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Far and Wide – Issue 79 1
Issue 79
In this issue
• WEB Sites
• Ascension Island Report
• Nights Away
• Messages from the County Secretary
• New Appointments
• Census 2008
• Adult Training
• News from Oman
• Message from the International Commissioner
• Help for Groups
• Section News
• Activity Programmes
• County Team
FROM THE EDITOR
I’ve been editing Far and Wide for a couple of issues now and, now
that I am handing over as County Commissioner, I have offered to do
the job on a permanent basis, which will help me to keep in touch
with you all. I shall also be continuing as a Training Adviser in the
BGA County.
Many thanks to all of those who have worked so hard for UK
Scouting in other countries during my term of office – I have enjoyed
the role very much and wish my successor as International
Commissioner, Nigel Hailey, every success. You will see elsewhere
in this issue of Far and Wide that there will in future be a separate
County Commissioner for the BGA County. The search process for
that person is now in train.
Keep the information coming – so that we can share our experiences
and good ideas – and I’ll do my best to produce a great magazine for
British Groups Abroad.
David Bull
FAR AND WIDE Editor
Skype: davidbull2005 00 44 1244 676059 [email protected]
PS: The deadline for copy for Far and Wide 80 is 1 August 2008.
BLAST FROM THE PAST – 1st Cairo Egypt
We have had an enquiry from Marianne McCaughey, currently a
leader with Tanglin Trust BGA in Singapore who is moving to Maadi
in Egypt. She asked about starting a BGA there and the history of
British Scouting in Maadi. We have no current BGAs in Egypt but
here is a charming report about the original 1st Cairo (English
School) in Maadi. Apart from the reference to Rovers and ‘the King’
it could have been a Troop meeting in any BGA today. Care to
guess the year?
“On Tuesday, 30 November, the 1st Cairo English School Troop held
an enrolment and campfire singsong in the school ground at Boulac,
Mr Chester kindly consented to attend and came along with his two
little children to join in the fun. [Sqn Ldr R G Chester was Assistant
District Commissioner (Rover Scouts). He was later killed in an air
crash. A totem named in his memory was awarded as an annual
Rover Scout hike trophy - Tony]
Ten tenderfeet were admitted into the Troop. From my position as
standard bearer I had a pretty good view of the whole proceedings
and was able to hear every word that went on, on my right, between
our Scoutmaster Mr Thomas and the Scouts that were being brought
up. One poor fellow who was obviously suffering from an acute
attack of stage fright, when asked to repeat the Promise, started well
enough with the opening words ‘I promise on my honour to do my
best, to do my duty to God and the King.’ But here he broke down
under the strain, and trailed off miserably into the last part of the Cub
Promise! A word from Mr Thomas, however, soon put him back on
track, and he rattled off the remainder in fine style. If he lives up to
both of these promises he ought to make a good Scout.
Another tenderfoot when the Assistant Scoutmaster laid his hat on at
angle of about 45 degrees and he tried to right it with little jerks of the
head looked so very droll that only the solemnity of the occasion
prevented the semi-circle of Scouts from bursting into laughter.
When the last tenderfoot had been enrolled, Mr Chester took the
floor, and asking the company to squat down, began an address to
them on Scouting in general and in particular on the magazine
‘[Cairo] Scouting’, of which he is in control.
Information for British Groups Abroad June 2008
Far and Wide
The production of this issue of Far
and Wide has been kindly
sponsored by Berkshire Scout
Enterprises Ltd
International Office Gilwell Park Chingford London E4 7QW
Tel +44 (0) 20 8433 7100 Fax +44 (0) 20 8433 7103 Email [email protected]
Websites http://www.scouts.org.uk www.scoutbase.org.uk
2 Far and Wide - Issue 79
The talk ended, the colour party was marched off and the Troop went
about its work. Several who were in the 2nd class stage, had
gathered in one corner of the ground and were busy preparing fires
and billies for their cooking test. Soon a delicious aroma of stew
began to permeate the atmosphere, and equally soon all the Scouts
had gathered in expectant groups around the ‘kitchen’. First the
examiner, then the patrol to which the cook belonged, took their
share of the spoils and afterwards there was a rush and six hands at
once were plunged into the steaming billies, to come up with mugs
brimming with aromatic stew.
