Our Group certainly experienced highs and lows this month …. after a roaring start to November, two sections then had to cancel meetings towards the end of the month due to the Covid-19 bug. By section:
- our Beaver Colony have been working on the Beavers’ Skills Challenge, and running a series of meetings to earn our Disability Awareness Badges. Our highlight of the month was when we joined our older brothers and sisters in the Cub Pack for an overnight Mediaeval Remembrance Weekend Sleepover at Woodcroft Scout Centre – see the Cubs report below – before walking to Church Parade for the Parade, and seeing seven Chief Scout’s Bronze Awards being awarded to our Top Beavers
- our Cubs staggered everyone – including Akela! – by raising over £800 over half term with the Flourishing Fivers, to be split between the Kettering Skylark Ward and providing for smaller sized water safety equipment for our Beavers and Cubs – a great effort, Cubs. We prepared for the Remembrance Sunday by making our own Poppies, and leaving them in a really emotional Scouts’ “Gone Home” formation outside Woodcroft. The Pack had a two-night Remembrance Sunday Sleepover (er, sleep?) event with a medieval theme having a series of tasks and activities across the weekend. Our share of the presentations at the Remembrance Sunday Parade was a massive 14 Cubs (most in the Scout Troop now) being awarded their Chief Scout’s Silver Awards
- the Scouts started November with the Blazing Bamboo Shoot over at JLC – most impressive in the dark – before holding a more sombre evening, considering the work of the Royal British Legion. Our Remembrance Weekend Wide Game and Sleepover was a wonderful night, with 25 Scouts and 8 Explorers joining us running around the Wilderness on the Saturday Evening, before meeting up with the Beavers and Cubs at Woodcroft for a Group Breakfast for 80. During the Parade, Louis, Charles and Will read with such pride the 58 names on the Parish Roll Of Honour by the War Memorial. We were so pleased to see Bailey, Kate, Kyle and Lily being presented their well-earned and long-delayed Gold Awards. As most of the Troop members have already had Covid, we appeared to be less affected than the other sections – but held an outside meeting, a trail around Kettering, before moving back indoors to celebrate St Andrew’s Day by making shortbread for our final formal Troop Night meeting of the term
- eight of the Kracken Explorer Unit helped the Troop run the Wide Game – which we hope to be the first of many such links we forge in the coming years. As well as our ex-Scouts Luke and Ryan linking from the Troop to the Kracken Explorer Unit, other ex-Scouts have been joining from other troops – it is great to see our “next step” flourishing with over 20 members.
Yes, just as we thought we were now past the peak of Covid, it came back again. We continue to plan for a better future, but commit to offering the best Scouting as safely and as normally as we are able for our young people….
