BCUK Bushmoot 2008

[maddave]

Great Moot !! Really enjoyed it this year and special thanks to all who graced us with their presence at Area 51. There are too many of you great folk to thank individually, but you know who you are Pirates, Vikings, Wolfbaggers, Men in white suits, Musicians .....Oh and bushcrafters too !!

Keep the faith Brothers n Sisters and we'll do it all again soon

The Mad Un

 

[Matb]

As this was the first time I had been to a gathering of other like minded people I left with mixed thoughts on the event. Perhaps I was expecting too much in the one day that I had, but I've waited a week to think about what I saw and what happened on the day. So here are my thoughts, while walking around the site looking for something to catch my attention - I had arrived at 8.45am - what a shame to find the fire circle littered with bottles, cans and rubbish. What a greater shame when during the morning talk on the days events people were asking for bins to be placed there to put the rubbish in, not an auspicious start to the day considering WE ALL TAKE OUT WHAT WE TAKE IN when enjoying the outdoors. Then to cap it all off everyone who had probably enjoyed the previous evening left without anyone taking any rubbish with them what were you waiting for your mam to pick it up!!!!!

I know the event had been described as relaxed and informal with impromptu talks and workshops going on throughout the event but I only had the one day ( Sunday ) and would this let me plan ahead to fill the day. Having seen the display board the plan was the morning Axe workshop - due to start at 10.00 - followed by the cordage demo then grub and finally the bow and drill workshop. But the axe workshop was already running late due to the morning talk. Perhaps next year the talk could take place 30mins before any workshops are due to start. This in turn meant I missed the cordage demo which started on time but during the Axe workshop I'm sure you follow my drift here. But the day had started a bit better than this as while walking round first thing who did we meet but Wayland / Ravenlore and had the opportunity to talk about some new products and some of the articles on his web site that I'm sure most of us have copied and put to good use. But would the day end as well as it had started and the answer is yes thanks to George and his bow and drill workshop then his flint and steel demo and myriad of other fire starting kits. So this past week I've been practicing like mad and putting together a few bits of kit for the school to show the children.

So thanks to all but next year can we have just a little bit more structure for the first timers perhaps even an area set aside to show first timers or novices all the basics in one day -fire skills, shelter, bushcraft tools, cordage, water and food. Why not have this set up for the Saturday and Sunday and advertise it as such on the Bushcraft UK web site so that first timers or novices like myself could see most of the skills that make up bushcrafting and leave feeling the need to return next year for more.

So a thank you to Wayland and George for rescuing the day I will be back next year, but at the moment as the Bushmoot is set out I feel you need a much longer stay than just the one day to get the full benefit of all that knowledge that is walking around there. But on the plus side my god I left feeling very relaxed even after the one day.

 

[Twoflower]

Thanks to Tony et all for arranging the moot. Was my second year there and I wasn't disapointed. I had big plans for what workshops I was going to do but once again ended up only doing 2 (Thanks to Sandsnakes for yet another wonderful talk about bush medicine, an excellent book on the subject and some rather nice rum. Thanks also to Rachel for letting the strange looking hippy guy join the wild food for familys/kids wander, i'm always looking for ways to get my neice and nephews interested in the outdoors and the walk was a big help).
I ended up doing what I mostly do in the woods .. sitting by the fire and wandering aimlessly, although it was intespersed with stopping to watch people getting on with various bushcraft type things.

I can't not mention the Area 51 crew and thank them for the usual good spirited hospitality, music (I apologise for the night of me playing guitar and i think I even sung at some point .. sorry) and lots of laughs.

Can't wait until next year, thanks again team

 

[Tony]

Having seen the display board the plan was the morning Axe workshop - due to start at 10.00 - followed by the cordage demo then grub and finally the bow and drill workshop. But the axe workshop was already running late due to the morning talk. Perhaps next year the talk could take place 30mins before any workshops are due to start. This in turn meant I missed the cordage demo which started on time but during the Axe workshop I'm sure you follow my drift here.

Thanks for the many points, i'll just address this one right quick Workshops were scheduled to start at 10.30 not 10.00, the big white boards were the master timetable/schedule for the day and they were marked as 10.30 workshop starts unless otherwise stated next to the workshop itself.
Above the daily schedule was the notice that the morning meetings would be at 10.00.

Your point is noted though and all this obviously needs to be made more clear

 

[woodstock]

Matb you have raised points relevant to a modern structured society in my opinion and it is only my opinion, Bushcraft should flow as nature intended, my expectations of meets are very low and whatever I take away is a bonus and I think that should be the expectation of everyone, in my real life I manage a 40 bedded unit +staff and that is and has to be structured.....but when I bushcraft that is left behind and I expect nothing, When I fight I return to the structures of the disciplines I trained in So my answer is this you have to know when to opt in and out of the stuctures that is life

 

[spamel]

It would of course be nice to get to all of the demos you want to, but you wouldn't then be relaxing into a week away from work but still be following the hectic run about like a headless chicken format that society seems to dictate to us. I didn't get to the tracking workshops, I didn't get to the axe workshops, I didn't get to the cordage, hand drill, bow drill or Waylands' excellent photography lessons. (My fault, lazy git that I am!)

