I've finally started preparing what I need to take ... and as part of our work with 'The Book Bus', we are invited to take some storybooks. One of our initial ideas for engaging stories which we could base a number of different and exciting activities around was this:

And indeed, on our test runs with other senior section members, this was the first book they suggested that we might have fun with! Everything is finally starting to feel so real!

Nearly time to go!

With just over 50 days to go until we head off on the experience of a lifetime, a few members of the team got stuck into a little group fundraising - and although standing at a London tube station for hours on end doesn’t seem like the most interesting way to spend your Saturday, it was certainly productive, those generous enough to donate helping us to achieve our goal!

The Sunday after was a whole team meeting, and altogether much more fun! Even the sun shone for us! We met outside the Science Museum, and even Sarah, who had just been on a delightful if unintended ‘tour’ of London made it, only 5 or so minutes late ;) It being such a beautiful day, we were tempted to walk up to Hyde Park for our meeting, and this turned out to be a lovely idea. Here we divided our team badges between us (yes, they came at last - and I must say, they are looking spectacular!), and after covering several important issues, we headed back to the museum as it was beginning to feel a little chilly. Our discussion was abruptly ended here by the presence of a number of school and cub/scout visits, but thankfully we had just about covered everything. Lizzy had even got our guidelines made up into bookmarks which we can take with us to Africa, and they look amazing, so thank you!

As almost a celebration of the end of our pre-trip meetings, and of course of the fact that it was only 50 (ish) days to go, we went for a meal out in Giraffe. With lovely company, lovely food and lovely surroundings (even if the kitchen does look suspiciously like the entrance to the toilets), we had a lush afternoon. We’re now all very excited for our adventure, which is looming ever closer, and although in the past week we have had a number of obstacles to overcome, I’m sure we can look beyond these and make the most of what promises to be a life-changing journey!

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