Wednesday, July 12, 2000 - North Shore News - 15 SM tees : se. a ne Food Home & Garden .. Parenting ........ Sports .......... NORTH SHORE NEWS HOME, GARDEN AND LIFESTYLE Camps can be ali wet THE summer camp experience seems to be a rite of passage for most of us. Ask anyone, and they’re likely to come up with a cherished memo- ry from summer camp. There are, however, a few of us around for whom sum- mer camp wasn’t all exhilarat- ing communion with nature, landmark athletic achievements, and inspiring craft creations. Although I do recall winning a belching contest at a girl guide camp I attended one summer, (an accomplishment my mother completely failed to appreciate), in truth, most of my camp memories involve physical discomfort, emotional distress, and personal humiliation. My first camp experience was my worst, and it set the tone for many more to come. It was with the Prince Rupert Brownies, sixth pack. I was seven-years-old, already a tad on the neurotic side when it came to digestive issues, and somewhat loathe to leave the comfort of the fresh cotton sheets my mother laundered and fitted on my bed with love and without fail, once a week. Small consolation that I would be sleeping in the old flannel sleeping bag my dad used for his hunting, and fishing trips. “It’s my lucky bag, Pink,” he said, shaking out the stale thing the night betore I left for camp, no doubt memories of feisty salmons and all-night poker games filling his head. IT was a skeptic about the whole camp deal. I sensed it was no coincidence that my brother was off to Cub camp at the same time, Clearly my mother was hankering for a little break from her motherly duties. In short, she wanted to get rid of us. Can you imagine? After a tearful farewell, I and several dozen other Prince Rupert Brownies boarded the local ferry headed for Digby Island. On the trip over we sang and laughed and I thought I might actually enjoy myself. And you know what? That first day at camp I had a wonder- ful time. We fished and waded and caught tadpoles in the swampy pools around the camp. We braided grass and pitched rocks at giant yellow skunk cabbages. We snacked on wild huck- leberries and drank gallons of orange Freshie. For dinner we roasted wieners over open fires and mucked with melted marsh- mallows until our fingers stuck together. © We sang Brownie songs loudly, and softly, and in rounds until it was dark outside, then we made our way to our tent cabins. As I crawled into 2 top bunk and smelled the familiar tobacco smell of my Dad’s sleeping bag I felt almost at home, and it wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep. . Accouple of hours later I was awake, overcome with the need - to go to the bathroom. In the excitement of the day I had com- pletely forgotten to find out where the outhouses were, and it “was pitch dark. I squirmed, terrified in my bunk, straining with ail Thad to keep myself from wetting my pants. After a wretched See Camps page V7 2 wel Made by the world’s largest manufacturer of laminate flooring. - Explore the atoanlages of a loz maistensace, highly durable floor areas of the home! » Great for the “do-it-yourselfer” © Water-resistant HDF core * Does not require glue © Will withotand years between planks. © Unique interlock system SQ.FT. SQ.FT. : Laminate flour prices include glue @ foam underlay SReeBansk looking for 2 well constructed $1.39 Si of wear and tear Use interlock pte McFLOOR STYLE i] 9 iacy SE on © 15 year warranty 15 year warranty . _ © Tdeal for installation in all QUICKFLGOR PLUS) SNAP STYLE LAMINATE FLOORING Pre-finished B Grade ash-white colour 1" X 6" PINE Uatinishede HOO & ING : Nal down oppication. Ferfect choice for o crn country lack. Bi *1.89 $q. ft.8 NEWS photo Juile Iverson HEATHER Graves picked up her copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at Kidsbooks in the Village on Saturday morning. The bookstore sold 500 copies of the smash-hit novel that day. ler fans New kids book creates lineups Marcie Good Contributing Writer HARRY Potter was on fire at the bookstores this weekend. The latest in the mega-selling scries by British author ].K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was a hot item at Kidsbooks in the Village. Manager Susan McGuigan ordered 650 copies, and line-ups started at 7:30 a.m. The arly birds got their book, snapping up 500 by the end of the ay. Heather Graves was so excited to read the book that she woke up early. 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The main story, featuring Harry Potter, tells of a tourna- ment between competing wizard schools in his secret paraliel world. The adventures of the English boy, says the 13-year- old, are “always wonderful,” but the novel keeps readers enthralled with “plots within plots.” os “I thought about going down to Kidsbooks and asking when the fifth book is coming out, but then I thought ‘They would have no idea.’” : Raincoast Books, which publishes the novel in Canada, had an initial print run of 350,000. The publisher is printing another 100,000 copies which will be expected in bookstores next week. The first three books in the series have sold more than one million copies across Canada. : 5 CANADA'S FINISEHIN | - 309 Kennard Ave. North Vancouver 985-1341 (At the 3rd Street & Low Level Road Intersection} 378u X