Saturday 1st August 2020 should have seen 78 Young People and 20 Adult Leaders from the 38th Rossendale assembling in the early hours of the morning ready to set-off on a week-long adventure to Ardres in Northern France.
Alas due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the international camp has been postponed until the summer of 2021.
Whilst we could not hope to replicate the excitement of the France camp, we did add a few French elements to our Group-wide Deux Camp Virtuel (Second Virtual Camp).
The camp would start on the evening of Friday 31st July with a live Facebook introduction by Red Troop Leader Pete West.
He explained that our Members had to take responsibility for building their own Den or putting up their own Tent.
They should also help with preparation of food for their family over the weekend which also included washing up.
Most important of all was to have fun!
Over the weekend Members with the help of their parents would be able to view our regular Facebook Activity posts. Twenty-three in total.
The first of these was a marshmallow pioneering challenge set by Purple Colony Section Leader Oliver (Hawk).
There would be prizes for the best efforts kindly donated by Chockleart.
Friday evening was rounded off with some ideas for Camp Breakfasts.
This would include Crepes, Eggy Bread, Rustic Hash Browns, French Toast and Camp Breakfast Omelette.
The first activity on the Saturday morning was the making of a Dream Catcher.
Using twigs and wool or string the designs were only limited by the imagination.
The Paper Kite activity that was to follow was as good a reason as any to run around a garden.
Running a camp for a Section of Young People can be stressful. What better way of dealing with the situation then by making your very own Stress Ball.
The final session on the Saturday morning was Light Bites and Mocktails.
The result was some illuminous looking drinks but some very satisfied Young People.
We are lucky that most of us have a comfortable home to live in, but what about the creatures in our gardens?
Our Plant Pot Bug House was our answer to their needs.
No camp would be complete without Marshmallows.
They have already been used for our Pioneering Challenge and we are sure many made their way to fires over the weekend.
The Marshmallow Catapults proved a hit with many of our Members.
Snails are of course a French delicacy, so our Gingerbread Snails activity was the next item on the programme.
A video on fire lighting tips was to follow.
Food is always a popular element of any camp and what therefore could be better than Camp Ring Donuts as our next activity.
Sunday morning began with a traditional “Scouts Own”. This is generally an act of worship or reflection, and so we took some time to look at everything we are grateful for and made some gratitude flowers! Members of the 38th also told us some quotes around gratitude to inspire us. Hopefully, this was a positive start to the day for our Members!
A plastic bottle and some washing up liquid may sound the most basic of items, but when you turn them into a Giant Bubble Maker it’s a great form of entertainment.
Over the course of the weekend, we posted a number of knot tying activity videos. These included the Reef Knot, Simple Bow, Bowline, Clove Hitch, Figure of Eight, Round Turn and Two Half Hitches, the Sheep Shank and the Monkeys Fist.
We hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend. More photos can be viewed in our Facebook Album here.
