my scouting life – Page 4 – Explorer Scout 84

That’s not my quiz

it’s for Sis84

Last Friday I had a break from my own fundraising, to go along to a quiz being held to fundraise for my sister’s gang show. I didn’t really want to go but I was reminded that Sis84 has been dragged along to multiple fundraising events for me.

So off we went braving the icy roads to get to the scout hut. It turned out to be a very popular evening as they had to sort out extra tables as there were so many teams taking part.

It started with a table quiz of picture questions on Christmas best selling toys and an alphabet take from sweet wrappers which we had to name the sweet. We started off great, with Dad84 naming all the Lego variations and Mum84 doing well on the sweet wrappers due to her sweet tooth.

The first challenge came with the title of the first round ‘Sport’ well Fam84 are not particularly into sporting events so we dreaded this round. The first question was a complete guess, but had they listened to me they would have got it correct – cricket. Mum84 excelled in her sporting knowledge, knowing the answers to a few including who first ran the four minute mile.
We did so well that at the halfway point we were in 2nd place. Amazing …

The second half was also fun, yet again we guessed a few (OK more than a few!) Dad84 disappointed us by getting the name of the newspaper that Peter Parker works for wrong and Mum84 had a good stab at the musicals and film theme songs. The last two rounds were our best – dingbats and logos. I hate to say it but I just don’t get dingbats even though its say what you see. Thanks to my celebrity big brother guess for one of the logos Mum84 correctly got ‘Bird’s Eye’.

We had a great evening and ended up coming 3rd! Not bad for an amateur team. It has to be noted that the winning team consisted of the family of my Beaver Leader. Congratulations.

Jamboree Camp: Take 5

So this weekend I went on another Jamboree camp and caught up with all my friends. We arrived on Friday evening and got put into our patrols. I got the position of being the assistant patrol leader for my patrol and so once we were all in our patrols we had to come up with patrol names. As a patrol we came up with some very obscure and weird names, we could not decide on a name so still haven’t chosen our final name yet! but we did chose a time to wake up and cook breakfast the next morning.

‘Before bed’ (as quoted) we had hotdogs and hot chocolate for supper. We then watched Toy Story 3 in the hut all cosied up with our sleeping bags and roll mats. As usual on my Jamboree camps we didn’t get to sleep until way past 2 the next morning.

The next morning we cooked omelettes for breakfast and washed up before the activities began. One of our morning activities was to plan our unit video to be sent to the UK contingent. We discussed what represented our counties and what represented our unit as a whole as well.

After this we discussed where we wanted to visit in NYC and Washington DC. For NYC we had discussions on visiting Ground Zero, Times Square and Central Park. For Washington DC we discussed visiting the White House, The National Mall and Smithsonian museums including the air and space museum (Mum and Dad- I promise not to sleep through the whole of the first floor exhibits if we go).

We then watched a short video on the timeline of the 9/11 attacks, we then discussed how it had changed and shifted the world and how we now experience air travel.

Our unit then played a couple of games before we went inside for lunch. To practice having to use points to buy meals we were given a set amount of points and had to decide the best way to ‘spend’ them on our lunch. Each of the lunch food items were worth different points and so we had to work out what we wanted for lunch and to make sure we had enough points to buy it.

After lunch, we had a talk about what to expect if we go to Canada and which countries we would also be going too. We also looked at the additional kit and what kit we would be given. As we were doing this we wrote down any queries into a box and also who we wanted to share a tent with out on the Jamboree.

In the afternoon, we went on a mini hike around the village where we had to go on a mini scavenger hunt. We had to find a blue item, see how many people we could fit in a phone box, get a takeaway menu, take pictures of birds (we cleverly took picture of chickens in the butchers) and more. My patrol lost but I believe this just gives our patrols a lot of room for improvement. When we returned we were given an activity to find out what was stuck onto our forehead and the pair. Later, we found out that this is who we’d be sharing a tent with.