While these large appetites were being satisfied, a few Patrol
Leaders had chopped up and arranged some wood for a fire in the
centre of the ground and at a call from the Scoutmaster the whole
Troop moved away somewhat reluctantly from the scene of eating,
and squatted down in a rough circle around the logs. The fire was lit,
and to the sound of a mouth organ some of the more enterprising
members broke into ‘Caroline’. Not everyone knew all the words, but
someone had the bright idea of fetching the Community Song Book
from the school building. Soon all the best singers had gathered
around the obliging musicians, and with the aid of Troop Leader
Loveridge's somewhat acrobatic but nevertheless efficient
conducting, we howled our way through most of the better known
songs.
Meanwhile it had grown quite dark, so after a final uproarious
rendering of ‘What shall we do with a drunken sailor?’ we sang, ‘Auld
Lang Syne’ with all its attendant arm-swinging feats. The whole
company rose for ‘The King’ and was then dismissed.”
This extract is from ‘Cairo Scouting' in January 1938 - 70 years ago!
Tony Dunn BGA Historian
WEB SITES
British Groups Abroad use technology a lot – life would be pretty
difficult otherwise! Here are some web sites from our County. Tell
us about yours.
http://www.scouts.org.ac/index.php (Ascension Island)
http://www.omanbga.org/index.php (Oman)
ASCENSION ISLAND
Our photos show the Ascension Group enjoying the story of St
George!
NIGHTS AWAY
In my first contribution to Far and Wide as Nights Away Adviser, I
thought I should introduce myself. My name is Tim Taylor and I have
been a Scouter for the past 25 years during which I’ve held a number
of roles including being a Scout Leader, a District Commissioner and
more recently an Explorer Scout leader running the Young Leader
Scheme for some 50+ Explorer Scouts in the Horsham District in
West Sussex. I am also a Nights Away Adviser for Horsham West
District as well as managing the delivery of Nights Away (Module 16)
training in West Sussex.
Over the past weeks I have reviewed the existing arrangements for
Nights Away permits and made some changes to bring us more in
line with the revised procedures that were introduced by
Headquarters last year. The following update has been posted on
the BGA pages on Scoutbase. If anyone has any questions,
suggestions, issues or just good Nights Away experiences they
would like to share, please let me know as I am keen to learn about
(and help if I can) with the challenges that you all face in providing
Nights Away experiences in your local areas.
Nights Away Procedures for British Groups Abroad
No individual is authorised to lead "nights away" activities in British
Groups Abroad unless the individual holds a Nights Away Permit (or,
in exceptional circumstances, is specifically authorised by the BGA
County Commissioner).
BGA County issues Nights Away Permits to adults within BGA only
Far and Wide – Issue 79 3
but does accept valid Nights Away Permits issued by other
Counties/Areas within The Scout Association.
The details below are intended to provide guidance for BGA leaders
on how they should operate the Nights Away Permit Scheme.
Assessments of BGA Permit Applications
Assessment of the applicant’s core skills by the BGA Nights Away
Adviser is more difficult than for a local Nights Away Adviser.
Therefore, to support the assessment a certain amount of supporting
evidence will need to be provided by the applicant or an existing
permit holder who has worked with them. This evidence might
include the following:
Items of correspondence (emails or letters).
Notes from planning meetings.
Camp programme.
Diagrams, photographs or videos of the camp-site to show the
layout and use of equipment.
Personal and camp equipment lists.
Details of activities (including authorisation).
Home contact arrangements.
Example health forms (not the actual ones completed for
those attending the event)
Menus and shopping lists.
Budgets or financial statements.
Risk Assessments
Statements from other people or the permit holder as to what
they observed about the applicant at a nights away event.
To help collating this evidence the applicant should number each
piece of evidence and then record that number against the
corresponding checklist item within the Assessment Checklist for a
Nights Away Permit.
The Assessment Checklist and the evidence should then be sent to
the BGA Nights Away Adviser. The Adviser will review and discuss
the application with the applicant before making any permit
recommendations to the County Commissioner for final approval.
