Freshers Trip 2016

Not wanting to miss the quality meal at Carnatic we arrived late to the sheds to dig the last boats from the back. Still managing to beat Faye who almost forgot to grab one, like Elliot; who even being old and supposedly organised didn't manage to bring his and spent the weekend sinking in various rejects. After collecting our gear, we hopped aboard the party bus that was actually pretty quiet as we were sober strangers... for now! An ASDA stop off was an educational experience and the freshers dutifully followed instructions to buy crisps and alcohol- the only two weekend essentials!

Mog stalled only once but having passed her test just days before stuck to the speed limits nicely and we were the final bus to arrive. We moved in, shoving our stuff in a pile that many bags never emerged from (has anyone seen a black coat or beach towel?) all thought of some ice breaker facts about ourselves- basically everyone is Welsh or wants to be, then split up into groups for drinking games games. From this point the night is a little blurrier but some highlights deserve a mention... Jasmine demonstrated well how medics like to drink and spent hours locked in the office on top of everyone's sleeping stuff while the third Josh made a new best friend Jessica who happened to be the toilet and apparently was a 'slut.’

Happy Freshers!

No one quite believed the morning was the morning when Mog cheerily decided it was time to rise and shine- we didn’t move for a good hour! Oozing with porridge we set off through the beautiful Lake District scenery that few were able to fully appreciate. Looking sexy in wetsuit gear we paddled off into the lake and almost immediately all the freshers plus Bree managed to get lost around an island where James became the first swimmer when he jumped in to 'cool off'- a decision later regretted. The paddling speed increased at the mention of lunch (except Non who had a very public wetsuit wee) and we all enjoyed a ham and almost cheese sandwich. Flipper then warmed us up and shook off those hangovers with the magical penguin dance.

Remembering our important sounding hand signals- except Dan who just made them up-  we set off into some moving water... The A team (Cat, Amy, Flipper and Dan) breezed through the rocks and rapids, dodging the carnage caused by trees and getting so far ahead we stopped for a siesta. Everyone had a wonderful paddle even those who swam most of the way (very impressive Alex) and those whose faces may have made it appear otherwise!

Saturday night started with a much needed recovery nap quickly followed by some alcoholic catch up. Finally, we were all educated as to why we were told to bring a spare sock as we began sock wrestling. The social secs started with an erotic strangle and the violence only escalated with carpet burns and bruises joining the bloody wounds from a vicious game of spoons. Hours later we crashed on a sick covered carpet- hygiene levels had definitely decreased this weekend for everyone but James who stripped down and spent the majority of the night washing his hair in the sink.

Pyranha Squad 

The next morning was even more painful than the last but the clean-up job was very impressive! The weather stayed beautiful and our paddle down from Lake Windermere was just as lovely with the A team emerging triumphant and just a little wetter than yesterday. The brave, dumb and people who could actually kayak refused to be beaten by the final rapids that had an inconvenient central rock for crashing into. Captain Green did let us down by staying warm in a onesie rather than leading the way but some quality lines (still not 100% sure what that means) and impressive swims were made!

Tackling the gnarly rapids

Almost everyone slept the whole way home even those who were supposed to be keeping the driver awake and Elliot definitely stalled more than Mog had. We unloaded when the van managed to find its way out of a mysterious traffic jam then were kindly dropped back- sadly just missing the Carnatic food- tired but very happy! Thank you so much to everyone that made the weekend so much fun and looked after us. 

Love Cat and Amy xxx

Freshers Trip 2016