So, the wait is finally over! And I don't mean the months of waiting to be placed in a camp... I mean my CRB form has FINALLY gone through!  I had my interview in October and apparently the form got lost in the post, so I had to resend it after I got another one at the Recruitment fair, but it's finally all sorted and my application is officially complete!!!

The recruitment fair itself was such a polava! I went in a group of 4 from college as we were all applying, and coming from Southampton it meant we had to be at the station at 7.45am - this was not great for my best friend Stacey and I as we'd been out the night before to a birthday do, n the morning did not agree with us!  So the train ride was pretty uneventful, and we spent most of it ultra pepped up discussing all the different camp possibilities (we'd all managed to create a bit of a shortlist of our faves from the CA website's list). When we finally reached Kensington Olympia we had to get directions who I think found our lost looks pretty amusing.

When we finally found the Town Hall (after missing the turning and carrying on up the High Street a while, asking a policeman, then turning back), it was just gone 10 and the queue was already huge!! Our dreams of wandering back to Tesco's for hot food were dashed, so Lydia and I got in line as Stacey and Annette went to stock up for breakfast/lunch. It was freezing. About an hour and a half later and I think I remember literally not being able to feel my toes, not even croissants or rolls could help... AND I forgot my gloves .

But that was all forgotten as 12 hit and the doors opened. We surged forward out of the cold and into the PACKED halls. As I walked very quickly (running was pretty impossible, even if I wanted to) to my camp of choice, a very ugly fact hit me in the face = almost everywhere seemed to have filled their 'young general counsellors' quota. I must admit I panicked slightly as I went down my shortlist and found them all looking either for campowers, specialist training or over 19's. So I scrapped the list and ust went looking. I had a couple of interviews to begin with that went well, but I was told to come back later as they needed specialists first. Some were pretty rude, rejecting me without more than a glance, but I got over it, and then I went into the smaller room and walked past this stall that seemed unsurrounded. It fully advertised 'Christian Camping' and obviously that puts some people off, but Camp Tecumseh was exactly what I was looking for. I had a chat with Hannah and Sam, who had been the year before and were helping out, and I realised I really wanted to talk to the Directors. When I finally got a chance, I sat down and sold myself as best (and honestly) as I could. I was SO relieved they were looking for general counsellors, and as they described the camp, it's values, its location and activities, I absolutly fell in love with it. The director I was chatting with, Major Sue (Salvation Army don't ya know ) seemed genuinly impressed, and was really nice. She did suggest I go away and give it some thought, but I was totally besotted with the camp already, and knew I HAD to go there! I was signed immediatly (first signee!!) and almost ran to Processing I was so excited!! After everything was sorted I went back in to find my friends, but they hadn't been placed yet so I wandered around, chatted to a couple of people then went to wait outside, because it was nearly 2 and everyone else seemed to be getting a teeennyy bit stressed.

By the end of the day, Stacey and Lydia, both trained Lifegaurds, had managed to get good places (Stacey managed to blag the last spot at our initial joint favourite camp, so I was thrilled for her!) but Annette, another 'general' like me, hadn't gotten one, which was sad but she's so upbeat and friendly I just KNOW she'll get a place soon, and so did she, so we left London buzzed but exhausted, ready for a hot shower and bed!

Since last Saturday I've been on an almost constant Camp America/Tecumseh high, and now my application's all done and I can get on the PZ, it finally feels like Camp is just around the corner!!