The Oak

 

The mighty Oak out in its majesty as slowly but surely leaves and buds are all coming out as it warms up. We're fortunate to have a good number here.

Kite flying

 Flying a kite on a breezy day is lot of fun.

Ivanhoe Beacon

Ivanhoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire is a place I like to visit from time to time for just socializing to having fun with kites on.

Owned and managed by the National Trust, it is most popular recreational area especially in spring and summer.

Camp and picnic time

 

Camp and Picnics are very much on mind this morning as I'm going to one tomorrow and have my packaging to do where hopefully the catering will turn out better than it did for this group of lads where it appears to be a bit off as it were.

It's to be seen if anyone attempts a campfire as it may be a bit showery.

Be the change!

 The environment matters having walked past many daffodils today and also seen some man made messes along the way.

Environmental activism is something worth encouraging from litter picks, to making a bug hotel or planting more wild flowers to help bees which are facing many challenges from both climate, reduced habit by our actions and preditors.

In Scouts and Girl Guiding we talk about and encourage this but also the children's tv show Blue Peter also does having a  "Green Badge" that children upto 15 years can submit eveidence of what they've done and win a badge which itself is made from recycled plastic.

Roasting by a camp fire!

 

On the morning after it was leaked the icon BBC Tv show Blue Peter was to cease to be broadcast live and go internet only, this was an unforgettable  live accident from 1971 I recall seeing although sadly not in colour.

The girlguides had been invited to talk about what what being a  girl guide was and as part of the end of that feature a traditional wooden campfire had been lit in the studio back then the BBC Centre, West London.

Few people realized on set the campfire had started to get out of control as the Brownies next to it were singing a campfire song, which as people in scouting we do,  and had to be ushered away as it was extinguished.

That of course was seen live and did cause some concern to young viewers.

The scouts V E letter program

 

* Photo Credit Martin Milner

As part of the build up towards the 80th anniversary of Victory In Europe Day, scouts and youth organizations generally are being encouraged to write to veterans in a  letter exchange program to find out more directly from those who experienced it, what it was like and what their own experiences were.

Beyond that, it is about learning and handing down values that help us survive, freeing millions from brutal dictatorship and the personal sacrifices that we in such situations are called upon.

I was fortunate to have around in my early years family and friends who had served and were prepared to talk about about their experiences and what they felt I should from that so I'm very much in favour of the V E Letter initiative.

Here two beavers are working on their contribution.