Page 93 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022 CREST

Somehow, OCdts Leuschke-Gwilym and Hunter had found the hardest shelled eggs in the whole of Surrey (possibly even the world), and this went on for a fair amount of time until the inevitable splatter onto participants’ faces. We finished with a very Covid-friendly game of apple bob- bing, followed by sticking one’s face in a tray of flour. The author of this article attempted to miss out by claiming he was taking the photographs for said article, only to be called jack and find himself pushed towards the mucky water that four previous OCdts had plunged their faces into before. Luckily, no as yet diagnosed diseases resulted.
After we’d tidied and cleaned ourselves up, most of us changed into suits and made our way to Brogan’s bar for a celebratory drink and a toast to Her Majesty. The ‘Golden crutches’, a pair of er... crutches painted golden, were handed to the team that had won most of the day’s events and they seemed extremely pleased. As the
evening drew to a close (by 10pm the Adjutant would be pleased to hear), we filtered out and back to the lines. Passing Her Majesty three times, I somehow made it back to my room with- out walking into a door or an OCdt coming the other way. Maybe it’s just Lucknow, but us Brit- ish can be odd huh.
Lucknow Platoon Spring Term 2022
“So, what do you actually do in Luc- know?” The age-old question most OCdts ask when they first join Luc- know Platoon, as if a rite of passage – and the question they must answer several times over throughout their tenure in rehabilitation. What happens to those injured OCdts who are ban- ished to the dark and illusive basement of Old
College?
We undergo physiotherapy in the morning, attend lessons in the afternoon, and go to sleep at midnight when our Junior Term roof neighbour decides their floor is sufficiently vacuumed.
But what about all the white space in between?
To keep things interesting, our daily lessons not only revise, but also further, the military con- tent taught on the course. OCdts in Lucknow recently participated in CBRN training, taking the final assessment in the ‘testing facility’ while exposed to CS gas; a real ego-leveller and an opportunity not recently afforded to our peers on the Commissioning Course. OCdts completed a qualification with Mental Health First Aid Eng- land; this encouraged insightful conversations and equipped us with skills essential for both in
and out of work. Some members of Lucknow helped with the SNCO Cadre as a demonstra- tion troop for instructor tutorials, as actors in welfare-based scenarios, and participated in small discussion groups with candidates. It was interesting to observe the process of instructor selection, and to challenge the opinions of senior soldiers. In February, Lucknow Platoon also vis- ited the Generals Course at Robertson House. This was a unique opportunity to socialise infor- mally over lunch in the mess with some of the most experienced leaders in the British Armed
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