8th Mag - Issue 9

SUMMER CAMP 2015 COLLECTORS EDDITION

/8thDarlingtonScouts

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8th Darlington Scout Group

2015 IX

PAPE”R”MAIL editor-in-chief

Making The Camp 2 Slightly More Camp

‘Sue’ Simpson, ‘Mel’ Milner, Beth, Liam, and James: hard at work

LAST year it was easy; nobody expected anything of the Summer Camp movie but, somehow, something we managed to splice together from shaky RAW footage actually turned out half decent. I'm told it was informative, intriguing, humorous, poignant and - most importantly - it didn't drag. The final product, received just shy of 400 views on YouTube which is 1/1,358,695th of the estimated views which James Cameron's Titanic got (what experts call the film most similar to 'The Camp 2014').

This year, planning for the sequel started weeks before summer camp when ideas were discussed with the production team at Seniors.

Although we seemed to have found a winning formula with the original camp, we needed to make this year's film subtly different so people didn't find it repetitive. We also discussed possible names for the film. Rejected suggestions included '2 Camp' and 'Even More Camp'. In the end it was 'The Camp 2 - Slightly more camp' which stuck .

During Summer Camp the Scout and Seniors took it in turns filming different events. They had the ethos of: if you film someone for long enough, they're bound to do something funny. I also conducted my midweek interviews with Scouts, Seniors, and Rovers which were to be overlaid with the footage of the events to give them some context. By the end of the week, we had just shy of 40GB worth of footage.

Roughly a fortnight after camp, the Seniors, James and Neil met at the den to begin the colossal job of editing. This took three days in total and involved no story board or formal plan - apart from the one in our heads. We skimmed through the footage, inserted the appropriate scenes in an order which seemed to flow, move onto the next sections, and then come back to it hours later when we'd notice some more useable RAW footage which we missed first time round. Although some may find this method questionable: hopefully it worked - however you can be the judge of that.

You can find 'The Camp 2 Slightly More Camp' here: www.youtube.com/8thDarlingtonScouts

As well as extended scenes, outtakes, and an alternative ending

WHICHLEADERAREYOU? Can you drive a minibus?

Do you normally wear a hat?

Are you a Senior leader?

No

Nope; too much fuss

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Which Cub pack do you prefer?

Are you a trained special forces agent?

Are you at one with God? Yes

Squirrel

Panther

Yes Are you Santa?

Do you have sideburns?

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

Not yet

Do you like the song Hey Jude?

Nah-Nah

Yes

You are Tom

You are Mark

You are Neil

You are Alec

You have long hair and you’re always happy when you’re climbing a mountain.

You love nothing better than a good Lion hunt… even if it takes you to Mars!

Do you remember that last question you answered? That’s history. You love history.

Nah-nah-nah-nahnah-nah, nah-nahnah hey Jude!

Summer Camp 2015 Kings Meaburn, Cumbria

BY LIAM PAPE PHOTOGRAPHY BY NEIL DUNCAN, LYNNE PAPE AND TOM ROBINSON

Above: Scouts, Seniors, Rovers, and leaders pose for a photograph before setting off to Kings Meaburn

SUMMER camp is undoubtedly the highlight of the camping year which everyone in the Group looks forward to. As it is the longest camp of the year, it is the one packed with the most activities. But it is also the most testing camp if there is wet weather. This year, summer camp was at Kings Meaburn in Cumbria and it was the largest summer camp that the 8th has had in recent history with over 30 campers in total.

25 SATJUL

THE GROUP arrived bright and early at the Den on Saturday 25th July, all packed and raring to go.

Alec and Neil had dropped off all the tents at Kings Meaburn the day before so there was enough room in Anth’s van for all the personal kit.

Once the van and the 4x4 were packed with kit, and the minibus was filled with Scouts, they were ready to go.

On arrival at Kings Meaburn a large wasp’s nest was discovered near the side of the field so it was cordoned off and Scouts were warned to stay away. Surprisingly, that was the only hitch on Saturday and everything else ran smoothly.

