Issue 3 – Tuesday 1 August
When the Wind Blows
Will Henley
Global Village was rocked yesterday by violent winds causing destruction across camp. Fear Station, the under-11s activity centre, had to be evacuated and, at one point, four of six central marquees were ruled unsafe by camp authorities, leading to concerns about where the evening tv programme could be screened.
Responding quickly, Site Services managed to tackle the airborne tents, keeping them tethered to ground. But the marquees did not escape undamaged. Ruptures and tears could take days to be fully repaired. News will be aired in the Cornwallis building at least until this evening.
Golden Monkey Town felt the fierce force of the winds and pattering of rain. At least one teepee in village 8 was torn down, sending nearby elfins scattering. “One minute the camp looked idyllic,” said Robert Waiting, folk marshal of Teddington District. “Children were skipping happily in the warm August sunlight.” But then all of a sudden an unexpected gust swept over the teepee, causing it to crash down with a loud thud.
The teepee reportedly had been used as a crèche for elfins and woodchips. “If I had not evacuated the area, there could have been serious casualties, if not fatalities,” noted a nonchalant Robert.
“It must have been one mighty cyclone, or someone seriously overdid the baked beans last night,” said one eye-witness, who wished to remain anonymous.
Meanwhile, at the other side of Global Village, villagers in Yellow Parrot town were left homeless by the winds. Meredith Spiller-Wright, 15, from Hebden Bridge District, was last night staying with friends after her tent was blasted from its grassy anchorage.
“When we came back from lunch, the tent was flooded, our stuff was all over the place, poles were sticking out, and everything!” she explained.
“It was proper windy!” noted Bridget Hotton, 16, a close friend.
Inspired by the industrious Woodcraft way, however, the gutsy girls soon picked themselves up. Meredith, and tent-mate Vita Barnes, 14, took to the remnants of their former home with scissors and tape. Stella McCartney would have been in awe at the skirts, sashes and headscarves that were created with what was left of the tent’s lining. The roving TV news crew arrived just in time to be treated to an impromptu fashion show!