Welcome week: beach trip

Everything seems to be happening in an unusual order this year! We were doing the field trip in Newborough all upside down. And Every Welcome Week, we take our students to the beach. Normally that is towards the end of Welcome Week, but this year it was the first thing all the staff were invited to that happened. 

I had driven to work, as the beach trip would end quite late. The idea was to get to the beach by 17:00, and not leave until 19:00 or 19:30. And then we would still need to get back to main campus. I intended to hitch a ride with the coaches, but that would involve biking to Bangor, and, more crucially, biking back to Menai Bridge afterwards. And I realised I hadn’t brought my bike lights. So I decided to drive myself instead. 

I got to the beach when the students were already there. They were getting on with what traditionally is the first task: making a sand sculpture/castle. On a very windy, but fortunately sunny, beach. I went off to mingle.

The mood was good! And while most people were dressing against cold wind, there were some students who were happily roaming around in shorts and T-shirts, and seemed entirely comfortable. And there was even a dog there! She belonged to one of the peer guides. My estimate is that at least half the people present there were in love with it. 

Do you normally get some charismatic mega fauna in the sand sculptures: turtles end octopuses tend to be popular. This year was no exception. One group made a kraken that was veritably the stuff of nightmares. There was also a group that had built a fortress and had re-routed a stream on the beach to fill its moat! 

Glorious sunny day

The Kraken, attacking a boat

Normally we do at least one other activity after that, but the chap in charge decided that the risk would be that people would get very cold. Especially as people often get a bit wet in the next activity. So he called it a day! Earlier than I had expected. I would've been able to bike back from main campus to my office in daylight after all. But this way I could just drive straight home, and have something of my evening left. That was okay as well! But I think the people there had had a good time, and that is the important bit. A Welcome Week can be quite crucial in someone’s life!