It’s always nice to be invited along to someone’s birthday party and today was no exception. We had actually been due to have the canoeing party at The Mere in Ellesmere yesterday, but the weather was so miserable for the time of year that I mentioned the idea of postponing it a day. Amazingly, all those that had been invited were available today as well, so plan B went into operation.

Although the rain had passed us by, the wind was still quite strong. As a result, we opted to raft up the canoes in an attempt to reduce the effects of the stiff breeze. The boys took on the challenge of making their own rafts (after a little initial guidance!), and worked really well together to create some impressively rigid constructions. Knots are usually what let a group down with raft building, but these guys were fantastic – no one knot slipped during the entire rafted session. I think that might be a first. Not bad for a group of 10 year olds!

After a few silly games, it was time to make some headway back into the wind that had driven a good distance. The lads worked so hard, but just didn’t have the strength to make progress without a little help. Consequently the rope came out to give them a bit of a tow, which was still hard work but at least we were going the right way! It was great to see the way they all pulled together and gave all the had as a team – very well done.

Having worn them out, it seemed only fair to give the boys a break from paddling, so a few challenges were in order. At one point they actually managed to get 4 people stood on the gunwales of a canoe simultaneously – very impressive.

This afternoons was great fun for me, as I hope it was for the boys. They certainly all finished with smiles on their faces. Happy Birthday Dylan!