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Summer meet 2018 (pictures and write ups )

Bow Drill With Ichneumon (Paul) !

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Having missed Emily making fire as my camera was slow to load (Sorry) I then captured this. Very lucky with the timing I think. What is that word on Hagrid's shirt ?

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With most of the kit packed in the landrover the day before I only had the rifles and shooting gear to add to the load.
Flight checks made and navigation plotted I made my way to the runway.
Take off was smooth and the flight was pleasant.

The track leading up to base camp was not too bad at all.....a couple of sloppy mud holes but generally good.
Rounded the corner at the top and the parachute came into view.....fire burning and kettle on:thumbsup:
Was greeted by @Matt @WildWood1965 and @gavin with the normal terms of endearment and abuse:sneaky::rofl:
Picked a spot for the Slumit tent and was pitched in minutes.......put up a tarp for the admin area.

On this trip, I took no meths burners or gas stoves but opted for my Firebox which I cooked and relied on for the whole meet.
My kettle was a Titanium mug and it all worked well and did the job with no problem.

I can't remember the days and times.......but the camp was soon buzzing as other members and friends turned up.
As always it was good to see them again.......it was also good to meet @G1ZmO Mel.....and Daniel for the first time.:thumbsup:

It was a pleasure to see @Ichneumon (Paul) again at the meet.
As Joe has already said.....he was very generous with his time and skills and only too happy to share them.......nice one Paul :thumbsup:

@divebuddy had prepared the HFT shooting targets at home....they were all oiled and painted looking pristine and ready for the competition.
The course he laid out was brilliant and well thought out with a few sneaky ones in the mix.
Everyone enjoyed it and some good scores were recorded.

Thank you once again for all your time and effort @divebuddy we all appreciated it!!;):thumbsup:
As for Jiffs caaaaaaaake..........well, as usual, it was lovely......had to watch @Hagrid like a Hawke......but managed to get in front of him to claim a piece :whistle::rofl::rofl:

Thank you Jiff :notlistening::notlistening::notlistening:

The days were as busy or relaxed as you wanted them to be.....no one was made to feel they had to take part in any of the activities that were on offer.
It was a nice relaxed atmosphere as always......... and not run like a military operation with big egos taking the limelight.

Evenings around the fire were great fun and jokes and banter flowed well....... @Joecole told us a few SHORT stories from the Worrah :whistle::rofl:
On one particular evening, @divebuddy and myself were sat making toast around the fire at 1 am....... and very nice it was too.....thanks Dick:thumbsup:

@WildWood1965 was as busy as ever looking after Matt and Gavin........but Bitch number one is in for some more intensive discipline training.
Answering back and protesting will not be tolerated :rolleyes::D
Neil handed out a few Teatowels which came in very handy......thanks mate:thumbsup: and thank you also for the hook ;)

The young ones............Daniel.....Hatchet.....Ethan.....and Jack......... a pleasure to have at the camp.........polite and hard working always willing to lend a hand.....thanks, lads :thumbsup:

This was another well organised and run meet Thanks to @Matt for all the effort put in and also to the work party :thumbsup::)

A few pictures here from the meet;)


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Two very dodgy charectors.

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My home for the meet.

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Matt and Gavin.

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Neil and his palace......complete with cheese toasty maker sat on his cooker :eek::D
Well organised and comfy setup mate:thumbsup:

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There it is!!!

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Hagrid laid out on his food mound :whistle::rofl:

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Finally......I sat and did a bit of wood carving......a walking stick for my Queen Lorraine :notlistening:

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Ichenuman....john, Emilly and boys trying out the ink they had made.

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Contrary to what @Joecole says......I can read and write :p:p:D

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The Bitch allowed a sit down for 5 minutes between duties.

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Get out of my face Neil

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@WildWood1965 on the HFT course......he shot very well:thumbsup:

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Happy snaps around the fire.

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Site shooting Marshall Dicky Di Doh giving the safety briefing prior to the HFT shoot starting.

