Can You Handle it? Wednesday, Jun 29 2011
About Scouting and camping and challenges and other stuff camping, fun, humour, Lego 3:38 pm
Cycle Weekend – 8-10 April 2011 Tuesday, Apr 12 2011
About Scouting and camping and challenges and events and programme bicycle, camp, camping, cycle, cycling, fun, scouts 2:47 pm
We met at the 8th/12th Church on Friday. The group consisted of: Ash, Alan, Bruce, Dave, David, Sam, Anand, Matthew, Daniel, Oskar, Benedict, Tommy, James, Ahkmed, Fraser, Alec and Charlie. The journey down was surprisingly smooth with no holdups at all. We arrived at 1st Fordingbridge Scout headquarters and settled down for the evening.
Saturday morning came quickly enough, with Scouts in typical form – “no fighting. Not before breakfast”, being Ash’s comment! We had breakfast and got the bicycles ready and set off. We cycled through Fordingbridge and out into the New Forest Park. We confidently set off downhill along a gravel track and soon we reached a stream. Some of the Scouts attempted to cross the stream directly – a couple managed to cycle all the way through! Once on the other side, Alan realised that we had been following the wrong track… so we cycled back across the stream and back up the hill! Although the cycle tracks were of good standard, there was a lot of holes that caught some of the scouts out – by the end of the day we’d nearly run out of plasters in our First Aid kit! Being at the back of the group I didn’t see many of the spills – just the Scout lying on the ground. I did manage to see Daniel’s impressive spill – he was cycling downhill and his front wheel hit a pothole. He went over the handlebars and landed face down, the bicycle flipped over and landed square on his back. It looked horrific – but Daniel quickly stood up shouting “I’m alright!” and after a quick check we were also surprised that there were no cuts or scrapes either! The day itself was a lovely hot sunny one – so we did spend a while by the streams and open spaces enjoying the views and the distractions.
Back at the headquarters, we mended the two punctures that we had suffered and then Alan and David took eight Scouts off geocaching (there were two caches in the town). Back at the headquarters the Scouts settled down quickly – it had been a long day.
After breakfast on Sunday we set off again – this time to cycle through Verwood Forest. The weather was again hot and dry – and several of us found the going a little harder having spent so many hours yesterday in the saddle in the sun. Fortunately, no Scout added to the injury list today – but about 2/3 of the way into the cycle we found a very boggy path to work our way along. It was too sticky to cycle in – and as we walked the bikes along the wheels sunk down up to the axles. For a couple of Scouts this make things very difficult to navigate – and for one he had to sink his hands into the mud – up to his elbows – to retrieve his shoes that had come off!
Back at the Headquarters we quickly cleared up and set for home. Again I was surprised at the traffic flow – no hold-ups or problems and we were quickly back at Harrow.
The (very small selection of) pictures below reflect the weekend’s cycling:
Cycle Weekend April 2011, a set on Flickr.
A better slideshow of these images can be found at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frog101/sets/72157626357872783/show/
Kandersteg 2010 – the post paperwork Party! Monday, Aug 23 2010
About Scouting and camping and challenges and events and other stuff expedition, fountain, fun, Kandersteg, Kandersteg 2010, scouts, summer camp, water 2:51 pm
So, the camp is now over, but I’ve typed up the journal logs and they can be found here:
http://2leftwellies.wordpress.com/summer-camps/summer-camp-2010-kandersteg/kandersteg-2010-log/
You can also download a PDF of the log (with pictures) from here (http://twoleftwellies.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/kandersteg-600dpi.pdf)
As I get told about pictures, or I sort out mine, then I’ll add further links from the Kandersteg link at the top of the page.
In the meantime though, by popular request, here’s James and Calum at Brig. Enjoy!
(Update 23.08.10: Link to my pictures – and another video have been added to the pics link. Enjoy!)
World Series EXTREME PETANQUE Rules Thursday, Jul 22 2010
challenges and games and other stuff extreme petanque, fun, games, humor, humour, petanque, rules, Scouting 12:27 am
Petanque is a world-recognised sport/game (reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9tanque). The official UK site is here: http://www.petanque.co.uk/
Petanque is a form of boules (a great game, played especially in France.) However – both games are played on relatively flat surfaces – be it a hard, gravel-like surface (for boules, which have metal balls) or on sand (for the lighter, brightly coloured water-filled plastic balls).
Extreme Petanque is similar – but with one MASSIVE difference. The ground is (ideally) totally random, and hilly. On a really good world series pitch, it is hilly, with bare patches of earth, divots, bumps and all manner of intriguing challenges for the players to work with.
