What we've been upto
Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 July 2011 22:50 Written by Scotty Friday, 15 July 2011 21:41
I thought I would take the time to talk a bit about what BCL has been getting up to lately and what we have planned for the rest of the year. On the bank holiday weekend in May myself and Jason Sears went along to represent BCL at the Bushcraft Magazine annual Mayday Meet. This is the second year in a row that I've attended and it is a fantastic weekend. It's particuarly suitable for young families, and the youngsters are what this weekend is all about really.
Myself and Jason, also assisted at times by fellow forum admin JP (who didn't seem to stop running some sort of workshop or talk all weekend, what a hero eh) run god knows how many bowdrill and firelighting demos over the weekend, particuarly for the kids, who seemed to have boundless enthusiasm for getting involved as much as possible. It is great to see the smiles on people's faces when they finally achieve that ember, a feat seen (bizzarely) by many to be the holy grail of bushcraft achievement. I can understand it, there is definitely something very attractive in the idea of creating fire with nothing but a few sticks and a bit o' the ol' sweat. It's a primordial experience, Ray Mears describes it as carrying the knowledge of fire 'in your mind and in your muscles' and what can be more encouraging to a bushcrafter/outdoorsman than that?
A few BCL regulars also showed their face, though it was a bit disappointing not to see some more of you. Nagual Angel was on the Woodlife Trails stand with JP and Pablo keeping the children entertained with owl droppings and animal skulls - I have never seen so many different people fixated by poo - barring maybe Pete 'The Joker', but that's enough of that! Will 'Jungle_re' was there and it was good to catch up with him again. He gave an interesting talk on map reading at the BCL stand for me and Jason (no one else turned up! but we both came away a little more knowledgeable either way). I would heartily reccomend the weekend to anybody, as said it is an annual fixture so get the event in your diaries for next year, and we shall see you there!
Jungle_re at the BCL Stand
At the end of the month BCL demonstrated at another event, this time Naturefest down at the Bentley Wildfowl Museum in Sussex.This is run by the same team behind the Wilderness Gathering and is aimed at capturing the majesty of Nature and showcasing it's many different disciplines, not just bushcraft. Unfortunately I was unable to attend this myself but Silverback and the Joker from the Mod team along with help from Jason and the Bushcraft Tribe manned the stall, doing the ever-popular bowdrill demonstrations as well as a whole host of others. I am gutted I missed this, I'm sure Jason was looking to avenge the crushing defeat I visited upon him last year when we had a competition in front of a sizeable crowd to see who could get flame the fastest. And for the record, he still hasn't bought me that ice cream!
Talking of the Wilderness Gathering, we will again by demonstrating for the second year in an official BCL capacity this August. If you have been living on the moon the last few years and somehow haven't heard of the Wilderness Gathering, it is the premier annual bushcraft festival in the country - bringing together the top schools in the country to demonstrate their craft to the public and to seasoned bushcrafter alike, you can camp there too! It is ideal for beginners, but as there is such a diverse mix on offer, the old hand would not find it difficult to walk away having learned something. More importantly though, it is a great opportunity to socialise. For many of my bushy friends the WG is one of the few opportunities a year to see them and there is always a fantastic atmosphere that continues well into the night. If you do come along next month, make sure to pop along to the BCL stall and say hello, we'll have the kettle on the go ready!
http://www.wildernessgathering.co.uk
That's all for now.