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A very happy @G1ZmO :D

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@gavin being presented with the winner's cup for the HFT shoot.....well done mate....good shooting :thumbsup::)

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Matt and Gavin getting the BBQ ready...........thanks guys....it was a cracker:thumbsup:
As was Emily Crumble:thumbsup:

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That wonderful crumble being prepared.

Well, that's about it.....thank you to everyone for making this yet another great meet and hope to see you all next year..........NEXT STOP SCOOTLUND......ye ken :thumbsup::thumbsup::rofl::rofl:
 
"No name,s have been changed to protect the innocent" :rofl:

Friday ....

Finished work and rushed home to have a bath and get the landrover packed .
hitched up the trailer and headed over to collect @gavin and his kit . :thumbsup:
we got to the site around 7pm (Friday) which then gave us a couple days to get the site sorted ready for the visitors ..
@WildWood1965 followed us up the track on to site in his (overloaded) CRV ...(pack light she said :rofl:)
we all set about getting our personal stuff set up and squared away ..which took no time at all :zipped:
next up was to get the chute situated which between the three of us we had done in an hour or so .
we lit the fire for the first kettle full of hot water for the meet and that cup of tea tasted so good it had been a long time coming :cool:

Saturday

we woke early as we still had lots to sort out ;)....

next up was the toilet tent and the composting bin (which i feel worked well for the duration of the meet ) (feedback on this please guys )
myself and gav dropped down to the main gate and attached the sign ...THE MEET WAS OPEN :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

@1 shot willie was next to arrive and instantly set to with setting up and upsetting the "gimps" :alert:

next in the gate was @Joecole (which was a surprise he could reach the latch ):rofl:

i ferried joes kit to the top of the site and he set to getting his "hobbit hole " sorted

we all got around the fire for a yap and a brew whilst the sun went down ....Excellent end to the day great place and great company :thumbsup:

SUNDAY ...official start day for the meet ...

Early start for me and @WildWood1965 was woken with a hot brew and a smile (kneef was enjoying being out i thought )

next to arrive was @Hagrid and his family ....john was determined to rip the front of his new car off getting into the site but his despite his best efforts the bumper stayed on :whistle:

loaded ALL his kit into the landrover thinking to my self "his house must be empty":rofl: Emily and the boys wandered up to base camp while John got a lift so he could gard his food :lol:

Next up was @Ichneumon was good so see you again mate :)...i got pauls kit loaded up and transferred to base camp ..he then set off to find a suitable spot to call home for the week

the site was slowly filling up with people and it had a Buzz only people brought to the woodland " IT,S ALIVE "

a great evening was had sat around the fire nattering and putting the world to rights and taking the piss out of @Joecole who took it in the contexts it was meant :thumbsup:


Monday ....

@divebuddy was next on site with plenty of Caaaake .....after a quick natter he went down to "snorers corner " to get set up :cool:


at this point in the meet i had lost track of all days and what happened when :rolleyes: blame it on the cider or @Ichneumon and his hip flask :whistle:


so heres a few highlights i did remember :rofl:


@Ichneumon did a fantastic job of sharing his vast knowledge of all this bushcraft .....we had a few members of the group who at first try managed to get a fire started with a bow and drill (Excellent tuition )
the younger members had a go at making natural ink under the instruction of paul ..

id just like to say thank you to paul (@Ichneumon ) for taking the time to come down and see us and for being readily available to share his skill,s (defo hope to see you at the next one mate ) :thumbsup:

@G1ZmO Mell and Daniel turned up on wednesday and brought the rain with them all the way from Scotland :rofl::rofl::rofl::rolleyes:

G1zmo set about getting his kit squared away and set up while we all sheltered under the chute from the showers


THURSDAY ....
@divebuddy Had set out a great plinking range and hft course (pictures in the shooting section of the forum )
every one who had a go had a great time ...@gav won the cup this time round :thumbsup:
the site was awash with laughter and people checking out each other,s setups ....

