Bøker av Alan Scriven

In 1965, Alan Scrivens life was changed forever by ten days in the Shropshire hills.The Longmynd Adventure Camp was set up in the 1950s by Shropshire policeman Bill Williams, to provide a small group of boys from the poorer areas of the industrialised West Midlands with fun, adventure, and experience of the countryside.Alan Scriven was one such boy and his first experience of Camp in 1965 changed his life. He went on to volunteer at the Longmynd Adventure Camp, forming a lifelong bond with Bill and eventually taking the role of ';Skipper' himself.In recounting the history of the Camp, Alan provides a thoughtful and evocative account of his own experiences, as a boy and an adult. His passion and generosity are evident throughout, as is his sense of fun.Sadness and disappointment sit alongside laughs and it is easy to see how much this Camp meant to so many and what an experience it must have been for the boys, some of whom had never seen the sea before their day at the seaside (a regular feature of each ten-day Camp).This is the story of a wonderful act of generosity which developed year on year, with the Camp eventually purchasing its own land becoming a registered charity.As the years progressed, however, rules and regulations were becoming tighter and sadly the Longmynd Adventure Camp, staffed entirely by volunteers, found itself on an unavoidable collision course.

The follow-up to The Longmynd Adventure Camp and Me, this is an equally entertaining, and at times moving, account of this wonderful venture which arose from the kindness and generosity of a Shropshire policeman and his family in the 1950s.Since then the Longmynd Adventure Camp has provided unforgettable experiences for countless boys who may otherwise have never had a holiday, never mind hunted a whifflepoof or encountered the ghosts of a pair of tragic lovers.Author Alan Scriven was awarded an MBE for the 33 years he was involved with the Longmynd Adventure Camp. His enthusiasm and passion for the place, and the people who helped make this dream come alive, shine through.While the camps were just ten days long, correspondence, newspaper articles and contemporary accounts from some of the voluntary members of staff help provide a full and colourful picture of the extraordinary amount of work and commitment required year-round to make sure not only that the camps could take place but that they were safe, fun and unforgettable for the boys who were lucky enough to attend.