It was great to see around 40 members, guests and children at this year’s Starbeque which was held on Sunday 25th June 2023 at Luddesdown Village Hall near Meopham, Kent. We had the use of both the village hall and a large grass area overlooking a vineyard and cricket pitch. There was also a decking area where we set up several solar scopes.
The Starbeque was held on what was one of the hottest days of the year. It started with our barbecue, superbly overseen by Raf, after which we sampled a wonderful selection of home made Cosmic Cakes. A prize went to Sophie for her amazing ‘solar system’ cake.
Our Water Bottle Rocket Challenge once again proved to be a very popular activity – there were certainly some interesting designs. They all launched successfully and made an impressive sight rising rapidly to a good height before falling back to Earth with a ‘crunch’.
Prizes went to Andrew for his ‘OAS’ themed rocket and to Roy for his rocket’s stellar flight and dramatic landing. The Treasure Hunt then followed which involved solving 12 clues and searching for a small treasure chest. This proved quite a challenge in the heat of the afternoon, but thankfully the treasure was found and prizes awarded.
Our final activity of the afternoon was the Rocket Demonstration by Hart Rocketry Club. Four small rockets of various types with solid fuel motors were fired. The adjacent cricket pitch proved to be a vital landing ground for both these and the water bottle rockets – a good job there wasn’t a cricket match on!
Thanks to everyone who attended and for your much appreciated help during the course of the afternoon – you all made it a very enjoyable event.
Prepared by Jim Worthington Jun 2023