@Joecole did a spanking chicken curry for evening meal :thumbsup: which was devoured by the hords :whistle:


Friday ....

the day was spent with a few impromptu bushcraft lesson by Paul (ichy)
my self and @gavin went of site to get supplies for the evenings BBQ
We all had a good feed and Emilly bid a spanking crumble which everyone enjoyed ...
@1 shot willie sorted out an auction of some of his leather work which raised a healthy amount towards the storage fee,s for the site (thanks mate :cool:)

we decided to take the chute down on friday evening while we had a chance and it was dry :thumbsup:

saturday morning was a bit of a blurr for me with dropping people of and saying good byes :(


All i can hope is you all had a good time and hope to see you all next year :)

a few thank yous

@Joecole for being a good sport :D
@gavin for being the right hand man at the meet
@WildWood1965 for being the left hand man and charwalla
@1 shot willie for raising the funds for the forum
@divebuddy for taking the time to set the hft

and last but not least @Ichneumon for taking the time to share his skills


All in all guys i think a great meet was had by all and i cant wait to do it all again

hopefully i,ll get to see a few of you in feb :cool::cool:
 
Last edited:
Not sure what I can offer to the commentaries which have already been added.

As Bill has already mentioned, everyone joined in whenever they wanted to and had space and time to relax in their own tent if they wanted. I always find this very enjoyable as it is nice to take time to sit and listen to the nature around.

Em, the boys and I arrived at lunchtime on Sunday and were met by Matt already in the field waiting for us. Unfortunately, I did not have my truck this year so had to bum a ride up the hill and even struggled getting off the main road onto the bottom field (undertray being ripped off by some sneaky rock).

At the top of the hill, all kit was unloaded (in the heat of the day) and all the normal pleasantries took place (oh how you have lost weight..., how lovely your hair looks, haven't you grown since the last time we met etc...)

Joe had already scouted out a site for us which suited us down to the ground. We set about setting up three hammocks, four tarps, table and chairs and finished on arranging our food stores for the week. After about two hours in the heat we were settled enough to congregate for a short while around the communal fire to have a quick catch-up.

It was lovely to be back and catch up and laugh about past events and share new stories. It was particularly nice to meet Paul (Ichenuman). What a lovely guy and so willing to share his skills and knowledge in an enthusiastic and encouraging way. Em, the boys and I were all able to practice our fire lighting with flint and steel using char cloth, put bow drill fire lighting into practice and transfer the embers to tinder, make our own ink from Oak Galls and iron, make quills and practice writing with them (gained a better understanding on the limitations of writing styles and how manuscripts would have been written, and also the term pen-knife to repoint a quill) and we were also able to practice hand drill fire lighting (which to this day I have not yet managed to make work). Paul also on many occasions educated us on edible plants and best woods to use for the techniques we had been learning.

I have to also thank everyone for their patience with my boys. They had great fun making their own den and shelters and had assistance in making bows, arrows and some waka waka throwing stick?? Every night they went off to sleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow because they had experianned days full of fun and hours of real belly laughter.

The HFT was great fun the only downside was the fact that I got beat again by Gizmo by 0.7 points.

Run out of time now but will post a few photos taken by Emily in the next post:)
 
"No name,s have been changed to protect the innocent" :rofl:

Friday ....

Finished work and rushed home to have a bath and get the landrover packed .
hitched up the trailer and headed over to collect @gavin and his kit . :thumbsup:
we got to the site around 7pm (Friday) which then gave us a couple days to get the site sorted ready for the visitors ..
@WildWood1965 followed us up the track on to site in his (overloaded) CRV ...(pack light she said :rofl:)
we all set about getting our personal stuff set up and squared away ..which took no time at all :zipped:
next up was to get the chute situated which between the three of us we had done in an hour or so .
we lit the fire for the first kettle full of hot water for the meet and that cup of tea tasted so good it had been a long time coming :cool:

Saturday

we woke early as we still had lots to sort out ;)....

next up was the toilet tent and the composting bin (which i feel worked well for the duration of the meet ) (feedback on this please guys )
myself and gav dropped down to the main gate and attached the sign ...THE MEET WAS OPEN :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

@1 shot willie was next to arrive and instantly set to with setting up and upsetting the "gimps" :alert:

next in the gate was @Joecole (which was a surprise he could reach the latch ):rofl:

i ferried joes kit to the top of the site and he set to getting his "hobbit hole " sorted

we all got around the fire for a yap and a brew whilst the sun went down ....Excellent end to the day great place and great company :thumbsup:

SUNDAY ...official start day for the meet ...

