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The Adventures of Curly and Wurly Curly & Wurly with The Galactic Organisation Department Curly and Wurly had a great time with the G.O.D. at the Easter Holiday Club. They were joined by about 30 would be cadets and many Space Officers and Junior Space Officer friends from previous holiday club adventures. Curly & Wurly were kitted out with their breathing apparatus before getting into their space craft, which looked remarkably like the Starship Enterprise! The space cadets followed a training programme which included five themes: Learning to trust God, The beauty of creation, overcoming fear, crew co-operation and helping others. Within the themes we explored several Bible stories including Johan and the whale, the creation story, David and Goliath, one body in Christ and the Good Samaritan. Everyone enjoyed their week in space but the holiday club was tinged with sadness as Paul & Heather were retiring after completing their 18th Holiday club together! But don’t worry Rev. Chris Gray is still around to run next year’s club. Curly and Wurly in Norwich Curly and Wurly had a great time in Norwich at the beginning of March, they went with Heather to visit her daughter Emma. Curly and Wurly were very excited as they hadn’t seen Emma for a long time and Heather was taking them on the train! We all had a good journey to Norwich, Heather used the journey to read her book but Curly and Wurly just looked out of the window. Emma met us at Norwich station and we went to the Student Union club for lunch, it is in an old monastery so it is a very interesting building. Later we went to see some of Emma’s art work which was in an exhibition in a church. Heather and Emma went out into Norwich on the Saturday but Curly & Wurly stayed in Emma’s room as Norwich City were playing at home and we didn’t want Curly and Wurly to be captured as team mascots by any football fans….everyone in Norwich seemed to be wearing green & yellow. Later on the Saturday we caught the train back to Nottingham, Curly and Wurly hid in Heather’s bag for the journey to the station….they were taking no chances! We all got back into Beeston in time to go to the harp concert. Heather really enjoyed the concert but Curly and Wurly were so tired they were asleep in the bag...I hope the other people who went to the concert didn’t hear them snoring. Curly and Wurly Visit Liverpool On 19th February 2010, I took Curly, Wurly (and Fudge the Girls’ Brigade dog) to Liverpool. It was a long, tiring journey but we made it to Barnstondale Centre safe and sound. Here we met lots of other members of Girls’ Brigade from up and down the country who were here to either complete leadership training as well as completing their Queen’s Award residential. After settling into our log cabins, and having some dinner, we started the weekend off with icebreaker games to help us get to know each other. After a long journey we all looked forward to our beds, and Curly, Wurly and Fudge were no exceptions. On Saturday, we started to discuss various issues that affect Teenagers as they grow up and what the bible says bout them. After this we created presentations based on the topics to help the other girls at the weekend and the girls back in our companies. After dinner, we started to look at Girls’ Brigade companies from all over the word. My group focused on companies in Africa. We created a display to show the similarities and differences between their companies and ours. We then worked alongside the leadership girls to create a display about what we get up to in our companies, districts and nationally in England and Wales. Saturday night we had ‘A Night With Shell Perris’. This was a concert with shell performing some of her hit singles from her albums with opportunities to text in any questions we wanted to know about the topics we had discussed or shells life and career. This was one of the highlights of the weekend as we got to mix a lot more with the young leader and listen to some amazing live music. We woke up Sunday morning to lots of snow. It’s a good job Curly and Wurly had packed their hats and scarves and Fudge had his hoodie. This did mean that Sunday didn’t quite go to plan as the snow showed no signs of stopping and was quite deep by the time we finished breakfast. Despite this we still managed to worship together and give our presentations to each other. This was a really enjoyable weekend and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Curly and Wurly’s Winter Wonder Land!!! Curly and Wurly’s first adventure of the year was in Snowy Sweden, where they had 8 inches of snow!! Curly and Wurly had to get out of bed at 3 o’clock in the morning. When they got to the airport the people who worked there had to defrost the plane’s engine in England!!! When the plane landed after two hours, Curly and Wurly were very tired. Even though they had to defrost the plane’s engine back in England it still wasn’t as cold as Sweden because Sweden was -25°C! Curly and Wurly had a lot of fun sledging and even had a barbeque on a frozen lake at -10° To finish the holiday adventure Curly and Wurly went to our uncle’s 50th birthday party where you had to wear red, white