Nights Away Notification
Prior to any event BGA Permit holders are required to complete and
submit a Nights Away Notification (NAN) form. This must be
received by the BGA Nights Away Adviser at least 14 days before
the planned event, or 21 days if the event includes Special Activities
(i.e. those requiring authorisation). The section relating to Host DC
and Scout Campsite obviously does not apply for BGA nights away
events and should be ignored.
If you are planning an overseas event (i.e. a trip outside the country
where your Group is located) you will need to hold a Nights Away
Permit and apply for international authorisation. In this case please
contact any BGA Team member or the Activities and International
Affairs Team at Gilwell Park ([email protected]).
FROM THE COUNTY SECRETARY
BGA County Badges
We have recently replenished our supplies of the BGA County
Badges. They are now available in packs of 50 Badges for £15.00
plus postage. Please order BGA Badges from the County Secretary.
Payment can be made after you have received the badges (so you
know what the postage cost was!) and needs to be by cheque made
payable to the Scout Association and sent to the County Secretary.
A quick reminder that the Group Contact for each Group is recorded
by Scout Shops as the local Badge Secretary so if you need activity
badges and other supplies, you may need to go through them before
Scout Shops will supply.
Adult Appointment Packs
A standard pack is available for all Adult Appointments. This pack
contains all the forms that need to be filled in by the adult wishing to
be appointed together with guidance notes to assist correct
completion. The pack itself is an envelope with the County
Secretary's address on it so that, once completed, all forms can be
sent to the UK in one bundle so that they don't go astray!
If you have any forms not in an 'Adult Appointment Pack', please
destroy them as they may be out of date! If you need some more
packs please contact Martin Payne on [email protected]
We have also had a couple of instances where forms have been
returned directly to Gilwell. Please don’t do this because it can lead
to various problems, including:
1. The BGA County Team doesn't become aware of an adult
applying for a role until Gilwell spots something wrong with the forms;
2. If the CRB is incorrectly completed, it can only be returned to the
adult completing it as there is no reference to BGA to enable it to be
returned to the County Secretary;
3. If the CRB is received without a cover sheet signed by the County
Secretary (which deliberately isn't in the 'Adult Appointment Pack'), it
can not be processed by Gilwell even if it is correctly completed; and
4. If the AA form is received by Gilwell, it is separated from anything
with it and can not then be processed as it is not linked to a CRB
form, and may not be traceable back to BGA so nothing will happen
(or it is returned to the applicant). The County Commissioner and
County Secretary are also required to sign this form before it is
processed by Headquarters. Thanks for your help and
understanding!
Contact Details
Please notify the County Secretary of changes of address and of
contact details, especially email addresses. Within the County
Team, we are producing an email directory and, whilst we can delete
old email addresses when they bounce, this doesn't tell us what the
new email address is!
Martin Payne
County Secretary
NEW APPOINTMENTS
Congratulations to the following on becoming Leaders within BGA:
Stephen Ellick CSL Ascension Island
James Yeardon ASL 1st Fuengirola
Jackie Martin Deputy County Training Manager
CENSUS 2008
Unfortunately a report on the Census numbers isn't yet available ...as
not all Groups have returned their figures or Membership
Subscriptions. It is important to make sure that the Census is an
accurate reflection of the Membership within BGA as the numbers
are used by the Association when deciding on the insurance levels
required. At the time of writing, returns are due from three Groups.
4 Far and Wide - Issue 79
AWARDS
Congratulations to the following who received awards from the Chief
Scout:
Award for Merit
Gil Salway, SL 3rd Dubai and ESL United Arab Emirates
Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service
David Simms, ASL 3rd Dubai United Arab Emirates
Robert Troost, ACSL 1st Fuengirola (The Ark) Spain
Mrs Zorina Vondracek, CSL 1st Dubai United Arab Emirates
Alfonso (Fonz) Sanchez, ESL Spain
We were pleased to announce in our last issue the award of the
Silver Acorn to Heather Elliott and Tony Dunn. Our picture shows
them at the presentation of their awards at Gilwell Park in April.
