Successful Evening Walk

We had the Cub pack out for our annual portion of the Smuggler's Trail hike this evening. Normally we would do this walk in May or June but circumstances prevented us from doing it before the summer break.

The walk is not a difficult one - we only do the final 3.5 km from Collennan cottage, up past the old reservoir, though Dundonald Wood, ending at Dundonald Castle.
The main difference this time was the level of light. In May there is a god stretch in the evenings, but that's not quite the same in September. However, with torches and glow sticks we headed off.

The recent rain had left some puddles on the path, but luckily the weather stayed good. Nice and dry and not particularly cold.

I think the excitement of walking in the dark and using a torch to see the path focussed the Cubs's attention on the task at hand, but in reality it wasn't that dark, except towards the end. The photos do look darker that it was.

Earlier than expected, we arrived at Dundonald Castle where the Cubs relaxed in the playpark while we waited for the parent to come collect.

Smuggler's Trail

Next week, 17 September, we do our annual “Smuggler's Trail” walk from Loans to Dundonald Castle.

This means the cubs will have to be dropped at the Bus Stop at Collenan Cottages on A759 (Loans Main Street) at 7:15.

Cubs will need to be collected from Dundonald Castle car park at 9pm.

We will do the walk regardless of the weather conditions!

Please make sure sensible shoes and appropriate clothes are worn!

Loans Gala 2013

Had a great day out at the Loans Gala 2013.
Beautiful weather and lots of fun.
The Beavers had their Popcorn stand offering sweet or salted popcorn with sprinkles and sauces!

The cubs were selling ice cream and the Scouts had their plate smash.

May madcamp

The Cubs have just completed their overnight stay at the Scout Hall as part of their May Madcamp.

After choosing tents and storing their gear we brought them out for a short hike.

Then it was back to the camp where they cooked their supper of beans and hotdogs. Once the dishes were done we settled in for a the Entertainer's badge and a film while we waited for the sky to darken enough to do some star gazing. Despite the light pollution and the bright Scottish summer sky, we were able to pick out a few constellations.

 A not too early start of 0730 this morning had them tidy their gear, get a nice cooked breakfast and then back home by 0930.

Practice

Spent the evening preparing for the May Madcamp which is on the 30th of May.
The two packs set up their own tents.

After some time playing in the park it was back to take the tents down and get all the bits back into the bags. Always the harder bit.

Kit Lists were issued this evening and a reminder that

There are No Cubs next week due to the school holidays.
We will see the cubs at the camp in Friday 30 May at 7pm

May MadCamp Kit List(Suggested)

Your Son/Daughter will need to bring his/her own personal equipment (the following list is a guide) and if a Scout, they should be encouraged to find out from handbooks what is necessary and pack their own kit.

√	Complete Uniform	See Notes 1 and 3		√	Rucsac/Kit Bag(s)	See Note 2
⃝	Ground Sheet	See Note 4		√	Sleeping Bag	See Note 3
√	Pyjamas	See Note 3		√	Waterproof Outer Garment	See Note 3
√	Warm Sweater	See Note 3		√	T-shirt or Similar	See Note 3
√	Shorts/Trousers	See Note 3		√	Underclothes	See Note 3
√	Socks	See Note 3		√	Hike Boots/Strong Shoes	See Notes 3 and 4
√	Training Shoes	See Notes 3 and 4		⃝	Large Plate
⃝	Cereal Bowl	See Note 4		⃝	Cutlery
⃝	Mug	See Note 4		√	Personal Wash Kit	See Notes 3 and 4
√	Towel(s)	See Note 3		⃝	Swimming Trunks	See Note 3
⃝	Tea Towel(s)	See Note 3		⃝	Personal First Aid Kit
√	Torch and Batteries (with spare bulbs)	See Note 4		√	Hankies	See Note 3
√	Polythene Bags to Separate Clean/Dirty Items			√	Small Game(s)/Book(s)/Cuddly Friend	See Notes 3,4 & 5

