Yeah, our cub leader is just waiting for District to pull the plug on the Barnswood camp
The river at Gradbach comes in handy:
pretty handy for making a monkey bridge- they really have to make sure lashings are up to scratch or they get wet!
Back when we had walkie talkies, for skills sessions we’d split patrols- half of a patrol would be outside with gazebos and the others inside with the instructions and they had to communicate to get it put up.
Made a big map out of 6 Landrangers. We're going to put photos of everywhere we've been on it.
Disproportionally pleased with myself.
Entirely proportionately pleased I'd say
The kids are fascinated with it. Put a map on a table and they go "meh", put 6 of them on a wall and show them where they live and where they have been and they really interact.
It also shows us leaders where we haven't been.
The maps were off ebay for a couple of quid each as they are out of date. M60 and M65 are incomplete, the Leeds one is in Olde Norse etc.
I'm guessing Linnet on the right, Dunham on the left?
Yeah, just above the burning edge of the Known World.
Waddecar to the north, Liverpool west, Bradley Wood east.
Hebden Hey and Blakedean in the north east. Blakedean is brilliant for older for kids if you want a base for a hike. Not sure I'd want "nippers" running about there though.
Brilliant idea. Tempted to poach it as we’ve got plenty of out of date maps. At one stage it was proposed we’d use them as wall paper for the den.
These are 1:50000 Landrangers, so not much use to us anyway.
Well, Jnr has had confirmation he's got his Kings Scout award, so I'm heading to Windsor next April!
Managed to get the cubs out orienteering in a nearby scout campsite last nightIt was muddy but not raining or too cold.
They all went absolutely nuts, I think this crap weather has kept them inside for a while, so a chance to charge around the woods in the dark was a good opportunity to let off steam.
We did a camp last weekend, indoor at Gradbach. Holy crap, the lads were a nightmare, just argument after issue after problem after argument after punchup... in the end one went home early after multiple issues.
I sent a message out to all parents about sending their kids with multiple bags of sweets and, in one case, a six pack of Pepsi (that case being the son of a Cub leader, FFS). Over excited, over tired, over caffeinated and off their tits on Haribo, it was quite something.
Then got home and there was a trailer for Lord of the Flies...
Interesting chat with family at the weekend - two Guide leaders and a Scout leader. Consensus seemed to be that kids want to be active and/or making things. They "learn" at school, they do enough "digital" stuff in their own time, they want something different in Scouting and Guiding.
Anyway, last nights health ride came across a Scout troop night hike in the wilds last night - they formed a guard of honour and cheered as we rode through and we all rang our bells in return. Great fun.
And while I'm still an incredibly proud parent, the agenda for the Kings Scout thing at Windsor sounds an absolute ballache - 9am to 5pm for the poor lad.
My lad should get his King's once he's had his DoE Gold signed off.
Daughter has got on Jamboree, so were in another cycle of fundraising after getting his Explorer Belt paid for.
I have to say that my closer contact with District and County have left me feeling rather dispirited. I'm thinking of sacking it off next summer once Jamboree is done :-/
I sent a message out to all parents about sending their kids with multiple bags of sweets and, in one case, a six pack of Pepsi (that case being the son of a Cub leader, FFS). Over excited, over tired, over caffeinated and off their tits on Haribo, it was quite something
We have a strict rule about sweets and snacks on camp
They have to handover everything on arrival and it gets shared out by us as pudding- we encourage cakes/biscuits rather than sweets
anything found in tents is confiscated (and scoffed by the leaders)
I have to say that my closer contact with District and County have left me feeling rather dispirited. I'm thinking of sacking it off next summer once Jamboree is done :-/
Everyone reaches a point when they've done/had enough, and need to step back. And there's fine.
Well done on Jamboree - remember the fundraising when Jr went to the US in 2019
cracking day out on an Endurance hike my cubs did the 10k 
The scouts including my middle child are about 32k into a 40k route , despite having one of the latest start times of 11am, he will hopefully finish about 1030pm
My eldest and the explorers started at 7 am and hes about 65k into the 80k ! route so finishe by 2am
the mud was hard work too
Well done on Jamboree.
Wifey and Thump were in South Korea for the last one - the one where they got evacuated and had to spend 2 weeks in luxury hotels being exposed to non-stop KPop concerts and baseball games. It was quite an experience by all accounts. When he returned we put Thump's kilt socks straight into the bin.
Fundraising included abseiling off the Falkirk wheel. Even H (then aged 10) got to have a go when someone took a panic attack so he stepped in.
Wifey is away this weekend at the leaders' camp for the next one. In Stoke, whereever that is.
If you are North West based this is a really good event.
Escape Rammy 2026 – Registration Open – Bury and Ramsbottom District Scouts
Had an excellent cub camp in the wilds of Northamptonshire this weekend, great weather-a bit chilly at night-
We had a parent helper with us who is senior defence editor at the Economist and a very interesting man.
Shattered now! only downer was one of the darlings throwing a rock through one of pur leaders car windows- their parents have agreed to cover the cost!
Had an excellent cub camp in the wilds of Northamptonshire this weekend, great weather-a bit chilly at night-
We had a parent helper with us who is senior defence editor at the Economist and a very interesting man.
Shattered now! only downer was one of the darlings throwing a rock through one of pur leaders car windows- their parents have agreed to cover the cost!
Deliberately aimed at the car or was the car justvin the wrong place at the wrong time
He was aiming at a tree 50cm away and it ricocheted off, he had been told to stop throwing stuff about 5 minutes earlier, after Id heard it happened I knew immediately who the culprit would be, feel a bit sorry for him, but its a way to learn about consequences
Well, 17 years after this shy, timid, eager to please little boy was invested as a Beaver, we were at Windsor Castle yesterday for the Kings Scout celebration.
Interesting day, obviously very Scouty but in a good way. Had a good chat with a GSL from Surrey during the review who was there for his daughter, and a great time in the ice cream queue with one of the Poacher jamboree organisers from Lincolnshire, as our family have been there in 1982 (me), 2017 (Jnr) and 2022 (LittleMiss).
Highlight was Tim Peake chatting to the section in front of us with the band of the Grenadier Guards playing the Star Wars theme behind him.
Brilliant!
Hopefully my lad will qualify for his later this year.
Brilliant!
Hopefully my lad will qualify for his later this year.
Best of luck to him. Make sure he has some smart shoes that are well broken in as they were on their feet or marching for a lot of the day. (And so will you)
Just had a great camp this weekend ourselves, mostly ideal weather sunny but not blazing hot. Typically the older boys "pulled an all nighter" which meant everyone was shattered on Saturday, but slept like logs that night.
Organising a camp is stressful, but its great to know they're making memories... which is why I do it.
We've got "Survival Camp" in a couple of weeks. Hammocks and tarps, water filtering, nettle tea, fish gutting, fire lighting... Best camp of the year.
Hope that the weather cooperates.
“Survival Camp” done!
Parachute shelter, hammocks, tarp “bashers”, fish gutting, water filters, nettle tea, patrols cooking all of their meals on open fires… etc
Kids had a great time despite some torrential rain on Saturday.
If you are in the Manchester area I can recommend Hollinwood as a back-woods site.
I'm impressed there are still adults supporting kids doing this kind of outdoor stuff. It's hard work, though rewarding.
Great stuff, keep it up.
