Whereby the girls go camping ...

After the MOTH and K went on school camp in February, S asked if I would go with her. Sure I said, it'll be fun.

I had reservations immediately we went to the pre-camp meeting and I found out that the sleeping arrangements involved one adult and several children per room. I like my personal space, and didn't relish the thought of nowhere to go to hide. S was very upbeat about the whole thing : "It's OK mummy, we're all girls so we can all get changed together" ... yeah, ummm, no !!!

At the camp meeting they were looking for volunteers to supervise and run the activities the children would be doing - kayaking, swimming, sailing, orienteering, confidence course and fishing.

I'd already mentioned on my sign-up form I don't do water, and am scared of heights ... which pretty much left fishing and orienteering. Unfortunately several other parents had also worked this out ... which left fishing. So the conversation at the meeting went something like this ...

Me : "Umm, what's the likelihood that the children are actually going to catch anything ?"
Teacher : "Huh ?"
Me : "Because I'm quite happy to supervise, and I can replace hooks and sinkers and un-knot lines, but I don't do anything that involves actually touching a fish"
(Insert general laughter from 30 other parents here)
Me : "I can't actually bait a hook if it involves, you know, bait, and if they catch anything then I'm afraid they'll have to take it off the hook themselves"
Teacher : "Who takes your fish off when you go fishing ?"
Me (looking somewhat embarassed) : "My ten year old son"
(Insert more laughter from other parents here)

Which is how I ended up in charge of fishing.

So anyway, S and I went to camp. On an island. With 60 other children. Where I learnt a lot, not least of which I would far rather be "weird" than "popular", and that I can actually take a fish off a hook if I have to.

S went sailing ...

I caught a snapper, we walked, we talked, we cringed at the noise generated by 60 small children in an enclosed space, we sat around campfires and sang (well some sang, the majority of us listened), we tried to roast marshmallows but gave up and ate them "raw", we went fishing in the dark ... it was great.

And whoever says peer pressure is only a problem children have to deal with is wrong. I thought I was well and truly over that phase, but proved I'm as big a sucker for persuasion as the next person.

As some of you know, I am very very very afraid of heights (to the extent I won't even stand on a ladder unless it's a life or death situation and I start feeling dizzy if I have to stand on a chair to change a light bulb). It's one of the reasons I'm married to the MOTH ... so I don't have to change light bulbs ;) *

So, imagine my surprise when I found myself talked into doing this ...

* (at this point he has also asked me to mention there are other, X-rated, reasons I married him also !!!)