Anniversaries

Marking 75 years of Scouting with pictures of Scouts from this pack across the years in the era I was in my teens my own milestone achievements.

Camp

More camping, some can be traditional as in tents on a pitch with facilities such as a washroom and toilet block while others can  be more hostel based with dorms, food preparation facilities rather like the Centre Parcs sites here in the UK.

Personally I'm with the traditionalists although the main thing is to put in practise your skills, learn more skills and learn to be a unit.

The winter scout

Winter it must be said is a challenging time for the scout for he faces hard frosty ground to walk upon, the possibilities of ice where he may not see it and snow which is forecast  for the upcoming week.

Your training part of which I am going through will equip you with the skills to keep yourself safe while being out, to make good judgment calls and develop a suitably boyish hardiness in you while respecting nature and her challenges.

The BSA Necker

A smart BSA boy scouts uniform. 

When the BSA designed this scarf, They deliberately made it the size of a sling. 

The BSA Boy Scout Handbook

A few excerpts from the 1960 Boy Scout Handbook giving a flavour of life in the Boy Scouts Association of America in era the US entered the space race.

Source:vintagecamping.tumblr.com

Cub week report

I doubt if the phrase "Scouting for Adult Boys" is one B.P. would of recognized although I am reasonable sure he'd get the idea a man always keeps a part of boyside with him and draw from those experiences.

For me being this adult "cub in spirit" is a big thing and so it has been I spent a bit of time in the field working on alertness and being attentive to detail with the sounds, sight and smells at hand.

Here we have a fine specimen of a tree with it's highly textured bark I spent sometime exploring .

The grey bark of this tree contrasts with much of its surroundings throwing out long branches up toward the sky as I walked along a carpet of squelchy leaves.
As it is winter the leaves died back a good three months back but they'll return

I noticed this group of Catkins were out  among many in this stretch of the wood looking closely at each segment as they hang so delicately from the branches.

While about I did spot a grey squirrel playing around the trees and undertook a three mile walk in showery conditions across uneven ground to help build up my stamina.

Acknowledgment

I did earlier on in this blog refer to making that salute, one of the very first things you learn and here we see it in action as one scout greats another also making the scouting handshake.

One doesn't know how long it has taken these two to meet up and one thing about today compared to when I grew up was we didn't have instant communication at hand so when you were away from your home apart from a call box you put money in to make a telephone call you were very much one your own.

It appears the scout on the right has brought the units Standard with him apart from anything else that might be of use such as a map and compass in the traditional hessian rucksack.

Making a memory

Arriving as a group and taking a picture of it are rituals of themselves and for me such things are around having a permanent memory of the occasion you can refer to not least when your mind does wonder back to your achievements.

With the small number of school pictures I have I certainly find that as you put names to faces and add detail to what it was you were all doing.

I find a small pocket camera ideal as it takes little space to carry in your pocket, has less 'faff' compared to more specialist ones so you can just capture the moment.

There is something fitting then for all of these young people in having something that not only they can recall but they too can show others of the things they did and achieved learning for  life in Scouting.

The cub scout annual 1974

If the Christmas entry on the main blog reflect that for me at least this christmas was in 1974  more or less redux then it might seem apt to look at something else of that year although it would of been Christmas 1973 because annuals are almost without exception printed in the year before the one they are for so you have for the year rather than it being the annual of the year.

The popularity of the program needless to say lead to a number of annuals for pack members and outside of The Sixer this is one of the same era I have.

It follows a similar style to The Sixer except for having less to say about the Awards and things you can do to earn them which seems odd as this one was an ‘official’ publication.

As ever, the front cover is very much activity centred this time on a camp Tug Of War between two packs with participants being encouraged by the adults in attendance that does reflect something of the spirit of being a cub in that era

Engagement!

Recently I spent some time exploring the open countryside around around me like spending time just watching and reflecting a woodland stream listening to the sounds no just of the stream but also of the wind rustling the trees and the wildlife.
I got really close to a big grey squirrel and spent a good ten minutes watching him hunt for nuts, dashing about, making big holes to put them in as he watched for predictors.
Fortunately for me I'd merged myself in the nearby fence ensuring I couldn't be easily seen so I was able to observe him at play.

 I also observed with the relatively mild conditions, the Pussy Willow had already come out while 'playing' in the local wood, getting interactive with the trees surrounded by a carpet of crisp leaves.
As well I spent ages listening to birdsong coming up from a big nest in a tree as yet other birds flew over in a v shaped formation.
I just feel so alive engaging with my inner cub.

Taking a breather

Pausing on the trek with their standard, the scouts let out a mighty sigh of relief while enjoying the view in the presence of their leader.

Good to see a fairly traditional outfit being worn even if the leader isn't in shorts which strikes me as a little odd

Going up!

There's nothing quite like a  bit of abseiling for adrenaline thrills while at camp and he looks very much set to go being observed from below.

I liked this picture although it falls beneath my usual standard with a lot of digital blocking and poor colour

Your uniform

A scouting uniform needs to take into account a number of things of which I would say the first is the actual main use it's wearer will be putting it into.
A cub scout or scout is going to be out of doors so he needs his uniform to be comfortable and hard wearing with little chance of easily being damaged by being caught on foliage 
His footwear needs to support his feet properly so they are comfortable even after walking for a few hours and hard wearing as you go through all manner of terrain and his socks need to traditional wool mix long socks to keep his legs warm without sweating.
He wears shorts because they are healthier, allowing more of his skin to breathe and the material of his dress short and shorts is hard wearing and easy for him to care for so he always looks smart.
This is a an excellent uniform. 

New Year Editions

 

After a couple of months of establishing this  Blog we enter a new year with personal growth through scouting at its core

.Just imagine it, a year I put my all in my endeavours, maturing in the process.

Happy 2019!