23rd January 2023 - Winter Camping
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Last weekend I had the pleasure of being on a Scout camp. I am part of 
a team taking a group of 14-18 year olds on an Explorer Belt 
expedition to Malta, an island nation in the Mediterranean. The aim of 
the Explorer Belt is to spend 10 days completing 10 minor and 1 major 
project. This group of Explorer Scouts is made up of members of 
various units across South West Birmingham and so many do not know one 
another. I certainly didn't know many. So why not have a camp to get 
to know one another and do some planning?

I say camping... Really, we stayed in unheated wooden buildings and 
had a kitchen/dining shelter which had heating. Who wants to deal with 
wet tents? No one! Well, I did deal with some wet tents after camping 
earlier in December. Always worth avoiding the wet tent scenario if 
possible. The huts helped chop a few degrees off of the air 
temperature which was great seeing as the temperature was -4C at night 
and +2C in the day. 

In terms of activities, we did a bit of site maintenance to help out. 
This involved clearing an area of leaf litter and general debris so 
that a new shelter could be built. We also had to burn a load of brush 
wood which someone had cleared. There are some plans to plant new 
trees in this space which will replace a whole load of holly. Due to 
the cold, the fire was surprisingly difficult to get going. It took an 
hour and a half to really get the wood warm enough and dry enough to 
really burn. Sadly, the fire was not hugely impressive although the 
warmth was welcome. We did some air rifle shooting and archery for the 
fun side of life. Well, you have to do something fun during a weekend 
of site service work and planning. I was shocked by how much actually 
got done on that side. The groups all had a rough idea of what they 
wanted to do and where they wanted to go. It appears I might end up 
visiting a pipe in the middle of the sea called "The Middle Finger". 
Can't blame the explorers with wanting to see that one. Seems an 
oddity and worth a peek. 

During the weekend, I was reminded how much fun it can be when the 
weather is truely cold. I was pretty warm with 2 t-shirts, a hoody and 
a fleece on top as well as some lined trousers on the bottom. Add a 
woolly hat and some gloves for extra warmth. It was lovely walking 
around on the crunchy grass or leaf covered paths in the woods. The 
light sparkled on the ice while robins flittered around. There were 
loads of robins doing their thing and not really being bothered by 
humans. Makes sense in a wooded Scout campsite to be fair. If they are 
used to noisy Scouts then I am sure they can cope with me plodding 
around. The sky was gloriously coloured as well. Loads of pinky trails 
among the grey cloud streaks at dawn. I should go out on more wintery 
walks. Particularly when the air is crisp and not soggy. It makes a 
great change. The camp in December was not as pleasant as it was just 
soggy greyness really. Luckily, we have more wintery weather coming 
along which should offer more opportunities for pretty winter. 
Although the news suggests SNOWAGEDDON with UP TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW AN 
HOUR! Hogswash I recon. It might be snowing like that in the northern 
reaches of Scotland but not elsewhere. Local news is often claiming 
snowfall and not delivering. 

All in all, a successful weekend of getting to know new people, 
planning, helping out by playing with fire and admiring the scenery. 
That and falling asleep on the sofa all Sunday afternoon again... 
Sigh.