Early Saturday morning - misty, chilly and overall a bit damp. Not that it deterred us from site work.
It was a hard weekend for the scouts (and a parent!) - we shifted a couple of tons of wood chip to cover the landscaping fabric we'd put down after Rochfest (our annual music night) over the old scrub and stinging nettles and the whole place was looking a lot more presentable. We painted the service crew shed and even fixed three of our kayaks - though our kayak repair advisor did manage to drill holes in the wrong end of one of our kayaks...
PAPL camp next weekend as well as our fish and chips walk. It never seems to end in our group...
Monday, 29 September 2008
Friday, 26 September 2008
Kayaking again
Our second night of kayaking for the PAPLs - all arrived promptly and we each got boats. Everyone got a chance to practice sea rescues and one of our PLs enthusiastically attempted to paddle roll.
I've never had so many chances to dunk someone in a swimming pool!
I've never had so many chances to dunk someone in a swimming pool!
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Hot air balloons
Last night we finally got round to making our hot air balloons. It was the first time in approximately ten years since I'd last tried this and that last time was not exactly a success.
To make a scout hot air balloon you need only a few things. very, very thin wire, sellotape, cheap black bin liner (cheaper the better), cotton balls, meths and matches.
The idea of the wire is simply to provide a very small bit of structure. Run the wire around the big opening in the bag and over lap the plastic over the wire. Secure in four places – equally distant from each other. Imagine cutting a circle into quarters. Using another two thin bits of wire poke it through the sellotape securing the wire on the quarters of the bin bag. It should form a cross. Use one of the cross pieces to secure the cotton ball in the middle. Soak in a little meths and light holding bag upside down (ie hole closest the ground, bottom of bag up.
Let inflate, release.
My first bag had a perfect amount of fuel and gracefully lifted over the trees and landed in the field next to us.
The scouts scuttled in, made their own. The results were fairly good – two of the three patrols made a successful flight. Wolves had the best, unfortunately it went up too high to catch, caught in a slip stream and hurtled over towards the nearby airport. I’ve checked the news this morning, no plane crashes or airport closures so I hope it didn’t inconvenience anyone. Tigers made a pretty good effort however it didn’t make the lift off and crashed landed in the scout field. Eagles were last, the balloon took partially off and caught fire. I didn’t expect this one to fly and turned to pick up the meths. When I turned back, it was afloat following its twin over into the airport slip stream pouring burning plastic off the bottom. Fortunately this one came down before it reached the airport, but it’s reminded me to keep a better eye on the scouts creations in future!
To make a scout hot air balloon you need only a few things. very, very thin wire, sellotape, cheap black bin liner (cheaper the better), cotton balls, meths and matches.
The idea of the wire is simply to provide a very small bit of structure. Run the wire around the big opening in the bag and over lap the plastic over the wire. Secure in four places – equally distant from each other. Imagine cutting a circle into quarters. Using another two thin bits of wire poke it through the sellotape securing the wire on the quarters of the bin bag. It should form a cross. Use one of the cross pieces to secure the cotton ball in the middle. Soak in a little meths and light holding bag upside down (ie hole closest the ground, bottom of bag up.
Let inflate, release.
My first bag had a perfect amount of fuel and gracefully lifted over the trees and landed in the field next to us.
The scouts scuttled in, made their own. The results were fairly good – two of the three patrols made a successful flight. Wolves had the best, unfortunately it went up too high to catch, caught in a slip stream and hurtled over towards the nearby airport. I’ve checked the news this morning, no plane crashes or airport closures so I hope it didn’t inconvenience anyone. Tigers made a pretty good effort however it didn’t make the lift off and crashed landed in the scout field. Eagles were last, the balloon took partially off and caught fire. I didn’t expect this one to fly and turned to pick up the meths. When I turned back, it was afloat following its twin over into the airport slip stream pouring burning plastic off the bottom. Fortunately this one came down before it reached the airport, but it’s reminded me to keep a better eye on the scouts creations in future!
Friday, 19 September 2008
Kayaking
First kayaking session of the season held in the local swimming pool. We were fairly lucky to get the group in as it was packed! I taught two of the scouts the basics and with practice they should get their BCU 1* in a couple of weeks. Afterwards I retired the bar with the SCU and found one of them was the county canoe assessor. We chatted about the requirements and if I’m judged competent, I can apparently take out a group of kids on still water or class C (like the river Chelmer) without my BCU 3* (which I’m taking anyway).
In a weeks time we’ll be doing another service crew session – sounds like a good idea to fix up a few of the canoes and perhaps make a trip out before it gets too cold!
