Cub Scouts raise funds

5th Tyldesley Cub Scouts being congratulated by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burham for raising £67,000 in memory of those who lost lives at the Manchester Arena Bombing as part of the Greater Manchester Bee Badge Campaign.

The Assistant Cub Scout leader lost a cousin to the events of that night.

On Parade

A look back at the past with a group of French Wolf Cubs on parade from the 1950's looking extremely smart and showing what is lacking in today's modern equivalent 

The Sixer Annual

Something I had in what was a "second time around" Christmas this year was this annual.

Published by Purnell and Sons a big publisher of annuals in 1973, the annual bills itself as being "For all cub scouts" so while the title plays on the role of the Sixer in scouting, it's not just for them.

What we have are stories of adventure based around fiction cub scouts but routed in the rules and Law that illuminate how in certain situations a cub scout would be expected to act and showing potential consequences if he were not to.

There are a number of articles connected with the badges that back then you could be awarded and what would be required as the evidence of your knowledge so part of the requirements for the Scientist badge are explained and the six projects of which you must chose four to demonstrate to the examiner for Part A and goes on to show you how to make a Morse Signaller that you can send Morse Code with.

There are a number of construction projects connected around making a Weather Station for either the Handyman or Gold Arrow Badges together with an article on nature covering identifying birds, mammals, trees and flowers.

Because as I explained earlier on in this blog it wasn't just training, there are suggestions for cub scout games to play as part of your pack or inter-pack competitions.

This to me gives a good flavour of the things I can attempt myself to learn this time around as that cub scout in spirit which in its own way to a cub scout at the time it would of served who then would of been in a pack having things signed off for your formal awarding.

Winter Scout

A scout has made a snow-scout in his uniform and is posed proudly by it.

He has shown resourcefulness, in sculpting the snow to make the basic snow man shape, creating the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons but also in taking a neckerchief, making a Investiture Badge and attaching his patrols flag to it.

Christmas

Cub Scouts at 11th Ipswich scouts, Suffolk submit their entry to the  St. Mary Le Tower Christmas Tree festival with each cub making their own decoration such as reindeer and snow flakes in what has become a new tradition for the pack.

The event features exhibits from other local organizations and charities in the town.

This is a good example of how encouraging the learning of handcrafts can go hand in hand with the Cub and his pack being a part of the wider community which is part of what Citizenship means.

That 70's Cub

The image of what I recall a boy scout in the 1970′s especially the period my younger brothers were in it was very much this. Green cap and jersey, the colourful necker and shorts. Long socks with green garters to keep them smartly full pulled up at all times went with them.

Finding some of them when I first started regressing around the age of sixteen was part of my earliest and most memorable attempts at dressing to match that younger than my years boy self then as it wouldn't of been long before he'd of transferred to the Scouts so parts of the uniform of of been redundant and left in a draw I explored.

Longs tended to be what an increasing number of Boy Scouts -those in the 10 ½ through 14+ -were wearing reflecting the changes in school uniform in an era where boys casually wore jeans and little else although shorts were worn at camp.

British Boys Scout Association

Members of a British Boy Scouts Association pack on parade who look smarter in their more vintage scouting uniform compared to the Scout Association’s current one although I will add they did avoid the 'too cool' excesses that Girl Guiding went through in the 2000's with what was essentially branded casual sports influenced wear that later had to be reversed.

Baden Powell Scouts

First Longridge Baden Powell Scout Group.  

From the changes that came in from the mid sixties looking at perceived challenges and threats to the role that scouting including the Wolf Cubs came from a wider variety of interests of boys and social attitudes changes started to made to the Scouting Program as well as the naming of each part of the scouting family and their uniforms.

This met with some opposition who felt  BP's vision of Scouting was being watered down leading to the formation of newer groups that kept much of what had gone before and actually in a number of areas, brand new units have been established proving popular with the people who in this difference of opinion matter - the young people - who clearly love a challenge.

The Baden Powell Scouts were the first to accept membership of Girls and also introduced a stripped down management style that today uses the internet for much of its work mixing tradition and modernity.

