FRIDAY The camp was officially started at the Scout Hut, with the second challenge set to the Scouts (the first was that they packed their bags without a kit list!). In two mixed groups they had to follow the route specified on the routecard. An hour and a half later we were expecting to see some tired Scouts turn up. In reality we had worn little out of them - almost the story of the camp - and they were off playing football before a burger supper, before we knew it! After Musical Burger Queue, a wide game was organised. It was "Capture Beckham", although he had technically already gone to Real. The three mixed teams were named after prestigious footy teams (AC, Barca and Real) and had to try to find the right people to get Beckham. This involved chasing Peter Kenyon, Fergie and so on. Meanwhile, the likes of Brooklyn and Figo we trying to scupper the deals! I think barca actually got to talk to all the right people, but Real won by default anyway! The Scouts were duly sent to bed with warnings of an early morning - we hadn't told them but we were getting them up for a "ravine run" at 7 am the next morning. SATURDAY Sure enough, at seven the next morning the leaders managed to push themselves out of bed - with the opportunity of waking up the Scouts too good to miss! As we stepped outside our tents we were dismayed to find most of them round our fire - at 7 in the morning! A few quick stretches followed before a ravine run in the woods, led by Andy Makin, who was stung, bitten and drenched for his troubles. After Breakfast the Scouts were sent round bases. There were seven in total, and they ranged from fun activities like team building and a string trail to boring but practical ones like tent-pitching and knots (they have to learn at some point!) A water slide and a game of football took us up to the next wide-game - which was simply get as many tea-bags as you can. We had meant for them to steal them one at a time from each other's secret bases, but the winners turned out to be the ones who had been hanging suspiciously around the Mess tent! SUNDAY And so the big day finally arrived. The Scouts were allowed a lie in (to all of 8 o clock!) and then it was up, out, and on to the really important stuff. THE EVENTS The first event was a full kit inspection - they'd been taught how to do it the day before so it wasn't too difficult. Cobden probably won through the advantage of having less people - but the difference in neatness of kit was noticeable. Next they were sent off on a treasure hunt. This was nearly scuppered by the Beaveree - one of the clues was going to be on the flagpole, which was being gathered around by some 1000 Beavers! Kinder won, and it was honours even again. Next came the first of 6 head-to-heads: Binks vs. Redman. The task seemed simple - make a square out of the shapes in front of you, though in reality it was a bit more tricky. Their team mates were allowed to watch and shout encouragement, but the other team was sent into the soundproof booth (their tent!) Whilst Karl managed to get five pieces in the right place, the Kinder boys, with the hands of Jack, managed to piece the whole square together. Kinder were in the lead! Cobden were kept in their tent for a little longer as we asked each team in turn to make a reef-knot. The only drawback was that they had to all keep their hands on the rope at all times. Whilst Kinder had the right idea, but the wrong knot, Cobden took just two minutes to perfect their Reef Knot, with Karl Binks giving the rest of the team the necessary instructions; "right now you go overNo!...Over!" back to drawing - we couldn't have planned it better! Karl was in the spotlight again in the next event. Cobden only had five team members so one of them had to undertake two head-to-heads. This time it was a strong-man event. It was like the "Stone of Africa", apart from instead of it being a stone the Scouts had to carry a Stormhaven (packed up of course!) as far as they could. Karl set a reasonable standard of 26 times up and down the circuit. Kinder's choice for the strength event was one of the smallest in their team (logic?). Ian Ridgway tried hard, had the right technique, but just didn't have the strength to match Karl. Cobden edged ahead. A test of their fire-making skills was next. The scouts had to burn through a piece of sisal which hovered an axe-handle above the top of the barrel. They had five minutes of wood chopping to ensure that there was no rushed wood cutting at the expense of safety! Cobden, obviously helped by their tactic of throwing as much wood on as possible, burnt though the string first. Kinder didn't really have a fire for the first ten