Monday 1 December 2008

We shall fight on the beaches... and in Lincolnshire, near a little village called Kettlethorpe

I've come to the the decision that I don't really want to be in the Army or the Navy, or the RAF, or any other war-based profession for that matter. This conclusion came to me whilst I was knelt in the mud behind a wooden board, dressed in camouflage overalls and protective mask and carrying a gun loaded with 100 paintballs. I was knelt there, along with 20-or-so other would-be soldiers, waiting for the other team to come and attempt a siege on "the Island" on which we were guarding. It reminded me of something off Lord of the Rings; we could see them all running at us through the trees like a bunch of slightly more unattractive Orcs.

It's not that Paintballing wasn't fun, because it was. It's just, I couldn't help but be a little apprehensive and hesitant when it came down to confronting the opposition. It's not that I was scared of getting hit, it's just war isn't really my "scene" to be honest. I wouldn't really fancy it if we were called up to do National Service tomorrow (Mr Brown, if you're reading this blog, please cross me off your list). I've got too much on my plate as it is to think about killing people and that. Anyway, it was a relatively successful day. No major injuries to speak of, although I ache a little bit now. Through the course of the day, I got hit "properly" three times, once by Matt, who was on my side. It was Rob's fault that happened though really. He shouted, "there's one over here Matt", pointing right where we were standing in the not-so-safe "Safe Zone". I didn't cry that much though.

I should also mention that on Saturday night I had possibly one of the worst nights sleep ever. Well, it was uncomfortable, but I was sharing a single bed with Matt which was kind of cosy really. Rob and Sam drew the short straws, and had to sleep next to each other on the floor, which was apparently also uncomfortable. We ended up going through Sam's contact list on his Phone and ringing random people (including a couple of Canadians, who didn't answer even though it would have been a relatively "normal" time for phone calls in their neck of the woods). If we rang you in the early hours of Sunday morning, and you're reading this, then I'm sorry for any inconvenience we caused to you.

All in all, it was a good weekend. I've never appreciated a single bed all to myself before though. Anyway, I must leave it there. I've got loads of work to do, and shouldn't be spending my time blogging...

See you all tomorrow then!

2 comments:

samaxon2312 said...

It was uncomfy, but funny. Not so fun getting shot in the back of the head from close range though!

RobEd said...

You forgot to mention Matt surrendering....it was only him against 25 people he needs to grow some ballosks