Week 7 and Old College Sunday

Hello all, that is officially the half way point of first term done; so i suppose also 1/6th of the entire course, which is excellent!  The 7th week is known to be one of being messed about and increased discipline, which is less excellent.  Without the distraction of Long Reach we have been subjected to hours of in promptu activity and increasing inspections, with punishments (usually having to parade during the evening so one has even more of a struggle getting anything done) becoming common.  Having said that so far fate has been kind to me, and I've escaped being noticed for a mis placed crease, or an idle thread.

The week has also however been characterised by an increase in tempo in the Course, and a shift away from Drill and onto the more warry bits.  Friday was Excersise First Attack, which was a lot like it sounds.  Our first foray into section level attacks, complete with Gurkha enemy and copious amounts of blanks being fired.  Its all good fun, but the fun is heavily tempered by the i'm sure necessary but equally frustrating drills and orders one has to learn.  Something as simple as fire lots, go round to the right and throw a hand grenade at someone, is a gruelling mental as well as physical task. There is a precise order to everything, and drills and seemingly endless pneumonics and acronyms all almost but not quite the same, and all accompanied by a disappointed look from the Directing Staff when you forget that this particular S stands for Searchers, not Sit Rep or Suppress or even Situation, when all you can think of starting with S is Sausage and that definitely isn't it!

The week has culminated though at an almost civilianly lethargic pace, starting with my first foray outside these hallowed grounds for a few drinks with the Platoon, and the dubious wonders of Fleet.  Our impact on that poor little town however was severely limited by our 12pm curfew.  Sunday then saw Old College Sunday, which essential provides an opportunity for one's parents to come and see what magnificent soldiers we have become.  We marched (apparently not too awfully) belted out a few hymns in chapel, then in a wonderfully chaotic gaggle, bubbled not marched around the camp looking at accommodation and other bits and bobs; noticing the paintings and artifacts that usually we simply rush on past.  On that note the week has ended, and here goes another, although its only 4 days long which is good.  But its going to be crazy busy and the weather is looking lovely and hot, which for most of you is great but for those of  us in body armour and helmets is not!