A few weeks ago camas had the pleasure to welcome the lovely
folks of Lichfield to join us for a week of song, dance and play. It was quite a spectacular week with familiar
and new faces who were invited into the wacky world of Camas. So with the stage set, all was needed was the
sun to be out. We were not disappointed
The beach at market bay was one of the first places we went
to to experience the full glare of the sun.
Everyone dived into the water pretending it was not cold when it was in
fact freezing, enticing the less inclined down to the sea. After this the group got a massive game of
rounders on the go. Both teams were
equally amazing at batting and fielding but because of James’ cheating, his
team won. The group got some amazing
tans and headed back to camas after all the hilarity.
One beach was not enough for this group so the next day they
headed to the north beach on Iona. The
group tested their balancing on one leg skills against each other on the boat
with only one emerging triumphant. The
camas staffs were all suitably impressed except from Jan who was nurturing his
battered pride after lasting only 30 seconds.
After a mad dash to the beach, lunch was quickly had and the group made
an impromptu panorama with a camera, unsuccessfully. A manic game of ultimate frisbee then took
place were Dave took it too seriously and the game had to stop for the
protection of the participants. After
this the group had to rush back to the jetty were they went on a luxurious
cruise boat and did some fishing. The
group then came back and went on a splendid tour of the abbey. At the end of the day everyone was glad that
they went on the trip but were glad to get back to camas for some food and
campfire songs. We were genuinely
impressed by the sheer number of songs that seemed to last for hours into the
night. It is something that we will
never forget as the group bonded over the fire that night.
The group were also involved in a three way rotation of
games, rock climbing and kayaking. They
had great fun showing off their skills to the camas staff. They got so excited that they even destroyed
a bit of the rock climbing wall. The
difficulty skill for this wall has now ramped up considerably! The games section showed the playful side of
the group. They gave as good as they got and showed the team the awesomeness of
camouflage, yet again Davie was a rubbish hider. Lichfield also showed their
prowess at kayaking to Jo and Kitty who were suitably impressed by their mad
skills.
All this sun could not last, and the team headed inside to for
an acting workshop where they provided performances for the ages. Each group was given a basic story structure
and had to fill in the blanks, and did they!
The stories were wondrously invented.
Some pontificated on the reliability of beauty with pirates thrown in (with
an excellently cast old hag), the dancing of a magical fairy, messing about in
second world war Berlin (with Hannah in the role of a lifetime) and the
domestic squabbling of Tawhai, Mabel and Shoniqua. The end results were amazing with sets, props
and costumes all made by the group.
Everyone had a great time and it highlighted what a creative group
Lichfield are.
There were also reflections throughout the week with one in
particular sticking in the mind. Lynsey
asked the group to invent their ideal communities that could involve anything,
anyone and could represent any values.
The group rose to the challenge and a fun night was had by all. A galactic council, an alien gangster laundry
mat, and Mabel & Tawhai’s personal kingdom were just some of the examples. It was such an intriguing reflection as the
group discussed what a community could be even if the participants were far
removed from their ordinary lives and stressed their importance in improving
ordinary lives.
Thursday came and it was the day that they had been looking
forward to all week, the Camas challenge!
The group split into four groups and set about arranging food,
decoration, entertainment and reflection.
The centre was a hectic place as people rushed from place to place
frantically getting things arranged for the night. The meal was a scrumptious macaroni cheese
and chips. The decorations were
delightfully coordinated with Annie into a psychedelic hippie theme in no way
egged on by Hannah. After dinner
entertainment was provided by Hattie’s group with some excellent renditions of
hallelujah thrown into the mix. The best
impression of Shaniqua, ever, was thrown into the mix too. Hattie also attempted an impression of Jo but
lets just say that that it was an insult to every fifer in existence and leave
it at that. There was also a rap battle
where Ab McFab demolished a young adult, it was glorious. After this lovely
entertainment the group had a calm reflection were they all wrote lovely things
about each other. At the end of this the
group were as close as they ever could be and they had really impressed the
camas staff with their chat, maturity and song choices. It was a great week and
we hope to see them again soon!