For dinner we had chicken curry and rice and for the only time ever the whole unit had finished cooking and cleaned 40 minutes before planned. We were then split into half and talked about some of the things which might happen on the Jamboree and any more worries we might have followed by yet another unit discussion.

Our evening activity consisted of as called ‘Unit 82 got talent in their eyes factor, get me out of stars in their strictly popstars on ice’. In our patrols we decided on our ‘talents’ with my patrol doing a mini magic show with magic tricks. I did a card trick and we had other card tricks and a plate trick. Other patrols did dancing and acrobatics. My act came second from last but as I mentioned earlier there is always room for improvement. Our leaders also surprised us by dressing up in suits and dresses to be the show’s judges.

To finish ‘Unit 82 got talent in their eyes factor, get me out of stars in their strictly popstars on ice’ the whole unit sang Bohemian Rhapsody. After a couple of rounds of Irish snap and cheat, we settled off to sleep. Yet again, we weren’t asleep until 2 the next morning.

Breakfast was bacon baps and was then followed by a first aid session. We talked about what we might experience on the Jamboree and how to prevent it. For example, we were reminded of DR ABC, what to do if someone faints, how to prevent dehydration and sun burns as well as how to clean and cover grazes.

We played a couple more games and then it was time to set up afternoon tea for the parents and to eat our lunch (no point system today). The parents then had a parent meeting where they learnt some more information and had the chance to ask any questions. It was then time to say goodbye to all of my friends before we left to go back to our county.

I’m currently finishing this blog on the way back with my motivation (a minibus classic and tradition) of cold custard. We also had a challenge this camp go try and fit all of our kit into a medium bag to practice for our first few days travelling to the Jamboree where highly likely we won’t be allowed to go into our big bags. I managed to pack mine into a small-ish rucksack, so my Mum didn’t have to call the plumber to remove the kitchen sink this time!

Blue on Tour

Hello!

Guest blogger Blue here. I’m Blue the Bear and I’m the official mascot of Unit 82. At our last unit meet-up I got the chance to hit the road with one of our more distant members and I was shocked to find out they were the secret blogger! I though I’d hijack their blog and tell you a bit about what I’ve been up to.

I got to visit the Beaver Colony that 84 helps out with and see some of the fun and games they get up to. I met their own mascot Barry the Beaver. We were taught about some of the things to take on a camp and the following weekend I went along to their winter camp. I wonder if any of the beavers I met will be a participant at a future World Scout Jamboree.

I’ve been to visit a museum all about the history of jet planes. It was interesting getting close to the planes. I can’t wait until we fly out for the Jamboree although I imagine the plane will be a lot bigger than the ones I saw. Talking about flying I was really excited when 84 told me about the travel details that had been released.

With Christmas coming up 84 has been out fundraising at Christmas Fayres. I’ve been along to some of these where I was on guard duty looking after the collection pot and keeping an eye on everyone looking at the things she had been making to sell. Fortunately no one tried to buy me because I’m sure I overheard her discussing with her sister how much she could charge for me.

You may have noticed in some of these pictures I’ve been sporting a Double Blue Bow-tie. While I’ve been staying with 84 there was a winter ball for the Explorers and Network members in her county. She went to this with some of her Explorer Group friends, but there were also quite a lot of other Jamboree participants as well and there are some nice pictures taken of them all. 84 made me a bow tie so I could dress the part as well.

As well as all things Scouting, 84 also took me along to a Rainbow meeting. There I met Olivia, the Rainbow mascot. The Rainbows were doing a craft activity with lots of glitter. I think we need more glitter at Double Blue unit meetings. The Rainbows taught me a new song while I was there, a Christmas Nativity song to the tune of the classic campfire “Pizza Hut” song.

This week 84 has been poorly and so been off school and at home during the day. It was nice to get the extra time with her although I am also a bit sad that she is unwell. I hope she recovers quickly in time for Christmas!

