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The Zone
Youth Clubs had their first major outing on 7th-9th
September - a camping weekend at Kearsney, near Dover. After weeks of
numerous phone calls, emails, texts and list-writing, frantic shopping, last
minute transport re-arrangements, loading up minibuses with games equipment,
food, luggage, sleeping bags, pillows, teddies, and finally 25 children, we
set off.
Fervent
prayers had been said for good weather (after the miserable summer I think
we deserved a break), and we were rewarded with days of sunshine. The site
was all ours – rolling hills surrounding open fields and woodland, large
tents, and best of all – a kettle, fridges, proper showers and loos!
To say the
kids were excited is an understatement, and even a night walk around the
site couldn’t calm them down. I don’t think anyone actually slept at all
during the first night, so Saturday was a very, very long day. A variety of
messy games such as squishing beans, rice pudding, bananas, dog food and
peaches into bottles, followed by a food fight, then a water fight, Twister
with piles of squirty cream and baked beans on the squares, then rounders,
cricket, volleyball, and exploring the woods eventually wore everyone out.
A perfect barbeque, hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows around a huge
campfire, and an impromptu talent show ended a fantastic day.
Sunday was
much more relaxed, warming our toes in the embers of the campfire (forget
health and safety!) a big barbeque lunch, team building games in the field,
and suddenly we had to pack and leave. Very tired and dirty, but very
happy, we handed over the kids to their families, unloaded the buses, had a
nice cold beer…and started planning next year’s trip.
Victoria
Suchak
Club Leader, The Zone. |
