A good night’s sleep: check.

Breakfast consumed: check.

Travel sickness pills administered: check.

Bags packed: check (but a painfully long process).

Rooms cleaned and beds stripped: check (equally, if not more, painful).

90 children and eight staff on two coaches departing on time: check.

And so we bid farewell to Adventure Bude in Cornwall. It’s been a week to remember. Occasional tears, the odd fall or trip, heaps of laughter, jug fulls of memories and bucket loads of achievements for everyone. Memories of a lifetime.

Thank you parents/carers for giving your children this opportunity – for paying, for  packing and for encouraging those that were anxious; trust us, your children and you will reap the benefits of their new found confidence and maturity.

Thank you to our staff. It’s a lot to ask staff to spend five days and four nights away from family and friends, working from 7.30am until late at night. They are a special lot who have approached every activity, challenge and dance-off with as much, if not more, enthusiasm than the children.

But we reserve our greatest thanks to the children. You’ve been a dream to be with – adventurous, fearless, determined, beautifully behaved and just great fun. It’s such a great way to start the final year of their primary school journey. They now know that all that lies ahead – SATs, production, secondary transition – is just another goal to achieve. They can and will fly!

Durimg a room inspection, I noticed one of the dorms had a small shrine created on their window sill. Each night, a satsuma was left out as an offering to Hindu gods. According to Hindu scriptures, a food item, when offered to gods before anyone consumes it, becomes consecrated in the form of a god’s blessings – known as Prasadam. In the morning, the satsuma is eaten with the right hand and the consumer nourished not just from its rich vitamins but from the goodness of God. I was lucky enough to try a piece one morning and I have never tasted an orange so juicy and fulfilling. Being here by the beach, by the wind and waves and rolling hills, we have all been nourished by God’s greatest gifts: our beautiful planet and the company of friends and loved ones. We all come home spiritually fulfilled and spiritually nourished.

Thank you for reading this blog.