minutes, but eventually burnt through the string to get their lowly runners-up point. Kinder were being humiliated. With three more events before lunch there was a chance for Kinder to catch up though. Individual event number three required silence from the mob. An hour earlier two people had been given a list of fifteen Asian countries and their capital cities. Would they remember them when it mattered. Hibbsy tried valiantly for Cobden, but it was not to be. I'm not sure anyone would have been able to match Chris Rogers 9 out of 10 anyway! Next was the pioneering project - build a chariot. They would be racing them against each other as part of the end assault course, so they would need to be strong and well made! The chariots were marked on their aesthetics and the quality of the knots - with Kinder's "V7" slightly better made than Cobden's Harry-Potter-inspired "Firebolt". All square again then. A tentative game of bowls ensued. Mini Statham vs. Dan Williams. With the score at 6 - 3 to Andy Statham, Cobden were sitting pretty. A few good bowls from Kinder meant that it could go to a sudden death game. Kinder had "two" with one ball to play. Dan threw it and it was good - bang on target. It hung in the air and then crunched down on the Jack. It would have been a good shot, apart from the fact that the Jack went off to settle in the middle of three Cobden balls! Oh well, better luck after lunch maybe? I'm not sure who's idea it was to have a strenuous activity straight after lunch, but I'm not sure it would've made much difference to the end result if we'd have done it at any other time anyway. Whoever organised it was obviously feeling sorry for Kinder following their Bowls bad luck, and allowed them to use all their eight team members against Cobden's five, in a tug-o-war. Needless to say Cobden lost, though they would have won if it'd been 5 on 5! It was a draw again. An individual logic game came next. This time we banned teammates, so it was Nathan Fido against the clock for Cobden, and then Tom Saunders for Kinder. The task was the familiar frog-hopping one (seven spaces, six frogs and the frogs need to swap places) and was mastered by both contestants by he end. Unfortunately for Kinder, Fido did it fifteen seconds faster, so Cobden got the points. Event 12 was tent pitching, or rather, tent pulling down and then pitching. The number advantage for Kinder came through again, though both tents were down and up before the deadline. We had to decide which one we'd rather sleep in, and it was Kinder's by a margin. And so we went in to event 13 with both teams on equal points - which meant as well that there would only be a five second difference between the teams for the assault course. Event 13, named "Dry run", was an individual event. Running at the same time each scout had to run to a bucket of water, pour it on themselves, and run back, twice. Whilst both Graham and Banksy threw the water over themselves with an equal lack of concern, it was Graham who was back home first, so it was Kinder who would start the Gruellinator first. THE GRUELLINATOR "Kinder..go!....5..4..3..2..1..Go Cobden go!" Kinder had made good use of their 5 second advantage and were yards ahead. Cobden were catching, even though they had three less people carrying the chariot. A Kinder slip and the person being carried touched the floor - triggering a five-second penalty. Another slip, and another five seconds later, and Cobden were ahead. The first part of the course was just a chariot race, but as they entered the trees the focus was on manoeuvrability. Both teams got stuck on a few trees, but it was almost neck and neck as they ditched the chariots and ran into the assault course proper. The teams split up and it was every man for himself as they trudged through mud, branches, and water, dodged round trees, and then made the final ascent up a slippery slope - our version of the "Travelator"! Ridgway and Fido were the first two through, but maybe they shouldn't have been so hasty, as it was the first team to get back, not the first person! At the back there was a battle between Dan Hulme and Karl not to be last. Dan Hulme had the edge and was halfway up the slope when Karl reached it. Karl grabbed up at branches round the side whilst Dan tried to go straight up. Dan was almost there when his grip went and he slid back down to the bottom, probably losing his fingernails in the process. Karl was making steady progress and managed to pull himself up. This was it. A Cobden victory. Karl ran through the finishing line to be greeted by his delighted, cheering Cobden teammates. Poor Kinder, better luck next year. |
© Togmedia 2003 |
THE BATTLE OF MARPLE |
