Today was a little bit misty and drizzly, but nothing could dampen our PGL spirit! We started our morning off with a cracking breakfast of bacon, grilled tomatoes and scrambled egg (with all the usual sides of cereal, yoghurts and fruit). A big breakfast to deal with a big day.

Our first morning sessions involved going to the challenge course and trapeze. The challenge course is essentially a giant adventure playground, and the children loved it – even when they were challenged to complete all the activities with a cone on their head or all holding on to the same piece of rope. Interestingly, we discovered that a gravelled assault course still has lots and lots of mud, especially if we approach challenges by crawling underneath them. Be warned – there are some seriously muddy children in the photos you will see. The trapeze was excellent as ever, with lots of children pushing themselves to heights that they would never have expected of themselves – this activity truly is a leap of faith.

For lunch, we had pasta in various forms (tomato, garlic and basil, tuna ___ bake). We also used this opportunity to make sure that we de-mudded and layered up for the elements – some of the class were introduced to the might sock glove!

In the afternoon, we were on the sensory trail and Jacob’s Ladder. Jacob’s Ladder is an excellent activity because the children are required to work as a team to support each other up each rung of the ladder. I was really impressed at how well the children supported each other in this activity – some children even reached the seventh rung, which I can’t remember happening with a residential group before. The sensory trail also relies on communication and teamwork – blindfolded, the children have to work their way around an assault course, telling each other about obstacles and communicating when the group gets split up (made even harder with a teacher giggling behind them).

For dinner, we had a choice between chilli and paella, with rice pudding for dessert. Our evening activity was, in a weather-affected change to proceedings, ‘Splash’ – the groups had to devise a safety net for a water balloon out of cardboard boxes; if the balloon survived a drop down a flight of stairs, the children would be able to throw the water balloon at our rep, Kenny…

Luckily, Kenny stayed dry to help another day (apparently cardboard boxes don’t cushion particularly well from the top of an accommodation block). We’re all heading to bed now, but first making sure that we have our suitcases packed ready for our return journey…

Mr George