My first Guide camp at Beau 2011

The adventure started while waiting in the traffic jam that led up to my new home for the next two days. There were loads of cars in front of us, but I didn’t notice them, as I was already having fun hanging half my body out the car window to try and see ahead.
Finally we made it to the top entrance, where we met up with my Guide leaders. They helped us carry down our home baking that we would live on for the next three days. My Mum had gone way over the top with home baking – she’s a Brownie leader so what do you expect!! She had made spinach soup (my favourite and soon to be Becky’s too,) sausage rolls, extra chocolatey rocky road and apricot slices. I felt a bit weird with all the food but when I saw that everyone else had brought stuff, I felt more relaxed.
After everyone had left, we found out what patrols we were in and then set to work getting our tents up. It was great fun setting it up with my friends. After everyone was set up we had a game. The leaders had hidden material, fabric pens and cellotape in the forest and we were spilt into two teams. Each team had to find the stuff that was needed to make a flag (as our theme for the week was pirates.) It was great fun, even if my team didn’t win. Next we had tea, which was sausage rolls and hot dogs, they were yummy! At 11pm all of the guides went into their tents and went to sleep. I was at the bottom of the tent so I got walked and rolled on by everyone. Not that I minded.
I was lying in our tent trying to get back to sleep the next morning when our leader Cat came and woke us all up. My friends and I walked up to the toilets with our wash bags to get changed and brush our teeth. After we had done that we came back and had breakfast which was eggie bread, beans and sausage. It was great. After breakfast had gone down me and Megan (a girl in my tent) got into our swim stuff as we were representing our patrol in the dreaded Greasy Pole activity.
Greasy pole is when two people sit on a pole over a pool of cold water and whack each other with pillow slips full of foam. The aim is to try to hit each other off while staying on yourself. I had three go’s and won twice. Fortunately I never went completely under unlike most of the girls. Cold and wet but with smiles on our faces we all walked back for a nice hot shower. Later on we went to go-carting and just as we got there, wouldn’t you know it, it started to rain, wet again!! So we all just laughed louder. We all had a go including Mash (our leader) who tried to steal a–go-cart and drive off! All the leaders were great fun to race against.
After we got back to camp we had free time. It was amazing, me and my friends from the tent walked up to the camp site shop, I got a few badges including a Beaudesert 2011 badge for my camp blanket. I also got a teddy owl to cuddle up to.
Later on we had a camp fire with some other guide units. We sang a lot of songs but unfortunately I was feeling a little homesick so I sat in my tent with Chantelle, an older guide who looked after me and helped me to relax by reading me some stories.
Early next morning we had breakfast and then went down and did the low ropes. In our next activity we were spilt in to two groups, the zip wire group (that was my group) and the canoeing group.  I was on the zip wire and it was still raining. I went with 7 other girls including 1 girl called Paige who just watching. I was last on the zip wire but it was still amazing even if I was cold. You climbed up a huge pole which was a high as a telephone pole and then you were strapped in nice and tight by the lady waiting at the top. Next you would either be pushed off, step off or jump off the tiny platform and fly along the wire. It was so good!
At the end of camp my Mum and Dad came up to help with pulling the tents down and packing up and yes it was still raining. They helped pull the tents down and we put all the stuff in to the back of Dad’s van. Then at 4o’clock everyone finally escaped camp and went home to their own homes and super soft beds. I got home to a nice hot bath and my favourite lunch - roast pork.
So all in all first camp may be the most frightening thing in the world but you can have loads of fun as well. Give camp a go it was amazingly cool and so much fun. What an adventure!! 

Alice, 8th Rugeley Guides