Back to Cubs

 

It's the introductory season for New Cubs and with all that excitement indoors and out and fantastic colours what more could you want?

Autumn Camp II

 

Ooo a Camp. Better work on getting myself down on the list to attend and then work through the list of items to bring with me but then there's a proper layout with our flag, a circle for the fire whhich we need to keep warm in the evenings and cook things.

You have to get that tent properly pitched so it can't take off on a strong gust of wind or let rain in as that's going to be your base for a few days.

Fortunately advice is at hand if needed.

Autumn camp

 Seeing it is cooler but we don't hibenate as Scouts, just take sound precautions, a camp in the Autumn isn't unknown and you could gain a badge for it.

You'll observe so much over a few days.

Autumn scenes

 

Autumn scenes near the stream that feeds into the River Wheelock which thanks to subsidence has grown somewhat in over a hundred years.

A great view but you need to careful getting near thedges for land giving way.

Go Wild with diplomacy!

 

Pix credits: Nathan Howard WPA/Getty

Ignoring the politics of the second State Visit of the President of the United States, Melania Trump, the Presidents wife, Kate, The Princess of Wales and Dwayne, the Chief Scout are with a group of Beavers working on their "Go Wild" badge on Thursday morning in the grounds of Windsor castle.

Apart from learning something about how Scouting works in the U.K. this was an opportunity to interact with the Beavers and give them something to remember in years to come beyond the badge while helping to keep scouts visable.

A colourful view

 

As I just dry out from torrential rain this is the kind of scene we start to see in our woodlands crisp, colourful trees as we walk on a bed of fallen leaves and sometimes various fungi starting to come out as things break down.

Castles

 The history of Castles in Wales is interesting and one that is interesting is Harlech Castle, Gwynned, which is most ispressing set on a hill with clear views - an advantage for defence purposes.

It's hardly surprising then as Britions we make castles as either models or indeed oon the beach during our childhood holidays often adding a moat for good measure.

The impact of the hot spell

 

I think it'll be another two to three weeks before the autumn colours bring forth here looking around the local park and play area but you can see the impact of the hot dry spell on things quite clearly and why climate change is very much a hot issue presently.

Auturm begins

 

The autumn may be coming earlier even if "officially" we're in the autumn months as these berries are out ready for our feathered friends to consume and His Nutkin was seen leaping across the burial grounds of one local church one day last week trying to find a spot to bury his hidden treasure for Spring.

Scouts help

 As a Scout during WW2, you could be asked to help in great number of ways as the war had taken many from general society from fixing repairs, running errands or helping up up air raid shelters.

Scouts contribution was formally recognized at the end of WW2 apart from individual contributions where awards were issued and rightly so as it all helped this Country survive and from that free Europe from the scourge of Nazism.

Things are different today, thank goodness but we're helping to make things better, saving lives, training the next generation to ensure we can look after each other.

Getting Stuff

 

Scouts do things in extra ordinary times and non so than during both World Wars and here durng WW21 where food was in short supply and men were generally called for  Military Service, scouts assisted in growing food, preparing plots of any usable size such this outside a teaching hopsital.

Past as inspiration?

 

With perhaps the addition of a skort option reflecting the Co-ed nature of Scouts today, perhaps a return to much of the 1970's Cubs look might be a good starting point to a return to smarter looking Cubs than some we see today?

Something that stands out, that you wear with pride and are encouraged to keep in good shape on you as well as off.

Just branding leisure wear with Scout Logo's  just doesn't give the right impression.

Inspection!

 The old days, older than me actually, and at the opening of the New District in Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire, as part of the local reorganization of scouts, they are inspected with the lad on the right loking a bit apprehensive.

Nobody wants children and young people to be apprehensive but given we do have a uniform I really don't see what's wrong with the odd inspection, handled senstively, so everybody is looking smart and looking smart still matters in much of society.

In time of course much reorganization happened although parts were over time  reversedbut looking at pictures of troops between the decades you can see the slide in standards.