You can see more of that tradition when you look at the uniform and Standard and that those young people are happy to be a part of that tradition, not wishing to re-invent themselves and carry it forward.

Wolf Cubs

Wolf Cubs British Boy Scouts. 

Wolf Cubs were removed from The Scouting Association after 1967 and became “Cub Scouts” in a series of changes that lead to the formation of the Baden Powell Scouts Association in 1970 that kept more of the traditional scouting  principals and uniform.

Wolf Cub attire

Wolf Cub Catalogue, Boy Scouts of Canada, 1963/64, that listed all the things a Wolf Cub of that era needed both attire and useful tools. 

A good number of boys in Canada lived in areas that depended on mail order so catalogues for things like this as well as school wear were needed.

He looks smart and very boyish in his uniform, ready to commence an adventure.

The Cub Scout Law

“A Cub Scout always does his best, thinks of others before himself and does a Good Turn every day.”

This is a very good start point which is why I’ve typed this because it covers a few fundamentals of which one is no one perfect at everything and so you may well struggle but you carry on trying until you have done your very best in everything.

People can struggle around feeling happy and finding joy in their lives  but being focused on our need for this is to get things the wrong way around. We find joy and enjoy our lives with others when we think about what would make other people happy and what they’d like you to do that would help and less on what we’d want to do. We put our thoughts having done that into action.

The phrase Good Turn can be misunderstood in everyday speech. We all have chores that we do to help those who help us in certain situations but they are not Good Turns. A Good Turn is something extra that helps others. We don’t just do what we ‘have to’, we look beyond at what needs to be done and do it.

If the aim of scouting is to prepare people for life, then getting our motivations and responsibilities to ourselves and to others aright matters a good deal so we do move on from dependency to higher levels of personal independence and   responsibility.

If like me you missed much of this, being a “cub scout in spirit” can help in focusing away from past bad habits putting you on a better road to living.  

I have dedicated myself to living by these principals from now on as a ‘little’.

Image source: zealouspirateking who took the photo.

Your Salute

Making your salute properly is important in all branches of Scouting as it is used not on certain formal in uniform occasions such as flag break but also to greet Akela

It is the sign used whenever any member of the scout movement needs to make his promise.

The three fingers of the salute and sign remind you of the three parts of the cub scout promise.

Cub Scout Badges

One thing I would of done is worked on and been awarded badges for merit  I have a number though I have obtained that do align to what I had and have shown since to have met the criteria for them to had been awarded at that time.

There are few more not photographed but they exist in my world as almost a “compensatory award” being those I would of been awarded had my folks enrolled me with my peers and bizarrely my own siblings who were in scouting.

As what you’d of learned is in effect passported through the movement as part of your training for life and I have this abilities and skills, to have some now makes sense - validation of a capable disabled boys abilities and character.

Scouts action figures

 As a boy I loved playing with my action figures, several Action Man's with a ton of accessories both physical things such as dinghies and Jeeps but story cassette tapes to act out.

Americans who were Cub Scouts were jolly fortunate that Kenner catered for them by marketing a entire range of Cub Scouts and Scout action figures that were pretty realisic wearing the mid 70's U.S. uniform, belt and neckerchief.

These were approved by the Boy Scouts of America and rated at 4 and up.

If only the Scout Association had licensed a UK series of Cubs and Scouts for us.

Starting the journey

 

 For me this is a journey back in time at least in spirit going on an adventure but also looking for that spirit of adventure not tapped entirely into at the time but still the the boy in me that has that need to fulfill and challenge himself.

I can move along, joining the journey and grow in proportion that I am prepared NOT to give in to myself at the first hurdle I may encounter but learn to master it myself, learning life lessons.

Giving it a go

 Fishing it had to be said was not a thing I proved to be good at to be honest although I did give it my best shot having issues with my co-ordination.

I think it's important to at least try things you've never done before even if ultimately it isn't you  because how else are you to know what your true potential is?

