the confusing card game ‘Fluxx’ (see 8th Mag Issue 10). The Keeper cards had been replaced with members of the 8th, the action cards included references to the Seniors’ and Rovers’ inside jokes, and the Creepers cards were replaced with things that the leaders’ detest: vegetarianism and the notorious smelly puddle outside the den. Mime and accent bonus cards had also been added to give the game an additional twist.

The Seniors also entertained themselves by attempting BBC4’s ‘Just a Minute’. They tried to speak on topics such as ponchos, children’s TV, and the joys of underwear without hesitation, repetition or deviation for one whole minute. They had limited success.

25 MONJUL

FOR THE SECOND day running, there was bacon for breakfast on Monday before the Scouts made a quick getaway so they could embark on their walk along Hadrian’s Wall from Housesteads to Steel Rigg. The

the Senior pioneering project had been a success walk took the Scouts all day to complete because of the challenging hilly nature of Hadrian’s wall. They took a break at Sycamore Gap for lunch to admire the local views. It was here that the group met a Dutch family who discussed their encounters with the Scouting movement in Holland.

Overall, despite the strong wind, the walk was enjoyable.

Meanwhile, back at camp the Seniors were building a watchtower using pioneering poles. They constructed two trellises with tightly knotted lashings before digging them into the ground parallel to each other and working as a team to add diagonal supports. Some of the boys perched carefully on the thicker pieces of

Left: The Seniors and their Julymas presents Above: The Seniors take a break for lunch

wood tying knots to the poles that were being handed to them by other Seniors. Others played a pivotal role by simply holding the structure in place. After a break for lunch, the Seniors made finishing touches such as adding a platform at the top and a stepladder so people could climb up there. All of the Seniors had a turn clambering up to the platform which was raised over 12ft off the ground.

Although the structure had a slight lean causing many to dub it the leaning tower of Hexham, the Senior pioneering project had been a s u c cess.

The Seniors were also indulging in so - c alle d ‘Punday Monday’ and kept tally of the scores on their inspiration board.

The Rovers (mainly Harry) spent Monday building and testing a Hawaiian oven.

This entailed digging a hole, putting ashes at the bottom, covering them with hot rocks, placing

the raw meat on the rocks, putting more hot rocks above the meat, covering that with leaves, and sealing it with soil on the top so the meat could be slow cooked. The results were delicious. The beef joint and mince loaf that the leaders sampled were deliciously tender and left them craving more.

That afternoon the Seniors got a visit from Summer Santa. He left a tiara and wand for Liam, a poncho for Jenel, a Frisbee/halo for Holly, a solar flower for Maddie, a tiny camping seat for Sam, a duck puppet called Sally for Poppy, and bubbles for Maverick and Geoff. Overwhelmed and grateful for the Julymas surprise, the Seniors spent what spare time they had in the afternoon playing with their presents.

For tea there was a lots of sausages and burgers done on the BBQ by the Seniors, followed by a game of football before Carrie and Charlie Ball said their goodbyes as they were leaving camp.

26 TUEJUL

The Rovers at Steel Rigg

THE SENIORS were awoken just before 7am on Tuesday morning as they needed to make a quick breakfast so they could set off on their two -day hike. Just before they set off, there was a going up ceremony at flag break for Liam and Maverick who were going from Seniors to Rovers.

Equipped with a helmet and a torch, they toured the old lead mine With the Seniors gone, the Rovers picked up Ben Hewins from the train station and drove to Housesteads Roman Fort for their 9-mile hike. After a toilet stop, the group of six followed the route that t h e

At the summit of Skiddaw

Scouts had walked the previous day following Hadrian’s Wall from Housesteads to Steel Rigg. Along the way, some of the millennials in the group complained about the lack of updating that had happened along the wall. They moaned about manual gates at the edges of fields instead of automatic ones and the lack

of escalators to carry worn-out ramblers up the punishingly steep ascents.

The Rovers completed the Scout’s walk before lunchtime so they made a detour off the Wall to ‘Twice Brewed’. They sat in the beer garden, wolfed down their packed lunches, and basked in the warm sun.

Recuperated, they looped

Maverick leads the Rovers along Hadrian’s Wall

Left: Scouts at Killhope Mine

back around to Housesteads walking the route that runs parallel on the other side of Crag Lough. With the hike completed, the group headed into Hexham and bought fish and chips for tea.

