This weekend we were at the Knock Christian Centre in Cumbria for our second annual Winter Camp. Everyone arrived safely on Thursday evening when we all tucked into pizza and garlic bread cooked in the well-equipped kitchen. The Scouts and Wolf Cubs made extensive use of the games room and sports hall in their free time before Baloo and Hathi organised a game of dodgeball for the Wolf Cubs.
On Friday, after a nice breakfast which the Wolf Cubs helped prepare and cook, the Scouts went for an expedition around High Cup Nick which took most of the day. Melvin, who is one of our Scouts had this to say “As we left the car park, me and the rest of the patrol who were with us, began our aspirant raid, which took us on a circular walk route up to High Cup Nick. The first part of the hike was not too challenging but this would all change as we moved on. However, when we moved from the well-paved country roads to the wet, muddy fields, we instantly felt the difference. We successfully crossed a stream without getting wet, and started on the main ascent of the hike, where the high incline began to really test us. The endless hills towering above us, we relentlessly powered on, still maintaining a steady pace.
After what seemed like forever, we reached the top of the steep, exhausting hill and could finally relax. Sitting up beside a rock wall, we enjoyed our pre-made lunches and some much needed hot chocolate to warm our hands and our spirits up. Very refreshed through this essential break, we continued to our last stop of the hike, High Cup Nick. Here, we took some truly breathtaking photos and drew some topographical sketches of the natural wonder. Now, all that was left to do was complete our descent, which was much easier than the way up, and we enjoyed the captivating scenery and features, especially the waterfall and lime kiln. Overall, this raid was truly beneficial and memorable to me and I am sure the rest of our patrol would agree that this day was truly an unforgettable one.”
Meanwhile back at base, the Wolf Cubs raised the Union Jack and discussed what the flag represents.
After the flag ceremony, the Wolf Cubs were taught about electricity, learned how to reset circuit breakers and build small electrical circuits using batteries, lights, and buzzers earning all the older cubs the electrician badge.
Later in the day, the Wolf Cubs learned about different types of birds and how to read maps, both of which are required to earn a first star. The Wolf Cubs also worked on their fitness, including a press up competition then worked on their ability to catch and receive a ball before going onto the field to catch an American Football, Baloo and Hathi, being big fans of the sport were very happy to throw the ball for the Wolf Cubs, culminating in Hathi attempting to throw over the shoulder catches to the boys. While he did manage to throw a few successful ones, we don’t expect the NFL to be on the phone anytime soon for him however some of the Wolf Cubs did show some talent in catching.
After lunch and free time, the Wolf Cubs re-grouped and started working on the evening’s entertainment, each six was given a topic and tasked with devising with turning it into a short play. After dinner and the return of the Scouts, the Wolf Cubs performed the plays for everyone, the Black six’s performance was voted the best.
On Saturday morning, the Scouts and the Wolf Cubs assembled for the daily flag ceremony. The older Wolf Cubs were then taught how to start fire by Sahi, the younger Wolf Cubs learned a new sports including how to play basketball and American football before turning to good old-fashioned football, while the Scouts spent the morning in the arts and crafts room creating backdrops for their evening show. Due to an adverse weather forecast, we brought forward the evening barbecue to lunchtime, so we ended up having a long lunch with lots of free time. Afterwards the older cubs were taught the second and third cycles of semaphore before everyone worked on their evening entertainment. In the evening, the rainy weather didn’t materialise, so we had a campfire with toasted marshmallows, songs, and Baloo told ghost stories before we all went inside to watch the entertainment. The Scouts put on a magnificent show including getting some of the cubs to play parts, while the Cubs acted out various stories about St Francis, in the vote, the Black six won again! It is worth pointing out that most of the black six have already earned the Troubadour badge.
On Sunday, we had a final flag ceremony, once again led by the Wolf Cubs, so that all the older Wolf Cubs have been involved in the flag ceremony satisfying another of the criteria required to earn stars. Baloo then demonstrated to the older Wolf Cubs how to ‘Run like Bagheera’ before organising races on all fours around the sports hall for them. Afterwards, Baloo led the boys in a discussion on how to interpret the Bible and how it impacts their lives.
After this discussion, four of the Wolf Cubs were taken by Hathi to Akela to get their Mowgli books signed as they’ve completed their first stars, another five of the Wolf Cubs, are one task away from completing the first star and will do their missing task at the next meeting, so they can all be awarded their first star together later in March, this group of older Cubs are well on their way to earning their second star too. The younger cubs had a more relaxed day after an exhausting few days, playing games of pool and chess during extended free time. While Hathi was teaching the older boys, Akela and the younger cubs had some fun with different types of races, including piggybacking and a chariot race with the neckerchiefs. This was followed by a game of football with the Scouts.
