I got a bit behind with writing up my weekends with the 30 Day Challenge back in June so here is my write up finally of our HMS Hood Remembrance weekend in the New Forest last May.
We had great weather all weekend at Ferny Crofts campsite and as well as running the usual camping courses for the cadets we managed to fit in some Basic Expedition Leader (BEL) and Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) training.
The gentleman you can see playing golf with some pony poo is Chief Petty Officer Paul Townsend of City of London Sea Cadets. Paul has managed this weekend for a number of years now and it is one of the main weekends in the units diaries.
We had a great time navigating in the woods, playing woodland Jenga with logs, arm wrestling or just helping each other along.
The temperature was well into the late 20,s so some of the cadets took it upon themselves to cool things down.
We met up with the BEL staff monitoring the DofE groups along the way, helped each other and learnt a thing or two from the staff.
One of the things I like about this weekend is that we get excellent cooking from our very own RAF chef Simon. Simon has the uncanny knack of taking a few basic ingredients and turning them into a delightful meal.
In the evening I lit a Finnish candle and I managed to get some amazing Fire Faces from it. How many can you spot?
The Sunday is a day of stances. The BEL students ran a variety of classes such as camping kit, compass work, food and first aid.
Charlie had a great morning teaching the cadets how to use both modern and traditional firesteels.
In no time he had them blowing tinder bundles into flame.
Once the fire was going well Simon had the cadets making the best Shmores (melted marshmallows and biscuits) you could imagine. I managed to get myself a decent sized one eventually.
There were a lot more activities going on incling the Atlatl being run by the DON Lt Cdr Mark Macey (I am sure Mark is a secret bushcrafter at heart), running the DofE, campfire cooking and volleyball.
While we were doing all this a group of cadets with Paul were performing an honour guard at Boldre church for the HMS Hood Remembrance Service.
I have never gotten to this service as I have always been running the camp activities but every year I love to see the pictures of the guard.
That was the end of another great weekend so here is to another great one next year.
Cheers
George