and blue. Curly meanwhile was with Rachael on her trip with Nottingham Youth for Christ to work with the Harvest India charity in the Andra Pradesh area of India. If you want to know more about the trip look on the ‘About Us’ page. Wurly on holiday with Heather & Ian Wurly decided to recover from camp by spending a couple of weeks on holiday with Heather & Ian, Curly had gone off to India with Rachael. The first week was spent at a lovely hotel in the North of Corfu in a place called Sidari. It was a time to relax and catch up on your reading by the swimming pool. After that it was off to board a rather big boat called the ‘Thompson Celebration’ It was all very grand. The first day was spent at sea. All I could see out of my cabin porthole was sea, sea and more sea….I’d seen enough water during my week on camp. The only break was when I joined the rest of the passengers and crew for the compulsory lifeboat drill. Here’s me with Heather in our rather orange life jacket… I hope we don’t have to abandon ship! Then the ship docked in Slovenia and it was time to go on a few trips. Our first trip was to Piran, Heather & Ian had been there before, before I was born, but it was my first visit. It was a lovely place with no traffic so very peaceful….I didn’t think much of the beach though...a bit rocky for me. The next port of call was Venice, we all went up the bell tower, what a super view. We then went around the Doge’s palace and even over the bridge of sighs into the prison, luckily Heather and Ian decided not to leave me there..it wasn’t a very nice place. We also visited the famous Rialto bridge and stopped to watch the gondola’s sail by...nobody was sing ‘just one cornetto’ We had a very long day in Venice and it was very hot. I was quite tired when I got back to the ship. The next day we went to Split in Croatia and we went on a trip to Krka National Park. It was much fresher than in Venice with trees and waterfalls. I made lots of friends on the coach. I told them all about Junior Church and the travels Curly and Wurly have had with Junior Church members. They seemed very impressed. The next port of call was still in Croatia, the medieval port of Dubrovnik. We went in by boat and came out by bus. It’s another lovely place. I had my picture took in the harbour. Our final destination before returning to Corfu was Kotor in Montenegro. Like Slovenia and Croatia this was also part of the old Yugoslavia. Back on the ship I managed to take in a show, I sat in the Royal box, I’m such an important bear. It was a great show with lots of songs and dances from Africa. Curly & Wurly on GB Camp On Wednesday 22nd July we set off to Bude on Girls’ Brigade camp. From Chilwell Rd there was Kay, Cerys, John, Graham and Pete. We had packed our sleeping bag and hats – all the girls were told to take them in case it was cold at night! After about 5 ½ hours we finally got to a field, drove up a big hill and stopped. This was to be our home for the next 12 days. We could see most of Bude but not the sea as it was just over the cliff-tops. We started to put up the big marquee, the cookhouse and the QM (quarter master store) before we got our 5 tents up. We were staying with Cerys and John (and Kay). The next few days of sunshine were spent putting up the other 12 tents for all the people coming down by coach on the Saturday. Then we would go to the beach for a bit of fun. On Saturday the coach arrived and had brought Heather, Ian, Emma, Karen and plenty more. It was still sunny and the girls spent the afternoon putting all their gear into the tents. What a lot of luggage!! After that we had tea and then the girls were given a guided tour of Bude so that they could see what was where and how to get back to the field. On Sunday it rained and it rained and it rained! Good job we were on top of the hill! We all walked down to Bude Methodist Church where we took part in the service. We hid in a raincoat pocket so we didn’t get too soggy. After our roast dinner it was still raining but the girls went out on a canal quiz trail. We should have been having a BBQ that evening but it was too wet so we had oven cooked burgers and soup instead. Over the next 5 days, everyone was split into groups and took part in the following: rock climbing on the cliffs, bridge building over the river, canoeing on the canal, body-boarding in the sea, a team trail with assault course, and horse-riding. On the dry afternoons we went to the beach and played non-stop cricket, rounders, dug holes, made sculptures, paddled and some of the braver ones went swimming in the sea! On one very wet afternoon we went to do ten pin bowling. Cerys won! We played ‘Spot the Officer’ which is when most of the grown ups went into Bude and positioned themselves in a spot, and for the next hour the girls (and boys) had to find them all and get their signature. We went to play on the park with Cerys, John and Kay and only 3 groups found us! We did lots of other games, activities and quizzes at the camp, went shopping, and even on a night hike across the cliffs (it wasn’t dark though). On Friday evening we sat and watched a Camp Concert performed by girls and staff. On Saturday morning we sat and laughed as we watched