Stepping up

Scouts here in the United States as elsewhere are doing a Good Turn helping people in their community.

We need to be prepared to help our neighbour as ourselves. 

Cub Scout Neckers

Image credits: Albert Prendergast Ltd.

Cub Scout Neckers In Multi Colours

These neckers have been made in a larger size and would easily fit an adult. They are made from cotton and have a split colour design to the main body. They are trimmed in 3 contrasting colours at the two visible edges. They look fantastic when they have been rolled correctly. (See the pictures.) The neckers measures 46 inches wide and 22 inches deep. The 3 colour border trim measures just under 2 inches. They have been hand made and are of a fantastic quality.

2 colour and trim combinations to choose from.

Price: £19.99 (Including VAT at 20%)

Running the show

 In order to have well run Scouts you need well trained people usually volunteers to organize each section not just looking at administration and safety that today rightly includes safeguarding but also organizing of activities for each session.

This publication although American in origin is more concerned  with their versions of Cubs and Scouts for their Scout Leaders at Pack level.

Anime inspirations

Inspirations when it comes to this whole thing can and do include popular culture such as the warrior-child Naruto who is the main player of an anime and manga series that shares his name, as he battles to be his best self.

Manga art can include scouting itself such as this of two scouts sharing an iPad while no doubt trying to earn awards.

Calculating Your Cap Or Hat Size

Albert Prendergast

Choosing a cap or hat of the correct size is essential. Heads come in all shapes and sizes and there is no such thing as an average size. It is important that you are confident that you are ordering a cap or hat that will fit you well.

Cap and hat sizes are generally measured in one of three different sizing scales; British, North American or European/Metric.

British headwear sizes are given in an imperial measurement and the sizes usually range from 6 ½ to 8. North America use the imperial scale however measurements are an eighth of an inch larger than the British system. European cap sizes use the metric sizing standard which is a measure of head circumference given in centimeters. Metric sizes usually range from 52 - 64.

All Albert Prendergast headwear use the British imperial sizing standard. When ordering a cap or hat you will need to enter your size in this standard.

A conversion chart is shown here to convert from North American or European metric to British imperial sizes.

British (inch) ———– U.S. (inch) ————— European (cm)

   6 5/8 ———————– 6 ¾ ———————— 54

   6 ¾ ———————– 6 7/8 ———————— 55

   6 7/8 ———————– 7 —————————— 56

   7 —————————- 7 1/8 ————————- 57

   7 1/8 ———————- 7 ¼ ————————- 58

   7 ¼ ———————- 7 3/8 ————————- 59

   7 3/8 ———————- 7 ½ ————————- 60

   7 ½ ———————- 7 5/8 ————————- 61

   7 5/8 ———————- 8 ¾ ————————- 62

   7 ¾ ———————- 7 7/8 ————————-  63

   7 7/8 ———————- 8 ——————————- 64

To calculate your metric cap size a measurement of the head circumference should be taken in centimeters. This is best achieved by passing a cloth tape measure around the head. Alternatively a piece of string may be used and measured against a ruler or tape measure. It is important that this measurement is taken where the base of the cap or hat would normally rest. To take a measurement position the tape measure or string so that it rests just above the brow at the front of the head, touching the top of the ears at the side. Pull the tape so that is taught but not too tight and take a measurement.

Take the measurement in centimetres and convert it to British imperial using the chart given above.

The outdoors and me

While some of the things you do or for me what I would of done are indoors, really for much especially when the weather is good then you would use outdoor space because being outdoors is inheritantly healthier for you.

I was by nature more the outdoor child, loving to feel the breeze and sun upon my body, playing in the woods and communual recreation areas with other boys and that love for it comes in in the recreation of those experiences today.

Of course had the path run true for me back then they'd of been in tandem sharing the same friends.
 

Early 1970's Cub Scouts

Third Tynemouth Cub Scouts in the 1970′s looking very much as I remember seeing my siblings in their uniforms except for such local variations such as their Neckerchief. 