The Seniors were soon on their way to a cooking up a feast including the worst lamb hot pot ever Meanwhile the Scouts spent the day at Killhope mine. Equipped with a helmet and a torch, they toured the old lead mine. They got to see where veins had been excavated and had an interesting discussion about the thunder box. Outside the mine, the Scouts tried to find galena by dunking a selection of rocks and minerals

Liam… did return... to chase the Seniors back to their camp with a water gun into water and shuffling them around. Scouts also had chance to look at where the lead miners would have habited and dressed up in authentic Victorian clothing.

On return to camp, the meal marked

as ‘Surprise’ in the menu turned out to be a fish and chip takeaway which was enjoyed by all.

inclines of the day. The group continued on what they thought was the footpath, taking a shortcut through what may or may not have been somebodies driveway. It was around this time that the singing started with renditions of ABBA, Oasis’ Wonderwall, and a large percentage of the Arctic Monkeys discography - amongst others. After being stuck in a field unsure of which direction to walk in, the group came to the conclusion that this would be a good time to stop for lunch. Making short work of their packed lunches many started on the ration packs, sampling sachets of peanut butter and hazelnut spread with some cereal bars thrown into the mix.

Whilst all this was happening, a group of six Seniors set out on their fifteen-mile hike, a mandatory element After the Seniors decided in completing their first that they were right all class (a badge of recognialong - and were never in tion showing Scouting An artist’s impression fact lost - they continued achievement). The hike of Poppy’s foot on the same path they would go on to take two were on. The rest of the day’s walkdays and entail gruelling climbs, ing included passing along railway wrong turns, less than ideal weathlines, over motorway er, and conclude with the bridges, cutting through a spooning of a stranger’s dog golf course, a quick stint in outside of a Tesco Extra.

Hexham, and an endless On top of this, they needed array of country roads, to carry tents, stoves, sleepfootpaths, and villages. ing bags, clothes, ration They eventually made it packs, and a dreaded trowel and toilet roll that no- An artist’s impression back to the field in the of Maddie’s foot middle of the afternoon body dared speak of. and after a short rest began to set After their bacon butty breakfast up camp. The tents began to spring Poppy, Holly, Maddie, up until the Sam and Geoff Jenel, Sam and Geoff were came to the realization dropped off outside of the that they were in fact short Red Lion Inn in Newof pegs, only bringing sevbrough. After a quick phoen of the thirty something tograph, the group set off required. After a quick trip in high spirits beginning back to camp to explain the first days nine miles. their blunder, they finAfter a short stretch on a ished erecting the rest of county road with a slight An artist’s impression their tent sometime after of Geoff’s foot slope, the group turned the girls. The group killed right and started up a public footpath cutting through a farmer’s (Continued on page 12) field, which was one of the sharpest

time for a couple of hours before deciding to start on making their teas.

The Seniors were soon on their way to a cooking up a feast including bags of rice, beef stroganoff, chilli con carne, and what Sam claimed to be the worst lamb hot pot ever created. Nobody else fancied trying it so we have to take his word for it.

The Rovers then partook in a very classy, very pretentious cheese tasting evening. Over a dozen local, national, and international cheeses were sliced, smelt, sampled, and – in some cases – spat back out again.

Clear favourites emerged out of the varied bunch and made the evening worth the nightmares which consequently followed.

That evening, the X-fire was going on at camp and the Seniors on their hike were happy to accept their invitation to come. The entire group sang classics from the Monkeys, James Taylor, and The Beatles, which included a surprise appearance from Neil’s dad.

Unfortunately Liam missed this however he did return in enough time to chase the Seniors back to their camp with a water gun. The Seniors talked

Far left: Josh dressed as a Victorian miner at Killhope Left: Geoff and Geoff junior Below: Cool kidz pose with $waggy bantz

for a short while upon return before retiring to the tents, to shelter from the drizzle that had plagued camp most of the afternoon.

Back at camp, Squire James and Cub leader Lynne were being invested as fully-fledged Rovers in a super-secret ceremony in the marquee. They join a group of dedicated older members of the Group whose motto of ‘Service’ means they help out whenever they can.

