10,000BC - Episode 8 Stone Age Veggies

10,000 BC Episode 8

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

Day 37

Two weeks left of the experiment and rations are still top of the agenda. Mel has divided the rations up till the very last day. The group are of the opinion that they need to get foraging over the next 2-3day because the frost is due any day and once that arrives the ground will be too hard and berries will be damaged.

Paul is still on his hunting mission, so he takes Mike with him on a mile walk to set just one snare. They are knackered mentally and physically and half way back Paul realises he has left the unused snares there. Perhaps it would have been better to rest there and set more snares before attempting the trek back.

Mel, Josie and Jodie go foraging, I can only assume that JP is having is extra hour in bed. Paul and Mike meet up with them at the Sloe bush and collapse onto the grass with fatigue. Jodie is naturally worried that if the two strongest members are getting weak what does it mean for the rest of them.

Paul calls a campfire meeting when they get back to camp, he wants to discuss how the rations are being split. He feels they should eat everything they've got this week instead of over two weeks. Mike is diplomatic and points out that they did that at the start of the experiment and that didn't work out. Mel suggests knocking the hunting on the head to conserve energy. I'll swallow my words and it seems Veggie Josie had the right idea in the first place, I'm also sure she's a little bit pleased they've all had to go Veggie out of necessity.

Day 38

JP is up and leading Mike & Mel to a Burdock patch he knows of, this looks like it might be the resurrection of the Burdock Whisperer. Turns out that Mike has never been Burdock digging. So JP shows him how to dig them up effectively and enjoys giving his little gardening programme demonstration. Watch out Titmarsh !

Jodie and Josie are back at camp making a Stone Age paste that can be made into energy bars for the tribe. They both admit that if everyone had been like them from the start they'd all be dead by now. These girls crack me up and what I like most is what you see is what you get.

The Burdock hunting party arrive back, triumphant in a kill that totals a whooping 33 Burdock.

With the temperature down below zero that night JP and Paul have abandoned their shelter and joined the communal bed. 

Day 39

Paul and Mike go out hunting again the next morning with a new plan of action, rather than stalking the prey they are going to hide and let the animals come to them. They find a hollow in a field where Paul has seen Deer before. Mike lasts 2 hours in the freezing cold and heads back to camp. Undeterred however Paul heads further into the reserve.

Huddled round the Mike explains he is cold to the bone (In my opinion that kind of cold is only remedied by a warm bath) and he thinks that they should forget trying to get a kill, the area is to vast and the animals are probably much fewer as now they be be starting to seek  shelter from winter. He discusses how miserable it is and Mel makes the hilarious but possibly true point that Paul is so determined to get a kill he'll end up killing one of them.

We get some insight into Josie's mind over matter for when she goes to the toilet. Josie is repeating to herself that she is entering a luxury bathroom and has luxury soft toilet paper.

Mike tries to broach the subject of stopping the hunting with Paul but he is having none of it and he is further buoyed up when JP returns from a walk to report a sighting of a pheasant and herd of boars. He insists that JP takes him back out to where he saw them. Paul is of the opinion that they should return at night with weapons but he lays some snares, in the meantime, for the next 4 hours.

Day 40

Next morning it suddenly looks like Paul has pushed himself too far and he is unable to go back out hunting, so JP steps up to the plate and goes back to the boar patch with the bow and arrow. I hope that's mud he has covered his face in. JP sets and ambush by climbing to the top of a tree and is still out after darkness falls.

Back at camp the rest of the tribe are singing JP praises, as they tuck into a ration supper, and are honestly impressed with the new improved JP. 

JP has been lured out of the tree the sound of Boar and four appear. If he doesn't strike his life could be in danger if the boas decide to charge. The production rangers are alerted and tell JP it is too dangerous to make a kill with a gun let alone a bow and arrow. If this had been said in the beginning then not as much energy would have been wasted on hunting.

Day 41

Mike, Mel and JP arrive at the lake mid morning It's been a few days since they have been here and they are hoping for a larger catch than last time but there is only a couple of crayfish and 20 tiny little fish. Mike decides to put a fishing line into the lake to see if he can get a bite. As Klint explained earlier, when people are at this level of exhaustion cognitive skills are greatly effected. For this reason Mike is struggling to tie the worm to the line for 5 minutes. Then After 2 hours without a bited Mike is deflated and for the first time is thinking that he just wants to leave.