The three Scout patrols pitched their sleeping tents, food tents and kitchens close to the river – with the Rover patrol at one end and the Senior patrol at the other. Opposite them, the leaders pitched their tents and the marquee on a jaunty angle so they could see across the

Above: Camp Below left: Camp Below: Goose

field better. The flagpole was erected directly between both rows of tents; in the middle of the field.

As mentioned earlier, there was a record number of campers at summer camp, so a new food shelter was found in the Quartermasters Store for the Senior patrol. Although smaller than the Rover one which

fairy lights and Avengers bunting were hung from the ridgepole had been used at previous camps, once the fairy lights and Avengers bunting were hung from the ridgepole, they were more than happy with it.

As the weather forecast predicted lots of rain during the week, Saturday afternoon was spent wood collecting – or in the case of many Scouts, pretending to wood collect.

This time gave the Seniors a chance to display their inspiration board for the first time - their latest attempt to try and inspire Scouts.

They planned to update it every day with a new inspirational quote (failing that: any quote) so people who walked past could be instantly inspired.

Once the sausage casserole had been digested for dinner, everyone participated in a game of rounders.

In the struggle to stop the batting team from scoring points, many campers opted for power rather than strategy when trying to get the ball to fourth base. This resulted in many overshot throws and slides along the ground from a loss of traction in the grass – mainly from Harry. The only break from the madness was a ten minute accidental interval when the ball got lost in the steep, nettly and thorny area at the side of the field.

Flamingo Holly Carter Annabelle Warren Kieran Kelly Caitlin Howie Chris Hill Josh Race

Map of Camp

Swans Sam MacKenzie Jenel Spence Sophia Livingstone Fenn Barrigan Matthew Race

Boy’s Bogs

Rover Patrol Leaders’ tents Swan Patrol Flamingo Patrol Emu Patrol

Senior Patrol

Girl’s Bogs

(not to any kind of scale)

Emu James Waters Holly Barrigan Emma Carter Ben MacLoughlin Reece Kapaldi

26 SUNJUL

CAMPERS arose early – too early (5.45am) – on Sunday morning and swiftly lit their fires, had a wash, cooked breakfast, and had inspection before walking up the hill to Kings Meaburn for a church service.

Peter, a 93-year-old preacher, conducted the service. He was not expecting such a large audience but happily welcomed them all. Seniors, Liam and Maverick, gave a reading from the Bible where the moral of the story was: you should always utilise the gifts you have (with a secondary underlying principle of: if you don’t have anything, you’re not going to have anything). The sermon was accompanied by an anecdote about musical abilities,

wood. This year, gadgets included can/cup holders, watercarrier carriers, tables, shelves, and even a whole corner unit from the Rovers. By tea time each kitchen had between five and ten gadgets each which they would get points for during inspection.

That evening, Neil debuted his new quiz book for an inimitable, inter-patrol quiz in the marquee.

The quiz itself took elements from University Challenge (as competitors needed to state their patrol and their surname name before giving an answer) and Qi (because of the bizarre scoring system). Tom called the new styled quiz ‘universally challenged’. In true 8th fashion, it wasn’t long until the quiz erupt-

an anecdote about musical abilities, football results, and hymns by a ‘freestyle’ organist football results, and hymns by a ‘freestyle’ organist. Sadly, the prayers for good weather were not heard and once it started trickling on Sunday afternoon, the rain didn’t stop until Wednesday!

However the weather didn’t stop the Scouts, Seniors and Rovers from cluttering their kitchens with a vast array of gadgets lashed together from sisal and

ed into a spat of shouting and controversy.

For supper that evening, Maryland cookies were handed out.

Maryland also happens to be one of two American States ending with a d.

Due to the rain, everyone turned in for the night earlier than usual with their fingers crossed for better weather the following day.

Below left: Stood in the rain Here: Seniors and Scouts having a religious experience

27 MONJUL

THE SCOUTS rushed through their morning routine on Monday morning as they were going on a hike around Ullswater. Before they departed, an Eight first occurred: the ASDA man delivered food to camp which the leaders had ordered online the night before. Is the group moving even further into the twenty -first century? Surely not!

making everyone damp and soggy, it was also bringing everyone’s spirit down. It was only with the leaders’ undampened enthusiasm and YOLO attitudes that ensured Scouts continued their walk. Cub leader Lynne urged Scouts to “embrace the moment”.

