1st Gateshead

Today is a significant milestone in the lives of our Wolf Cubs, with many of them receiving their First Star from Akela. A number of badges were also presented, particularly the electrician badge, which was awarded to a number of Wolf Cubs following their work during Winter Camp. What is most impressive is the range of skills that the boys have demonstrated. The badges awarded included Cook, Reporter, Gardener, and even Responsible for Religious Ceremonies! Well done boys, we are all incredibly proud of what you have done.

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.

This Saturday, leaders from the Bedford, Gateshead, and Kensington groups were joined by leaders from the new Southwark group for a training session in Bedfordshire.  Jean-Luc Angelis, the Federation President came over from France to lead the training.  The training primarily concentrated on ‘green branch’ which is Scouts and Guides and follows up from our training camp in the Summer that concentrated on ‘yellow branch’ which is Wolf Cubs and Wolvets.     We were also delighted to meet potential leaders from other parts of the country who are looking to establish groups elsewhere.  Watch this space. 

If you are interested in starting a Catholic scouting group, please get in touch.  We would also be delighted to hear from anybody who can assist in leading an existing group.  Further training is planned for later this year for both yellow and green branches.

We currently cater for three different groups in the UK, Beavers (blue branch) for 6–8-year-old boys and girls, Wolf Cubs and Wolvets (yellow branch) for boys and girls aged 8-12, and Scouts and Guides (green branch) for boys and girls aged 12-17.  We don’t currently have any Rovers (red branch) for those aged 17 or over.

The Gateshead FSE group are pleased to announce the formation of a Beaver Colony open to both boys and girls. Starting on Saturday 21st September 2024, and aimed at boys and girls who are between 6 and 8 years old (school years 2 and 3) will meet together and take part in games, crafts and nature activities. If your child would be interested in joining the Beavers (or any of our other groups), please get in touch. For 2024/25, we will be allowing children currently in year 1 to attend, subject to the the children being mature enough.

Further information about the Beavers, can be found on our Beaver (blue branch) page.

This weekend we had our annual Summer camp at the Emmaus Youth Village in Consett. We arrived on Friday evening, and after pitching our tents, we celebrated the birthdays of two Wolf Cubs with pizza and cake.

The theme of the camp was based on the upcoming Olympic Games in France, so the Wolf Cubs, took part in a mini-Olympics with various events around the field including races, long jump and ‘hammer’ throwing representing the Olympic Motto of Faster, Higher, Stronger.

Many of the Wolf Cubs worked on completing the remaining tasks that were required to make their promise.

On the Saturday evening, we had a French themed meal with baguettes and cheese, however it wouldn’t be ‘French’ without us all trying frogs legs and snails cooked in garlic butter, and yes, the frogs legs did taste like chicken. The snails were fantastic, we have an excellent cook!

Sunday was our family day, all parents and siblings were invited up to camp for Mass and to witness the many boys making their promises as Wolf Cubs, followed by a family picnic. Each six performed a short show for the gathered crowd, and demonstrated their performing arts skills to much acclaim.

The Scouts set up a Hebert Course, which the Wolf Cubs and Scouts took part in, this included archery, cycling, climbing, crawling, jumping.

Despite having wonderful weather for most of the weekend, on Monday it rained, however this didn’t stop us from having fun. We even had ice cream (which we ate indoors)

The weekend coincided with the annual Significance Festival at the same location, which was attended by everyone involved, the leaders and our guests were accompanied by a number of Wolf Cubs and Scouts from the 1^st Gateshead group, the festival concluded with an excellent barbecue which was enjoyed by all.

The group along with various parents and siblings had their annual excursion to North Northumberland.  The day started with Mass celebrated by Fr David Phillips at St Mary Immaculate Church in Whittingham, followed by various Scouting activities and a nice lunch.  The Scouts demonstrated their skills by building a new bridge over the stream in the grounds of the church. 

The day concluded with a trip to Ingram Valley, where all the children (and a few adults) enjoyed the river and beautiful weather.

The 1^st Gateshead Wolf Cubs and Scouts were on parade today as Beamish Museum celebrated its annual Flag Day.  The highlight of the day was everyone taking part in a parade through the Edwardian town along with various other groups while flying our flags.  The rest of the day was spent exploring the open-air museum including the Victorian school, 1820s Pockerley, and naturally, the old-fashioned sweet shop in the Georgian town was very popular with the boys.  The day concluded with a football match in the 1950s town.

This weekend we were at Powburn Scout Adventure Centre in Northumberland for our Winter Camp, on Friday evening everyone arrived and settled in.  We played games, had a campfire, and explored the grounds.

The Saturday started with a trip to St Mary Immaculate in Whittingham followed by an excursion to Holy Island where we had lunch and explored parts of the island that most visitors never see. 

On the Sunday, we were back at St Mary Immaculate again for Mass, this time accompanied by many of the parents, followed by a trip to Sheperds Law Hermitage.

The Wolf Cubs and Scouts all enjoyed the grounds of Powburn Scout Adventure Centre, including an assault course and adventure playground.  As is traditional, various football matches were played throughout the weekend.