The rules are the same as Petanque / boules (as I know them). One player throws the Jack (a small target ball). In Extreme Petanque, that person is either biggest/most sulky/passing by. It may even even be the winner of the previous round. They decide to drop/throw/lob/catapult/fire the Jack in “an” direction. Where it lands is where the players must aim for (see subclause 1). There is no minimum distance or direction.
When the jack comes to rest (as it may roll on, fall down a rabbit hole etc), the first player plays their first ball. The throw is an underarm throw to land as close to the jack as possible – where it lands is immaterial, where it stops is where it is counted from. First player is typically picked by the biggest/adult/passing by. The first player may sometimes be referred to as “the mug” as other players will then learn how the ground/earth/hill/cliff/beach is going to change where the ball finishes. Each player then plays one ball in turn, before going round (in order) again.
Once all balls are played, the closest person wins the round. No points are calculated because, well, no-one said we needed a pen and paper.
At the end of the game, the winner is the biggest/most sulky/ passing by.
Subclauses
1. If the jack thrower decides to be “really clever” and throw it somewhere that makes it wholly unplayable/ possibly dangerous to play, then players may invoke this subclause requiring the thrower to “go get it or else”. The “or else” sub-sub-clause may involve talking to parents, meeting a bigger brother, a general re-alignment of principles, or just total abandonment of the game. Basically, putting the Jack in a non-playable place is just so not cool.
2. If using plastic water-filled petanque balls on hard surfaces, there is a risk that the balls may crack and the liquid may leave the balls. At that point, the “tough Tutties” rule is invoked where the now empty ball must be continued to be played, but at the end of the game the player with said ball must apologise to the leader who provided the set. Failure to do so will lead to guilt and possibly punishment for the entire Scout Troop
3. Although there are no official boundaries for the World Series Extreme Petanque series in regard to playing area; consideration must be given where there are other campers on the Scout site who could be inconvenienced. Consequently – all Tentage is out of bounds (even if all occupants of the tent are playing) or if a Leader says “no, that’s a step too far” or similar. This will include playing across rivers, waterfalls, cliffs, Leaders areas, minefields, war zones – or the campsite wardens garden.
Geocaching – an evening of electronic hide and seek Saturday, Jul 17 2010
challenges and events and programme fun, geocache, geocaching, GPS, programme, scouts, search, seek 12:27 am
For this evening’s activity, I had planned a hike; but a better idea was presented to me – geocaching.
we drove to Stanmore Common, where I knew a number of caches had been hidden. I set our GPS unit to the co-ordinates of the first cache – GCMN87 The Priory: Heriots Way (information can be found here: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=489d874e-652d-4078-b519-8c0059ebe2ec )
The Scouts used the GPS to get roughly to the right area; unfortunately the tree canopy caused problems in locking onto the location; consequently afterabout half an hour we had to admit defeat and move on.
We picked the next location GCMN7W The Priory; In the Line of Fire (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=0253cffa-a1a2-40e2-aa0a-cde4e00a23fe) partly to give us a bit of a walk, but also because our knowledge of Stanmore Common meant we knew we would be more clear of tree canopy cover – so the GPS units would be more effective.
On the walk to this location, we passed the deer enclosure; the deer were being really friendly and coming up to the fence (I think they thought we had food). They seemed to be quite young, especially given the fur covered antlers; it was quite nice given that in the past it has been difficult to see the deer at all. Moving on, we also passed the 23rd Harrow Cubs who were hiking down the path; nice to see so much of the District on the hike!
Alec was holding the GPS and brought us to the spot. The Scouts (having been given the clue) located the box – so were very pleased with the result! We logged our find, then walked back to the bus – a challenge as we endeavoured to walk cross country than follow the marked, concrete path (there are unofficial footpaths all over the common). But we got back and back to the church pretty much on time.
I know that there are loads more caches on Stanmore Common to find; hopefully the 1:1 ratio (found/ not found) will give the Scouts some idea of the fun and will join us again when we try to find some more!
Back to the Floor – Patrol camp – 21-23 May Monday, May 31 2010
About Scouting and camping and challenges and events and management and programme camp, camping, fun, PATROL, Patrol Leader, Scouting, scouts 8:27 pm
As a Troop we decided to run a weekend camp that would focus on our training Mnemonic of PATROL – Problem (what do we need to do), Assess (how are we going to do it), Tasks (what are the tasks to complete the problem), Responsibilities (which person is doing which task), “Off You Go” (do the jobs) and Lead (make sure all the tasks are being done by the people allocated).
(Small aside: PATROL was something that Ivor and David developed a few years ago to help teach PLs!)
We decided to make the weekend a bit of a competition – and to add to the fun, David was to be one PL and Ivor the other – helping the Patrols prepare dinners and get the tents up. Ivor’s Patrol name was “Visu” (I think – from a pair of shoes) and David’s was “GunDogs” (a derivation of the Gannets and Bulldogs that made up the patrol). GunDogs had a site near the Rabbit Run and well away from the main site which had the other patrol and the leaders area. This also meant that the Scouts couldn’t see how the others were doing.
