On the Saturday of the Scout winter camp last weekend some other leaders and I decided to build a fire to sit around at about 5.00 pm. We thought that it would attract a bit of interest, and that's all we got - a bit. Most of the other leaders stayed in the Marquee and nearly all the scouts (about 70 of them) went to the Disco or the film shows.
now, as far as I'm concerned having a fire to sit around is what makes a camp something special, and one a wonderfully relaxing way of passing the time. However I was up against showings of X-Men 2 and showing off in front of girls on the dancefloor; so no contest, really!
On the other hand, those Scouts and leaders that did come to the fire were that nearly all night, did their bit in collecting firewood, and seemed to enjoy just being there; and we all chilled together...