www.gisvold.co.uk - explorers

solargorilla and powergorilla - my first outing

tor — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:13:59 +0000

I got the combination powergorilla and Solargorilla for my birthday - as a result of trying to charge way too many things when we went camping in Switzerland this year, and I managed to both deplete it fully during a scout event this weekend, and then charge it again.

But back to basics :

(Click for larger)

The device on the left is the Powergorilla - basically a big battery with 3 connectors

- USB out for charging devices such as the iPhone
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My review of a tent : Outwell Indian Lake

tor — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:02:55 +0000

As readers of this blog will know we bought a Outwell Indian Lake tent before the summer holidays.

We have now been to 3 Explorer camps with this tent - one of those for 7 days in Switzerland, and in very different conditions, from very hot sunshine to very, very heavy rain, and the tent (and we) have survived, so it is about time to write about the tent end our experiences.

First of all this is a unusual tent - and you will get to know people if you have one, as there are lots of curious stares and comments :

(Btw. Click on any image to see a larger version)
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gilwell 24 - 2009

tor — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:12:40 +0000

We took the Eagles Explorer Scouts to Gilwell24 this weekend - and even though the weather was not at it's best a (very) good time was had by all - some of the photos that we Twittered and Brightkite'd while we were there :
From the opening ceremony where Bear Grylls was made the new chief scout:

Just look at the sea of explorers - there does not seem to be any diminishing interest in Scouting for the 14-19 year olds, the one thing everyone remarked on was how many more girls were present this year
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Company on the river

tor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:42:46 +0000

(Click for larger)

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Explorers on the river

tor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:37:37 +0000

(Click for larger)

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On the river last night

tor — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:35:47 +0000

Went kayaking on the river Wey (in Godalming) with the Explorers last evening :

(Click for larger)

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Rainwater charges in the UK

tor — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:33:11 +0000

I was under the misapprehension that the so-called "Rainwater Charge" in the UK was a April 1st joke - but it turns out it is actually correct.

I find this hilarious - private companies are allowed to collect our water (which largely tends to come down to earth as rain) without paying me for it, but when it drains off my land I have to pay for what goes into their drains..

As I am engaged with the local Explorer scouts group I find it very disturbing that they also want to charge voluntary groups for this - in effect helping to close down such groups.

The following is the reply letter received from OfWat (guess what it stands for).

Btw. if this is what they consider a clarification that the british education system needs to be improved :
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The first problem with our Outwell Indian Lake tent

tor — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:09:19 +0000

As I blogged earlier today in this posting - we just bought a Outwell Indian Lake tent, and as it is a rather unconventional tent we put it up for the first time yesterday, and then took it down and packed everything away today - to make sure we could do this.

And then we put it up one more time, as we decided that the way we had packed it away (without unzipping the built-in groundsheet, did not work. We managed to get everything into the big packing back, but it was just too heavy to be carried for any distance by one person. This is undoubtably why they have the zip and the option to pack it away into 2 separate bags.
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A new tent for the summer

tor — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 09:40:17 +0000

Our old tent is falling apart after years of use and abuse at numerous scout camps and trips, and it was about time to look for something new.

One of my wifes criteria was that we should be able to stand up to dress in the morning (or in the middle of the night when you have to care for a distraught scout) - and that we should ideally be able to have enough space to sit around while a typical british summer rainstorm passes by.

Ideally we should also have space for a group of explorers to pop in for a game of cards/storing supplies etc.
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Frost Camp 2009

tor — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:52:43 +0000

One of my hobbies (by pure accident I admit) is being a Explorer Scout leader - for a bunch of 14-19 year boys and girls. And one of the highlights is taking them on camp.

This week we went to Frost Camp - with a total of 420 participants (including leaders and crew).

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Frost Camp 2009 finished this morning - and last night was a memorable night for the explorers due to the combinations of a full gale, and a rather sub-standard Fiesta tent (bought on Ebay from the Jamboree in 2007(?)), which does not behave terribly well in high winds.
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