“embrace the moment”

Despite the drizzle, the Scouts gathered on the minibus for their hike.

They parked at Pooley Bridge where they caught the 11am steamer across Ullswater to Howtown. Once there, they started their 5 mile hike back along the east side of the lake back to Pooley Bridge.

Along the way, they stopped at ‘the Cockpit’ - an ancient stone circle high on the moor which offers a stunning view of the surrounding countryside.

At the stop for lunch it became clear that the horizontal rain wasn’t only

As a reward for enduring the weather and finishing the hike, Scouts

~ Lynne Pape

Top left (rotating clockwise): The ASDA man and Scouts (other supermarket delivery services are available), the girl Scouts, Scouts hiking, the boy Scouts

were bought an ice cream and treated themselves to the public toilets at Pooley Bridge. The general consensus was that Scouts liked the walk however it was agreed that they would have enjoyed it much more if the weather was better. PL of the Flamingos, Holly, compared her feet to mashed potato by the end of the walk.

Meanwhile, back at camp, the Rovers had been building the great wall of Kings Meaburn between their

tent and kitchen to prevent Scouts from cutting across when they are going to the toilet. Harry had built an altar-fire in the kitchen so Ben didn’t have an excuse for not doing any cooking (following a spud related incident the previous week resulting in a dislocated knee).

The five Seniors had spent the day working on their Camp Warden badge which required them to study the camping standards book before thoroughly inspecting the Scout and Rover kitchens. The Owls, Emus, and Flamingos scored well however the Rover patrol were pitiful. Manky frying pans laid next to mingling billies. The tin of unevaporated evaporated milk which was found in their dry pit was the icing on the cake.

As part of the badge work, the Seniors also pioneered a flag pole and hoisted a tea towel from the top.

They also started planning for Friday which was going to be a day wholly organised and ran by the Seniors.

For tea there was a barbecue which was delicious – especially if you love the taste of Carbon.

“Success comes in a can, not a can’t.”

“BURGER” ~ Reece Thankfully, the rain held off for enough time on Sunday evening for the Volleyball tournament to commence (which ran through the whole week). The Emus, Flamingos, Swans (with the help of Rovers) played each other as well as a team of leaders and Seniors in a knockout tournament to see who would be crowned victorious. However, as the week continued and the members of each patrol fluctuated as people came and left camp, the tournament digressed into a fun game with dancers, singers, and people doing Mexican waves lining the side of the court.

Above: Scouts on the steamer going across Ullswater, Senior Selfie, the quotes from the Senior’s inspiration board

28 TUEJUL

IT WAS THE SENIORS and Rovers on Tuesday who needed to make a quick getaway as they were climbing Ullock Pike and Skiddaw. Stood in the way of their swift departure was the minibus which was stuck in the mud and digging itself further down into the field whenever Mark or Tom attempted to reverse it out.

After the proven method of brute force and shouting surprisingly didn’t work, the van was towed out of the field by Alec in the 4x4.

The group of nine parked at Braithwaite Hall and started a very steep incline through woodland. The challenging gradient tested calf muscles and within minutes left the Seniors and Rovers panting for air.

It was all worth it though for the picturesque panoramic aerial views over the Cumbrian countryside which were visible whenever there was a break in the cloud – which admittedly was a rare occasion. Unfortunately, the view for the majority of the walk was a wall of white cloud.

Even the testing scramble to the summit of Skiddaw didn’t produce the view that everyone was hoping for. However Mark was quick to re-

At the summit of Skiddaw

mind everyone that on a clear day in the future, they will be able to sit in Keswick, look up to Skiddaw, and say “I’ve been there.”

The journey back down was considerably easier than the one going up.

hike finally completed, the Seniors and Rovers made a stop in Keswick on their way home to buy fish and chips. This gave them time to reflect on their walk. All agreed it was challenging. Furthermore, they all

The journey back down was considerably easier than the one going up The pathway zig-zagged back down the mountain towards where they started. This was too much of an unadventurous route for Harry though who insisted on making his way vertically back down and through the undergrowth.

