Explorer Scout 84

Bonfire weekend

On Friday the 5th of November, it was bonfire night. Last year I wrote a blog about the history of Guy Fawkes which you can find here. As I am now at university, my weekend has been very different compared to if I was at home.

Friday 5th November:

Tori, George and I went firework hunting around the posh, upper class area around my university. We saw a few fireworks in the sky but we were more exploring the local area before stopping at Morrisons to buy Parkin cake to have with custard. On our way back to my accommodation, we saw a dinosaur outside the Botanical Gardens. Later that evening, we watched Paul the movie (about an alien who wants to return home) and played with George’s NES gaming system.

Saturday 6th November:

Tori and I were going to go find some sparklers however, xe did not wake up in time – so we did not buy any. In the evening, we headed towards Edgbaston Cricket Ground to watch the fireworks. We stood in a nearby field, with torches I bought with me. The fireworks were very beautiful and after the display, we headed back to my flat. We played Solitaire, Blackjack, ate food (inc. churros) and watched a horror movie (called Hereditary – a psychological horror) on a projector.

Sunday 7th November:

I caught up on some work and completed some assignments. I also did some meal preparation as well as cleaning the flat. In the late afternoon, I went on a short walk (but saw no fireworks).

A Month In

Campus (including Old Joe with clock hands)

Today marks one month since moving into university and I have been busy settling in. I have been enjoying having independence, yet it was nice to see my family last weekend. Together we went out for a meal and did a small bit of shopping where I got a blind to go in my flat’s kitchen window (thank you Will) – this replaces the makeshift clothes line which dried our tea towels. Around the flat I have been doing lots of small DIY with string/ rope in order to create innovative spaces.

I’ve been baking a lot in university and have been making banana bread (also called monkey bread), ginger snaps, coffee cake and oat biscuits. I watched the Addams family with my favourite flatmates Ella and George over the weekend which was very nice and we have started hanging up Halloween decorations around the flat.

This weekend, I am going camping with my university’s SSAGO group which I am really looking forward to. It’ll be the first time I will’ve gone camping in nearly two years due to the pandemic disrupting various camping opportunities.

Cricket grounds where I got my second vaccine

I am enjoying learning lots of new concepts and have recently started learning how to code in Java – which is quite difficult but with a bit of rubber duck debugging it is going swimmingly! I still have not caught freshers flu, instead I became very ill from my second vaccine (which I got at a cricket stadium).

As you can tell, I have been very busy but I will definitely blog about camping – so look out for another blog in a week.

Blue gets freshers’ flu!

Well, what a busy week, it has flown by. I’ve done lots of things and met loads of amazing people.

Blue has been busy too, so busy out partying until the small hours that he has freshers’ flu.

I’ve tucked him up in bed with a hot water bottle, the fan on and plenty of bear snacks on the bedside table.

University Move in weekend

On Saturday the 18th of September, Blue and I moved into university. We arrived at our accommodation at 16:30 and were greeted by older students volunteering to help us move our bags. At first the locks on the doors were confusing to open but shortly I got into the swing of it.

When I entered my flat, E was already there and she had unpacked most of her belongings. I found out that her mum works near where I live – showing just how small the world is. After unpacking some items and meeting W (another flatmate), it was time to head to Sainsbury’s to do a quick shop for some food essentials and a rug.

Dinner – a cheese and egg omelette in a bagel

After arriving back at my flat, I said goodbye to my parents and sister before heading to play some card games with E, W and G. We wrote down when each others birthdays were on a chalkboard and made small conversation. We then headed to bed at around 22:30 so I finished some of my unpacking before heading to bed.

On Sunday the 19th of September, I woke up and made myself some breakfast. I started to set up my laptop and TV (which would act as my second monitor). I then went on a walk around campus to get some fresh air before walking back via the cannel. We then made lunch and chilled out.

Later in the afternoon I met with Z (someone I knew from primary school), we both walked together to a high street of shops to gather some extra items. It was nice to catch up after a few years of not seeing one another as well as being able to talk to someone more familiar.

After our walk, I headed back to my flat. I then went on the hunt to find the laundrette before heading to grab free pizza and talk to new people who were in some of the flats around me. I then made some dinner before watching some Netflix with E.

Back 2 School

Hi blog, it’s Blue here to let you know what 84 has been up to. Today is a very weird yet exciting day as Sis84 heads back to school for year 11! – I’m sure when I met her, she was only starting year 9. 84 has been telling me how scary it is that she has finished Sixth Form and will be heading off to university later this month to study Mathematics and Computer Science.

