More 100 challege booklets returned

Well done Joe. Rama got your booklet today and we can see you have worked very hard over the last few days to complete the final few of your 100 challenges. Even today you Learnt to tie a Friendship knot and on Christmas day you were seeing who could eat the most cream crackers!

Ethan and Jacob also returned their today. I see that both of you have enjoyed the food aspect of this challenge, have helped with the recycling and had attended lots of Scouting events.

100 challenge

Thanks Alex. Rama got your sheet today. You have been very busy this year. I enjoyed reading your article about Cubs and hope you enjoyed seeing it on the blog.

I can see you have done lots of good turns and now have many new life skills. I hope you continue to help with the cleaning and cooking.

How old was the person you asked to share their memories and what did they tell you?

Well done for completing this and returning it.

....and more

Thank you Josh and Hollie who have also posted their 100 challenge sheets through Rama's door.

I hope your mum enjoyed her birthday surprise, Rama's wife said she saw the rockets launched on the school field in the summer, Bewilderwood sounds great fun, climbing a lighthouse is something that Rama enjoys and what sort of fruit tree did you plant? You also seemed to have completed a lot of the food activities!

I wonder what sort of things Uncle Jack told you.

100 challenge

Thank you William and Jacob...I have your booklets. Cutting the grass, cleaning windows, cleaning shoes,  and collecting 100 coins for charity. Fantastic!

The food challenges seemed to have gone down well with you both as well.

I would be interested to know what your personal challenges were and who the oldest people were that you met; as well as your 10 facts about Baden Powell.

Blowing bubbles, building sandcastles, reading books, learning 100 new words and your names in sign language mus have been fun.

Well done for completing 100 challenges.

What’s good about Cubs

Number 60 of the 100 challenges was to email Rama and article on why you enjoy Scouting, today Rama showed me this....

Dear Rama

I am sending an article about why I like Cubs as part of my 100 challenges.Thanks for reading the article from Alex M.

I enjoy doing outside challenges. I like doing night hikes, watching fireworks and building tents. I used to be in Herons but I moved into Falcons. I like doing inside ball games because when I was in Herons I used to play a good ball game. Sometimes when I get stuck on something the leaders help me. My leaders are Akela, Shere Khan and Ka. We used to have a Baloo but she left. On the last day of Cubs I got my silver award with my promise badge.  

This is me getting my silver award.

100 Challenge

The year is almost over and so it is time to finish off those last challenges and get your forms back to Rama asap and certainly by the 31st of January 2012.

Many thanks to Abigail and Noah who have recently posted their back.

Film night

Tonight I went to Herons and  finish the term off with a night at the movies.

The Cubs watched the film Elf and were served home made popcorn made by myself and Bagheera's son who came down to help.

Everyone enjoyed the film and the tasty snack. Those Herons certain love their food.

Afterwards Rama came down and presented some Silver awards and we aid Godd bye to Tom and Greg who are leaving us to live in Scotland. The Herons gave them a copy of The Jungle book as a going away present.

Ware and District Centenary Party

I will tell you more about this in a short while, but for now I will soon publish a taster film of the District party and carol service, held today at Wodson park for all Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers (provided the nativity) and Leaders.

Many thanks to those who organised it and those who ran it today. We all had a great time!

Photos will be on the 3rd Ware website soon (ish) and if anyone who was there would like to write about it for the blog, please email Rama A.S.A.P!

Tree Festival

Have you been to see our tree yet? If not pop down to Leaside tonight or tomorrow and take a look. It was decorated by the young people.

There are also many other wonderfully decorated trees, loving created and decorated by the many many local organisations.

Don't forget to give a donation to charity or write your prayer and hang it in the prayer tree.

Green Beret

The Green Beret Challenge is a weekend competition for teams of six Scouts. The event is open to all Scout Troops, who may enter as many Teams as practically possible. Teams from outside Hertfordshire are also very welcome, and compete for their own Trophy To achieve the Green Beret Challenge, teams compete in FOUR elements:

- Orienteering


- Assault Course


- Challenge Incidents (daytime)


- Night Exercise

The Challenge is designed to test a group of Scouts through a range of physical and intellectual activities. It also proves to be a significant challenge to their Leadership and Teamwork skills.

