Looking Back Detail Page

01 Apr

- Peter Temple P. L. Eagles

It was on a sunny morning of October that a batch of 18 Scouts with a Scout Master left Bombay Central at about 8 a.m. for Dahanu in a reserved com¬partment. A good many parents had come to see their youngsters off for a ten-day Train¬ing Camp. But I am not quite sure you all know what that means, and so, I think I will do well if I begin by telling you a few words about it.
Briefly, because I have very little space to myself, a Scout Training Camp is a camp where Boy Scouts get their training in Scouting. A Training Camp is more serious than what you think, because there is a real "routine". We get up in timer have our wash, not all of us to¬gether because there is a "Patrol on Duty", and those boys have to begin by lighting the fire, preparing tea, boiling milk, making the, porridge, etc. Then we hoist the Flag, and when all is ready, the whistle to the tune "Come-to-the-kitchen ¬Boys" is blown, and "Don't be late" be¬cause you will miss something good. After breakfast we have Tent Inspec¬tion where marks are given to all. Next the "Order-of-the-Day" comes up on the Scout notice board and then we all know what our duties for the day are.
One Patrol is "On Duty" (the Patrol Leader is called the P.L.O.D.=Patrol Leader On Duty) and that means THEY are responsible for all the meals clean¬ing sweeping etc. Another Patrol gets "Light Duty". They are responsible for our lights and nights. Yet another is assigned on "Water Duty" and so forth. At about 10-30 a.m. we have lectures on tests till say, 12-30 or so. Then we break up till 1 p.m. when we are sup¬posed to have lunch. I said "supposed" because many a time we find that lunch is not ready and one has to wait for some time. And then the lectures again or free time to prepare for some test or other.

At about 4-30 we have tea, after a well¬ deserved rest. Then off for a SWIM.

Back by 6-30 or so "Lowering of the Flag." and to prepare for the Camp Fire.

At 8 p.m. Dinner and Camp-Fire, ¬rarely-some interesting Scout Game like "Taking the Fortress"

And then to bed you will say. Well well, it all depends! To bed, yes, but not if you are on "Night Duty"-the most un¬pleasant thing of a Training Camp even if only for an hour! But, we are Scouts and so we "smile and whistle under all difficulties", as the Eighth Law says. Each boy of the Patrol on "Night Duty" does his job by walking along and around the Camp with his torch, whistle and staff. When his time is over he wakes up the boy on the next "watch", signs his name and goes to sleep. The "Cooking Patrol" has fun, but woe to them if the food is not well-cooked, be¬cause they have to face a mob of hungry and angry boys. What we enjoyed most was our daily swim. The beach was grand! and very safe-you could walk for a mile with water only up to your waist, and besides some of us learning swimming, we had good fun with "tubes and "Foot-balls".

This year Barjor Bajan, a boy of the Wolf Patrol was invested at the end of the Camp with full solemnity.

We went around, and visited a fine "Fruit Garden", and a "Rose Garden" for which Dahanu is famous. so famous that every day baskets of Roses and many more of various fruits leave by train for Bombay early in the morning. We have good fun every night at our Camp Fires where we sing, crack jokes, put up short plays etc. And we finish with a cup of cocoa, sweets or biscuits. When "Lights Out" is blown we slum¬ber pretty soon, and we start dreaming. No one calls out for "Mummy", sorry! one Did-I shall not tell you who for I would be murdered as soon as this appears.