B.S.A. Cub Scouts

 

We don't tend to mention them as they're not in the first instance part of teh UK set up and the second they're not Commonwelath either but this was an interesting break down of the groupings for American Cub Scouts with the kinds of adventures and an indication of the ranks they could obtain.

Modern day scouts

 

Scouting in respect always changes from conception, through our own childhood to that of today's children who live in world rather different to ours was.

Today scouts is still for 10 1/2 to 14 year olds but is co-ed following a similar program to the immediate past although obviously working though modern day health and safety and safeguarding issues and all the planning in advance that brings.

The modern uniform is well different than the pre 1967 although the mushroom trousers have gone  but I do feel a greater attempt at smartness and well uniformity in the uniform wouldn't go amiss although we have to be grateful in an age of instant gratification on the end of a smartphone it is good actually the want to be scouts and are prepared to do things face to face.

Meet the Tigers

 

What do 7 year olds do in the states?

Join cub scouts as a Tiger, starting their first adventures and gaining theit initial awards and here is their uniform complete with notes on how is to be worn.

What is so striking is this does look really smart compared to the more leisure British beavers uniform.

Clunk-click

 

From around 1929 to 1933, this Kodak camera was made specifically for Scouts in the States as well as the UK where this particular model was aimed  in paft to popularize photography and tying in with awards you could earn.

It's hard to see if today a modern version using silcon chips rather than roll film would be made just for scouts to use.

The difference it all can make

 Bit of a cool start to the day here.

Reading a few blogs, some news review pieces can be inspirational from the vantage point of how inspiring their accounts and stories can be looking at the things and especially the values they found useful.

It reminded me a bit of some things I wernt through not unlike a number of them in relatively less enlightened times.

Going through a series of house moves did affect my abilities to form friends given so much back then was face to face involving play around your street as did being unable to do some of the things other boys did and featured in their social world.

I did find some who kept an eye out and were prepared to invest time finding out what you could do and get others to consider being friends and they were cub scouts (as was).

High school magnified some of those difficulties being away for long period and being a good distance away but those people stood by you.

Like many a person "as a young person" I made mistakes, went on courses that after a while I realized I had little heart in, looked into things that proved to be dead ends but the biggest support and encourage to stand alone and follow what was best for me came from those Scout and Guide leaders I knew.

They encouraged me to take a more values centred approach to living finding thing I felt were right for me anf therein lies one of the biggest benefits of Scouting as a way of life.

Improving understanding

 

You today can learn about different disabilities and what you can do to help working with them for your Disabilty Awareness badge in cubs and here cubs in Shropshire are learning about blindness and raising funds for blind exservice people.

As things are further afield

 It's funny how some conceptions of Scouting survive in other countries that here, where we tend to reviewing things all the time we've moved on.

Today over here the section for 8 to 10 1/2 years olds is called "Cubs" having gone through Cub Scout branding from the late 60's and before that teh Wolf Cubs which was B-P's idea but rejected by the modernizers.

In Sri Lanki in South East Asia, famed for it's tea plantations though Cub Scout is still the term they use.

Their age range is 7 though to 11.

These are the Proficiency Badges they use similar to ourt older ones but with a different core background colour

It's interesting the Panda is used for the Champion for Nation badge.

The Silver Arrow Badge

 

A new progressive training scheme of Bronze, Silver and Gold Arrow awards was devised (one for each year in the pack) from 1967 and badges and designs were updated with a common theme of red proficiency badges for the section.

This Arrow Badge was brought into the UK Scouting Badge Scheme way back in the mists of time and has been superseded by many different badges, but it was basically an early form of the current challenge badge scheme.

Many of the badges available are activity badges, which allow Cub Scouts to show their progress in existing pursuits, but also to try all kinds of new things and form new interests.

Each young person who participated in the Programme, including badges and awards, faced a similar degree of challenge, and requirements could be adapted according to each young persons abilities.

The Old Arrow badge Scheme offered more opportunities for outdoor and adventurous activities in safe environments, gaining confidence by participating in new or less familiar activities and stepping out of their comfort zones and all young people regardless of their abilities, can enjoy and achieve

Ones handbook

 

When you get invested into cubs, you need to know what you need to to do to earn your awards and gain your badges and this handbook set out what the requirements were and how you'd prove you could pass them.

It might be to give an account of the steps you need to take with an emphasis on safety, tasks you need to complete by yourself with support.

