Cyprus camp 2004
With Sgt. Bagshaw

 

The Night Before

Its 1930, Tuesday night. I’ve been packed since yesterday so I have nothing to do at the moment; I’m thinking I’ll make an early start to my camp diary – and here it is! Well I have to go to bed in a few hours because I have to be out the house by 0500! I’m excited and nervous but I can’t wait. That’s all for now folks.

Day 1 24/3/04

Up at 0430 and out of the house by 0500! Arrived at Heathrow at about 1645 and the flight took off at 0945. The flight was eventful to say the least! The lady sitting in front of me stood up half way through the flight, turned around and collapsed! She was okay in the end. We landed in Larnaca at about 1630 local time (2 hours + GMT). After about an hour’s drive we got to RAF Akroiri about 1800. Then we were fed, watered and given an initial hello-type brief by the Camp Commandant (CC). First impressions are that everybody is friendly and this is going to be a good camp!


Day 2 25/3/04

Up at 0600 which is a lie-in compared to yesterday. Breakfast was at 0700. We were in best blues today. Went to the briefing room and was briefed by the ACLO, Station Warrant Officer, RAF Police and MPs, fire service and the medics. We had a FamEx (familiarisation exercise) after that which involved listening to questions about the base and walking round trying to find the answers. Then we went swimming in the station swimming pool and took the ATC swimming proficiency test. After lunch we went to the Coliseum and had the camp photo taken. When that was done we went down to the beach and got in to swimwear for a lazy afternoon on the beach - or tried to but the wind was just blowing the sand in our faces! When we got bored there we went back and had dinner. In the evening we went to our little chill-out place, kindly donated by the RMP. It was called the Log Cabin and was made out of breezeblocks! It had a pool table, dartboard and TV!

Day 3 26/3/04
Breakfast, then practice for the drill competition. We went to the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) area and had a talk by the Army about how the get rid of potentially dangerous packages. We were shown the protective suit that they have to wear and were invited to try it on. After being shown around the robot they use when they can’t go in personally, we were treated to a display of them blowing stuff up! This ranged from a tiny amount of gunpowder to a suicide bomber with about 15lbs of explosives strapped to them. After lunch we went to the flight line and were shown around a Hercules from RAF Lynham that was going to Basra that night. While we were down there we were treated with something even the Russians didn’t get - a view of the U2 spy plane landing! Whilst this was happening we were being shown round the Hercules and seeing the cockpit and storage bay as well as some protective technology that the aircraft now has. Once we had finished there we went down to the Fast Jet bay and saw the Tornados from 100 SQN RAF Leeming, and the Tornado GR4s from 2 SQN RAF Marham taking off and dog fighting. We were then shown around the line and had a chat about the aircraft with the junior engineering officer on the SQN. After dinner we went to the sports field and played a game that was like football crossed with netball. This was played as a tournament between the 6 flights with my flight, 1 flight coming second.

Day 4 27/3/04
We spent the day in the local town called Pathos. The weather was very hot, which was nice! There was a little castle come fort thing there as well, which was built ages ago and is now a tourist attraction. As such we felt it our duty to go and have a look. The views from the top were of nothing but water one side and hills the other. Then we went to Aphrodite’s Rock which, if you swim round it 3 times with your lover, is meant to bring you good luck and you will never be separated! The CC was chucked in the water and we all had fun. We then went back to camp and after dinner went to the log cabin and watched the rugby. The English contingent of the camp went to bed annoyed, the Scots went to bed laughing, and the Irish were very happy!

Day 5 28/3/04
We had drill in the morning and then sport. We played rounders and had circuits with two RAF PTIs, witch gave me a few ideas for the next PT night! After lunch we went to the beach and spent most of the day sunning ourselves - and I didn’t get burnt! After dinner we went to the sports hall and played hockey. 1 flight won the competition and then narrowly lost 1-0 to the staff team in extra time.

Day 6 29/3/04
Went down to the mole and were shown round b 417 Maritime Troop, which is part of the Army. We got to dress up in the orange “once-only” suits and life jackets and where the thrown off the side of the landing craft. Once everybody had done that we got to go out on the speedboats for about 10 mins each. It was great fun! After lunch we went round to ATC, Air Ops and the fire sections. When that was done we had an inter flight quiz witch we (1 flight) lost.
 

(Continued below pictures)
 

Day 7 30/03/04
More drill this morning and then went to the RAF police dog section, which I hated mainly due to the tiny fact that I’m scared of dogs! It wasn’t that bad actually - a little boring because the dogs weren’t playing. After lunch we went for a walk around Akroiri peninsular for a bit of orienteering, and an Island quiz. It was good fun apart from those mosquitoes! When we got back we went out to a little restaurant called Sylvanos. I had a lovely shish kebab, Haloumi cheese, and the biggest steak you have ever seen!

Day 8 31/3/04
Out with the navy in the morning and I got to drive the Ship! We were given a tour around the ship vessel and shown how to use the RADAR. After, we went down to the mole and built a raft. We had to get it across the river without the Flight Commander getting wet… We failed! We did, however, have the best time doing it. We went back to the log cabin and I was surprised by the rest of my flight and was given a game of twister as a birthday present! The best birthday ever!!!

Day 9 01/04/04
We went water skiing and wakeboarding in the morning. I didn’t particularly want to so I spent the morning lazing on the beach. After lunch we went go-karting. I had two races and two victories. In the evening we went bowling… not too bad but the tiredness was getting to me.

Day 10 02/04/04
All we did today was lie on the beach doing nothing but ping-pong and foosball. After the officers got a bit bored with the above we went back to the barracks and got changed. Then it was back to the Ski club for a BBQ and disco. Music was good especially when it came to Bohemian Rhapsody!

Day 11 03/04/04
We went to Trudos today and had a look around the place. After that we went for a hike down the mountain. It was enjoyable crossing the stream 26 times! I managed to get to a radio today so that I could listen to the Arsenal Vs Man Utd match. Bad move! We had a few injuries in our cadet group, mainly sprains, and two girls spent the rest of the Camp on crutches.

Day 12 04/04/04
Sunday and the day we’ve all been waiting for - DRILL COMPETITION DAY!! My flight went on last and spent 45 mins sitting in the sun watching the other flights before going on ourselves. We did well - apart from the FC swearing when he went wrong - but we all make mistakes. After lunch we went a did something called a Turtle Watch which involved cleaning up a beach so that an animal that we will never see can lay some eggs! In the evening we went to the log cabin and had some Karaoke. We sang loads of songs hand had loads of fun.

Day 13 05/04/04
We went to a town called Nicosia; which is still the only divided Capital City in Europe. The DMZ is only about 30m across and looks like a shanty town. After a little tour of the place we had two hours to go shopping! In the evening we went to a pup called The Akroiri Arms and for the first time in 2 weeks I had alcohol!

Day 14 06/04/04
We went to the main brewery of the local beer called Keo. We were shown round the factory and then given a tasting session. They make rally tasty wines and beers! We then spent the day shopping and in some cases sleeping on park benches! In the evening we had the awards presentations. 1 flight won the “best flight” award!

Day 15 07/04/04
Spent the morning packing and tidying up the barracks. In the afternoon we boarded the coach and took the drive to Larnaca Airport. Then after a 3hr flight I arrived home and the camp was over.

If you ever get the opportunity to do an overseas camp, be it Cyprus, Gibraltar or Germany, take it! It will be the best camp you can go on in the ATC. “Sir? Can I go again please?
 

Sgt. Bagshaw