Magic! and cardboard canoes!

The scouts are joining us on Thursday (OK - the scouts have pinched our room) and we will join in the magic! Remember the magic of scout troop nights? 
It should be fun and xmasy - bring some festive stuff to make it festive!
The magician has promised to show us how to do cool stuff so we can show tricks when we go to Fiji!
Actually we need some magic don't we... the cardboard canoe needs some help methinks!

Ulp!

I don't think she wants to be test pilot... but maybe taping her in will encourage her...?

She seems happier with the idea of taping a different victim test pilot in!

Modes of failure...

Failure is not good, but fear of failure is worse - our cardboard canoe project started with scale models to identify modes of failure... to be avoided in the full scale boats!
It's cold and wet and windy so tonight 8:00pm will be about construction - not launching!
Come warm, with canoe plans and learn from the fails! 

We also need to plan our coracle project - we've been given £1500 or so to get started! Woop! We should convert to a Sea Explorer Unit!

Duncton Wood

Hey this is where Tryfan and the moles of Siabod live! The pic is of the view Richard always promises but it's always been a bit hazier (fog) when I've been with him. However, this time I shall be at Bisley with the national rifle squad so it is bound to be crystal clear and spectacular! I hope a good gang of you go and bring back some pics! Let me know if you are going and I can sort out arrangements with Richard and the SSGMG. I'll be back with you in the hills in Jan!

Cardboard canoes - the fight to be first

There was fierce competition over who was to pilot our prototype cardboard canoes so ahead of the design stage we fought it out over who gets to go first! 

We're all in this together guys - "All for one...."

"After you!".... "No, I insist, you go can go first!"

Next week, perhaps we'll build them (I've got the Duck tape!)

Say cheese!

It's some pics from the Tryfan hike, with cheesy backing track :)

This week we'll be starting our boat building campaign to show Tuvalu scouts some things to do in the ocean! First up, ocean going cardboard canoes! Have a google around - there's loads of ideas and instructions for them on the web!

Same

OK - not same as Tuvalu, but still tasty...! And actually not so cold if you stand close to the fire, and definately not as many ants! To see what Tuvalu is like check out:
http://andyexplores.wordpress.com/ and http://www.getjealous.com//jay2tuvalu and see the guys we plan to meet up with next summer.


And meanwhile, this is Boreatton's version of a S Pacific Island :)

 Hmmm... are you safe with that cleaver???

Fish friend! :)

OK - so we don't actually know what the local cuisine is in Tuvalu but we have fish and prawns, roast bananas and sweet potato, coconut and chilli sauce... 

...Nice!

Next week we continue our South Pacific theme with low cost boat building - Cardboard can be structural!!! Bring some 6 foot long bits and we'll do cardboard canoes!

Up date

Reminder for those going up Tryfan - we can meet at 8:30 on 20 Nov in the Enigma car park

Beach Bar-B-Q

Talofa guys, its down as Tuvalu night tonight, and I've just heard from Andy and Jay - they are settling in in Funafuti. Why should they have all the fun ??? Why don't we have a south pacific beach b-b-q too? Bring a plate and kfs and we'll do the same whilst we discuss plans to visit them, in the warmth of the tropical Boreatton dusk!

Tryffic!

It's Tryfan! ...for our next mountain group hike on Sunday 20 Nov. It's a great scrambly mountain and hopefully the weather will be calmer than it was for Snowdon... Those doing the mountain walks for their DofE fitness should have a good time - and any others that come too!

Please also bring a fresh consent form with contact details for the day. Don't forget to ask to borrow kit if you don't have the right gear for mountains at this time of year!!! It's free, but you have to ask!!!

Balance

As it is 11-11-11 and a day to think about the waste of life when tolerance and respect for others fails, and conflict is the only way - we made our symbol to stand out for balance and tolerance. 

Opposites together, complementing and defining themselves by each other,

The light of our message can be seen from afar if you look...

