It was the last weekend in January, and what better place to be than Eaton Vale Scout and Guide Activity Centre as part of the 12th Cambridge cub pack. The weather was kind to us and we were able to enjoy crate stacking, high ropes course (pretty challenging!), catapult pioneering and pedal car racing without getting wet at all – and everyone was in fine voice for the campfire. We enjoyed delicious food, courtesy of Mang and Shada, and ample cake thanks to all. Here, with thanks to Shere Khan, are the photos.
Category Archives: Featured
Kicking off the year
What better way to blow off the after Christmas cobwebs than to get straight out there and head to camp? So without further ado scouts from Raptor and Wildcat troop headed to Gilwell Park in Epping Forest with 3000 others to take part in a weekend that included rock climbing, tank driving, falling from great heights and lots and lots of mud…… Continue reading
Clip and Climb
When a new climbing center opens in town it seemed almost rude not to go along and give it a try! A lot of weird and wonderful climbing and a lot of fun 🙂
We’re recruiting!
We’re growing! After the success of opening our second scout troop last year we now want to open a second Cub Pack and Beaver Colony as well as reinforce our current sections. And our scouts have a bit of a message for anyone who might be interested…..
If you have a few hours a week to spare and would like to spend it with most awesome bunch of kids on the planet then please get in touch. We’re waiting to hear from YOU!
Boot Camp!
Earlier this year we waved a sad goodbye to a small army of scouts who headed off to Explorers, in September we gave a warm welcome to their replacements, our new recruits, all 11 of them! With that number of new recruits it was a time to run a camp to learn the ropes, planned as far as possible by the scouts themselves. From the tents used to the patrol menus to the program, the decisions rested with the scouts and so on an autumnal Friday evening 28 scouts arrived at Eaton Vale with it being their first camp for no less than half of them and indeed the first camp for one our leaders!
The weekend was pretty busy featuring everything from dizzying heights of Jacobs Ladder through to learning how to safely weald axes and basic first aid. Getting soggy in kayaks to cooking everything themselves. Below we’ve got the best of the photos, mostly taken by the prolific Richard and Jess. Enjoy!
Help! DIY work weekend 15 & 16 Oct
It’s been a while since we have had one, but it’s time for a parents’ HQ work weekend on 15th & 16th October, so please save the date!
Let us know that you can help by popping an email to diy2016@12thcambridge.org.uk, and roll up your sleeves and prepare to have fun!
We have two projects lined up:
- clearing and making safe the alley behind the HQ building
- redecorating the meeting room and Brownie room to make them into Activity rooms
Project 1: alley clearance
What are we aiming for?:
Make the alley behind the hut useful and safe for for storing equipment & accessing the gas bottles.
What will we do?:
- Clear all the weeds and overgrowth
- Dig out the uneven soil, broken glass and rubbish – enough to fill the skip that we’ll hire!
- Fix the perimeter fence
- Lay weed-control fabric and approx 2 tonnes of gravel
What do we need?
- An army of willing volunteers to dig, shovel and barrow the rubbish out and the gravel in
- Tools: wheelbarrows, spades, shovels, pruners
Project 2: room improvements
What are we aiming for?
Transforming two rooms from junk stores to Activity rooms for our young people to use during scouting sessions – the large room will become an informal, nice room and the smaller one a meeting room with table and chairs. With carpet, we hope to make the rooms feel less cold in winter!
What will we do?
- clear the rooms of all clutter and excess furniture
- paint the walls
- fit blinds to the windows and seal draughts
- fit carpet tiles on the floors
What do we need?
- volunteers to clear, clean, paint & fit out the rooms
- Tools: we already have most items already, but a couple of stepladders would be handy.
So, if you are up to challenge, please email the team: diy2016@12thcambridge.org.uk, letting us know when you can make it, how many people, offers of useful tools – basically any info that would be helpful.
As is traditional on these occasions, leaders are excluded from parents’ work weekends, and the GSL will supply the tea and biscuits!
Scouts scrub up for Canada fundraiser
Cambridge 12th scouts will be rolling up their sleeves this Saturday to wash as many cars as possible in a drive to raise funds to go to Canada in summer 2017 to meet up and spend time with the 12th Cambridge Canadian Scout troop.
15 scouts will have soapy sponges and chamois leathers at the ready at Chesterton Sports Centre in Cambridge in a bid to raise buckets of cash to help fund their adventure.
