… though thankfully not for one of the Explorers.
Many thanks go out to Adam Mitchell (also of Climbing Team Leader fame) for entertaining us tonight, and East Midlands Ambulance Service for lending us a vehicle.
Over the course of the night two groups of Explorers got to see all the bits and bobs inside an ambulance, including seeing how the sirens and radios work, and even got to receive a test call from the control centre.
We had chance to check that none of the Explorers were dead, including a 12 lead ECG, a peak flow competition (which Conor won!) and a “who’s the most chilled Explorer” AKA blood pressure test. Naturally, Joe Swinny was the most laid back. We finished the night by strapping an Explorer to a spine board, though we resisted temptation to leave her there, then worried some parents by sending another one home in a neck brace.
A great meeting and a great welcome for the 5 new Explorers that joined us tonight.
For the full set of photos, check out our
[Facebook fan page]
Taking 13 Explorers to the beach. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, we turned up, the tide was in, the beach was underwater, the donkeys had gone home, it was raining sideways and the theme park’s biggest attraction was broke…
Actually, it seems a great day was had by all.
We started with breakfast kindly provided by ESL Padge’s parents en route, then headed up to Blackpool for the day.
We arrived just as the tide was reaching the ‘no swimming’ level, which give us about 10 minutes to play! The rain, cloud and cold didn’t seem to stop them – not even those who hadn’t planned ahead, and hadn’t brought a change of clothes! A couple of ‘solutions’ were found. Adam decided to strip off (thankfully he stopped at his boxers) and jumped in anyway. Tyler decided just jump in anyway and deal with the consequences later…
Next came an amble up to the North Pier, followed by a stroll down the sea front to witness some of Blackpool’s ‘sights’ (mainly stag and hen dos, and drunks), then a “lunch and dry off” stop at McDonalds.
The afternoon was spent enjoying the rides and rollercoasters at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and we even managed to win some lobster stuffed toys!
The day was topped off by “2 hours raving!!! …on a minibus 
” with “Hannah Swindell tearing up the bass line ” on the way back, according to Explorer Joe.
For the full set of photos, check out our
[Facebook fan page]
Slightly later than planned (due to the ice cream taking 45 minutes to serve 27 of us on the way back from the crag), we safely returned 20 tired, grumpy, exhausted, insect bitten, lobster-looking Explorers to their parents yesterday evening after a weekend of rock climbing at The Roaches, and camping at Gradbach.
Over the course of the 2 days at the classic gritstone climbing venue the Explorers got to climb many routes from ranging from Diff all the way up to VS 4c. There was also the opportunity to complete a 25m abseil, watch a mini climbing movement masterclass from Jonny, and for some of the more experienced ones, start learning to lead climb.
Most Explorer Facebook statuses this morning were based around needing more sleep, so I think we tired them out enough!
Huge thanks to Adam and team for helping us pull it off; we couldn’t have done it without them.
For the full set of photos, check out our Facebook fan page
Next Adventure: Summer Camp!
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What’s on? |
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1 – 3 Jul |
[rock climbing weekend | Gradbach] |
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Wed 6 Jul |
night hike |
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Sat 16 Jul |
day at the beach / Blackpool |
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Wed 20 Jul |
Sports / games night |
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Wed 27 Jul |
Mystery guest (hopefully!!) |
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Sun 31 Jul |
kayaking – 1 star training |
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Wed 3 Aug |
water olympics + BBQ |
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Sun 7 Aug |
kayaking – 1 star assessment |
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Wed 10 Aug |
cardboard castles |
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Wed 17 Aug |
shooting / archery |
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26 – 29 Aug |
[summer camp | Blackwell Adventure] |
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Wed 7 Sep |
D of E – route planning + kit packing |
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Wed 14 Sep |
birthday night out |
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17 – 18 Sep |
[D of E practice expedition] |
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Wed 21 Sep |
Unit forum |
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30 Sep-2 Oct |
[Apex Extreme Challenge] |
So we survived without sinking too many people. Ok, I lied. We sank a lot. Just ask Ben “Uncle Albert” Laverick and Caitlyn “abandon ship” Hagin!
