Last Saturday night the Woodcraft Folk held their annual midnight ice skating event. There were over 100 participants from over 10 districts in the South of England, two of these districts were Chanctonbury and Central Hove.

Eleven young people from Hove and the surrounding area travelled up to Alexandra Palace in North London to enjoy this gathering.

The evening was fun for everyone including the adults involved, as quoted by Laila Smith "I've been driving teenage woodies (Woodcraft members) to overnight ice skating for years and I just love the fact of how much they love going!

The collective spirit of everyone present was undeniable, with everyone encouraging and helping those less able than themselves.

The skating lasted 2 hours from 11:30 pm to 1:30 am. Although it was past midnight everyone was lively, some even joined in singing woodcraft songs.

The Gathering came to a close and everyone said goodbye to their newfound friends with hopes of rekindling their relationships at the next woodcraft gathering. Everyone, being quite exhausted returned home at around 4 am and, I guess, spent most of Sunday sleeping!!

The Woodcraft Folk was founded on the " issues of social justice, pacifism and the principles of cooperation". Woodcraft Folk has been in existence since 1925. There are over 200 groups meeting in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The next Woodcraft gathering in the Brighton and Hove area is the "Burning of the Clocks" on the 21st of December. More information can be found on the Same Sky website.