Saturday morning was spent putting up any remaining tentage (the GunDogs’ dining shelter was strung up between two trees and was neatly surrounded by Bluebells!), gadget building and inspections. Saturday afternoon was a short hike – with points being deducted if the Patrol asked for help or checked with a leader that they were going in the right direction. GunDogs made certain that we weren’t going to be asked anything by running off and keeping a lead between the leaders. They were going so well… but missed the last footpath sign!
The Scouts had a 3-course competition meal to cook in the evening. We drove to Chalfont St. Peter to get the necessary produce before we all came back to site.. and the patrols were busy making their meals ready. From a slight miscalculation by the GunDog Patrol (sorry boys!) David lost a few points for his patrol – but this was redeemed from the washing up and site tidy later.
Saturday evening we had a great informal campfire, telling tales, stories and jokes. Nathan related the tale of the Ancient Mariner – and so was to be known as “The Albatross” for the rest of the camp!
Sunday was a more relaxed day – although the Scouts were (unusually) up very early on the Sunday to get their breakfast! We had a go on the Cyclo-cross, then moved to the High Ropes. Although very scared of heights (ok, not the height, the distance to fall to the ground!) I invested Charlie at one of the highest points on the High Ropes course (Charlie, of course, was very relaxed and calm). I’ve never made the Scout Sign whilst my knuckles turned white as I gripped the safety line before!
Then it was time to strike camp… but the beautiful hot weather really sapped the strength of the Scouts, so the leaders had to work hard to encourage the Scouts to get the trailer packed.
At the end of the camp the scores were read out; it had been a close camp – but in the end the winners were the GunDogs (yay team!)
For the Leaders though, going “back to the floor” was a challenge. It’s a long time since I was told where I’d gone wrong, or could have done better (but I told them to do that job properly…) and I remembered how hard it was to be a Patrol Leader – learning about Scouting whilst trying to learn how to manage other Scouts. But it was fun though.
Oxford Cycle Weekend Tuesday, Mar 30 2010
camping and challenges and events and other stuff challenge, cycle, cycling, fun, oxford, scouts 2:38 pm
We all met at the church and loaded the bikes into our trailer… the leaders bikes being strapped to the back of Ash’s car. The drive to Oxford was pleasant and almost without a hitch… until one Scout decided that he needed to go to the loo, so we pulled into the Oxford services. Surprisingly for one so desperate, the bright lights and shops seemed to offer a small distraction and we needed to remind them why we had stopped!
Once back on board, we set off again – because the headquarters we were staying at was being used for a Guide company meeting, we deliberately made sure that we didn’t arrive too early; for us that meant stopping off at a chippy for an early tea!
The headquarters of the 40th Oxford Sea Scouts was big enough for our needs, with several smaller side rooms that the leaders could command as their own leaving the Scouts to sleep in the main hall. Unfortunately, keeping all the Scouts in one communal hall meant that no-one got any sleep until after 1am… and a few were still awake at 3am…
Saturday morning quickly came (no surprise there!) and we were up and had our cooked breakfast, with some of the Scouts cooking, the others on washing up duties. Lunch made and we were ready to go… we stopped to quickly check the bikes over – good thing as Oskar’s front wheel had a puncture, so we had to sort that out. But we were off. There were 8 Scouts – Jamie, Mason, Rory, Frazer, Oskar, James, Nathan and Anand – and five leaders – Ivor, Ash, Alan, Bruce and myself – making quite a good group.
Saturday’s route was about 40km – there were a few hills but mostly it was a mixture of road and sustrans paths. We had thought that Mason might have a problem as he only had a BMX with a single gear – but before lunch it was Anand that was struggling; even after we had stopped to sort out a puncture that had developed on Oskar’s back wheel. The weather had been a little breezy, but we were cycling with some mean clouds overhead – luckily, we only suffered a light shower. After lunch, we dealt with a second back wheel puncture (yup, Oskar again!) as we cycled back to the headquarters. On the way back, we made a left turn from one road to see a Red Kite flying back up to it’s nest – and with the noise that we were made it dropped the rabbit that it was carrying. A rare and fascinating sight!
Back in the headquarters and it was obvious that the previous night and the cycle had taken it out of the Scouts (and the Leaders!). However, after a shower and dinner we were able to spend some time working with those who didn’t have the cyclist badge going through the theory bits – and map reading for those who had. Finally, after a game of Bop-it, we called it quits for the night. Although the Scouts were still not quick at going to sleep, they were all out well before midnight.