the girls trying to get all their kit back into their bags because they were going home to Nottingham. Then we decided that we ought to go back with Heather as we’d got other places to travel – and it meant we didn’t have to stay and take all the tents back down again!! We had a great time but are so glad that we didn’t have to get up early each day when the bugle played, and get our kit ready for inspection like the girls. Curly & Wurly’s adventures in the US - 11th - 31 May 2009 Maeve & Ciaran brought us from Beeston to their new home in Malta, New York State for a wee holiday & an insight into their life in the US. Heather told us we would be brought back by the Hunts, when they went for their holiday. Maeve & Ciaran live in a lovely big house on a development known as ‘Highpointe’ (it’s v posh!). The house has 4 bedrooms, so Maeve & Ciaran have a bedroom each. We got to stay in their bedrooms with them on alternate nights (they’re both v wriggly at night & at first we didn’t sleep well, but that may have been jet-lag!). They have a spare room for visitors & downstairs Maeve & Ciaran have a playroom and there’s a basement to play in! Every morning Maeve & Ciaran catch a Big Yellow bus to school. One day they took us too. It’s very exciting travelling with their friends on a bus. It takes about 25mins to get to school. Maeve says it’s about 4 miles to school, but they have to pick up lots of other children along the way. When we arrived at school we had to wait until Paul, the driver, told us we could get off the bus. Then we filed into school (the kids were all very well behaved, Curly & I were very impressed). Maeve took both of us to her classroom. I thought Curly might go to Ciaran’s classroom, but she said something about Kindergarten & responsibility! Maeve took a picture of us on her desk. Adventures In New York City We were so excited when Ciaran & Maeve told us we would be travelling by train! We thought being in America the trains would be fast...uh-oh we were wrong. They’re slow, but that gave us plenty of time to take in the view. The train follows the Hudson river all the way to New York & it is very pretty. Here we are on the train with Maeve & Ciaran. We met up the next day & took the water taxi across the Hudson to New York City - Wow. We took a bus to lower Manhatten & saw Ground Zero & learnt a lot about what happened on 11th September 2001. We also saw a tribute to all the Irish people who travelled to the US during the Irish Famine - Phew - very moving. We needed food after all that walking & we found a great wee pizza place. Then we went on the Staten Island ferry (which is free!) & gives a fantastic view of the Statue of Liberty. The next day was v exciting again - we just loved New York!! We met up with more people we knew - Ian, Jenny, Eleanor, Madeleine & Joanne. It was another hot day & we spent it in Central Park. The kids went boating on the lake with Paul & Simon. We just lazed around with Ruth, Jenny & Joanne by the lake watching the wildlife & people & having a wee giggle at the kids’ attempts at rowing. Ian went to find some Jazz in the park. Ice-creams were a must when the kids finished the rowing!.
Curly and Wurly are two small bears who have been with the Junior Church since 2006. Over the years they have accompanied children, young people and adults connected with the Junior Church to many places and events. Sometimes they travel together and sometimes they split up. Curly began his travels in March 2006 when he joined Samantha on a geography field trip to Barcelona. They stayed in Sitges and visited many exciting places including the beach where Curly went paddling in the sea. The most exciting part for Curly was flying home as he had a seat by the window. Later on in March Curly joined Ruth and Amy on a school trip to Italy. They stayed in the small town of Poggibons. They went on lots of trips including Sienna, San Giminano and Florence. Curly was a bit scared when he went up the Sienna tower, it was very high…..but the view was great! After his adventures abroad Curly settled down to a week of activities at the Landlubbers holiday club in April. He really enjoyed being a pirate and loved joining in with the singing, dancing, worksheets and craft activities. He even survived an encounter with a shark and was able to find the treasure which turned out to be Jesus and his love for all of us. Later on in April, Curly took Tim back to university in Durham. Tim was in his third year. Curly was very impressed with the Cathedral and the castle and wanted to stay in Durham but we persuaded him to come home. After a short rest in the cupboard at church Curly was off to Eurodisney in May 2006 with the Olivia and Ella. He nearly got lost in Alice in wonderland’s maze, he flew over London with Peter Pan and nearly got blown up and washed away at the film studios. Over the Summer of 2006 Curly was joined by Wurly as the adventures were getting too much for him to tackle on his own. Wurly started by joining in with the fundraising cookery session. Curly and Wurly then teamed up to enjoy some Korean dancing and a bring and share lunch. They also enjoyed a trip to the park, a box modelling session and a painting session. In