The Winter Weekend

What a weekend. It had everything - trials of Scouting, cooking, physical fitness, stamina and navigation, line shooting and practical home nursing... But to start at the beginning and so continue until we finish.

Aitch called for me at 6.45pm and at 6.46 we tramped down the stairs into the cold, cold world... and we were wearing shorts.

A quick dash down to the Oval and we caught a bus at 7.00. We hoped to catch the 7.18 from Victoria - we hoped!

Alighting at Victoria we dashed into the station to be told by a porter that that was the train to Maidstone and it was going in a minute - we knew, we caught it and we left.

The journey was as uneventful as any journey with Aitch is and eventually we arrived at Snodbury or something like that (actually Swanley) and I heard the announcer type say please check which half of the train you are in. So we did and found that we were bound for Gillingham.

A quick move down the train and off once again for Maidstone. We arrived at approx 9.33 and dashing out of the station arrived at the 33 bus stop in time to get the bus to Buckmore... which cost us eight pence each - only Aitch paid so it didn't cost me anything.

We arrived and knocked up the duty bloke who was very surprised to see us but showed us to the cabins; one for sleeping and one for cooking and eating. We asked if this was really for us and were assured that it was.

After looking around we wandered off to meet the others who were coming down by car and bike.

We heard them before they arrived. Strains of the anthem preceded them into Buckmore Park. A cup of black coffee and so to bed, to listen to stories and songs until about 4 o'clock in the morn when we all when to sleep.

Saturday morning dawned with rain and snow and we cooked brekker in the dry. We used the electric stove and the primii; net result - jolly good. Then a quick clear up and start preparing a quick snack before we dashed off into Chatham for the afternoon.......

....................The weekend was mainly spent in eating, sleeping and walking around Buckmore, but it was good fun. We left at 4.30pm on the Sunday and were all back by 6.30.

Coming out of Victoria Station, Aitch scared a soldier out of his wits when he flashed his knife*.... It really quietened the poor misguided lad down; his mates thought it was funny too.

[* more poetic licence by the writer one suspects ... or, at least, one hopes!]

Recent Experiments With Cloth

[At one time, the Swamplanders decided to make anoraks. The following somewhat unreliable sewing instructions appeared in this edition of the Swampland Recorder.]

Take several pieces of drab coloured cloth, an assistant and a large sewing machine. If any two pieces look roughly alike then sew them together. Then, with a little bit of luck, you have two sleeves and a front and back. If you have not, then start again.

Now with two sleeves and the back and front, sew them together and look - you have a maternity smock. Isn't it sweet?

Now sew the other pieces together that look alike and fix them to the outside of the smock. Not the inside, as we did the first time, but the outside. Then fix the "gag" around the neck and mouth aperture and trim the bottom for the draw cord and the sleeve ends for elastic. Then put on a kangaroo pocket at the front... and there you are...

One word of advice: don't waterproof because you will sweat in it. Take a half pac-a-mac if it really rains.