On Friday, just after lunch, we began our ‘away weekend’ adventure: three days sequestered in Northumberland’s picturesque countryside…

Hannah, Charlotte, Helen and Sarah, the designated drivers, heroically carried us all to our destination, with Charlotte taking a brief detour through Alnwick on account of some unexpected road changes.

Upon arrival at Chatton Park Farm, where we were staying, Alex, Ed and Phil masterfully put up two tents for the lads (whilst I ‘supervised’) and the girls made themselves at home in the bunkhouse. Our first group activity was a walk led by the dog that Ed called “Pepper”. This took us to the top of a nearby hill, where several team members took advantage of a briefly-strengthened mobile phone signal! When we arrived back at the bunkhouse (still being led by Pepper) we discovered a calling card from Joy who had visited while we were away.

Friday evening was devoted to Alex’s and my welfare-workshop, wherein we briefed the team on our roles as Welfare leaders, and to a bit of ‘relaxing’ Pictionary led by Charlotte, wherein the girls utilised their natural telepathic abilities to score two convincing victories over the lads! Alex’s drawing of Trafalgar Square was a particular highlight; Nelson’s column was mistaken by the more imaginative of us for a sombrero-wearing cactus. The girls then retired to their bunks and the lads retreated to their (rather cosy) tents for a spot of much-needed rest.

On Saturday we headed to Joy’s/David Cooper’s/Cleo the cat’s house for a feast of homemade chilli and apple pie: yum! Joy, David and Cleo proved to be most hospitable, even offering us a tipple of early-afternoon vino. Then we got down to business, with Joy handing each of us our flight check-in details. For many of us the sheer imminence of Project Sri Lanka hit home for the first time. In a bid to allay any concerns that we might have, Joy and David proceeded to spend the afternoon teaching us all about Sri Lanka: its history, culture and politics. We learned about Sri Lankan traditions, like everyone touching a glass of water on a tray before dinner, and superstitions, like charity organisations not building exactly nine community buildings in Sri Lanka! Whilst the team brainstormed ideas for presents to take abroad with us, and for a presentation to give at the University of Colombo, Laura stopped by the bunkhouse to prepare her second delicious dinner for the team: stuffed baked potatoes. On Saturday night Phil and Alex returned to the tents whilst Ed and I, missing our simple comforts, opted to sleep in the bunkhouse kitchen on a sofa and a spare mattress, respectively.

On Sunday, the final day of the weekend, some of the team rose early to go in search of an iron-age archaeological site that lies somewhere in Chatton hills. They were only half-successful, spotting a few rock-markings. The farmer of Chatton Park gawped in disbelief at our inability to locate the huge archaeological site when we later told him about it. After assembling back at the bunkhouse, the team then received a visit from Joy and David to discuss the finances, the itinerary and many other practical aspects of the project. This was followed by Ed and Helen’s arts and crafts workshop where we were shown how to create many different pretty things from many different materials- paper, card and so on. This is invaluable to the work we will be doing with Sri Lankan preschool children.

Hannah and Emma’s communications workshop was the last workshop of the weekend. They explained how we will be writing diary entries (just like this one) whilst we are away. We then tidied away and left Chatton Park Farm. The next time we see each other we will be at Birmingham airport ready to embark upon our great adventure!