Page 21 - BR December 2023

December 2023 December 2023

If You Should Think the Worst of Me FUNERAL TRIBUTES

When you look at what is, and what’s not,
With the information you have got, As well as Great Wood, Mike and Hilda were great
There is no black and white. company on many a ski holiday, and if I may, I’ll sneak in a
With regard to wrong and right. ski story. Mike was a fearless and enthusiastic skier and a
In the half light of the moment,  great contributor to the evening’s tales of the day’s thrills
and spills. One such time he described a jump that went
There are only shades of grey wrong, ending with him landing head first in the snow. He
But you’ll only see what you want to see, said “I picked myself up and checked my arms and legs were ok, but I
If you should think the worst of me. couldn’t see anything, so I immediately thought ‘Ah, Double Detached retina’.
Then I realised it was just that my goggles were full of snow”.
When things get battered and bruised,
The truth can often seem confused, Back to Greatwood but continuing on the thrills and spills theme, I remember
And be open to interpretation. an after-camp meal once which ended in an impromptu limerick competition.
One of these limericks was: When it comes to Menzies, Mike - you will find that
There needs to be scope for negotiation. there’s nothing quite like – the noise that he makes – when he suddenly brakes
For those who struggle to cope,  – and goes over the front of his bike.
There needs to be a way, Here are more stories from a few Great Wood folk…
But you’ll only see what you want to see,
If you should think the worst of me. When Mike was a camper at “B Camp”, they used to go to Butlin’s at
Minehead for a day out. One year, c.1962, he won a china pig at the shooting
Take a step back and count one to ten. gallery. He still used it, until recently, to collect foreign coins when he came
The best laid schemes of mice and men, back from abroad. He liked to think this was what prompted his nick name
Don’t always go according to plan. “Piggy” at Great Wood, but others say it was actually more to do with his large
Over the course of your mortal span.  appetite.
Take a moment to fill your lungs, On one occasion a heavily perspiring figure in a suit, carrying a large ruc-sac,
Then raise your voice to say, arrived in the kitchen at camp. On asking if we could help, Mike introduced
That you’ll only see what you want to see, himself as Piggy and stated that he had come from Peaslake. In those days
hitch hiking was very common and so it was initially assumed that Mike had
If you should think the worst of me. hitched all the way. It was a while before he confessed to having come by
National Express and only hitchhiked from the coach station.
Paul J Openshaw 2023
In the early 1970s, Mike arrived at camp with one of the first ever “Great Wood
Camp” T shirts. Mike’s had letters ironed on which lasted many years until one
of the letters wore off. The T shirt still exists but now just reads “Great Woo
Camp”. Given the number of couples who first met at Great Wood, this seems
rather appropriate.

The dates of the Backwoodsman camp are always close to the Perseid meteor
shower. The lack of artificial light in Quantock Combe also makes it a good
viewing point. So it was that the team were talking about the meteors when
one of the cooks, Hilda Carter, confessed that she had never seen a shooting
star. Naturally Mike offered to guide her up the combe after the campers had
lights out. Because it was dark he held her hand. They stopped a short

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