Owl Patrol - 1^st UK Night Camp

The first UK camp was held in February, and was a huge success. 

The Owl Patrol met for the first time, from 8-11 February, Out thanks to Miriam, one of our volunteers for the account of our weekend. 

Friday 8th February 2002 

The volunteers arrived at St Katharine's, Parmoor early to start setting up the camp. Tania's Ollie the Owl sign was placed at the end of the drive to welcome visitors to the Owl Patrol. Football nets, flood lights, giant Connect Four and a basketball hoop were put up outside for night time activities while inside the house, the chapel was converted into a puppet theatre, the library into a lecture room and the entrance hall into an arts and crafts centre. The whole building had been filmed to filter out UV light, and promised to be a wonderful playground for the campers. 

The dining room was decorated with a huge Jolly Roger and skull and cross bones patterned balloons in preparation for the pirate themed welcome party. Eye patches and pirate hats were handed out to arriving campers along with their information packs. People dressed in stripy t-shirts, ragged trousers and earrings greeted new arrivals excitedly; many had not seen each other for a long time. 

Shortly after seven o'clock, Sandra welcomed everyone to St Katharine's and declared the first ever night time camp in the UK officially open. There were XP sufferers from all over the UK, as well as Germany, Cuba and the USA. Sandra thanked everyone for making the effort to attend, as well as the group's many supporters and volunteers. After some wonderful food from the people at St Katharine's, the games kicked off with the campers being grouped into pirate ships. The Squawking Parrots, Caribbean Cowboys, Bluebeard's Boys and Merry Marlins were to compete to find the hidden treasure, under the watchful eye of Captain Miriam and the Long John Silvers. After a quick game of Fish, Fish Shark to get everyone in the pirate mood, the teams had to design their boats and decide on what to take on their voyage in time for the next tide. The magnificent stairway and landing of the house proved a perfect setting for the harbour. After fending off hungry sharks and other pirate ships, the teams made their way to the desert island. Here, they had to set up camp and practise being quiet for fear of waking the ferocious wild animals lurking outside (not to be confused with the adults unwinding and enjoying a glass of wine). The game culminated in a treasure hunt over the whole house in which all teams were successful in finding the sweets of their team colour. 

After the game, the campers were free to play on the computers, enjoy the toys so generously provided by John Lewis Department Store, and to explore the house. The noisiness certainly seemed to imply that everyone was having a wonderful time. The adults were busy outside discussing whether the UK was better than the USA, and no doubt enjoying the rare freedom of knowing that their children were safe and happy. It was well into the early hours by the time quiet descended on the house, but then that was the whole point of the Owl Patrol. 

Saturday 9th February 2002 

Bleary-eyed campers made their way to breakfast before midday. The Cubans required a hearty wake up call, which was to become a daily fixture. Already, preparations for Sunday night's puppet show were under way. Abi made a beautiful Snow White doll, and Saicha's wicked step mother certainly looked evil. The decorated boxes, blow paints and all the other crafts planned by Gill were proving very popular, and the drying corner quickly filled up with the fruits of people's hard work. 

Meanwhile, the adults were invited to attend lectures given by experts in various fields pertaining to XP. There was a lecture from Alan Lehmann and a workshop given by Changing Faces for the adults, and a parallel one for the children in the Blue Room. The children made a beautiful oak tree whose leaves were filled with ideas of what one might say to someone who had said something nasty about one's appearance. The tree was also home to many owls, on which we had written things that we enjoyed doing and which made us feel happy. The tree was put in the dining room along with the pirate ship designs from the night before. 

An exciting surprise came in the shape of the guinea pigs. Rebecca's excellent handling skills were put to the test as they were passed from camper to camper. All of Charlotte's were inappropriately named Mouse, while Sara's was quite happy to be bundled up and cradled like a baby. Shortly after sunset, those in the entrance hall heard the sound of ponies clip clopping their way up the drive, and there was a rush for coats and hats as everyone wanted to enjoy a ride around the grounds. Alex Wasyluk would have given Frankie Dettori a run for his money, while James whooped his way round the turning circle outside the house. Everyone had a wonderful time with the ponies, and we must say a big thank you to their owners for volunteering their time and effort.

No sooner had the ponies gone, then we heard the sound of the coach at the bottom of the drive. We grabbed our swimming things and made our way to Marlow Sports Centre, where Jan had arranged a XP pool party. The group were met By Steve Brown of Wycombe Wanderers before enjoying the pool. Friday's game avoiding the man-eating sharks came to mind as we gazed at the submerged camera man. Seeing Yuny enjoying himself in water for the first time ever was a special sight, as was watching James pour pots of water over unsuspecting swimmers time and time again! The floats, inflatables and balls were so much fun that the time went much too quickly. However, we then made our way to Caf� Fresco where we enjoyed a wonderful meal of pizza and pasta. The waitress' face on hearing Yuny ask for an apple instead of ice-cream was most memorable, as was the sight of Abi and Miriam having swapped coats. 

