We got together today to make some final preparations for our Scouting Camp. Our group is the youngest, consisting of 6- and 7-year-old boys and girl scouts.

We gathered most of the stuff we'll need to load onto the municipality's truck, mostly stuff to just play with. We also made the camp sign, which is a large fibre-wood board on which we painted a camp theme-related image, along with the title of the camp and our group name.

The theme for the camp is... I'm almost afraid to admit it: pirates. Yes, yours truly is guilty. And as I'm the artistic member of the outfit, I made the sign. I'll get some pictures up after I get back from camp (August 10-18), but for now you'll just have to do with a description: the skull and bones from the Straw Hat crew (if you don't know what or who that is, watch more One Piece, landlubbers!), with a blue and yellow pattern for the background, somewhat like the maritime Japanese flag. Blue and yellow are the colours of our town's coat of arms. This is appropriate, as it not only symbolizes our home town, but is also recognizable for the parents when bringing their kids over to where we'll be staying, an hour and a half worth of driving to the East of Belgium.

There's also an Indian cutlass I brought home from our leader-only building (it's just one room, though, and not very large at that). It's pretty rusty - actually, pretty much all but most of the blade - so we're going to try and clean it. Can't go pirate camping without a trusty cutlass, now can I? Again, pictures after camp.

I'll also drive over to the local container park (a collection point for recyclable waste), to see whether they don't have a few large cardboard panels. The reason for this is that the kids will be divided into four cabin crews, but sleep in one large room with bunkbeds. I was hoping to put up a few divisions to make it look as if they're actually separate cabins rather than one room. Also, it's a good preparation for those who'll end up working in a cubicle.

I'm also going to try and find a second-hand overcoat. I already have a skull-and-spiderweb bandana, and the rest is just a combination of normal clothing to attain a pirate look. White shirt, black sleeveless vest (smooth, smooth velvet...), black pants (with belt, of course) and probably my old combat boots.

Oh, and a hammock, if I can find a cheap canvas one.

Only a few more days and we'll be setting sail for Opglabbeek. Try an' purnunce tha', ye blubberin' landrats!