Glasgow Uni and Gramnet

Glasgow University and GramNet

The week kicked off with the arrival of a bunch of students from Glasgow University who were going to be spending the next 3 days with us. They were all currently in the process of working on various pHds for all sorts of different fields of expertise all of which they would be giving a short talk to each other and the Camas staff on what it was that they were studying and, for many of them, why that interested them.

The few days that they spent at Camas were completely action packed with seemingly endless amounts of kayaking, abseiling and an unbelievable amount of bracken bashing (the woodland - and Gav - thank you!) and the trip to market bay all interspersed with presentations, games, interesting conversations, delicious food, music and a cosy campfire which was interrupted by a group of dolphins who had decided that it was a good time for them to come and play in the bay.

The days just seemed to fly by and before we knew it we were sharing our final reflection with them and seeing them off at the top of the track before hurrying back to Camas to prepare the centre for the Gram Net group who were arriving later on the same day!

Before we knew it we were back up at the top of the track welcoming the Gram Net group who were going to be staying with us for the next 2 days which we filled with the usual Camas activities and – obviously – more bracken bashing, the stuff just never seems to give up! More games, more chats and more campfires took place which unfortunately lacked the maritime visitors the previous campfire enjoyed.

By the time we were waving the Gram Net folks off we were exhausted from all of the activities we had been a part of and were looking forward to our day off spent in the sun and get some time to relax at the end of an extremely busy and thoroughly enjoyable week and start to prepare for the folk from the Coming Home Centre who would be darkening our track-end on Monday evening.

St Pauls Camas Takeover!

This week past Camas became the home to St Pauls Youth Forum from Glasgow. Boisterous, adventurous, mischievous and ready for the week ahead. As the first big youth group of the season, the Camas staff were really excited to see them arrive and meet them over dinner and the first reflection in the Chapel of the Nets. The boys in the group kept the leaders up a little past their bedtime – but no matter because the Iron Challenge was there in the morning to wake them up.

St Pauls brought the weather with them and the first morning was sunny, still and warm. The toughest of the bunch braved the water. After porridge and scones the gang split into two groups and got stuck into kayaking, abseiling and climbing. Everyone was brilliant and there was a great amount of encouragement, teamwork, laughter, facing fears and a little bit of wrestling. Lunch and some free time was needed after such an active morning. Once the tide had returned that evening everyone went coasteering together. Some climbed, some swam. Daring jumps were attempted by Leader Marc (perhaps too daring).

The beautiful weather persisted into the next day and the plan was to camp at Market Bay. While the preparations began the group spent the morning playing sardines and sniper in the shade of the garden. They gathered themselves after lunch and set off, Camas’ Sarah leading the way with Gavin at the back. The heaviest things were taken by canoe by Barry and Darragh with Lizzie following in her sea kayak. The group had a great afternoon in the sun. They played games and sang, they had dinner by the fire together. They had big talk and small talk and watched the sun go down. A magical moment occurred with a visit from dolphins while the GSD group ‘the dolphins’ washed the dishes.

Sleepy and sun-kissed St Pauls made their way back on Thursday lunchtime. They spent the afternoon making art and bracelets together, lying in the sun, exploring and hitting the bell with stones. A little embarrassing as St Pauls proved to be much better at hitting the bell than most staff members who practice a lot. That evening everyone was treated to a cosy story reflection from Camas’ Kelsey followed by some great singing! Don’t look back in Anger, Miss Ohio, Belter, The Jelly Piece Song and maybe the entire back catalogue of The Proclaimers. There was an early night with the promise of a scary story in bed. The Camas staff didn’t get to hear it, which is probably for the best, but I think some people definitely went to bed with one eye open on Thursday.

The final day and the group split again and swapped round for kayaking and climbing. Again the Camas’ Staff and leaders were really impressed by the support among the young people. It meant everyone had a good time and good laughs together. After lunch St Pauls took over the Centre for Camas Challenge! The kitchen team cooked up a storm, everyone’s favourite burgers and chips, and invented a new dessert called Cookie Custard (a winner, see St Pauls for recipe). The entertainment team made an amazing treasure hunt around the entire centre which the decorations team put up huge paper chains, banners and set a long table for everyone to eat together. In the evening reflection was beautiful. Everyone put their favourite memory from the week into a bottle and we sent it out to sea! I hope someone finds it someday and reads about this incredible week we shared.

The Camas Staff would really and truly like to say THANK YOU to St Pauls and their leaders for their energy, enthusiasm and generally being a joy to have here. It was sad parting at the top of the track but it definitely felt like goodbye for now, not forever!

Oh - and we love our new book of poetry.