THE FULL REPORT 2003 |
FRIDAY The camp was officially started at the Scout Hut, with the second challenge set to the Scouts (the first was that they packed their bags without a kit list!). In two mixed groups they had to follow the route specified on the routecard. An hour and a half later we were expecting to see some tired Scouts turn up. In reality we had worn little out of them - almost the story of the camp - and they were off playing football before a burger supper, before we knew it! After Musical Burger Queue, a wide game was organised. It was "Capture Beckham", although he had technically already gone to Real. The three mixed teams were named after prestigious footy teams (AC, Barca and Real) and had to try to find the right people to get Beckham. This involved chasing Peter Kenyon, Fergie and so on. Meanwhile, the likes of Brooklyn and Figo we trying to scupper the deals! I think barca actually got to talk to all the right people, but Real won by default anyway! The Scouts were duly sent to bed with warnings of an early morning - we hadn't told them but we were getting them up for a "ravine run" at 7 am the next morning. SATURDAY Sure enough, at seven the next morning the leaders managed to push themselves out of bed - with the opportunity of waking up the Scouts too good to miss! As we stepped outside our tents we were dismayed to find most of them round our fire - at 7 in the morning! A few quick stretches followed before a ravine run in the woods, led by Andy Makin, who was stung, bitten and drenched for his troubles. After Breakfast the Scouts were sent round bases. There were seven in total, and they ranged from fun activities like team building and a string trail to boring but practical ones like tent-pitching and knots (they have to learn at some point!) A water slide and a game of football took us up to the next wide-game - which was simply get as many tea-bags as you can. We had meant for them to steal them one at a time from each other's secret bases, but the winners turned out to be the ones who had been hanging suspiciously around the Mess tent! SUNDAY And so the big day finally arrived. The Scouts were allowed a lie in (to all of 8 o clock!) and then it was up, out, and on to the really important stuff. THE EVENTS The first event was a full kit inspection - they'd been taught how to do it the day before so it wasn't too difficult. Cobden probably won through the advantage of having less people - but the difference in neatness of kit was noticeable. Next they were sent off on a treasure hunt. This was nearly scuppered by the Beaveree - one of the clues was going to be on the flagpole, which was being gathered around by some 1000 Beavers! Kinder won, and it was honours even again. Next came the first of 6 head-to-heads: Binks vs. Redman. The task seemed simple - make a square out of the shapes in front of you, though in reality it was a bit more tricky. Their team mates were allowed to watch and shout encouragement, but the other team was sent into the soundproof booth (their tent!) Whilst Karl managed to get five pieces in the right place, the Kinder boys, with the hands of Jack, managed to piece the whole square together. Kinder were in the lead! Cobden were kept in their tent for a little longer as we asked each team in turn to make a reef-knot. The only drawback was that they had to all keep their hands on the rope at all times. Whilst Kinder had the right idea, but the wrong knot, Cobden took just two minutes to perfect their Reef Knot, with Karl Binks giving the rest of the team the necessary instructions; "right now you go overNo!...Over!" back to drawing - we couldn't have planned it better! Karl was in the spotlight again in the next event. Cobden only had five team members so one of them had to undertake two head-to-heads. This time it was a strong-man event. It was like the "Stone of Africa", apart from instead of it being a stone the Scouts had to carry a Stormhaven (packed up of course!) as far as they could. Karl set a reasonable standard of 26 times up and down the circuit. Kinder's choice for the strength event was one of the smallest in their team (logic?). Ian Ridgway tried hard, had the right technique, but just didn't have the strength to match Karl. Cobden edged ahead. A test of their fire-making skills was next. The scouts had to burn through a piece of sisal which hovered an axe-handle above the top of the barrel. They had five minutes of wood chopping to ensure that there was no rushed wood cutting at the expense of safety! Cobden, obviously helped by their tactic of throwing as much wood on as possible, burnt though the string first. Kinder didn't really have