This summer has been very busy for 84 as she has slowly been packing for University, has started a new job over the summer and took a well earned break after there chaotic two years of Sixth Form during the pandemic. On the 10th of August she got her ALevel results and 84 was very pleased with them, she got into the university of her choice which is still fairly local to home but far enough away to live in university flats for her first year. I look forward to joining the SSAGOS unit and maybe even joining a local Beaver group as a leader (well 84 as the leader not me)!

What does the Fleur De Lis mean to me?

The following blog has been sitting in my drafts for a few years now. I still agree with what I have written so it is as below.

The three leaves of the trefoil represent the threefold Scout Promise – Duty to God and Country, Duty to Self and Duty to Others. To me they also represent the 3 sections of Scouting I have already been through – Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

The two small five-point stars stand for truth and knowledge but to me they also represent the two hours of volunteering I participate weekly.

The reef knot represents the strength of World Scouting but to me this also represents badge work such as the pioneering badge where I first learnt all of my knots.

The rope around the Fleur De-Lis represents units but to me it also represents the beginning and ends of the meetings where we face the flag and perform flag break.

The ring holding the petals together represents the bonds of brotherhood and so to me it represents my Scouting family. Hence all the friends I have made and met through Scouting.

Simple views but with my own personal connotations. What does the Fleur de Lis mean to you? let me know in the comments below.

What happened in history on the 23rd May

I am interested in seeing what happened in history on the 23rd May so here is my timeline.

In 1934, Bonnie and Clyde were killed by Texas Rangers.

In 1785, Benjamin Franklin announced his invention of bifocals which are used for people who struggle to focus on near and distant objects.

In 2008, the Union of South American Nations constitutive treaty was signed.

In 1618, the Thirty Year War started.

In 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary.

In 1701, the famous Scottish pirate Captain William Kid was executed.

Hi again

Hello blog, recently I have not been very active with my blog due to being back at school (in real life) rather than on online school. This has meant that I have been very busy, especially getting back into the school routine, as well as preparing for exams. Hopefully, by the end of May, I should be back to blogging weekly as I should be finished with school for the Summer.

On Monday the 19th of April 2021, we had our first Beavers meeting outside in over a year after being on Zoom since March 2020. This was really enjoyable and the Beavers seemed to enjoy the evening playing games, sat at a safe distance apart, as well as learning about the patron saint of Scouting, St. George. We played games such as Splat, Heads and Tails and Simon Says before finishing the evening by designing our own shields – which mine had a snail on.

Census 2021

Today’s in England and Wales the census was to be filled out. This was to be completed by all households in order to help future decisions being made being beneficial for the future community such as the organising, planning, funding for transport, education and healthcare. The last census was completed in 2011 and is completed every 10 years on the 21st of March – including this year during the coronavirus pandemic.

Virtual Games

Today’s blog post will be discussing different games you can play via. Zoom or any other online Scouting meeting. These are different games I have played with Beavers however, they could be played with any age group.

The bean game:

The leader or young leaders call out different types of beans and the young people will act them out once called. You can call out more than one beans so they act two or more at the same time. The different beans are as follows:

Runner bean – run on the spot

Jelly bean – wave arms like a jelly fish

Broad bean– stand with arms out in a star position

String bean – stand with arms up in air long

Jumping bean – jump up and down

Baked bean – crouch down in a ball

Beans on toast – lie on floor with arms out

French bean – say ‘oo la la‘

Mr Bean – say ‘where’s my teddy‘

Finally, you can combine different actions together such as jelly bean and French bean.

Simon said:

Use your Leaders name and play Simon said. For example, my Beaver name is Snail so if I say ‘Snail said clap your hands’ and the young people will follow and copy. However, if I say ‘stop’ then the young people will continue clapping as I/ the leader did not say “Snail said”

NESW:

This game uses the North as pointing your fingers up, East as right, South as down and West as left. You can also incorporate different ‘pirate’ actions including:

Scrub the deck – kneel down and pretend to scrub the floor

Climb the riggin‘ – move arms up and down as if you are climbing up a ladder

Captains coming – salute and stand to attention

Crocodile – snap your arms in front of you like a crocodile making a snapping noise

Life boats of *insert number here* – hold the number on your hand using your fingers i.e. lifeboats of 3, you will hold 3 fingers up

Walk the plank – lie on the floor off camera

Shark attack – pretend to have a fin and become a shark

True or false:

For this game, you will say different facts and the young people will decide if they believe they are true or false. If the young people believe they are trues, they will put their thumbs up and if they believe the fact is false, they will put their thumbs down. You can vary the facts and questions to make them more difficult for older groups.

Alphabet game:

For this game, you go around the young people asking them to name something beginning with A. The next young person will say the previous A word and add a word beginning with B. This can be done with a theme such as animals, household objects or even items you would take camping.

If you have any games which I have not mentioned feel free to comment them on this post!