Our Poacher Adventure (part 1)

For the parents of Guides going to Poacher, the last time they saw their girls was when we were cramming the coach full of too much stuff!  You'll be glad to know that we squeezed it all in and we arrived at Poacher happy and full of excitement for the days ahead.  Although the sky was overcast, we managed to put up our tents before the rain came (even though the high winds did slow us down) and ate our lunch whilst our marquee was put up.  The kitchen was set up and jobs completed (water collected and gas connected) and eventually we headed off for the opening ceremony.  We marched in with the rest of our subcamp, having got to know some of the other Guides and Scouts while we were waiting.  24 countries were represented at Poacher and it was really poignant watching the flags being raised.  We were also introduced to some of the key members of the Poacher team and had a message from the Chaplin.  Some of our girls feature in the Poacher opening video, which you can find on the Poacher 2017 website

Fortunately, the rain held off until after the opening ceremony but then it seemed to rain for the rest of the evening.  The first night at camp is always one of the most difficult in terms of sleeping and it wasn't helped by the constant sound of rain on tents but we woke the next day to clearer skies and a day full of activities ahead.

Activities at Poacher are allocated on a random basis but girls are free to swap and collect more activities or simply go and queue for an activity.  It took a little while to get used to the ticketing system but by the end of Sunday, most girls had got into the swing of things.  Another highlight from Sunday was a visit from Bear Grylls, who arrived by helicopter and did a back flip onto a giant inflatable.  I am told that when Skip heard the helicopter arrive she took off at high speed to track Bear down (apparently, she has never run so fast!) - you can see some of her pictures on our twitter feed.  Connie, one of the Rangers, managed to get her necker signed.

Our girls have already experienced a range of activities, although some like Hot Air Ballooning have been hampered by the weather (the rain and high winds have continued throughout the first half of the week) and none of our girls managed to be selected for this activity.  However Kirsten, one of our Rangers, did get selected for Gliding which was an amazing activity and Wren has some photos of this on her camera, which we hope to post when she returns from camp.

Here are some of the comments from the girls about some of the activities they have done:

Lucy:

The first activity I did was Sailing and it was so good!  The wind was really strong which made it more exciting.

Alisha:

I enjoyed learning about the African culture, when I had a go at playing on the African Drums.  It was really good and the sounds and rhythms were amazing.

Lily:

Although the weather has been unpredictable, I have had so much fun at Poacher.  My favourite thing I have done so far is Go Karts, it felt like I was going so fast but looking back at videos it was embarrassingly slow!

Kirsten:

I really enjoyed Gliding, something I wouldn't normally be able to do.

Gabby:

I really enjoyed doing the Inflatables as I could keep going on them with my friends but I hated being chased by wasps when eating my food!

Lucy:

I have really enjoyed getting to know Kirsten and Gabby really well.

Anna G:

Poacher is amazing.  The food Wren does is amazing and always filling.  The activities are really fun and nothing like we have done before.  Getting to the middle of the week, our tent is getting a little bit messy but it's nice to be all snuggled in and the fairground is amazing.  Thank you everyone and see you Saturday.

Anna R:

It is really good fun at Poacher.  I love the food and all the activities are brilliant.  The atmosphere is really nice and everyone is so kind and friendly.

Georgina:
My time at Poacher has been amazing, I have done so many activities like zip line, zorbs, segways and much more.  As well as physical activities there are also mental ones and there is a Poacher Challenge badge.  There are also off-site trips.  I love Poacher!

Lottie:
This camp I have really enjoyed the Freefall Stuntbag because it was a challenge.  I have loved the camping and activities.

Elizabeth:
I have really enjoyed going on the Rock Climbing and Abseiling Wall because I challenged myself with heights, this was a great achievement.

Katie G:
I have really enjoyed Poacher so far. Crate Stacking has been super fun and I got to do it with my friends.  All the birthday surprises (balloons, cards, presents) were amazing.

Izzy L:
I have found all my activities amazing!  Inflatables were really fun, especially with friends.  I also loved Cave Bus and Crate Stacking.

Rebecca, Neve and Lauren:
We love Poacher.  There are tons of fun things to do.  We plan on going Scuba Diving.  Our favourite activity has been Crate Stacking.

Joanna, Abbie, Abby, Marissa and Leo:
Scuba Diving was amazing.  The instructors were very nice and patient.  Cave Bus was good, as well as Cave Challenge.  Inflatables meant that we could do activities in our group of 5.

Sarya:
I had fun on the Freefall Zipline, Bowling and Go Karts.

Lara:
I really enjoyed the Micro-quads, as they went really fast.  Luckily, I didn't fall off!

Elisa:
I have had fun, it has all been amazing!

