8th Letchworth Scout Group

This weekend we've had our first camp of 2010. We all went up to Wymondley Wood. The Beavers came up for a sleepover on Friday night and joined in activities with the cubs in the house then had a campfire led by Ross, Mim and Katie which was very loud and we all enjoyed. The cubs spent the weekend working on their scientist badge. They made bottle rockets, sherbet, hunted for bugs and planted seeds. They also learnt about weather (which was very wet!). The scouts camped outside in the wet (because they're tough, although the cubs reckoned it was because they smell!) They worked on their pioneering badge and built a working drawbridge and a rope bridge in between playing a two day game of Trading Post and wide games at night. On the Saturday night, the lucky cubs had a second campfire, this time joined by the scouts and run by Ross and Jack.

Also - a special 'well done' goes to Shaun................................who managed to eat the biggest slice of chocolate cake ever!

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Mad Scientist Weekend

On Friday the 26th February 2010 I went to a Cub camp called Mad Scientist Weekend. It was a cold, wet evening and we all joined the a camp fire to keep warm. At the camp fire we sang some great camp fire songs. Then we had hot dogs and hot chocolate (yummy.)

The next day we got up and had breakfast. For breakfast we had Akela’s delicious eggy bread with some tasty beans and bacon.

After breakfast we went in the woods to find seeds and insects. One person found a millipede. Then we came back inside and planted some seeds. After that we made sherbet it was so much fun, mine was peppermint flavour.

Then we had dinner, sweet and sour chicken with rice and vegetables. Then again, we had a wonderful campfire full of fun songs.

On Sunday we packed our bags and then launched our rockets. Unfortunately, the leaders rocket went the furthest. (Better luck next time Cubs!) After, we did a fun quiz, and we had some cake and waited for our parents. Finally it was the end of the camp and we all went home. I have had a wonderful time at the camp and I really want to thank all of the people who organised Mad Scientist Weekend.

By Lauren (8th Letchworth Cub)

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Wymondly Wood Camp

26th – 27th February

When we arrived we put our bags in our room. Then we went to the hall and played games. Later we had a camp fire and sang some songs and we shouted ‘we want more wood’, after we had hot dogs. Then we brushed our teeth and went to bed.

In the morning we had breakfast with the cubs, then the scouts arrived. We made a photo frame and a mask. Then we went for a walk down in the woods, it was very muddy. We went back and had some cake and then went home.

By Georgia (8th Letchworth Beaver)

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I got there a bit earlier with my Dad and brother. We played trivial pursuit with the Beavers while we waited for the rest of the Cubs to come.

I chose which bed I wanted and unpacked. We played a 'getting to know you game' with the Beavers.

We had a camp fire. Katie, Mim and Ross did it. We sang songs. We went back and had hot chocolate and hot dogs. Then we went to bed. Akela let us read our books for a while. Then it was lights out.

In the morning we had for breakfast cereal, beans, eggy bread and bacon. It was delicious, specially the eggy bread !

Then we made sherbert with Bagera. After that we planted some seeds with Mao. Then we had a break and had juice, cake and fruit.

Then we swapped round. The rest of us went outside to look for bugs. We put little cups down with leaves in them with Baloo. The problem was it rained so there were no bugs the next day.

The beavers left just before lunch.

Then we had lunch. We had chicken soup or tomato soup and a bread bun. Cake and fruit for pudding.

After lunch we made wind catchers and rain catchers. When we were finished we put the rain catchers outside on the bench. We also made some rockets.

We had half an hour to read our books before tea. Then the scouts came in. We had rice, sweet and sour chicken and carrots. Cake and custard for pudding.

Then we read our books while Jack, Ross and Baloo were making the camp fire.

The scouts were knocking on room 1's window and Dragonfly caught them.

Then we went to the campfire. Ross and Jack led the songs and the Cubs were the loudest.

Then we went back for hot chocolate and hot dogs. The hot chocolate was hot. After that we went to bed.

In the morning we had breakfast. For a treat we had spagetti. The scouts who knocked on the windows got punished. They had to do the washing up and clean the tables.

We had to pack and tidy our rooms. After we packed room inspection came. We passed.

We played a quiz game.

After we played the quiz we launched the rockets.

We had more cake and then the mums and dads came to take the Cubs and scouts home.

It was an excellant camp with 8th. I can't wait for another one.

Bev the chef was a brilliant cook.

Thank you Akela and all the other leaders !

