Knots

 

It's a cool day and time perhaps for a quick reminder of the many knots available when we need to fasten things securely out of doors as challenging with damaged hands as it is for me to do.

Cookery and scouting

 

While it is fashionable to deride anything connected to cookery on the grounds of sexism, not fittingin with  super fast lifestyles and that nonetheless in order to live well with less risks of becoming unwell, we need to eat good quality food and too much of ready meals and the like are just not healthy.

This vintage cook book from the U.S. is all based on things children from around 8 upwards could make perhaps with a bit of assistance from a adult or older sibling and while to modern eyes it may be wrong to single such attention to just girls, actually boys too need to be able cook rather putting things in the microwave for a minute.

Perhaps a modern form of this is needed?

Ice!

Depending who you believe we *may* have more cold and snow toward the weekend although the last threat for here was something of a damp squid.

Something you may well find is iclicles as I did several days back where you have strips of often on structures such as roofs and windows and these beauties were found by a Vermont Girl Scout while on winter camp.

As ever, if you're going out in very cold temperature prepare and do wrap up well.

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The Shaping Us badge

Straight from the tree, this week we have news about a new Blanket Badge for Squirrels  recently launched by the Scout Association in conjunction with the Royal Foundation.

The badge can be given to anyone who engages with the Shaping Us Framework, initiated by our Joint President, HRH The Princess of Wales.

The framework describes, in a clear and accessible way, the social and emotional skills that young people need to thrive and forms a part of passing on opportunities to discuss and develop particular social and emotional skills.

This might in game form where learning to play a game helps develop communication skills such as listening, speaking, taking turns and things like understanding each others feelings though empathy so we're able to complete the task and work with each other effectively.

This is fun!

 

Canadian Cubs out in the winter enjoying themselves on an organized day out in the woods.

Wayfaring

 

Finding your way really is a thing that matters and here these Canadian Cubs are doing an exercise armed with just what you need - a map with distinctive local features  showing and a compass - as part of a course on survival skills.

The tendency for children to be taken to everywhere by car does lessen the skills may of us aquired doing things like walking to school, our friends houses and the shop where you make a mental note of what roads and paths to cross, things along the way that we need to pass or turn into and so on which form the backbone of getting about independently on foot.

The freeze

 

Pix credits: BBC

Recent weather here resulted in snow earlier in the week and even a partially frozen canal on Saturday as temperatures plummited which has made getting about a bit akward having had a few near misses with the ice. 

That's where being prepared to do a "good turn" can be really appreciated as some people do struggle with things like getting to the shops locally or feel more isolated as tehy cannot visit friends as easy as they notmally would.