In every Weekender and Fortnight
The Camp Days deck
Days three to fourteen are when improvisation runs out. The deck gives each day a shape: draw a Morning job, a Supper, something to Play and something for the Porch. It is also a full deck of playing cards, because Crazy Eights by lantern is part of the plan.
One card from each suit.
♣ Morning
One small job before breakfast. Camp runs on chores that are finished by ten.
- A
♣Water count
Check every jug and tally the level on the lid. Shared water goes further when everyone can see it.
A
♣ - 2
♣Fill the wash station
Top up the hand-wash jug and put the soap beside it before anyone needs it.
2
♣ - 3
♣Fridge check
Read both thermometers and write the numbers on the magnet card. Above 4 °C for more than two hours means it goes.
3
♣ - 4
♣Set the Den
Cold day: close the doors to every other room. Hot day: draw the curtains on the sunny side before ten.
4
♣ - 5
♣Little House round
Check the temporary toilet against local emergency sanitation instructions. Keep waste contained, away from children, and use the disposal method your local authority specifies.
5
♣ - 6
♣Battery round
Count the spare batteries, crank the radio for a few minutes, and put the low headlamps first in line for fresh ones.
6
♣ - 7
♣Radio on the hour
Listen for local emergency updates. Write down one useful thing for the porch board, with its source and time.
7
♣ - 8
♣Medicine tick
Follow your usual medication plan and check storage against the product label. A pouch alone cannot control temperature; contact your pharmacist or clinician if supplies or storage are uncertain.
8
♣ - 9
♣Light test
Every headlamp on, one at a time. A dim one gets fresh batteries now, not at nine tonight.
9
♣ - 10
♣Biscuit Tin
Count the cash and note what went out. Small bills stay small.
10
♣ - J
♣Pantry pick
Choose tonight’s supper from the oldest tins on the shelf. First in, first eaten.
J
♣ - Q
♣Clear the paths
Tidy the hall and the stairs. A tidy dark house is one nobody trips in.
Q
♣ - K
♣Camp log
Date, weather, who visited, one good thing. In two weeks it will be worth reading.
K
♣
♦ Supper
Shelf-stable suppers. Portable gas camp stoves and charcoal grills are outdoors only, away from doors, windows and vents. Indoors, choose ready-to-eat food or an indoor-rated electric appliance with safe power. Cook only as much as you can eat safely.
- A
♦Freezer check
Check time and temperature before choosing supper. Discard thawed perishables held above 40°F (4°C) for more than two hours; use the FoodSafety.gov chart. Cooking does not rescue unsafe food.
A
♦ - 2
♦Rice and beans
A pot of rice, a tin of beans, and whatever spices are in the cupboard. Better on day three than it sounds.
2
♦ - 3
♦Soup, upgraded
A tin of soup, a tin of chickpeas and a handful of small pasta. Feeds twice as many.
3
♦ - 4
♦Camp pancakes
Flour, a little sugar, a pinch of salt, oil and water. Syrup if anyone packed it.
4
♦ - 5
♦Tuna pasta
Pasta, a tin of tuna, a good glug of oil and bottled lemon. Ten minutes of fuel.
5
♦ - 6
♦Red lentil dal
Red lentils cook in about twenty minutes. Add a tin of tomatoes and serve it over rice.
6
♦ - 7
♦Porridge for supper
Oats, sugar and tinned fruit. Warm, fast and nobody complains.
7
♦ - 8
♦Cracker nachos
Crackers, warmed tinned beans and a jar of salsa. Eaten standing up, which is half the fun.
8
♦ - 9
♦Rice tonight
Freshly cooked rice, a tin of mixed veg and soy sauce. Make only what you will eat now if safe refrigeration is unavailable. Do not keep cooked rice overnight at room temperature.
9
♦ - 10
♦Couscous night
Just pour boiling water over it and put a lid on. The kindest meal for the fuel supply.
