Another one I ordered came from 1957, this would of been around the time my Father would of been in the Boy Scouts as he was a Wolf Cub a few years before.
One thing that is quite telling is the level of expectation when it came to your abilities being of the age to of been a Wolf Cub are quite high from the accounts of what people did, suggested activities, stories about being a scout and also the language used.
It has rigour written right through it.
Here are a few sample pages of which perhaps the most important is the illustrated story of Peter working on getting his badges, taking on fresh challenges and moving forward which is part of growing as a boy is all about.
There is a good entry which I'll type out in full.
GOOD HUNTING TO ALL WOLF CUBS
THERE are two kinds of people in the world.
One is the kind that goes through life never getting any better or any worse. Never trying anything new or trying to conquer hard things or learning something they didn't know before.
The other kind of people are those who spend every minute in learning something new; trying to do something they have never done before.
Most Cubs belong to this kind of people,.
They are always trying to get on. When a Cub has gained his First Star he sets to work to learn the tests for his Second Star. Then he tries for badges, so that he learns something about gardening and first aid and swimming, and badges which make him useful about the house.
Of course it is hard work, but a Cub likes that. He lives up to the Cub motto-DO YOUR BEST. A Cub is always doing his best in any job he takes up.
So Good Hunting to you-and jolly good Cubbing on the Jungle Trail
Getting through this with my disabilities was a challenge, a very good example of a hard thing I rose to the challenge of wet, uneven and very muddy but I did it.
I have what it makes to be a good Cub and a true Scout.
Today we are marking the 500th post on Scouting and Me which was established in December 2018 on here and for a time also on Tumblr during a period with difficulties on that site and some issues to work through off it.
Way back on the first entry, the die was set as to what this blog is about, a boy who wasn't far removed from the one one the left of this picture who would of loved to been a cub scout who had brothers who were in it but whose parents failed to see it would of been of great benefit and for the disabilities I had and still have, actually the Scouting Association would of been prepared to had me and made any necessary adjustments while I remained just one of the boys in the pack.
Being involved in the sidelines helping my brothers out in their activities, having classmates who were in membership, takes us to one thing this blog is about which is it is a homage to that scouting past.
It's also about modern day scouting because even from my position on the fringes, it was and is obvious scouting has huge benefits to boys (and today girls too) and the program run to equip them to be young adults and to play a responsible role in society and so supports it, referring to current activities, issues and programs.
It's also about making up for that lost opportunity by being a Wolf Cub in Spirit, undertaking similar exercises and activities, being prepared to take adventures and challenge myself using the practical skills to grow as a person maturing to at least the developmental limits I am capable of.
In the 500 posts I have grown a lot in stature, learned to be a lot more resilient being able to undertaking walks on terrains that would of terrified me, met some of my fears head on, grown as a 'boy' to the point I feel I can look any in the eye as an equal all as this adult but child-like person.
Picking up the baton of Scouting and embracing it has helped move me on.
This blog may have less posts than others I have but they are the most important posts in my life.
While the weather has been all over the place indeed on Monday my shorts wore well soaked at the bottom even though I had a rain jacket on, we did get about.
While they've presently moved away the cows in the left hand side background looked content in greyish sky just adding that certain something to the shot as I used the telephoto end of the zoom at around 100mm (in 35mm film terms) to take this supporting the camera on a fence.
Tuesday saw sunshine with drizzly showers as given Monday had seen heavy rainfall I decided against going across the fields and took a route over a bridge on to the towpath of the Trent and Mersey canal where upon I saw four ducklings at end end and over 20 some fully grown at the other while talking with a angler and one of the men who form part of my support system.
After last weeks entries looking at the skills learned and achievements of young people we continue on with my life, the 'and me' bit of this blog and my explorations as we make our way out of this month and into August.
We pick up with the wild flowers growing with even more on the other side of this path through the field that were much appreciated by the bees which mainly of the Bumble Bee variety.
More delightful flowers that resulted in many butterflies, mainly white cabbage ones and a few red admirals dancing around me as I went along the path avoiding muddy bits where it had rained before and where I needed to apply the breaks as I started to lose my footing in the mud.
On a better day you have a clearer view to the farm buildings in the distance and behind them lies one of England's busiest stretches of Motorway, that just underscores how vital a place of tranquility such places are.
I chatted briefly to the nursery works on that day and one after where to go on another walk I needed to cross their nursery as the access goes through it, freely accepted and accepting of what they help maintain as the harvesting continued.
There is a reason for the "and me" bit of the title of this blog and why it is different to blogs of a similar nature on Blogger, Wordpress and Tumblr and today's post is a good example of it.
I undertake explorations observing and noting my surroundings on foot, what is new, seasonal changes, the wildlife putting into practice many of the things you learn in scouting, for me being that "Wolf Cub in Spirit".
Last week was no different, going out with my red waterproof jacket, green top and grey worsted shorts on exploring the fields, being mindful not to get stuck in the mud as it was a bit muddy in places as it had rained hard overnight and was drizzling while out.
This was a scene I encountered along a path before I got to the next field with the cows resting together in a different spot than a few days before.
If we'd of had bright sun, it would of been idyllic.
This blog like most of mine has always had a past into present looking at past scouting, scouting as it plays a role in my present and issues around modern scouting rather than a purely nostalgic feel.
For some time I had been looking around the topic of shorts suitable for Scouts or some Wolf Cubs as most used the iniquitous Grey School Shorts many of us recall from that era that you could wear while undertaking Wolf Cub/Scouts in Spirit type activities side stepping that post 1967 Scout longs move.
These which are available in waist sizes thirty through to forty-eight originally by Wrangler the jeans and chino's manufacturer I think would fit the bill.
They are available in a number colours but "Stone" matches most replica or close enough in spirit replacements such as a green plain jersey and t shirt where in more populated areas you may blend in better being free from external visible branding.
They are also timeless fitting above the knee with a good variety of secure pockets including a rear zipped one as for our purposes we can't have enough pockets and are hard wearing.
Obviously we'd team them with long socks and either shoes or walking boots.
*** Important notice***
Because of both a reduction of posting on tumblr around scouting and shortage of new images being published, I will be reducing the number of posts on this blog from next month.
I normally do about one a week on my other blogs and in the time we've been here we only started doing appreciable more than two a week from around May of last year so with all the challenges in bring you this blog I think to had kept things up thus far has been pretty good going.
Obviously in time I'll establish a new posting routine that I feel is sustainable not just in terms of available content but also interest too.
