Toby Thorne

Having completed both my Bronze and Silver awards, I could share any number of stories from my adventures. From sharing snacks after a hard day of hiking whist sitting on the cliffs of Dover to campsite cricket with a plastic bat and a couple of golf balls, I have had no end of fun during DofE. Not all of my memories are of sunshine, there were plenty of tough times! On one particularly tough day of my Silver expedition, we were faced with a behemoth of a hill that we had to surmount. As we ascended, legs aching from the weight of our bergens and the incline of the hill, I could feel the group’s moral begin to decline. So, in an effort to raise moral, I belted out at the top of my lungs the beginning of the hymn Jerusalem. Since we have a chapel in our school, we were all familiar with the famous tune. As we marched up the hill, the rest of the group took up the hymn. We drew off of each other’s strength and resolve, and battled our way to the top. There are few things that I have ever felt more powerful and unstoppable doing than climbing that hill, surrounded by friends that became brothers, whilst belting “bring me my bow of burning gold!”
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