Day 42

Mel, Josie and Jodie go back out to forage Sloes and shocks Josie by saying that she has been very negative, which comes as a surprise to Josie as she see's herself as a much more positive person in general. 

Paul goes out to check the snares and finds one has been triggered but the animal has managed to escape. Total kick in the balls 

Paul calls an emergency meeting and everyone says how they feel, Mike is consumed by how much he doesn't want to be there,  Mel says her body is hating her and Paul doesn't feel he has anything else to give.

There is some animosity when Jodie and Josie say they are fine / surviving because they are seen by some of the tribe as the ones being carried by the tribe. The girls have always been honest though, they always asks what needs to be done and always do what is asked of them if it's within their limits. They seem to do a lot of the menial tasks that possibly go unnoticed. Like when you say you're a housewife and everyone assumes you sit on your arse all day watching Jeremy Kyle.

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

10,000BC - Episode 7 Will He, Won't He?

10,000 BC Episode 7 

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

Captain Caveman eat your heart out. 

Day 28

And we are halfway through the . 

Mel continues in her self appointed leader role and she take Josie & Jodie foraging. They are looking to top up the small amount of rations with wild root vegetables and to collect willow to make things with. There is no way that Mel has been a shrinking violet up until now and that's not a criticism against her but how the show has been edited. It looks ridiculous that Mel suddenly comes to the fore after a month of not seeing her on camera at all.

After 3 nights in the production camp medical tent, Paul is deemed well enough to go back to the camp. It's no surprise though that having been back in the camp just 5 minutes and he pissing people off straight away. He disregards anything that Mel has said / has planned and decided that the time has come to go out hunt and he won't returning to camp until he has caught something. Actually he was of the opinion that the rest of camp that would agree to his plan and it was originally "and WE won't return to camp until WE'VE caught something" but Mel put him in his place. 

Day 29

Paul is putting his hunting plan into action and the first job is to find animal tracks in order to lay snares. Whilst doing that he spots a  wild boar and goes after it despite not being armed. Perhaps he was hoping it might be spider pig looking for a new home?! It goes without saying that he didn't catch it 

The rest camp are making communal beds but JP and Paul are not joining in. Paul thinks it's a waste of time and JP is happy with the bed he already has. He has it totally sussed with his fire rock hot water bottles to keep him warm.

Day 30

Its the morning after the first night, that some of the tribe have slept in the communal bed and apart from some rolling into each other they had the best sleep so far. However JP wants an extra hour in bed as he was up 3 times in the night to keep the fire  going. Fair enough because no one else wants to keep the fire going through the night. I'd want to have a lay in if I was JP.

Mel, Mike, Josie and Jodie go back to the lake, whilst Paul and JP go trapping.

While down at the lake Mel holds an impromptu meeting, which seems a little unfair seeing as Paul and JP aren't there to defend themselves. This is then proved when JP over hears about it on the crews radio (I'm sure that was no mistake). 

Understandably JP and he starts to head back to camp to be alone but Paul convinces him to stay and help with the snares, to prove them wrong. 

At the end of the day Paul goes back to camp but JP remains in the woods, alone with his thoughts.  The others return to camp shortly and find out whats happened but they appear to be past caring as they feel JP is not pulling his weight.

Whilst still in the wood JP speaks of the breakdown of his relationship with his mother, just before his father died, 15 year ago when she had a mental breakdown. This experience has made him realise he is misses her and that all he wants to do is tell her he loves her. He has been drinking and partying pretty much non stop since his father died and this experience was to be his rehab. 

Day 31

Mel and the tribe are up and doing a stock of the rations and they realise that they actually have much more than they thought, including Jerky; But JP remains in bed again but he is still pissed off with yesterdays events. Sometimes JP doesn't help himself.

Paul is still not happy with the amount of food they have though and thinks they are surviving instead of thriving.  So he takes Mike out to check the snares, sadly there is nothing trapped but instead there are signs that a cheeky boar has been coming up really close to the camp. This shows that the animals are no longer afraid and quite frankly couldn't give a flying fuck about the new humans.

Josie and Jodie try to clear the air with JP as, quite rightly, it can't continue like this for the next three weeks. Unfortunately JP is still hurt and defensive so he's not interested and wants to walk.

