Wonderland Danbury 

Day 1…down the rabbit hole!

Alices rallied in the West Hall with the March Hares, Cheshire Cats, Jabberwockys, Flamingoes, Tweedles (not Dee or Dum), Humpty Dumpty’s (safely sitting on the wall) with Queens in residence with Dodos back in existence.

Team t-shirts were given out and the excitement of the Danbury story starting for 2024 was tangible.

We arrived with the promise of more pleasant weather than expected for Day 1 and set up the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party that was to be Camp in readiness to spend the 1st afternoon either on Danbury activities or CCA sessions in Wonderland.

The Marquee began to resemble the Palace of Hearts with Flamingoes, Alices and Queens creating artwork to adorn the walls and teapots, potions and playing cards swaying in the breeze. Tweedles faced the Vertical Challenge while March Hares tested their fear of water by Canoeing and Kayaking. Jabberwockeys embraced all obstacles on their course while Cheshire Cats grinned at the thought of learning new skills at Bushcraft. Everyone wondered at the Dodos conquering Mountain Biking which is a feat in itself! Humpty Dumptys enjoyed Forfeit Rounders in Camp until Wonderland clouded over…

A sumptuous supper of a roast followed by chocolate cake fed every guest at the Tea Party and a return to the rabbit hole to prepare for the Wonderland Fashion Show was on the cards where the Queens emerged victorious and earned 100 points.

The Mock Turtle must have visited while we were at dinner as his tears have continued to fall well past bedtime but a tired army of Danbury students are sleeping to the sound of the raindrops.

We look forward to our first full Eat Me, Drink Me day tomorrow.

Queen of Hearts Off with your head Day 3

Please excuse the Queen for being fashionably late in writing day 3’s events, this was due to circumstances beyond her control yesterday and required an internet-free camp.

She would have been proud of the sausage, cereals, yogurts, fresh fruit, toast and croissants breakfast where the Jacks of Hearts ate sumptuously before another action-packed day but this time in the sunshine of the Queen’s Palace gardens (aka Danbury)

 Alices and Tweedles Canoed and Kayaked their way to the palace with Flamingos and March Hares conquering Obstacle Courses and facing a vertical Challenge to scale the Palace walls. Humpty Dumptys and Jabberwockys were also Vertically Challenged and the Dumptys had Archery in readiness for any attack.

The Queens backed them up with Archery skills and Mountain BIked across the valleys with the Cheshire Cats to reach their Queen of Hearts. Dodos mastered Bushcraft to avoid detection and wielded their bows and arrows to add to the defence when confronted by the Queen of Hearts and her knaves.

Everyone spent time in the sun after a “make your own roll” Lunch doing Tug-of-War, Olympics and volleyball to keep them fit and continue to compete for points, Wonderland currency.

Pastie, potatoes and veg followed by waffles with sauces and sprinkles and the 2nd Birthday with cake of the week which kept the students happily chatting about the adventures of the day but the evening was still to come ………

A firepit to ward of Wonderland enemies burnt as bright as the England squad ‘ did last night and loyal Wonderland subjects celebrated our team's victory into the night!

It was Exhausted Danbury by this time and we are ready for Curiouser and Curiouser Day 4….

Curious and Curiouser Day 4

A full Wonderland breakfast awaited our characters as they rose to the realisation that Team England has done us all proud by making it to the Euros 24 Final! Highlights were re-lived and everyone had a spring in their step in readiness for a curiouser day.

Olympic races using hats/tops/shorts allowed poetic licence for our teams (curious) as they eagerly anticipated being pulled into the water in the “slip and slide “ rounders tournament (even curiouser)

Favourite games were shared to win team points (the points are always the motivation in games, litter picking, kindness and respect for Danbury staff and the camp and make CCA a firm favourite with Essex Outdoors.

Queens continued to be Vertically Challenged and faced Obstacle after Obstacle with the Humpty Dumptys who were joined by Flamingos, buoyant as always, Kayaking and Canoeing on the lake in the blazing sunshine. Archery proved not to be an obstacle to the Alices, neither was the obstacle Course, and Cheshire Cats, Dodos, Jabberwockys, Tweedles and March Hares added to the pre-Thursday Mad Hatter’s Dinner party tonight after the people’s favourite meal of the stay…-battered chicken balls with sweet and sour sauce and rice and crackers.

The Dinner Party was hosted by the Mad Hatter himself with quests aplenty from flamingos, rabbits and cats,to the Ant and Dec of Wonderland, Tweedle dee and Tweedle Dum, Queen of Hearts in her finery and the main woman…Alice. Every team member contributed to an evening of Royal talent to make a splendidly Curious and Curiouser evening after a positively Wonderful Day 4

Tomorrow is Pack of Cards Day where we collapse the Camp, say farewell to everyone at Danbury and come home to school at about 2:15 pm (approx) and to our cosy beds for a well-deserved dormouse-like sleep.

“When I used to read fairytales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one”

Alice

Thank you and farewell from Wonderland Danbury 2024……until next year……….

Ms J Newland