Sadly my time with 84 had to come to an end. Today we went to a meetup of all her county’s Jamboree members where we learnt more about what to expect. At the end of this I hitched a ride back up North.

While I’ve been staying with 84 we’ve written some other blogs together to publish in the future so I’m sure this won’t be the last you hear from me.

Yours in Scouting,

Blue

Equipment: A very serious blog post.

I was recently challenged to come up with a list of things I’d take camping, but only things that began with the first letter of my name. Which of course is E for Explorer, or is it Eighty Four?

It was harder than I thought but here are my top 25 items:

Emergency Blanket
Extra Thick Socks
Earmuffs
Eurohike Tent (other tents are also available)
Envelope
Equipment
Eye drops
Ear plugs
Eiderdown
Espadrilles
Elephant dung (dried)
Entertainment system
England’s Glory Matches (other brands are also available, just not starting with an E)
Email
Energiser Batteries (or maybe Every Ready, still taking bids for product placement on this one)
Electric toothbrush
Elf on the shelf.
Emery board
Edam, eggs, enchiladas, escallops and other edibles.
Embalming Fluid (you never know)
Epic novel (on an e-reader)
Elastic
Eagle Scout Repellent 😉
Erasers
Exam revision
and of course: Everything Else!

Beast of the future

Unfortunately this is not another snow camp unlike the beast from the east but it was another camping trip.

I went camping last weekend with my friend who I hadn’t camped with for a couple of years. It was nice to catch up and because we were the only ones from our unit, we made friends with other explorer groups in our county. I saw my Jamboree friends as well, who as well as I were taking a well deserved break from fundraising.

On the Friday evening I failed at circus skills but instead aced a game of cards. Followed by a disco, to then finally fall asleep at 1am the next morning.

The next day we could choose which activities we wanted to do. I did archery, rifle shooting, caving, a blind folded trail, tomahawks, arts and crafts, laser tag, bushcraft and many more.

The evening entertainment consisted of a silent disco where half the room would be dancing to the cha cha slide and the other half of the room would be singing and dancing along to YMCA. This finished gone midnight so yet again, I finally fell asleep at 1.

The final day consisted of rain and more rain – luckily this hadn’t been over the whole weekend. I did some more arts and craft by building a tower from spaghetti and sweets, did some archery and played some more cards. I went home having had an amazing time and meeting some amazing new friends.

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream …

Last weekend I went camping, yet again. As you already know from my many camping experiences is that there is no such thing as bad weather only bad kit.

The weekend was beautiful to do water sports and I did kayaking in the morning of the first day and then some canoeing in the afternoon. When kayaking I learnt how to do a 360, paddle to the side, paddle backwards, turn around efficiently, the different ways I could get in and out of a kayak and the different types of kayaks.

My next activity was canoeing. I have never been in a canoe before so this was going to be a first time experience for me. I originally sat in the front of my canoe. My new friend, sat in the back and she controlled the direction of the canoe whilst I acted as the engine powering the canoe forwards. It took a while to get the hang of thing, we struggled to turn, go in a straight line and do some of the skills. However, when it came to swapping over positions in the canoe we were skilled at balancing in the river whilst swapping ends. I was then in control of the direction of the canoe and we paddled up stream. Once we got up stream, we created a sail boat using all 3 canoes to ‘sail’ with the current back to the bank.

For dinner, we had fish and chips and settled for an early night. Me and my friends learnt a new card game – apparently it was the proper way to play cheat. Where aces allowed you to change suit, 2s and 3s were the amount of cards the next player had to pick up, 4s meant you had to place 4 cards down with either the same suit or number, 8s missed a go and kings changed direction. This new card game took over an hour to finish and then it was time for bed.

The next morning, we ate breakfast and then were back out on the water in the kayaks again. This time instead of using the slip way, we seal launched from a mini slip way. We had to capsize our kayaks to get our stage three paddle sport badge so after a lot of fun enjoying paddling towards the wind up against the strong current. I managed to capsize my kayak safely and then warmed up before helping to pack the campsite down.

