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.

Sparklers

River Lea Beavers always like to mark Guy Fawkes night in one way or another. Tonight I joined them to make cardboard fireworks, learn the safety code and then to enjoy waving a sparkler around outside. I had great fun.

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!)

WaGAwood 2011

Last weekend I attended WaGAwood. This is the annual Beaver camp that is run by 3rd Ware and 1st Great Amwell. Four years ago the camp was started and ever since has proved to be a popular event.

Each Beaver Scout is invited to bring one adult with them and the ethos of the camp is about enriching and enhancing the adult/child relationship. How often does a parent/carer get a whole 24 hours alone with one child, to take part in the same activities and not only experience first hand what their child is doing but also to be there as encouragement? Well at WaGAwood that is exactly what they get! (As well as good food, laughter and adventure!)



Ready for the CrestaRun



making camp

Flag break

Backwoods cooking

Pedal cars

The leaders and older children stay for the whole weekend at Thriftwood and ensure that everything is ready for when the Beavers arrive. They assist the Beaver and adult in pitching their tent, and then a whirlwind of activity takes place. This year included pedal cars, inflate-Bull, a photo trail, pond dipping, backwoods cooking, a wide game, a campfire, scouts own, a scavenger hunt, a soft toy competition, time to play in the woods, a trip to the provi and more.

camp fire

Breakfast

Cuddly toys

Beavers

The meals are catered for centrally, so well done to the team who cooked for 155 people! However the Beavers (and adults!) learn about plate bags, washing up, wet pits and pig bins ready for when they are in Cubs.

Pond dipping

Dampers

Inflata-Bull

everyone needs a cuddle

Whilst this is taking place a sub camp runs for the leader’s children, who have to be there because their parents are, but who are Cubs, Scouts, Brownies, Guides or Explorers. The older ones do assist with the Beavers but as a group they do their own cooking, camp on a different field and have their own activities all over seen by a leader, who is there to supervise but also to step back and let them work as a “large” patrol. This year these included the Cresta run, surfing and bouldering in addition to some of the previously mention activities.

Bouldering

Surfing

Once the Beavers are in bed the adults can congregate around the campfire and socialise and it is here that leader/parent relationships are made and stories swapped. WaGAwood has, in the past, resulted in adults asking to join the leadership team. If this is you please do contact the GSL of Great Amwell or 3rd Ware.

This was my first WaGAwood and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was even awarded a certificate at the cuddly toy competition for being the “centenaryist toy”!!

As the Beavers and parents left, they were full of praise for the camp and many a thank you was heard – the leaders then packed up the kit, cleaned the site drove home unloaded the trailers and went home feeling it was a job well done!

Goodbye

Video will be coming soon.

WaGAwood

Did you?.....Photos, report and video coming very soon. 

Tug of War

Another annual event in our District calendar is the Beaver tug of war. Each year the colonies gather and compete against each other. The event ends with a traditional campfire for Beavers and parents alike. On Saturday we attended the 2011 TOW.

Here at 3rd Ware we have been fortunate enough to win this event many times over the last few years and it is one that our Beavers throw themselves into with gusto.

This year was the closest event for a long time! Three colonies tied for first place and so a “pull off” had to take place to get 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Sadly for us although River Ash was one of these 3, they ended up 3rd overall – still a fantastic achievement!

River Lea colony came joint 4th, along with three other colonies, after coming a close second (to River Ash, Great Amwell Bears and 2nd Ware). A really close contest with only a couple of points separating 7 colonies! No one could call the winner before the end which made for an exciting afternoon.

Wandering with River Lea

On Wednesday night I was invited to go for a hike with River Lea. We all assembled in Wadesmill and then accompanied by our doggy friend we spent a great evening walking through the countryside. The Beavers were well prepared with snacks and drinks and enjoyed stopping for a mini picnic half way.

The weather was great, the Beavers their usual lively selves and the walk full of beautiful scenery and some not so beautiful farm smells! Thanks River Lea for asking me to join you.

Fred says: "The Beavers went on a walk from The Feathers in Wadesmill to our hut. The walk was fun; I liked the park we stopped at. It was my last walk as a Beaver I'm going up to Cubs soon. We all made it back safely."