I was a bit unhappy at missing those, but I got to a whole load of other stuff instead. And what the hell, I'm sure these people will come along next year, so I will bump these to the top of my list of things to do. Folk who've been to multiple Moots are in an enviable position as they can really pick and choose what they want to do. They may have done the bow drill stuff one year and so can leave it the next and do something else instead. If we go often enough, we will get to that same position and relax more into it then we did on our greenhorn year. I found it was slightly hectic, but that was only because so much time was given back to us to get up and do our camp admin before starting around ten, which I think is a very good idea. We did have a lot of time on our hands, and it is nice to sit round the fire and cook food together, have friendly banter with friends old and new and to generally slow the pace down and look around and enjoy life instead of head down and boulder on through life in an effort to get to the end as quick as we can!

Just some ramblings of my own as Mikey would say, no offence intended.

 

[Tengu]

Ive just got back from a rather rough week in Tenby and Ill say I had a great time.

Thanks to all, Ill be back next year.

(I too, spent more time socialising than workshops)

 

[Matb]

Thanks for the replys Woostock and Spamel what you have said makes sense but unfortunatly some of us were only able to grab the one day at the Bushmoot and so hopefully you can understand that I was a little disappointed that my time was not filled - I'm sure that someone is preaching in the back of my mind that bushcraft is all about being efficient when doing things to save resources and time RM ? - when time is short gathering new knowledge - which weighs nothing and can be carried with you that fella RM again just keeps coming back for more does'nt he -becomes very costly. As I've already said " I feel you need a much longer stay than just the one day to get the full benefit of all that knowledge that is walking around there. But on the plus side my god I left feeling very relaxed even after the one day and I will be back next year ".

So for those thinking of coming for just the one day my advice is this walk around the site first thing while everyone else is getting up and making breakfast and have a chat to a few freindly faces and ask some questions of them. Then attend the meeting and when Tony asks the question is there anything else put your hand up and ask if there is a chance that you might tag along with someone who might be willing to pass on some knowledge during lunch. Then don't plan to leave after the last workshop stay for a while longer and walk around the Bushmoot again to chat with some new freinds.

See you all next year for 3 or 4 days this time

 

[Toddy]

That's the spirit !

cheers,
Toddy

 

[rik_uk3]

Thanks for the replys Woostock and Spamel what you have said makes sense but unfortunatly some of us were only able to grab the one day at the Bushmoot and so hopefully you can understand that I was a little disappointed that my time was not filled - I'm sure that someone is preaching in the back of my mind that bushcraft is all about being efficient when doing things to save resources and time RM ? - when time is short gathering new knowledge - which weighs nothing and can be carried with you that fella RM again just keeps coming back for more does'nt he -becomes very costly. As I've already said " I feel you need a much longer stay than just the one day to get the full benefit of all that knowledge that is walking around there. But on the plus side my god I left feeling very relaxed even after the one day and I will be back next year ".

So for those thinking of coming for just the one day my advice is this walk around the site first thing while everyone else is getting up and making breakfast and have a chat to a few freindly faces and ask some questions of them. Then attend the meeting and when Tony asks the question is there anything else put your hand up and ask if there is a chance that you might tag along with someone who might be willing to pass on some knowledge during lunch. Then don't plan to leave after the last workshop stay for a while longer and walk around the Bushmoot again to chat with some new freinds.

See you all next year for 3 or 4 days this time

Mat you can learn a lot from books, "Bushcraft" is not a new way of camping and living off the land, the style was around many years before this site or Ray Mears (a man I admire). Missing a session at the moot ain't life or death mate, read some books, get out an practise what you have read, try and team up with others for a weekend or three and you'll feel better. There are no bushcraft 'Guru's' here Mat, just people who like to get out camping and enjoying nature

 

[Twoflower]

walk around the site first thing while everyone else is getting up and making breakfast and have a chat to a few freindly faces and ask some questions of them.

If people approach me whilst I'm making my morning brew they'll get one too .. in fact if people had approached me at any time i was near my kit I would've made them a brew

 

[Wayland]

Yes, Hospitality is an almost universal quality amongst bushcrafters in my experience.

It's also something that is very rarely abused.

I can only think of a couple of people who wore their welcome rather thin after a few hours in the same place or by deliberate scrounging of food.

Most people are very happy to help people out or point them in the right direction but always remember that people may have their own plans for the day.

 

[andy_e]

... tag along with someone who might be willing to pass on some knowledge during lunch ...

Hehehe! So I'm not the only one that read that as "pass on some lunch" then

I found that there while there were a couple of people who for whatever reason found it difficult to integrate, on the whole the feel of the place and the group mix was just right; relaxed, friendly, informative, protective and sharing - a credit to the Bushcrafting community and Tony and the Mods should be proud of the event they organised and presided over.

To put it another way, if for some reaason TEOTWAWKI had struck during the Moot, I can't think of a better bunch to have been with. I'll definitely be back down again - cheers to one and all.