some might have even been yelling instructions, but it was all a jumble.
‘Do little paddles,’ said Jonno.
I moved my arms backwards and forwards. The raft moved too, in every direction except forwards.
‘Lily and Bee, can you paddle?’ Jonno asked.
They both leaned over, which was nearly the end of us. Fifty squealed.
‘No way. We can’t reach the water,’ said Bee.
‘But you could kick, Copper Pie,’ said Lily. ‘But I’ve got shoes on,’ he said.
‘What does that matter? And anyway they’re wellies,’ said Bee.
A few dangerous wobbles later, I’d moved forwards and was gripping the front of the raft with my head sticking way out over the water, same as Jonno, to help balance Fifty and Copper Pie who had wriggled backwards so that their heads and bodies were on the raft, but their legs were dangling in the river. Bee and Lily were kneeling, desperately trying to keep the balance every time one of us moved. If it hadn’t been so tense, it would have been funny. Ican’t imagine what we looked like, although there were plenty of photos being taken by Mr Morris, so I guessed I was going to find out.
It was slow, and our path wasn’t exactly straight, but with Copper Pie and Fifty kicking with their feet, and me and Jonno paddling with our hands, we made our way across. Jonno and I even managed to get off the raft the other side without the water going over our wellies. Unfortunately that meant the raft tipped. Bee and Lily managed to scramble off but Fifty and Copper Pie got soaked. They didn’t care (I don’t think). We were too busy celebrating. Team Tribe was without doubt the most superb team ever to build a raft, I thought.
And that’s exactly what Max said. He said in all the years he’d worked at Highwoods never before had a team got across on their first try. Wow! Double wow, in fact.
We watched the other teams try and try again with their useless rafts. Callum had given up. His lot had a go at copying our design but it still didn’t work. They didn’t even manage to get on it, let alone float. I think his team had a row after that. Jonno said we should offer to help but we all sat on him, so that was the end of that idea.
Eventually, the We Hate Spiders team actually got all six of them on the water, attached to the raft. Four of them were lying on the barrels with their legs dangling in the water (it was the only way they could stay stable), but Max decided that as long as their feet didn’t touch the bottom it was allowed. They basically swam across, but they got a massive clap anyway.
In the time left before lunch we messed about on two-man kayaks. It was an all-round top morning.
‘Does anyone want to help build the bonfire this afternoon?’ asked Max.
‘Yes. Absolutely. Me.’ Fifty wanted to make sure he got on fire-making duty.
‘Yes, please,’ said Jonno.
‘All right,’ said Copper Pie.
I think Team Tribe must have been the only team that heard as no one else volunteered. All four teams were walking back to the field, having dismantled our rafts so that the afternoon lot could have a go, but we were at the front. (Obeying Camp Rule No. 5 – to be the advance party.)
‘I thought we were all collecting wood for the bonfire?’ said Bee.
‘That’s right,’ said Max, ‘but I’ll need some of you to help me get the structure right. You can’t just bung a pile of wood into a heap. There’s an art to a decent bonfire.’
‘Is the wood coming from over there?’ asked Lily. She pointed at the dark forest behind us.
‘It is. So it won’t just be a case of collecting it. Transporting it will be a challenge in itself.’
Jonno looked over at the wood. ‘Actually, I’d like to go to the woods . . . if that’s OK?’
‘I’ll be a campfire builder,’ said Bee.
‘Same,’ said Fifty. ‘I’m good at fires.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out his firesteel and made a couple of sparks.
‘We can use that to start the fire if you like,
‘Do little paddles,’ said Jonno.
I moved my arms backwards and forwards. The raft moved too, in every direction except forwards.
‘Lily and Bee, can you paddle?’ Jonno asked.
They both leaned over, which was nearly the end of us. Fifty squealed.
‘No way. We can’t reach the water,’ said Bee.
‘But you could kick, Copper Pie,’ said Lily. ‘But I’ve got shoes on,’ he said.
‘What does that matter? And anyway they’re wellies,’ said Bee.
A few dangerous wobbles later, I’d moved forwards and was gripping the front of the raft with my head sticking way out over the water, same as Jonno, to help balance Fifty and Copper Pie who had wriggled backwards so that their heads and bodies were on the raft, but their legs were dangling in the river. Bee and Lily were kneeling, desperately trying to keep the balance every time one of us moved. If it hadn’t been so tense, it would have been funny. Ican’t imagine what we looked like, although there were plenty of photos being taken by Mr Morris, so I guessed I was going to find out.
It was slow, and our path wasn’t exactly straight, but with Copper Pie and Fifty kicking with their feet, and me and Jonno paddling with our hands, we made our way across. Jonno and I even managed to get off the raft the other side without the water going over our wellies. Unfortunately that meant the raft tipped. Bee and Lily managed to scramble off but Fifty and Copper Pie got soaked. They didn’t care (I don’t think). We were too busy celebrating. Team Tribe was without doubt the most superb team ever to build a raft, I thought.
And that’s exactly what Max said. He said in all the years he’d worked at Highwoods never before had a team got across on their first try. Wow! Double wow, in fact.
We watched the other teams try and try again with their useless rafts. Callum had given up. His lot had a go at copying our design but it still didn’t work. They didn’t even manage to get on it, let alone float. I think his team had a row after that. Jonno said we should offer to help but we all sat on him, so that was the end of that idea.
Eventually, the We Hate Spiders team actually got all six of them on the water, attached to the raft. Four of them were lying on the barrels with their legs dangling in the water (it was the only way they could stay stable), but Max decided that as long as their feet didn’t touch the bottom it was allowed. They basically swam across, but they got a massive clap anyway.
In the time left before lunch we messed about on two-man kayaks. It was an all-round top morning.
‘Does anyone want to help build the bonfire this afternoon?’ asked Max.
‘Yes. Absolutely. Me.’ Fifty wanted to make sure he got on fire-making duty.
‘Yes, please,’ said Jonno.
‘All right,’ said Copper Pie.
I think Team Tribe must have been the only team that heard as no one else volunteered. All four teams were walking back to the field, having dismantled our rafts so that the afternoon lot could have a go, but we were at the front. (Obeying Camp Rule No. 5 – to be the advance party.)
‘I thought we were all collecting wood for the bonfire?’ said Bee.
‘That’s right,’ said Max, ‘but I’ll need some of you to help me get the structure right. You can’t just bung a pile of wood into a heap. There’s an art to a decent bonfire.’
‘Is the wood coming from over there?’ asked Lily. She pointed at the dark forest behind us.
‘It is. So it won’t just be a case of collecting it. Transporting it will be a challenge in itself.’
Jonno looked over at the wood. ‘Actually, I’d like to go to the woods . . . if that’s OK?’
‘I’ll be a campfire builder,’ said Bee.
‘Same,’ said Fifty. ‘I’m good at fires.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out his firesteel and made a couple of sparks.
‘We can use that to start the fire if you like,
Similar Books