General Notes

1. We would ask that your Son/Daughter travel to and from the Camp/Holiday in uniform.
2. Black bin bags are not suitable for bedding rolls as they tear very easily, with the result that the contents get lost or soiled in transit.
3. Please place wash proof name labels in all clothing, which should have your Sons/Daughters Name and Group.
4. Please label with either indelible ink and/or engraving as appropriate, with your Sons/Daughters Name and Group. (The old favourites of paper labels held on with sellotape, or nail varnish dots are not suitable. The paper labels wash off after the second or third meal, and it's amazing how many mums use the same shade of nail varnish).
5. No games or similar items (i.e. radio's or cassette players) which require batteries to run please.

Equipment Notes

Here is some basic information regarding some of the items you may require.

Sleeping Bags Synthetic filled bags are easier to clean than natural filling. Zips can be a source of cold if no baffle is fitted.

Footwear Boots give a better ankle support and normally have better soles than shoes if you are hiking.

Warm Wear A number of layers is warmer than one thick one and the warmth can be regulated more easily - do not forget your hands and head.

Torch Do not pack your torch with batteries fitted (or at the bottom of your kit) as it could easily get accidentally turned on and you will arrive at the camp/holiday with flat batteries.  

Badge Night

A fine spring evening tonight and a grand time to be outside in the fresh air. After finishing off some of the Fitness Challenge activities it was brisk game of Kick Ball. AFter that it was back to the Hall. While the hot dogs were cooking we played a few rounds of Statues.
After we ate and a completed a few more rounds of Statues, it was badge time.



All of our Cubs received their Navigators badge having completed those tasks in the past few weeks.

Most of them have also completed their Fitness Challenge. The good weather tonight let us achieve that outside. Two of the newer Cubs still have a few activities to complete before they can be awarded this one but they will have those completed in the next couple of weeks.




One of them even made the special effort of completing a badge at home and was awarded his Cycling badge.


It was also our last night for our 2 Sixers who both move up to Scouts.
Having now completed the Fitness Challenge they were both awarded their Chief Scouts Silver Award and their Moving On badges.

Code Readers

Had a quiet night in tonight.
We started with setting up the new sixes. Once the 2 oldest go up to scouts (tonight was their last night with us) we will have 10 in the pack so 2 sixes of 5 (if that makes sense).

We then had a little sit down and discussed the history of Lent, specifically as to how it applies to Pancake Tuesday.

Then it was a new game. 2 teams, 6 tennis balls, 4 chairs, 2 sponge balls. A cub kneels on the first chair and uses their tennis balls to try and knock the sponge ball off the other chair. They get to use their 3 balls and once they're done they replace the balls. First team to 5 wins.

After that it was off to the committee room for a spot of code breaking. We gave them a simple replacement code and had them decode a message.
Once they understood how it worked we talked about how codes can be used. We then had them encode a message. We then talked about how simple or hard a code would be. The then had to decode a message when they didn't know the cypher.

As it was pancake night we then broke for pancakes and juice.

We ended the night with badge awards. Most received their local knowledge badge. Most of the work for this was done as part of the Olympic camp, but additional tasks we done as part of Burns night.

Two new cubs were invested, along with Akela's burnt grass tradition.
In this tradition Akela takes a bunch of dried grass and lights it.

While it smoulders he has each cub being invested smell the burnt grass. He then tells them that what they smell is burnt grass and that every time from now on when they smell burnt grass they will remember their cub investure.

10 Pin Bowling

We had a great night bowling at the Garage in Kilmarnock.
With the leaders, we had 24 bowling which made a nice split of 4 teams.
With some excellent scores also.
After we all bowled our 10 frames we went into the adjoining Wimpy for a burger and some chips.
Fantastic fun for everyone.

