Merchandise I Still Have from Summer Camp

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Wow, I never realised that the book ACTUALLY LAUNCHES next week. In this episode, I come to that realisation, as well as discussing the merch I still have to this day from my time at summer camp. How I have so many t shirts and other memorabilia that gives me such nostalgia. I’ll see you next week for the book launch!!!

Podcast Transcript:

Hello and welcome to There’s No Place Like Summer Camp. I’m your host Andrew Waterhouse. And in today’s episode, we’re taking a look at the merchandise that I still have from my time at camp. So coming into our tent, and I’ll spill the beans. Hello, everyone.

And welcome back to another episode of There’s No Place Like Summer Camp. I hope you’re doing well. It’s very nice hot sunny day today. It’s, beginning to turn into summer now with the clocks having gone forwards. And it’s, it’s really nice to see the, you know, you finish work and it’s nice, hot, sunny still.

Gone are the days for at least 6 months until, you finish you start work and it’s dark, you finish work and it’s dark because they’re so depressing. I really do find that. So, yeah, I’m feeling good. I hope you are too. I hope it’s sunny, at the time you’re listening to this.

Perhaps you’re on a walk, perhaps you’re I don’t know. I don’t know. Listen to me with the windows down in a car. It’s nice. It’s nice to see that summer is very close.

Yeah. It’s really good. So speaking of things that are really close, the book is probably what? When is it out? Let me have a look at the calendar.

Oh, shit. So by the time that this episode actually goes live, this is gonna be the last episode before the book actually goes live. I didn’t realize that. Oh, jeez. Wow.

That’s really cool. So this is the last episode before the book goes live. I didn’t real I really didn’t realize that. Jesus Christ. That’s cool.

That’s so cool. Well, I’ve realized now that’s good at least. So yeah, if in case you don’t know, the book is just around the corner. It releases on the 4th April. I need to make sure that I’ve done everything I can possibly do for this book.

I think I think it is perfectly ready for release. And, this past couple of well, I say this past couple of weeks. This past week, I’ve just been doing so much work on the audiobook. So an audio book is in the works. It’s probably not going to be ready for the 4th, but the paperback, the ebook, and there’s also gonna be a hardback all available on the 4th April.

So I really do hope you enjoy it. I can’t believe. So okay. So this this episode is all about the merchandise I still have from camp. But before we get into that, I have to remind you guys that the competition is still open.

If you want to have a chance of winning your own copy of There’s No Place Like Summer Camp. Before anyone else, feel free to enter the competition. It is still live. The competition ends on the first, which is the Friday that you’re listening to this. And, what you can do is you have to go to there’s no place like summer camp dot com forward slash competition.

And in there, you’ll be able to enter your details. All you have to do is follow me on Twitter, follow us on Instagram, and you can also sign up to the newsletter if if you wish. But, yeah, it’s really, really cool. So, I’m getting on a tangent. So to to enter that competition, you have to go to that page.

You have to click on the buttons that it asks you to, and then it can log yourself as a competition entry. You’ve got until the first to enter, and you get to win either a paperback or an ebook version of the book. So it’s really exciting. Really, really cool. In the last episode, we talked about the merchandise shop that is now available on there’s no place like summer camp dot com.

It’s available. You go to there’s no place like summer camp dot com forward slash shop. You’ll be able to pick yourself up some t shirts, some hoodies, there’s towels, there’s water bottles. There’s all sorts of different types of merchandise on there. And if you get it, I think it’s before the book release is.

It might be the week of the book release. I think you’ve got until 10th April to pick up some merchandise if you wish with a discount code where you get 10% off for buying through, before, you know, getting in there before everyone else. So the code is early bird and that’s one word. You get 10% off the merchandise shop. I’m I’ve actually got a couple of shirts on the way to my house, and that’s really cool.

I really want to represent the brand, represent the book, and get the name out there. And, I I really appreciate anyone that purchases the merchandise. And let me know what you think about it when you receive it. You can tweet me on twitter at Andrew W09. So we’ve got the competition that’s still open.

