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Yorkswood York’s Wood camp site Castle Bromwich

Great memories of camping at Yorks Wood in the 1960s with 258th Birmingham Cubs and Scouts (St Mary's,Bearwood). Bob Baines our scoutmaster, his son Keith, his mate Mick (both sea scouts), Bill Toye group leader and Stan. We wore pale blue neckerchiefs and constructed a Monkey Bridge with a lethal Spanish Windlass to get the rope taut. Learned to use an axe and knife without doing any lasting damage. Lots of singing round the campfire. Phillip Williams from school in Bearwood took me and his younger brother Michael joined too. I lived with mom, so this was an introduction to male bonding. Robert Pratt became a butcher. Alan Critchley I spoke to on the phone last year. I introduced my own family to camping which we continued until a couple of years ago. Had many memorable camps with cub, Scouts and Ventures (Rovers discontinued by then). At Oban it rained continuously for 13 of the 14 days, undaunted we sailed to Mull in an open boat and had to sit in the bottom as the waves picked up. But at Yorks Wood it seemed always sunny!
 
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Time for a campfire song:

The Woodpecker
I put my finger in the woodpecker’s hole
And the woodpecker said
'God bless my soul, Take it out, take it out, remove it'
So I removed my finger from the woodpecker’s hole,
And the woodpecker said
'God bless my soul, Put it back, put it back, replace it'
'I replaced my finger in the Woodpecker's hole
And the woodpecker said
'God bless my soul, turn it round, turn it round, revolve it.'

Remove it etc should sound like a motor boat. Rrrrrrr-move it.'

I sang this camping with my wife and kids and was grateful for all the tips I picked up at Yorks Wood so long ago! Shorts and no socks!
 
Time for a campfire song:

The Woodpecker
I put my finger in the woodpecker’s hole
And the woodpecker said
'God bless my soul, Take it out, take it out, remove it'
So I removed my finger from the woodpecker’s hole,
And the woodpecker said
'God bless my soul, Put it back, put it back, replace it'
'I replaced my finger in the Woodpecker's hole
And the woodpecker said
'God bless my soul, turn it round, turn it round, revolve it.'

Remove it etc should sound like a motor boat. Rrrrrrr-move it.'

I sang this camping with my wife and kids and was grateful for all the tips I picked up at Yorks Wood so long ago! Shorts and no socks!
Oh, my goodness! Talk about the blast from the past! Thank you Derek..........
 
Oh, my goodness! Talk about the blast from the past! Thank you Derek..........
Digging about Richard I see that this song my have an Army origin and some vulgar versions. But a scout is clean in thought, word and deed! Many of the scout masters had been in the war and indeed some of the Rovers served in the Paras, Black Watch and Marines, camping with us on leave. But we were taught the clean versions. Derek
 
Digging about Richard I see that this song my have an Army origin and some vulgar versions. But a scout is clean in thought, word and deed! Many of the scout masters had been in the war and indeed some of the Rovers served in the Paras, Black Watch and Marines, camping with us on leave. But we were taught the clean versions. Derek
Yes, I only knew the clean version!
 
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