Work weekers have very useful hands

13.4 – 19.4

Aprils's Spring work week gushed into action along with some heavy rain and heavy work. Wheel barrowing great amounts of pebbles from shore to the new polytunnel with its fancy drainage network. Bridges were rebuilt, along with new friendships. Walls painted, seeds planted, work benches designed and built. Floors oiled, bags sewn and lovely meals cooked with daily home made bread and scones to keep the troopers going on. Reflections led by candle light including a hike to witness the closing of the day at night. Stars and moon were gazed upon through a telescope gift. Jokes followed the rhythm and pattern of Camas fashion, often, daft and funny.

It was a time when men from Glasgow meditated and contemplated becoming vegetarian. Thank you to the very kind people who gave of themselves to support the Camas mission.  Here's the poem we made together at the end of a hard working week...

I have useful hands 

I have usefulhands...

and I made some plans,

I drilled a hole

and moved some sand.

I lit a candle

and sowed some seams.

I monkeyd around,

sowed some bags,

planted some lettuce 

baked some bread.

I made some soup

and I made a bridge.

I scrubbed a floor

then mades some scones.

I played with water,

drew a picture,

painted a bed

and in the end, 

I painted a shed.

New hut!!!

6.4 – 13.4

Next up we had our friends from near Manchester over.
They built us a gorgeous new hut (now my hut) and helped us move the old hut. Yes, move the hut. At first ropes were used, then long wooden poles. They were shoved underneath and at the count of three everyone lifted it up walked along with it. It looked very spectacular. 

In unbelievably short time (about 2-3 days), the new hut was built. It was amazing to see how fast something can be built up!

In the evening we all got our instruments and improvised a bit, got a guitar lesson or played traditional Camas songs.

Another amazing event was 5 a-side table tennis. Five people used the whole games room and the table tennis table to play it. With lots of laughter we also had to fear for our heads, being attacked by the flying ball.

At one point we were missing two wooden poles. After someone from the group spotted them at the top of the track, Rosie and I walked up with two wheelbarrows. Once we were at the top, we saw that there was no way we could transport these giant wooden poles down the track. Therefore we each had one on each shoulder. It was my funniest walk down the track so far.

Again we had a lovely Camas Challenge. For dinner we had curry with chicken for the meat eaters and without chicken for the vegetarians. For reflection we had a lovely goodbye sculpture in the chapel of the nets and a fire by the beach. While the fire got smaller and smaller, we talked and watched the stars.

Leadership and larking aboot

With a group from Oban, we had a great time rescuing Jeff the duck and playing Indiana Jones over the snake pit. We lifted people through poisonous cobwebs and were led blindfolded through a rope-jungle. 

Their leadership skills were tested by taking younger kids by hiking to the beach, climbing and playing games. It was great seeing how some overcame their fear of heights and tried again till they managed to climb in the quarry. 

One of the games we played was hide and seek. One of the girls had a wee panic, not knowing where to hide. Therefore she just lay on the ground in the weeds. Although she had a bright red jumper on, she was the last person to be found!

Back again

After a long winter break without any updates we are back in the game. During the winter there was a change in Camas. Josef left and Avril came.



28.3-1.4

For Easter we had a group from Dumfries and Galloway who visited us to learn more about different cultures. On Friday we went to Iona to see the Stations of the Cross and to learn more about the origins of Easter. Some youngsters from the group even carried the Cross for some time.
At the weekend the group went climbing, went for a walk to Market Bay and made unique dream-catchers and friendship bracelets.

On Easter Sunday we went for an Easter egg hunt. For that purpose we split up into groups of four (including staff) and ran about Camas. That evening was also the Camas Challenge. We had a lovely dinner and nice decorations. For reflection the group got the John Muir awards. The entertainment was an incredible dance off and bashing of an Easter piñata.
That evening was an amazing finish to these few days visit of our first group in Camas this year.

Camas Does Glasgow (and sometimes other things too)

Dear Diary

What do you mean 'we haven't posted anything since 18th of September'? Creatice writing takes time. You can't rush these things. It's a process. A painful, artistic process. These words are my children. It's like giving birth.

It's probably not like giving birth.

Anyway. We've been terribly busy. Camas doesn't run itself in the winter you know (Sometimes it's debatable if it runs at all). Preparations are underway for another fantastic season down the track, and the line of young people, groups and staff/voluntees we have got lined up looks very promising. This week the Camas staff ventured out into the wild (Glasgow) to get a much needed dosage of junk food, imaginative new rude words, and what do you call it? Oh yes, other people. We spend time getting to know new friends who might make the trip next summer and met up with old friends who are hoping to come back. Big thanks to everyone that we met on our travels! We hope to see you at Camas in the near future.

