DAY ONE - Kilvrough Manor Blog - 'Arm Wrestling, Fish Fingers and Peacocks' 

Dear Reader, 

Welcome to Day 1 of the Kilvrough Manor Blog!! We have finally arrived after a near four-hour journey to the Gower Peninsula, S. Wales and the delightful setting of Kilvrough Manor and the good news...we've brought the good weather with us! The centre staff gave us all a wonderful welcome and as usual have been incredibly accommodating, kind and helpful. 

I feel I must begin with an apology and a mitigating circumstance! I have managed to post just a few pictures from our first day here - not as many as I (or indeed you) would have liked but if you could see the equipment I am currently working with, you would understand my predicament. Let's just say in computer terms at least, it's about as outdated as it's possible to get - in fact it would probably be quicker to hand carve my message, print it using lithograph and then send you all a copy via carrier pigeon. Coupled with this, the office I'm working in has one light which runs on a motion sensor and so my message to you is interrupted on a semi-regular basis by me having to dance around in my chair waving my arms in the air lest I be plunged into complete darkness. 

The journey here was fairly uneventful apart from shrieks of delight as we went up onto the Severn Bridge -  something akin to going up onto a roller-coaster and included a stop off at the station for a much needed toilet break (children) and coffee break (staff) and of course the traditional Mr Brigg V various combinations of Year 6 children, arm wrestling competition. Following an orientation around the centre, the children were sent to their dorms to do their unpacking and perform the annual putting on the duvet cover ritual - to varying degrees of success.

We then spent he afternoon in our activity groups taking part in team-building and problem solving activities designed to start to build the skills they will all need to build on through the week. Lots of compliments for Dr Rad's children have come in from the tutors here - especially how great it is to have a group who ALL want to take part in ALL the activities on offer and do so with great gusto and spirit! So you should all feel super-proud! There was a short amount of free-time when I over heard two of our group screeching 'I AM NOT GOING INSIDE UNTIL I HAVE FOUND THAT PEACOCK' (there is a resident peacock in the grounds of the house that can be heard throughout the day but has yet to be located by the children).

The children have eaten well this evening (fishfingers, mashed potato and beans, side salad and jelly and ice-cream for dessert). They are currently outside orienteering around the grounds of the centre so I will go and join them when I have finished this tome. Some say life is a trade off and never more was the case when you look at the facilities of the staff bedrooms - Becky Roberts bagged the only room with its own shower but has no plug sockets and doesn't know how she will straighten her hair tomorrow, whereas I have no shower (or sink come to that) but I do have a plug socket right next to my bed and yet neither hair straighteners nor hair straighten even if I did have some. 

Tomorrow is our first full day of activities and my group are off canoeing which we're all looking forward to. Other groups are off climbing and looking forward to seeing some of the Gower's most spectacular beaches. I will endeavour to get more pictures up on the blog tomorrow - apologies for not managing more this evening. Wish us luck as we go into our first - fingers crossed there won't be too many tears before bedtime, although I'm sure Mr Fane will be alright this year! 

Thanks for reading - more tomorrow. 

GUY BRIGG