10
♦ - J
♦One-tin potluck
Everyone on the street brings one tin to the porch. Somebody always has peaches.
J
♦ - Q
♦Hot chocolate
A pot of water, cocoa, sugar and powdered milk. Morale is a supply too.
Q
♦ - K
♦Lid on
One pot and a lid save fuel. Follow the food’s cooking instructions and finish cooking fully; use ready-to-eat food if safe cooking is unavailable.
K
♦
♥ Play
Something to do that is not waiting. The evenings are long and the battery is precious.
- A
♥Crazy Eights
This deck is a real deck. Deal seven each and play until supper.
A
♥ - 2
♥Chapter a night
Pick the longest book in the house and read one chapter aloud by lantern every evening.
2
♥ - 3
♥Shadow theatre
One headlamp on the floor, one wall, two hands. Bonus points for a convincing rabbit.
3
♥ - 4
♥Twenty questions
Person, place or thing. Played in sleeping bags, it lasts longer than you’d think.
4
♥ - 5
♥Letter to future you
Write what this week was like. Seal it and put it in the kit for the next time it gets opened.
5
♥ - 6
♥Map the street
Draw the block from memory: houses, trees, the neighbour with the dog. Check it on tomorrow’s walk.
6
♥ - 7
♥Learn a knot
Bowline, clove hitch or the trucker’s hitch. A length of cord and a chair leg is all it takes.
7
♥ - 8
♥The jigsaw
Start the hardest puzzle in the house on the floor of the Den. It doesn’t have to be finished.
8
♥ - 9
♥Star count
Look out of the darkest window. With the street lights off there are more than anyone remembers.
9
♥ - 10
♥Stretch
Ten minutes on the rug: necks, backs and legs. Sleeping on the floor asks for it.
10
♥ - J
♥Sing-along
Everyone picks one song they know all the words to. No phones needed.
J
♥ - Q
♥Story chain
One sentence each, round and round, until the story ends or someone falls asleep.
Q
♥ - K
♥Early night
Lights out an hour after sunset. Sleep is the cheapest thing in camp.
K
♥
♠ Porch
Neighbours can make everyday jobs easier. These cards help you keep in touch; urgent needs go to emergency services, not a window sign.
- A
♠Hand out Porch Cards
Knock, say hello, swap cards. Ten minutes on the first day saves hours later.
A
♠ - 2
♠Check on the older neighbour
Cold or heat falls hardest on older people. Knock on the same door at the same time every day.
2
♠ - 3
♠News at noon
Pick one porch and one time. Whoever heard the radio shares what it said.
3
♠ - 4
♠Swap shelf
Put what you have too much of on a table outside: batteries, tins, books. Take what you need.
4
♠ - 5
♠Walk the block
A short walk when conditions are safe. In hot weather choose a cooler time, and check in with neighbours who asked for a visit.
5
♠ - 6
♠Water notes
Share the latest local water advisory and the CDC treatment instructions, with their source and time. A running tap does not prove the water is safe.
6
♠ - 7
♠Generator rota
Keep generators outdoors more than 20 feet from doors, windows and vents. Follow the manual for connections; medical-device backup needs a plan with the clinician and supplier.
7
♠ - 8
♠Chalk the pavement
Give the kids the chalk. A drawn-on street feels like a street that’s fine.
8
♠ - 9
♠Carry day
Help whoever can’t move heavy water jugs. Five gallons weighs about forty pounds.
9
♠ - 10
♠Door board
Tape a sheet to one front door for messages: who needs what, who went where, what the radio said.
10
♠ - J
♠Four o’clock tea
One kettle, everyone’s mugs. The street’s best meeting has no agenda.
J
♠ - Q
♠Window signs up
Green records a recent check-in. Amber asks for a knock. Call 911 or your local emergency number for urgent help; do not wait for someone to see a sign.
Q
♠ - K
♠Thank-you notes
Write one for whoever helped this week. Leave it on their step.
K
♠