This edition the 1976 reprint based on the 1967 original post upheaval, uses then then term"Cub Scouts" rather ignoring Baden-Powells reservations of calling younsgters of this age "Scouts" and references the then uniform which unlike other sections didn't change that much from what Wolf Cubs were.

They might as well of kept it.

Finding ones way

 

Someone I hope is most familair with reading your Ordinance Survey Landrover series OS Maps in this group of four cubs given they have some written instructions to follow with will involve the use of a compass and said map.

Scouts Knowledge

 

Weekend wasn't great - horizontal in bed  for a few days - but if you need something to keep your spirits up and push on through, then this little summary of Scouts Knowledge and what you know of this life will always help.

I did get a bit of photography done yesterday to aid recovery as I'm afraid my brain got a bit mangled with the miagraine.

5 years of Squirrels

 

Squirrel Scouts are celebrating their 5th anniversary in 2026 as part of a landmark "triple birthday year" for the Scouts, which also marks 40 years of Beavers and 110 years of Cubs.

Launched officially in September 2021, the youngest section of UK Scouting (for ages 4–6, known as "dreys") has grown to nearly 30,000 young members across 2,500 dreys.

Celebrations were led by actor and Scouts Ambassador Warwick Davis OBE at Gilwell Park, featuring climbing walls, games, and a birthday bash.

Making structures

 

Here we have a illustration of French Scouts  building a structore from logs and string.

Let's all hope it stays up!

Parliament Week

 Parliament Week may seem a few months off being November 23rd to 29th but many are all ready looking at what can be done to mark it.

It's about explaing how our parliamentary domocracy works, candidates getting selected, how an election is organized and how as citizens we engage with it to make changes through meeting with people, how consultations are done.

We do actually have a Youth Parliament which helps teach children about it and holds debates of its own.

 

Explorer Scouts can earn theew Democracy Activity Badge – made to encourage your young people to use their voice and get involved with decision-making.   

At the waterside

 

Exploring by the waters edge is something I do love although you have to be careful not to fall in but you need to check your laceds are done up on any footwear or for me velcro is well sticky, unlikely to come off

Moving along

 

We're starting the transition from Summer to Autumn  with all the complications of the Heatwave it doesn't look advanced as much as some had forecast about a month and a half ago but the berries look reasonable around here even if we've lost a few leaves due to dehydriation.

The birth of a movement

 

Where it all began, the publication that launched Scouts, expanded upon Baden-Powells own experiences.

Carry that weight

 

One of the first things I recall my late Headmaster saying to us on a day we were going out for hike in the Country was about the importance of how you packed your rucksack (or backpack) so it didn't strain your back and making sure it was securely fastened to you so the straps didn't start cutting in to you.

No doubt as being Ex RAF he had been trained all about this stuff incase he was behind enemy lines and in any event physical fitness was worked on as bothe the mission and your own well-being depended upon it.

It no surprise he was very much working on this as much as the academic.

Looking out

 

The area from the Prom towards the Pier had over a good decade and a half showing its age, looking rather down at heel including the Grand Hotel but in the last few years a lot of work has gone up to it.

Some such as the pier following late December's storms was remodelled taking advantage of the need to replace some structures giving a very real commercial purpose for it such as dining and shop units.

A day on the beach

 

Neo-Panoramic view of Llandudno beach with the Little Orme in view at the rear left while some children played on a sunny afternoon.

The camera's matrix metering did pretty well getting a decent exposure.

The way things were

 

A year or two before the major changes to brownies uniform, although this oil painting-ish kind of illustration isn't my idea, it does show being a Brownie was fun and while at camp you might some regular clothes with you.

One big problem in scouting is matching the demand with fully trained leaders and assistants which can mean guides and scouts having to join a pack a few miles away.

In the 1950's

 

Life immediately after the Second World War had it's challenges, perhaps you might of spoken to people you know who lived through it with many things still rationed and delays in getting production up to prewar consumer levels.

This affected Scouting as material for uniforms was affected as for that matter the austerity of the era made brand new uniform difficult to come by.

With this early 1950's Brownie an earlier tunic has been adapted to give it a more contompary feel - perhaps it was passed down from former family member or that of a friends - and she is wearing a beret which was more common place.

While uniform matters Scouting in  all its forms needed to continue despite these challenges and people rose to them.

Things to do

 Another day in wetville not that gardens and fields here don't need it, they most certainly do but not weather for being out in.

There are things you could do such as research an area to explore on foot, noting route, prominent buildings and things you may need with you so at least you'd be ready when things are better.

You could read your books around scouting too which I have a fair number including some old annuals that have tests and quizzes.

