Eden Gardner's Report which won the November 2012 Young Reporters Competition
On the date of 14th of September 2012, a group of Boys' Brigade Companies set out for their annual camping weekend. The companies present were: 1st Culloden, 2nd Ness Bank and 10th Methodist, comprising of 36 boys in total, along with the 5 members of staff. On the first night a lot of organisational tasks for the later activities had to be done as well as organising who sleeps in what tent. Afterwards, the boys were greeted in the “Mess Room” with the welcoming fragrance of hot dogs and hamburgers. Soon after the boys had time to familiarise themselves with each other and get a good night’s sleep and each boy was issued two to three blankets so that they definitely wouldn't be cold.
On Saturday at 8 o'clock, every boy was up, bright eyed and bushy tailed with only slight persuasion needed from officers for the boys to leave their cosy sleeping bags. However, even though the boys had a sleepy start, they required their speed when it came to collect their breakfast of cereal or bacon rolls. After the cleaning squad had finished with the breakfast dishes, tent inspections were carried out. The cleanliness of the tents was outstanding with nearly all the tents passing with no penalty points. Next it was time for the first of the boy’s doubleheader of activities out with the camp. A walk round Loch Morlich was organised for the younger boys in which they would walk all the way round the loch, which in distance was approximately 4 miles. For the older boys they took a seven mile trek up to Rothiemurchus lodge, and along the way
they were instructed on how to properly read a map and take bearings from a compass. After the walk was completed the boys sat down and enjoyed their packed lunches which were made by the officers that morning. Whilst enjoying their lunch a blockade of ducks came to perform, much to the amusement of both boys and staff together.
Once lunch had been consumed the litter was collected and disposed of properly and we moved onto our next event: Tree Zone. Tree Zone is an adventure park where you are high up and you need to get over obstacles to complete the course. While each boy was encouraged to join in with the obstacles (despite not needing it) there were a select few who hadn't the stomach, even I didn't have it in me to be 30 foot high in the air, being propelled by nothing but a simple piece of rope! After the boys were done with the course they were taken back to camp where they had some free time before dinner was served. Almost all the boys went into town to Carrbridge to buy sweets and juice. For their dinner the boys had a choice of homemade
pizza or chicken. And despite the sweets they bought, most boys had room for a second serving. Pudding was vanilla ice cream and a serving of apple crumble. After all the food most boys needed a good lie down and relax, however the staff had other ideas. They had organised a game of rounders and football. Despite their stomachs’ weighing them down, the battle of fierce competition was burning bright. Both sets of activities left us with no obvious winners other than the spirit of good sportsmanship. After the boys late supper, the amount of noise made by the boys was significantly less than the first night; the staff had done their job well enough.
On Sunday morning the boys were more awake after their proper night’s sleep, even if they were still reluctant to leave the warm beds. After the boys breakfast of cereal or bacon rolls they set about the difficult task of dismantling the tents under the staff supervision. Firstly, all of their belongings were brought to the Mess Room, the blankets were folded and put away neatly into the store room. The boys learnt from the officers how to properly lay down and fold the tents so they could be transported back to their store. Before the boys had their lunch, they played a game of tug of war in which the overall champions would get first pick of the steak pies, while last would be sentenced to dishes duties.
Before the boys departed home, rounds of applause were given to the officers for their work and for the Boys' Brigade for making this possible, but perhaps most importantly to the boys for their good behaviour and their willingness to get stuck in both the activities but also the dishes when it was their turn. Yes, your son can and has done dishes and is very capable!
For more info on the Carrbridge site
For more info on the Carrbridge site
