The White Stuff
All this snow reminds me of the time we went sledging... and Stu "Goat" Cox attached his sledge to the back of Martin's Nova and got towed down the road at high speed. Frickin idiot. V entertaining though, obviously.
3. Camp
I've managed to retrieve some stuff from the depths of my rather poor memory. If any details are wrong then I apologise, but let's face it, we were pretty well oiled most of the time. Here's how I remember it:
MARLOW (1995 I think...)
A couple of things stand out in my recollection of this particular Venture Camp. Firstly Woody's porn collection resulting in inspired team names such as The Slot Frotters. And secondly, the Overnight Pull. Dave Pickering unmoored about half a dozen boats along the river bank in Henley on Thames in the middle of the night. Then 2 blokes chased after him with spades. Matt Edwards sorted it by telling the men with spades that Dave was diabetic and was having a hypo.
RHYDD COVERT
For those with a worse memory than me, this is the one that was next to West Midlands Safari Park where you could hear weird animal noises. I shat myself every night. Especially that one year when we were bivouacking.
James Hyde was sporting very dubious facial hair one year. Which coincided with a long-standing Eastenders character sporting facial hair of a very similar nature. Walking back to camp alongside the boundary fence of the safari park, we approached a large gorilla who just sat staring at us through the wire fence. James H approached with caution and pondered, "I wonder what he's thinking....". To which James Price responded with "f***ing hell….. it's Ian Beale!". Definitely the most memorable one-liner I've ever heard him say.
GREAT TOWER(?) Near Windermere, Cumbria
No idea what year it was, perhaps 1997..?
Also, not entirely sure this is the right name of the campsite – I remember it being something beginning with B….. but anyway, it was the one where Me, Ste and Andy Griff left early and got a National Express coach from Kendal.
Overnight Pull - Lake Windermere.
Mission: Using the skills we had learnt as Sea Venture Scouts, we were to row across Lake Windermere and find a suitable place to camp overnight, returning to the allocated RV the next morning. Actual events: Rowed approximately 200 yards to island in the middle of Windermere and got leathered.
And to round things off, here are a couple of other general things to warm the cockles. Whenever in the company of James Price and his astonishingly flatulent backside, Kathryn's cries of "for God's sake James, just s**t it out!!" always raised a smile (from everyone except James). Finally, anyone remember Frying Pan Bouncy Ball Ping Pong? Brilliant!!
Any corrections or additions to these little stories are more than welcome. Thanks for reading.
Lorna
2. Photo site added
I've opened an account with Flickr.com to store any photos in. You can visit this page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jobmarston/ by either clicking the link to the right, or on any photos posted on this page.
1. Welcome to the 279 blog
This blog is for old members of the 279th Scout Group, Hall Green, Birmingham. Here you can share photographs or leave comments for others, reliving those glorious days of the past. Memories such as Neil Stapley being washed down the Thames in that tiny yellow boat that was too small for everyone else, or being hauled out of the water by the nips, Tom Popley style, are welcomed. Ah, the sweet, sweet memories! Please email me at griffin147@hotmail.com if you have any photos or stories to be added to this site, or if you want to be added as a TEAM MEMBER (very exciting), which basically means that you can post new entries yourself.You can leave comments for any entry by clicking the comments tab at the bottom right of the post.Here's a picture to kick things off. 