You can watch the video of Neil's Dad frolicking around to 'Hey Jude' at the X-Fire here: www.youtube.com/ 8thDarlingtonScouts

Neil’s Dad at the X-Fire

Above: James, Hannah, Mark and Harry descend down a Scottish moor

27 WASHDAY WEDJUL

THE SENIORS woke relatively eared some pies from Cranston’s Butchly finishing breakfast and packing ers and headed over to the local up camp so that they could set of on Tesco Extra to use the toilets and their walk for 8 o’clock. The group buy some crisps. Worn out, the Sencrossed the road, turned left and iors collapsed outside the Tesco and walked for quarter of an hour before began on their lunch, making a realizing that they friend in a local dog should have in fact nicknamed ‘Geoff walked straight on.

Junior’ who was parAfter a short correcticularly friendly with tion the group walked Geoff and ended up to Hexham, carried laying down on top of on straight through him! The Seniors met up with the Scouts at and looped around the back, before comthe local swimming ing back into town. baths, finishing off These six miles where their two-day hike exhausting. Although with showers and rethey had to walk less laxing in the pool. than the previous day Everyone enjoyed with lighter bags, aftheir visit to the ter everyone had eatswimming baths on en their food, fatigue ‘Washday Wednesday’ from the previous day Maddie… on day release whether it was just to had set in causing have a quick shower or a frolic in the slow progress. pool. The group is always cautious The group finally arrived into Hexnot to stay too long so it’s not obvious ham town centre sometime after 1 that the grass, dirt, sisal and kino’clock in the afternoon. They collect-

dling floating around in the pool belongs to them!

The Scouts in Goose’s kitchen (particularly Toby) spent every free second in camp on Wednesday building a bench. Everyone in the patrol appeared to take a turn attempting to mega-mallet the legs into the hard Hexham ground, even though they wouldn’t get a point for it during inspection because it is a ‘luxury item’ rather than a gadget.

Following a tea of corned beef hash, campers had some downtime so Scouts could relax and Seniors could reflect on their walk. It was whilst leader Neil was talking to the Seniors he got ambushed by Scout Emma who not only squirted him with a large water gun, but then ran rings

he got ambushed by Emma who squirted him with a large water gun

around him continuing to soak poor Neil.

After sunset on Wednesday there was a night game which had been devised by the Rovers. The Wise and Tactical Scouts needed to secure nuclear items from different checkpoints around the field so they didn’t fall into the hands of the Fearless and Gruesome Group of Terrorists (FAGGOTs, for short). The Scouts had one life each which was represented by a sisal wristband and they

checkpoint four to come up with a cunning plan. They knew that all of the FAGGOTs were all waiting for them so they sent one already dead Scout straight to them to act as a decoy whilst they attempted to sneak around the side. Although it was a good attempt, the plan didn’t work and everyone on that team had their lives taken from them. The only consolation was that they had drawn with the other two patrols as it turned out that although every pa-

the FAGGOTs were hiding in the darkness of the field needed to work as a patrol to run to different stations where leaders were situated, pick up an item, and then return to the marquee. The patrol with the most items and the most lives at the end won. Sounds easy?

Think again! Around the field, the FAGGOTs were hiding in the darkness of the field waiting to stop Scouts in their tracks and take their lives from them.

After Erika had carefully explained the storyline and rules to the Scouts, they were released in their patrols to complete the mission. At the first checkpoint patrol they picked up a nuclear container (a billy), second checkpoint was a nuclear material (a tent peg), third checkpoint was a nuclear insulator (a tea towel), and fourth checkpoint was an ID band (a glow stick) which they would need if they wanted to return successfully to the tent.

Most patrols opted for the sporadic approach of running as fast as they could from checkpoint to checkpoint as members of their team were picked off one-by-one with the exception of the Otters who stopped at

trol had managed to pick up the items from the checkpoints, literally everyone had lost their life. Regardless, everyone had a fantastic time darting around the field in the night.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky on Wednesday night allowing for stars to glimmer down onto camp. Keen astronomers in the group such as James (close relative of astrologist Mystic Maddie) were quick to point out the International Space Station however there was a debate between Poppy and Tom about which star was the North star. Whilst some were left in awe by the sky full of

28 THUJUL ON THURSDAY morning the Seniors turned up to flag break in their most beautiful blouses and snazziest shirts and ties as it was, of course, ‘formal Thursday’. A quick wash followed before scotch pancakes, a camp favourite, were fried and flipped for breakfast. As the drizzle turned into rain, Scouts were forced to retire to their food shelters to finish the washing up. As the rain showed no sign of stopping, Liam and Maverick carried out a quick inspection of Scout’s personnel and then sent them over to the marquee to do some badge work. The Scouts learnt about animals and their habitats with Mark and Erika and also did some map reading.