ADULT TRAINING
Why is the Wood Badge important? Quite simple really: the Wood
Badge is a visible sign that parents can see which indicates that the
adults they are leaving their offspring with each week are trained and
competent at what they are doing. It also shows that they are
leaving their children in the hands of somebody who has the child’s
safety and welfare uppermost. Those of you who are parents, as I
am sure most of you are, will understand particularly in these times
that parents need that reassurance.
At the end of 2007 I set you all a challenge to gain your Wood badge
this year. Many of you are well on the way, others need to do a
Personal Learning Plan to see what they still need to do. An email to
me can help if you are not sure what is required. Also some of the
learning for some modules plus the Adults Personal File are
available online at www.scouts.org.uk/learnersresources, for those
who have a good internet connection. Any evidence you need
validating can be sent to me by email or post and I also have
Training Advisers on the team who would be only too happy to
validate modules for you. You can send to
Jackie Martin, [email protected]
David Bull [email protected]
Darren Bretton [email protected]
Astrid Roberts [email protected]
Tony Dunn [email protected]
They will all be happy to hear from you.
Those of you whose appointments will be coming up for renewal in
the next year need to start getting your training completed now as
appointment renewals are based on the completion of training. A
young Leader recently said to me after a session discussing his
training, “it is not as difficult as I thought” - so take heart, it really isn’t
and most of you have a lot of experience that can be taken into
consideration. Prior learning and experience must be current and
relevant and skills acquired out of Scouting must be transferable.
Hoping to be recommending lots of Wood Badges this year. The
forms are ready and waiting, it is up to you!
Heather Elliott
County Training Manager
NEWS FROM OMAN
One of the promises all Scouts make when they are first enrolled into
the Scout Movement is to help other people. Over the last three
months about 80 members of the 1st Oman Scout Group, have done
exactly this by raising 1733.000 rials (£2300) for a handicapped
children’s centre in Muscat. Most of the Scouts have now fulfilled the
requirements of their Community Challenge award.
Our picture shows one of the Oman BGA Scouts befriending a
handicapped member of the Omani Scouts.
The children we are supporting are a mixture of severely physically
handicapped, mentally handicapped, physically and mentally
handicapped as well as children with varying degrees of autism. The
centre was quite badly damaged during Cyclone Gonu last June with
the total loss of 800 square metres of shaded outside play area.
After several pleading phone calls to local companies, new net
shading was donated by a local company and is now being installed
using our donated funds so the children can now play outside for the
first time since last June.
New and updated specialist therapy and physiotherapy equipment is
also required to provide the children with greater mobility and
dexterity. The money the Scouts presented to the centre on
Tuesday 22nd April will go a long way to ensure that the
handicapped children have some of the best facilities available in
Oman. Also (unbeknown to us), a local social club (The Caledonian
Society of Muscat) have been closely watching our efforts. They
have agreed to donate a further 1500 Rials, almost doubling the
amount we have raised!
Over the past month, about 45 of our Scouts and Explorers have
also been visiting and helping at the centre. The Scouts joined in
with singing and games and even run games and songs for the
handicapped children, which they all (including the centre’s staff)
Far and Wide – Issue 79 5
really enjoyed (Ging Gang Goolie was very popular!). The
handicapped kids and carers really appreciated the Scout’s
participation and although hesitant at first, our Scouts soon got into
the spirit of things!
Our Scouts were made to feel very welcome. The handicapped
children put on a special assembly for the Scouts, who were
serenaded with traditional Omani children's songs as well as a
simple English song that they had learnt especially. The Scouts
were given tours of the association; visited the special classrooms;
played games, drew pictures and distributed sweets to the
handicapped children.
The degrees of disability and the challenges that carers face when
looking after handicapped children were explained allowing the
Scouts to appreciate the very real problems faced by mentally and
physically handicapped people in every day life.
The Scouts were very deeply moved by the simple love, affection
and friendship that these children gave to them. As they have
promised, the Scouts have done their best to help these
disadvantaged children over the last few months and have found it a
very happy, humbling and thought-provoking experience. We are
looking forward to a continuing friendship with the centre.
Nathan Prince
Scout Leader, 1st Oman
The following was written by Daniel Watt (aged 13, and the
Patrol Leader of the Panthers) as the final part of his Writer’s
Badge. A very moving account, well done Daniel!