Early start for me and @WildWood1965 was woken with a hot brew and a smile (kneef was enjoying being out i thought )

next to arrive was @Hagrid and his family ....john was determined to rip the front of his new car off getting into the site but his despite his best efforts the bumper stayed on :whistle:

loaded ALL his kit into the landrover thinking to my self "his house must be empty":rofl: Emily and the boys wandered up to base camp while John got a lift so he could gard his food :lol:

Next up was @Ichneumon was good so see you again mate :)...i got pauls kit loaded up and transferred to base camp ..he then set off to find a suitable spot to call home for the week

the site was slowly filling up with people and it had a Buzz only people brought to the woodland " IT,S ALIVE "

a great evening was had sat around the fire nattering and putting the world to rights and taking the piss out of @Joecole who took it in the contexts it was meant :thumbsup:


Monday ....

@divebuddy was next on site with plenty of Caaaake .....after a quick natter he went down to "snorers corner " to get set up :cool:


at this point in the meet i had lost track of all days and what happened when :rolleyes: blame it on the cider or @Ichneumon and his hip flask :whistle:


so heres a few highlights i did remember :rofl:


@Ichneumon did a fantastic job of sharing his vast knowledge of all this bushcraft .....we had a few members of the group who at first try managed to get a fire started with a bow and drill (Excellent tuition )
the younger members had a go at making natural ink under the instruction of paul ..

id just like to say thank you to paul (@Ichneumon ) for taking the time to come down and see us and for being readily available to share his skill,s (defo hope to see you at the next one mate ) :thumbsup:

@G1ZmO Mell and Daniel turned up on wednesday and brought the rain with them all the way from Scotland :rofl::rofl::rofl::rolleyes:

G1zmo set about getting his kit squared away and set up while we all sheltered under the chute from the showers


THURSDAY ....
@divebuddy Had set out a great plinking range and hft course (pictures in the shooting section of the forum )
every one who had a go had a great time ...@gav won the cup this time round :thumbsup:
the site was awash with laughter and people checking out each other,s setups ....

@Joecole did a spanking chicken curry for evening meal :thumbsup: which was devoured by the hords :whistle:


Friday ....

the day was spent with a few impromptu bushcraft lesson by Paul (ichy)
my self and @gavin went of site to get supplies for the evenings BBQ
We all had a good feed and Emilly bid a spanking crumble which everyone enjoyed ...
@1 shot willie sorted out an auction of some of his leather work which raised a healthy amount towards the storage fee,s for the site (thanks mate :cool:)

we decided to take the chute down on friday evening while we had a chance and it was dry :thumbsup:

saturday morning was a bit of a blurr for me with dropping people of and saying good byes :(


All i can hope is you all had a good time and hope to see you all next year :)

a few thank yous

@Joecole for being a good sport :D
@gavin for being the right hand man at the meet
@WildWood1965 for being the left hand man and charwalla
@1 shot willie for raising the funds for the forum
@divebuddy for taking the time to set the hft

and last but not least @Ichneumon for taking the time to share his skills


All in all guys i think a great meet was had by all and i cant wait to do it all again

hopefully i,ll get to see a few of you in feb :cool::cool:
Great writeup mate
 
You will have to wait for mine til Wednesday. Got a few issues including being at Torbay hospital with grandson. Got a popcorn seed stuck in his ear.
 
I had promised Matt that I'd be down on Sunday at about 2PM, bargaining on a 5 hour journey. My sat-nav is female, and has a mind of her own, so from around Okehampton she took me down all the smallest country lanes she could find. 5 hours turned into a 6.5 hour journey but Matt was kind enough to meet me in the pub carpark and lead me to site, then ferry my gear up the hill.

Very nice to see Matt and Uncle Bill again and meet Gav, Neil, Big Joe, Little John, Emily and the boys.

After a bit of a scout around I managed to find somewhere to make camp. Despite the heat I had brain-freeze and managed to break a tent pole whilst putting my old tent together. I jury rigged the tent but was both annoyed and mystified at what I had just done. It was not until the next day that Joe (he's a clever old bugger ya know) came up with a smart fix, and I realised what I had done wrong.

