October 20th, 2008 | Published in Ideas
The BSA provide a Cub Scout resource of (suggested?) monthly themes. Not only that but they suggest activities to go with it.
Whilst you could easily take the monthly themes and fit them into a UK programme, you could also modify much of it to fit into the programme you already have. With suggestions all the way to 2011, it’s well worth a look.
August 6th, 2008 | Published in Other
1. How to start a campfire
To build a typical campfire, you need three types of fuel: tinder, kindling and logs. The first rule of fire-making is to always have twice as much of each as you think you’ll need. Have these ready before you even strike a match. Adam Plowden
1. Carefully remove the turf from an area about a metre square and push a twig in the ground in the middle. Store the turf out of the way and water regularly.
2. Surround the central twig with kindling and tinder – lots of small dry twigs, pine needles and strips of bark.
3. Using progressively thicker twigs, build a wigwam shape but leave a gap on the windward side so you can place a match right into the kindling.
4. Light the kindling – blow very gently if the fire does not take hold on its own.
5. Add more tiny twigs to each flame; as your fire begins to grow, use larger and larger twigs and then sticks.
6. When firmly established, lay a log parallel with the wind direction on either side. Abandon the wigwam shape by adding sticks, split logs and so on. Place a fire grill across the logs and within a few minutes you will be ready to start cooking!
Always ask permission of the landowner first before building your fire or use a designated area if on a campsite.
2. How to find dry kindling in the rain
In wet weather if you have no dry kindling, go to the nearest hedge. You can always find dry dead wood for starting a fire in the thickest part of the hedge, but take care not to damage the hedge itself.
The September/October 2006 issue of ‘Scouting’ magazine has a great article with tips from various people in scouting. Read the rest of the article here.
August 5th, 2008 | Published in Other | 2 Comments
I’ve just about recovered from my first Jamboree! Well… I did the build and went as a day visitor to the 21st WSJ, but this is my first time as a participant. And I absolutely loved it.
We took 8 scouts, 1 cub, 3 leaders, 3 cars and 5 tents to the Essex International Jamboree 2008. We were on the Pygmy hippo (Pink neckers!) subcamp and through 7 days, our Scouts did climbing, abseiling, quadbiking, go-karts, rifle shooting, archery, parkour, scuba diving, mountain biking, swimming, kayaking, scrap heap challenge, assault course, it’s a knockout, pizza making, incident challenge and much more. We took part in an international food festival (we were the ones with corned-beef hash, vimto and Uncle Joe’s mintballs) and took part in some (sadly, not all) of the themed dress days (trash, and subcamp colours). Over half our Scouts earned the Global Explorer badge – the rest were too busy chatting up the Israeli girls, which is fair enough.
Here are some of the best bits: Read the rest of this entry »
July 6th, 2008 | Published in Ideas | 2 Comments
A recent thread on Escouts requested information on getting a book, Back to Basics by Peter Brooks.
At the same time I was sorting some of the materials I received on my training, and happened to have a reproduced copy! Given that parts seem to be so widely available and it may not be available to buy (it’s not easy to find anyway!), I’ve made a rough and ready copy available to download. The pages are photographed, but are high quality and should be fine for any purpose you have for them.
Update: Paul from Shurdington Scouts has added a much better quality PDF version to his site. With his kind permission I’ve updated the link below.
The book does what it says on the tin; offering tips, advice, ideas and the proper way of doing things for a variety of Scouting skills.
May 30th, 2008 | Published in Ideas
Sometimes, in between activities around other companies, we might forget our own country! There’s a lot to learn about Britain, even if you’ve lived here all your life. And there’s an amazing resource to find it all out.
Mandy, the creator of the Woodlands Junior School site (see Useful calendar of events), had created so much Britain centered content, that she started a ’spin-off’ site, Project Britain.
The site’s tagline is ‘All About British Life and Culture’, but it’s much more than that. In addition to all the usual stuff you’d expect (history, geography, monarchy, national holidays etc.) there are sections such as etiquette and customs, daily life, stereotypes and superstitions.
So at your next planning meeting, why not spend a week or more looking at the country we (most of us) live in.