Monday 25th July
Monday has come around again for our campers! The new campers got suck in with our traditional dodge ball frenzy. The staff managed to give the kids a run for their money in the staff vs campers match with the campers winning by the skin of their teeth.
The morning then brought on all kinds of fun with bench ball being of offer to our sporty campers. Excellent sportsmanship and communication was shown in our teams and friendships and community is beginning to develop amongst our week 3 campers.
We did not let the rainy day hinder our mood with rain painting on the agenda in creative. Artist flare was unleashed in our arts studio with rainbows, sunsets and more being produced by our talented artists. I do believe the water guns may have made an appearance to enhance the classic british weather. All in all a true cultural experience.
Our adventurous campers embarked on a heroic mission to build dens. They face many an opponent in this endeavour with stinging nettles, spiders and energetic sheep also wanting a slice of the action. Bear Grylls himself would be impressed by the work produced with them also providing good shelter from the rain.
Some of out campers began the open minds course with discussions about collaboration and identity. Are groups used the session to understand one another and foster a safe space for the course to continue in.
After a delicious refuel of curry and tuck the afternoon activities began in full force. The dens built in the morning created perfect bases for a game of capture the flag, a true camp favourite. The non bibs too the lead in the first game after a long gruelling game for both sides. However the bibs did swoop into winning the second game leaving the score board equal.
Hockey games were also in full swing in the sports hall with some of our expert campers helping out others. This lead to some highly competitive and rewarding matches.
The art rooms activity hinted at this weeks these as our campers made their own wands. I wonder what these might be used for later in the week??
Ice breakers were back in the evening and our campers old and new got to know each other. Eggs were dropped and scrambled after eights made a comeback and the classic chubby bunnies were battled with a new camp record set!
Tuesday, 26th July
It has been another brilliant Tuesday at camp! Despite the drizzly British weather, spirits at camp were high as we started the third day of Week 3 with a rousing game of dodgeball. The staff were narrowly beaten once again, but it was a far closer battle than normal and with a few key players (Kenny) returning to form it is undoubtable that the staff will get a win soon. In adventure, all the campers had a chance to have a go at scuba with the stupendous scuba Steve. It was fantastic to see the camper’s confidence grow in the water and they were some fantastic games of underwater frisbee. In the morning, the open minders had a thoughtful discussion about communities, mapping out the different communities that we are part of and how they overlapped. In sport, the campers had a chance to have a go at Quidditch (or Quadball as it has been recently named), where the campers flew around the court and hit some hoops. It was a game that Madame Hooch would have been proud of, despite no one catching the golden snitch. In creative, we went on a rock hunt to scavenge some rocks to paint. The results were lovely, with some beautiful designs created.
At lunchtime, the vegetarians among us were treated to a delightful veggie Bolognese courtesy of the lovely Tessa the chef. The succulent quorn interspersed with a delectable mixture of courgettes, carrots and tomatoes ensured that lunch was an absolute dream for the vegetarians, who surely won over the classic (but boring) meat bolognese. In the afternoon, some campers had a go at rugby where there was great sportsmanship shown and some brilliant games played. Meanwhile, in creative, the campers had a go at designing and building jewellery boxes and creating jewellery out of loom bands and beads for friends and family. In the evening, we started the night with some exciting wide games, where team Mango were victorious in fruit basket. Last but not least, we finished the evening with the famous L and E campfire, where we sung campfire classics like ‘Boo chicka roo’ and ‘I like the flowers’ before being treated to a variety of performances which included some spell binding magic tricks and delightful traditional songs. It was a brilliant end to another brilliant day at camp.
Wednesday, 27th July
Anticipation for a day of sun
What lies ahead? Some more fun!
Tasty Breakfast pancakes
Followed by dodgeball hot takes.
Magicians were born,
Basketballers adjourn.
Open minders and tutor
Discuss a technological future
Stand up paddle board,
Some went overboard.
Potatoes and roast,
A meal to boast.
Drama skills on display,
Tennis games for the brave.
A quick Slip and Slide
And a swim on the side.
