Scout Evening Report – 24 April
1st night back of term and two leaders missing!! Young leader did not appear either!! However Ivor was there and he always copes with multiple issues. What were these? Talking to Thomas to inform him of his promotion to SPL and his new responsibilities. Ensuring that a leader could use the minibus for transporting the winning patrol for last term (bulldogs) to MacDonalds. Informing the treasurer that he could not attend the committee meeting because of adult absence. Taking on the subs which are always payable 1st night. Welcoming the two cubs Nathan and Conrad who were starting their link. Answering their parents queries and ensuring personal data is obtained. Dealing with queries from other parents and fingers crossed that Malcolm had put together a programme to control the evening to take off some of the pressure. Best of all saying hi to the rest of the scouts. A full attendance apart from Nathan and Aaron who are linking from 19th Cubs. 19 boys were present which is a nice number.
So Thomas controlled flag break and got the evening off with his new task as SPL. This was followed by inspection and then into 1st game. Oh dear Malcolm had left all the equipment for it in his car, how do we keep the boys busy while he unloads it. Ivor to the rescue. Impromptu game of Cowboys and cavalry or in our case 1’s and 2’s, which they didn’t want to stop playing. Then the relay game was set up. I like this game because it makes the boys think and pay attention. Washing up bowls each end of a seated line. 6 objects split between the bowls and the boys have to transfer the object from one bowl to the next when their team number called. How often do they run to the wrong bowl first, with their team mates telling them to go the other way.
Eight o’clock struck. Bulldogs went off to MacDonalds. It suddenly became quieter. Ivor and Ash then went onto knotting with the remainder. No set script here except to ask the boys who demonstrated an individual knot to the cubs at the Entertainment evening, to demonstrate it again. Only 3 of the six were successful! Well done Jack, Matthew and Vishan. We followed this with practice for the sheepshank, round turn and two half hitches and finally Ivor’s favourite, the Highwayman’s Hitch. While we were tying each other up to test how good we were with our partners (everyone got out unaided), Bulldogs returned.
Flag down time had arrived. Ivor told boys the badges he had ordered for them and told Oskar that he was best scout for last term achieving 589 points. Ivor seemed to upset a few boys with the chef’s badge because they were claiming that they had finished off the activity by cooking their family a meal. Ivor pointed out that he had not been informed and they should ask their parents to notify him. Thomas did flag down well and then Ivor was again invaded by parents. Agreed with link cubs that their investiture would be early June, got the remaining term subs in. A good evening with lots of smiley faces going home.
The Cycle weekend – As you Like It!!
We all met at the 8th/12th church and loaded the 8 Scout bicycles into the trailer and put two Leader’s bikes onto the roof (the third bike was already in Bruce’s car). Kit was loaded in, mobile phones handed over and we all set off.
This had been a challenge for Alan to organise; he’d had to move the date of the weekend, then find a new suitable cycling location and then a new Youth Hostel – but he’d managed it and we were heading to Alveston, just outside Stratford-upon-Avon.
We were given three dorm rooms – the boys were given 2B and not 2B (if you pardon the pun as it was actually 2A). The centre also had a large school party from Scotland staying overnight. We all settled down reasonably quickly, ready for the next morning.
Saturday’s breakfast was supplied by the Hostel, so once dispatched we could make our lunches and head off. We had hoped to cycle through a park, but the route was blocked by a very complex footpath gate, with quite high walls to stop the deer from jumping over – too high to lift the bicycles over. However, we could see the deer in the distance. The route itself was very picturesque as we cycled through very sleepy hamlets… Larkrise to Candleford could be easily filmed in these locations.
We had lunch by a village hall – all very peaceful. We had made good time in the morning, but we knew that some of the hills had posed a challenge for the younger scouts so we set off ready for the afternoon’s cycle. In the afternoon, we found a bridleway that was very muddy… nobody got away without getting mud on them, or their bikes.
We finished the cycle about 4pm – and surprisingly no punctures or bicycle repair problems! This gave the Scouts a couple of hours free before we started on making dinner. After dinner, the boys plotted the Sunday route and we asked them for ideas for the next term’s programme. We then let them make their own use for the evening… although the lack of sleep Friday night and a long day’s cycle had clearly worn most of them out.
Sunday was a shorter cycle. Before we could pack the minibus properly, we found that Anand’s bike had suffered a puncture. Because he had smaller wheels we didn’t have any spare inner tubes, so we had to hurriedly effect a repair (luckily it lasted the day) Soon we were ready to leave, and drove to the start of the cycle route – an old railway line that had been converted to a cycle route. This was a pleasant start to the day. We cycled past more open areas, and up and down one or two hills. We stopped to allow the scouts to catch up… Devash unfortunately forgot to break until it was too late and fell off – luckily, a big patch of nettles cushioned his landing! His arm (being bare) was thoroughly covered in nettle rash and it took several dock leaves to settle the itching!
The rest of the route was similar to Saturday – a few hills, but with some lovely views and past very sleepy hamlets. We finally got back to the bus and drove home. It had been a good weekend, and the boys had cycled well – with 27 miles on the Saturday and about 14 on the Sunday they’d certainly explored some of Stratford!
My thanks to Anand, Calum, Devash, Jamie, Matthew, Oskar, Rory and Sam for joining Alan, Bruce and myself on the cycle weekend.
Pictures will be found on www.magpieshchest.co.uk when I upload them (need to review them first) – including a small movie review of the cycle!
