Fruitbowl Residential – March 2013

The time had finally arrived. Many weeks of planning had led upto this moment…. Fruitbowl’s EPIC residential!

On the weekend of March 15th, Sixteen of our finest Fruitbowlers arrived outside our office (with suitcases of varying sizes), ready for the minibus pick-up that would whisk them away to a promising place of adventure… Penistone. Our Residential this year, as chosen by the group was Kingswood Outdoor & Adventurous Activity Centre: Peak Venture. Upon arrival the group were given the tour of the centre and shown to their dormitories where they would spend the next 2 nights recovering from their packed schedule (but more on that later), having secret midnight feasts and bonding with each other in a way that magically happens on most residentials. Friday evening included the activity ‘Nightline’ where the group were blindfolded and led into the forest to complete a guided obstacle course – the fact that Penistone had been rained on quite heavy a few hours earlier made the course reasonably muddy and as a result equally hilarious! After getting changed the night concluded with a few hours of group games and several marshmallows.

Breakfast was served early Saturday morning to fuel the group for the busy day ahead. Throughout the day the group were instructed in activities including; Archery (we have some superb shots), high ropes coures, Zip Wiring (wow, it was a long way down!), Fencing and Climbing. The evening was due to conclude with a campfire and Ukulele playing but unfortunately heavy rain forced us inside for more group games including; Twister, Charades, Mafia, wink Murder and lots more to mention. The night finished with a film showing and lashings of Hot chocolate and popcorn.

All too soon, we discovered that it was Sunday morning already and almost time to make our way back to Sunny Sheffield. With our dorms tidied and our breakfast devoured we made our way to our final two activities of the weekend; Group problem solving and Bushcraft – rest assured that our fruitbowlers now have the skills to build somewhat waterproof shelters of varying stabilities. After lunch we celebrated Chris’ 16th birthday with a big birthday cake and a sing song – Happy Birthday Chris! Who knows what Chris wished for on his birthday… Perhaps another Fruitbowl residential just as AWESOME.