(Adam aged 8 Cub)

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Sleepover at Wymondley woods – By Joseph (Beaver)

First we set out our room with a sleeping bag, blanket and the rest. Then we came into the hall and played puzzles and some games. While we were playing a game the cubs arrived and set out their beds. And next we done a quiz with 2 cubs and 1 beaver it was a quiz like people have the same things. Next we got ready for the campfire so we got our blanket and wellies by the front door and off we went. We sang all kinds of different campfire songs. Then we came back and had dinner. Dinner was hot dogs and hot chocolate. Next we went to bed.

In the morning we had to stay in bed for a while. When we got out we done puzzles again and me and Joe P played with our teddies. Next we had breakfast and after that we went for a walk in the woods and we had to find things like flowers. Then we came back and made sherbet and we made a frame and a mask, then we had cake and then Dad arrived.

Tonight the Beavers had a visit from some very interesting people, Bridget, Walter and some of their 'friends'

First of all we met Elvis, an emperor scorpion. Due to the high chance of a nip or sting, he was only handled by Walter. We learnt that scorpions belong to the arachnid family. Walter explained the different between poisonous and venomous.

Then we met Grace, a Mexican red knee tarantula. She was quite lively so Bridget handled her. Otter was brave enough to hold her !

Next was Nip, a halloween crab. So called because of the colouring on the shell. He had a scuttle across the floor before being scooped up by Walter and shown around.

Aqua the water dragon was one of the most popular animals. I think every child in the room had her on their arm at one point.

Jewel the 6 year old boa constrictor was then taken out of her box by Bridget. I was reliably informed that she was fed last Sunday so wouldn't be looking for a snack tonight ! Everyone got to stroke her and our favourite GSL, Peter even put her round his neck. He said she was very heavy and could feel her grip tightening as she clung to him.

With the reptiles safely back in their boxes it was time for some small rodents. We met Sid, a duprasii and Ben, a shaws jard. Some of the Beavers are going to have lots of luck now, as these animals pooed in some of their hands !

Mags the African pygmy hedgehog wasn't much better behaved and also pooed in Lucy's hand.

Last but not least, we met Dot the fluffy rabbit. Walter put her down on the floor and she went over to some of the Beavers who were delighted.

It was a lovely evening and all the Beavers (and Cubs who came for moving on ! had a great time.

Friday night - it was that time again! – two teams of adults (who should really know better – but think they’re younger than they actually are!) and a team of explorers, plus our support crew joined teams of ‘seniors’ and explorers from the rest of the county and headed off on seven coaches and a minibus to an unknown destination for the annual Peak Assault Competition.

The competition is now in it’s 42nd year but the basic format remains the same. Teams set up camp on the Friday night and on the Saturday morning, after a kit check are given co-ordinates of checkpoints located in the hills. Each checkpoint has a points value and teams have eight hours on the Saturday and four hours on the Sunday to reach as many as possible, mark their score card and return to base. (or in the case of the explorer teams, reach their overnight campsite in the hills)

This year we found ourselves in Glyntawe, Black Mountain in the western Brecons. It was a beautiful location and luckily for us the weather stayed fine and dry. We had a fantastic time walking, saw herds of wild horses on the hills and numerous red kites circling overhead. We had fantastic support from Hartley, Neil and Ruth who had come to cook and look after us. Ruth even swapped places with Lesley and came out walking on Sunday when Lesley was under the weather.

I wonder where we’ll be heading next year!

Beaver Sleepover October 2009

Last weekend Dragonfly, Otter, Hawk, Ash, Katie and 6 Beavers all took part in a shared sleepover with Beavers from 5th and 7th Letchworth.

Once they were settled in their rooms they played a ‘getting to know you’ game. They had to find someone who could speak 2 different languages, someone who watches Eastenders, someone who was wearing red and lots of other things. It was a good way to learn everyone’s names.

Then they played a game of Haribo Bingo. For every number they crossed off they got a sweet. It was a very popular game !

After supper it was time to wrap up warm and go out to the camp fire that Baloo (aka Shedman) had lit. Katie and Oak from 7th Letchworth lead the sing song and soon everyone was joining in.

A cup of hot chocolate and a cake and a bedtime story read by Dragonfly and soon it was time for bed.

They didn’t take too long to settle and soon everyone was fast asleep.

A hearty breakfast of cereal and juice followed by beans, bacon and eggy bread set everyone up for the day.

