10,000BC – Episode 6 Dropping Like Flies

10,000 BC Episode 6

*For a brief background to the show, a who’s who, and who is still participating  please scroll to the bottom.

There were seven in the bed and the little one said “Roll over, roll over…

Day 22

It’s two days after the tribe returned to camp and Klint has set three tasks to see if the tribe have remembered enough of what they learnt in the last week. It is as much an assessment of Steve’s leadership as it is of the tribes ability to last the final 5 weeks in the Stone Age. The tasks are:

Fire management

Willow bark processing

Butcher a fresh Deer

Steve already has in his mind what went wrong the first time but Paul B, ever the know it all, appears to take the decision that he is now the leader, mainly because he is still of the opinion that he is King of the Poachers. Mike tries to be diplomatic in adding “OK, you take the deer but you need to shout if your not getting it done in time”. Paul B seems takes this as a seal of approval to be leader and then dishes out the rest of the tasks. 

Steve is worried that the deer isn’t going to processed in time, before it starts to rot. That if they hang the meat it will get taken by animals in the night.

Klint and Dave agree with Paul B about hanging the meat over night so it can be jerked tomorrow but I’m with Steve on this one, the last time they did that the meat got taken in the night and what was left was infested with Maggots. 

Paul B thinks that Steve is pissed at his authority being challenged and says that he doesn’t think he has ever acted like a leader. Not what he was saying when they were buddies coming up with ideas.

Steve is clearly annoyed at the turn of events and feels that he has been usurped. That it is now Mike, Mel and Paul B running the show. Interesting that to us Mel is suddenly one of the main characters as up to yesterday I had to keep checking on the 10,000BC to see what she looked like because we’ve barely seen her do or say anything. Makes me wonder just to what degree this has been ‘edited’ considering it’s supposed to be a social experiment.

Dave describes it better, that Steve is the overall Leader but that some of the others are like department managers. Mike overall camp routine and Paul B Hunting (has he caught anything yet?).

Steve becomes frustrated with Klint and how time is being managed, especially with the amount of time and energy spent on willow cording. He’s also fed up with Klint butting in.

Before Klint and Dave leave the camp they remind the camp that despite the social niggles that are creeping in, they need to remember to function like a family even when they don’t get on. 

JP is worried that after the days events it might be about to fall apart now. Which would be especially be sad for him because he’s just getting into the swing of things including team work and using his own initiative. 

During the evening meal Steve drops the bombshell that he is thinking of walking not only because of the days events but also because when they left the lodge 2 days ago they were a team and full of Vim and Vigour. Then no sooner were that back at camp that Paul B not only grassed the others up for contraband but also blackmailed them with his threat to walk. 

Mike backs up Steve on the blackmail point and so does JP who goes onto say that Paul B has created an atmosphere. 

JP starts to gets emotional, that the he had joined this to be part of something and he had felt like that up until the return to camp. Now he doesn’t feel like he is part of anything. He’s also sad as he is close to Steve, who has been like a father figure to him.

Day 23

Jodie is worried that Steve walking, later today, will cause JP to walk too. 

Mike and Paul B take the meat that they stored high in the tree (and saved from predators – so I was wrong) down to the stream to wash it, as when the deer was initially killed it’s bowel was ruptured.

Paul B claims none of the experience has been difficult for him and says “..without being egotistical it’s been like a camping trip”. It might have been for you mate but I think it’s been difficult for people to bite their tongue each time you’ve been a ‘Know It All’.

Meanwhile Steve and JP have a final chat. Steve later comments that he holds no grudges and wishes the remainder of tribe the best of luck because they’ll need it. Not everyone  listened to the lessons and these people don’t deserve him. It’s true he was one of the key people that got the tribe this far.

Paul B has a coughing fit and it renders him unable to breathe, and despite being just a few yards from he rest of the camp it’s 15 minutes before anyone checks on him and surprisingly its Steve that does. There is no I in team and Steve was always concerned about every ones welfare. 

The medic has been monitoring him and decides to intervene. It is of her opinion that he has a re occurrence of his childhood Asthma. 

As as the sun sets Steve leaves and I have to admit at this point that the ‘group howl’ has always made me cringe.

Day 24

Paul B is under doctors orders to rest and this leaves the group down to 5 effectively. Now I’m no doctor but staying next to the fire is surely not helping his chest.

Mel admits she is bossy and a perfectionist. With Steve and Paul B out the picture she assumes the leader responsibility and also takes the title of rations Nazi. Did Mel get lost the for the first 20 days? Where has such a strong character been hidden?