Caving

Idris is running a scout caving badge course for those that came on the SSGMG Caving w/e in Littledale - he felt bad that you didn't get to do any caving! It will be on the w/e of 13-15 January in S Wales and he has estimated the cost as £45, but we do transport cheaper so should be less than this if we plan it right! He has given first option to Boreatton (because we made up most of the Littledale camp) and we aim to do Porth Yr Ogof, Bridge Cave, and Ogof Fynnan Dhu (OFD) top sequence - this is my favourate cave - its great! Google it! Here's a you tube of part of the cave, or check out 
 http://boreattonscouts.blogspot.com/2007/10/wombling-in-wales.html





The w/e will get scouts their caver badge but there is an explorers caver badge too! (Badges are great!) You have to do a bit more but Idris will arrange the opportunity to complete the full explorer caver syllabus soon after if you come on this one. Let me know that you want to come asap as he is holding places reserved for us!

Peace and light!

As the Drum Corps are meeting at PGL this week we can meet earlier and start at 8pm on 10 November and finish at 9:30pm.
As we are very nearly at 11:11 11/11/11 it seemed relevant to mark the occasion with a peace image art installation.... Bring lighters if you have them and we can see what we can do...

We also need to start fundraising for Tuvalu - actually start! not just start to talk about how we might start!!!


Alao, a number of you have mentioned problems with D of E registration... Evie said much the same, but when I tried to connect to her's it was all fine! Why not bring your eDofE email along and I can see if I can help - if you priont it off, I can also chase the DofE HQ guys and tell them exactly which eDofE id isn't working! You do need to log what you are doing - eg practice expedition, mountain walking, volunteering etc. I know lots of you have made a good start and are on track to get it all done by Easter!

The triumph of parliamentary democracy

Hurrah - we celebrate thwarting the traitors and tyrants by burning them in effigy with cubs and letting off explosives - OK I just like fireworks, so this week is a group pack-troop-unit night at my place on Friday. Early, to fit in with the cubs, so we will meet at Leaton Hall on Friday 4 November at 6:15 to 7:45 for fireworks.


(it won't be quite as exciting as this...)

The cubs are going to feed us, the scouts will sort out the bonfire (I hope!) so we can concentrate on fireworks! :) Everyone is welcome so bring a friend if there are any interested in explorers or if you just want to bring a friend.

I suggest we retire to the house after and have a debrief on the expedition and agree the finances for the food for those that took part. It is useful for those that weren't there to hear from those that were about what went well and what we should do differently on the next practice and of course on the real expedition. We should finish about 9:00.

I'm not sure what's happening about Tuesday 6:30 meetings, but Andy tends to post stuff about that on the facebook page so check that out if you are a Tuesday person! I can't do Tuesdays - clashes with too many other things - so I am carrying on doing things on Thursdays... I guess that means we end up with two half explorer units, but I can't really see a way round that as Andy and I seem to have mutually exclusive availability. Anyway - its all one district explorer unit so I'm sure it will sort itself out - come along to whichever appeals/is convenient/...

Stuff we've done...

Hmmm... it seems wasteful putting the same videos on two blogs and I put photo-video of our Snowdon hike on the scout blog... similarly the Rifle champs camp.
Here they are anyway -

and

I've just copied the html not uploaded the video again so its not really wasteful!
Next hike is Tryfan, which is a great scramble - if you haven't been up tryfan yet it's definately a good day so long as weather doesn't stop us doing the N ridge! (and its part of the fitness activity for those doing mountain walking for DofE fitness!)

Also well done to Evie being selected for the Scout National Rifle Squad! She came 8th in the senior Biathlon due to great shooting (and in spite of being really slow at the running! - she needs to come on more SSGMG hikes and get fitter! :) )

Faster Evie!!!

Awesomness on la beach ! :)

Hi guys!!! here is a video of the awesome D of E expedition on the beach!!! how cool?!?! AND WET :O  ~ Evie xx

stroll along the beach

OK so you've done your planning (we'd better hope?!) - here's my bit!

Please bring all the kit in your rucksack and the consent forms as usual.

Foreign Parts...

