Junior camp this year ran from the 7th to 14th of July. We had slightly fewer juniors than usual, which made life a bit easier for the counsellors! We had a very good week, and the weather wasn't even too bad.
The normal events for Saturday. The kids arrive at three, get their stuff unpacked, put their money in the bank and go and play games in the games hall. After dinner, we had team games before the meeting, where we were divided into our teams for the week. There's always a lot of rivalry between the teams, and points are awarded for all sorts of things during the week, with the biggest points being on offer right at the end, in the sword drill* final.
* - those of a nervous disposition will be happy to know that the sword drill doesn't feature real swords, but Bibles, which are the Sword of the Spirit
We use the Sunday morning to take the kids to a local church, for the morning service. It gives them exposure to a church environment, and a chance to wear their Sunday best.
The tradition on Sunday is to go to Erskine beach park, under the Erskine Bridge and play the Wide Game. I normally think of this day as hay fever day, but we had a decent game before rain forced us back to the Centre.
The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for charades. Each dorm had a Bible scene to play out and they were marked by the cooks, using some secret formula passed down through the ages. This makes it impossible to guess who the winner is going to be, but the chance to dress in authentic Biblical costumes makes the whole thing enjoyable (they wore a lot of blankets in those days!)
Tuesday's trip was to Rouken Glen park. The kids went straight for the playpark, while us leaders had a chance to rest and look after the bags and coats. I think there might have been a game of football in there as well.
Wednesday is sports day, and the weather held so we could enjoy most of it outdoors. We had races of different types, hockey, football, throwing the welly, and the introduction of the bucket game, where contestants blindfolded by buckets had to move balls fropm one hoop to another, guided by their team-mates' shouts.
Thursday was our second all-day trip (after Summerlee and the Time Capsule) and we went to Kelburn Country Park, just outside Largs. There's loads to do in the park and the children always enjoy it. There's a fort, an assault course, a secret forest with lots of carvings and little houses, and some nice walks to go on.
Friday is always very busy. We have hand-craft to finish off in the morning along with games and the memory verse competition. After lunch we went into Paisey to go to the shops, then back for dinner, night games, party games, the evening meeting with the sword drill final and then the camp fire, not forgetting the midnight feast after quiet times and before bed. If the kids weren't tired after all that, the leaders certainly were.
There's no time for a lie in on Saturday - it's up for breakfast, get the dorms tidied and the bags packed, clean everywhere, and wave the kids goodbye. An hour or two to rest, then another camp starts at 3.
After the tidying was done, the following plans were found for a secret device obviously aimed at giving the kids an easy time at camp.
This page by David Meiklejohn.