Hungry, exhausted, and with the

agreed that’s how a Senior/Rover walk should be.

Back at camp, leaders had noticed that some of the newer Scouts were starting to struggle because of the miserable weather so there was a longer inspection than usual where Scouts were given hints about cop-

Maddie, Beadle , and Poppy

Seniors going down Skiddaw

ing at camp in rainy weather. They were also given pointers on hygiene.

A welcomed midmorning break from the rain allowed the PLs to lead a group wood collect before heading back into camp for Kim’s game (which was organised by Neil and Ben). Scouts had 90 seconds to view, then 5 minutes to recall 21 items which were laid out on the marquee table. Astonishingly, 7 Scouts were able to remember all 21 items!

After lunch, Scouts were split up. Some practised elements of the Tenderfoot and 2nd Class, whilst other Scouts did some the-

All agreed it was challenging. Furthermore, they all agreed that’s how a Senior walk should be ory for the Camper badge. This was put into practise at dinner time when PLs needed to cook the evening meal without assistance from the leaders.

Due to the weather, the X-Fire was held inside the marquee that evening. This didn’t stop anyone from ardently belting out hits including Country Roads, American Pie, Copacabana, Delilah, Angels, and Hey Jude – the song which seemed to become the soundtrack of summer camp 2015. The heavy rain which bounced off the marquee roof ensured that it was another early night for everyone.

Spot the ‘Deliberate’ Spelling Mistake Hidden somewhere in this magazine is a ‘deliberate’ spelling mistake or grammatical error.

If you spot it, you win!

Other things celebrating their centenary this year Maybelline Thomas Edison’s invention the Telescribe which recorded phone conversations Frank Sinatra Alfred Wegener’s theory of Pangaea

The American ‘STOP’ sign

29 WEDJUL

far as laying in front of their family car – she sadly decided to go in the end. The visit resulted in a bench in the Flamingo kitchen, which was built by Annabelle’s dad.

As one first-time camper departed, another one arrived. Cowboy hatwearer and Cub leader: Christine Lumb. In true Scouting spirit, she had hiked almost all the way from Appleby to Kings Meaburn through the torrential rain – not even phased when all the Scouts passed her in the minibus on their way back from the swimming pool without noticing her.

WHAT’S now became known as ‘Washday Wednesday’ is already popular enough amongst campers for obvious reasons (the clue is in the name). However this year it was extra special because the sun finally broke through the clouds for the first time since Saturday.

Following Tuesday’s hygiene talk with the Scouts, the leaders did a towel check at flag break to ensure that everyone was getting a proper wash in the river every morning.

Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), only a handful of Scouts actually had a towel! The Seniors and Rovers weren’t much better. How do they get a wash then? Some Scouts claimed that they didn’t need one because they only use wipes to clean themselves, others said they forgot to get it out of their personal kit, and one unnamed Scout – notoriously known for being a bit of a stinker even on the best of days – said that she only uses half of her flannel to wash with, and she can then use the other half to dry with.

Following eggy bread for breakfast, the Rovers headed into Appleby to get a swim and shower at the local swimming pool before picking up the pies that everyone was having for lunch.

Everyone else spent the morning trying to do something never done

before at camp (no, not wash themselves properly): make a ‘no-bake’ tray cake. They bashed biscuits until they were crumbly and soft before adding butter to form a buttery biscuit base. Then they melted irresistible white chocolate and added Rice Krispies to form a crunchy middle layer. Finally, they poured on warm milk chocolate with marshmallows to create a rocky topping. Once set, a thick, rich slab of mouth-watering desert was ready to be consumed.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Scouts headed into Appleby to the swim-

‘Camp mince’ was the main course for dinner and, for desert, the ‘nobake’ tray cake was ready for tasting. While this left many Scouts begging for more, in the Senior kitchen it was Maddie Vs Food as she battled her way through one of the largest slices. Christopher appreciated the extra nutrition in his piece of ‘no -bake’ tray cake as earlier in the day a fly had got stuck in the setting chocolate. This was a truly scrumptious desert and one which everyone hopes is done again at camp (hint hint to any leaders who may be reading).

she had hiked almost all the way from Appleby to Kings Meaburn through the torrential rain ming pool for a wash in the showers and a splash in the pool. Despite being tailgated by a man with a mop and reported sightings of the staff needing to increase the chlorine levels of the pool, everyone enjoyed bathing in the once clear waters of the pool. At around 4pm, the Scouts made their way back to camp leaving only a scum line of dirt, muck, kindling, and gummy bears as a memento to remind pool staff of their visit.