Next year will see a slightly different staff team at Camas as yours truly will move on to greener pastures (no, I'm not dying) and will hand over my responsibilities to other staff. These resposibilities include: eating lots of food (it's rude to leave food on the table, whoevers plate it is on), acting like a six year old (when it's needed, and nobody else will carry that heavy burden), know every line from a 7 season american political TV show (...the streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight), and some other things that has to do with actual work.

My replacement has been appointed. And I will shortly post an in depth interview in which I will ask said person the most important questions about their personal life, dreams and ambitions and whether or not they like cats.

In other news: Yesterday was the International Giant Sandwich Day! Camas celebated IGSD as one should. With sandwiches. Big ones. Here is a photo of mine.

Giant Sandwich. For recipe, please contact camas

  If you celebrated International Giant Sandwich day (Haha, as if you had forgotten), feel free to upload your sandwich photo onto our facebook page. Share your art with the world!

In other news part 2: Thers is a saying in swedish, "When the cat is away, the rats dance on the table". I'm sure there is som equivalent saying in english, but it basically means: "When the Camas Coodinator is on holiday, I can't be hold responsible for my actions." Which is why Camas now has a door painted entirely in Bongo Jazz and blackboard paint. What can I say, art is my passion.

Yours sincerly

Josef

INTO THE BLUE...

This had all the feeling of a great Victorian, heroic, failure.  Immersing oneself into the deep blue ocean in an attempt to swim beyond the rocks that mark the end of Camas bay seemed a slightly foolish thing to do and as the swim went on and on, and the end of the rocks never seemed to get any nearer, and the waves got choppier, the spray higher, and a mouth-full of salt water splutteringly more frequent, it might have seemed that discretion here really should have been the better part of valour.  But take heart mon brave, great adventures come through perseverance: stiffen the sinew and set one’s face to the task.  

Kathy Galloway is currently leading the week here at Camas.  I was invited to sit in on the reflection session at the end of the day where she asked us to reflect on our day and to consider something we had learnt.  I had learnt three things: how long I could survive in a wet suit (I was in the water for about an hour and a half), how far I’m able to swim – there is something wonderful about being out in the middle of deep water completely immersed in one’s surroundings (and no way out!) and the value and importance of support and friendship.  Accompanying me all the way were Rosie and John in kayaks.  Without them it would have been a very long lonely swim and I’m not sure I could have got that far.  While I glugged down salt water they spoke to me of the islands they could see, the rainbow overhead, the golden eagle and the seal who came to see what all the fuss was about.  My only regret was that it was hard for me to keep a conversation going!

Equally in support was the food that awaited me when, with claw-like hands, I managed to get out of my wet suit.  Thank you to Danielle for the chilli and to Rob for the porridge cake; I think this is probably the most welcome tea I’ve ever eaten.  It’s amazing how after a couple of cups of tea and sitting round the fire in the common room one can feel right as rain in no time!  I think that is something of the magic of Camas.  Thank you to you all.  It was great to be there and I’d like to come back again for more aquatic adventures in the future if that’d be alright?  Have that kettle on!

Dave-Sacristan, September 2012

Olympic Games at Camas!

On the 14^th of July we got a new exited bunch of teenagers from Glasgow coming to stay the week at Camas. This week we were going to go over to Iona for some fun Olympic Games with the rest of their families who were staying there. But before that happened on Wednesday we were doing all kinds of fun, and interesting stuff in the rain. A walk up to Trig Point, abseiling and kayaking were done with an impressive amount of enthusiasm considering blanket rain.

Then came Tuesday night when the older teenagers from the group sat down with their leaders and some Camas staff to prepare the great Iona Olympics! Have you ever done a Rowing competition indoors? Well, I can proudly tell you that we have! Though it didn’t include boats but instead plastic cups, jugs and of course WATER. So how do you play this game you might wonder? That, I’m going to tell you.

The Iona Olympic Rowing Challenge

Divide into teams of at least 5 people; sit down on the floor with a plastic cup in each hand. The person in front has a bucket, or similar, filled with water in front of them. The person in the back has 2 empty plastic jugs behind them. Give the teams about 2-3 minutes time limit. The game begins by the person in the front fill up the cups with water, and passes it over their shoulders to the person behind them trying to fill up the other persons cups without spilling any water on the floor (or all over themselves). The rest of the team keep on going in the same way until the last person who have to carefully fill up the plastic jugs in the same manner as the other team members have filled up each other’s cups. When this is done, the person first in the line can fill up the cups once more. The team who has most water in their jugs by the end of the game have won the Rowing competition!

Amongst the games we also came up with; Over-Under Relay, Net volley ball, Orienteering and the Nun-Run (like hundred metres but around the Nunnery on Iona) who finished off the Iona Olympics for this time.

Thank you all for a great week here at Camas! I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! 

Linnea