The first serious snowfall at an Oakley Holiday since 1966 at Oakley Hall in Cirencester provided an exhilarating first morning at Bilton Grange School, Rugby which was again the venue for the 89th year of the Holidays. The skills of snow-balling and making snowmen were quickly in evidence as glorious sunshine followed the snow.

63 boys and girls, housed in ten dormitories, attended the week, from 5 to 12 April, including ten who were on their first Oakley Holiday. We again enjoyed first-class catering and cooking from the school staff throughout the week and the excellent condition of the 160 acres of grounds and gardens of the estate enabled our outdoor activities to go ahead despite some showery weather.

These included team games of volleyball, handball and podex, a Teddy Bear Hunt in the woods and a football and hockey tournament, as well as more leisurely cycling, croquet, hide and seek and tennis. Limbo dancing, water polo, circus skills, tiddlywinks, Mancala, Mah Jongg and pre-breakfast swimming were enjoyable indoor activities.

Members donated over £540 to provide support for four chosen charities, walked, ran, cycled or hopped a mile to provide funds for Sport Relief as well as donating their spare 5 pences at the daily tuckshop to the Leprosy Mission.

In discussions groups and through our evening services we thought about and debated a number of current personal, social, religious and environmental topics including immigration, the power of words, the pros and cons of Face Book and the values of reality TV.

The special visit of the Ape Theatre company with their powerful performance of the drama- documentary “Too much punch for Judy” was followed by a very successful workshop discussion on the topic of drink-driving.

The newly created Oakley 40 page directory of ways to Make a Difference was launched - lightheartedly but with a serious purpose - with a specially written song – Everyone needs a porpoise in life - and a visit from the fair-trade chocolate expert Professor Guzzle

Evenings were spent in the Ravenscroft Hall where members put on and enjoyed an excellent range of entertainment. These included tap and contemporary dancing, Italian Opera, the Three Jellyfish, cello, double bass, piano, vocal and bassoon solos, together with sketches, quizzes, orchestral, and choral musical items, story-telling and community singing.

The new Oakley members received certificates of achievement and a book to mark their first holiday and the nine members making a significant contribution as leaders for the first time marked the occasion by choosing gifts for communities in developing countries worth £80.