After 2 years, Helios finally returned to the place where the idea was born – Trent Lock Scout Water Activity Centre.
The weather held out for us on Saturday and we had a lovely summer’s day of kayaking, canoeing, rafting (if paddling round on some vaguely connected bits of wood counts as rafting) and sailing. Sunday was a bit wetter (ie it tipped it down) but we still got in a second session of sailing and kayaking.
For the full set of photos, check out our Facebook fan page
Next Adventure: Rock climbing at The Roaches
Helios have just returned from the fantastic Apex Overnight Challenge 2011. Over the course of the night we got to take part in archery, caving ladders, high ropes adventure, assault courses, bouncy castles, challenges, puzzles and much more in the wonderful setting of Sherwood Pines Forest Park. We also got to meet many new friends, and catch up with old ones.
Well done to all of our teams, coming 20th, 25th, 31st and 35th out of 77 Explorer teams. their results are all on the Apex website:
[20th - Sofa King Awesome]
[25th - Lobster]
[31st - I Like Trains!!!]
[35th - Super Lobster!!!]
More details can be found on the [Apex website] and the full set of photos (taken by the utterly brilliant official Apex photographers who just happen to be our very own ESL Padge and AESL Tony) can be found on the [Apex Facebook page]
If you met us there then don’t forget to become a fan of us on our [Facebook page]
We’re already looking forward to Apex Extreme in October and desperately hoping we’re lucky enough to get a place!
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Date |
What’s on? |
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9 – 10 Apr |
[Apex Overnight Challenge] |
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Wed 13 Apr |
stew cooking / ‘chariots of fire’ |
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Sun 17 Apr |
St. George’s Day parade |
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Wed 20 Apr |
Emergency Aid Badge – part 1 |
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Wed 27 Apr |
Emergency Aid Badge – part 2 |
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Wed 4 May |
deafness awareness night |
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Sat 7 May |
Ingleborough / Ingleton day hike |
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Wed 11 May |
sports night |
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Wed 18 May |
A-frame challenge / pioneering pole relay |
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Sun 22 May |
car boot sale fundraiser |
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Wed 25 May |
remote controlled cars |
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Wed 1 June |
‘urban manhunt’ |
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Fri 3 Jun |
rock climbing at Baslow Edge |
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10 – 12 Jun |
[water activity weekend | Trent Lock] |
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Wed 15 Jun |
geocaching |
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Wed 22 Jun |
D of E – expedition food |
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Sat 25 Jun |
conservation day |
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1 – 3 Jul |
[rock climbing weekend | Gradbach] |
Helios have returned, fresh from their camp at Hesley Wood, where for once the weather was nice to us. As ever, a great weekend was had by all, including crate stacking, climbing, orienteering, danish longball, football (well, something 
approaching it) and a big fire till the early hours of the morning (which some Cubs invaded for a while). Photos will follow soon, but for a sneak peek, check out the crate stacking video on our Facebook page.
Whilst we’re still planning for Apex Challenge in a few weeks, it’s also time to start getting ready for our other two weekend camps of the summer – the water activity weekend at Trent Lock, and the rock climbing weekend at Gradbach / The Roaches. If you want to go, make sure you hop along to the members area to add you name to the list, and bring your deposits in ASAP (or [pay online]).
After a epic panic to get our teams in on time, ‘SUPER LOBSTER’, ‘I LIKE TRAINS’, ‘Lobster’, and ‘Sofa King Awesome’ are off to the Apex Overnight Challenge in April. Only another 47 days to go!
Extra huge thanks to Hannah, Catherine and Debbie for sorting out our entry.
… though thankfully not for one of the Explorers.
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