While I can see advantages to skorts or shorts for more physical activities like hiking over skirts I really don't see where 6/8ths length trousers fit in n ot least when on parade.
In scouts we don't just physical things but do exploring things connected with so-called life skills - what you need to get by in life - and this does include understanding and managing money.
There has been some changes to how and what we're teaching.
The Money Skills Activity Badge will help build young people’s confidence and understanding of money through creative, fun and hands- on activities. There are 16 fantastic challenges for Scouts and 10 exciting ones for Explorers – each with lots of brand-new, hands-on activies.
These have devised and tested by scouts, volunterers and leaders to ensure children and young people get that as the modern world often amplifies a disconnect between buying and saving for things and doing it when often parents pay for everything directly in the way in the past you did it yourself with cash.
It's often intresting when you're about just what you may encounter.
That and resilience from scouting has really helped.
Time has a way of changing things that you may remember but today's generations would have no clue where places were even.
Uniform changes over time, sometimes it reflects wider changes in fashion, sometimes more an attempt to match what various focus groups say youngsters feel more comfortable about being seen in, some times strait from the adults!
Will things go full circle in time?
One place I went to a lot in my early days was Delemere Forest near Tarporley, Cheshire where we did orienteering, and went on many a hike.
Understandablt it's a most popular choice for many Scout units in Cheshire to the point it has a camp centre where activities unto camping out are arranged and here the Tarvin cub packs are at Delemere's very own and convienent railway station.
The way we include people is worth taking a moment to think about not least for those of us who recall how organized activities tended to be back in the day.
The presumption very was one that firstly everybody had to travel together and that everybody had to do the exact same things with little or no recognition of individual needs and skills, one had to "fit in" or stay out.
Now Scouting was a good deal better than most in that good scout leaders would look at the requirements for awards and where needed make reasonable adjustements, looking at similar tests standards that you could do so it wasn't that you had an easier ride but more one of showing a level of ability or skill similar but the the same as your mates.
They included you.
Today in scouting we try to consider the impact of a lot of noise and activity on those who find it gets a bit too much and work with parents and carers to meet everybodies needs autistic, physically or learning disabled within the whole pack.
In scouts we get involved in many things, community fundraising, keeping the environment tidy, providing first aid cover but one of the oddest things we did was to to with technological changes.
In radio, individual wavelengths are allocated to Countries which in turn decide what should go where based on reception issues and priorities, some of which are very localized.
Now a series of changes came about as the result of agreement in 1977 to deal with an increased number of stations that required a series of changes to the BBC's national radio on Long and Medium wave which was quite popular in the late 1970's because of big patches in VHF FM reception.
This all happened from November 23rd 1978, swopping Radio 2 and 4 over from their long and medium wave frequencies, moving Radio one from 247 metres (1215khz) to 275 and 285 metres and taking radio 3 from 464 metres to 247.
You're away from Mum, dad and your family as much as they try to visit, your school friends are away as much as school may send on some work to help you keep on track for when you're able to resume school.
What might happen IF Scouts were running in their with an offering of arts, crafts perhaps explaining what you COULD do working towards a badge or award?
Do you think it might not just raise your spirits but actually aid your recovery, feeling more hopeful for the future?
You bet!
And it happens that a good number of Hospitals have scout units operating doing just that even if sometimes you might need to explain to some the difference you can make and how that has benefits to what a hospital is about.
Seeing we're just a week of Whit Bank Holiday and the summer, thought I'd share a few camp ideas that would be fun.
Make a tote bag from a t-shirt
Turn an old t-shirt into a handy bag for carrying your gear around camp. No sewing required!
Play musical sleeping bags
Just like musical chairs, but with sleeping bags! Set up one less sleeping bag than the number of players. Play some music, and when it stops, everyone must dive into a sleeping bag as fast as they can. The person left without one is out. Keep removing a sleeping bag each round until only one person remains!
Have a tent building race
Practice putting up a tent before camp and see who can do it the fastest. This will help you be a pro when you get there!
Generally I like to keep a certain amount of wild garden here with more of the aim of having a pleasant meadowland to look out and for our birds together with the pollenaters just ensuring it doesn't quite get to a jungle rather than the heavily mowed lawn.
It also is a bit more resilent when it comes to very dry hot periods for having some natural shade beneath as it doesn't take much for a lawn to become more a shrivilled parched mass of ex vegetation otherwise.
Pix credits: Routers Int.
Can't let this week end without something that really matters.
Scouts at Buckingham Palace, London celebrating and helping out on V.E, Day where we marked the 80th Anniversary of the end of the War in Europe and for some of us we reflected and paid respect to all those in Scouting who gave so much helping out in so many ways back then, making a huge difference.
A favourite haunt of mine growing up was the sandy beaches of Colwyn Bay, North Wales where I used to build sand castles and generally play in the summer months.
The pier remains although I feel it warrents some tlc.
While this blog doesn't go into gender identity issues notheless in scouting we do have to deal with them as they effect both children and young people apart from adults involved in delivering our programs so the recent Supreme Court ruling that Women are defined by their biological basis does have implications.
We are all working through what it means as at the sharp end it does very much into play such as providing appropriate provision in outdoor camps covering where you group transgender scouts and guides, changing and toilet provision.
Nobody wishes to exclude those who feel they are "different" than their biological basis and while it isn't unknown for youngsters to have a strong sense of conviction that they are (you often are searching in broad terms for your your own idenity at such ages) for some it is a passing phase and yet for others it leads to more permanent changes. Good luck to them.