Note the boys long grey socks were held up with traditional what elastic garters with green tabs as socks with lycra didn't exist then and in any event it looks very neat.

Looking back at Remembrance

Sunday is Remembrance Sunday this year so I thought in this blog I'd post a a bit about that as it applies with Scouting.

For a good many years from childhood with my older brother I did go from door to door selling Poppies which in this country are made for the Royal British Legion and I'd join him parading as he was an older scout

Parades were rather like that, in groups such as Scouts, Girl Guides, Boys Brigade, then people like the Roayl British Legion, local notables and politicians followed by the Member of Parliament and their security people.

Although I wasn't good on my feet I enjoyed marching and joining in with it all as remembring the people who died for our freedom and country matters.

Wolf Cub Cap

Albert Prendergast

Wolf cub scout cap in an adult size.

Still worn by a number of traditional UK wolf cub groups.

Made from traditional green wool flannel and gold rope braid.

Brand new and specially made for ‘Albert Prendergast’.

Price: £47.99 (Including VAT at 20%)

Guy Fawkes Night

 

After the fun of Halloween comes Guy Fawkes Night which as a child I always loved attending displays at boarding school where of necessity we held our own, supported by parents and where we were at home community ones.

In many areas Scouts do run fireworks displays, fully marshalled with funds raised going to the local scout group.

Here we can see the carefully planned displays shooting all manner of shapes as the colours emitted hold your attention over the crackling of the bonfire.

Guy Fawkes Procession

 

Given the time of year I thought I'd post this classic picture of the Ellesmere, Shropshire  Scouts here in the West Midlands region on a torch lit procession and fireworks display at Whitchurch in the north of the County.

Getting that cubby feeling

This last week has been interesting with the usual mix of a few decades past and the current intermingled as the post on the main blog on Friday will show with found memories of original childhood experienced in my second as that child in an adult body.
It has also been an interesting one for being out exploring nature, watching, feeling and hearing it intently.

I have observed the habits of Squirrels, watched on a daily basis the changes in the hue and colour of the leaves on all our local trees and a good many insects.
Indeed actually on Saturday, I observed at close quarters hundreds of Ladybirds out in the fall sun that must of emerged.

An example of the Harlequin Ladybird I saw is this one which I took a picture of while a wasp seemed to take an interest in my hat!

Wild berries were also out too although normally it is a little late in the season to see them.

While I can never be invested into the cubs nor actually be awarded the badges, this week I feel the sense of being a cub scout in spirit learning more his woodcraft  and scouting skills such as observation while having fun.
The very things that are passported into the remainder of your life after that stage.

Prayer

There was a part of this year where having been facing death, I just felt I had to actually pray and while in connexion with my own religious beliefs this takes more the form of understanding yourself as God's own creation, focusing on what is right with it through silent prayer and reflection, nonetheless I found myself praying the above prayer aloud.

Atonement for me means the at-one-ment with God, the renewal of that past bond and the re-dedication to serving, making a difference for the better in the lives of others and through that your own.

Becoming a Cub in spirit

We've mentioned the origins of this blog in the introduction and touched upon in the second the start point of how it would apply as this eternal "age dysphoric" boy returning to what might of been and resuming.

To get going you really need some kind of guide that gives a clear expectation of the things I would of been expected to had worked towards with your badges and awards over that period.

This will help because it sets the challenges, the things to learn and to gain experience of while providing some of the information you need for that I'd of gone through and I need to be challenged to grow to learn to do and look after myself, to learn about my environment and community, gaining a sense of purpose while having fun.

I'm ready to take it on.

The Forever Cub Scout

This account is mainly around the Cub Scout who wasn’t able at the time to be the one he felt because his folks never even considered enrolling him in something that not only his classes pack of boys all belong to but something actually of helped when it came to life skills and provided appropriate socializing opportunities for that boy.

It says a lot about how that affected me that when I first started age regressing with my mixture of physical and developmental disabilities that it was this I returned to and today I am a cub scout in spirit following similar challenges, developing new interests and having adventures to learn lif skills and have fun doing so.