For fourteen days days they will all live together under canvas, stay with host families, and take part in a packed programme of activities.
This will be a fantastic experience for all concerned. But before then, all the scouts are really looking forward to seeing as many people as possible with their cars at Chesterton Sports Centre on Saturday.
The Car wash is kick starting their year of fundraising activities, including baking cakes to sell at local events and bag-packing at local stores, with other plans in the pipeline in the coming months.
The car wash will take place between 8.30am and 2.30pm at Chesterton Sports Centre car park on Gilbert Road, Cambridge this Saturday 24th November.
For each car wash, we suggest a minimum donation of £7. More appreciative donations are gladly accepted!
A week in the woods
This year for summer camp scouts from both Raptor and Wildcat troops spent a week in the woods in Sussex for summer camp. Broadstone Warren is the country’s largest scout campsite, set in the middle of Ashdown Forest and close to the home of Winnie The Pooh.
Day 1 saw the troop terrorise the public transport system on route to Sussex before setting themselves up in a woodland clearing at Broadstone
Day 2 and things started to get properly fun! First with the construction of bivouacs for the following night and then, in a challenge set by our Canadian friends, building cardboard canoes for sailing along side rafts that afternoon.
The quality of the rafts was….er….. variable…. sparking rumors that it may have descended into an impromptu swimming session. Something we hotly deny 🙂
Day 3 and it got a little bit white knuckle as we hit the high ropes before assisting the site staff in the afternoon keep the rhododendrons under control. Broadstone is a site of Special Scientific Interest due to its incredible biodiversity. The rhododendrons are an invasive species, preventing the growth of native species of trees and shrubs.
Day 4…. dawned wet and soggy. A perfect day to head for the coast! In true British fashion the scouts braved the weather to take in the Sea Life centre, consume vast quantities of fish and chips and of course lose all their money on the pier. What more would you want from the seaside?
Day 5… Back to site activities in the morning as the scouts learned to walk on water and shoot like Robin Hood. Afternoon saw them split into those earning their meteorology badge and those geocaching.
Day 6….. and we left site again. This time to hike around the local area and of course find Poo Sticks Bridge! And there fierce competition broke out as the scouts stripped the local area of every twig they could find. The return leg of the hike saw the return of some er…. weather! And it all got a little bit soggy….
Day 7….. and after a night sleeping under the stars it was time to go home! Once again the public transport system was invaded prompting a couple of passengers on a bus to move due to the smell of camp fire coming off everyone!
A massive well done to all the scouts and explorer who went, AK, Alex P, Will, Jonnie, Biba, Izzy, Eleanor H, Eleanor V, Ebba, Teilo, Adam, Dan, Alex B, Jamie, Rosie, Jenny, Harry, Lucas and Kitty. And inparticular Ebba, our scout of the camp for 100% enthusiasm for absolutely everything 🙂
We have taken hundreds of photos of the camp and you can find them all here. The Summer Camp Diaries movie is now in production. Watch this space!
(Not) Messing about on the river
Raptors Troop ventured in punts onto the Cam once again. Graham had ‘had a word’ with the powers-that-be on this occasion, cancelling the side-order of torrential rain and lightning served up previously.
The scene was perfect – warm, calm as a millpond and blue sky. The ‘mate’s rates’ from Scudamores meant that we had the punts for an hour and a half, more than enough to reach the ‘money-shot’ location near King’s College chapel.
All the scouts got the opportunity to wield poles and, ahem, navigate the mighty river.
On the subject of navigation, one punt (Izzie, you shan’t remain nameless!) received the order to stop and reverse a little. Apparently, this was to enable the capture of a nearby-located Pokemon Go character. It’s amazing what you can spot amongst Cambridge’s world-class architecture.
Somwhat disappointingly to the GSL (who had brought a towel and combat-stripped his wallet for the occasion), nobody fell in and waterfights failed to break out. Parents may have had a different opinion. Maybe next time!
A term of pioneering
When the cubs revealed last term that they had a voracious appetite for pioneering, I needed no second bidding. This term, they’ve been developing their skills in knotting and lashing and have become pioneering experts.
Early in the term, we spent an evening refreshing ourselves on some knots and some basic lashings, and put this into practice by building some A-frames.
Camp gave us an opportunity for a more ambitious project: a grand gate for our campsite!
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Then this evening, we took things to another level, literally, with a rope bridge.
I’m pleased to report that all cubs made it safely across the river!
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