PGL 2016!

Calling all Bloggers! By Sophia Randall, 1st Long Eaton Guides.

Thanks for this amazing blog entry Sophia! And thank you to all the leaders that gave up their time and made this weekend possible! Catch up with what Sophia has to say below.

PGL Blog

Two full days, two nights, 2 evenings, PGL is here! Before the bus arrives, the anticipation is yelling at us, but when we get on the coach, we all settle down.

Evening One.

When we get there, there is a hullaballoo! Bags everywhere, tea, unpack, game of ambush and we’re in our room getting ready for bed! The time flew” When we first got off the coach, I began to doubt if it would be as fun as it sounded but by the first nights sleep at 10:15 I was convinced it would be seriously fun!

The game ambush consists of one team hiding and the other seeking. If the seeking team goes past the hidings team place that team gets to yell ‘Ambush!’ the game went on till 9pm when we went inside for some downtime.

Activities.

Vertical Challenge; was fun but very hard! There was one rope ladder, one tyre ladder, one climbing wall one scramble net. Only one person in our group got to the top!

Problem Solving; was more fun than it sounds. We had to get along a wooden beam into an order such as height, age and names. We also had to lift each other through webs of rope and only one person could get through one gap. Then we had to use two short plans to get over a gap between logs and we had to find a way to all get across with a sturdy bridge.

Abseiling; was the hardest for lots of people. Between us there was triumph and tears. Many didn't make it but lots did great and made it look easy. I eventually conquered my fears and abseiled on my 3rd attempt” I was so proud to have don’t it and I would have gone through that terror again and again until I wasn't afraid any more.

The Giant Swing; sounds fun but awful at the same time! However it was really fun. All of us went up and had a great time. Most of us went to roughly the same height but a couple went even higher. One pair reached the top! You were in pairs and you were pulled up to your chosen height by the rest of the group and when you pulled the release cord you were let fly.

Jacobs Ladder; was simply wooden logs getting further and further apart. There were eleven logs and ropes were attached here and there to help you up. You were allowed to use your friends ropes as well which had its advantages for yourself but it had its disadvantages too for your friend. One person got to the top and we all applauded very loudly.

Low Ropes; was very much like an adventure playground only we had ninja squirrel to help us.

• Strong foot in front

• Hand out palm facing forwards

• Catch someone if they fall off!

Simple and fun. We built castles with sticks and tried to knock down the others teams castle. My team lost unfortunately :(

The most exasperating thing we did was undoubtable challenge course. First we had to cross one side of the course then we had to repeat the process on the other side with two differences. Firstly we had to hold onto a rope at all times. Secondly we could only step in hula-hoops half way along the instructor (who was called Andy) added in a ball, held within a cone and upon dropping the ball would be given a forfeit! Examples of forfeits that were enforced upon people: smelling the shoe of Andy, proposing to a bin! One of the obstacles was to go through a rack of tyres while holding the rope! Me and Mia got stuck and Andy just laughed! How Rude!

High Ropes; was our final activity before we left PGL! We were all pleased we had the best activity last! We all had to climb the stairs of the tower we had abseiled on and strap into a mechanism that runs smoothly across a metal bar like a train on its track just very train on its track just very high p and upside down. It was in many ways like low ropes but astoundingly high up and attached to a metal bar! I thought it was the 2nd most terrifying thing at PGL but it was the 2nd funnest for me personally. I was ecstatic when I got back from my first time around and luckily for me I could go around all over again! The 2nd time however I went backwards! It was so fun and all of us made it all the way round the course at least once so we all got to experience the awesome feeling of PGL High Ropes.

Evening Two

We had an amazing fun cold campfire and we sang lots of hilarious songs with the instructor doing the best actions ever! When we got back from each evening activity on each night we all drank a cup of ward hot chocolate and nibbled biscuits then we went to our rooms to relax for 30 mins or so!

At PGL as well as having lots of fun it has brought me closer to some of the girls in 1st Long Eaton Guides. I had so much fun and I’m sure no one who went to this PGL weekend will forget what happened in a hurry. I have now began to loose my fear of heights, thanks to PGL. The instructors were really kind and supportive. Thank You PGL!

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