Day 32

Looks like I spoke too soon, JP had a hot rock on the end of bed last night and it caught the bed on fire. Sorry but PMSL. Paul had a laugh with JP about it but Mike is taking it very seriously, he is a firefighter after all. However it seems a little harsh when he says JP needs to go because of the incident. He had previously warned JP to using the hot rocks responsibly but lets be honest unless you're a fireman you wouldn't think that after using for all this time with no problems, that they could cause a fire. Same as that Nutella jar on a window sill that's in the news today!

JP is still talking of walking and no one can be bothered to talk him out of it but as the leader of the tribe Mel wants to take him down to the lake, one last time to clear the air and see if she can change his mind. On the journey there she admits that she honestly thinks he hasn't been pulling his weight but she knows he is a nice guy. JP affirms that he has not been himself the whole time he has been there. JP shows his strengths whilst down at the lake and Mel is impressed with all his effort. JP however adamant on going home so that he can re-start the relationship with his mother.

Day 34

At  first light Paul and Mike go out hunting with a spear and bow & arrow. It looks like this might be a more improved bow to the one the tribe were given at the start of the experiment. They are look like they are hitting the target 9 times out of 10. Paul and Mike come across a deer but despite trying to be as quiet as possible the deer scarpers. 

After two hours they admit defeat and decide to return to camp with nothing to show and for the first time Mike gets really emotional as what he had hoped to get from this experience was "To be the man that my daughter thinks I am". The disappointment of still not getting a 'Kill' to provide for the tribe has hit him hard. 

JP goes foraging with Josie as she wants to take the opportunity to try and convince him to stay but she also points out that people are getting pissed off with hearing he wants to walk every five minutes. They have a good heart to heart like he did with Mel.  

When the tribe gather to say their goodbyes to , they all thank him for his effort in the last few days. He becomes tearful and apologetic that he is leaving and he doesn't want people to feel he is letting people  down or shirking responsibility. He remembers something his mum used to say to him "You start things but don't finish them". This is the extra push that JP needs to stay because he not only wants to makes his mum proud but also show her that he has finally turned a corner and is now finishing things he starts.

Mel thinks he was sincere in his promise that he won't quit. Jodie however is of the opinion that JP is like a broken record about leaving and can't understand why he has decided to stay when he clearly hates the whole thing.

JP realises that he needs to  "stop being quitter and start being a finisher" 

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

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

10,000BC - Snow Day Becomes a Duvet Day Episode 5

10,000 BC Episode 5

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

Day 11 & 12

Winter has arrived early, it's cold and wet, and the tribes new supplies are already running low. 

Food that could be foraged from trees and bushes is dwindling too. The Harding Girls are tasked with foraging whatever is left in the field. Rachel comments that she signed the family up for this because she wanted to see what her limit was but also to ensure she'd brought the girls up to be strong people too. It's looking like the girls are far more hardy than the parents(Pardon the pun). 

That night it drops well below freezing and in the morning it's snowing. More of the stronger members are looking like they are going to walk, in the form of Paul W and Rachel (Mummy Harding), the girls try to persuade them otherwise.

JP makes the genius move of keeping a couple of rocks in the fire so that he can wrap it up and use it as a hot water bottle. 

At production HQ they need to make a decision whether to pull the experiment. The medics and Klint attend the camp to assess the situation and condition. The snow is so heavy that the weight of it is snapping Oak branches. In the short time that the crew are in the camp to assess and evacuate, the conditions become so bad that it's difficult to get out of the woods in 4 x 4. The decision is made to evacuate the tribe from the camp.

The tribe are taken to the production base camp 40 minutes away, in a lodge type hotel, Whilst the production team consider how to continue. They are given fresh clothes, showers and toilets.

Steve tells a story of when he was in Indonesia on a sinking Ferry, with a friend called Caroline. He thought that he was going to die, when the ship capsized in the night. They were too tired to swim to shore so had to tread water until the the following afternoon when they were rescued. A total of 200 people drowned and they were only 2 of 40 survivors. 

It's the story that the tribe needed to hear, for perspective and encouragement but sadly it wasn't enough to keep the Harding family from walking. 

All that is left of the tribe is Steve, Paul B, Mel, JP, Josie (who has rejoined the tribe), Jodie and Mike, just seven but they are more determined than ever to return to the experiment, as soon as it is safe to.