That evening, the Warren clan visited camp to see if first-time camper Annabelle wanted to stay at camp or go home. Despite the Scouts’ best efforts to sway her to stay – going as

By this time in the week, the boy Seniors’ bell tent had begun to reek of feet, farts, and other mysterious smells so they decided to open their door widely to let it air. However later, when the Seniors returned to their tent, they saw that they had attracted dozens and dozens of flies which sat on the roof inside. They quickly killed all of them with a pest spray. However, this did cause their tent to de-waterproof and leave streaks where rainwater could seep in.

That evening, a night exercise had been planned by Ben and Neil however due to the return of the rain, only a quick game of volleyball was permitted before bed.

30 THUJUL

SCOTCH pancakes, a camp favourite, were fried for breakfast on Thursday morning. Then, it was time for the return of Super Scout and – new for this year – Super Senior.

Super Scout was added to the summer camp programme last year. It is a day-long competition where Scouts battle against each other in tasks to try and achieve the prestigious title of ‘Super Scout’. Last year’s winner, James, confidently strutted over to the marquee with his underlings carrying the train from his ‘Super-Scout Cape of Office’. He was going to have to put up a tough fight in order to keep his title.

The challenges to determine Super Scout 2015 were: 







Atlas Stones – Competitors needed to carry empty, ¼ full, ½ full, ¾ full, and full water carriers over a 20m course. Points were awarded to the quickest to do this.

Tree identification – Competitors had 20 pictures of trees to identify. To make this easier, an enlarged image of the tree’s leaves was also included.

Flags of the world – Competitors had to identify as many of the 47 flags of countries, counties, and organisations as they could in 2 minutes.

Mental agility – Competitors had 19 lateral thinking questions to answer. (Name four days starting with T. What was the tallest mountain before Mount Everest was discovered?)



Target shooting – Competitors had 10 arrows to fire from a toy crossbow at a target. The person who got the highest score got the points.



Memory Test (Scouts only) – The Scouts needed to try and remember the 21 articles from Tuesday’s Kim’s Game



Knot Challenge – To round off the competition, everyone sat in front of the marquee as competitors took it in turns to tie a reef knot, fishermans knot, sheetbend, timber hitch, and clove hitch in the fastest time possible.

Hanging around: Harry

Scoring was based on MotorGP scoring (25 for 1st, 20 for 2nd, 16 for 3rd, going down to 3 for the lowest placed Scout/Senior).

Different Scouts excelled in different exercises however five of the seven challenges were won by James who scored an amazing 153 points. Unsurprisingly, this led him to retain his title of ‘Super Scout’. Second place was claimed

by Sam MacKenzie. Third place: Fenn Barrigan.

The Senior competition was a lot closer with only three points between the top three Seniors going into the final round: the five knot challenge. It was here where Liam edged Maverick and Christopher to take the title of ‘Super Senior’.

Whilst everyone in camp cooked chicken stir fry and noodles for tea, the Rovers headed into Kings Meaburn for their annual meal. This year they went to The White Horse.

After tea, Adam Carter visited camp and helped wood collect,

Senior competition was a lot closer with only three points between the top three Seniors Scouts indulged in tuck shop, another stage of the volleyball tournament took place, and there was a jam scone for supper. Then bed.

Although the almost full moon shone brightly enough to illuminate most of camp, the Rover’s still didn’t see their food box attempting to make a run for it during the night after many days of neglect in the Rover food shelter forced to hold large amounts of pretzels, sugary drinks and biscuits.