Burns Night

We had our Burns Night tonight.
All the games were adjusted to commemorate the Bard.
We started out with the "Tam O'Shanter Terror race" which was a variation of Cub Tails followed by the "Gigantic Haggis Chase" which would normally be called Mice and Elephants tag.
We then had an alternative Burns supper. Not thinking the cubs would want haggis, neeps and tatties we had made up a sweeter version using chocolate rice krispies, vanilla ice cream and orange jelly. It went down quite well.
We then played "Escape from the Excise Man" This involves getting the team across a river to escape form the tax man, with only a single man boat and a length of rope.
We finished off with "Bucket Burns Ball"
Great night!

10 Pin Bowling Night

The Beavers and Cubs will be having  a 10 Pin Bowling Night on Tuesday 29th January. We have booked The Garage, Grange Street, Kilmarnock as the venue.

We would ask you to make your own way there and back.

Start time is 6:30pm and we should finish by 8.30pm.

Food and drink will be provided. There will be no charge.

If you have any transport problems, please contact:-
David (Cub Leader) 0753 030 7957
Dermot (Cub Leader) 0776 969 8225
Gillian (Beaver Leader) 0744 797 7738

New Year

Tonight was the first night back after new year and it started with 2 Beavers being welcomed into the Cub Pack.

In addition to the normal games we had a 'Thought Shower' where we had the Cubs suggest games and events for the coming session. There were some interesting ideas, some plausible, some adaptable  but I don't think we'll be bringing the pack to Spain any time soon.

We issued  a reminder to those Cubs that haven't returned their Christmas homework for the Fitness Badge that it has to be submitted soon or they won't get the badge.

Permission slips went home for our Bowling trip with the Beavers on 29 Jan. These need to be signed and returned by 22 Jan.

Fitness Challenge

Tonight we managed to resume the fitness challenge with the cubs.

This is a busy badge with a lot of work to be done at home as well:

• Show how you have done your best in a sport or activity over a two-week period. This can be something new or a sport or activity you currently take part in.
• Show how you have improved your physical fitness over a two-week period. This might include examining what you eat and improving your diet, how much exercise you take, how much sleep you get and how you might continue to improve your fitness in the future.
• Try two new sports or physical activities at least once. For example, tennis, dance, basketball or tai chi.

We have measured their fitness level over a small number of tasks. After the Christmas break we will re-measure them and look at trends.

Exhausted after the fitness challenge

We also did some fire safety, specifically safety with matches and candles as Christmas is coming. This was done in a fun way. We had two teams running relays. The cub would approach the table and strike a match to light a candle. They would dispose of the match and then blow out the candle. Once they had the hang of lighting candles we upped the ante by having then move the candle to the other table and blowing it out there. Aspects such as the safe way to handle a box of matches, checking for hanging clothes, reaching over flames, leaving unattended flame were all addressed.

Climbing Wall

We were a bit short on the ground tonight. Green Six were missing in its entirety - it seems they are all away with the school. This scuppered our plan to do the fitness challenge with the Cubs.


It did allow us to hit the climbing wall though!

We had a few quick rounds of Mosquito Tig and Silly Chicken but this was just to limber them up.

After an introduction and a quick traverse of the lower wall we got the cubs harnessed up and let them attempt the full wall.

The cries of "its easy" quieted down as they made their attempts, but they all did really well.

They all managed to ring the bell at the top.

A full on game of hockey followed by a few rounds of the 60 second game finished the evening.

Next week its the Fitness challenge (fingers crossed)

Short Table Tennis?

Tonight we brought out the table tennis bats and set the cubs up for a game.
After a few attempts we felt that the level of bounce was beyond our ability so we invented Short Table Tennis. This replaces the normal ball with a normal tennis ball sized foam ball. This makes the game much slower. By adding an element of volley ball (any number of bounces on each side) we began to get some rallies.

While we were inventing this game, the other cubs were playing table air football.This involves 2 teams, straws, and a table tennis ball.
We finished off the evening with a rousing game of Total wipeout followed by the 60 second game.

We obviously got their heart rates up tonight as no one hit the times as accurately as normal.