Day 14

Two days of snow and the camp has been completely cut off but it has stopped snowing, so the production team go back out to camp to see if it will be possible to return to the camp at all. Not 10 minutes unto the journey back and the road is tree that is fallen due to the weight of snow. Once they clear that they continue to the camp, thinking the worst, that the snow will have destroyed the camp. The Stone Age gods have shone upon them and it's all intact.

Klint puts the tribe through a Stone Age boot camp, to ensure that they will this time have the full compliment of skills to see the rest of the experiment through. 

Day 16

Klint speaks to the group about leadership, and he takes Steve to one side to tell him that he needs to be more assertive and Steve couldn't be more over the moon about that being given that task.

Day 19

The snow has now thawed, the radio frequency is back up and the experiment is back on. Klint and Dave (Fellow survivalist) will spend the first four days with  the tribe. 

Part of the rations is a live rabbit that is so that experience  that some animals that have been trapped may not be dead. Clint wants the tribe to be able to kill the animals humanely.  

Again, in Klints eyes, the key to the experiment being successful is if they can get the fire started. Paul B takes the task on and with the bow drill gets it going much faster than when they first arrived in camp. 

JP is still going down the individual route, as the rest of the group work as a team, which causes Paul B to voice his opinions on the matter.

Paul B then, on his high horse, says he has found some contraband, a torch, and is seriously fucked off. He is talking of walking because he isn't happy that people are taking it as serious as him. The tribe take the blame as a group (bar Paul B) as a team would. 

They agree to Paul B's suggestion, that they all gather up their contraband off camera to pass to the production crew. 

The matter isn't put to bed though and has caused another deep rift, Paul B is disappointed that his 'family' were willing to cheat and the rest are pissed that he grassed them up. 

To be fair, the contraband was nothing that was going to let them get ahead in the Stone Age game and considering the amount of interventions that have had to take place is a tube of toothpaste or a broken torch going to make the experience any less 10,000BC than it has already?!

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 )

Steve Nicholson - Archer (Amateur survivalist / Tribe Leader / Strategist)

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

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

10,000BC - Episode 4 Intervention

10,000 BC Episode 4

*For a brief background to the show and a who's who please scroll to the bottom.

Only one day of rations left ......

Day 8 & 9

Steve has decided to abandon hunting and forging and just concentrate to on the lake, so he takes 9 of the tribe out with him to the lake (Tom, Paul W, Rachel, Kam, Bobby, Emily, Jodie, Mel and Mike). Smart Lad Tom has carried embers in a horseshoe mushroom, so that they can have a fire down by the lake. Steve has a lot of respect for Tom because he' not shy of hard work but he also brings some great thinking to the group.

JP is left in charge of camp, by Steve, in an effort to get him more involved and prove that he is a team player. Unfortunately it seems that whilst Paul B is moving the fire wood under a tree (to protect it from rain) and Josie is preparing the remaining acorns, JP is just surveying his manor for the time being and washing his feet. 

The rest arrive at the lake, after a 2km trek and find that the traps have only caught 2 Crayfish. So Steve and Paul W set about trying the fishing lines again, whilst the rest of the group make more fishing traps. 

Bobby isn't bothered about doing any work and instead goes to admire his surroundings. This results in him getting stuck in the sinking sand mud, yes you guessed it "I'm gonna die out here", luckily there is fireman (Mike) in the group that is used to saving plonkers that insist on walking in mud. 

Funniest of all though is as soon as Bobby is out he runs over to Steve to ask if they can go back to camp now, like he's on a boring family trip to the seaside and wants to get back to his XBOX. 

Paul B is complaining about JP's managerial skills, fair enough he doesn't seem to be pulling his weight but complaining he's bossy is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. 

With still no sign of fish at the lake, using the fishing lines, the group have a lunch of Crab apples and Rose hips. Not happy with the lines, Steve has made a weighted fish trap but it only catches one. Never one to not try, try, try again he goes into the lake with his bare hands and catches 7 more. Probably would have been a good idea to get the rest of the group to have a quick go seeing as that seems to be the most effective method yet; but who am I to talk as I sit cosy drinking a nice cuppa.

Mike fully engages with his hunter gatherer self and catches a mouse for his tea. I'm sure he would have happily shared but the tribe let him skin, cook and eat it himself. 