After evening meal
A movie reel.
Harry Potter delight
Before we say goodnight.
KT
Thursday 28th July
“Accio nice breakfast!” That’s what all of our campers were saying as they awoke on Harry Potter theme night – and merlin’s beard was it a nice breakfast – fried bread with baked beans to be precise. Off to dodgeball we went, and I’m sorry to report that the tutors were unable to live up to the exemplary standard of yesterdays victory, an official source has reported that they’re “disappointed, sorry for letting the team down, and ready to get straight back to the training pitch to right the wrongs of today tomorrow.”
The menu for the morning consisted of a serving of comics book making for creative characters, badminton and volleyball for the sportsters, and scaling Yorkshire’s Everests in an incredible external climbing adventure. More importantly, the menu for lunch consisted of grilled chicken, couscous and mesmerising zucchini fritters for the vegetarians in the group – we don’t give an Oscar for chef of the week but Tess the chef has certainly changed the game on the food front.
Good afternoon! That’s both a greeting and a description when it comes to describing today’s festivities! Another batch of climbers hoisted the daring local summits, whilst we had theme night preparation in creative. Sport was football, and no length of blog would put into justice the sheer magnificence of the game this afternoon. There were wondergoals, there were missed penalties, there were multiple save of the season contenders – and after a full afternoon of exceptional effort the score ended at 10 goals apiece.
Chicken versus egg? What is the meaning of life? How long IS a piece of string? Well we added one more to the endless questions of unsolvable quandaries at dinner today – does pineapple belong on pizza? A delicious selection of pizza was on display, controversially including a pineapple option, alongside a marvellous Caesar salad to make sure we were well fuelled for the theme night to follow.
“Du duh du duh duh du duh duh, du duh duh duh duh du duh.” That’s right, the Harry Potter theme was echoing throughout the Aysgarth castle as we began theme night. Our campers were sorted into the 4 houses, and went for lessons in potions, defence against the dark arts, divination and care for magical creatures, earning points for their house during each lesson by completing a range of challenges. Whilst many would argue that, due to their incredibly impressive house points total of 830 points, Slytherin were the winners of tonight’s activity, others would say fun, friendship and camaraderie were the real winners of the day.
After a tremendous evening, we all had a hot chocolate and headed to bed.
Friday 29th July
As always, the day began with the notorious dodgeball competition. The energy was high, and hopes were flying. The campers proved to be tough competitors this morning, and the talent and dancing style was enough to prove triumphant.
The ‘Extreme Mega Sardines’ was the event of the day! One particular camper managed to stay hidden for a great length of time; his impeccable skills making seeking a struggle. Rounders was no easy feat either. The two teams battled it out through great catches, strong batting and awesome teamwork. It was amazing to see the huge collective talent amongst the campers. Meanwhile, in the art room, some origami creatures were being made. The art of paper folding proved to be no challenge for those in creative. They made swans, frogs, boxes and finished with an exciting paper airplane competition, in which the technique of long-winged light planes came out on top. In the Open Minds class, they put their heads together in a series of controversial debates, deliberating over the universal rights and wrongs, the intricacies of moral dilemmas, and numerous other philosophical questions. Definitely a thought-provoking morning.
Olympians have nothing on the L&E competitors involved in the afternoon triathlon. It began with a rapid swimming race, followed by a strenuous obstacle course, and finishing with a run. The run was intense, but the teams showed great teamwork, determination and courage, fighting even till the end. The kindness to those falling behind was admirable. To further the excitement, the slide was a great way to celebrate the efforts in the triathlon. It certainly was not for the faint hearted. Skill and speed were necessities, and the shrieks of joy was great to hear.
The evening came to a close with a wonderful Oscar Award Ceremony, followed by a disco. It was a great way to end the week as we reminisced on past successes and celebrated our differences and achievements. We were in awe of the campers’ displays of magic, music and joke telling. The Star Camper award was well deserved, due to their kindness, passion, and positivity. With everyone well-dressed up, we partied together and danced to our favourite songs – Craig Revel Horwood would have been proud.
Well done for another great week!
