Bishopdale Biennial

This year's gathering of past and present leaders of St. Edmund's Scout Group was held over, as always, the Mayday weekend, this time at the Bishopdale Bunkhouse near Aysgarth.

The event having been held almost continuously since the mid seventies provides an opportunity for a convivial get together of leaders of various eras at St. Ed's. This year 15 of us arrived from all points of the compass, many having moved to new parts but retaining their affinity for the Group, and glad of a chance to reflect on previous experiences shared and characters remembered.
This time we had various things to celebrate including a 'significant' birthday for David Mitchell for which he produced some 'bubbly' which started things off nicely on the Friday evening. Saturday saw many of us shaking down a hearty breakfast by taking in the timeless majesty of nearby Aysgarth Falls in a leisurely hike. We continued through meadows full of endearing lambs and welcoming daffodils and primroses while an intrepid party tackled the more rugged delights of the higher ground. Others again drank in the Wensleydale air together with cups of tea in nearby Hawes.

Following Bob Gibson's slideshow we enjoyed a fine meal at the nearby Street Head Inn followed by Roger Cook's version of Mr and Mrs. as a further celebration - that of the 15th anniversary of Ted meeting Carol at such a previous weekend in Great Langdale. In all, four couples were quizzed but, fittingly, Ted and Carol proved to know more about each other than the rest. There was great hilarity as the others struggled to agree whether their partner was afraid of spiders, liked to wear red rather than black, or who was the more forgetful, etc.

Sunday's breakfast was followed by Peter's Scouts Own where a more thoughtful few minutes were shared, followed by a brisk walk to build an appetite for David and Janet's splendid barbecue.

All too soon we were saying 'au revoir' whilst reflecting on our fortunate heritage of a strong bond within the Group, resulting in many of us making friends for life through our scouting service with St. Eds. An often 'off the cuff' offer to 'help out', made in many cases several decades ago has lead us to unexpected places and friendships. Weekends like this remind us of our good fortune that our offer was accepted.

Bev Wilkinson