July Wurly joined Emma, Rachael, Rachel, Ruth and Amy on an MAYC (Methodist Association Youth Club) Breakout weekend in Blackpool. They met up with lots of other young people and their mascots all dressed in a sea of green and yellow. They all stayed in a church in Longdon just outside Blackpool. The weekend consisted of fun and fellowship with various workshops including Salsa dancing. There were also lots of bands taking part. In August Curly went Downunder with Emily and Lydia when he joined them on the adventure of a lifetime to Australia. En-route they stopped off in Hong Kong for a couple of days where he visited Disneyland Hong Kong – it was just as good as Eurodisney. Then it was off to Melbourne where he got to go on the footplate of the Puffing Billy steam train in the Dandenongs. Then during a break on the Great Ocean Road curly got to meet a koala. During a bush walk Curly managed to escape from the Stott family and went on a bush walk, they finally found him sitting in a gum tree. After a few months rest to get over the summer Curly and Wurly joined 12 young people from the Junior Church on a sponsored walk to all the churches in the Nottingham Trent Valley Circuit – all 17 of them. We set out at 7.30am – yes that is in the morning to walk the 20 mile circuit. The walk was to raise money for NCH (National Children’s’ Homes). In April 2007, Curly and Wurly decided to explore the land of the pharaohs when they went to the Pyramid Rock Easter Holiday Club. They had a great time with all the children learning all about the story of Joseph and his dreams. Curly and Wurly made a box pyramid and they remembered to take their buckets & spades, after all there is a lot of sand in Egypt. At the end of June Curly and Wurly were treated to a very musical weekend. On the Saturday they joined members of the Junior Church in a drum workshop with the Therapeutic drumming foundation – it was very noisy. Then on the Sunday they were at a Junior Church music session as part of the Summer activities. Wurly then went off with Molly and Charlie to Cornwall where he tried to make friends with the 13 ducklings at the cottage where they were staying. To finish off another busy year, Curly and Wurly got dressed up for the Junior Church Nativity which was called ‘Tinsel and Tea towels’. They enjoyed being on display in church rather than being in the cupboard. Their first trip in 2008 was to Paris in February with Rachel and Ruth. They stayed in a youth hostel and particularly enjoyed the croissants and crepes. They also experienced travelling on the metro each day. But best of all they love going up the Eiffel Tower although they were a bit scared, it is very high. Curly then jetted off with Ruth for a week of snow and skiing. It was very cold and he didn’t like going out much. He did enjoy skiing down the mountains with Ruth. Next it was Wurly’s turn for a big trip. He joined Jessica and went off to Las Vegas. He enjoyed visiting the Valley of Fire in Nevada where he was looking for Indians but only found their paintings on the walls of the caves. He also visited the Hoover Dam which is incredibly BIG. Curly meanwhile was in training for the ‘Ride for Roundhill’ to raise money to buy a minibus for Roundhill School. Simon was in training too as he was going with Curly. Curly thought they were going on motor bikes but Simon told him they were going on push bikes. Simon explained that they were going to cycle from Roundhill school in Beeston to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and that it was going to take them 4 days. So at 8am on Saturady 24th May they set off. Ruth and Ciaran were there to see them off. Day one was a 126mile ride to St. Albans in lovely weather, Curly was tired after this and went to bed early. Day two was 95miles, starting with a monsoon in London, Curly missed the many famous sights as he was in a plastic bag in Simon’s pannier – at least he was dry. Later the sun came out and Curly was able to ride in Simon’s back pocket for a while. The day ended in Newhaven. Day three started with a ferry crossing to Dieppe and then a 50mile ride to Gournay-en-Bray. The final day was a 90mile ride into Paris. In July Curly and Wurly were off with their friends Ruth, Rachel and Rachael for another MAYC Breakout weekend, this time to Cliff College in Derbyshire. They all had a fantastic time, despite the weather. Curly and Wurly met up with their friend the Grangewood Fellowsheep and enjoyed the luxuries of his tent. Everyone enjoyed the bands and worship sessions as well as the street dancing and other workshops. They especially enjoyed the Christian Aid World communion. This year Curly and Wurly enjoyed the Champions Challenge holiday club back in April. There were all the usual exciting things to do and lots of children to make friends with. They made yachts to sail in. They also listened to stories from the Bible about Bob and Billy, the wise and foolish builders, about Jesus healing the Roman centurion’s daughter and Jesus feeding the five thousand with just five loaves and two fish. They also learned about how Jesus died on the cross for us and rose again to be with us forever. .
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