SENIORS were up bright and early on Friday morning to light their fire, prepare a prayer, and run through their plans for the day. As part of their Camp Warden badge they

31 FRIJUL

remains of a beheaded Lishman had fallen when the flag was hoisted.

Lishman had been taken hostage earlier that week by a group named the ‘Fearless and gruesome group of

Scout patrols competed in an egg-andspoon race, sack race, chain race... needed to run a day at camp and Friday had been decided to be that day. Mark had given them a brief list of jobs which needed doing, but the daunting prospects of full responsibility made some of the Seniors feel like they had been thrown in at the deep end. Nevertheless, in good spirits, they got on with the day.

Liam led flag break and Maverick read a long winded prayer thanking God for almost everything imaginable before sending Scouts for a wash.

This allowed the CIA (camp investigation agency) to set up a CSI around the flagpole where the fluffy

terrorists’ (FAGGOTS for short).

The CIA were able to conclude though that it wasn’t the real Lishman who had been beheaded, as he had spent the night being body guarded by Emma. Instead, it was a

three Scout patrols competed in an egg-and-spoon race, sack race, chain race and many other races, finishing off with a marathon around the whole camp. The final result was that all teams were level on points so the winning team was decided by the PL who could guess the number closest to the one that the Seniors were thinking of.

The departure of the Barrigans after sports day, and the suspected departure of Ben meant that the Emu patrol would have been left very low on

the remaining Emus migrated north to join the Flamingos decoy that appeared in the flag – meaning the FAGGOTS were actually a bunch of faggots.

Anyway, away from that twisted dystopia – and after breakfast and the final inspection, the Seniors organised the camp sports day. The

members. So the remaining Emus migrated north to join the Flamingos and the patrol became extinct.

For lunch there was a spicy communal soup. Then, Scouts piled into Penrith to shop for PL’s choice. This year, Mark and Tom had somehow

Swan Menu Garlic bread Chicken Fajitas flan

Flamingo Menu Homemade burgers Strawberry pavlova

Da Avengers Menu Garlic bread chicken Balti rocky road tart

Oh God!

proved to be the most popular leaders, getting invited to both Scout kitchens. This meant that they needed to let one kitchen down though.

kitchen, Tom and Lynne – dressed as a Vietnam veteran and a cowgirl – dined in the Flamingo’s kitchen, Alec and Neil – dressed as a rugby played and Santa – dined in the

A mini mosh pit of vigorous head banging and screaming (PL’s choice occurs on Friday evening every year at summer camp. The Patrol Leader chooses two leaders to cook for, decides what to make for each course, and what entertainment should be provided for their leaders.)

In the end, Mark and Erika – dressed as a mad reverend and a school girl – dined in the Swan’s

Senior’s kitchen, and Christine the Caribbean tourist and Mike dined in the Rover’s kitchen.

Once again, the meals were a success and everyone thoroughly enjoyed dressing up.

Still hyper from PL’s choice, campers headed over to a corner of the field on Friday evening where logs

had been collected for a campfire.

Once everyone was sitting comfortably, Christopher lit the enormous fire and the Seniors led everyone into ‘Campfire’s Burning’ which they sung in a three way round. This was followed by ‘I like the flowers’ which merged harmoniously into a round of ‘John Brown knows my father’, ‘Merrily Sings a Donkey’, and ‘Ging Gang Goolie’. This soon turned into a battle of who could sing the loudest though.

After some more songs, the Flamingos, led by Holly Carter, performed an extract from Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Holly, Caitlin, plus the rest of the patrol were all brilliant however it was the

Below: PL’s choice

entrancing performance from Goose which stole the show.

For their stunt, the Swans did a ren-

Scouts, Seniors, Rovers and leaders.

And, Mark took everyone on a ‘Martian Hunt’ in space.

a highbrow, perspicacious debate into why the 8th is so unique dition of ‘Nugget Nugget Biscuit’; a recurring stunt in campfires of late.

The Liam Pape and Mark Milner Experience performed their ‘Scouting Today’ stunt which was a highbrow, perspicacious debate into why the 8th is so unique.