The Tigers had been leading in points from inspection all week and the camp trophy was almost guaranteed to be theirs. During inspection on Thursday the reasons for this became evident. Kit in the patrol tent hadn’t been tidied – including an orange peel which had been left on the groundsheet and also outside the tent, in the general area a smashed up apple was laid on the grass.

Keen astronomers in the group were quick to point out the ISS glitter like stars without light pollution, the circling satellites, and the shooting stars, some Seniors slightly ruined the moment by loudly debating about their music teachers.

That morning the three Rovers left camp for a tree-trekking adventure at Go Ape at Matfen Hall but returned in time for a lunch of hotdogs.

On Thursday afternoon, all the campers went to St Joseph’s RC Middle School in Hexham to try out archery with Tynedale Archery. Once

Spot the Difference A

B

the safety rules had been outlined, everyone got a bow, a bracer, and then found some arrows which were the right size for them. Although Ben claimed that he wasn’t afraid of archery, he did have a quiver.

Due to the mildly damp weather, the session organisers had opted not to soak their standing targets so instead there were two flags – one of which was over 100 meters away which the Scouts needed to aim at.

They would get points depending on how close to the target their three arrows landed.

After the initial practise go, it was established that scoring would be a lot less hassle if people remembered what colour their arrows were. Nevertheless, it wasn’t long until the

Hawkeyes and Lara Crofts of the group emerged as some Scouts seemed to have a knack for archery. Though, it was Cub leader Tom who had the overall high score of 22. Poppy and Reece were the highest scoring Seniors and Scouts, both with a score of 10. And James proved to be the best Rover archer with a poor 5 – it is the taking part that counts.

By this time of the week, leaders had received their invitations for PL’s choice and Tom turned out to be the most popular leader; receiving an invitation from both kitchens. Word had also gotten about the Otters’ ambitious plan to make a full Sunday roast. Sources close to 8th Mag revealed that leaders were somewhat sceptical about PL Josh’s intentions. Meanwhile in the Senior kitchen, a secret ballot took place to determine what leader they should invite. The result of the ballot was a draw so Liam took matters into his own hands and decided to invite Neil.

Despite the absence of Neil, Tom and the Rovers because they were on their Rover meal, after tea there was one of Neil’s inimitable quizzes.

Hosted by Alec, the new-style quiz pitted Scout patrols and Senior patrols against each other in head-tohead rounds where points would go to the individual who pushed the buzzer first with the right answer.

Only a few questions in, Scouts started taunting Seniors about how controversially easy their questions were. Scouts were asked questions like: “what colour is the M in the McDonald’s logo?” and “What does a Venus flytrap trap?” In the end, the

Otters were the victorious Scout patrol and the Earfarts were the victorious Senior patrol – after two rounds of tie break questions though.

Bored with their weird word games and confusing card games, the Seniors attempted a séance with Liam as their medium. After putting their hands on the table in a circle with their thumbs and pinkies touching one another, they managed to stir the spirits and channel some of them. Many of the spiders Poppy had swatted during the week made an appearance determined for revenge and the spider pervert joke – which everyone assumed had died last summer camp – also surfaced from the great beyond.

After a while, the Seniors gave up on that silly non-ense and instead tried an Ouija board with an overturned mug and two bits of paper: one saying ‘yes’ and one saying ‘no’. They all anxiously placed a finger on the mug and then summoned the spirits to ask them some questions. The first of which was a test: “Does Maddie smell?” After the last word had been uttered the mug shifted magically to the piece of paper saying ‘No’ and all the Seniors say that they definitely didn’t push it or interfere with it in any way.

Before the second question, Liam tried to summon the spirits again groaning “Is there anybody there?” to which a voice replied “Yes” as Scout Emma confusedly thought he was talking to her as she walked past the tent on the way to the loo.

29 FRIJUL

AT FLAG break on Friday morning Alec was pleased to see that Jenel has emerged from her tent that morning wearing a Spence heirloom: the biker shorts. The yellow and blue shorts in question have been passed from Spence sibling to Spence sibling and have made an appearance (roughly) annually at Summer Camp for over a decade now and 2016 was no exception.