The rest of the week was a bit of a blur. I'm not sure what happened on what day. So here are the memorable events - Dick turned up and shook everyone out of their torpor. John and Emily succeeded in getting fire by friction - quite something! Helliot, Heathen and 'Bob' managed to make some ink and do some writing with quill pens. We sat around the fire in the evenings and put the world to rights. Bill and Dick ate some burnt toast at silly o'clock. Paul, Mel and Dan turned up - nice to meet them. Joe cooked a fantastic curry. Matt and Gav did us all a BBQ and Emily excelled in the apple crumble department, cooked to perfection in her new dutch oven. Paul got an ember first try with bowdrill, that's not supposed to happen! Paul got sick. :( Serves him right for being so clever! ;) Neil had a go at bowdrill and, although he didn't get an ember, he certainly mastered the technique and will manage it next time. I stayed at the fire whilst everyone went and killed some dead things with their air guns. Gav got the prize for best air gunner. Not happy with burnt toast, Dan ate toasted crickets. It rained... then it rained even harder. Luckily it was the last day so, after a week of great weather, nobody was complaining.

Thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome. A special mention to Helliot, Heathen and 'Bob', who dragged me back to being 10 again. Thanks to Matt for all his hard work, organisation and bottle of rum, Bill too - you didn't need to do it. It was lovely to meet you all and spend a week in the woods.

The journey home was a bit of a marathon. Travelling on Saturday was a mistake. The A30 and M5 to Bristol were carparks for much of the way. 8 hours door-to-door - ouch!

Looking forward to doing it again. :)
 
I had promised Matt that I'd be down on Sunday at about 2PM, bargaining on a 5 hour journey. My sat-nav is female, and has a mind of her own, so from around Okehampton she took me down all the smallest country lanes she could find. 5 hours turned into a 6.5 hour journey but Matt was kind enough to meet me in the pub carpark and lead me to site, then ferry my gear up the hill.

Very nice to see Matt and Uncle Bill again and meet Gav, Neil, Big Joe, Little John, Emily and the boys.

After a bit of a scout around I managed to find somewhere to make camp. Despite the heat I had brain-freeze and managed to break a tent pole whilst putting my old tent together. I jury rigged the tent but was both annoyed and mystified at what I had just done. It was not until the next day that Joe (he's a clever old bugger ya know) came up with a smart fix, and I realised what I had done wrong.

The rest of the week was a bit of a blur. I'm not sure what happened on what day. So here are the memorable events - Dick turned up and shook everyone out of their torpor. John and Emily succeeded in getting fire by friction - quite something! Helliot, Heathen and 'Bob' managed to make some ink and do some writing with quill pens. We sat around the fire in the evenings and put the world to rights. Bill and Dick ate some burnt toast at silly o'clock. Paul, Mel and Dan turned up - nice to meet them. Joe cooked a fantastic curry. Matt and Gav did us all a BBQ and Emily excelled in the apple crumble department, cooked to perfection in her new dutch oven. Paul got an ember first try with bowdrill, that's not supposed to happen! Paul got sick. :( Serves him right for being so clever! ;) Neil had a go at bowdrill and, although he didn't get an ember, he certainly mastered the technique and will manage it next time. I stayed at the fire whilst everyone went and killed some dead things with their air guns. Gav got the prize for best air gunner. Not happy with burnt toast, Dan ate toasted crickets. It rained... then it rained even harder. Luckily it was the last day so, after a week of great weather, nobody was complaining.

Thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome. A special mention to Helliot, Heathen and 'Bob', who dragged me back to being 10 again. Thanks to Matt for all his hard work, organisation and bottle of rum, Bill too - you didn't need to do it. It was lovely to meet you all and spend a week in the woods.

The journey home was a bit of a marathon. Travelling on Saturday was a mistake. The A30 and M5 to Bristol were carparks for much of the way. 8 hours door-to-door - ouch!

Looking forward to doing it again. :)




Nice write up mate:thumbsup:
 
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