To make the campfire even more special, the Seniors revived ‘Kumbaya’ with new verses. Liam spiced up ‘Never Going to Heaven’ with approximately 495,234,563 verses which involved/insulted most

You can watch the Flamingo’s rendition of Sweeney Todd here: www.youtube.com/ 8thDarlingtonScouts

The unquestionable highlight of the evening was the Music Man which was a song that had become repetitive over recent years. This year though, the Seniors leading the song, strayed away from the overused Viola, Piano, and Big Base Drum, to new instruments and new sounds. “On my didgeridoo…”, for example, was amusing as Scouts tried to replicate the earthly deep humming of the exotic instrument.

“On my Paul McCartney…” saw the whole group start loudly nah-nahing to ‘Hey Jude’. “On my heavy metal rock band” saw everyone erupt into a mini mosh pit of vigorous head banging and screaming.

And, “On my Mexican Mariachi Band…” launched the whole group

into El Jarabe Tapatio (The Mexican Hat Dance) finished by yelling ‘Olé!’

Campfire ended with ‘Good night campers’ followed by Scouts heading off to bed with huge grins on their faces.

Before heading to bed, Alec remarked that, for him, it was “the best campfire since 1977”.

1 SATAUG ON SATURDAY morning the quote on the Seniors’ inspiration board read “leaders are ducks” – an ambiguous quote reliant on context for most people however for the Seniors and leaders it made perfect sense.

On Friday evening, reflecting on the Seniors’ efforts to run a day at camp, Mark compared leaders sat in the marquee to ducks. From a distance they look majestic and calm - possibly sipping tea or enjoying a chocolate digestive or two that they’ve

found - but underneath, what you can’t see is the ferocious paddling and strategic organisation needed to keep everything moving forwards.

that the Emus (led by James Waters) had won the camp trophy followed by the Flamingos and then the Swans.

Funnily enough, the weather on Saturday was the best weather that had been seen all week. This meant that damp tents wouldn’t need to be hung up to dry on return to the Den - like what has needed to be done in other years.

One hour later, everyone arrived back at Den and they used their last smidgen of energy to help unpack the van and refill the Quartermasters store and Pioneer store. Everyone then lined up in the main hall and Sam, PL of the Swans, took the flag down for the last time. Alec thanked the leaders for another fan-

There was a quick inspection just to check that the billies, frying pans,

the weather on Saturday was the best weather that had been seen all week utensils, and cutlery being packed away were actually clean. Then, under the direction of the leaders, camp started to be dismantled.

Anth arrived just after lunch with his van and all the kit was loaded onto it. Just after 2pm everyone was ready to go home and campers stood around the flag at camp for the last time. The Scout leaders announced

tastic week, briefly summarised some of the highlights of camp, and with one last ‘Nah-nah-nah-nah Hey Jude’ everyone was dismissed.

Below: Luigi, Mario, Kanye West, a knight, John Newton, Aubergine Man, G.I. Tom, a flamingo, a chipmunk, Santa

Oh you’re never going to heaven...

On Alec’s knee… because it’s as strong as the Greek economy On Ben's toe… because it might trip on a potato On Poppy’s spork... because it’s actually Liam’s so you’ll have to walk With Mark’s wit...because it’s as wanted as the Tory budget With a dog as a pet… because the Lord hasn’t got any lampposts yet.

In a minibus… because a minibus is too much fuss On Maddie’s hair… because the Lord won't let that smell up there If you hog this song… because that means you're doing it wrong

From the Archive

“The PLs collected in the staff marquee and sat down at a real table! With chairs - or lemonade crates. To be waited on hand and foot by Rodger, Skip and also Mrs Beadle.

Illustration by Skip Beadle

We nattered on a very wet and very windy night until later than usual. No one quite realised just how wet and windy it was until we dispersed and went our separate ways with a warning word from Skip about guys and wall pegs.”

To celebrate the centenary of the Eighth, 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 the 1961-62 log book. The writer details the PL’s supper with Skip Beadle (GSM) on Friday evening of Summer Camp 1961 at Caldbergh.

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.” ~ Isaac Asimov

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