ASSOCIATION FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN
On the 12th April 2008, me and 5 other scouts went to the
Association for Handicapped Children in Azaiba, Muscat. It’s a place
where children that have mental or physical problems spend the day.
They go back to their families at the end of day. All the children were
from Oman.
When we first saw the children they were wide eyed with excitement,
and straight away you could notice the problems they had or
deformities. Firstly, they sang a few simple songs in Arabic to us as
we entered. After we had been introduced to them, we danced with
the ones that were able to walk around. All of them were
enthusiastic. Even the ones in wheel chairs were having a good time.
We sang “wheels on the bus” to them and they joined in with the
actions.
Afterwards, we played games like bowling (with plastic balls and
plastic cones) and a few of the scouts were picked and I was the
second one to play with them. I continually missed the cones until
the boy I was playing with won! He got a prize that was donated by
people, some of the items were for example McDonalds toys. I said
“well done” to the boy and shook his hand. Even those with no legs
had a go in wheel chairs, which fascinated me!
After they played their games they went to have lunch in their
classrooms (this wasn’t a normal day to them because they got
taught simple everyday things like the alphabet.) While I was having
my lunch I thought about how lucky people are in the world but they
don’t realise it.... this made me think about how hard it must be for
these children not having normal lifestyles.
After we had a drink we went around the institute looking at different
places.
Previously we had done an 18km walk through Wadi Fanja (which
was pretty tough) to raise money for the Institute. Some of the money
went towards shading so the children could play outside. The
previous shade had been wrecked by Cyclone Gonu that went
through Muscat last June. We went to see the physiotherapist. She
was specially trained for the Institute because the rest of the people
who worked there were volunteers. There was a soft play area and
special exercises for the children in the wheel chairs to do.
Afterwards we went back to the area where the children were
playing. We danced again and read them books and blew balloons
up for them. I went around to see every child individually. There
were some with no legs or arms, one small child only had one leg
and no arms and he was only 5 years old! There was also a boy that
had a very small head I looked at picture book with. He couldn’t
speak and only could really make noises with his mouth. I think he
enjoyed the attention I gave him taking the time to look at the book
with him.
When we had to leave the children looked tired after a day packed
with activities! It was a brilliant experience that I will always
remember and every time my play station game isn’t working I have
to think about these children that have neither arms nor legs and only
have a simple toy car to play with, and I realise how lucky I am to be
me!!!
Daniel Watt
1st Oman
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSIONER
Firstly, thank you to those who have written to welcome me to my
new role. It has been great to hear what is happening in your
different locations.
I’m a firm believer that my role and that of the BGA County Team is
to make it as easy as possible for you to carry out good Scouting in
your communities. It can be a bit difficult carrying out British
Scouting so far from home and having to comply with rules that
assume you have easy access to support and resources. This
month Tony Dunn and colleagues have helped the Leaders from
Fuengirola Explorer Scout Unit to get authorisation to undertake an
expedition in the Spanish Mountains. We look forward to hearing
how they get on. I’m sure that all the team would be pleased to help
any of you having difficulties getting appropriate training or approvals
to undertake those activities that make Scouting different from other
youth movements.
Over the last year or so the way in which British Groups Abroad are
supported has been under review. This was instigated by David Bull
and I have now picked up the mantle. The International
Commissioner has traditionally acted as the line manager (County
Commissioner) for British Groups Abroad.
6 Far and Wide - Issue 79
As you know the support for Members in British Groups Abroad is
administered through a County structure. The County of British
Groups Abroad is operated in a similar way to other Counties in that
it has a County team. Members of the County Team have specific
responsibilities for core areas such as Section support, activities,
adult training/support and development.
However, the role of the County Commissioner has just been one of
the responsibilities of the International Commissioner. In order to
provide better support for the County and to replicate the structure
within the rest of the United Kingdom we have decided that it would
be appropriate for the role to be separated from that of International
Commissioner. We are therefore looking for a new County
Commissioner who will lead the County and provide the needed and
valued support to these Groups.
