The school trip

Few things can be as enjoyable as a school trip in the countryside not least when you have views like this in South Africa as this extremely well turned out pupil of Hoerskool Die Wilgers to look out upon in glorious sunshine.

The Geography Field Trip was always something I looked forward to as a boy, a desirable perk of opting to study it to GCE O Level even if I needed firm handling when it came to do doing coursework because you didn't just learn about climates, weather and how people live you also did practical things like learn to read maps, use compasses and identify in the field geographic phenomena, even visiting caves.

Sadly with pressure on time, a more litigious society and pushing humanities and the Arts to edges of the school curriculum, few boys and girls are getting the  opportunity to do these things.

Taking a bite

After a busy time no doubt, that western staple, the Hotdog is deserved and seems to be magical cooked over the fire to order from fresh ingredients. 

Whenever I go away we try to get then from a traditional butchers or a market store that has locally sourced and very traceable as the quality is so much better using tried and tested recipes.

Lest we forget

Keep the memory

Scouts help to clean “Stolpersteine”, plaques  size 10 by 10 cm that denote the victims of the Nazis with names and dates of birth and death

Out, having a fun time

It appears these scouts in groups of two or three appear to be having great fun as the scoutmaster looks on .

While learning skills can require some self discipline and concentration, it is important to remember joyous fun should be in the mix not least to have members coming back week after week for something that is not like school.

Looking after yourself

The advisability of looking after your feet cannot be emphasized enough after a good hike, checking for blisters, cuts or infections apart from the them the chance to feel the fresh air and see some sunlight .

This is particularly so if you have conditions such as diabetes. 

How to light a fire in the rain

Many challenges faces the would-be camper and scout such as how to light a fire in the rain when you need the warmth and the means of cooking a hot meal but it seems impossible.

In this extract from  the 1954 Sports Afield Camping Annual, Ed Dodd shows just how you can and what safety measures you need to consider  in a simple comic strip style.

The past never to return?

The way things were and even with some reversions to past uniform types you could not get back to in its entirety.

The first is that leather sandals just aren't a thing for boys except at the most exclusive of children's suppliers because thanks to the importation of american values they been recast as "Mary-Janes" and so are seen as girls only. In many children's settings it's hard battle keeping fancy trainers out and shoes in!

The second is the pack itself with at least a quarter of the cub pack having girls following rule changes in last decade and before not withstanding Guiding, the official section for Girls exclusively still existing.

The shorts aren't that short which isn't necessarily a problem but getting all the pack into them including the girls and with the 'proper' turn over socks with garters may be an uphill struggle.

The first issue is the whole attitude of "a range within the uniform they may chose from" - well whatever that is it isn't a uniform because what you see on parade would not be uniformity! Winter items may have a place but as directed.

Secondly socks today are less substantial and most chain store brands are not turn over top so unless you mandated them the best you're to get a thinish grey or blue ones which aren't as smart nor as warm (at which point parents will say "too cold for shorts").

Thanks to over-reading health and safety (which does matter obviously) leather woggles are out and plastic is in lest they hurt themselves fasten the traditional one.

Boys Life

Scouting has it's publications, Boy's Life being an American publication and this being a Centenary edition reflecting the style of publication in the earlier portion of the Twentieth century, showing scouts engaged in rigged activity, applying what they've learnt.

By addressing a Boy's intrinsic adventure seeking nature it leads boys more into the world possibilities through weekly meetings, organized adventures and camps mixed in with fun games and puzzles.

Unfortunately changes within BSA  in this century have taken a large chunk of the good out of with both the admittance of of girls and also moves to accept 'trans persons' and those who label themselves as gender-less so it doesn't tap into what made so good for boys as it has to look at things in a less boy centred way.

Enjoying the snow

The Winter Scout is out exploring in the snow and to be honest I'd say right now  "I so wish" because it's not snowing so much as it is a degree above freezing and very icy which isn't much good for me whereas thick powdery snow is fine for me to be out in.

Modern Winter's tend to be less cold probably connected with climate change and the warming up in the last fifteen to twenty years compared with those in my youth and it has lead to more of this less good and less 'clear the air' winter temperatures killing bugs off weather we're having.

The Peak District

Continuing a little with yesterday's theme, here we have hikers at Dovedale, on the Staffordshire and Derbyshire border in the Peak District national park on a bright sunny day.

I really like the rustic wooden bridge.

This area is very popular for Guides, Scouts and other youth organizations to visit, some never having the experience to get out seeing things from a great distance such as these ten and eleven year olds.

Nature here is beautiful and their are natural trails you can follow.

National Parks

The establishment of National Parks in the States expanded upon under the New Deal, lead in the immediate aftermath of WW2 to the then Labour government establishing a framework for National Parks within the UK as much land had been owned and controlled exclusively by estates for the benefit of their owners alone.

Such National Parks are often close to major population centres such as the Peak District surrounding the Manchester, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent and Derbyshire areas in the North and North-west Midlands of England.

This has lead to much camping and hiking activity being made available for the millions in this area including Scouts and Girl Guilding members.

Getting Through

The undergrowth can be a challenge from last years mishap with nettles to getting through a a bit of a clearing in the Winter forest where even shown of foliage, branches need to be pushed aside to get to where you wish to be.