Toxic Beavers

A little out of date order, but just before the end of term I went down to the woods with River Lea Beavers. We went to play a wide game and I really must say that it is dangerous in Post woods; last time I was there I was with Heron Cubs and we were collecting toxic waste (although Akela says it was really Tesco value lemonade) and guess what? This time we had to continue the clean up operation and find even more toxic liquids!

I know full well that Leaders have to undertake a risk assessment before any activity and really, I would love to know how they justify getting young people and a monkey to collect potentially dangerous substances - I am not even sure they told the GSL that they were using the Beavers or Cubs in this way!!

Oh well, no harm seems to have come from it, in fact all the Beavers seemed to have a fantastic time and joined in with their usual boundless energy and enthusiasm and left wanting to do it again.

Eggstravaganza

Q.What do you get if you mix Beaver Scouts, a campfire, space to run around in, games and chocolate?

A. An Easter Eggstravaganza and a great deal of fun.

The District Beaver Egg hunt took place this Sunday and I was invited along. It was good fun. We met at Poles Lane and walked to the field where the Beavers had to find the second half of a cardboard Easter Egg. They had made these previously at a section meeting.

The Beavers always enjoy this activity and run around with great enthusiasm retrieving cardboard eggs and swapping them for a chocolate one.

We also played some games such as  the egg and spoon race and under and over. These were great fun and we laughed a lot whilst we were taking part in them.

Some of the Beavers settling down for the campfire.

The event finished with the usual campfire lead by several of the Leaders and we got to sing all of our favourite songs. The noisier the song or the sillier the actions the better!

Those of you taking part in the 100 challenge numbers 7 and 25 were covered by this event.

Beavering around

I do love a celebration and so this week I joined the River Lea Colony as they celebrated 25 years of Beavers. The Beavers played a couple of Balloon games and were given the County Birthday badge.

They were also thinking of others and so part of the evening was dedicated to making a card and certificate for a certain somebody this Sunday! I was impressed with the care the Beavers took and the thoughtful comments they made whilst colouring.

The Beavers also returned their bean plants tonight and Dormouse measured them and then award a first prize to Marcus for the tallest plant and a runner up prize for the next two tallest.

Thank you River Lea for inviting me down and I look forward to seeing you at the Easter Egg hunt on Sunday. Fresh air, chocolate and good friends, what else could one ask for?

Gus and the beanstalk

Handy Beavers win again!

Some of the winning Beavers

Wow, what a morning. I knew that lot at 3rd Ware were a talented bunch of bananas, sorry Beavers, but they excelled themselves today and won the District Beaver handicraft competition! I was able to attend the judging session and award ceremony and the smiles on the Beavers faces said it all.

The Beaver Scouts were invited to enter several different classes which were divided into 6 year olds and 7 year olds. All items had to be based around the general theme of the 25th Birthday of Beaver Scouts. These were:

1. Picture – pen – pencil, felt tip, crayon, painting.
2. Cakes, biscuits, sweets (home made). Cakes are to be small, individual ones, NO large ones accepted.
3. Models from odds and ends e.g. cardboard tubes, boxes, tubs, yogurt pots etc.
4. Home made card for Beavers 25th Birthday
5. Miniature Garden (7 year olds only)

The Beavers brought their entries to Chauncy School, gave them to their Leaders who put a number on them and displayed them and then everyone left. The judges spent a long time looking at each entry, talking about it's good points and particularly looking at whether it fulfilled the brief and was it an unaided piece of work. Then they awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place certificates.

When the Beavers, Leaders and parents returned the Beavers were awarded with their individual certificates and all the points totted up. (Each winning placing earns points for the colony) and the winner was announced. It was 3rd Ware River Lea Colony.

Well done Beavers, I enjoyed attending this event and hope you had fun. You looked as if you did.

Pancakes!

Did you have pancakes this week? I did and very nice they were too.

So far this week I have joined Heron Cubs and River Lea Beavers to enjoy two evenings of fun and food. Yes, I was invited to share in Shrove Tuesday (well Monday and Wednesday!). I have also been told that River Ash, Falcons and the Scouts have or will enjoy a pancake or two this week. Third Ware do seem to enjoy their food, which is just as well because so do I!

On Monday I joined the Herons. The highlight of the evening for most of us was the cooking and eating of the pancakes or the pancake race (that was very funny). However for one Cub it was being invested. Charlie sent me an email telling me how excited he was.

