Diary: Sunday 12 July
It is a cold day and there was rain overnight, with more rain forecast.
A hot cup of tea makes for good start to the day…and it is time to make my own teabags.
For years, out of convenience, I drank ‘builders’ tea’ along with all the other leaders whilst at camp. Otherwise I always drink tea without milk, green tea latte being the only other exception (more later)
During my trip to Seoul earlier this year, I came across these disposable bags which allow you to infuse your stock with things like dried fish and seaweed. The direct translation of 다시 백 is ‘stock bag’. Simply place the ingredients in the bag, fold over the flap and pop it into the water.
Thinking that I could use it to make my own teabags, I brought them to camp, along with a bag of Anqi Super Oolong. This was a gift from HK sister who knows I love tea. It is light and refreshing, and does live up indeed to its ‘super’ description, although I think the intended meaning was ‘superior’.
If you are interested in tea, and like Oolong, I can also recommend Osmanthus Oolong. I am almost certain you can get these teas from Fortnum and Mason, along with similar bags.
It is a tradition at camp that a leader always eats with a group of boys (technically called a Scout Patrol). The reason is not so much to check their table manners as to give them an opportunity to tell you if something is wrong. Fortunately so far I have had very pleasant meals with very pleasant boys.
This morning I asked the boys I was having breakfast with if they wanted to try some tea without milk. All of them tried the tea and one tried the green tea latte. This is like coffee latte but made with green tea powder instead of coffee. We had an interesting conversation about the difference between Japanese and Korean green tea powder. They are essentially the same thing; the Japanese call it matcha and the Koreans call it nokcha (녹자).
The green tea latte is from O Sulloc who have tea plantations on the lush and beautiful island of Jeju in South Korea. Junior 2 spent part of her Gap Year teaching at an English boarding school there and O Sulloc was next to the school.
In all honesty, there was nothing else to do in that area…busy days spent around boisterous children on an island, no external entertainment and minimal wifi connection. Sounds like our camp and I am seriously considering having a Senior Gap Year myself. I need to work on Mr Gochugaru.
Menu du Jour:
Bacon and bread at breakfast, bagels with cream cheese, smoked salmon and cucumber at lunch. Sometimes the boys get crisps with their sandwiches and for some incomprehensible reason, the pink-packaged prawn cocktail flavour crisps from Walkers is the undisputed favourite.
This year we have nearly 10 leaders but I remember camps where there were only three leaders. The prawn cocktail crisps were valuable currency in getting the boys to help with things like filling the leaders’ jerry cans with water, bringing rubbish bags to the tip and peeling potatoes for a communal meal.
Dinner was Chicken in a Pot and the recipe for this follows in the next post.
Trip du Jour:
An hour in Yarmouth. At the Yarmouth Deli I picked up some locally grown cherries and strawberries. The local eggs and tomato ketchup were from Harvey’s, better known to the boys as a good source for buying sweets.
Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Activity du Jour:
The boys learnt some lashing and hitching skills. They then practised by making some camp gadgets and this big gateway to the camping area.