No doubt about it, IT’S TOUGH!! However, the Scouts can and do survive, provided they are prepared for the weather, and have trained beforehand. The Challenge is held in November, cold and wet weather is the normal for this time of year. This only adds to the challenge.

Two teams of 3rd Ware Scouts took part and so did our GSL who was on the committee and lots of the local Explorers, many of whom are ex 3rd Ware or still involved at Young leaders.

The Explorers were running several of the bases and one involved pulling a Landrover! This proved irresistible to many.

The Green Beret is always a popular event with 3rd Ware Scouts and one which the younger ones can not wait to take part in. Full results are available of the county website,which is also where I got much of this information from. The Scouts may have enjoyed the events but they were not so forth coming when asked to write about it! Thanks also to the YL and GSL for their words.

Trains

At the last minute I managed to wangle an evening with river Ash beavers – they were going on a train. Weasel picked me up and took me to the train station at Van Hages. It was very special because the beavers made some lanterns for Diwali last week and had them lit all around the track – it looked very pretty.

We were split up into 2 groups the first group sat on the train and the beaver in front moved up to drive the train. The Station Master let us borrow his hat whilst we drove the train along the track. We went through a tunnel and round a big pond. It was very dark. We all got a chance to drive the train  - it was great fun

The second group went to see around the Engine and maintenance rooms – there were some very old looking trains in there. And we walked along a lit pathway

When the first group had finished having there turn the second group then got to drive the train.

Ratty also organised for us to do some colouring in. I helped Caitlin with hers.

I am not sure who had more fun, the beavers, the leaders or me!!!!

All in all it was a fantastic evening and we all got a certificate at the end to say we had driven the train.

Party, party , party

We started the year at a party...we can end the year at a party!

I have my invite. Do you?

See you there.

If you have not had an invite, please ask your section leader.

Night away

As you know I have had lots of nights away this year (I really must count them and get my badges sewn on).

However the most recent one was a little bit different. For those of you who do not know, I spend most of my time living with the GSL and his family and have got to know them all very well and sometimes they take me on extra activities.

At WaGAwood two of his children looked after me, one is a young leader at 3rd Ware and the other is an "Honorary Beaver", she does not actually attend our Beaver colonies (her choice) but goes to Rainbows. However out of necessity, she often attends Beaver events and is in class with lots of the Beavers.

This weekend she had a Rainbow sleepover and I was invited along as a special guest to see how it differed from a Beaver sleepover. Actually it was quite similar - lots of fun and lots of activities to keep us busy.

We went to Cottered (this was where the afore mention Young leader had his first ever Beaver sleepover many many years ago!) and I had a great time.

The theme was holidays and we had a photo taken and made a frame for it, made a place mat, played chinese whispers, went to the shop and bought some badges, ate a stick of rock and fish and chips,  did some washing up, watched a film, played outside and lots lots more.

 

It was great fun. I don't think I will go on one again because my little Rainbow friend will be too old next year but I am glad I got the chance to see what Rainbows do, after all Guiding was started by Baden Powell as well.

 

I now need to ask for my 1 night away badge from Rainbows!

100 Challenge

Do you remember I told you that the GSL had had his first 100 challenge sheet back ?

Well Tom asked his Mum to send an email in reply.

Tom said the following :

" I really enjoyed completing the 100 challenge as it was always fun things that I could do with my friends or family.

I did lots of them at Beavers, at home and quite a few on some of our holidays.

I am really pleased I am on the blog, I cannot believe it" .

Thank you Tom for sharing this with us.  I look forward to seeing what other people have been up to as more sheets get returned.

Harvest good deed

Our Centenary activity for October was to provided Harvest baskets for local residents.

I went along to Falcon Pack Cubs as they were helping to make up the harvest baskets.

Everyone in the Group had been asked to donate a tin or packet of some sort and when we looked in the stores there were loads of things in there!

