Rain from before dawn. 13°C, easing through the day.

A slightly slower start becaue of the rain. It fell upon me to breif and set all the groups off. All 72 kids. It was an hour and a half before all groups were underway. Hat time flew flr me and gave a temporary repite from my throaty cold that arose overnight. The rest of tne team packed a d took the maquee down around us.

A call for help: over the radio, we got a call for help, somebody was injured from group 3. Chris and I set off once we got the grid reference. After some searching around, we found them. The grid reference was slightly out but 2 of the girls stood on our path to meke it easy.

I got there first. The casualty was sat on the edge of a gravel path, cold and in pain from a fall that twisted her knee. I’m so glad the recent first aid course was of such high quality. It was obvious that apart from her knee and losing body heat quickly, there were no serious injuries. Priority was then to get her warm. Out came carry mats, a sleeping bag and my bothy bag. Another girl got inside with the casualty and the warmth gradually built up. Meanwhile, Chris radioed to get colleagues to phone for an ambulance. I fixed a tie to hold her feet together, including the one that was at a funny angle. There was very little else I could do, she had to guide me on what is comfortable but couldnt have any painkiller.

It took quite a while for the ambulamce to arrive but the First Responders were quicker. They gave Y some gas-air painkiller and she had the giggles. With 3 staff and 2 medics, I decided to move out to make myself useful elsewhere. There were 3 groups unaccounted for to the east. I set off but missed the fiasco of the ambulances getting stuck in the gravel.

Apparently, the Forest Rangers were not impressed with the ambulances but they were with our first aid response. We found one group and the other two completed by themselves. That took about 3 miles of walking on an empty stomach.

I’ve paid a personal price for this day. Although I didn’t get cold at any point, I now have a heavy head-cold. Its not made any easier by incremental tiredness and giving my food away to kids who raised the call for help. They were so brilliant, they deserved a better reward than a smokey-cheese sandwich.

17° C, sunny and dry.

Very early start, wake at 4am and pack to drive the 100 miles to the school. The other staff for the trip were out and about gathrring kit and minibuses. So I hung my head round the drama studio door. All of the kids were there, with their kit ready. Then something happened that I will never forget. I got a standing ovation! They roared and whooped. I’ve never had a welcome like that, it send a shiver down my spine.

The coach ride to the start point was relatively short, and day 1 was training in navigation and camp craft. The group I had were easily the most receptive I’ve worked with this year. I got through masses of material which meant they got the most out of me too,

This little guy landed on my map while we were discussing a navigation descision. The girls recoiled until they saw my reaction, with one hand, i manouvered my phone and unlocked it for the photo. All the while expressing wonder at this little chap. It worked, the girs came over and took pictures of their own. This is a way that city kids can become comfortable with this environment.