I had a great weekend – even if I was constantly worrying about whether Bat would get his revenge from Beaver camp.

Where it all began

Before the Jamboree, I set myself the challenge of visiting Brownsea Island. I achieved this last week when I visited my grandparents on holiday.

I arrived in Poole Harbour with enough time to catch the 11 o’clock ferry. In less than 20 minutes I arrived to my destination and, as if I was landing on the moon, I took one step for man off of the ferry and took one giant leap for ~~mankind~~ explorerscout84sblogskind.

I found the Scout Stone engraved with the words, “This Stone Commemorates the experimental Camp of 20 boys held on this site from 1st-9th of August 1907 by Robert Baden-Powell later Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell Founder of the Scout and Guide Movement”. Olivia (the Rainbow from my Mum’s Rainbow Unit) and I took photos with the Scout Stone.

While at the Scout Stone, a group of Cubs came along waiting to have a group photo with it. I spoke to the leaders and told them who I was and what I would be doing – going to the Jamboree of course. I showed them my UK contingent necker which they were very envious of and I persuaded them to buy some of my badges. Who knew I would manage to do some fundraising whilst on holiday! I learnt that the group were camping on the island for their summer camp which I am very envious of.

The Neckers floating in the Trading Post

Being a dedicated badge collector, I had to visit the Trading Post. Inside there were Neckers ‘floating’ from the ceiling and badges were displayed from all across the world. A pin the map was covered with pins – this is where you use a drawing pin to pin the location you have travelled from. They had a UK map and a World map where there were pins covering every county and most countries.

I brought a necker, some badges and a woggle to commemorate my journey and spotted the Brownsea Island Units badges for sale – unfortunately I already had these. However, I learnt that the different colours outline of these badges represent the 4 different patrols.

I donated one of my unit badges to the shop and they were very grateful for it. They have many displays of badges including those from previous Jamborees.

After my visit to the trading post, I also spoke to a Scout from Wales who was also camping on the island – I’m still envious of them too. They asked whether I would be willing to trade neckers with them, unfortunately I had to say no. I had only brought my Unit necker and UK contingent necker with me, which I would only receive one of.

Being in the National Trust site, allowed nature to live peacefully. I saw many different species of animals, however I did not get to see the rare red squirrels which live on the island. I saw peacocks which did not have there tails up, peahens and peachicks (which are baby peacocks or peahens – depending on their gender). I learnt that even baby peachicks have feathers on their foreheads as well as the peacocks and peahens.

On the way back to Poole, we thought that our ferry would go straight back to Poole harbour until we found out that we were on a tour around Poole harbour. I learnt that one of the islands is used as an oil farm and the oil gets transported back to the mainland via pipes underground. Another one of the islands held a £9 million house and in Sandbanks the houses are worth over £6 million.

After our detour, we arrived back into Poole Harbour. We went back into the harbour and we headed back to my grandparents house.

Whilst I was on the island I talked to many different people – some ex members of Scouting, members of the public and Scout groups – sharing with them all about my Jamboree experience.

I’ve read that at the Summit Bechtel Reserve there is also a Brownsea Island – I’m looking forward to seeing that one too!

Evolution: #stravolution part 2

Many apologies for not posting on Sunday I’ve been very busy recently – apparently one of my jamboree unit has a secret blog and I’ve been trying to figure out who! I’ve also been visiting family-a big shout out to my Grandma ‘Happy Birthday’ it was great to see everyone at your party. One of my cousins couldn’t make the party she was in hospital having my new 2nd cousin.

So last week I posted about helping out at Strategy well this blog post is all about Evolution. It’s similar to Strategy but is for Explorers, Network and their Guiding counterparts.

There were 15 bases including moving a flag pole, an assault course, the caving bus, don’t buzz the wire, axe throwing, belay systems, catch the bean bag in hat, total wipe out and move the golf ball thought pipes. It was a hot and tiring day but our patrol leader kept us motivated and we managed to visit 14 of the bases.