Tins of soup, fruit, fish, custard, rice pudding along with packets of biscuits, tea and even some boxes of chocolates!

Some of the Cubs, Falcon Leaders, Dormouse and Bagheera from Heron Pack helped to sort everything into types of food to make sure that there were lots of different things in each parcel. Then the baskets were lined with tissue paper and they began to fill them.

Other Cubs were making harvest cards so that everyone could have one of them as well, and some of the older Cubs were addressing the card envelopes so that the leaders know where to take the baskets and the people who receive them know where they had come from!

The HQ was very busy for an hour whilst everything was got ready, then the Cubs were able to have their drink and biscuit while Dormouse and Shere Khan wrapped the baskets to make them look really nice. Then Baloo, Oli and Will helped to carry them all into the stores so that they can be collected and delivered over the next few days.

After all the excitement four of the new Cubs were invested which meant that the meeting finished rather late (nothing new there I hear!) and I went home with Oli as I am going to be measured up for a very smart suit for the dinner dance......

Cub Night Hike

Gus’s Night Hike

On Saturday 15th October, when we got to Roger De Clare school, the first thing we did was unpack our sleeping bags and we waited until it was our go to ride on the minibus to the starting place.

Eventually we started the night hike and passed some eerie, sinister, black cows, all dark with bright eyes! Next we got to our first base. What we had to do was collect chocolate from a cup by fishing the cup out of an area with string and an elastic band.

We then carried on walking and we arrived at a base where we boiled water on a Trangia stove. We had hot chocolate. After a while we carried on and walked back to the school. When I got back I felt exhausted and happy.

We watched films then went to bed. My favourite part was fishing out the chocolate and eating it.

By Brandon (Heron Cubs)

I also met "Akela" the new mascot for Falcon Pack and had a chat! I told him what to expect from being a section mascot. He will be busy, but he has company; Snuggles, the Heron mascot will show him the ropes I am sure. I met him at the beginning of the year and he let me know what fun it is having adventures with the Cubs. He was right and I get the honour of joining the Beavers, Scouts, Young Leaders and Leaders as well!.

First past the post

This week the GSL received his first completed 100 challenge sheet. Well done Tom, a Beaver from River Lea. You will be rewarded at a future point and will also get a special certificate for being the first person to complete the challenge.

What was great was that these challenges have been completed over the whole year, with something being done each month and many of them of them would not have been easy challenges. Tom did not take a soft option.

We are proud of him and thank his family for supporting him. Tom a few photos or words about some of the things you did for the blog would be great (hint, hint!)

Science with the Herons

Following on from my night away with the Herons and the trip to the museum, I was invited to participate in their Science evening.

We had fun with Gloop (cornflour and water). When you kneed it, it goes into a solid. When you let it rest it starts to go into liquid but is soon stopped by pulling it back together. They also made volcanoes! Those mad Herons certainly know how to have an explosive evening and get every ounce of fun out of simple things. I look forward to the next time I meet them.

One of our Dinosaurs is missing!

A trip to the shop

I am sure you have guessed by now that the destination of the Heron Cub Pack trip was the Natural History Museum in London and, as far as we know, all dinosaurs were still there when we left!

Blue whale and mammals

I had the privilege of travelling by train and tube with the Cubs to the Museum. Once there we looked in the Dinosaur section, visited the Blue Whale area, went to see human biology area and loved the investigation centre. Some of the Cubs claimed to have spotted Terry Wogan in the dinosaur section, which I saw made a few leaders give a wry smile!



Dinosaur Walkway


We travelled back the HQ where we had an evening meal from the local fish and chip shop before gathering outside for a roaring campfire and making s’mores.

In the investigation centre



The Cubs then got into their sleeping bags and we all watched “One of our Dinosaurs is missing” before dropping off to sleep.



In the investigation centre


This morning we ate a breakfast of bacon rolls and watched some Looney tunes before the Cubs were collected and we locked up and came home.

Human Biology area

meeting an ancestor

 It was another successful trip to London. Well done Herons!

And we're off!

Check back later to see where The Heron Cubs are off to on this fine day....