Training camp 3

We gathered again for training and this time we did some proper camping. Yay! Out in the cold and the rain. Yes the weather may not have been cheery, but it didn't dampen our spirits as we did loads of fun things together as a unit.

To start the weekend...
We arrived on Friday night and pitched our tents. Then it was chill out time until we were sent to bed. A nice, relaxing start to the weekend. Catching up with what each other has done over the holidays and how our fundraising is going.

We were woken up at 6am, in the cold, and told we were doing some exercise. What??? 6am in the holidays. I don't normally get up until 7 even on school days. Anyway, we did a short run around our campsite and did some exercises like star jumps and quick bursts of sprinting.

WSJ23 - Wiltshire Unit Training Camp 3

So we were awake and sat down to have some breakfast. A bacon roll and cereal (comprised of either cornflakes or frosties). Pioneering was next, and we were given the task of building a horse shaped camp gate out of large pioneering poles. The criteria for the 'White Horse' (which is a symbol associated with Wiltshire) was that 3 people must be able to walk side by side through this camp gateway. It must also be able to be taken down in under 2 minutes (practice in case there is an earthquake when we get to Japan).

We also had a crash course on photography. How to make sure not all your photos are blurry and to get some creative inspiration into them.

Throughout the weekend we made some sushi.

WSJ23 - Wiltshire unit Sushi making

During the weekend we took a Japanese quiz to extend our knowledge on the Japanese culture and history. We also planned a route to go around Tokyo when we are there. This was very interesting, because we decided which monuments and places we wanted to visit, and we had to plan a day trip for the unit, with methods of transport and when/where we were going to eat.

On Saturday evening, we played a wide game which involved being chased, carrying spaghetti back to your base and trying to snap the other team's spaghetti before they got back to their base. Some confusion with the rules, but still a great deal of fun.

Sunday evening brought us a campfire, in which we shared songs, some well known and others not so well known. To our surprise our noisy, raucous of what we called singing, enticed the guides on another part of the campsite, who were also having a campfire, to join us. Though we suspected they didn't have a fire and wanted to use ours.

Monday morning brought around more exercise and some workshops to help us with our interviews and confidence and also how to portray scouting and the unit in a positive light.

After that it was time to go home, pack up, take down the tents and wait to be collected. Although for me it meant heading off for a tennis tournament.

My fund raising is continuing and I'll post an update on how I am doing with my recent activities

 shortly.  In the meantime, if you would like to donate towards my fundraising, please visit My Donate page.

Be Prepared

Jacob