Sunday was a more relaxed start (good thing, as we had lost an hour’s sleep with the clocks going forward!) and after breakfast we loaded up and got ready to head off. With grumbles and complaints from many of the Scouts (finding some soreness after yesterdays cycle) we set off again. This time we cycled along the Thames into Oxford for a shorter, but equally challenging cycle. Just before lunch, we had a large hill to climb… most of the Scouts ended up walking up to the top as it got progressively steeper.
After lunch we followed a track road and got quite close to Yulebury campsite. We stopped by the side of a field as we checked the map – the corner of the field had become very waterlogged and a small lake / huge puddle had been formed. One Scout – Jamie – said “should I cycle through it” – stupidly, we said “yes, go on then”… and so he headed off! On the way out the water was almost up to the wheel hubs. Someone commented that he hadn’t cycled through the centre, so he turned and came back. The water went just over the wheel hubs before Jamie tried to change gear – bad move as he stopped – and gravity took over. He finally came out of the water very bedraggled… and it was all captured on video!
We finished the cycle and got back to the headquarters where the building was tidied up and the bikes loaded once more into the trailer. Whilst loading the trailer, one Scout noticed a piece of white board lying flat on the ground – lifted it up and said “Why is there a hole there?” At that point, Ivor took one step back… and fell down the hole. It was quite hard for anyone to keep a straight face!
Finally, we headed back to the church. The Scouts thought they’d try the “need to go to the loo” trick again… but we found a layby with a brick loo… the Scouts were not impressed! The rest of the trip was quite uneventful and we managed to get back on time (that must be a first for us!)
My thanks go to:
Alan for organising the routes and the weekend
Ash for the catering
Bruce for encouraging the Scouts
Ivor for driving the minibus
and the 40th Oxford for letting us stay at their headquarters
Here’s the video of the camp:
And for those who just want to see the funny bit… here it is:
Fire & Ice @ Tolmers 15-17 January Monday, Jan 18 2010
camping and challenges and events and programme camp, camping, cold, fun, muddy, open fire, Patrols, scouts, tents, Tolmers, wet 1:29 pm
I think a better description for this weekend would have been “Mud and water”! the snow that had fallen in the previous week was on full melt and the ground was already very waterlogged before the scouts had arrived on site; it was obvious that this was going to be an issue (and also a tidy reminder that I had forgotten to pack my wellies for the weekend!). It was still very cold though – so it was going to really test the campers.
On arrival Friday night, we helped our 8 Scouts put up their hike tents and then they at least had a base to start off from. Although our Troop was only eight, we also had Scouts from the 17th, 27th and Roxeth – so there were about 60 people in the District contingent. Whilst the scouts explored, the leaders attended the briefing and then stayed on in the warm.
Saturday morning came round and everyone got up. Breakfast was expertly produced by Tony and ??? with the Scouts being fed first before the leaders. Then it was 10am and the Scouts all disappeared off to go on the rides and activities, leaving the leaders to help wash up, then wander round the site. Unlike the Gilwell Winter Camp, Tolmers acknowledged that the leaders would want to play too – so let us have a go also! This was great and I enjoyed playing on the dodgems and the Super Waltzer – after working out how to get the spin working really well with Nandesh, Vishan joined me… his comment afterwards was “I don’t feel well – we went so fast!” Praise indeed!
During the afternoon, a wood pile was built up and the fire pit bailed out ready… later in the evening the fire was lit, so after dinner everyone could stand round and swap stories – it was a lovely relaxed evening. Once again, Tony came up trumps – after an excellent pasta dinner he then served a really warming curry for the leaders!
Sunday morning was a little slower for everyone, but the scouts got up, and headed off for their activities. This allowed the leaders to start packing up their stuff, dropping tents and getting ready to go home. With the mud sloshing everywhere, the decision was taken to leave the District White up for the week, but some of the tents were hosed down to get the mud off!
Once all the kit had been packed into the trailer, we drove back to the Cabin and unloaded the tents so they could dry off. As I got home, I could feel the mud on my trouser legs start to harden and crack off… I decided that I would not look at washing any of my kit until next weekend!
My thanks to Ivor for organising our Troop, and to the 17th and the District for doing the catering for myself and the Scouts – making it a very relaxed, enjoyable weekend.
POST CAMP DEBRIEF UPDATE:
I have now added the two “mind maps” that the Scouts drew up to identify what was good and what was not so good about the camp. As well as that, they noted the following things that they learned:
- Pack more clothes
- Pack less clothes
- never play in water – bring wellies
- bring loads of carrier bags for wet stuff
- drive the bumper cars better
- bring more socks
- put the tent up better
- don’t bring a suitcase for kit
- don’t leave clothes in the porch
- don’t pitch the tent with the opening uphill
- consider using gaiters
- wear a hat and gloves
- use the waterproof jacket to keep the warmth in
