No one would have believed
in the years since twenty fifteen
that Nights Away affairs where being watched
by intelligences that inhabited the timeless worlds of Facebook.
No one could have dreamed we were being scrutinized
as someone with a microscope studies Beavers
that swarm and multiply at the mention of mud.
Few leaders even considered the possibility of #BeaversinTents
and yet, across the breadth of counties
minds immeasurably superior to ours
regarded this weekend with envious eyes,
and slowly and surely
they drew their plans to Damboree.
At teatime on the 21st of June
a huge mass of luminous joy erupted from homes
and sped towards camp.
Across two-hundred-million miles of void
noisily hurtling towards us
came the first of the Beavers
that were to bring so much joy of camping
As I watched there was another yell of joy
It was another tent being erected
And that how it was for the next two hours
a flare spurting out from homes
Bright turquoise, drawing a blue mist behind it
A beautiful but somehow gratifying sight
Ogilvy the commissioner assured me we were in no danger
He was convinced there could be nothing but joy
on that remote, welcoming campsite.
The chances of Beavers camping in tents, are a million to one he said
The chances of Beavers camping in tents, are a million to one
but still they camp!
#Damboree #BeaversinTents #BeaversareScouts_ScoutsCamp #SkillsforLife_StartswithBeavers #CrowdScouting
Adapted from the original Jeff Wayne’s Eve of the War from War of the Worlds, by Stuart Ball, in honour of those who are camping this weekend, with the shortest of nights with the liveliest section.
