The Two Left Wellies

Well, what a fun weekend that was!  The motley crew of Oliver, Lewis, Matthew, Oskar, Sam, Aaron, Shane, Jamie, Anand, Jordy, Bradley, Thomas and Rory joined Ivor, Ash, Alan, Bruce, Simon and myself for a weekend of high jinks and fun!

We landed at Paccar Scout site and the crew’s first challenge was to get their patrol tents up.  Mutiny seemed to be the order of the day, and it seemed to take ages to get the tents up.  Anyway, the moon cast a clear light to work from…

Saturday morning saw a parade of Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders in a variety of outfits and costumes.  I had raided my wardrobe for stuff, but looked more like a highwayman (or Van Helsing according to some) than a pirate (whether the pirate of the roads would count… hey ho!)
It was really good to see so many had made the effort (well done Jamie for winning the Scout entry!) – and the leaders really had gone for it!  Once the parade was complete, we set off into the woods to run the cycle cross course.  A tricky circuit, causing a few to attempt to fly rather than pedal, but no major injuries (although a couple of very nasty-looking bruises).  Out on the main field, the sun beat down giving everyone chance to bask in the rare heat.  It was also good to see so many Beavers and Cubs that had come out for the day.
On the cycle cross, Shane managed to work hard to get the fastest Scout time… also beating the fastest Explorer Scout!

In the evening there was a brilliant campfire circle that everyone could join in with.

The evening (although still clear) seemed much warmer than Friday night.

On Sunday the Scouts took part in a scavenger hunt challenge – and whilst the sun rose steadily, the leaders marked from inside a large marquee.  Not much chance of a sun tan in there!  Well done to some from our team (especially Jamie again) for putting the effort in and coming third!  After the hunt had finished, we saw a very interesting dog agility display, before lunch and then packing to head home.

Whilst the Scouts did need a little prompting, generally they knuckled down and did well.