When we last emailed, all three sections had just started running face-to-face meetings. So what’s been going on with the Group in the last month of May?
- our Beaver Colony has been getting used to the joys of meeting outside – working through the Gardeners’ Activity Badge, thinking of how trees change through the seasons, then planting beetroot and pea seeds to see how well they can germinate. Another meeting was to be in a rain-lashed night, thankfully postponed as we have no indoor venue big enough. As well as 5 new Beavers and many returners, the Colony has also welcomed two old Scouts Kyle and Bailey to work with the Colony as Young Leaders;
- our Cub Pack has really gone for it in the last month – including holding an evening canoe session on the River Nene, an evening archery session with Raksha, a First Aid Level 2 course, building bivouacs and playing unihoc, and finishing the half-term by building fires and cooking twists over them. Kyle and Bailey have also been joined by Kate as Young Leaders working in the Cub Pack – and all three will, we are sure, form a major part of the Group’s Leadership succession. The Pack Leader Team has also had to sort a new meeting location, but are raring to run face-to-face again this coming half term as we run up to the Summer holiday;
- the Scouts have had a great month – our first offer of a weekend away since last March with the Expedition Challenge has already attracted 34 Scouts! The first Tuesday was the Blazing Bamboo Shoot, followed with an unsuccessful attempt to finish the Astronomer Badge before high summer’s late night star show, then starting to prepare for the Expedition Challenge by looking at 8 different types of backpacking stove and racing them to boil a pint of water. We’ve also had a night split – half the Troop playing with compasses, the other half holding an archery session. We then relaxed during half term to prepare the pioneering and safety skills for a rafting session, before running that the night of the Lotto Draw at Cransley Reservoir;
- we have (nearly) completed the refit of the Group’s kayak trailer – which has taken longer than we thought earlier as some further problems became apparent, but the electrics have now been fully replaced. We are working with our Kayak Instructor Team for dates to take our people on to the River Nene again with our equipment soon.
So whilst we may all experience a slow return to our normal lives, all sections of the 1st Kettering have set out to be as active as possible and as soon as we can – we are striving to catch up for lost time, and to ensure the 1st Kettering goes back to its pre-Covid place as a flourishing Group.
