Tales from the Scout Hut

TALES FROM THE SCOUT HUT

The group took part in the annual St George’s service at Deal at the end of April. This year due to a bad weather forecast there was no parade and the service took place in the Landmark Centre. This is an important time in Scouting as it’s the time we come together to renew our Promise. At Windsor Castle our new Queens Scout, Harry Sims, was one of over 500 young people who took part in the National Scout Celebration. The parade took part in the Quandrangle where the inspection was carried out by the Duchess of Gloucester along with Bear Grylls and Wayne Bulpitt who is the UK Chief Commissioner. This was then followed by the service in St George’s Chapel. A highlight for those us watching was that Bear Grylls took the time out to come over and say hello before the parade and sign autographs! It was a very special day.

On Saturday 7th May we held our VE 70 Coffee morning outside the Post Office. It was a very happy morning with lots of people joining us to remember the joy at war ending 70 years ago. Vera Lynn sang and Churchill’s speech announcing the end of the war was played. At the end of the morning we had raised a fantastic £210.41 which will be divided between the group and the Royal British Legion. We would like to thank everyone who made and donated cakes, Karl and Yolanda at the Post Office for letting us take over their frontage and supplied water and electricity for us, all the young people who helped on the morning and everyone who came along on the morning.

We have recently started the process to become affiliated with the Staple Branch of the Royal British Legion and two of us were privileged to be invited to represent the group at their Service of Thanksgiving to mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day and the dedication of the new memorial plaque in their Garden of Remembrance.

As one of the highlights in the Beaver calendar, 20 of our Beaver Scouts and their leaders took part in the annual District Beaver sleepover at Eastry Primary School at the beginning of May which had a ‘Bug’ theme this year. The sleepover started off with playground activities, after which there were hotdogs and then all 86 Beavers snuggled down in their sleeping bags for storytime and to watch the film ‘Epic’. At 6.30am the following morning they were all awake and after breakfast of cereal and toast, there were outdoor activities and bug related crafts followed by entertainment from a Magician. At the end of the sleepover all the Beavers were awarded their Explorer and Nights Away badges. Then everyone went home to catch up on their sleep! For the rest of May they have been out and about with a hike to Ickham and games at the Rec and at Elgar’s Field.

At the beginning of term the Cubs completed the Communicator Badge and since then they have been busy making homes for wildlife. They have made bird feeders out of plastic bottles and bee and bug homes. The Scouts worked hard on the Meteorology Badge at the beginning of term by keeping records of the weather and making cloud formations! They also went to Elgar’s Field to observe the weather – wind direction, cloud formations, sunset and what any wildlife was up to. They have also been busy with micro pioneering at the hut – using spaghetti, marshmallows, twigs, sellotape and string! These materials were used to create a bridge, a tepee and a space pod.

The older Explorers have continued their work on the hut this term, this time by working hard outside the hut to lay kerbstones and a path. Many of our young people are doing external exams now and we wish them the best of luck in them.

On Saturday 16th June we will be holding our Annual Car Wash, at the Scout Hut 9am to 1pm. Prices per vehicle will be £3 or £5 for people carriers, larger 4x4s and vans. There will also be an opportunity to have a cup of tea or coffee and have a look around at the improvement works in the hut.