Sarya, Lara and Elisa have done so many activities - they have really got into the spirit of Poacher, getting up early to get all the best tickets.  They have done three badges already - well done girls!

Katrina, Lucy and Caitlin:
Today we played the African Drums and they were more fun and interesting than we expected!  We also did some dancing during the activity which we were a bit embarrassed about!  Luckily, none of us had to dance in the middle!  Lucy said "I loved learning the different rhythms"  Katrina said "I learnt a new skill" and Caitlin "It's my first time on camp and I'm really enjoying it"

Carmela: 
The funfair was amazing but the lines were too long!  The Inflatable challenge was great.

Anya:
I learnt that the best tickets come out in the evening, that was how I got an Aqua Park pass.  When I went, it was incredible.

As you can see, the changeable weather has not dampened the girls' spirits!  There have been a few ups and downs but there is always someone there to look after anyone feeling a little home sick or tired.  We had Christmas Day on Wednesday (a notorious 'dip-day') with Christmas jumpers, tinsel, crackers and an evening meal in the Bistro.  The girls have met Guides and Scouts from all over the World and have swapped some of those swaps you might have seen them making at home - in particular, there have been a few visits to the girls from Australia, who are in the UK for 3 weeks.

Not all the girls had a chance to comment in time for this post but hopefully we will have more feedback for our next post.

Don't forget to keep checking our twitter feed for more pictures and updates.

Sub

Around the World with Guides

1^st Downham Market Guides had a really excellent International Evening. The evening was run and organised by the some of the older Guides, who are working towards their BP award.

The BP award is the Baden Powel Award and is the highest award which a Guide can achieve.

We all walked into the hall, which had been set up to represent numerous countries. On each table was food, activities, music, artefacts and information about Guiding from each of the countries. The Guides visited each table to learn about lots of different cultures.

It was a superb evening, with so much thought and planning given.   Well done girls:

Neve – Japan

Anna – Asia

Lauren - France

Rebecca – Egypt

Anna – USA

Issy – India

Katie – Spain

Mia – Malaysia

Surf Smart Sleepover

On Friday 10th February, girls from 1st and 2nd Downham Market Guides were very lucky to be able to have a sleepover in St Edmund's Church.  We love a sleepover in this District and we are always looking for new places to spend the night, so we were very pleased to sleep in the Church, which is an incredibly old and incredibly beautiful building.  Some of the Guides thought that sleeping in the Church might be quite creepy - especially with the tombstones just outside - but it was actually very peaceful and we all got more sleep than we expected.

Whilst on the sleepover, we worked towards our Surf Smart Badge, a resource produced by WAGGS.  The resource had loads of fantastic games and activities which clearly illustrated some of the risks of being online.  We weren't trying to put anyone off of using the internet but wanted everyone to think a little more carefully about their security online.  Here's what some of the girls said:

Anna G "I found sleeping slightly weird at first but once I had been asleep and rested I enjoyed it.  I liked being where we were and we were all nice and snuggly"

Lauren "At first it was a bit creepy but once I got used to it, it was quite nice because there was lots of things to look at, so eventually I fell asleep.  It was super cosy"

Katie "It was actually really warm once you got into your sleeping bag.  I really liked the blindfolded 'follow the leader' because it was a fun way to show how little you know about the dangers of a website"

Eden and Savannah "We enjoyed Block It, where everyone was blindfolded and held onto a piece of string.  The person in front sent directions to you.  We enjoyed the Church because it was clean and cosy.  We got to play games such as the toothpaste game and we wrote about the positives and negatives of the internet.  We made safe passwords.

Anna R, Katie C and Mia F "It was very cosy but quite cold even though the heating was on.  It wasn't creepy at all but some Guides wouldn't stop talking through the night.  We talked about internet safety and what happens when you are not safe online.  The badge was really fun!  We learned a lot of things in a fun, productive way and without scaring ourselves."

Connie, Caitlin and Anya "The activities were fun and quick so we could move onto the next one quickly.  It was cold but luckily we had lots of blankets.  We tried to get to sleep but people kept waking us up by talking"

Holly "I enjoyed sleeping in the Church because it was clean and well looked after.  We played lots of games and made a poster about the positives and negatives of the internet"

Lucy, Katrina and Megan "It was chilly but fun and beautiful.  We met new(ish) people"

Stephanie, Amber and Emma A "It was squished and freezing!  Noisy but exciting and enjoyable"

Georgina and Erin "Thank you to leaders and Father Mather for a good night and for letting us sleep in the Church.  We laughed very much, the badge was fun"

All in all, it was a huge amount of fun and at the end of the sleepover we made our internet promises - we all pledged to stay safer online by doing different things for example checking our privacy settings, improving our passwords and spending less time on our phones.

Of course, that doesn't include reading the Clack Close Blog... :)

See you next time x