We’ve got the merchandise, shop that’s up with the 10% code early birds to get some money off. And, this episode is all about the, merchandise that I still have from my time at camp because what better segue of, having the shop of my own open than talk about the merchandise that I still have from camp, because that’s part of the real experience of having camp and it how it influences your day to day sort of, reminiscence. Is that a word? Reminiscence? I think it is.

Reminiscence about camp is you pick up a t shirt or you pick up some sort of merchandise that you had from back in your camp days, and you really do treasure those. So in this episode, we’re gonna be talking about the ones that I still have, and, hopefully some of you can relate to that. So starting off this, merchandise that I still have from camp, we have my camp America t shirt. Now that’s the 1st year of well, I I think I’ve got 2 Camp America t shirts. I think I’ve got one for the 1st year that I, volunteered, and then we got the second one through the post for that second summer that I volunteered as well.

Whenever you do sign up through Camp America, they part of your, like, I think it’s about £1,000 that you have to pay to go to Camp America. Part of the, experience or part of what you get, should I say, is a couple of t shirts. And it is really cool to get one of those. Not all sort of summer camp programs offer you that. And it’s good to just go to camp and represent.

And I remember vividly, going into the airport the airports of, Heathrow and, who is it? Not JFK. Newark in New York and Atlanta airport wearing these, Camp America t shirts, and you’re seeing a flood of other people wearing them. It’s really cool. So I still have those T shirts somewhere.

I never wanna get rid of them. It’s one of those sentimental memory boxes, and they’re really cool. My, shirts from my own experience of doing camp, and now this is something that I’ve recently been reading myself because I’ve been recording the audio book. And, I’m probably about a quarter of the way of recording the audiobook in its entirety. And it’s, it’s a lot of hard work to do an audiobook.

I’ll tell you that for free. But anyway, I literally stumbled upon the time that me and my co actually ordered our own shirts to sort of represent ourselves while we were at camp. And to this day, I have a, like, a camp summer camp shrine, I like to call it, where I’ve framed this t shirt that we had custom ordered for the 2 of us. And, it was just so cool. I had to keep it.

I had to keep it framed. It’s got so many memories, and, it would be the main shirt that I would wear while I was at camp and especially on my camp outs, which was my specialty that I taught at summer camp. So, never gonna get rid of that. It’s in its own shrine and beneath the shrine, I’m I I might have to post that to Instagram. I’ve never I don’t think I’ve ever shared it on Instagram.

I have this shrine where the t shirt is framed and then a couple of photos of my best buds from summer camp that are beneath. And sometimes just look at that and just think, oh my god. That shirt has been so been through so much. And, yeah, you can really tell because it’s so worn down, but, there there’s nothing I’ll change about it. Okay.

So there’s a couple of other, bits of bits of t shirt memorabilia that I still have from summer camp. And, these two shirts are the shirts that I actually got from my own camp when I was volunteering there. And that’s some of the cool things that I think pretty much most summer camps you think would offer. It’s for basically showing what year you had volunteered at your summer camp and sort of representing your own camp for when parents are coming and you want the camp to look professional. So, my camp gave us one shirt for the 2014 year that we volunteered and another for the 2015, and it was really cool.

The shirts themselves, the first shirt was really cool. It was a really cool shirt because it was the first time I had ever seen such a thing and, it felt like I was, accepted into their sort of folklore or history or into their group by having that first shirt. But the second shirt for me, it wasn’t as good because it was just the literally the same design as the first shirt, but just in a color red. And, I’m just getting off on such a tangent here, but it wasn’t it wasn’t anything to write home about just because it was in a color red, you know. All of the people that had done the 1st summer were, like, tweeting and asking me on Facebook, oh, what what’s the what’s the shirt like for this year?

And I’ll be like, you’re not you’re not really missing out much here, mate, because, because it’s just literally the shirt you already have, but it’s in red because, yeah. I don’t know why they made that decision. But people would be curious because not everyone went to summer camp twice like I did, and that sort of is touched upon in the second book that is gonna be coming, I don’t know when that’s gonna be coming, but that’ll be in that’ll be in the works. That’ll be released at some point, and I’m sure you’ll hear about it on here. So I have 2 shirts from, volunteering at my own camp.

