Today had a very different feel to it from the rest of Annual Camp. With no lessons today, it had a slower pace than previous days. Being the centre day of camp, it was the perfect day for a bit of rest, relaxation and fun.
The day began with Virtual Church Parade. A first for Essex ACF, and possibly even the ACF as a whole, to have this particular type of Zoom session. Unfortunately we missed out on Padre Malam playing her keyboard, leading us in song, as would be usual in a Church Parade. But apart from that difference, it felt very familiar. There was readings from both Cadet RSM Kornilaki and The Commandant. Which were followed by an inspiring message from Padre Malam. Everyone was introduced to the newest member of the team, Padre Wilkinson. The Padre then ended Church Parade with a lovely blessing.
Today one of the star one cadets; Cdt Kelly from Saffron Waldon Detachment had a go at putting into practice a new skill learned in one of this week’s lessons. During the star one First Aid Casualty Simulation on Thursday, SSI Morris taught the cadets how to make realistic wounds for First Aid lessons and competitions. Today Cdt Kelly had a go with items found around the house. Using Vaseline, flour & make-up to create the flesh and blood made from golden syrup and food colouring she created a very realistic wound. As can be seen in the image gallery.
Also as part of the days fun Cadets and Instructors took part in the Virtual Cross Country Run which is a 2km event. This race is being managed by the County Sports officer SMI Freeman. This allows everyone change to run their own route in a safe location close to their homes. The results have been tracked on the Opentrack virtual running software. We’ve seen a few people get involved already, and look forward to many more when the heat eases to make running more comfortable.
The highlight of the day has been “The Commandant’s Big Camp Out!”. For which the Commandant challenged everyone to camp out. Be it in tents, Bashas, improvised shelters or even just by putting a sheet over a table the Commandant wanted as many people getting involved as possible. Everybody stepped up to the challenge and enthusiastically got involved. Cadets, instructors, children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and pets, everyone got involved and encouraged their families to join them. There’s been an incredible amount of pictures of everyone joining in, some of which can be found in the gallery.
It’s been another fantastic day at Virtual Annual Camp, with lots of fun and laughs. Tomorrow it’s back to the lessons bright and early, so we hope everyone gets a good night of rest in their tents and shelters.