Introducing Rangers

Rangers in Girlguiding are children aged 14 to 18 who meet to hang out, learn new skills, and take part in adventures as they move towards womanhood.

What Rangers Do.

Activities and Badges: Members work on interest badges, skills builders, and top awards like the Ranger Gold Award or the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. 

Leadership and Volunteering: Many Rangers act as Young Leaders, helping run units for younger sections like Rainbows, Brownies, or Guides. 

Travel and Adventure: The section offers local meetups, UK trips, international travel, and outdoor camps. 

Community Action: Girls make a difference by supporting local causes, speaking out on issues they care about, or joining advocacy panels. 

Apart from all of that you hang out together and have fun!

Girlguides core principles

 

As a Guide, members strive to follow these core values:

Respect yourself and others.

Be considerate, honest, and trustworthy.

Be friendly to others.

Make choices for a better world.

Use your time and abilities wisely.

Be thoughtful, optimistic, and live with courage and strength

Alternative uses

 

In former industrial areas, there are often legacies that can be spotted even if the buildings such as many of the former Salt Mines themselves were either demolished or sank beneath the ground.

Here we have the trackbead of the railway that served the salt mines along the Wheelock Rail Trail that would link up to the old North Staffordshire Railway line bringing the salt to the potteries, very much as it was with just the track taken up.

Today people walk it in relative peace and tranquility going around farmland.

The whole route to Ettiley Heath is link to salt.

Out!

 

Roses are a strong memory with me, Grandad was a keen amateur gardener and frequently grow them from cuttings and in this recent extreme weather these two have done well just around a modern housing development locally.

Resting

 

Not the best of starts to the week with a really bad migraine that hasn't completely shifted in three days which isn't new with me as I has this as a child affecting school attendence unless it started in school in which instance I'd be responsibility of the School Nurse and put in the Sick Bay.

It tended to cut into those organized activities too so no guess my mind has been more focused on those times and how I looked as that helps keeping the spirits up.

It came out!

 

It has to be said the recent heatwave weather conditions haven't been kind to any living thing human or natural this survived fairly well.

Taken on the Sony DCS RX 100, it shows the advantage in being able to set the aperture by hand and through that throw the background out of focus so only what we want in focus is.

Eclipse and adventures

On Wednesday we had a Solar Eclipse of the Sun, the sort of thing that no doubt would appeal to many Cub, Scout, Brownie and Girl Guide. 

Certainly at that age space and astronomy were things that interested me at that time and Scouting has for a good while had badges connected with Space.

Recently Mr Socks at the UR Forum made this little cartoon based around the adventures of group of Cubs out exploring where upon they encounter the eclipse.

Their reactions are so realistic.

Camp

 

Camping as depicted by the great twentieth century American artist Norman Rockwell who really understood what scouting was all about.

This was a post from a long gone Tumblr of mine.

Glimpses of the past

 

Very much as we were Cubs and the odd Scout in the legendary Mushroom trousers and buckled belt all nicely lined up in Barrow In Furness, North Lancashire around the 1970's looking smart.

"Give it to him!"

 

A past in an era where legally at least I was an adult but still had some connections to Scouting as a movement Cubbery wasn't so far removed from where it was during the 70's when one first encounted, these cubs and scouts from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire are enjoying a authorized pillow fight rather than the sort some of us had in our school dorms!

So long for another year

 

The end for another year or so, the majestic scenery notwithstanding the heatwaves that have caused issues in many other areas with loss of grassland will be remembered.

This break helped taking my mind off other more troubling matters while the fresh air helped my breathing alot.

Baa

 

Just tucking into grass and unlike much of England the grass was a lush green wather than badly scorched with the recent heatwaves so they didn't require additional feed.

Many sheep and lambs roam free in this part of Lancashire, so much so you have look when you're driving in case they've strayed to sides of roads.

Jubilee Tower

On the drive in I stopped at Over Wyresdale in the Trough of Bowland to stretch my legs and enjoy the views such as Jubilee Tower which is a folly.

The Jubilee Tower is situated on the edge of the Forest of Bowland and has stood there battling all weathers for nearly 140 years. 

It was built in 1887 by James Harrison, a successful shipbuilder, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. 

Morecambe Bay

 

Morecambe Bay is famed for it's sandy beaches and the shifting sands as surprisingly there are period when you can walk from end to end across them so long as you are mindful of when the Tides change as sadly a fair number have lost their lives due to that.

A basic requirement of traditional electricity generation is water so many are often sites near rivers or coasts and here is Heysham Nuclear Reactor recent having its operating period extend for a few years just opposite the side of the coast where I was staying.

