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Tasmanian Anglican

July 2003

 

 

 

 

 


Fire sculpture

 

SMADDer and Stuff

by Imogen Wegman

 

 

There was an air of anticipation, especially apparent to those who were new to the camp. What would happen? What should we expect? After all, this was SMADDer, about which we had heard many stories.

SMADD (Singing, Music, Art, Drama and Dance) is a Scripture Union camp run each year for grade seven, eight and nine. There are workshops in the afore-mentioned activities, and it is a lot of fun.

Nutbush

The campers started to arrive, and went through quarantine, filled out missing forms and received name tags. We started to get to know our cabin groups, and it soon became apparent that the number of leaders was very similar to the number of campers; possibly even more leaders. We got going with the games, and then co-director Jeremy Smith explained about the 'stuff' we needed to know - rules and the like. Everyone moved to the other hall, and we had a bit of music, discussion and a study to really get the camp going.

That night there was a band and a bit of a disco, along with the 'M' theme night. The CDs came out, and so did the Nutbush (a foot version of the Macarena), which got a few people foot-tied, and the night was a great success.

Fire Sculpture

Next morning, people groggily emerged for breakfast, learning that a late night gossip session on the first night wasn't the best idea. We got into the day's activities, including crafts, and then to the preferred workshop to work on a piece for the end of camp presentation. That night everyone enjoyed the movie Big, and popcorn, and looked forward to the next day.

Wednesday morning and the schedule looked almost exactly the same, with abseiling added in, and a bonfire that evening. The work of the Fire Sculpture group was displayed: rope woven into chicken wire to create pictures and then lit to create flaming images. The bonfire was enjoyable, and it looked quite spectacular when the supervising firemen hosed it down.

Dustpans

The last day was a sad sight, all the luggage sitting outside cabin doors, people bustling around with vacuum cleaners, dustpans and bags of rubbish. There was the final performance of drama, music, dance and farewells, and the campers took their final pictures and set off home.

SMADDer was great; it was my first experience as a leader, and the atmosphere for the whole four days was fantastic.