Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Three levels of it, bronze, silver and gold, and my three friends are on gold. You have to do community service, you have to master a new skill, and you have to a do a few other things, most important of which is the expedition - that's what purplerainbow has gone on. Three days in the wilds with no means of communication, walking for miles, sleeping in tents, carrying everything they need on their backs, and they do it of their own free will. Mad, see?