Day 4 – The Day the Batteries Ran Out
Day 3 Update
Before bed on Day 3, the adults were treated to several performances—each more disturbing than the last. The main entertainment, following hot chocolate, was a Year 6 version of Love Island, hosted by Charlie, complete with a full run of adverts at regular intervals. While this monstrosity unfolded, several boys in the distance had pulled one arm through their oodies, wearing them like togas, and were pretending to be cavemen dancing around their tent.
Day 4 Begins…
Mr Evans rose at 6:15 a.m. and made a brew. Then he had a second brew. As breakfast time approached, not a single child was awake. Finally, at 7:40 a.m., Mr Evans used his bellowing voice to wake the entire valley. Breakfast was a sombre affair, with half-asleep children—and some who appeared to still be fully asleep. Mia successfully tackled her daily challenge of seeing how many Coco Pops she could fit in a bowl, and everyone fuelled up for the day. Sandwich-making skills are vastly improving—though the bar was low to begin with.
Today’s activities:
Group 1 (Mr Evans) headed to Blaen y Glyn for gorge walking (and apparently to eat as much wild food as possible).
Group 2 (Mr Minney) stayed on-site for paddleboarding and high ropes.
Group 3 (Miss Minney) went to Porth Yr Ogof for their caving adventure.
Group 1 had a scorching day in the gorge, foraging for edible plants and sliding into rivers and pools. Every child gave it their all, showing great courage and enthusiasm. Much snoozing occurred on the way home.
Group 2: SUP finally got underway after a delay caused by Harry A trying to put his legs into the arm sleeves of his wetsuit—until Emma, the instructor, kindly intervened. Harry A then completed the high ropes and leap of faith completely blindfolded, inspiring Harry T to give it a go too. All the kids tackled the zip line, while the boys experimented with different poses to “aura farm.”
Group 3 showed fantastic teamwork and encouragement, with everyone attempting at least one of the cave challenges. Seb W was especially excited to try the Letterbox, as it was apparently his dad’s favourite when he visited many years ago. No photos from Miss Minney, unfortunately—she was too busy trying to stay upright.
Dinner was chicken and chips, which was swiftly demolished. Now, the children are calmly and carefully (read: chaotically and frantically) trying to find all their lost socks and pants as they begin to pack. Parents… we’re sorry about the suitcases. Please keep an eye out for the annual “Bag of Mystery,” which will be placed outside the school upon return—it’s like the worst Too Good To Go bag you could imagine.
Tonight, the children will spend their last pennies in the shop, hoping to bring home something meaningful from their time at Longtown… or just some tat.
As the song goes, “Tomorrow is only a day away.” I’m praying to every god I can think of that this is true. See you tomorrow.