This time it's for real! You need to plan your route or you won't get to the overnight camp... 

We have booked the camping for a practice expedition to west Wales on 26-27 Oct and need to sit down and sort it out! There are 5 that have said they are going so you should definatly be keen that the planning is done right - the others... you need to know what needs doing to plan an expedition so it would be worthwhile coming to Thursday's expedition planning session. 


Several of you are helping with Drum Corps and cubs before hand, finishing at 7:15 and then the cubs are in the hut until about 8:00. Rather than hang around, I suggest we meet at my house 7:30-9:00 (more reasonable finish time too...) and we will have access to internet, online map store, drink and snacks, music, printers... just easier for planning. I'll do a ring round anyway to see who is coming but hope to see you all tomorrow. 

SHADOW

We need the form tomorrow when you arrive at Andy's house.

micro navigation

OK the night nav exercise was a bit shorter as some explorers failed to navigate to PGL in time for the start but toured the wastes of Stanwardine and Wykey, but they made it there in the end! We did do some micro navigation techniques to remember: tick off lists, timing cards, pace counting, aiming off, and the fall of the land...
Here we are setting virtual trip lines to trip up the cars coming into PGL after having successfully navigated 100m in a straight line...(well its a start...)

The techniques actually came in useful on Snowdon as the visibility wasn't great at times and it was a new route!

Rifle Champs camp forms

There's lots of forms for this one, so I've put them on the scout blog - the explorer team need to fill out the same ones and you can get them here

Night Nav

Night nav practice tonight! Its easier with a head torch!!! Also bring a compass if you have one and emergency rations...

You on the tube

Hey - here's some you tube video of us sitting on the tubes going down!
Hope you all enjoyed getting wet!

      

Snowdon

It's the first autumn mountain with the SSGMG - Snowdon on 9 October. This is the easy way to get your bronze DofE fitness activity - if you come on all the SSGMG mountain walks you'll get fit and ave a great time in the hills!
You need to bring ALL THE KIT from the attached announcement, and also a consent form for the season.
Here's a vid one of the scouts put on YouTube a while ago about the Watkin path up Snowdon and also a hike on the Tryffan (next months hike) - spot the explorers when they were mini!

Seaside

Last meeting was an extra meeting (main unit activity is the WWRafting this afternoon!) to get started on some DofE stuff 'cos I realsised we needed to get the plans started for a practice expedition soon so I can do the scouty paperwork! Ulp! it's nearly half term already! So it was a fairly informal meeting to divvy up planning tasks. We had most of you there and the consensus was to go to the seaside :) . Bring your bucket and spade (if it fits in your rucksac! - download the rest of the kitlist from http://www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/life-zone/commercial-partners/expedition-kit-list/ )

Molly and Evie are researching campsites on the west wales coast near Harlech to do a walk between castles and the beaches - if you know any good ones send then a text/facebook/phone and give your suggestions!

Next week is just before the rifles camp and the Shadow Night Incident hike so calls for some practice night nav, and we should do the route plan for the expedition then too.

PS - hope you've all logged in to youe eDofE by now and got some ideas of what to do - there's loads of ideas on the website at http://www.dofe.org/

Cave Camp Clip

It rained - a lot - really lots! So the caves were  too full of rain to fit any scout in them... but it was a Gill Scrambling Camp - just like caves with high ceilings :)

Here's some pics of the w/e: some are green 'cos the underwater phone case is green to balance underwater colour saturation, some are boggy 'cos it it was, some are just chilling about the hut 'cos that was dry so we did...

There's a mix of scouts and explorers here so I'll post it to both blogs! BOGOF!

Yum....

Good to get everyone signed up to do DofE and check off the 'Food and Cooking' competence in your expedition checklist in the 'Keeping Track' books - well so long as you survived the night after the cooking!

I was so busy running around that I was a bit late taking photos so here is my record of your achievement (DofE speak)!

Hmmm... we didn't quite cover all of 'cooking and food' as we missed off the washing up bit (which would have been much easier with boil-in-the-bag food :) ) but it obviously tasted good.

