This week we go back about a week and a few days while I was away at the UK Littles Camp somewhere in the Midlands for a meet up that turned out a bit different than normal and not just because we were in a different location.
First off setting off on the Friday was chaotic in the extreme for damage near Norton Bridge that caused over 50 minute delays and cancellations on my train and on many others as it affected the whole West Coast Mainline between Scotland and London.
It was more by luck and following gut instinct I found a train within a few minutes to time although technically it too was delayed by over 50 minutes so arrived something like on time as I waited with a friend to pick up another person.
I like taking pictures so when I spotted this view nearby, I was rewarded with this lovely sunset scene that to me sums up Winter with the rolling hills in the background.
Arrival on Friday afternoon was made easier for it being roughly an hours drive from my friends as we went around the countryside and through a town with walled gates that anyone familiar with this part of the Midlands would recognize.
We unpacked meeting Andi, Daisy and Suzy, putting the food we bought for the week away and had lamb shoulder steaks, mashed potato and greens while everyone else had various Indian foods ordered locally before making a bit of start on one of several jigsaws and I read a couple of comic annuals.
Saturday after getting up and helping set things up for breakfast, Miss Green had organized a cake and biscuit making cookery class where various biscuits and cakes were made in animal shapes such as Dinosaurs using moulds and a caterpillar from swiss rolls covered in pink icing.
Fudge and I decided to make cupcakes - eighteen of them - using a commercial mix to which two eggs, a portion of margarine, milk and flour were added and whisked by hand before going in the oven.
Above is a few that were decorated with icing sugar, the shapes being cut out using a mould.
The midday meals were meat based salad buffets put together by Daisy and Suzy that were much appreciate with fries too.
Saturday saw Jillian's General knowledge quiz complete with pictures of famous stars in their earlier years you had to identify.
We had mainly fish and chips from a nearby chip shop (where else?) for our evening meal Caroline having places the order earlier and being picked up just after the mad hour at the store.
It may of been had a little later than normal but I think the quality more than made up for it.
Sunday after going out was more a relaxing day and for tea we had various mainly steak based pies mashed potatoes and peas prepared by Miss Green with help from assorted others followed by Sammy's home made Strawberry cheesecake having been made the day before was served which was delicious.
Across the days several jigsaw were done including a three dimensional Harry Potter one, one of Amsterdam and this one.
A number of people took advantage of this areas outstanding natural beauty - it has an official status to that effect - to go on walks.
Sunday night meant it was time for the "All purrpuss nekomimi Music Quiz" that was
hosted by a certain Neko who has a lot to do with this blog that was run in four
teams.
Amazingly there was draw so the Neko had to generate a tie-breaker that put Mr Paul's Tone Def's in the lead followed by the LKMFK's.
This was followed by Miss Green's reading of a farmyard story before bedtime, a ritual I very much like.
On the Monday, a good two cars worth of us walked two miles each way from a parking lot to visit the attractive medieval market town of Ludlow which can be seen here with St. Laurence's church to the left with the castle, which we visited together with the towns market interacting with people.
Although I didn't make the very top, the Normans not really being into disability access, I did with assistance did get beyond ground level which was great for me personally.
This is Clun Castle that a number of us visited on Sunday as Fudge kindly offered take a few us with them which is more a relic of motte and bailey construction, quite a way up for which I did need a fair amount of assistance.
Monday afternoon was taken up with Alice's enjoyable Disney Princess treasure hunt that was staged in the place we stayed going up down a good number of stairs.
In the evening after the Chilli Con Carne that Karla and Caroline had made with cottage pie for one who cannot be doing with spices and rice that was delicious.
A couple of people left on the Monday due to work and related commitments but as unexpected we'd been allowed to stay an extra night and my train had been booked for midday when everyone had left by around ten am Tuesday, Miss Green and I went to the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre to see the exhibit on the ice age Woolly Mammoths that were found at Condover, Shropshire in 1986/7 and how that part of Shropshire had changed over the centuries covering geography, history and agriculture to the present day.
It's interesting to note how this part of Shropshire played an important part in Great Britain and the significance of the Woolly Mammoth find.
This also included a film presentation in a mini film theatre with seating.
We went on to see the meadows plus a short walk that was accessed via the fire doors and returned where Miss Green enjoyed her cream tea and I had a choco pudding with cream all of which were sourced from local producers and made by hand in the pleasant cafe.
We then moved to a nearby rail station to catch my train straight home but not before seeing a freight train come through on platform one and arrive at the biggest and best rail station in the North-west Midlands, hopping into a taxi in minutes straight home.
Doing something like this doesn't take an ocean of organizing necessarily but does require a certain amount of planning and co-operation which remarkably worked well even though unlike previous times there was no fixed rota with people just helping out as needed even if you were there to relax and enjoy being in little space.
Thanks to the various persons who bought, fixed and served food, loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, put on events that made things so enjoyable plus thanks to Suzy for organizing and Miss Green and Andi for finding and checking out the place.
As remarked upon in the main text, this time people really went beyond four walls in large numbers enjoying what the area around where we stayed had to offer both in ones and twos and even going as a group out, carpooling as necessary enjoying that time.
If coming to this place can have that effect, let me say this plain: Unless there's a good reason not to, let's return for another Winter because that wasn't just healthier for being outdoors, it brought people more together. This is what I feel we needed.
From a personal point of view this was easily the most rewarding Camp for not just being out but also for doing more challenging things such as getting about Clun Castle and walking to Ludlow and back being helped along the way.
It may of been difficult but your help doing this was so rewarding so to those who literally pulled me up and along helping me to do things I hadn't managed before many many thanks cos you can't know what that feels like.
Roll on Summer Camp.