The rest of the morning then played host to the camp Olympics. Three patrols raced against each other in the warm weather. There was a three-legged race, a power skipping race, a chain race, and an egg-andspoon amongst others. Despite gold medal worthy performances from many Scouts and Seniors, the win-

ning patrol was unclear.

On Friday afternoon, everyone headed into Hexham to do their shopping for PL’s choice. The Seniors even found time for a cheeky Costa before they needed to return to the minibus.

The Seniors even found time for a cheeky Costa On return to camp it was evident that the Seniors Vs Rovers week of pranking had come to a climax. Earlier on in the week, the Seniors had let a party cannon and party poppers off in the Rover’s patrol tent as

Top left (rotating clockwise): Scouts and Seniors on their mark, Neil and Erika organising the camp Olympics, Marcus pulling Goose, the Senior’s party tent

well as given the Rovers a bottle of diet Coke which had a mento suspended carefully under the lid so when they unscrewed it the mento fell in and soaked Harry. But the Rovers finally got their revenge on Friday afternoon by lavishly transforming the Senior bell tent into a party tent complete with bunting, balloons, and a piñata.

At half-past five, PL’s started preparing their meals. As usual, leaders had high expectations as it was an

The Otters Garlic Bread and Salad · Sunday Roast · Victoria Sponge

The Seniors Prawn Cocktail · Meatballs with Wedges, Vegetables and Coleslaw · Rocky Road Tart

opportunity for patrols to independently make a whole threecourse meal. It was also at this time when the Rovers pealed back the lids of their buffet foods and started an eating spree which would continue for the next two and a half hours.

After the flag was lowered at 6pm the marquee door closed and Scouts were left in wonder of what weird and wonderful costumes the leaders would emerge wearing. Minutes later meals were ready and Scouts could go and collect their guests.

Boris Johnson and a Scot dined in Josh’s kitchen, a bunny rabbit and

The Tigers Garlic Bread · Homemade Burgers with Wedges and Salad · Strawberries, Meringue, and Angel Delight with Chocolate Buttons

The Rovers All-you-can-eat Buffet

They welcomed the Queen and Prince Phillip a man in a hazmat suit graced Goose’s kitchen, in the Rover kitchen you could find Sam-I-am, a pirate, a man riding a gorilla, and even a walking talking traffic cone!

The Seniors appeared to have an international theme both in their choice of meal and costume. They

welcomed the Queen and Prince Phillip from Britain, a hula girl from Hawaii, and Borat from Kazakhstan as well as DC Harry Batt twice, a farmer, and a man riding a dinosaur.

Armed with reams of stickers, Boris Johnson darted around the field advocating for ‘Boxit’ (getting the green boxes out of the food shelters) before starters were served.

Despite the dressing up and the wild entertainment, the food is paramount in PL’s choice. The Otters surprised the leaders by managing to successfully serve up a Sunday roast. Meanwhile the Tigers discovered they had bought a cabbage rather than a lettuce to serve with the burgers!

Just before everyone got changed back into their regular camp clothes, Liam was summoned to the marquee. Just as he was about to enter, Neil chucked a billy full of cold water over him as payback for when Liam had emptied a water pistol by squirting Neil earlier that week. A source close to Liam revealed that peeling his wet tights off was an experience that he hopes he never has to do again.

With the stunning backdrop of a marmalade orange sky with pools of blue the campfire commenced.

After ‘Campfire’s Burning’, the masters of ceremonies (the Seniors) introduced themselves with their ‘Hello’ song which went like so: (Continued on page 18)

PL’s choice

Liam: Hi his name is Geoff, Geoff: Hi his name is Liam, Both: We know what the other one thinks.

That’s because we’re totally in sync.

Poppy: Hi my name is Poppy. I like rocks. I also like reading. But I really like rocks. Not the Dwayne Johnson kind, Although he seems quite wise. Also I’m going to win, a Nobel peace prize.

Maddie: Hi my name is Maddie. People say I smell.

Sam: Hi my name is Sam. I have a link to fame. My brother’s uncle’s sister’s daughter’s father’s aunty’s dog’s son’s gran’s cousin’s niece, Is a Kaiser Chief.

Jenel: Hi my name's Jenel. Some people think I’m tough. Say I’ve got tattoos, piecing and stuff. I’m actually really nice. Wouldn’t commit a sin. So please never dis me, Or else I’ll smash y’ bloody face in Holly: Hi my name is Holly, I’m the only one who can sing.

