Was it really three years ago, just two weeks into the start of Lockdown, that we announced our first 59 Club result? Yes, and unbelievably, this month’s draw completes the first three years of the 59 Club. In this time, the 1st Kettering Scout Group has benefitted by over £6,000 from the 59 Club members – for which we are so grateful as we would have never have raised this during the Covid Lockdown, leaving questions how we would have funded our kit storage, equipment renewal, and leader activity training. The 59 Club Membership has taken much of this fund raising pressure from our current young people, and the 59 Club support is still much appreciated and needed. Thank you.
Enough of us – I am sure you’ll prefer to hear about what has been going on with the Group last month!
- the Squirrel Dray spent a night talking about their Superheroes, then were visited by their very own hero Police Officer in his police car the following week – the blue flashing lights and loud sirens ‘n’ all definitely were a hit! The Squirrels then completed their Hikes Away 1 badge, walking around Kettering learning the local knowledge of Kettering’s history – the boot and shoe industry, Alfred East, the War Memorial, etc. And at the start of half term, our Dray was one of the first Drays in the county – and possibly the country – to go for a Dray Sleepover, spending the night at Overstone Scout Camp Site in Northampton, and completing the Experiment Badge, and enjoying our own camp fire.
- our Beaver Scouts too were busy – continuing working towards their Space Badge by spending an evening making little model planets and filling our own galaxies, celebrating Pancake Day the next week by stirring the pancake mix for Watford and Rio to cook, and finishing the month by starting the Digital Makers Badge with Yvonne – creating our own characters for the evening;
- our Cub Pack has suddenly filled up again with new members arriving from the Beaver Colony and outside! The Cubs carried on working towards their Community Challenge by welcoming the Mayor of Kettering to the Pack to lead an evening’s discussions about democracy, completing another part of the Community Challenge by making suet balls to feed the winter birds (I would love to know how Akela prevented a trail of greasy hand prints across Woodcroft!), and mixed and cooked tart-tin pancakes using very well-dressed candle flames (the use of naked flames is banned in Woodcroft);
- the Scouts started the month brilliantly by Matthew’s patrol winning Glendon District’s Leader Trophy back, followed with an evening of pure gluttony in the Inter-Patrol Cooking Contest. Half term was spent quietly with a group of 9 completing the Cooks Badge, and four the Survival Badge (bivvying out on a day which was warmer than the July day when we went rafting at Fotheringhay … we felt a bit of a fraud gaining the Brass Monkey Winter Camping pennant). We too celebrated Shrove Tuesday by cooking pancakes on our favourite Trangia stoves, which gave us the chance to train the Scouts to use them later in the year for our Expedition Challenge.
And February was only a 4 week month – of which one week was half term. March will also be busy, with each section running a packed programme – read next month’s episode for more details…..