And so far, we have 5 t shirts. And that’s pretty crazy, but that’s that’s really a part of the, I don’t know, the the the thing, I guess, about volunteering at a summer camp is the t shirts. They’re so you look back on these shirts and you think how many memories do these shirts hold because you’re wearing them all the time and you’re rotating through them all the time. And they’re not cringey. They’re not that’s the thing about summer camp.

You can wear what you want really to an extent. Obviously, nothing that’s gonna be unsafe for kids or anything stupid. Like, come on. But if you if you fancy wearing some tie dye shirts, which is the 6th shirt that I totally forgot about, I do have a tie dye shirt somewhere. No one’s gonna really judge you, and, it’s really cool.

Like, loads of people wear these cool shirts that you wouldn’t normally wear outside the bubble, and it’s really cool. So talking about the tie dye shirt, that was something I did in my 2nd summer, and it wasn’t really something that had much memories for me because I put it on once and I thought, oh my god. I can see it radiate from my body, and it was just too much to wear. It was too much, and it was too cringey, and I just had to take it off. So, yeah.

The the tie dye shirt, it was cool to make. I’ve never done one, and haven’t done one since. So it was cool to do that. It was a really crafty thing to do, but I didn’t wear it. And it it doesn’t really hold much memories for me.

But I know 100 and thousands of you out there, your tie dye shirts are gonna mean so much. So that’s a 6th t shirt. Jesus Christ. Right. Moving away from the t shirts now.

So I have a couple of camp socks. Now this is a real strange one, because I was when I received these, I was like, okay. Why are we giving why be why are we why are we being given socks? It didn’t make sense. And these were big thick woolly socks, and it was given to us by the camp.

And now this is a camp in the middle of Atlanta and in the middle of summer. So why we were being given these big thick woolly socks? I’ll never know. So I never wore them while I was at camp. And, it’s only been recently with the change in weather, and the hike in gas prices and all of that sort of thing, where I’ve sort of taken these socks out of their packaging, so to speak, and put them on.

And they’re so nice. They’re so nice and warm, and it represents the camp that I went to. So, yeah, that’s, that’s another piece of memorabilia that I still have from my summer camp. Really cool. Now I’m getting on to other bits of memorabilia that I still have from camp, but these aren’t so much more official than, the ones that have gone prior.

So far, we’ve had 6 fucking t shirts and one pair of socks. They’re all official. They’re all official type things, but these are the more, sentimental in a weird sort of way, type of memorabilia that I still have. And I look back at summer camp and think, oh, man. That was so, so, so good.

Such a good time. The the first one is my top another fucking t shirt. 7 t shirts in this list. Bloody hell. If my t shirts do not get any sales, I am gonna be fuming.

Right. I’ve got 2 on the way, so I guess those count. So, the top that I’m thinking of in this instance is the universal top that I have. We went to Universal Studios in my 2nd year of, travels after doing Camp America for the 2nd year. I still have that t shirt.

I still wear it. It I bought it at the time knowing I was getting ripped off because it was like $35. But I remember buying it thinking, I’ve gone to fucking Universal Studios in Florida, and I never dreamt that I’d ever be able to do such a thing. And it was so cool to be able to say I’ve done that. And that’s not trying to sound like I’m bragging or anything because everyone that does summer camp has really sort of like a once in a lifetime experience.

But we sort of topped it off with the travels afterwards. So I imagine that there’s gonna be plenty of you listening, especially those that have done it in the past. Or if you have summer camp coming up where you’ll be travelling afterwards and you’ll pick up bits and bobs along the way, and you remind yourself of those travels. I know a lot of people used to do, Camp America treks and that sort of thing. Perfect time to start picking up some special memorabilia from all of the places and the, you know, the really cool tourist locations that they take you to.

Yeah. So the mine in this instance is the universal top. The next one, and it’s not so much something that’s official from camp, but I still have those water bottles from my time at summer camp. And it’s one of those things that only when you’re at summer camp you realize how often you need the thing because it’s so hot, so humid. You’re doing so many activities that you need water on you all the time.

