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Thurs
15th Jan 2004 : Investiture and mentoring meeting
Our
first meeting of the new term started with the investiture of Lorna and
Claire, who are now fully-fledged North Face Explorers. We then split
into four groups, played a mad game and then remained in those groups
to discuss progress through the Duke of Edinburgh's and Chief Scouts
Awards. Alan then gave us a load of junk from which we had to build a
structure that would keep a marble rolling for the longest time. This
was won by Louise, Michael, Niall and Sarah, who earned themselves an
edible prize.
Thurs 22nd Jan
2004 : Tri-dimensional meeting
This
was the second meeting of this kind, when we split into three working
parties. The first party, with Martin, went down to Longcraig and met
Ian Harrower who introduced them to sea kayaks and set them to work
repairing them, helping to complete the work started in November. The
second party, with Alan, met at Kyle's house and set to work removing
rust from the kayak trailer, including a coating that had developed
since the previous attempt. Again there was no time to put on any
primer (Alan said he would go back the next day to do this). The third
group met, with Mikael and Caroline, to work out a programme for Cubs
as part of the International Friendship Award. They also each gave
brief presentations of an international nature.
Thurs 29th Jan
2004 : Games evening
Alan
and Martin ran a number of games for us. Each group had to elect a
member to either cut cards or play pontoon, the winner getting double
points in the games. These included relay races and memory games. The
winners were the ones who cheated least.
Thurs
5th Feb 2004 : Meeting for skiers
The
skiers met to sort out equipment. It didn't take very long as there was
no snow forecast, we decided to leave the hiring of boots and skis
until we reached the slopes (which we never did!)
6th
- 8th Feb 2004 : District Explorer Scout skiing weekend
On
Friday 6th February, eight Explorers and six leaders set off from
Fairmilehead on the annual District Explorer Scout ski weekend. We
loaded the kit into cars, which was made somewhat easier with the lack
of skis, because there was no snow up north. Nevertheless, we set off
up on our way to Pitlochry, where we stayed in the Scout Hall. The kit
was unloaded, and people set up their beds for the night, whilst the
leaders then sat and chatted. The Explorers lived up to their name and
were off out to hunt for the local chip shop, which was never actually
visited. Then they began to explore the surroundings, and noticed that
time had flown by and it was long past our curfew!! However we returned
to be greeted by our very laid back leaders, and hot dogs. We sat about
and chatted for a while, until the leaders couldn’t stay awake like the
young ones, and they went off to their beds, and unluckily for Brian
aka 'The Chief', the Explorers continued chatting and singing until the
small hours.
On Saturday morning,
the cooks, Calum and Craig, managed to raise themselves from their beds
and started to make breakfast, and the aroma of bacon rolls soon woke
everyone else up!
There was a short debate
as to the day’s activities, some suggesting
grass skiing, good idea, but the most popular was a walk in the hills
along the Falls of Bruar. We set off from the House of Bruar in
glorious sunshine, and then headed up in our two groups. We met up for
lunch, hiding away in a small hollow, from the snowy blizzard that had
developed, and, after some first aid practice, if you could call it
that, we headed back to the café. After a warm mug of hot
chocolate, we
then returned to the Scout Hall for a quick change and to grab our
swimming kit. Perth pool, here we come. Despite having got lost, Kylie
the Clio was the first to arrive! After much fun and laughter,
including Steven blocking the flume, we left the pool, and sped off
back to the hall, some going via Macdonalds. Soon after our return,
Caroline, with a little help from cooks Richard and Jonny, rustled up
some pasta, which tasted great for once, and that was followed by some
watery custard… sorry!
We then realised it had snowed very heavily, and so went
sledging in
bin bags on the grassy slopes behind the hall. At this point Calum was
looking to pay Martin the money for the bet that there would be no
snow! So, in high spirits, we went inside, and lay there chatting,
playing games, and drunk many cups of tea!
We woke up this morning
as the power cut had allowed the room to cool
down rapidly. And this resulted in Alan cooking the sausages in the
Mystery Machine. Then after breakfast, we took a stroll up to
Killicrankie, and the Soldiers Leap. Nobody was willing to attempt it…
luckily! We then agreed that going karting would be a good end to a
good weekend. So, after some expert navigation, we arrived at Noah’s
Ark near Perth, where we each had 15 minutes of spinning round the
track, which was great fun! Then, we headed home, and despite Kylie
leaving first, she was last home, due to another unscheduled stop for a
burger!
Many thanks to all the
leaders, especially Shiela for her time.
Hopefully next year there will be skiing involved as well.
Thurs
12th Feb 2004 : The Great Debate
Write-up to be
completed!
Thurs 26th
Feb 2004 : Ready, steady, cook-up
Martin
provided us with a random selection of tins, all with their labels
removed. Each group had to take turns to choose these anonymous tins
and, armed with tin-openers, pots, pans, frizzlers and wooden spoons,
each set about creating a two-course meal. Points were awarded for
taste, presentation and the name for the meal. The leaders all had to
taste the offerings and were suitably impressed. Some imagination had
certainly gone into the names... and even more into the blending of
ingredients.
Thurs 4th Mar 2004 : Outdoor and exhibition skills
We
met in the Church Hall for an evening of honing outdoor and expedition
skills. The four bases included tent pitching in the dark with the
whole team holding hands, recognition and treatment of hypothermia,
understanding Gaelic place names and completing route plans.
Thurs
11th Mar 2004 : Tri-diemsional meeting
This
was the third meeting of this kind, and again we split into three
working parties. The first party, with Martin, went down to Longcraig
and worked on the sea kayaks, putting final touches to the repairs
carried out in November and January. The second party, with Alan, met
at Kyle's house and set to work removing more rust from the kayak
trailer and applying primer. The third group met, with Mikael and
Caroline, to work out a programme for the 25th Morningside Cubs.
Thurs
18th March 2004 : Starsky and Hutch reborn
The A-Team are after Knightrider and
Blue Thunder, and they are after the Bionic man and
Wonderwoman, who in turn are after the A-Team.
They are fighting among themselves because Boss Hogg has killed Huggy
Bear with his bare hands and each of the teams blame each other for not
looking after Huggy Bear. Boss Hogg now has the head of Huggy Bear and
is hiding out somewhere in the village of Cherry Burton. Starsky
and
Hutch are also trying to rescue Boss Hogg from Cherry Burton before
either of the teams find him and get the head of Huggy Bear. If
you
understand any of that, then please could you explain the rules to
those who took part in this brilliant street wide game.
Wed 24th March and Fri
26th 2004 : Non-standard meetings
On
Wednesday, there was a meeting for those Scouts (and their parents) who
were going on the summer expedition. On Friday, some of the Scouts
helped with the 9th Cub Pack meeting, on an international theme, and at
the 103rd Scout meeting, where they held a re-enactment of the Starsky
and Hutch wide game... and began to understand what the whole thing was
all about!
Thurs 1st
April 2004 : Meeting at Bonaly
We
met at Bonaly for an end-of-term camp fire and barbecue. Unfortunately,
only hot dogs were provided and the Explorers who, banking on something
more substantial, had foregone tea, went rather hungry. The rumblings
of their stomachs were drowned out by the crackling of the wood and the
singing of the girls.
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