The evening entertainment was a band called The Lost and they were good.

There were several jamboree units there and I’m quite jealous of Unit 82s hoodies, they look great. Unit 82 also took along a paddling pool – seriously cool! I’m also very envious and secretly hoping we steal the idea of the woggles that Unit 81 have.

The food this weekend was yet again delicious and I loved the curry, but didn’t get free chips this weekend 🙁

We got to sleep in some tents from the last World Scout Jamboree so I didn’t need to take my own this time. I think I must have scared away all the spiders as even though I came prepared with my peppermint tea bags I didn’t discover any.

How did we do? We didn’t win but my patrol were in the top 30 out of over 100 teams which I think is pretty good given this is the first time we’ve done something like this as a Unit. It’d be great to do it again next year, maybe I’ll have worked out who the secret blogger is by then.

Strategy: #stravolution part 1.

My Mum says how times have changed since she was a Venture Scout as the last words she said to me when dropping me off at camp this weekend were “have you got your charger cable?” Does she not fully appreciate the Scout motto! Well she certainly does now as next time I go camping she’s threatening to get the plumber in.

Before I write about this weekend, let me tell you about last weekend, when I helped out at Strategy, a event full of activities and challenges aimed at Scouts and Guides. I thought I’d use this blog to give you an idea of what that involved.

I arrived on Friday evening and, after pitching my tent, went to find a job to do as this was a working weekend. Unfortunately there were no jobs to do at the time so I went and explored the site and then investigated the disco. After a tiring evening (I had come straight from school) I went to bed.

We had an early start at a quarter to seven to go and get our breakfast, before working on the packed lunch conveyor belt. We then packed our day sacks ready to ‘man’ the bases.

For the morning I was at the Catapult base, at this base participants could score up to 100 points by catapulting 5 tennis balls and 5 soft balls into a variety of targets like buckets (an automatic 100 points), a paddling pool (20 points each) and a roped off area (5 points each) with bonus points if they ‘accidently’ hit one of the Young Leaders.

After lunch I moved bases to a giant “buzz wire” game. This time they had two minutes to complete the challenge to earn 100 points, but lost points every time they made it buzz.

I helped checked off the wristbands of each person as they came through for dinner and then had other tasks such as being on “hand sanitiser duty” and giving out pudding. After dinner was over I helped out in the café, scooping ice-cream onto waffles and taking payment for ice-cream cones. Even though I was on the ice-cream stand I somehow ended up eating free chips.

Once our set tasks were over we played with an American football someone had brought (well the Jamboree is in the USA) and generally wound down.

When we got back to our tents my Spidey-Senses kicked in. One of my tent buddies had left the inner tent unzipped and we’d been invaded during the day. My skill at spotting spiders no-one else had seen was incredible and we finally got to sleep.

After another early start on Sunday I helped run an “Escape Room” style challenge where they had to solve the puzzles to open a bike lock. After lunch we helped pack up until finally I was rescued and got to go home and rest. It was a lot of rest which is why my blog was so late last week!

The weekend was a good chance to catch up with some of my Jamboree Unit and also find out more about what to expect for when we came back this weekend to take part ourselves.

To end part one of this tale you’ll be pleased to hear that, thanks to a battery pack and the previously mentioned charging cable, my phone just about had enough charge until I got home.

My chance to be fantastic 4 a meeting

Recently me and my fellow Young Leader, Giraffe, ran our own Beaver meeting. 25 Beavers turned up for one Incredible meeting. If you hadn’t figured out the theme from my pun well it was Superheroes.

The Beavers made masks by decorating a mask template and then colouring it in, they were all Super. They also got their own superhero names.

They played many superhero themed games including saving the good from the evil villains, doing superhero stepping stones and stuck in the mud but with villains as the taggers.

It was a very good night but seemed to go by in a Flash.