Seth headed off for a three day school camp to the beach today. Watching him build with excitement and anticipation as leaving day rolled closer, made me recall some of my primary school camping experiences and how much I also used to love them dearly and look forward to that annual getaway with my friends with a fever pitch of intense excitement as well.
Almost every year our western suburb primary school would head out to Ashborn Camp, somewhere in the pines with loads of fresh air and huts made of corrugated iron. We would eat lollies and sing like maniacs on the bus trip there, probably making the teachers crazy from the get go, and none of us could wait to find out who we would be bunking down with for the duration of our stay.
Activities always consisted of an obligatory talent show evening, a movie night, a night bush walk, orienteering, bush cooking, canoeing and bush dancing. Bush dancing was always everyone's least favourite thing to do, because you had to hold hands with the boys - god forbid! Secretly, I always liked it when we did the rotating partner dances because I would get to hold hands with my secret crush, a boy that I had had the hots for, for the entire length of my primary school years. Sadly, since I moved at the end of Grade 6, nothing ever happened, and then I heard years later that he had died in his teens from a drug overdose, so in hindsight it was probably a good thing that I never hung around to explore that possibility.
One camp that always springs to mind when I think of school camps, was the one that I attended in Grade 4. Some of the boys had taken to flashing their penises at us girls. They would tap on the hut windows and when you pulled back the curtains, you would get an eyeful of dick. Of course, I was utterly horrified, it was the first time I had seen a real life willy and screamed like a banshee when it happened to me. Needless to say, those boys spent a lot of time hanging out with the teachers and missing out on all of the fun.
On the last night of that same camp, after a huge fish, chips and salad dinner, one of the additional needs children that was in our Grade pooped his pants and decided to remove the contents of his said pants around the campfire later that evening. This lead to the most contagious and spontaneous vomiting session that I have ever seen to date. One kid started and it was literally like a chain reaction, there were kids yakking up all over the place, little piles of half digested salads for miles. I know I didn't chuck, but I do remember feeling queasy and dry retching a few times. I will never forget that poor deaf, mute and highly autistic kid, god only knows how long he'd been carting that load around for, but jeez, when it was released, it was stripping the paint off the roofs!
Ah, camp, good times! I think that my early experiences may explain why I am still not keen about camping these days, but as a kid, I do recall thinking that they were the very best days of the whole school year.
Almost every year our western suburb primary school would head out to Ashborn Camp, somewhere in the pines with loads of fresh air and huts made of corrugated iron. We would eat lollies and sing like maniacs on the bus trip there, probably making the teachers crazy from the get go, and none of us could wait to find out who we would be bunking down with for the duration of our stay.
Activities always consisted of an obligatory talent show evening, a movie night, a night bush walk, orienteering, bush cooking, canoeing and bush dancing. Bush dancing was always everyone's least favourite thing to do, because you had to hold hands with the boys - god forbid! Secretly, I always liked it when we did the rotating partner dances because I would get to hold hands with my secret crush, a boy that I had had the hots for, for the entire length of my primary school years. Sadly, since I moved at the end of Grade 6, nothing ever happened, and then I heard years later that he had died in his teens from a drug overdose, so in hindsight it was probably a good thing that I never hung around to explore that possibility.
One camp that always springs to mind when I think of school camps, was the one that I attended in Grade 4. Some of the boys had taken to flashing their penises at us girls. They would tap on the hut windows and when you pulled back the curtains, you would get an eyeful of dick. Of course, I was utterly horrified, it was the first time I had seen a real life willy and screamed like a banshee when it happened to me. Needless to say, those boys spent a lot of time hanging out with the teachers and missing out on all of the fun.
On the last night of that same camp, after a huge fish, chips and salad dinner, one of the additional needs children that was in our Grade pooped his pants and decided to remove the contents of his said pants around the campfire later that evening. This lead to the most contagious and spontaneous vomiting session that I have ever seen to date. One kid started and it was literally like a chain reaction, there were kids yakking up all over the place, little piles of half digested salads for miles. I know I didn't chuck, but I do remember feeling queasy and dry retching a few times. I will never forget that poor deaf, mute and highly autistic kid, god only knows how long he'd been carting that load around for, but jeez, when it was released, it was stripping the paint off the roofs!
Ah, camp, good times! I think that my early experiences may explain why I am still not keen about camping these days, but as a kid, I do recall thinking that they were the very best days of the whole school year.
MOONRISE KINGDOM
Release Date: 2012
Rating: M
Running Time: 94 mins
Wes Anderson is truly the 'king of quirk', and this fantastic coming-of-age romance is whimsical and delightful in every way. I felt like I could have been watching a retell of Anderson's own early childhood romance, because this movie just felt so awkwardly genuine and deeply reminiscent in every way.
When Sam and Suze fall in love and flee their New England homes to camp out together, it sends various factions of the town into rescue mode and sets a series of events into motion.
With 1960's swinging style and sophistication, two of the most unusual and adorable 12 year old kids you will ever see on screen together, fall in love and pledge their hearts to each other - honestly, this is just so adorable. They're well supported by a kick ass cast boasting the likes of Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand and Edward Norton, seriously, how could this film not be a winner? Loved it, just loved it completely, a cult classic for sure.
FINAL SAY: I made you some jewelry, are your ears pierced?
4.5 Chili Peppers
Release Date: 2012
Rating: M
Running Time: 94 mins
Wes Anderson is truly the 'king of quirk', and this fantastic coming-of-age romance is whimsical and delightful in every way. I felt like I could have been watching a retell of Anderson's own early childhood romance, because this movie just felt so awkwardly genuine and deeply reminiscent in every way.
When Sam and Suze fall in love and flee their New England homes to camp out together, it sends various factions of the town into rescue mode and sets a series of events into motion.
With 1960's swinging style and sophistication, two of the most unusual and adorable 12 year old kids you will ever see on screen together, fall in love and pledge their hearts to each other - honestly, this is just so adorable. They're well supported by a kick ass cast boasting the likes of Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand and Edward Norton, seriously, how could this film not be a winner? Loved it, just loved it completely, a cult classic for sure.
FINAL SAY: I made you some jewelry, are your ears pierced?
4.5 Chili Peppers
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