Monday 1st August

​Hoo-ray it is Yorkshire Day! The campers welcomed the month August along with a celebration of one of Britain’s most renowned counties, as well as the home of L&E. After a weekend of whole-camp visits to Flamingo Land and Yorkshire’s capital city – York, on Saturday and Sunday respectively, our young people embarked on the final week of L&E 2022. 

Monday began with sleepy eyes but the day was kick-started with a fiercely competitive dodgeball tournament. Despite most of our cohort hailing from non-dodgeball playing countries, our campers have taken to the sport like ducks to water, with one youth quoted as saying, “I love the smell of ‘no-sting’ rubber in the morning; it smells like victory.” Our latest additions from Canada fit right in, playing by the rules while also encouraging their teammates to push themselves in name of conquest of the dodgeball court.  

The morning activities included cricket, archery and portrait painting. Our novice cricketers were firstly versed in the complicated rules of the sport while also being given a short Yorkshire-centric history of the game.  In portrait painting students were encouraged to work in the style of Basquiat, Picasso, Van Gogh and Haring, with some of our young artists combining modes and styles to create interesting and eye-catching pieces. In our archery session campers were coached by our camp archer Kenny who saw vast improvement in a short space of time with many requesting to have another session later in the week, revealing the truly addictive nature of the sport. Our Open Minds’ students spent the morning exploring our perspectives on time, and how we view human history in relation to our planet’s history. 

Curry was on the lunch menu today with the dish being a true staple of Yorkshire with some of our country’s best curry houses located in the county. Curry emerged as a favourite dish in Britain after a post-Second World War labour shortage spurred an influx of immigration from South Asia into Britain. The city of Bradford in Yorkshire is considered by many to be the curry capital of the UK. 

Afternoon activities consisted of den-building and ultimate Frisbee! In den-building our campers were marched to our school’s wooded area and challenged to create liveable shelters using materials sourced from nature (string was provided by the tutors upon request) as if they were in a survival situation. Our young adventurers went above and beyond in their constructions with some of the dens featuring sun rooms and rain rooms depending on the conditions, while others did not scrimp on the interior decoration by adding fairy lights and potted plant features. Ultimate frisbee was a hit with our campers with the sport requiring our athletes to work together while “hurling disc”. One game was reportedly won by a spectacular buzzer-beating score, that concluded a thrilling match. 

Film making was the creative option in the afternoon, giving some of our students the chance to get behind the camera and record their fictional creations. The group’s work culminated in a murder-mystery with a comical twist, which also included a romantic element. Our tutors were thoroughly impressed with final cut. Talented actors and creative minds are in no short supply with our cohort 

The Rhubarb Shield was up for grabs this evening in our Yorkshire themed evening challenge. Seven teams competed to get their names on the shield in an array of Yorkshire inspired games. Vocal talents were required to complete the jukebox portion of the competition with a few teams displaying their singing skills and maintaining their high spirits in the name of Yorkshire despite the wet weather. The children returned to the dining hall to warm up with some hot chocolate and the chance to contemplate the last week of camp to come.

Tuesday 2nd August

At L&E the breakfast is hearty in more ways than one; the bellies it fills with food and the hearts that grow with newfound friendship. Set with a tummy full of Britain’s finest sausage and grilled tomato, the campers combatted dodgeball. Aysgarth sports hall was overcome with bouncing,bolting and soaring; and that was just the children!!

As always the campers had a decision of a lifetime….sport adventure or creative??? 

As Olympics is our last but most certainly not least theme week, the children were commissioned to creative 3D Olympics torches – complete with their own mascot. Cartoonist Keith Haring would have been proud of the personalities created between campers and their pens, as ‘Robert the Onion’, ‘Ken the Olympic man’, and ‘the Demon’ really came to life. Whilst tissue paper flames sufficed for now, the children couldn’t wait for Tuesday’s tradition of campfire – intending to parade torches around with the true honour of an athlete. Differing styles were embodied as the children experimented with the plethora of tones and shades, transcending the usual boundaries of reality – i mean have you ever seen purple Olympic fire??

For our sporting legends, hockey was on offer. Sticks were swinging and teamwork was thriving as the children took upon the initiative to include each team player with consideration; truly bringing their kindness to the pitch. An intense 40 minute match displayed the innate talent our campers posess – wielding their sticks like that of a true warrior, defending the territory of their goal. Huge shoutout to both our teams; neither left the hall without a goal under their belt! 

Back by popular demand ‘Scuba Steve’ (you can call him Bill) donned the gas tank and took our campers upon the watery endeavour of Aysgarth swimming pool for the last camp of 2022. Though some of our camp have ventured the depths of the coral reef, they would tell you that the tiled underworld of Bedale is superior any day! Shark or Camper? We’ll never know….

In the classroom Open Minds explored the limits of humanity, displaying critical analysis within questions such as ‘What is the definition of humans identity in comparison to AI?’, and ‘How does your community affect your identity?’ etc. Not only did the campers efficiently decide their own groups during the project, but they really embodied an impressively assertive approach to layered topics that many had not considered before. A true culmination of all the worldly and intellectual knowledge they had acquired in their time of the class.

We have Tzeachten FC from British Columbia, Canada here this week and they completed another fine day of soccer with Ex-professional Ian Fitzpatrick. We are excited to watch their game on Wednesday evening.