There was a sing song on the way back to St Katharine's. Saicha and Dale have a promising future on Pop Idol if their Robbie Williams impression was anything to go by. Luckily, they just about managed to drown out Mel and Ally. 

Another surprise awaited us as we returned to Camp. This time, Tim, a trainer from Wycombe Wanderers Football Club who had come to lend his expertise to the campers. Previous rain made the football pitch a little slippery, but we were taught ball control skills and how to dribble, and in no time at all, an exciting match was underway. Jack seems set to follow in Michael Owens' footsteps, while Yuny seemed to pick up all the habits of South American footballers with no trouble at all. 

In the dining room, with Idania leading the way in the dancing, the merriment continued once again until the wee small hours. A heated discussion broke out regarding the genetics of XP and whether Auntie Johnson in Carolina was always suitably dressed, and birds were singing well before we made it to bed. Must bring some ear plugs next time� 

Sunday 10th February 2002 

Breakfast was poorly attended! However, there was a lot of work to be done before the evening's puppet show. Holly, Becky and Sara were busy learning their lines while Tania and Charlotte co-ordinated the set painting in the entrance hall. The puppets were looking wonderful and were fitted with strings, and the theatre itself was being put together in the chapel. 

There were lectures from other XP experts, as well as a doctor on hand to answer any questions that the parents might have. Later in the afternoon, Tammy Freeman, who had joined us from the States with her son, Brian, read from her book "The Earthworm Jamboree". This tells the story of worms that have to hide underground during the day but come out at night time to enjoy themselves, and all proceeds go to the research fund of the XP Society of the USA. A sound track has been recorded and a copy of the book and CD was given to all the campers. 

There was time for a quick game of football before St Katharine's laid on yet another wonderful meal for us. Then we crowded into the chapel in preparation for the show. Before the curtain went up, Sandra announced this year's Volunteer of the Year award: Tania Greenwood for all her hard work in designing not just Ollie the Owl, giving the camp a very striking and attractive image but also all XP Support group material. Then Charlotte handed around the programmes and we were treated to a performance of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves". The story was narrated beautifully, while Alex Webb provided the sound effects. The puppets were so well made that we had to stop David from climbing into the theatre to look at them! Dale, fed up with being anonymous made his way onto the stage, puppet in hand, to peer back at the audience. It was a wonderful show, the result of a lot of hard work by lots of different people, and looks set to become a permanent part of future Owl Patrols. 

More outdoors activities took place. The last game of football was fiercely contested, though we all agreed that the girls won. The floodlights were brilliant, allowing the children to run around safely in the dark. Giant Connect Four was also a hit; Charlotte managed to beat Miriam on more than one occasion. 

Everyone was thoroughly worn out on returning to the house, except for a hard core of campers with stamina, who were treated to a treasure hunt by Ally. Tasks included transferring dried peas from one side of the entrance hall to the other using only plastic drinking straws and playing catch standing on one leg only on the stairs. Gold coins were awarded at the end of each round, and teams were able to boost their final number of coins by hunting around the house for more. 

The evening ended at a more civilised time this evening as everyone had journeys of various length the next day. We just about managed to beat the birds. 

Monday 11th February 2002 

Everyone said their goodbyes, having had the most memorable and fun filled of weekends. In a remarkably short amount of time, St Katharine's was returned to its former state, though its protected windows mean that it is available to XP families for respite all year round. The games were packed away and returned to their storage, the flood lights dismantled and Ollie put back in his nest. However, we are all agreed that the Owl Patrol was fantastic, and the next one is already being planned. Many thanks to all who came, volunteered their time, donated money or gifts, and worked together to make the first camp of its kind in the UK such an overwhelming success. Thank you and see you next year. 

Photos from the camp can be seen here

Supporters

The Camp was supported by The Sue Ryder Foundation, Give-a-child a Chance, ITT Charitable Trust, The Roald Dahl Foundation, Lloyds TSB Foundation, John Lewis (High Wycombe), the Buckinghamshire Foundation, BBC Children in Need and The Roger Vere Foundation. 

"Tonight with Trevor MacDonald"

The camp was filmed by Granada TV for broadcast on "Tonight with Trevor MacDonald". Date to be confirmed. 

Next Owl Patrol Meeting

The next meeting of the Owl Patrol will take place from 14-17 February 2003.

To help us in our planning, we need to know how many of you are likely to attend. Please let us either know by using the on-line form or sending us an application form* for the Camp.  

The camp is free to all XP patients or those with light sensitive conditions and to one parent  for each patient under 16. For non XP campers we ask for a contribution (of �10 per person towards last year) the cost. Demand is likely to be high and we would like to accommodate everyone who would like to come if possible, so please let us have you forms as soon as possible.

We also need a number of Volunteers to act as Counselors. An application form is downloadable from here*.

The 2002 programme is available here.

*The Forms are in Adobe PDF format. You can download the Adobe� Acrobat� Reader™ free from .