"I used to be a Beaver, but now I am 8 years old I have joined the Cubs. On the day I was invested and we made pancakes.

Being invested was really exciting. I am really looking forward to enjoying all the amazing things we will do at Cubs!"

Tonight I went along to River Lea and again I was privileged to witness an investiture. This time a few young people officially made their promises and became fully fledged Beavers. They have now begun their Scouting journey and I wish them well with it.

The pancake making was a fun and noisy affair but we all got to cook and then choose our toppings. We are all a little bit fuller and a little bit stickier than we we were at the beginning of the evening. Jumping bananas. No one told me that the job of being a mascot was so much fun!

Don't forget that cooking is part of the 100 challenge and so that is another tick on the sheet and one step closer to to completing it!

Founder's day - Part 1

Today I went to Tolmers Scout Camp and Activity Centre to join in the District Founder's Day celebrations. Beavers, Cubs and Scouts joined together with their Leaders for a joint event. We gathered together to have fun and  to celebrate, not only the Birthday of Baden - Powell, but also 100 years of Ware and District!

During the day several people approached me and asked if I was The Gus, the monkey who had been in Headlines and The Mercury. Great bananas I am famous, that is enough to make a monkey blush!

Come back over the next couple of days and find out what some of the members of the Group say about the day. Don't forget if you are taking part in the 100 challenge and were at Tolmers today you can tick off number 3 in your booklet.

25th Anniversary Beaver Sleepover

Ware and District  Beavers

2011 is full of special birthdays. As you well know 3rd Ware is 100 years old, Ware and District is 100 years old and nationally Beaver Scouts are celebrating 25 years. Here at 3rd Ware, our Beavers are not actually 25, but we are embracing the celebrations for the inception of the Beaver section.

The cake

To mark this event we joined in with the sleepover weekend. Ware and District held theirs last night at The Chauncy School in Ware. The Beavers had a packed event, making candles, party hats, a cake, decorating fairy cakes, cake mixing, colouring in, playing party games, banner making and generally having fun.

Aleaxander wrote "It was lots of fun thank you. I played loads of games and my best bit was eating 4 biscuits! I had a really good nights sleep, thank you (!) PS I forgot my sleeping bag!"

The Beaver Scouts had a great time and joined in all the activities with their usual enthusiasm and I thoroughly enjoyed joining them for this special event. we all enjoyed the cooked breakfast which included bacon sarnies - yum yum!

My New Friend

One of our Beavers also brought along his class mascot and so I was not alone. I know I had the company of the Beavers and the Leaders, but it was nice to have someone else with me who understood how hectic life can be when one has to travel from place to place and meet new people all the time!

Holly sent me an email saying "I had a brilliant time at my last Beaver sleepover. The fun bits were making cakes and a party hat, but my favourite game was pin the tail on the Beaver because I always got it in the right place. I did not get much sleep because I was too warm. Most of the Beavers were up early on Saturday morning, I liked the breakfast and then we had some photos done. I think its sad that it is my last Beaver sleepover."

I am looking forward to joining in the other activities that celebrate 25 years of Beaver Scouting, as well as our very own centenary and thank you to Ware and District for letting me join in the sleepover adventure!

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Last night I spent the evening with the River Lea Beavers. They are a very lively bunch of young people aged 6 to 8 years old, who really know how to enjoy themselves, I had a great time and can not wait to go back!

We were celebrating Chinese New Year and I found out all sorts of interesting information, got the chance to make a mask and tasted a Prawn cracker. MMMMMMmmmm. Did you know it is the year of the rabbit?

I also got to watch the Beavers play two games, one was a tag style game where they had to capture each others tails. I decided it was safer to watch this than risk them trying to join in. Well a monkey has to keep his dignity you know (and his hoodie clean)! I think it was almost better watching than playing. It made me smile a lot and the Beavers seemed to be having a good time.

Badger, Dormouse, Otter and the Young Leaders did a great job in providing fun and an exciting evening for the Beavers and I was delighted to have been invited down to the HQ to spend time with them.

I am looking forward to catching up with my new friends at the District Beaver sleepover on the 11th February. (I  hope to meet River Ash there as well and visit them soon.) Will you be there? I hope so because I am told it is a great event.