Here they come.....there they go!

So like a whirlwind the 11E expedition has whistled through Fieldbase and left us all lonesome again. Our lovely Comms Officer, Fletch, has been taken away to the Demon Trek, so in her absence I (DPM Jen) am attempting to fill the information void and let you all know the latest news. 

It’s been a frantic few days of reunions, cleaning, packing and showing off Oscar winning acting skills. On Thursday morning we welcomed the safe return of all the groups from far flung corners of Southern India...just to have them duck out on us again shortly afterwards. After just a couple of hours of kit cleaning and project debriefs at Fieldbase, each team spent one last day together frequenting the shops, internet and pizza joints of Mysore City. 

Back to Fieldbase that evening, in time for dinner (although I suspect after the pizza there was little room left for curry), we had a taster of 11E’s theatrical talent with an evening of skits (comedy sketches). Each group had been rehearsing hard out on project and performed their hearts out to the judging panel i.e. the Fieldbase team. The standards were high and results were hard to judge with phenomenal creative writing, rapping, dancing and singing. Unfortunately, Fieldbase were declared of unsound mind and unable to pick a winner after it emerged that they had spent the previous day running around with yellow faces.

Would you trust yellow faced people to pick a winner?

Friday morning was a bright and early start as we all trotted off to the local Shiva temple for our expedition photo. As the sun decided to make an appearance, we also made the most of it and revealed Phase 2 allocations while we were there. Fieldbase staff like to keep everyone on their toes so we introduced an element of competition....each individual had to spell out (phonetically of course!) the name of one other person in their group, go find them and repeat the process until the team was complete. All of the teams got there in the end, but let’s just say some may need to brush up a bit on their phonetic alphabet. So, without further ado, here are the allocation results...

Charlie 1

PM Susan returns to Charlie 1 in Kotapadi to carry on the great work of Phase 1. With her is PM Lou and  lots of  enthusiastic amateur bricklayers!


Charlie 2

Brand new for Phase 2 only.....Charlie 2 is off to Thirukapatra (yes it's bit of a mouthful) but that won't stop this keen lot from building 16 toilets in just 19 days. Guided by the capable hands of PMs Sarah and Catherine.


Echo 3

Returning to Huskarhadi is PM Lindsay accompanied by PMs John and Julia. The team are keen to expand and improve upon the existing basha city, get a good workout with daily trench digging...and also to sample Doug's amazing banoffi pie!


Tango 5

Last, but never least, our trekkers Tango 5. Leading the way are PMs Andrew and Claire (Fletch). Smiling as the sun is out....lets hope it stays that way for them!

Friday afternoon was spent organising food and kit.... and perhaps most importantly getting to know the new friends they will be living with over the next three weeks.

So early Saturday morning we said goodbye once again to our intrepid travellers as we sent them out on their next great big adventure. Just like you, we can’t wait to hear how they are doing and we’ll keep you posted.

See you all later then!