explorerscout84

I’m a Winner

So recently I won a competition with the Scout Store. This is the official store to buy your scouting stuff online with all profits going back into scouting.

I entered just by chance stating that my favourite food when camping is ‘Toasted marshmallows on a campfire – the jumbo marshmallows are always the best in the evening when everyone is sat around the campfire’.

I won one of their adult camp packs which included a new sleeping mat, sleeping bag, rucksack and torch. (You can see it in their shop: https://shop.scouts.org.uk/equipment/scouts-camp-pack-2017 )

The sleeping bag is an Vango Atlas 250, the rucksack is a Vango Pathfinder 65 and the headtorch was also a Vango. The sleeping mat is a Yellowstone brand.

All items look great and I especially like the colour of the rucksack as I received a blue one. The sleeping mat has a reflective coating for extra warmth which would have been great back in March!

My favourite item was the headtorch. You can easily unclip it from the headband to attach to your top or bag. It’s also really easy to change the batteries.

I used the headtorch this weekend and I was very impressed, I was easily able to see the Beavers when we were playing wide games in the dark. I’m so happy with it that I’ve now put my old headtorch (which I’ve had since I was a Beaver) into retirement.

I’m really pleased with my prize. Thanks Scout Store!

Here comes the bride …

It’s been 9 weeks since I camped in the snow (there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit) and this weekend I experienced the complete opposite in weather. I had the pleasure of spending the last two days roasting in the glorious sun, relaxing by the river. Well not quite relaxing as I was busy fundraising but it was by the river.

I have made too many paracord bracelets to count this weekend and if anyone mentions the word paracord I might just get some and strangle them!

The highlight of my weekend was not seeing Meghan Markle’s quite plain wedding dress or Pippa Middleton’s can of green tea dress but the moment when I sold one of my hand made hair scrunchie’s and the girl who bought it took out her JoJo bow and replaced it with my scrunchie. Move over JoJo -84’s hair accessories are the future.

P.S. Please like and share my new Facebook page

A Slip-up Knot

So recently, I was running late to the Beaver meeting which I’m a Young Leader at. I grabbed my necker which didn’t have a woggle and quickly did a friendship knot in the car.

Here’s a photo of the finished knot- can you spot the problem?

IMG_20180423_172535538

Yes I did really tie myself to the seat belt!

So, I had to redo it.

Here is 84’s guide to doing a friendship knot if you do not know how to do one:

Roll your necker and lay it out in front of you facing you as in the photo
Fold the side on your right up
Place the left side over the folded side (in step 2)
Tuck the left side under the right side
Fold the right side down
Take the left side and thread over the end of the right side and through the loop formed by the right side (in step 2)
Tighten it up and voila!

Friendship Knot Instructions.jpg

Another Muddy Meetup

Recently, I went on another meetup with my county unit. Some of the things we talked about was our personal developments (PDs), a typical menu and practiced some hand washing.
To start the day, we talked about our personal developments and what we wanted to get out of the Jamboree pre-experience. We will be awarded a badge after we complete our goals which have to be set in specific categories, such as physical, emotional and spiritual.
We also created a draft meal plan for a typical day out on the Jamboree. We planned the cost of a meal and portion sizes, so we had to work out how many ingredients we would need to get. We used the draft list of food which will be available on the Jamboree which included some weird food items to us British, like pre-scrambled egg in a carton.
Finally, we practiced our hand washing skills which will be how we wash most of our clothes on the Jamboree. We got split into teams to wash a muddy white T-shirt which personally I think our group did well, at even though we didn’t win. My group contained the others in the joint unit as well as myself, so we have decided to keep the T-shirt as our group mascot.
I hope everyone has had a great bank holiday weekend, the weather has been a lot nicer compared to my counties meet up last week.

Out in the sun

The sun has got his hat on,

Hip, hip, hip hooray

The sun has got his hat on

And I’m going out to play.

In case you haven’t guessed yet

I’ve been lazing in the sun

I had a brilliant blog post

But the writings not yet done.

(I’ll catch up tomorrow it’ll be too hot to be outside!)

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend

Why I missed the St. George’s Day Parade

A week ago was my district’s St. George’s Day Parade.

I was asked, as a Jamboree participant to talk to the VIPs about my Jamboree journey. I got to talk to my County Commissioner, the current and previous District Commissioners as well as well as many other VIPs. I even got to talk to the Mayor and Mayoress who were very happy to hear about my journey. They were very kind and friendly and appreciated the role of Scouting. However, talking to the VIPs meant that I could not join into the parade through the city which I enjoy each year.

I was also asked to do a reading about Scouting during the First World War since we are in the 100 year centenary of the end of it. I found out that Scouting’s strength during the First World War was in the patrol system and the weekly copy of The Scout which they followed. I spoke in front of my whole district of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders as well as many parents and the VIPs filling up the whole of the cathedral. I had to sit in front of the crowd with the other readers.

Yet again another amazing opportunity given to me through scouting.