And, it’s it’s nuts how often you need it. It’s always on you. There’s gonna be photos of you standing there, happening to be hold holding a water bottle. I still have those and I remember every time I have like this water out of this particular, bottle, I think, oh my god, this is still with me. Like, what’s going on here?

It’s a weird one, I know, but, I always, for some reason, the water bottles take me back. Now one of the things that I lost, I had actually had a piece of merchandise that I lost, was a, a rope that I did in rope burn. And if you wanna hear more about the rope burn story, I’d highly recommend picking up my book because it has all of the details in there. But essentially what rope burn was is a small segment of the color war type events, and I was in that for one of the sessions. And as part of the ceremony, you’re sort of given a segment of this rope to carry back with you.

Now I was really cherishing this piece of charred rope, until I started to had had to, like, pack my suitcase for the travels after camp. And this charred piece of rope would really stink out my suitcase because it was, like, full of charcoal and smoky smells, and I couldn’t really travel with it even with it being inside, like, a plastic bag or anything. Because now we were starting to actually travel outside of the camp bubble, and it wasn’t something that I could really wear in anywhere if if my normal t shirts and jeans and shoes would stink of smoke. And I’ll just be, I don’t know, at Washington Monument or the White House. It wouldn’t really work.

So I had to leave that behind. And I say I lost it, but I think it was a conscious decision at the time to leave it behind. And it’s sad times because I’d have loved to have been able to have maybe brought it back with me and have it in some sort of box as well because it was a really cool time from camp. But, unfortunately, that’s when I left behind. Okay.

So we’re at the end of this episode here, guys. I hope you enjoyed this one. Like I say, we’re in the final straight of the book being released. At the time of recording, it’s what just shy of well, even at the time this gets released, to be honest, we’re about a week away from, there’s no place like summer camp being available. So I know some people have, like, questions about where you can actually pick up the book.

If you go to Amazon at the minute, you type in there’s no place like summer camp. No matter which country you’re in, my essay, you’ll be able to see the book available in, Kindle version available to preorder. Now I’m not sure about you, but, I prefer my books in paperback. And now the unfortunate thing about paperbacks on Amazon is they don’t let you pre order them, which is really strange. So I’m having to tell people this, like, 1 by 1 when they ask me the question.

But it is going to be released as a paperback and a hardback on 4th at the same time. It’s just a shame that you can’t pre order those in advance because I I don’t understand. I don’t know why not. It’s a weird Amazon thing. So it’s gonna be available on Amazon 100% on the 4th April.

Now in the way that I’ve published this book, it’s not like the other sort of self published books that you see. This can be really picked up in any bookstore, and it can be picked up in any library. It’s not an Amazon exclusive. It can be picked up in Apple iBooks. It can be picked up in Kobo.

It can be picked up in, Waterstones, WH Smiths, any independent book retailer, anywhere like that. They will be able to search a library. I say a library, sort of like a book catalog to find the book, and they’ll be able to order it themselves. So I really do need to help, get the name out there because I can’t push Waterstones and WH Smiths to stock my book. They have to stumble upon it themselves.

And, yeah, it’s really cool. So there’s that that’s going to be coming as well. It’s not an Amazon exclusive. So if you do see it in another store, please feel free to tweet me or Instagram me or something. Or if or if there’s a retailer you think that would listen to you, go ahead and say, go and pick up There’s No Place Like Summer Camp.

It’s great. Or at least read it yourself and see what you think, and then let know. That’d be really cool. So it’s not an Amazon exclusive. It can be anywhere.

It would be so fucking insane if I stumble through, Waterstones and see my book on the shelves ready for someone’s water. And if I ever do see that, you’ll be the first to hear about it. Trust me. So, yeah, it’s not an Amazon exclusive, but it will be there on day 1. As for other retailers, it’s a case of if they pick it if they pick it up.

I hope they do. A lot of work has gone into it. A lot of work has gone into the paperback in particular. So if if if I had to recommend one version, I would recommend the paperback. It’s something that you’d be able to travel with.