Mirroring the Suite Life of Zack and Cody season 1 episode 22, the campers conquered the hoops of basketball; shots that would push even Lebron James off the leaderboard. Dribbling took on new heights in the hall as the students played gracefully and illustrated extreme skills individually AND as a team. 

Covergirl hit L&E with Trashion (Trash Fashion)!! Vogue style pieces, complete with cardboard dogs were created out of newspaper,plastic cups, straws and anything else you could recycle. Not only were these fits environmentally conscious but they served looks that Milan fashion week would be jealous of. Pasta necklaces became the new Cartier as we ceased with a iconic (yet slightly drizzly) runway…

Minds were blown by the Dynamo-level magic displayed around the campfire, with marshmallows to finish. As usual, lyrical geniusy was embodied by our camp as a juicy moose took the stage and stunning the crowd.

A swift hot chocolate later and the campers were in the land of dreams. A goodnight to end another great day!!!

Wednesday 3rd August

what a day to behold. After some flippin’ good pancakes the children headed to dodgeball for another round of the fan favourite dodgeball – it doesn’t get much batter than this! Tension was built as tall as Aysgarth’s own clock tower as we commenced a battle as old as time….Campers vs Tutors (winners will not be confirmed).

A sunny morning was made that bit brighter as campers recollected their most treasured times at L&E, conveyed via a handmade postcard. Watercolours, poster paint, and memories went splat onto the page as the youths illustrated their favoured times. Paddle boarding, campfire, and extreme indoor hockey were all top residents on one side of the card, with the other possessing the campers own personalised message to their loved ones.

‘Get down the courts in a hurry, you may just meet Andy Murray’ or even better…our super star tennis players!! The children became one with their sport as the rackets simply became an extension of their arm,with deft serves and fair returns really rendering our campers as pros. Though our campers are full of the stuff, i can assure you that ‘love’ was a word used rarely in these matches as their scores sky rocketed. They really displayed a thirst to learn as they patiently took upon the skeletal basis of the game, building up their skills comfortably and at a pace suited to each child’s needs.

Adventure is never far as long as camp is near!! Our bitsy Bear Grylls took upon the rapids of Yorkshire, holding their heads and their paddles high as their braved the chilly waters. Many of the campers embraced the independence of transcending their comfort zones and faced fears, making themself and the camp proud.

In our open minds session the students continued with their projects; going above and beyond expectations and really displaying their natural capability within the class and outside when applying the skills to external situations.

Canada took the cobbled streets of York as our Canadian campers explored the historically-saturated town. Whether it be trying true Yorkshire delicacies at the food market or splashing the cash in Urban Outfitters, i can confirm the girls had a blast!!

Moves as smooth as Jamiroquai’s funk beats came to life in the afternoon dance session, as the campers tore up the floor with gymnastic and jazz-enthused groove. With a pep in their step and a Samba in their head, the students curated their very own original dance piece complete with cartwheels galore.

A Papier-mache Pompeii rose in the art studio, spitting magma mentoes miles into the sky. Tectonic plates glued together with PVA solidified our mighty volcano as the scientific reaction of mints and coca-cola overflowed the structure with suspiciously fizzy lava. A step by step task was followed with dedication and care, subsequently allowing the campers to successfully complete an otherwise complicated artistic AND scientific piece.

To end our day, our visiting Canadian soccer stars (or football as you may know it) dominated the pitch for their first official match of the trip. The girls performed amazingly well, and really did themselves proud. Neon green (and of course our goalie in pink) stunned the entire crowd, playing graciously and scored a whopping 2 goals through the match. Cheered on by our other resident campers, morale rang high alongside the tension. Go ‘Team Tzeachten’!!

Thursday 4th August

A sunny morning came to be

Toast and beans for all to see

Dodgeball begins

Campers grin

Tutors demolished with glee.

Swiftly goes the feet

Penalties, misses, and goals

Football comin’ home

Some Rhythm n’ Blues,

Anthems, Ballads, Disney, Pop

Feel the dance and song

Wisping winds blowing

Stone face grazing human face

Ropes are holding life

Chef preparing for mouths to feed

12.30 is our time of need

Chicken and sauce

Salads of course

And tuck for a good deed

Flour and an egg 

Sugar to your heart’s content

Cookies made with joy

Willow bat, red ball

Bouncer hit for a long four

New passions are born

Emotive writing

Collaborative melodies

Performance ahead

Preparing to compete

A new team to meet

Pizza bites

Flame lights

Opening ceremony with a beat

Olympic events for all

Competitors are all set

Teams need to make a call

Plenty medals to collect

Long jump and frisbee

A Wellie boot throw

Long distance, run free

Short sprint, a quick go

Archers bow out

Swimming goggles tight

A ping pong bout

And sumo fight

Glory to Thailand

Then off to dreamland.

Friday 5th August

L&E 2022

As we come to the end,

Of Summer Camp this year,

We can always depend,

On our high spirits and cheer,

We’ve ducked and we’ve dodged,

We’ve dipped and we’ve dived,

For four weeks we’ve lodged,

And together we’ve thrived,

We sleep in our dorm,

In the day we’re together,

Great friendships we form,

And they will last forever,

We’ve had some new faces,

Some old ones returned,

We’ve done wacky races,

And the campfire’s burned,

We’ve had musicals,

Harry Potter spells,

Olympics and video games,

And emotional farewells,

It’s been a month filled with fun,

And camps been a pleasure,

Good times from day one,

And memories we’ll treasure.