With the incredibly wet weather we have had, it was unfortunate that a number of accommodation huts were decommissioned, however working with the camp site we were able to accommodate the Explorers in the serviceable village huts with alternative accommodation being provided for the Scouts in the Barcwood building by the fishing lake.
Friday afternoon started with a safety brief on bushcraft tools: Open fires, Whittling knives, Axe and Saw followed by an afternoon collecting fire wood, creating an impressive wood pile from a recently felled old oak with marsh mellow sticks being fashioned along with an ember fire to cook the evening meal of beef burgers, beans and jacket potatoes.
This year we celebrated our 107th anniversary with our Birthday Parade on Sunday 3rd December. We converged at the hall at 10am where we formed up, and sorted out our colours to be presented, parading with our flags from the hall to the URC Church in Spitall Street, were we where warmly welcomed by the congregation. 
The advance party arrived at our pitch @14:30 and despite earlier rain our allocation was favourable and the weather was kind to us for setting up camp even if squelchy underfoot. More leaders and 15 young people, 6 of whom were first timers at Bisley, arrived after dark and stowed their kit before a team briefing where everyone was given a lanyard, map and an aid-memoir to help them to be in the right place at the right time for their events.
With ourselves enjoying at last year’s #InTents# at Thriftwood so much we rebooked again for this year. Having great memories of last year’s hot summer, we were over optimistic investing in an inflatable pool and new BBQs in preparation, which now seems a good future investment for the group’s events. With six leaders and 24 Scouts and Explorers fully prepared and roaring to go with our new site #4 which has an electrical hook up and adjacent to the archery field, close to the action.
After 10 months of planning and preparation the weekend finally arrived Air Camp 2023 – The Best Ever. With a total of 106 Scouts and Explorers, 22 of them representing 5th Dartford, descending to Old Hay Airfield, Paddock Wood. The weather forecast was for a heat wave, which was accurate for a change. There was unfortunate accident on the A21 causing road closures and some a 2 hour delay in their arrival time, along with many parents discovering the wonders of the app WhatThreeWords/// as opposed to post codes and car SatNavs.
Once again we booked the tented village at Thriftwood Scout Campsite and with the weather upon arrival and throuought the evening we were so glad that we did> However, the rain and the mud did not dampen what was once again a great camp with loads of activities including axe throwing, High all aboard, archery and a hike.
Celebrating our group’s birthday has always been a big event for the 5th Dartford Scout Group and this year was no exception, with a good number of young people attending the church service in the morning, which had us rolling with laughter, then tea and biscuits with the congregation before dissmissing and regrouping after lunch for a session at Ninja Warriors.
After a few years off, we assembled a team of 5 Scouts and 8 Explorers who had completed the NSRA YPS target shooting course to once again compete at the National Scout Rifle Championships at NSRA Bisley. We were once again blessed with good weather and a good pitch location. Below are a few pictures from the weekend.