You do need to start to keep records and evidence and upload photos etc to your e-DofE accounts - you'll need it at the end and anyway, DofE is something you'll want to remember so it's a good way to get a journal of what we did together! If you got some better photos of us cooking put it on our facebook page or send me a copy, and upload it to your e-DofE - if you didn't, why not copy this one!

Next week is our White Water Rafting trip on Sunday 2 October, but I've been checking through the practice expedition checklists (that's what they're there for!) and we probably need to spend some time planning if we are going to go camping in the half term, and some delegating too - it's your expedition! So we will meet up at the hut as usual on Thurs 29 September. Come with ideas about what you would like in your expedition! Its a working meeting so bring some music/snacks/paper/maps....

Splash!

It's going to be wet! Here's the consent form for scouts and the consent form for the National Whitewater Centre.
Please get them to me asap (tonight?) with the £20 contribution (bargain!)
PS The form says pick up about 2:30 but we probably have to collect at closer to 2pm for those in the west of our area, having checked out the AAroutefinder.
PPS I missed off the centre number on the form - it is 01678 521083 for use in case of emergency - for keeping in touch - use leader numbers

Filthy - lucre

Last week was about planning and I was pleased to see you plan to give me £35! (gorgeous!) Please bring it asap as we have spent it all already!

It went on....

• White water rafting on Sunday 2 October (which will cost an extra £20 - it seems easier when it's only £35 subs and £20 for rafting instead of a lump of £55!)

and

• DofE registration

Oh well - the rest of the prog will have to be cheap!

D of E intro

We have Iain Adams, the scout county DofE coordinator coming this week to get you all signed up. I thought we'd break up the burocracy part by checking out lightweight cooking options... As we discussed, bring along some lightweight food that you think will be sustaining (medium term sustaining like for the next day's hiking- not chocolate - thats just a short rush energy boost!) (OK bring chocolate then - and rush around a bit....)
If you have a lightweight cooker, bring that too and we'll try lots of different sorts and see which is best.
When we sign up, you need to complete the registration form, which includes the general parental consent so please download and complete it, or make sure your parent signs one of the ones I have when they drop you off.

And finally, we meet at normal time - normal place - 8:30 to 10:00 at PGL

Oh no! Noro Vomo!

It's a plague in all their houses at PGL and they're into a deep clean! We need to STAY AWAY!!! (don't go there!)

We need somewhere else to meet - and it's our first meeting! - so I've arranged to use Baschurch Primary School after the Drum Corps finish, just for this week I hope!

We will meet at 8:00pm to 9:30pm (early!) at Baschurch Primary on Thursday 15 Sept

Back to basics

Hey - thats a scouty thing... but we are back and basically up and running from this Thursday at the hut at PGL from 8:30-10:00.
We need to do some planning and agree the prog and subs etc and generally get to know each other. We have Caving camp with SSGMG, the National Rifles Champs (well shot at the practice session today!), and the 'Shadow' incident hike exercise camp coming up and a meeting with the Asia-Pacific Region (it's just another English county but sunnier! :) ) and DofE to sort out, so lots to do! Try and make sure you come to our first meeting!
See you then!

Climbing wall at the Corbet

This is a joint thing with scouts 'cos I know you can't wait to get back there either! And now you can - sooner! The LJC (the local council committee that gave us the money for our hut) are running a community event at the Corbet tomorrow, 3 September, at 12:00. We're helping support it by running the climbing wall we've borrowed from the SSGMG. Come along and join us - better yet, come along and help put it up! We hope to be there from about 10:00 struggling to get it put together in time!!!

(I know the blog post is same as the scouts one, but it's easier to plan 2 progs if scouts and explorers do the same! ;-) )

Gill scrambling

New term - new unit!

It's time for the SSGMG caving weekend and I thought we could take it over to start off our prog with a weekend away and with some white water, caves and hills. It's a new area of the country so I haven't been down the caves here, but hey - its explorers! If it is the usual programme, we'll do a cave and some gill scrambling on day one and then there will be overground/underground options for day two.

