On the 12th and 13th of September 15 young people and 4 volunteers arrived at South London Scout Centre in Dulwich for a weekend of Quaker camping.
Even before everyone arrived, the most important task of any camping trip was already under way as tents were constructed at a rapid (and, in other cases, not so rapid) pace with everyone pitching in to ensure all had a cover against the elements.
When all the shelters were constructed, Friends gathered together for some camp side games. This began with everyone, old and new, introducing themselves by saying their name and something interesting about it. To really hammer this home, Friends lined up in alphabetical order. Then we went geographical with Friends House (a bag) at the centre and Friends positioned themselves according around it. In order to expend some energy we played some high speed games of chain bulldog and stuck in the mud. After some recovery time friends showed some amazing skills as they tried lifting an ever smaller cereal box off the ground with their teeth.
With games done, a lovely BBQ veggie dinner was prepared over two wood fires. After the main meal we chatted, sang songs and toasted marshmallows on the fire until our local hosts arrived for a night time bat walk. Unfortunately we did not find any bats but we did fully explore the dark suburban forest that surrounded our camp site. When we got back to our tents we had a simple epilogue and retreated to our camp beds.
On Sunday we woke early and had a good breakfast before we started the central task of de-constructing our tents. We set off for Forest Hill meeting house and before joining our local friends in worship we did some energetic and more relaxing activities. After a powerful meeting for worship we shared an amazing lunch that Forest Hill meeting prepared and in return we did the washing and drying up. And we had just enough time for a big group photo along with some musical interludes before we all went home.
Huge thanks to Forest Hill meeting & the South London Scout Centre for having us, all the volunteers, parents/guardians and young people for another brilliant weekend.
– Laurence