We have that long running sore where Guiding is FOR and BY girls that transitioning male to females can join, Scouts is co-ed undermining B-P's original plans.
Current guidance is to carry on as we were while things are reviewed but only "safe spaces" really apply so I can't see major changes coming in beyond what we should be doing anyway keeping everbody safe having great experiences together.
Today is St Georges Day which in scouting we mark.
This is the current St George badge you can sow onto your scout blanket.
Lined up, looking the part 2020's style in Scouts
Cubs can celebrate Easter in various fun ways, including egg hunts, crafting, and engaging in Easter-themed activities. Egg hunts, especially those with a twist like glow-in-the-dark hunts, can be a thrilling adventure. Crafting activities like designing eggs or making Easter nests offer creative outlets. Relay races and games like "Pin the tail on the bunny" provide physical exercise and fun.
Here's a more detailed look at how Cubs can celebrate Easter:
Egg Hunts:
Traditional Egg Hunt: Hide eggs in the area and let Cubs search for them.
Glow-in-the-Dark Egg Hunt: Use glow-in-the-dark eggs and have a hunt in the dark, using flashlights or other light sources.
Team Egg Hunt: Divide Cubs into teams and have them compete to find the most eggs or the most eggs of a certain type.
Clue-Based Egg Hunt: Provide clues that lead Cubs to the eggs, making it a fun scavenger hunt.
Crafting:
Design an Egg Competition:
Have Cubs decorate eggs with different methods like painting, decorating with beads, or using other creative materials.
Easter Nests:
Create chocolate nests using shredded wheat, Rice Krispies, or Cornflakes, topped with mini chocolate eggs.
Create Easter Themed Art:
Cubs can paint, draw, or sculpt Easter-themed art like bunnies, eggs, or spring scenes.
Games and Activities:
Egg and Spoon Race:
A classic game where Cubs try to balance an egg on a spoon while running.
Pin the Tail on the Bunny:
A fun game that requires Cubs to work together to correctly place the bunny's tail.
Egg Relay Race:
Cubs can race to transfer eggs from one person's spoon to another or to a designated area.
Easter-Themed Story Time:
Read stories about the Easter bunny, the Easter egg hunt, or other Easter-related themes.
Other Easter Celebrations:
Easter-Themed Breakfast or Lunch:
Prepare a special Easter meal with themed food like decorated cookies, bunny-shaped sandwiches, or colorful fruit salad.
Easter Bunny Visit:
Arrange for a visit from an Easter Bunny to add a special touch to the celebration.
Easter-Themed Crafts:
Engage in activities like making Easter cards, decorating Easter eggs, or creating Easter-themed crafts.
Things you can be involved in scouts are immense and do alter a little as time goes buy and what is desirable or even practical changes for instance while learning about sending and recieving radio messages remains, we no longer do developing your own film nor using a telephone call box.
Those last two have gone mainly through changes in technologies we use - most of us use digital fim cameras or our smart phones to take pictures which we share with friends and in most areas call boxes are no longer used as we use our mobile phones and are repurposed as either libraries or defilbrator centres.
One things Scouts is doing is working with a video production compan teaching modern day fim making, acting and presenting that can build both personal skills and help communte to the community the value of what we do and what we're about.
Owned and managed by the National Trust, it is most popular recreational area especially in spring and summer.
Camp and Picnics are very much on mind this morning as I'm going to one tomorrow and have my packaging to do where hopefully the catering will turn out better than it did for this group of lads where it appears to be a bit off as it were.
It's to be seen if anyone attempts a campfire as it may be a bit showery.
Environmental activism is something worth encouraging from litter picks, to making a bug hotel or planting more wild flowers to help bees which are facing many challenges from both climate, reduced habit by our actions and preditors.
In Scouts and Girl Guiding we talk about and encourage this but also the children's tv show Blue Peter also does having a "Green Badge" that children upto 15 years can submit eveidence of what they've done and win a badge which itself is made from recycled plastic.
The girlguides had been invited to talk about what what being a girl guide was and as part of the end of that feature a traditional wooden campfire had been lit in the studio back then the BBC Centre, West London.
Few people realized on set the campfire had started to get out of control as the Brownies next to it were singing a campfire song, which as people in scouting we do, and had to be ushered away as it was extinguished.
That of course was seen live and did cause some concern to young viewers.
As part of the build up towards the 80th anniversary of Victory In Europe Day, scouts and youth organizations generally are being encouraged to write to veterans in a letter exchange program to find out more directly from those who experienced it, what it was like and what their own experiences were.
Beyond that, it is about learning and handing down values that help us survive, freeing millions from brutal dictatorship and the personal sacrifices that we in such situations are called upon.
I was fortunate to have around in my early years family and friends who had served and were prepared to talk about about their experiences and what they felt I should from that so I'm very much in favour of the V E Letter initiative.
Here two beavers are working on their contribution.
Young people will be encouraged to learn how to control something remotely, replicating the skills used by scientists and engineers to guide the Perseverance Rover across Mars’ surface, as well as embracing their curiosity and discovering ways to grow plants without soil – a task undertaken on the International Space Station to test different watering methods.
I'm recovering fairly well from my hand and wrist injury i had in the middle of last month although certain movements are a bit painful initially so I have been able to keep up with exploring, opening gates and pulling myself along as needed.
Spring is well and truly with us with no need to have the gas fire on and indeed for the last couple of days I didn't need a coat on either.
Given in spring things do magically reappear, here is a handy species reminder chart to identify clearly all those flowers we are now seeing.
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