All: We are the Seniors, And we are your MCs, For this campfire, Leave tips if you please. We hope you enjoyed this song, We hope it didn’t drag, But if you didn’t like it, We’ll turd in your sleeping bag.

Campfire favourites followed including ‘Never Going to Heaven’, ‘The Great American Railway’, ‘John Brown knows my Father’, and ‘Wild Rover’ in addition to variety of other performances. Mark took everyone on an intergalactic lion hunt; wading through long grass and on a conga around the field in search of a space lion.

The Scouts shyly sang ‘like a fridge’. Holly C and the Seniors performed an extract from Sweeny Todd. Liam and Mark had a high-brow highly intellectual discussion

“We’ll turd in your sleeping bag.” ~ The Seniors about camping customs and whether the 8th should remain loyal to its traditional style. There was also a rendition of Music Man that Rovers said sounded like “a car radio stuck on scan mode” as it included the Muppets, Monty Python, Bob Marley, Paul McCartney, Tony Christie, a Mexican Mariachi Band with many traditional instruments being side-lined. Then with ‘Good Night Campers’ everyone toddled off to bed having had a memorable day.

30 SATJUL

BY SATURDAY, the morning routine was as streamlined as it was going to get.

The only notable occurrence in the regular routine of fire, flag, wash, and breakfast was a mildly controversial prayer which reinforced gender stereotypes and bacon sandwiches being fried… again!

Alec and Erika then conducted an extremely thorough inspection of all the billies, cutlery, frying pans, plate warmers, and utensils ensuring that they were sparkling clean so that they were ready to be packed away and not used for another few months.

The camp trophy was awarded to the Tigers Camp was then steadily dismantled and the vans were packed. On the bus back, to the disgust of many Scouts, the Seniors sat at the back singing to the songs being played.

You can watch ‘Summer Camp in (just under) Two Minutes' as well as other camp videos here:

www.youtube.com/8thDarlingtonScouts

Left descending: Seniors ready for PL’s choice, leaders ready for PL’s choice, campfire’s burning.

Above descending: Selfie, Alec tries a lay-bag

Once all the kit had been unpacked, Alec said some last words at the den before the formal dismissal. Much to the disgust of Neil, he commented on the ‘banter’ throughout the week, the struggles of being a PL, and he teased of a possible camp trophy between the Seniors and Rovers next year. The camp trophy was awarded to the Tigers, led by Goose, who had managed to beat the Otters by many points.

Poppy lowered the flag for the last time and everyone was then allowed to go home.

Summer Camp 2016 was a great camp.

The group tried new activities including archery, a Hawaiian oven, and the night exercise. They continued with favourites like the X-fire, the campfire, and PL’s choice - which despite being an annual event never grow old due to the freshness new Scouts bring to them. The Scouts pushed themselves on their Hadrian’s wall hike and the Seniors really pushed themselves on their 15-mile overnight hike.

Rainy weather even managed to hold off (for the most part anyway) and a stunning rainbow even concaved over camp on Friday afternoon.

The 8th Mag Team and their favourite chocolate EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

LIAM PAPE - WISPA GOLD COPY EDITORS

NEIL DUNCAN - DAIRY MILK BEN HEWINS - DOUBLE DECKER CONTRIBUTORS

MATTHEW CURREY - YORKIE POPPY MILNER - MINT AERO MADDIE SIMPSON - DAIRY MILK JAMES SIMPSON - WISPA PRINTED BY PRINTED

From the Archive

“Unpacking the box later that evening the Scouts realised that all 3 of the kitchens were lacking plates and bowls. The two idiotic Seniors who had packed the boxes earlier that week had forgotten necessary equipment and instead packed novelty items such as a ridiculously large ladle and too many chopping boards.”

To celebrate the centenary of the 8th, we are looking back over past reports from the original ‘8th Mag’ and log books to reflect upon some interesting moments from the group’s vast history.

This issue’s extract is from Issue 1 of the updated 8th Mag published in June 2013

(See, life is all one big circle)

“If you're not gonna tell the truth, then why start talking?” ~ Gene Wilder

/8thDarlingtonScouts /8thDarlingtonScouts

/8th-mag-articles

www.8thDarlingtonScouts.blogspot.com

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