The theme was Wizards and Witches. The activities were making wizard hats, magic wands, masks and colouring, including dot to dot, word search puzzles and colour by numbers.

More cake and juice and a game of cat and mouse with the parachute and soon it was time to go home.

A good time was had by all and we are now looking forward to joining with the Cubs next year for a joint sleepover.

My Beaver Adventure by Rebecca age 6

I arrived at the woods at 6.30 on Friday 16th October, 2009. We unpacked our clothes. I was on the top bunk. I shared a room with Molly, Jodie, Hana & Lily.

After my mum left we played a game to find out about each other ? if we had blue eyes or green eyes or maybe both. We played bingo. Then we went to have a sing song around the camp fire. After that we came in to have a hot dog and then we got ready for bed and had a story. We were allowed to talk for 15 minutes. We went to bed at 12 o?clock.

In the morning we made puzzles and played Scooby do dominoes. Then we had breakfast. For breakfast I had two pieces of eggy bread and two pieces of bacon and cereals. Then we went outside to play some parachute games.

I had a fantastic time and I want to go back again.

We met at Tesco in Baldock late on Friday night. At 11.30pm it was already way past time to sleep but instead we were faced with 50 very excited, enthusiastic and LOUD scouts and explorers. After counting them, checking them, loading their bags and then loading them, we were ready to board the double decker coach and head off to Scotland for a week of fun and activities. They sang, they chanted, they talked and then sang again, all the way up the M1 and M6. The only thing they didn’t do was sleep! We arrived in time for breakfast and the Network (already on station- and having had a lot more sleep) took over, helped them unpack and find their way about – a day of team building activities followed giving the scouts chance to get to know the other scouts from the district who they would be with for the rest of the week.

For the next six days a routine was set. We were all up early, everyone in their activity gear ready for flag break at 8.00am. This was the start of the daily entertainment – with everyone craning their necks to see what item had been misappropriated the night before and found it’s way up the flagpole – to be revealed as the flag unfurled! The DC’s bike and the ADC’s umbrella (not really appropriate kit for a scout activity week!!!) were two of the acquisitions! The weather stone was checked to see what the day would bring then into the station for a filling breakfast

The scouts then split into their patrols and went off with their activity leaders for the day. They did day hikes in the mountains, overnight hikes and camped out in the mountains (waking up to find they were camping in the middle of a cloud), they did kayaking, white water rafting, sailing and mountain biking. We had torrential rain, gale force winds and even sunshine. The streams coming down the sides of the mountains turned into raging torrents and the loch was rougher than the open sea at times. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do the canyoning as the water was too rough. None of it mattered though as we still enjoyed it all. At one point the met office forecast hail, sleet, thunder and lightning but luckily they got it wrong and it turned into a beautiful sunny day with views for miles from the tops of the hills.

The scouts came back to the station after each day’s activities and were met with homemade cakes and drinks made fresh by our fantastic group of volunteers who came and cooked all week for us. It was then time for the scouts to clean up, shower and change into uniforms for flag down and dinner at 6.00pm.

There was a short ‘breather’ after dinner when the duty patrol helped with the clearing up then it was time for evening activities – climbing, swimming, archery, shooting or for those on hikes the next day, route planning and kit checks. By 9.30pm the last minibus was back on the station bringing in the last groups from their evening out. The catering team (still working hard after 15 hours) had hot chocolate and biscuits ready before bed and ‘lights out’ at 10pm (ish).

The leaders then had a chance to collapse in the armchairs in the sun lounge, chat about the day’s activities and sort out final preparations for the next before crawling into bed – ready to do it all over again in a few hours time.

What a week! Everyone had an amazing time, had fantastic fun, achieved goals, found new things they’d never done before and enjoyed them and made new friends – four years time we’ll be off again!

This weekend we've been on a group camp to Tolmers, joining in Herts 100 with groups from all over Hertfordshire. Here's what our group members said about it:

Herts 100 was the best camp ever!! There was lots of activities to choose from and I did 23 altogether. My favourite activity was canoeing because I had never done it before and even though I was absolutely rubbish at it, I had a great time!! I also liked the Ghost Train because it wasn't scary at all so it made me laugh more than scream. We had a carnival on Saturday evening and everyone dressed up in funny outfits and blew whistles. The noise was deafening!! I thought the fireworks display was good as well. Before we left, we went into the main arena and danced to songs. We did a massive conga! We got a badge which I am going to sew onto my blanket along with my neckerchief and Tolmers badge that I bought. The whole experience was amazing and I wish I could have stayed for longer.