Josie, the vegetarian, has only eaten Crab apples & Leafs and ironically is the one to get food poisoning.

Despite having 10 crayfish it still isn't enough and moral is very low, so low that even Tom is thinking of walking. 

The production team medics have been monitoring the tribe and they are concerned that they are all starting to get dangerously ill. They attend the camp to check everyone out and find that they are all Malnourished and tell production that the tribe are too ill to continue.

The experiment is put on hold temporarily and the production team provide the tribe with  Isotonic drinks, Honey, Jerky and Meat. They are told to rest until the medics are happy that they are well enough to continue.

The camp is divided about the production teams intervention. Tom is not happy because he is fed up with carrying people and feels that the intervention has only reinforced that idea some peoples minds, that there will always be someone to help them out if it gets too difficult. 


Mike and Paul B are thinking along the same lines as Tom and express disappointment that some of the tribe are not viewing this as a second chance to start the experiment and get it right. Instead some of them are now viewing it more as a camping trip. 

Good old Bobby then proves them right by saying he will only stay if the production team will feed them once a week and they get one phone call a week. 

Day 10 & 11

The next morning the tribe are given the OK to continue with the experiment. 

Over night, however, It's got much colder again and now it's raining heavily too. The tribe are stuck in the shelters but some of them still put their time to good use. Jodie, Kam and the Harding Girls are making cording. Mike, Paul B and Steve are carving wooden spoons. 

Not everyone is finished with the medics though, Tom has to be taken to an emergency clinic as he has a swelling down the side of his neck and face. and poor Josie has to removed from camp because her nausea and vomiting has continued. The production doctors have said that she will only be allowed to return to camp if she makes a full recovery. In the meantime she is hooked up to a drip in the production camp, which to be honest isn't much more glamorous than the Stone Age one but at least the bed is off the floor. 

Bobby has been slumped in the corner of the shelter, watching the girls make the cording, and that's when I realise his spirit animal must be the Sloth. Suddenly he's up and out the shelter .... Bobby has had enough and is walking. 

Later on Tom comes back with bad news that he has a swollen gland from eating leaves and it's going to take at least 6 days to get better. He chooses that the best way to get better is to leave the experiment. As he does he quite honestly comments that he can understand how stone age man coped but sadly he is a 21st Century man and no amount of experiment is going to change that.

Steve says what everyone is thinking, another strong member of the team with excellent skills has left. 

And it doesn't stop there, Kam is now talking to the production team and says that although she knew it would be really hard she is finding it much harder. She agrees to sleep on it and make a decision in the morning.

There is a definite split in the tribe now, those who want to fully participate in the stone age experience and the other that want constant 21st century intervention.Steve talks to Paul B about whether they should continue helping the tribe as a whole and hope that the slackers start to pitch in. Talk comes back round to JP and they agree to give him one last chance to be a team player.

With a break in rain the tribe are able to come out and start improving their shelters, to protect better from the rain and cold. Suddenly row breaks out between Mike and JP over hay usage and the age old saying 'Theres no I in team".  Paul W takes JP to one side and says he needs to do something about it if he wants to prove to everyone wrong. JP says he just needs some direction in what needs doing and admits that, that's what might be missing in his on the outside. 

All the younger lads seem to not be coping well in this experience and it all seems to come round to not having enough direction in their real lives. Be it parental guidance that's missing perhaps or too much too soon.

Steve and Mel have been out on hunting but they can't have caught anything because there are no 'Hurrahs' from the tribe, on their return.

Whilst JP is contemplating walking after today's bust up with Mike, Kam calls a tribe meeting to tell them she is walking after all.

Only 12 people left in the tribe and the decline in people, specially the strong ones, is worrying the remainder.  Rachel voices the main worry that so many people have left, because there are still just as many jobs to be done but only half of the amount of people left to do them.

I tell you what, we all thought Celebrity Big Brother was mad this year. With people walking so early and the crazy stuff that was going on from the start but I think 10,000BC is going to give it a run for it's money in the 'Craziest Reality TV Series' title.

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: 

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

Emily Harding - Graphic Designer                                                      > The Harding Family

Mary Harding - Student
Alice - Restaurant Maitre D' (Willing to help out every day)

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 )

Steve Nicholson - Archer (Amateur survivalist / Tribe Leader / Strategist)

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

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