16 Jul 2008 - Hillcrest Camp Diary Day 3

Day 3 in the Hillcrest House...
 
7:10 am All of the housemates are still asleep. 
7:15 am A restful night's sleep ends. Hooray!!!
8:00 am Breakfast is served and a few tired looking faces betray the effects of a heavy workload of activities and minimal first night sleep - some people just have to learn from their own mistakes!
Cereals and toast/eggs and sausages are munched in anticipation of a day of water sports!

9:00 am After ablutions and other preparations the children hit the coach and we're off to the lake. A less rousing series of songs is sung today, but what do you know, they're still really annoying - prepare yourself for the one about Tarzan - it grates believe me.
9:30 am Change and into morning activities. Raft building is quite an important life skill, well it was for Tom Hanks and Robinson Crusoe, and the amount of teamwork needed to put one of these things together correctly is quite remarkable, that's before you go into the intricacies of knot tying, displacement quoitients and the finer points of fluid dynamics. Still, eventually you launch your vessel and sail off on the high seas to boldly go where nobody has gone before...and not forgetting a bit of piracy and boarding your mates craft and putting them in the drink! Hurrah

12:30 pm Lunch. And frankly not before time. I had to wait what seemed like ages and my stomach thought my throat had been cut I can tell you. Honestly. Sarnies, fruit, biscuits and crisps did a jolly good job of nourishing the muscles for the afternoon's delights though!
1:15 pm Dragon Boat Racing. Now you're talking. Put a teacher with an over developed sense of competition into a boat with their team, learn the necessary skills to pilot the craft at high speed and then let them loose on some opposition. Result? Huge fun! Mrs Daone successfully steered her group through the challenge of Mr Moran's team - despite their protestations about a draw or something, and Mr Charlesworth's group came back from a rubber down to break the hearts of Mrs Croucher's crew with a quite breathtaking display of power and teamwork. Shock and awe indeed, in a rowing a boat on a small lake sense of course. As any child will tell you,the real joy of competition lies in the winning, but it's more than this of course, it's the hurling of good natured abuse at your vanquished mates! So to all the defeated - we salute you! And remember - winners are grinners and losing's for losers!
4:00 pm Return to Hillcrest on the coach. Very muted singing. We're not tired by any chance are we? Surely not...well they're not singing any more.
5:20 pm Dinner/Tea/Evening meal. What do you call it in your house? I remember growing up it was always called tea. Now I seem to think I probably call it dinner. I wonder why that is? Any way enough reflection on that. Tonight there's a lamb curry, or a vegetarian version for those of us who like a little spice in our lives. Not for you? How about some meatballs, including a vegetarian option of the same? There are also potatoes and carrots and peas too. Not to mention the salad and bread available. But I have mentioned them now haven't I?
7:00 pm Right now your children are running around like loons making absolutely certain that they 'Get their own back' on their groupies. It's lots of fun, but I'll let them explain that to you.
 
Missing you all, much love, the campers.