Group Camp went very well this year. Third Stoneleigh (Methodist) Scouts invited Dads and Mums to take part in a weekend of games, competitions, and fellowship at a campsite in Cobham on the edge of Cobham Park, right near Chelsea’s Training Ground. We have used this site for the last 5 years; high on a bluff overlooking Mole Valley, it received the full force of wind and tropical rain on the wettest weekend of the decade! Rain poured off the roofs of 2 large halls used for cooking and dining, into un-spouted weirs, big enough to interest most of the Beavers, a few even stood under the downpour!Cubs and Scouts arrived by bus or car just after dark on Friday; the tents have usually been erected before, but not this year, due to rain on Thursday. One of the long zippers ripped open so Clifford Smith, Scouts Leader, grabbed a sewing kit and patch repaired the main door of the large tent. We enjoyed a scrumptious meal by Esther Parks, Cathy Prior, Tracy Coffaro, and Vicki Crust. Steve Lee and Sue Lucas were on duty to help Cubs get to sleep, and provide warranted leadership. Dads retired to the other large hall for team quizzes and group games: translating cowboy terms, building a large wigwam from found materials, making the largest tower from thread bobbins, and dressing one Dad from each group as an Indian Squaw. You guessed it: the theme of the weekend was Cowboys and Indians. A late night snack by our special chef Giuseppe Coffaro, completed an exhausting and very funny evening.
Beavers arrived mid-morning Saturday, long after the games that day had commenced. Arranged in four large groups, 105 dads, children and leaders participated in the largest Group Camp activities yet; even a few girls are scouts with us. Saturday afternoon our Games Masters, Leaders Karen Bauckham and Ian Miles (you remember Ian; he went to a Scout Jamboree in Korea when he was a scout at 3rd Stoneleigh) concentrated on games of skill: cow-pat throwing, beer glass sliding, relay cowboy dressing up, and western pictionary. Of course I was on the Red team, which had every chance of winning; alas this was not to be. The Green Team won again. We returned to SMC around tea-time on Sunday afternoon, after some heroic tent striking in monsoon down pours, and the best breakfast and lunch ever, unless you want to talk about the fantastic spread on Saturday night! By the way, 30 or more Dads helped to dry and store more dishes than I’ve ever seen, except for last year.
Group Camp has run in various forms for many years. It used to be called Fathers and Sons. Clifford recognised one of the dads as having been a Cub when he was first a helper in the troop. Although our troop has been bigger, it has very healthy numbers, and thanks to fund-raising in past years, good financial health. That such a large number of people can still entertain themselves without aids like TV gives the lie to shows like Big Brother. For some this has been a life-changing experience: one young Beaver was heard to ask a Leader, “Are you going to come along next year? Cause if you are I’m coming too.” Hopefully we can build some more bridges to one of the most successful groups we have sponsored. (PS: the cow-pats were made of mashed potatoes and coffee.)
