Hooke Court - Year 6

What a glorious day it has been. It started with a pretty good run down to Dorset. The roads were fairly clear and we made good time. Although the final winding back roads did test the stomachs somewhat.

Once off the coach, with the bags unloaded, the beaming south coast sunshine greeted us with open arms. The bags lined up like a sea of England football fans left us wondering if one or two bags had been admitted by the parents, without booking, like yesterday's Wembley debacle. The lovely staff at Hook court allowed us the use of their tractor to transport, what can only be described as half of St Margarets, to our campsite.

Everyone sat on the grass and enjoyed their last tastes of home before we headed off to our first activity. With a change of shoes, some children opting to change shoes twice, we headed for the nearby Hooke Park Copse to test our map reading and orienteering skills. After impressing the staff with their knowledge of map symbols and locating their locations on the OS map, we were unable to unfortunately navigate safely through the weather. In perfect British style the beautiful sunshine we had on arrival had disappeared and we were now hiding from the deluge under the beech leaves. If only I had brought my coat, those in T-shirts thought!!

We trudged back to the communal tent and after a quick change and some makeshift drying lines we headed to the comforts of the dining hall. Tonight's menu was pasta bolognese with garlic bread and salad. Although it was hard to make out what was on some children's plates under the mountain of cheese. This was topped off with Apple crumble and custard before waddling back to the tents.

Finally the wait was over. Everyone was told their tent allocations and they set about making their home for the next few days. One tent even adorned some Union Jack bunting, obviously an essential.

Games on the field followed by showers and Day one was complete.