Conquering the Gower

Unlike the previous week that was mostly sunshine and warmth, the past week the weather was more Welsh. And naturally I happened to be camping that week! Though I didn't mind much - my 13 years with Guides have taught me to cope with poor weather...

More of the camping soon, but first I'll take a moment to congratulate Queen Elizabeth II who celebrated her official birthday on Saturday June 11. Congratulations Your Majesty, 90 years is an incredible milestone! To celebrate the Queen's birthday, the church in Swansea organised a royal birthday party. The evening was spent enjoying fine company and tea (with scones, of course).

I encountered royalty mingling with us commoners

Okay, camping. From last Sunday 12th to Friday 17th I spent at the beautiful St Madoc Centre on the Gower Peninsula. A school group of more than 80 children was scheduled to arrive on the campsite on Monday, so help was needed. So, I spent my week helping there, mainly with the survival activity. Although my experience with nature had already given me skills on the tasks the children were supposed to do (like building a shelter), I too learnt something new. Now I can light a fire using a fire steel, and cook stuff on a Kelly Kettle (this time stuff was edible plants from the forest, two of the three species ones that I couldn't identify before)!

All in all I had a great time with all the people there. The staff was really friendly and fun, especially N and R who were with me doing the survival, and who were the ones I spent most time with. Also, one really enjoyable activity for me was to wander around in the surrounding nature. I only had to exit two gates and I was on a hill, facing a breathtaking view of the sea. Unlike in Finland, where the flatness prevents you from seeing far, here I could see much from a single spot. Sea, hills, fields, forests, beach... I could have just sat somewhere for hours and gaze at the landscape. But, willing to see more, I took walks instead, trying to explore as widely as I'd realistically have time in addition to all the other things I was doing.

P.S. British keyboards are confusing. It's not once or twice I've typed # instead of ' -  like in doesn#t or haven#t. Also, @ is at the opposite side of the keyboard.