To the woods and beyond....

Post by Katie

Friday morning saw us up early to catch a bus to Pure, where Autumn Camp would be held. We were excited to meet old friends and make new ones, but also sad that this would be our last activity on GOLD.

We found the campsite hidden behind the trees, and with temperatures below freezing we were glad to be sleeping indoors, although it would have been fun to sleep in the bell tents with a fire stove in the middle.

Soon after we got there, coach loads of Brownies and Cubs began to arrive. After marching to watch the flag being raised while listening to the Latvian national anthem, our first task was to keep around 100 Brownies and Cubs entertained. We did a 'Clap and shout if you agree with...' game as an icebreaker, and another game where everyone was given an animal and then had to find other people with the same animal without talking. We've never tried it with so many people and there was much hilarity. We finished by playing a team relay game with balloons.

After this, we played a wide game with them, which involved sending them out into the forests, and half of them being Zombies, while the others tried to escape! It was great fun, and the Cubs and Brownies really enjoyed it - they were still talking about it the next day!

Sarah's best zombie impression

In the evening we played Capture the flag (or candle in a jar) outside. We discovered that the most effective way to avoid capture is to team up and act like a crab, and the most effective way to get caught is to stargaze. I'll leave it to you to guess which team member did which strategy. Later on, Storytime was held, where leaders tell the Scouts and Guides about times when they were proud to be in Scouting or Guiding, or an interesting adventure they had.

Saturday morning we were woken up with words that would get anyone moving. "In 15 minutes, this room will have all the Cubs and Brownies in it." If that won't wake you up, nothing will! After breakfast and flag raising, we pitched in to help with one of the activity stations being run by our friend Liga, which was Kim's game. Sarah K & Net surpassed the rest of us in memorising the objects hidden under the cloth. We also played what has become a firm favourite for us, chaos tag.

The Scout and Guide campsite

Unfortunately we had to leave at midday, in order to go back to Riga to do our project analysis and to pack for our morning flight the next day. It was great to see some of the friends we'd made over the past weeks, and to meet new friends, though bittersweet as our project approached it's end.

In true Team Latvia style, our final official meeting was conducted in the Tea House with the Chief Guide Agnija and cake, biscuits and tea. We discussed what we've achieved, the many units we've met and worked with, and aims for the future.

Later that evening, Agnija came by our flat to say a final goodbye, and to our surprise and delight we were given gifts of Latvian tea, chocolate and Latvian neckers which we proudly wore on our journey home.

On Sunday, with heavy hearts and heavy bags (I may have bought quite a lot of chocolate.....) we hopped in the taxi to the airport, arriving in time to have a quick breakfast before boarding the flight. We all arrived safely home and are now readjusting to non-GOLD life, though we're looking forward to our De-brief weekend at the start of December.