Being ably lead, these scouts have got that under control using the side of the standard and  a spare hand so they will make their way through without scars.

Picture from sources that can't be used at Tumblr, enhanced by me,

The Gathering

The call of the roaring fire summons the Scouts together in an act of unity.

Never underestimate the value of symbols in our lives, speaking to us in a language we may not get at the intellectual level but are most proficient in emotionally and spiritually.

Togetherness

Some people might say the past is a foreign country where things and ways were different although there's a heck of lot of boyhood me in this picture but I feel if you scratch the surface the outdoor boy is pretty much the same as he always was.

There's something magical about that outdoor BB-Q whither it's done on a bespoke one or over a fire you have made yourself as we all help in making it happen cos we're just drawn to it like a moth to the flame.

It may be a special camp, it could just be an event to mark a boy's birthday but it will leave mark in minds of all there, a memory and that's what we need to help keep us moving forward no matter what adversity we my face.

Making your way down

The thing about having made it all the way to the top is you have make your descent too which I suspect this group of boys and their leader are finding out soon enough as I know I'd need support to come down their myself. 

The one on the front right I feel has the right idea, use  as solid support to edge your way down especially if there's any damp moss about which is what I do locally if I'm on my own.

Now and then under the stars

Vintage camping is something I find fascinating in part because of what I was talking about yesterday the sense in which in the past to go camping WAS to rough it, learning to master the elements  and also from what would be considered as acceptable in terms of health and safety then today we may not for instance this fire may be judged "too close" to the tent today when in 1923 it wasn't.

A Swedish lad carrying a straw mattress to camp in 1938 today you may have a sleeping bag or possibly an inflatable bed.

Lanterns

Making traditional wooden candle lanterns may seem an odd thing in an age of Torches (US: Flashlights), but aesthetically there really is no comparison with stained and varnished wood to plastic never mind the smell of candle wax.

These scouts certainly have demonstrated their woodwook and craft skills well

Scouts in the country

This is different and I am not sure if in Britain today you would see it but here are German scouts one looking possibly their equivalent of a cub on a tractor which given they're in full uniform would suggest this is an official activity by what to me looks like a farmhouse.

Maybe it is  a working farm that allow folk to camp on site which do exist here which would explain why the tractor existed?

The older scout

A group of older scouts in Germany looking very smart in their more traditional uniform while talking to each other with the wide brimmed bush hat which is straight out of Scouting For Boys steeped in B-P's own adventures that lead to it.

Thee sense each boy is at ease with each other is telling.

Winter Mountain Time

Original source:Winter Shorts Fan

While it's unseasonably warm and breezy here this morning, it isn't unknown for it to snow especially in more mountainous parts or even our steepest hills so while out scouting I too would be in shorts in the snow and they certainly look fine in it.

Sometimes I do feel we project rather more into how we should dress while outdoors than is really called for.

Seasonal renewals

As I have been been able to be outdoors with this damaged ankle one thing I noticed was the annual growths on these trees nearby in an area of subsidence in the middle of the built up patch.

One advantage of having this patch is you often see birds and  grey squirrels moving between the trees just making the way to the local amenities.

Putting your back into it

Scouts digging holes for planting which is something I remember doing around their age usually around spring but all depends on what you're planning to grow and this looks to be a patch of woodland not unlike here adjacent to a housing development.

Learning to do this and monitoring their developments are a good thing to be doing.

Cubs beyond these shores

Source: norlington3 Additional processing by me.

Scouting extends beyond the United Kingdom even when it the basic forms are the same as the British Isles is more than the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but covers politically independent islands such as the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man has its history, a language of its own Manx based on Gallic even if English is the main spoken language and elements of modern culture hold as much to that of Lancashire in the adjacent English North-west enjoying ties while being very much its own country.

I am not sure if it is that these Cubs Scouts in a picture taken in 1970 on the Island are actually Cubs Scouts from there or if they may of been visitors from a troop in the North West of England as tourism is a big thing  but they look like the post 1967 cub scouts I recall as a child here in Staffordshire.

Wheeled outdoor fun

The second post of the year and what we're looking at is more unstructured enjoyment of boys in the outdoors than things like Scouting, The Boys Brigade or Woodland Folk which really the mainstay of this blog.

Here the boys have rigged together a go kart chassis from wood with smaller diameter wheels and at the rear added a rod for both steering it and for other boys to provide the power by pushing it.

The great thing is apart from the engineering skills they've used is they are undertaking exercise in the outdoors, taking in what is around them but in a way that is enjoyable which given the problems we have with boys and girls being stuck on smartphones and gaming is a very good thing. 

Renewing the Promise and Law

Today is the first day of the New Year so it falls to me to renew  the Wolf Cub Promise.

"I promise to Do My Best.
To do my duty to God, and to the Queen,
To keep the Law of the Wolf Cub Pack,

and to do a good turn to somebody every day."

The Wolf Cub Law is...

"The Cub gives in to the Old Wolf.

The Cub does not give in to himself."

Our Motto is "Do Your Best

I undertake to keep the Promise and uphold the Law Jan 1, 2020 
Signed Christopher Rigby