The sun comes up it’s a new day dawning.
This morning , we woke to blue skies and the sun’s rays
breaking through the trees in front of the canteen. Sleep had finally been
achieved for all, sometime before midnight, though for some, there seemed little
understanding of the need for such an important part of the body’s cycle. We
are hopeful that tonight may be a different story!
A full English breakfast set us up for the first round of
activities. Anticipation was running through the chatter around the breakfast
table, as thoughts of Zip wire, Go Karts, abseiling, archery and low ropes
filled each child’s imagination and those of the leaders as well. There was a rumour that Mrs Orton was hoping
to beat Mr Chivers’ record on the Go Karts from last year and even a whisper
that Mrs Kenna and Mrs Orton were intending to go head to head in archery. Strangely
Mr Chivers didn’t seem in the bit concerned about this latest challenger. A few
points on wheel traction and engine torque dropped into the conversation gave
me a glimpse into the quiet confidence that radiated from Mr ‘Stirling Moss’
Chivers.
So to the zip wire the first group went; scaling the heights
of the tower brought the ocean crisply into view and the ground not so crisp.
But their determination and self-confidence carried them up the steep steps to
wait for the final rope preparations to be made, before they launched
themselves into the void below. Each
group, on its return, was buzzing with conversation about the experience. The Zip
wire will remain I think, a Kingswood favourite for years to come.
As one group threw themselves into the air, others were
wrestling with another force of gravity as they pushed their foot to the floor
and burnt the rubber on the Go-Kart track.
Some had clearly been practising as they used the ‘drift’ technique to gain
extra seconds around the corner. For others, it was clearly the first time as
the safety barriers soon found out!
It was just before lunch that the news broke. Mrs Orton had
been beaten in the archery shoot out by Mrs Kenna. The children were in
disbelief – how would Mrs Orton recover, what had gone wrong with the world?
Mrs Orton losing was not a concept they had ever had to come to terms with. The
13th September 2018 will undoubtedly go down in St John’s folk law history.
But then the realisation that lunch was calling , soon
dismissed this loss from their minds as the smell of burgers and wedges drifted
across the dinner hall.
The morning events had come to an end.
