Winter Weekend turns a pleasant shade of green!

Apart from the occasional pub meet over the winter, the Winter Weekend from February 19-21 was the first opportunity for YBN to get together, brush off the dust and kick-start 2010 with a bang, writes Ben Mc!

The venue for this year was a barn in Much Wenlock, close to Telford. This was my first Winter Weekend with YBN, even though I’ve been a member for about four years, so it was good to see some familiar faces as well as old ones. Turnout was good with about 23 people, most of whom arrived throughout Friday night.

The first evening gave everyone an opportunity to catch up with everyone as well as getting to know some new members and quite a few of us were pleased when Lamal and Chris turned up with some chips! It was then Leah’s turn to announce the activities for the weekend and each team were assigned an ‘item’ which the opposing teams had to capture and have their picture taken with.

Unfortunately, things got a little out of hand and after some nasty occurrences with a rolling pin, a tray, some blood and a bruised leg, Leah was forced to confiscate the toys from the children. This led to the children becoming restless, which resulted in some full on stealthing (dancing behind someone’s back unknowingly), being strongly led by Helen, and a school-disco mentality of backs against the wall!

The next day saw us attempt a convoy to Telford Naturist Club but as we all know, satnavs are not to be trusted so we all arrived in dribs and drabs. As usual, the club put on a good lunch and everyone not still suffering from the night before took advantage of the bar. The teams then headed out into the wilderness to complete the tasks they had been given the night before, giving many the opportunity to navigate across water-logged ground and climb trees while having their picture taken as evidence of their accomplishments.

Once everyone had made their way back to the barn, some took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep before starting the mammoth task of preparing army rations of pasta bolognese for 23 people. It was then time to get ready for Saturday night’s big party, themed around the armed forces. Some had made more of an effort than others but no-one could fault Tim’s gladiator outfit, Rob’s amazing Richard Gere impersonation and Lamal’s legendary green army man outfit. We were also fortunate enough to have Mark back to DJ and complimented by Shaun and some Twister, everyone had an amazing night, with most ending up with green on some part of their body!

Sunday morning saw a lot of sore heads but not the several feet of snow which had apparently been forecast by one YBN member. Everyone leant a hand in clearing and washing up and we soon had the place straightened up, ready for next year. This was a great way to start off the year. A special thanks to Leah, Vicky, Ash, and all those involved in organising a great weekend. See you all in the summer!