Well, here we are again back at Loch Insh for another year! It really does not seem long since we were here last year.
The weather has been amazing today and so the main worry was people getting sunburnt! All has gone smoothly so far and we managed to get away in good time in the morning. Usually it seems like a big rush and we are chasing our tails to get to Loch Insh before 12 noon. However, today we made it there by about 11.30 and that was with a stop in Aberlour on the way for a toilet break! The luggage compartment on the bus was FULL by the time we left Strichen so goodness knows how we will get all the stuff in there on the way back when we have wet clothes and the children packing all their cases!!
Despite having so many on the bus it was a very pleasant journey even with Mrs Forrest and Mr Taylor trying to get them all wound up!!
On arrival we got the luggage out and the children staying in Insh Hall were escorted to their rooms. The others had to wait until after the first activity before getting to see their accommodation in the Christian Centre. We then sat out in the glorious sunshine to have our lunch and Jonny came along to give them the ‘Welcome Talk’ and to explain to them what was going to happen over the week.
We are here with pupils from Law School from the south of Scotland and they have 93 P7 pupils with them. So it is very busy indeed.
This year they have changed the session times and so we have 1.5 hours for lunch which will really help in getting groups from their morning activity, which might have resulted in them getting very wet, to their lunch and getting ready for the next activity.
This afternoon two groups went sailing and two groups went skiing while the last group went ‘Problem Solving’. Each group enjoyed the activity and there was great excitement when they saw their friends after the activity and they told them what they had been doing. One group were sailing in the small boats in pairs while one group were out in two bigger boats. There was not a lot of wind and so it was challenging to catch the breeze there was to really get going. However, they covered a lot of the loch and had a shot in one of the power launches.
The skiers were all decked out in their helmets, gloves, big ski boots and long sleeves and long trousers and you could see how tired they were by the end as they were all flushed due to the heat of the afternoon. They all gave it a good go and as usual there were a few falls and crashes and struggles as they tried to shuffle back up the hill or get to grips with the ‘ski-tow’ which pulled them up the hill!
The problem solvers were busy carrying out a range of activities round the site and in the woods. Let’s just hope they have not passed on too many tips to their friends for when they take part in the activity.
Tea is later this year and we were due for tea at 6pm. After the end of the afternoon activity we shuttled the ones to the Christian Centre and they were excited to see where they were staying. It is a very nice centre but when we drove in with the first group one was heard to say, ‘It’s like an old folks home!’ From the outside it does look a little like that but I have not seen many old folks homes with bunk beds in them…so that seemed to convince them it was ok.
By the time we had our ‘welcome talk’ from the centre staff and got a chance to sort out the rooms it was time to go back in the bus for tea and the evening activity. Tea was sweet and sour chicken or baked tatties and cheese, salad or pasta! Most were pleased but one or two had to be ‘catered for’ to ensure they were eating up!
At night two groups were sailing, two groups were sailing and one group went to archery. Again each group was happy and then it was back to each base to try and settle for the night. We have gone over the instructions for tomorrow – especially for the Christian Centre group as we hope to leave at 8.15 and not return until after 4pm in the afternoon! However, it is a ‘wet’ day tomorrow with sailing, raft building and canoeing for some. Most groups have two wet activities while Miss Gordon’s group, The Squids, have THREE wet activities! This should be interesting!
So, a great start to the adventure. Let’s hope things continue in the same way tomorrow.
Many are looking tired tonight and hopefully they will soon all be fast asleep and quiet until the morning. We had 8 shuttle journeys today….let’s hope there are not more than that tomorrow!
Keep checking for updates for each day.
Photos from Tuesday! (Hopefully!)
Comments