A very tiring week...

Okay, so all of the serious work has been done at Uni now, and you'd think that I'd get a restful week out of it. Nah. NTC stepped in to fill the void, and so I had yet more late nights. I also had some restless nights worrying about camp, and the last-minure approach that I had been forced to take (it's worth mentioning that the camp went off without a hitch, and I needn't have worried - thanks to Graham and his staff from TS Sturdy).

All week, I have been furiously editing a video for my last module at University. In honesty, we don't have the right footage. We've got lots of great photoage, but producing an actual story is going to take a work of such genious, that the editor is probably going to be getting job offers to work with Steven Spielberg. Fortunately, I enjoy this, and it has been a real pleasure going to Uni this week.

On Friday morning, we had to show the rest of our module class our videos. They were all really good, but I was naturally very proud of our video. I am especially pleased with the intoduction. It starts with a really cinematic sequence of climbing, finishing with a dramatic zoom-out from a sea cliff. At the moment we using Michael Giacchino's new soundtrack intro to Star Trek, which sounds amazing, but we need to find a license free alternative (which is gutting us). But that is frankly academic, because the part of the video that everyone will be talking about is after the opening titles - the driving sequence. With a very funky 70s-esk theme, Ernie drives past the camera, and we see Ernie pull up in the car park. Fantastic. (This will be available on YouTube as soon as it's finished - if that ever happens)

Friday night, before camp Saturday morning, we held our AGM and an awards night in one evening at TS Intrepid. The awards night usually lasts an hour, and the AGM can last an hour also. With that in mind, when the boss (Brian) said we's be finished by 9, you'd think we'd start a little early. No, 7.30. But despite this, somehow it was pulled off, and nothing seemed rushed - more through luck than judgement? Incidentally, this also meant that our usual Friday to Monday bank holiday was crashed, and we had to start on Saturday morning...

Anyways, we had to pack for camp, and I am not allowed to tow the NTC box trailer, due to our country's ridiculous and expensive licensing system. Dad stepped in, and off we went to the lockup. It was pitch black, and we didn't pack the trailer very well. It soon filled up, and so did Ernie. Lots of stuff was left in the garage, and I would have to pick up my trailer, and finish off on Saturday morning. In frustration, I shut my boot heavily, and just as it was closing, a bottle of ketchup rolled in the way.

You know what happenned, and you don't need to read that the ketchup exploded - all over Ernie's boot carpet. I never have thge carpet in - but this evening, when ketchup exploded everywhere, I did. Worse still, I lifted the tailgate to inspect the damage, not realising that a large ammount of ketchup had landed on the bottom of the tailgate. Sure enough, with the tailgate raised above my head, the ketchup dripped down, into my hair, and all over my white NTC shirt. Nuts. Oddly, driving back home, I can only assume West Sussex smelt of Ketchup, because that's all I could smell in my car - even with the window down!

Camp was generally a success, and many a funny tale is to be told. However, what happens on camp - stays on camp! But there is one thing I have to mention. Monday morning, I got out of my tent, and looked up at the sky. With a sigh, I said to myself 'We're not going to get away with this...' Rain was impending, and I really didn't want to dry a million tents. Bearing in mind that I had just woken up (along with many of the cadets), I shouted 'Right kids, pack your kit, take it to the minibus, and then get the tents down.' Did it work? Did it bugger. Dad and I were hanging wet tents for nearly an hour in the lockup. (Fortunately we had left the big tents up, and they were mostly dry when we took them down after the sun came out)

Anyways, whilst we were all huddling in our fantastic HQ tent, Graham texted on of his officers in Chichester for a weather report. Chichester would get the same weather as our camp, but about 20-30 minutes earlier. Spud apparently has taken meteorology at school, so we could expect a pretty good report. This is what we got: 'Well, I can't hear rain against my window, so it's probably stopped. But it could just be raining lightly'. Brilliant. Thanks for that. Couldn't even be bothered to get out of bed...

That's it from me. Despite having nearly 11 hours of sleep last night, I'm still knackered, and need to crash into bed. Goodnight!