By Ellen

(scouts)

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"First I got into a big line and walked to the big, noisy opening ceremony. It was about 45 minutes long. Then we went to see our campsite and then we went to play. Some of us made some biscuits and some of us made lemonade and then we all went to roast some marshmallows. And my favourite thing was eating the roasted marshmallows."

Tom - Beaver

On Sunday 17th May, 3 Beavers from 8th Letchworth, and their Mums, set off on the annual Greenway walk. They braved the elements and all managed to finish. As far as we know, they were the only 3 Beavers in the whole district to take part and finish the whole walk. We are very proud of them. Here are their stories :

We started off at the Highfield school at 8.15am and we walked round with Shaun and his mum we got round to the 1st C.P and was very excited to get to it. Then we walked round to the 2nd C.P which had food and drink where i had a mars bar and packet of crisps and thank god there was a toilet. Then as we left C.P2 it started to rain very heavily for about an hour and we got very very wet and we took the wrong turning and walked round past Burger King which was a longer way. There was lots of puddles which Shaun and me walked through splashing each other. Then C.P4. Between C.P4 and 5 there were lots of crops which Shaun and me walked through, we kept falling over and pushing each other, which was so much fun. When we got to C.P5 it was at 11.3 miles and lunch time. Hooray food, and the toilet again. Then we set off again to reach the end. And again we got lost as took another wrong turn and had to walk back to go the right way. We walked through more crops in Hitchin where i jumped and pulled a muscle in the top of my leg. I managed to hobble the rest of the way back to the school at 3.40pm to get my certificate.

My best part of the walk was lunch.

By Myles

On the 17th May i went on a long walk with Myles. We set off early. We ran off ahead very keen to start the walk. It started to rain i felt it on my head so i put my hood on then it came down very quickly i was dripping. There were tiny and big puddles, we climbed on walls and rails. We walked in big grass and kept falling in it. I picked up stones and sticks that i wanted to take home with me. We saw Sheeps, cows and horses at the farm. My favourite bit was seeing the baby chicks running under the bushes they were so cute. Me and myles kept trying to push each other over and tried skidding down the hills. We ran to try and catch up with our mums. When we got back to the school my feet hurt when i walked and i was very muddy. I had my picture taken with myles before getting my certificate. When i got home i played with my brother for a bit but then i kept falling asleep,

By Shaun

I enjoyed the walk and I want to do it again.

Mummy daddy and Freya where very happy.

by Harry age 6

Saturday saw the annual District Beaver Challenge. It is open to the oldest 6 Beavers from all groups in the Distict.

Our team consisted of Jude, Richard, Michael, Louis, Adam and Callum G.

This year it was held at 11th HQ. The winning team from last year sets the questions for the following year and this year, Christine from 12th set the questions.

The first round was a picture round. Our Beavers knew who all the pictures were except one, Freddie Flintock the c ricketer.

Next they had to look for cd’s all around the outside area. Each cd had a different coloured sticker on which corresponded to a different amount of points. We got 99 points.

In the next round they had to identify different vegetables from their descriptions. All the teams got 10 out of 10 !

There was a general knowledge round followed by a break for juice and biscuits.

Then a jumping contest. Each Beaver had to jump as far as they could from standing still. Richard and Adam managed over 60 inches – well done !

The final round was a ‘guess the job’ round. They had to guess the job or profession from a description.

We came 5th overall with 49 points out of a possible 60. Well done !

We all had a very enjoyable afternoon and look forward to next years challenge !

Mid Herts Night Hike runs annually and is open to teams of Scouts and Guides from the county. The Nightjar trophy is run at the same time but can only be won by teams from Letchworth & Baldock District.

8th Letchworth entered a team of 4 scouts this year, and after dropping our sleeping bags at 1st Codicote HQ (our post hike 'dorm') we were taken to 2nd Welwyn HQ for the start. Our start time was 8.55pm and through the night we worked our way around the route, picking up points on seven bases. The bases were all based on team work and  ranged from observation and sensory challenges to assault courses and map reading. We finished the route and were taken to our 'dorm' for a couple of hours sleep at 4.10am.

The presentations were at 8.00am and we were overjoyed to find not only had we come fourth overall in the county competition but we had won the Junior NightJar trophy (for accompanied teams).

Well Done to the four scouts who took part - a fantastic result.