Here’s a quick run-down of what’s been happening in the Group over the last month:
- our Squirrel Drey had their Disney Night – including using the reef knot to make skipping ropes, and creating their obstacle course across the hall – before heading to the County Scout Headquarters for a weekend’s Adventure Camp, where they used the ranges there to try mini archery, nerf gun shooting and axe throwing. Returning to their normal meetings they spent one evening starting their Brilliant Builders badge, making a junk model and making houses in marshmallows and spaghetti, and another meeting carving pumpkins.
- our Beaver Colony has been working on their Skills Challenge. For the mental health awareness part, they were using Lego to create their dreams (and the leaders’ nightmares), and learning the breathing octopus for when they are struggling. The Beavers prepared their own Welsh Cakes and Anzac biscuits for Cairo to cook in the kitchen – Woodcroft has been ghostly white ever since for some reason – finishing the term by creating their own mandalas, with the beautiful geometric patterns coloured in crepe paper, for their Creative Challenges. During half term, a group went to wallow in the mud of Overstone Farm, picking and carving pumpkins, seeing smaller pumpkins fired from a canon, going bouldering on haystacks before losing themselves in the maize maze.
- the Cub Pack took their map training from last month to take the Cubs for their first time into the Big Darkness for a Night Hike, then spending a night with Haithi leading a camp fire at Woodcroft, before ending the term with a night learning the reef knot and the bowline – then playing a six knot tying race game.
- the Scout Troop found out about next year’s Troop Camp before making the tallest tower from straws and cotton for their eggs, before spending a night celebrating Black History Month. Over half term, we went to London, visiting the Palace of Westminster and touring the House of Lords before investing Jack in the wonderful mediaeval Westminster Hall – where better to be invested?! For the rest of the day before our pizza tea we split up to go exploring around the City – including groups visiting the Science Museum, Horse Guards Parade, mud-larking on the Thames and finding 18th Century clay pipes, and climbing all 324 steps of the Monument! Our last meeting this month was on Halloween Night with the several schools closed, so we baked apples and made toffee apples.
- Four of our young people spent a weekend at the County Young Leader Training Weekend, smashing most of their YL training modules. Well done, and thank you for your dedication, we look forward to seeing them complete their Young Leader belts shortly!