I have an outline prog to discuss at our first scheduled meeting at 8:30 on Thursday 15 September but this looks fun ! ...and what better way to get to know everyone again?

First!

First official get together at the end of term BBQ! The photo's a bit fuzzy 'cos Philippa took it... (one day she'll figure out how to use a camera... (remember her St Georges Day parade foot-photos?))

expeditions

Matt Tidy - a guy I work with says (he did it as a comment but my fingers are big and my iphone is small so I hit delete instead of publish...) -

Best of luck with the group!
I work with Alan but I used to organise expeditions, let me know if I can help out sometime..or if any of you are keen for a river expedition somewhere adventurous I can help with that too!

He does this sort of stuff...
http://tidytrix.blogspot.com/2007/11/tamur-gold-expedition.html

End of term!

OK we haven't had a term yet but come and join the scouts BBQ at my place (actually - there's a map on the rifle squad sign up below! Handy serendipity!) Oldest scouts will be joining us so we can all get together and think about practicalities to get started in September...
We'll do the BBQ 7pm to 9pm at Leaton Hall eat sossies and burgers and icecream and chocs and set up a zip line, launch rockets, etc and generally muck about to get into practice for the long summer holiday ;)

http://boreattonscouts.blogspot.com/2011/07/end-of-term.html

Boreatton Rifle Squad

This is for you guys too! Scroll right to the sign up button!

Online event registration for Boreatton Rifle Squad training powered by Eventbrite

Here we are!

This is the intro posting for the new explorer attached-part-of-the-district-unit-but-just-for-those-of-us-at-Boreatton unit! The following is copied from the handout note and gives some ideas for what we might be involved with, but we'll sort it all out in September!

Scouts doesn’t end at 14! In the past we have had to send our scouts out to explorer units around the county when they got too old, but now we have more leaders in the Boreatton Group, we are at last able to host our own explorers as part of the Shropshire Borders Explorer Unit.

Explorers is like scouts but now you can take more responsibility and ‘build on your success’. OK that’s from the scout association resource site – sounds like HQ policy speak doesn’t it. What it means is that we support you in developing your own scouting programme and working as a team – identify, work towards and achieve your goals. An obvious example is the Duke of Edinburgh award and we will be running this within the explorer programme. But we can go for a wide range of other activities.

A Boreatton explorer looks out across the Mongolian steppe – which way next?

I have been talking to the organiser of the Scalextrics4Schools competition and he is keen to introduce the First Tech Challenge in the UK – it’s the 14-18 age equivalent to the First Lego League that the scouts keep winning trophies for. The Asia-Pacific county (it’s kind of a UK scout county but a long way away) would like to help Tuvalu Scouts link to a scout group in England which sounded interesting - see how different/same scouts are across the world and share ideas, activities, expeditions... Explorers can join our Rifle squad, experience Winter Mountain Walking with the SSGMG, go white water rafting (you’re all old enough!).

You are also now able to start get involved leading activities: as a Young Leader for scout sections, and also through achieving activity qualifications for sports and activities you enjoy.

We can plan longer term projects that scouts can’t really do as a troop - I have plans for a hovercraft and launching a camera to the top of the atmosphere...

Most of these things you can do through schools and clubs and other organisations, but scouting gives us a structure and organisation within which we can pursue our goals, whatever they may be. Scouting is full of enthusiastic volunteers who will give their time and enthusiasm to us – they recognise that we are doing their activities because we share those enthusiasms. It means we have a ready introduction to a huge range of people and activities, and because everyone is a volunteer, it is generally cheaper and more fun.

If you are interested and want to bring your ideas and energy to our group – contact one of the leaders:

Alan Herbert - 01939 291352 – a.w.herbert@btinternet.com

and

Andy Southall - 07775 938310 – andy@boreatton.co.uk

Join us when we start the unit in September, and maybe come and get to know us by coming to a joint session with the scouts over the next few weeks.

test post

Here's an image