Camp! And Getting Dirty

Saturdays are good because I can get as much time as I like Youtubing on the tablet, Minecrafting, X-Boxing, Phineas-and-Ferbing, and numerous other gently interactive screen-based activities. But it was not to be.

Jof and I were force-fed cheesy scrambled eggs on toast with bacon, a tough job but someone has to do it. Then we abandoned my dear mother and loaded up the car with these pre-packed boxes of wood and kindling and cakes for the Scout Demonstration Camp, not a political protest movement but a chance for all the parents to see what naughty shenanigans their little Scoutlets get up to, and where their money goes.

We ditched (neatly stacked) the pile of boxes (I am being a judge with my rubber mallet and condemning miscreants) at the church up against the Vicar's garage. We were first there so it was nice to leave a surprise for the Scout leaders, hiding the cakes in the middle of the pile. The church hall was playing host to a Slimming World meeting and we very nearly waved the cakes at them. Then we drove north through heavy football-related traffic to endless suburbia "Waterlooville".

There we had arranged with a gasman called Kamlesh to take away his no-longer-used basketball hoop and stand to use as a mobile indoor flagpole for the Scouts, who don't have a decent flagpole in the church meeting room by the little canteen.

We fought with it because its nuts and bolts and screws and washers were quite rusty and dirty having been outside for 7 years and we all got dirty and muddy and the screwdriver broke and we loaded it into the car with difficulty and gave him a pony (£25) for his trouble.

Then we had to unload it into our back yard and I got even dirtier but not as dirty as 'The wife' apparently because we'd seen loads of dirty cars with 'wish my wife was this dirty' written on the back in the dust, and the mud and the blood and the beer (Johnny Cash).

So I had a shower, knowing I would miss out tonight. Then I hurriedly ate lunch and some of Bud's lunch and took Sydney to acting where we had a real laugh trying to distract each other from saying our lines, as practise for when the audience are heckling us in the play.

And I left at 4pm and high-tailed it back to the church where most of the demonstrations were over but we ran around in and out of the tents and hid biscuits for later and frazzled some marshmallows on the fire made of our own destroyed wood pallets and the Beavers successfully burnt some kindling and gosh darn it, this is the life.

It was a lovely day in the sunshine (see seafront here) but will be a bit nippy tonight, lucky I have clothes, but don't always wear them.