That was how it was supposed to have been back then and believe me it’s been the best thing so far for me.

Pix credits:  Cut of from the 1979 Cub Scout annual showing the then uniform I’d of gladly worn.

The Trek

Going on an expedition, fully prepared knowing exactly the way with your standard in hand. What it’s all about.

On a trip out, you wait with your leader - you might call him "old Bill" until everyone is accounted for as he sees to it you are looking smart at all times.

100 years of Cubs

 Cubs. Who'd want to miss that even in its modern form?

A hundred years of Cubs, from a couple of years back and these youngsters sure wouldn't with a number wearing uniform only a little different from what I recall as a lad.

The Adventure of Life and You

What does this thing "Being on The Adventure of Life" actually mean?

I think it means looking at life not as just something to which you are a passive member of, waiting for inspiration from others, just being caught in its flow but more personally involved in looking at the path you wish you life to to go down by learning skills, doing new and exciting things and creating your own fun.

It's about feeling alive in your own skin, being confident you know what you know and critically what you don't with the knowledge on where to find it so you move on rather than stopping at first base.

It's the moment you realize You stand up and take responsibility for You.

The great outdoor cooking challenge

Having got a fire going, it is time to get some old school cooking done so given we've no controls, you have to sit by turning things over to ensure through cooking, removing when properly cooked ready for the remainder of the pack.

Introduction pt.2

Where do I begin writing this Blog?

The blog started out on Tumblr during a period of issues on that site we need not go that much into but it's enough to say I felt a separate new Tumblr with a narrower focus than one that with having those issues was needed.

For me one simple and painful issue from the past remains, how it was something I wanted to join and be a part of that had every potential to transform my life was effectively blocked not by that organization but by parental attitudes so it was unlike even my own siblings I was never invested into Scouting at ANY level

I had written a few bits on That Uniformed Schoolboy about this in the past so don't wish to go over old ground but one of things is while it is perfectly true to say we can't go back to 1972 and put that right I need not stay holding that sense of lost opportunity.

I'm sure any Akela would say to me now it makes more sense to do something about it positively and that is what I'm doing obviously not by being a member of a Cub Scout pack as much as a pack for developmentally developed disabled adults who are very much boys might well be a good thing but by following more what I'd of done then as a Pack Member.

That as time would of gone on is what you do as a Scout, a Venture Scout and so on as you move on but still in that Family doing more things involving personal planning, initiative and responsibility even if I didn't make first base.

So that's more what I am doing using the resources around me to fill in the gaps that weren't covered through other opportunities through school based activities such as orienteering and hiking or those areas where I did develop the skills to had been awarded badges for in the wider community 

Over and out, Chris

 Seeing it is halloween, what could be more apt than a carved pumpkin with the The fleur-de-lis.

The fleur-de-lis, a three-pointed, flowerlike symbol with rich historical significance, is an essential part of Scouting iconography. 

Shining a light

There is something about the use of fire, here in torch lit parades, that somehow connects with us in a symbolic way that aids the making of Camp and of the memories it leaves us with.

Introduction

 All blogs start somewhere and this one does go back a long way although it is only in recent years I've began to explore more that past and what it means to me.

This blogger had a boyhood that in respects was fairly conventional of the period, mixing more with other children specifically boys at Playgroup before moving to Infant School which in this part of the district was combined in at the time was an inadequate Victorian school building with Juniors.

That was where we played at playtimes, acted up in class and learned things about each other as we got to grips with school life and learned of what sorts of groups outside of school each other belong to.

That was where I first learned of Scouts but as I will talk about later on there was a brick wall in the least expected of places with that at the time.

Time moves on, school to school to college eventually but while some aspects of life did change not uncommonly, a good many others given my disabilities did not so I remained this hybrid mixture and the interest I had in revisiting those areas that had helped in managing that, learning more life skills lead me to looking more at Scouting as an inspiration beyond the normal age structures as a way of making more of a life in a way that was a good fit for me.