By: Blonde Two

Today we Blondes and Mr Welsh are off to Okehampton Army Camp for a bit of marquee pitching (aka Blonde Towers). Tomorrow we will all be fully engaged in the ancient art of Ten Tors kit checking. This process is both fun and painful, and is a necessity if a pass from the Ten Tors kit scrutineers is going to be achieved. (Note: it can take hours to get through the queues for kit checking, nobody wants to do it twice!)

The participants, of course, have a list to stick to. We Blondes have our own internal Ten Tors list, it looks a bit like this:

Coffee (tricky to remember who has decaf these days).
Pillows (not much sleeping available but a pillow helps).
Phone chargers (multiple).
Frazzles (other bacon flavoured snacks are available).
Blue notebooks (must be blue and fit into a hoodie pocket).
Pencils (must be sharp and fit into a hoodie pocket).
Blank route cards (to be completed and put into hoodie pocket).
Wad of loo roll (must be in hoodie pocket at all times).
Flapjack (sometimes the only bearable breakfast).
Chairs (for Saturday ‘waiting’).
Binoculars (the only time we actually remember to take these).
Coursework marking (please do mention this to our boss).
Layers (I can only remember one warm Ten Tors camp).
Cable ties (multiple purposes).
Sports tape (for feet – Blonde One’s job).
Bacon (for breakfast – Blonde Two’s job).

There is lots and lots more … it is amazing what you can fit in a hoodie pocket!