This week has been an amazing experience for me and many other 50/50 members. There are around 107 participants in the 50/50 programme. On a typical day, I wake up around 8 am and head towards the Epic Centre. I eat breakfast with my Explorer Unit, the White Dragons Explorer Group. We have travelled from South Wales to come to Poacher 2022.
After breakfast, I head back to my tent to collect the items that I will need for the volunteering part of my day. Every 50/50 member has a volunteering portion of the day, either in the morning or afternoon. I volunteer on the Newspaper team and draft articles for the paper. I really enjoy this part of my day because I get to visit different activities and hear about other people's experiences here at Poacher. Members of the 50/50 programme volunteer on many Poacher Teams, including Site Services, Admin and Commercial.
Later, after completing my volunteer work for the day, I collect my lunch and watch the lunchtime display with my friends. My favourite display so far is the jousting, it was enthralling to watch. I found it fascinating to see how well-trained the horses were.
After watching the display, I tend to return to Wonder Fest and collect the items that I will need for my activity. The activities usually take up to an hour, excluding the ones off site. My favourite activity so far was Gliding. It is something that I would not have done outside of Poacher and was an amazing experience. Greg from Blue Phoenixes staying on Wonder Fest subcamp said “I really enjoy both my activities and volunteering”.
Once my activity has ended, I usually visit the craft station and do an activity or two. My favourite one that I have tried so far was the bag decoration, I loved that you could make it any design you like and include lots of bright colours. I spoke to a person, who wanted to remain anonymous, from Wonder Fest,they said that “the craft activities were fun and had lots of variety”.
Following this, I head back to our tepees for some relaxation and reading. In the late afternoon on Tuesday my group visited the clay pigeon shooting. The staff were very friendly, and it is an experience that I will not forget. At around 5:30pm I head over to dinner. I usually eat with my Explorer group and the friends we have made this week.
After dinner, we go badge and necker swapping. I have met people from all over the country and have heard about their experiences. It is an amazing environment, and it is interesting to hear about how different their lives are. I then either watch a movie in the subcamp or on the main screen. It’s lovely to see people of all ages coming together to watch films. Alternatively, I visit the 14-17 disco. The atmosphere is electric, and it is a great place to make new friends.
Every day has been captivating so far and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week holds.