In a weeks time we’ll be doing another service crew session – sounds like a good idea to fix up a few of the canoes and perhaps make a trip out before it gets too cold!
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Again? this is getting repetitive...
Last night we once again failed to make our hot air balloons. Was it the weather? nope, it was the fact our wire strippers had gone A.W.O.L
The evening started with patrol time, an inspection then a blind trail setup outside. During patrol time the patrol leaders begain work on planning their next patrol camp and setting a menu.
We finished off with a short manic game run by our young leaders whose interpretation of the rules was a little shakey then we closed out with our notices.
On Friday we're all meeting up at the local leisure center to go Kayaking in their swimming pool. In other kayaking related news we finally got some foot rests for our own fibreglass kayaks so we should be able to retro fit them and as soon as we've got an instructor get out on the water!
The evening started with patrol time, an inspection then a blind trail setup outside. During patrol time the patrol leaders begain work on planning their next patrol camp and setting a menu.
We finished off with a short manic game run by our young leaders whose interpretation of the rules was a little shakey then we closed out with our notices.
On Friday we're all meeting up at the local leisure center to go Kayaking in their swimming pool. In other kayaking related news we finally got some foot rests for our own fibreglass kayaks so we should be able to retro fit them and as soon as we've got an instructor get out on the water!
Monday, 15 September 2008
First service crew weekend
It's always been my intention to set up a service crew down at our hall and whilst we've done work days down there before, they were nothing compared to the half day we had down there this weekend.
I'd been at a wedding down in Kent the night before so not only did I have to organise the day, but I also had to travel back to the hall before everyone arrived!
At 12 sharp we were assembled down the hall and I walked the crew through the jobs we need to do as soon as possible.
Before work could commence on chopping down trees etc I did a short seminar on the use of knives and saws and signed off the scouts certificates.
The first item was the building of a service crew hut round the back of the scout hall. There has been the remains of a shed there for several years and it was time to make it into somewhere for tea and coffee and most importantly of all, darts.
First we had to remove our kayaks from behind the hall where we were going to be building the shed and emptying them of water. In a relatively short time we tackled the bushes of stinging nettles and laid out the shed. We broke for lunch and then within half an hour or so had the shed up.
We chopped down a couple more Elderberry trees and one of the PLs showed a new member of troop how to light fires. We then used his fire to burn some of the smaller green twigs and leaves rather than adding to our rather large pile of wood.
We finished off the day by tidying and sweeping the hall, cleaning out the shed, mounting the dart board and putting out the fire (and emptying the cold remains into the ash bins)
Next crew we'll be in a more artistic mood painting our metal racking and service crew building as well as finishing off their axe and saw qualification. Roll on next troop night...
I'd been at a wedding down in Kent the night before so not only did I have to organise the day, but I also had to travel back to the hall before everyone arrived!
At 12 sharp we were assembled down the hall and I walked the crew through the jobs we need to do as soon as possible.
Before work could commence on chopping down trees etc I did a short seminar on the use of knives and saws and signed off the scouts certificates.
The first item was the building of a service crew hut round the back of the scout hall. There has been the remains of a shed there for several years and it was time to make it into somewhere for tea and coffee and most importantly of all, darts.
First we had to remove our kayaks from behind the hall where we were going to be building the shed and emptying them of water. In a relatively short time we tackled the bushes of stinging nettles and laid out the shed. We broke for lunch and then within half an hour or so had the shed up.
We chopped down a couple more Elderberry trees and one of the PLs showed a new member of troop how to light fires. We then used his fire to burn some of the smaller green twigs and leaves rather than adding to our rather large pile of wood.
We finished off the day by tidying and sweeping the hall, cleaning out the shed, mounting the dart board and putting out the fire (and emptying the cold remains into the ash bins)
Next crew we'll be in a more artistic mood painting our metal racking and service crew building as well as finishing off their axe and saw qualification. Roll on next troop night...
Friday, 12 September 2008
Meeting planning - and a camp!
Last night we had an ASL meeting (No SL present, he was busy) and we took the PLC meeting plan and bottomed out the other activities we wanted the scouts to take part in.
We also planned our PLAPL camp (PL/APL training camp) and rang round to check dates. The very first PL we rang had just got Man-U tickets for that weekend, so it seemed fairly unlikely he'd be in attendance so the night was rearranged for the next weekend which fortunately everyone could make.
The idea of the camp is a back to roots idea of camping in patrol tents, cooking on fires, fully marked boundaries, store tents, dining shelters etc. The menu planning will be up to them, however the weekend will include a hike, gadget making, backwoods cooking and hygiene. This all stems back from feedback from a previous patrol camp where everything didn't exactly go to plan.