Mel divides the camp into two She and Mike go to the lake whilst JP, Josie and Jodie stay to finish the meat, go foraging, keep the fire going and collect fresh water.

Whilst Mel and Mike are busy burning valuable calories trying to find the way back to the Lake, JP has bad news for the girls that he is planning to walk. Josie begs him to stay and even Paul B stops coughing long enough to try to persuade him to stay. 

When Mike and Mel finally get tot he lake after getting massively lost they are rewarded for a change with a haul of 17 crayfish. 

That evening JP is still there and Paul B is still coughing. On hearing JP’s plan Mel & Mike try to persuade him to stay and it has worked for the moment. I’d like to think that they are all asking him to stay because he is a valued member of the tribe but the cynic in me thinks that it’s for more selfish reasons of self preservation. 

Day 25

In the early hours Paul B becomes unable to breathe and has to be evacuated from the camp by the production Medics, to receive emergency treatment. It is thought that he has pneumonia.

The group are missing him already and Klint is concerned that if Paul B doesn’t return to camp that it’ll be game over for the experiment, because the group will have become to small. 

There are 3 strips of deer jerky for each person remaining for the meat eaters but Josie is down to last of her nuts and berries. So whilst Mel and Mike return to the lake, the other 3 must find a Burdock patch. 

Just as they are about to go Burdock foraging a stray dog ventures into the camp. Josie wants to to feed it some deer meat, which naturally annoys JP as that will be one persons rations, he jokes that perhaps they can eat the dog instead. It’s so cool to see JP being considerate of others and also thinking about the consequences of actions. If anyone has made a personal journey through this it’s him. Josie gives the dog just one strip of meat safe in the knowledge that JP isn’t a Grass and Jodie won’t say anything because she is her daughter and should know what’s good for her. 

On arrival at the lake Mel and Mike aren’t as lucky yesterday, and there is no catch of the day. So they catch a Turtle and some Crayfish with their hands and collect some roots. 

Under the guidance of the safety expert Mike has to humanely slaughter the Turtle. Bless him he feels really bad killing, like he has killed a pet. Mel starts going on about, if you are meat eater than you have to understand and be prepared to kill your meat. She might not have felt the same way if she was the one driving a spear through through the turtles shell.

What is 10,000BC about?

20 volunteers, from a cross section of people of the 21st Century, were sent into  a Bulgarian hunting reserve, similar to prehistoric Britain, to survive 8 weeks in the Stone age, without any help from 2014 (Filmed through October & November 2014)

The chosen ones for the experiment, from a cross section of modern day Britain are: 

Paul Barnes – Lorry Driver  (Wanna be Bear Grylls and someone that clearly lives on his    
                                            own for a reason) 

Mike Soumelides – Simms  – Firefighter (All round handy guy to have around and always                 
                                                                 positive. Has a degree is hugs)

Josie & Jodie O’Rourke – Bookmaker / Event Manager ( Mother & Daughter )

John Paul Mullen (JP) – Club Promoter (Looked like he might walk to begin with but has           
                                                                knuckled down and getting on with it / Chatterbox)

Melissa Selling – Prop Maker (Possible contestant for Where’s Wally?)

Steve Nicholson – Archer (Amateur survivalist / Tribe Leader / Strategist) – WALKED

Rachel Harding – Education Assessor (Mother of the Camp / Organised)
Paul Wilshurst – Fence Contractor (Stubborn But Hard Worker)

Emily Harding – Graphic Designer                                                      WALKED

Mary Harding – Student
Alice – Restaurant Maitre D’ (Willing to help out every day)

Perry Brookes – Landscape Gardener (Geezer) – WALKED

Kym Hall – Marketing Manager (Strong, Organised, Natural Leader) – WALKED

Oliver Farr – Electrician (Terris’s Boyfriend / Survivalist Skills / Keen to Try Anything and        
                                     Embrace Stone Age Life) – WALKED
 Terri Perry – Florist (Oliver’s Girlfriend/ Positive Person / Kind & Caring) – WALKED 

Caroline Mortimer – Retired Secretary (Stone Age enthusiast) – UNABLE TO CONTINUE 
                                                             POOR HEALTH

Aamer ‘Bobby’ Hussein – Council Duty Manager (“We’re gonna die out here” / Self  
                                                                               Proclaimed Lazy) – WALKED

Tom Reader – Digital Content Creator (Keen team member/ not shy of hard word work/        
                                                            Nature Lover) – WALKED

Kam Khaira – Housewife & Shopkeeper  – WALKED