a fire for the first ten minutes, but eventually burnt through the string to get their lowly runners-up point. Kinder were being humiliated. With three more events before lunch there was a chance for Kinder to catch up though. Individual event number three required silence from the mob. An hour earlier two people had been given a list of fifteen Asian countries and their capital cities. Would they remember them when it mattered. Hibbsy tried valiantly for Cobden, but it was not to be. I'm not sure anyone would have been able to match Chris Rogers 9 out of 10 anyway! Next was the pioneering project - build a chariot. They would be racing them against each other as part of the end assault course, so they would need to be strong and well made! The chariots were marked on their aesthetics and the quality of the knots - with Kinder's "V7" slightly better made than Cobden's Harry-Potter-inspired "Firebolt". All square again then. A tentative game of bowls ensued. Mini Statham vs. Dan Williams. With the score at 6 - 3 to Andy Statham, Cobden were sitting pretty. A few good bowls from Kinder meant that it could go to a sudden death game. Kinder had "two" with one ball to play. Dan threw it and it was good - bang on target. It hung in the air and then crunched down on the Jack. It would have been a good shot, apart from the fact that the Jack went off to settle in the middle of three Cobden balls! Oh well, better luck after lunch maybe? I'm not sure who's idea it was to have a strenuous activity straight after lunch, but I'm not sure it would've made much difference to the end result if we'd have done it at any other time anyway. Whoever organised it was obviously feeling sorry for Kinder following their Bowls bad luck, and allowed them to use all their eight team members against Cobden's five, in a tug-o-war. Needless to say Cobden lost, though they would have won if it'd been 5 on 5! It was a draw again. An individual logic game came next. This time we banned teammates, so it was Nathan Fido against the clock for Cobden, and then Tom Saunders for Kinder. The task was the familiar frog-hopping one (seven spaces, six frogs and the frogs need to swap places) and was mastered by both contestants by he end. Unfortunately for Kinder, Fido did it fifteen seconds faster, so Cobden got the points. Event 12 was tent pitching, or rather, tent pulling down and then pitching. The number advantage for Kinder came through again, though both tents were down and up before the deadline. We had to decide which one we'd rather sleep in, and it was Kinder's by a margin. And so we went in to event 13 with both teams on equal points - which meant as well that there would only be a five second difference between the teams for the assault course. Event 13, named "Dry run", was an individual event. Running at the same time each scout had to run to a bucket of water, pour it on themselves, and run back, twice. Whilst both Graham and Banksy threw the water over themselves with an equal lack of concern, it was Graham who was back home first, so it was Kinder who would start the Gruellinator first. THE GRUELLINATOR "Kinder..go!....5..4..3..2..1..Go Cobden go!" Kinder had made good use of their 5 second advantage and were yards ahead. Cobden were catching, even though they had three less people carrying the chariot. A Kinder slip and the person being carried touched the floor - triggering a five-second penalty. Another slip, and another five seconds later, and Cobden were ahead. The first part of the course was just a chariot race, but as they entered the trees the focus was on manoeuvrability. Both teams got stuck on a few trees, but it was almost neck and neck as they ditched the chariots and ran into the assault course proper. The teams split up and it was every man for himself as they trudged through mud, branches, and water, dodged round trees, and then made the final ascent up a slippery slope - our version of the "Travelator"! Ridgway and Fido were the first two through, but maybe they shouldn't have been so hasty, as it was the first team to get back, not the first person! At the back there was a battle between Dan Hulme and Karl not to be last. Dan Hulme had the edge and was halfway up the slope when Karl reached it. Karl grabbed up at branches round the side whilst Dan tried to go straight up. Dan was almost there when his grip went and he slid back down to the bottom, probably losing his fingernails in the process. Karl was making steady progress and managed to pull himself up. This was it. A Cobden victory. Karl ran through the finishing line to be greeted by his delighted, cheering Cobden teammates. Poor Kinder, better luck next year. |