We also planned our PLAPL camp (PL/APL training camp) and rang round to check dates. The very first PL we rang had just got Man-U tickets for that weekend, so it seemed fairly unlikely he'd be in attendance so the night was rearranged for the next weekend which fortunately everyone could make.
The idea of the camp is a back to roots idea of camping in patrol tents, cooking on fires, fully marked boundaries, store tents, dining shelters etc. The menu planning will be up to them, however the weekend will include a hike, gadget making, backwoods cooking and hygiene. This all stems back from feedback from a previous patrol camp where everything didn't exactly go to plan.
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Hot air balloons cancelled again!
Still too breezy for hot air balloons - we were expecting gales but even a slight breeze makes it difficult.
Today was the start of the cooking competition. The PLs were tasked to cook a single greasy fry up (egg, bacon, fried bread and cup of tea) as well as hot water for washing up. The task was supposed to take 30 minutes but unfortunately took about the entire evening. This gave us plenty of time to sort out the patrol boxes which so desperately required attention.
We were lucky to get our hands on some patrol boxes from the international jamboree. These boxes are thin wood but just about suitable as a table and some of the gear wasn't too bad. I think we only paid £10 for each (including stove, set of pots etc) but the gear isn't nearly as good as some of the really old stuff we've got. Graham (the other ASL in our troop) and I emptied all the new and old patrol boxes and sorted them out so we had three decent sets of gear.
At the end of the evening we announced our intention to hold a PL/APL training camp and a space camp for the whole troop. We got all the PLs and senior patrol signed up to the canoe club next week (19th) and got another two for the service crew this Sunday.
After the meeting in a more relaxed public house setting SL/ASLs discussed the meeting and direction of the troop. Tomorrow night we're looking at the programme to set it in stone as it were so the kids know what is happening and where.
Next week as the SL is off on hols, we're going to pitch a full patrol camp with patrol tents before the meeting so they can actually see what a proper site looks like.
Today was the start of the cooking competition. The PLs were tasked to cook a single greasy fry up (egg, bacon, fried bread and cup of tea) as well as hot water for washing up. The task was supposed to take 30 minutes but unfortunately took about the entire evening. This gave us plenty of time to sort out the patrol boxes which so desperately required attention.
We were lucky to get our hands on some patrol boxes from the international jamboree. These boxes are thin wood but just about suitable as a table and some of the gear wasn't too bad. I think we only paid £10 for each (including stove, set of pots etc) but the gear isn't nearly as good as some of the really old stuff we've got. Graham (the other ASL in our troop) and I emptied all the new and old patrol boxes and sorted them out so we had three decent sets of gear.
At the end of the evening we announced our intention to hold a PL/APL training camp and a space camp for the whole troop. We got all the PLs and senior patrol signed up to the canoe club next week (19th) and got another two for the service crew this Sunday.
After the meeting in a more relaxed public house setting SL/ASLs discussed the meeting and direction of the troop. Tomorrow night we're looking at the programme to set it in stone as it were so the kids know what is happening and where.
Next week as the SL is off on hols, we're going to pitch a full patrol camp with patrol tents before the meeting so they can actually see what a proper site looks like.
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
First Meeting
First meeting back. It's quite early in the year but we managed to get a fair turn out. All six PLs and APLs turned up as well as three scouts (small patrols!) and the young leaders also made an appearance.
The evening programme involved a game to start, followed by some patrol time where they could choose their new patrol names. Meantime we laid out print outs of all the available badges they could take part in, and were asked to choose three to work towards. We followed with a 10 minute first aid session on DRSABC (Danger, Response, Shout for help, Airways, Breathing and Circulation). We intend to follow the first aid course throughout the term to gain the first stage of the emergency aid badge. Hot air balloons have been delayed due to the wind.
A final game to finish off the meeting and a quick talk about what we're looking to do over the next few weeks. The announcement of the service crew proved popular with 7 of the 9 scouts signing up for the first session in a few weeks.
The evening programme involved a game to start, followed by some patrol time where they could choose their new patrol names. Meantime we laid out print outs of all the available badges they could take part in, and were asked to choose three to work towards. We followed with a 10 minute first aid session on DRSABC (Danger, Response, Shout for help, Airways, Breathing and Circulation). We intend to follow the first aid course throughout the term to gain the first stage of the emergency aid badge. Hot air balloons have been delayed due to the wind.
A final game to finish off the meeting and a quick talk about what we're looking to do over the next few weeks. The announcement of the service crew proved popular with 7 of the 9 scouts signing up for the first session in a few weeks.
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