At the far right hand side you'll spot the more modern Wind Turbines.

Westmorland

 We're away today.

One of my favourite trails is Jenny Brown's Point,Silverdale just on the Lancashire/Westmorland Border circling the coast.

This is lovely trail from Hollins Lane, along the side of Leighton Moss, then onto the shore, it can be muddy, so you really need your boots on. 

This walk starts in woodland and then there is some pleasant estuary walking, some road and beach. If you venture further, you can go through the Jack Scout nature reserve which is a cliff that provides some excellent seascape views. 

The "Pepper Pot"

 

The Queen Victoria Jubilee Monument in Silverdale, Lancashire. Nestled in the ancient Eaves Wood, this quirky 20-foot tall stone tower sits atop Castlebarrow Hill and offers sweeping, panoramic views of Morecambe Bay and the surrounding countryside.

Getting set

 

As I get to go away on Friday, here is a good example of the kind of landscape I'll be seeing in Westmorland this weekend as explored by some local scouts.

A Sports Day?

 

Sports Day might also be on a group’s summer bucket list, but why not ditch the egg and spoon for a Sports Day with a twist?

Do a space themed sports day 

Host your own mini olympics

Organize a Highland Games event

Try some tennis activities

Play some footgolf

Remember to take time to warm up and cool down before and after playing.

Scram!

 

Imagine a celebration of Cubs with loads of activities, non stop music showing all it has to offer you?

Well a few years back in Surrey, South East England well that's what they did cos there are times we're not so good at sharing that message and that it's the start of an adventure that'll carry on as you grow with fresh things to do and fresh challenges along the way.

Rudyard Lake

Today we're looking at an often overlook gem here.

Rudyard Lake provides some of the most dramatic scenery to be found in the Staffordshire Moorlands near the market town of Leek and over 500,000 visitors come to her shores each year.

The Lake covers some 168 acres and is over 2.5 miles long on which you can take a round trip aboad and where there are facilities such as at ea room.

It is owned by the Canal & River Trust and the commercial leisure activities are managed by Rudyard Lake Ltd.

The Lake was built as a reservoir in 1797. Indeed even to this day the Lake still supplies the canal system for which it was designed and remains an active working reservoir.

The Lake is the place where Rudyard Kipling’s parents first met, where Captain Webb, the first channel swimmer, came to demonstrate his skills and where The African Blondin (Carlos Trower) appeared several times amazing the crowds 30m above the Lake on a tightrope.

You can go canoeing.

It was at one point a resort served by the local railway with tea parties and arts events taking place.

Rudyard was visited by the Novelist George Orwell in the mid ninteen thirties enroute for the coal mines across this part of Staffordshire before moving to Lancashire for his social study The Road To Wigan Pier examining the appalling conditions of people in the Midlands and North of England during what was dubbed the Great Depression.

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a Victorian style narrow gauge steam railway which gives a delightful three mile return trip from the free car park at Rudyard Station along the side of Rudyard Lake on a line originally built by the North Staffordshire Railway company

The track guage is 10.35 inches and the rolling stock of former Isle of Mull Railway, including engines Frances, Victoria and Glen Auldyn in the fleet.

Butterton

 

Newsflash! The Peak District isn't only in Derbyshire, a good chunk is to be found in the Staffordshire Moorlands and this idyllic place is Butterton, a village extremely fortunate not lost anyone during both World Wars.

The stone properties are very typical of this mainly agricultural area.

Welcome to Egypt!

 

You can see the world around here without going very far because just out of the town of Biddulph, there is a Country Park and absolutely amazing Biddulph Grange Gardens with plants that are just out of this world, literally having been collected and planted to give an impression of whole countries with structions that enhance it.

Here we are at the entrance to Egypt with two big cats.

Biddulph Moor

 

Picture credits: Mark Swindles.

Sunset over Biddulph Moor, like chunks of this area part urbanized though industry and yet part rural, it has a particular charm of it's own such as the granite rocks and views which were well captured in this picture.

Nature it must be said is lovely in the Staffordshire Moorlands, and that's not me sticking up for my backyard, many outsiders have said as much with hills, farmland and even Wallabies in the far north.

Some of that industry, coal mining has ceased although its legacies can be found, some replaced by modern tech and service industies that support a village with many facilities just a couple of miles from the town, which is part of our vast highly urban sprawl running through "The Potteries" and Newcastle Under Lyme.

It's very fortunate for Guides and Scouts here to have such a resource "on tap".