John Wood - Ullswater, The Lake District, 1961

I suppose the strongest memory I have of my time with Outward Bound, Ullswater, in the winter of 1961 was the closing entertainment each patrol was asked to arrange. I was in Mummery Patrol; none of us could play piano and we were at a loss as to what entertainment we could provide. I did, however, know how to play "Heart and Soul" so I put together some more relevant lyrics and we sang that. I think there were three verses but can only remember the first and last. It went like this:

1st Verse
Mummery Patrol, the very greatest one,
Mummery Patrol always the latest one,
Last up, but first to have a shower

3rd Verse
That's your lot. That's all we're giving you.
We'll get shot, by people known to you.
Good bye, a merry time to all!

I spent my 16th birthday with Outward Bound that December and the course, together with discovering I had a penchant for boxing at school, were two experiences that went a long way to helping me develop my self-confidence in life.