Remember the Armistice Parade this Sunday at 1015 at the Scout Hall. Full Uniform please.

Also no Cubs next week (13 Nov) as too many cubs will be at Parents night at school

Happy Halloween

Tonight was the Halloween party. Cue Cubs in a variety of costume - we had a pair of clowns, a pair of ghosts, a manic doctor, a giraffe, a skeletal pirate, a werewolf, to name a few.
Good fun all round!

Back from Holiday

Welcome back from holiday.
We started off tonight with a new game - Chinese football. This is where you have two teams defending their goal by linking hands and blocking the goal. The scoring team can only hit the ball with their hands and have to bend over to do it. The 'Chinese' part comes from the fact that it suits a large number of players at a time. Sadly, with our small numbers it didn't work well at all. A fiasco might be a better explanation. Perhaps once we recruit more or have a shared event...

We quickly followed this with Husky racing. A cub sits on a tea tray while another has to slide them to the end of the hall where they swap positions. The first team to get all their cubs to the wall and back win. The first few attempts were pushing.

They soon found out that all of them pushing was even better. Soon someone realised that pulling was even quicker!

After this we took advantage of the smaller than usual numbers and managed a 'proper' game of indoor hockey - the first time I think we have ever managed to do this.

After a well needed rest and drink it was clothes peg tag. This is where each cub has 3 clothes pegs clipped on their back. They have to capture pegs of everyone else while defending their own pegs. Captured pegs are clipped to their front. Last one with a peg on their back wins and who ever has the most pegs comes second.
To slow everything down for the end of the night we played sneak the keys.  A blindfolded cub armed with a torch, has to listen for the cub trying to sneak the bunch of keys from beneath his seat. If the cubs hears you and shines the torch on you, you are out.
Good fun and lot of laughs tonight.
Next week its the Halloween party. Costumes and no uniform required.

Model Painting

We had part 2 of our clay model making but before that we had a quick game of something like volleyball or croquet...
We had the Cubs stand in a circle with their legs apart. They then had to get a ball through another Cub's legs in order to eliminate that cub. Last one standing won.

Despite being quite a simple game it got quite competitive.

We then got the clay models out from where we left them to dry last week. We were lucky and all had dried and none seemed to have broken, but some we a bit delicate so the glue came out to repair some paint damaged petals.

Once the paint was on, glitter was added and masterpieces were completed.

The last event of the evening was bucket ball with a sin bin. Bucket ball is always a popular game (its like basketball but you have a team mate hold the bucket to catch the ball)

The introduction of the 'sin bin' was tried for the first time tonight. Traditionally, there is always a bit too much running (once you have the ball you are not allowed to move your feet) and crowding of the goal catcher (there is an exclusion zone around the bucket). Tonight we simply set the offending cub into the bin for a short time. It worked a wonder. After the first few exclusions the game picked up quite well.

No cubs next week as the schools are out.

Bonfire Night

We have organised our annual bonfire and fire works display for Sat 3rd November. We hope you and your family and friends shall come along and support us.

We shall light the fire at 6.30pm and set the fire works off at 7.15pm.

We shall provide a B B Q with hot and cold drinks for all.

If you have any queries, please feel free to give me a call.

PS – any donations of home baking/cakes would be very welcome – if these could be dropped off at the hall on the Saturday afternoon that would be appreciated.

Armistice Parade

This year’s Armistice Parade will take place on Sunday 11th November.  

Our short service of Remembrance will be conducted in the Scout Hall, Loans.  

We should all gather there at 10.15am for the service starting at 10.30am.  

The collection, as usual, will be sent to the Earl Haig Fund.  

Cubs and Scouts will, thereafter, march to the Memorial at the Village Cross to lay our wreath at 11.00am, with Beavers and parents walking along to join us there.  

We normally have an excellent turnout for this event and would hope to see you all again this year.

Many thanks

Philip McGowan

Group Chairman