#RAF100

I was recently lucky enough to represent Scouting at the RAF 100 stem residential at RAF Wittering, having had to apply and be selected earlier this year. There were 100 students from uniformed organisations that converged for a week long ‘boot camp’.

It was a drive of over 2 hours to get there so when I arrived I knew no one, until I boarded the coach to take us to our dorms, I was greeted by one of my fellow Jamboree members! Neither of us knew the other was going until we saw each other on the coach.

The original information said I would have to share a dorm with 3 others, so I was surprised to find out I had my own room. This was luxury compared with the tent in the snow I was in last month. I made some good friends with those in my corridor and we have already made multiple group chats.

The food they fed us was amazing, nothing like a Scout camp food. Three hot meals a day in giant portions.

Over 4½ long days we completed ‘Op Falcon’ an exercise designed to show us a range of roles in the RAF that involve STEM skills. Activities included cooking with ration packs, the various logistics behind operational planning, and bomb disposal! At the end of the course we were awarded with the Silver Industrial Cadet Award and will also receive a Silver CREST award.

Cracking Fundraiser

I recently did some eggcellent fundraising by holding a couple of Easter raffles. To make my prizes look pretty we grouped a couple of different sized eggs together and wrapped them in cellophane and tied them with raffia ribbon. The eggs were bought when the first offers were good earlier in the year with about £10 spent on each raffle.

I held one raffle through the Scout Group where I am a Young Leader. The Beavers were very keen to win and I sold raffle tickets at £1 a strip. The only downside was having to ‘turn out’ every Thursday for a few weeks so that the Cubs got to take part, but even that wasn’t too bad as I got to see the Cub Young Leader who I went to Scouts with but don’t see very often as we go to different schools – who is now begging me to lend her some walking trousers for her DofE.

I held the other raffle at my school and my friends really wanted to win the delicious chocolate prizes. At school I did it slightly differently so as too maximise my profits, 50p a ticket or 5 tickets for £2 (to get the odd change left over from bus money!)

Congratulations to all my winners.

Together the raffles raised nearly a 25th of my fundraising goal so I’m already planning on doing it again next year and have bought (in the Easter sale) some very large cuddly bunnies to include as prizes.

Young Leader

When I am not spending a weekend camping in the snow to prepare for a sunny and humid campsite on the Jamboree, I am a Young Leader for my local Beaver unit.

Last week, I participated in my second Young Leader training module (after completing module A in January) not knowing anyone going apart from my fellow Young Leader.

However when I arrived I knew most people in the room. Some from Jamboree and another from school. I have been friends with this person for a while and had no clue they were part of my Scouting family, needless to say we’ve got a lot more to talk about in class now.

Some upcoming activities as a Young Leader include:- running my very first meeting with my fellow Young Leader and also going on Beaver camp! I am thoroughly looking forward to this and I will blog to keep you up to date.

Explorer Scout 84 meets the mini beast from the East

Once upon a time there was a young girl who’s dream was to go to the World Scout Jamboree in 2019.

She passed the first test by getting selected to represent her County and started doing lots of fundraising.

Then the time came to go to her second whole unit meet up training camp.

The weather forecast was for it to be cold, some parents queried whether it was still going ahead (not hers though!) and they were met with the answer ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’. They are Scouts after all and so should ‘Be Prepared’. At this point I think I should mention that I’m not sure if Baden Powell had this in mind when he started Scouting 111 years ago.

Anyway with 2 sets of thermals, 2 sleeping bags (each able to cope with below zero temperatures) and various other layers to put on should it be a little chilly, she set off for a nice weekend away camping.

The first evening passed without any hiccups and Explorer Scout 84 settled down to sleep, nice and cosy in her 2 sleeping bags. zzz zzz zzz

The next morning they discovered that weather hadn’t been very kind to the cooking tent which had blown across the campsite but Explorer Scout 84 silently reminded herself ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’.

Explorer Scout 84 ate breakfast and then received her new unit necker and they were so pretty. A sprinkling of snow start to fall and they continued with the day’s activities which now included making mini snowmen and going on a walk as opposed to a hike, owing to the weather conditions (Remember – ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’).

The evening came and so did the mini beast from the East, except there was nothing mini about it. It was cold, it started snowing more heavily and Explorer Scout 84 just wanted to go to her tent where her 2 cosy sleeping bags were. (Remember – ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’ and her cosy good kit was waiting for her in her tent!).

After a roaring campfire with toasted marshmallows she settled down in her tent to sleep zzz zzz zzz

The next morning she awoke thinking she had been transported magically to Arendelle as it was very white and cold. Thankfully the kettle was already on so she made herself a good brew.

After a hearty breakfast she sat down to listen to a brief ~~lecture~~ talk about personal development, remembering the key rule ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’ she carefully produced six personal developments.

After taking a few photos in readiness for this year’s fundraising Christmas card she helped break camp.

Explorer Scout 84 returned home safely with a great appreciation for the British weather, chanting to herself ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’.

The End

NB The above is a true story of this weekend’s camp, the only thing that didn’t happen was the marshmallow toasting