It’s a size that’s, you know, suitable for a train or plane or anything like that. I personally a lot of pages to this. And that’s something that you’ll be surprised by is literally, pages to this, and that’s something that you’ll be surprised by is literally how much content I have crammed into this thing. It’s really cool. It’s a really cool project, actually, see come to an end, really.

And, like you heard at the start of this episode, I didn’t realize that it’s actually the last episode you’ll hear from me before the book actually gets released. I should have really prepared something that’s a bit more poetic, I guess. But it’s been a good run. It’s been a good run. I think what this is, like, near to the 80th episode of There’s No Place Like Summer Camp.

It’s been a it’s been a case of years of work. There’s a lot of people that I would thank, but it’s all in the book. I think it holds it stands on its own 2 feet now, and it’s in a place where it can really do justice to how good summer camp can be. And I hope that people that are listening to these podcasts are not just the people that have done summer camp before, but also those that, are considering doing camp. And I think it will paint a good picture of how good it can be and hopefully influence you to go and have the time of your lives too.

So thank you for all your support. Thank you for following me on Twitter and Instagram. Remember, if you do, you can enter the competition, which is free, and you can win your own copy, but you only have a few more days, to get your entries in. So go to there’s no place like summer camp dot com to enter. And there’s also the merchandise shop as well.

We’re all we’re kicking on all fucking cylinders here. We’ve got the merchandise shop where you can pick up your own t shirts. You can represent. There’s no place like summer camp at your own camps, and help spread the word of the podcast and the book. It’s, been a great ride with you guys.

Next week’s episode is gonna be all about the book launch. I I don’t know what to say. It’s it’s a bit that’s that’s like nuts for me to say. What? 6 years in the works, man.

And next week’s episode is all about the book launch. So I think we’re gonna leave it here. It’s it’s, surreal in a way that it’s live. I I I I don’t even know what to say. Like, normally, with these episodes, I record them over a weekend, but I’m thinking next week, because the book launches on Tuesday, aka next week from the time you hear this, I might have to record and upload the podcast on the same day or, I don’t know, the day before on that Monday that it actually drops.

I don’t know. It’s exciting. But that’s what you can tell what the next week’s episode is gonna be all about. It’s gonna be a celebration. It’s gonna be a good time to have the book finally out there.

I know so many people have asked me what’s going on with the book? Has it progressed? Is it good? What format is it gonna be on? Where can I buy it?

Where’s the paperback? Where’s this? Where’s that? What’s it about? There’s so many people that don’t realize that I actually went to a Jewish summer camp and how that sort of plays into the book as well because I’m not religious as you may be able to tell.

I’m not Jewish or anything like that, but it really adds sort of another dimension to the book. And it doesn’t come across as being all unicorns and rainbows like you think summer camp can be. It really does tell the whole story. It tells you everything, and I hope it takes you on sort of like a travel wanderlust type experience that makes you want to see more of the world, to be honest. So like I say, next week the book releases.

If you want to go and pre order the paper, the Kindle ebook, you can do so right now on Amazon. If you would rather wait for the paperback, that will be dropping on 4th, and you can order that for, you know, prime delivery. Hardback also releases on that date too. And the audiobook, that will be, probably later in the month. And, yeah, I just have to say thank you to everyone for listening.

Thank thank you for your support. I I don’t really know how to tie this off, to be honest. Like, it’s next week. It’s next week the book goes live. So I hope you enjoy it.

Like I say, paperback is my version of choice. You have the full, like, cover art. You have it feels great in the hands. And I couldn’t be more proud. The amount of work that I’ve put into this thing, I hope I hope people will appreciate that this sort of hits a niche that is full of passionate people, and, I’m chuffed, to be honest.

It’s it’s strange looking back. I couldn’t have done it by myself. A lot of it is by myself. I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet or or anything. But, there’s been my cover designer.

There’s been my editor. There’s been my formatter. There’s been people around me that have supported me. But we’ll touch upon that in the next episode. Anyway, guys, I hope you enjoyed.

I’ll see you next week. Goodbye.