This week the boys visited Belchamps our local activity centre.
When they arrived, they met two instructors at the archery hut and was given a safety talk. All the boys thoroughly enjoyed the archery and worked hard to hit the target! A couple of them even got several bullseyes and was very pleased with themselves.
After archery, they walked down to the campfire site. All the young people helped unload the staffs’ cars and carried the equipment over to the site. They were then encouraged to visit the woodpile with staff to collect wood for the fire. Then, whilst some staff were setting up, other staff supervised the young people playing together nicely in the woods. The young people seemed to be very happy enjoying the outdoor space.
Staff built a fire and placed firelighters into it, the young people were then called over to help light it. The fire started very well, despite some of the wood being damp. The boys especially enjoyed putting wood onto the fire and were sensible in waiting for staff to be with them before doing so.
The young people were then given a hotdog each, and a telescopic toasting fork, then showed how to gently heat them over the fire. They all enjoyed this, then made themselves a plate of food with some delicious sides of potato salad, macaroni cheese and corn cobs. They sat around the fire chatting and enjoying the food. The young people spent some more time in the woods playing armies, before being called over to toast some marshmallows and make their s’mores. There was a lot of debate over what makes the perfect toasted marshmallow – many of the young people decided that they like them completely burnt on the outside, and gooey on the inside!
It was getting dark, so they decided to begin packing up around 8pm. The young people took part in this well, helping to tidy up. Some of the boys took turns collecting a bucket of water and carefully pouring it over the fire to extinguish it, supported closely by staff. The young people then all helped carry equipment back to the cars.
A great afternoon/evening was had by all.