Race Round The World

 

Pix credit: Scout Association

This year has not been a great one due to that one thing we cannot control although the Scout Association (and other members of the scouting family) did much sterling work keeping scouting alive during lockdown and are are working through arrangements subject to local guidance on reopening, something many beavers, cubs and scouts are beginning to enjoy again.

There is however a worry on the horizon and it is this:

Traditionally fundraising has involved various kinds of community events, sponsored activities. car boot sales, fireworks displays and the like but thanks to Covid much of this has proved impossible meaning some 500 Scout Groups are at risk of closure due to insufficient funds to pay for activities and the like.

Now like me you may well feel this is would be a terrible shame for children and young people because you learn so much though scouting apart from the friendships that are formed so the Scouting Association are holding a fund raising campaign and event "Race Round The World" to try to avoid this.

Race Round The World

You can either take part in an event OR make a donation for which you will need a debit or credit card.

I've donated, perhaps you may like to help out?

Cubbing Autumn 2020 style

Rovering, exploring call it what you want, it's all a part of scouting and so this week gone I was out exploring the woodlands near where I live

As we enter the wood from a residential area, you can see how denuded the top of the tree is looking very stark.

Further along though and you see the colourful tree canopies where often you can see and hear the local birds during the daytime.

Here you can see the interesting shapes of the branches as they throw out from the trunk and the glistening sun kissed foliage.

The thing I love most of all about the autumn is the riot of deep crisp colour and here you can see just how some of the foliage has changed to a copper colour.

It is just magical.

Something we see a lot of at this time of year is Acorns that are collected and stored by the resident squirrels which I have seen a fair bit of this year.

Poised

Just what this Scout may be doing with latex gloves on in the outdoors is hard to say as what his knee is resting on is like shingles or tiny pebbles in a walled off area while his opposite number is standing up also in gloves.

The pose suggests some degree of attentiveness, looking forward with his back straight os maybe he's waiting some instructions from the Scout leader???
Given the surface, the leather boots with a thick sole would appear to make sense. 

It's very much much the Conker season as every Cub and Scout used to know so we'd look around for them before strengthening in vinegar and threading string in them to play that old British schoolboy game.

Autumn in the field

 

Continuing on Autumn, across the fields I have spent quite a bit of my spare time exploring this year it's showing itself as the harvest season is over and the leaves are turning a coppery colour.

You'll spot the tractor tracks along the pathway that leads to the gate of the next field you need to enter.

In the background you can see the bales ready for next year.

The Nursery in Autumn

 I was out exploring last week so today we're off to a working Nursery.

The nursery itself is made up of a number of traditional farmers barns which go back many decades and this is the main entrance with old school rustic wooden gates.

Situated on the left hand gate, I saw this teddy bear carefully positioned who has been keeping an eye out since March at least as that was when I first saw it.

Here you can see the wall detail on the barnyard buildings.

The old wide barn door entrance is towards the centre and depending upon the time of day you see workers going in and vehicles driving on and off site as it is a right of way leading to nearby countryside.

That in the current situation has been a godsend for locals looking for fresh air and to escape feeling locked in and isolated.

Obviously you must take care and remember it is working site with some plantations to the rear of the nursery buildings and across the road so there is some traffic apart from deliveries.

Think big

Engineering abilities and the art of improvization are on display here as the Explorer scouts build a big structure between the trees from wood showing strong teamwork too as one looks on supervising.

These Scouts would be hard to beat and a very real reflection of what they have learnt every since they joined as young boys, a credit to the movement.

Re-opening

 As we move very much into Autumn with some uncertainty regarding arrangements across England around handling the pandemic, arrangements and instruction around re-opening scout packs, things to consider when looking at the potential risks and the usage of virtual meetings is being rolled out within the Scouting Family.

There has been some changes starting Wednesday that amongst other things apply to my area when it comes to Government Guidelines that we did not expect when at the start of last month that naturally filter through such arrangements so leaders are expected to keep abreast of local changes, adapting the guidance Scout Association and others are giving as this whole situation is likely to remain fluid.

Still for all of this, Scouting is continuing dealing with this challenge as it has with overs over the decades since we came into being.

On the chew

 

In one of the sunnier days recently I went out exploring locally only to find him in a neighbourhood freehold where depending on the time of year you get a variety of farmyard animals plus given the area's love of horses and horse events, naturally enough horses.

Here he was caught chewing the grass that did a favour for the landowner in preventing it growing long and unmanageable while also enriching the soil with his deposits.

Actually my late grandfather used to collect them using them as fertilizer for his many plants as a keen amateur gardener.

Something for the birds

 

I used to have a Pyracanth and always loved the berries on it which the birds helped themselves to at this time of year but while making my way back from exploring I came by this great example along the way.

They are very colourful, aided by being illuminated by the soft autumnal sun  helping to support bio-diversity locally.

Camp and responsibilities

 While it continues to pour down here and I'm recovering from a condition that periodically makes an appearance my mind is drifting back a little.

One of the great things about camp is that whole notion of all of you working together as a single unit making the whole time together so much fun in all the activities, the more fun ones and the chores we have to do to ensure it happens and we are responsible in how we treat the environment we hold it in.

Stewardship is an important principle based on the idea we are responsible for the long term wellbeing of land and resources even though we may only be using for a limited period because what we do (or fail to do) has consequences for those who come after us.

If we hold camp outdoors we must ensure we do not damage where we are, we do tidy up our site ready for the next users and any fires we light are properly extinguished before we move on.

Waving in the sun

 

    

Although the weather hasn't been that great in the last few days, we resume back in the fields exploring as we get well into the Autumn with these waving majestically into the blue sky as the harvesting is complete now all around them ready for the next planting season.

Insectwise there has been a good number of butterflies, bees and unfortunately mosquitos about as I did get a few puncture marks a few days ago when they tried to dine on me but touch wood there's been no reaction for once.

I had also noticed a number of Starlings about locally too in the last couple of weeks and swans flying overhead. 

Biddulph Grange

Much of this weekend hasn't been very conductive towards exploring with it raining very hard with strong winds across much of the Midlands and yet normally it's a magical time to be out so with that I'll rewind the clock a little with a reminder from a lovely place just a few miles from here.

Biddulph Grange Gardens was developed by James Bateman, the President of the North Staffordshire Field Society in the nineteenth century near but not actually in the Biddulph Grange Country Park in the former mining town here in North Staffordshire which thanks to geography also has access to some fine countryside around Congleton Edge.

Each garden is a self contained area with plants flowers and structures that are representative of an area such as Egypt and Italy and the picture above is of the Chinese garden with typical structures including the Great Wall.

The actual garden designs were by James and his wife Maria.

Having been there several times, I have to say it, currently owned and extensively restored from the days it was a children's and then orthopedic hospital site by the National Trust is simply superb

On the appointment of a new joint President of the Scouting Association

We have now moved into a new month here on Scouting and me so as part of this blogs remit is scouting today we begin the month with some good news.

It was announced Wednesday September 30th that Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge would be joint President with the Duke of Kent of the Scouting Association, the main scouting body in the United Kingdom.

Here she is pictured with Cubs and Beavers in Northolt, Middlesex spending time with them where she also toasted marshmallows.

The Duchess has always taken both an interest in the outdoors and also in children, specifically play, development and welfare so it is most fitting she should take up such an important role.

She has been with Cubs before at various official engagements always feeling at home with and around them, so I would say there's a strong affinity.

Congratulations!

Photo credits: i-images pool NPR Public Domain