I hope that you will agree that this will enhance the support that can
be given to you at the “sharp end” with your local Scouting. The
County Commissioner would still be responsible to the International
Commissioner as other County Commissioners are responsible to
Chief Commissioners.
You should all have received a letter from me about the search and I
hope that you have been able to give this some thought and
nominate suitable candidates. There is more information on
www.scoutbase.org.uk/ps/inter/uk/bga.
Nigel Hailey
International Commissioner
NEED HELP WITH YOUR GROUP?
Have you a Scout Fellowship in your District yet? Why not? It can
be very beneficial to your Scout Group in helping you with meetings,
activities and events. It is also a great resource for finding badge
examiners for your Section. Basically it comprises of Scouters plus
others who cannot give a full commitment to the Group or who don’t
want to take out a permanent appointment, but can help from time to
time.
The BGA County is supported by the International Scout Fellowship
(see back page for ISF chairman Alan Beavis: contact him or any of
the BGA County Team for details). There is also a brand new
website for Fellowship members which is:
scouts.org.uk/fellowship
So arrange a meeting with parents, friends and old Scouts and get a
Fellowship organised. You won’t regret it and it will make your job of
providing good Scouting to the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer
Scouts so much easier. Do it now!
FOR THE SECTIONS
Beaver Section
Providing a balanced programme.
I am sure that you are all working very hard to make sure that you
provide a balanced programme for your Beaver Scouts. I know in
Cheshire some leaders have been daunted by the thought of all the
new badges that have been introduced and the thought of how they
are going to fit them all into their programme.
By regularly taking part in a variety of interesting programmes and
meetings your Beaver Scouts should get the opportunity of ticking off
parts if not all the requirements for a number of badges. By using
the programme zones you should find it easier to link the challenge
badges into them.
Chief Scout’s Bronze Award.
To gain the Chief Scouts Bronze Award Beaver Scouts now need to
complete all 6 Challenge Badges. These are the Outdoor Challenge,
the Friendship Challenge, the Promise Challenge, the Fitness
Challenge, the Creative Challenge, and the Global Challenge. Until
the beginning of 2009 you will still be able to count the Discovery
Challenge as one of your six challenge badges. This may at first
seem a huge task, but by looking at the programme zones you will
find that you could use one activity against a variety of points in the
award scheme. For instance if you were looking at the Fitness
challenge you could use learn about and taste healthy foods for both
this badge and the Health and Fitness badge.
The list of Challenge and Activity badges can be found on
http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/6to25/beaver/badges/index.htm
The programme on a plate this time will look at the Fitness Challenge
badge. It will give you an idea for a weeks programme with ideas to
complete the badge. Now that the weather in most Countries is
getting warmer it is the ideal opportunity to work towards this badge.
I hope you enjoy using it
How are the sunflower seeds getting on has anybody planted theirs
yet?
At last I have actually heard from a Beaver Scout Leader in BGA. Jo
Pawson is hoping to start up a Colony in Bahrain. We wish her well
and look forward to receiving photographs of the grand investiture.
Don’t forget if there is anything you would like us to cover in Far and
Wide please let us know so that we can address it. Or if you have
anything you would like to share with the other Colonies please feel
free to send it to us.
I look forward to hearing from you soon
Debbie Phillips
County Beaver Scout Leader
Far and Wide – Issue 79 7
Cub Scouts
It is now several months since the revised programme came out and
I hope you have your copy and that you have had time to glance at it.
I thought I would take this opportunity to review it. I’m sure that all
the ‘new hands’ have devoured the books but the ‘old hands’ may
not have had as much time to take the subtle changes onboard.
Pack Essentials is just what it says. It is the essential information
you need to run a Cub Scout Pack. As all good books on
administration have it has both a table of contents and an index. It
has helpful little stick men in the margins holding up signs whenever
a fact sheet is available from the internet or the information centre via
e-mail. It has exclamation marks in the margins for things that are
important to the running of a Cub Scout Pack. There is an appendix
with sample forms and a glossary of Scouting terms. If you follow all
the booklet tells you then you will be administering a Cub Scout Pack
well.
The Pack Programme booklet too has a table of contents and an
index. The booklet is full of the information you need to run the
programme and what all the badge requirements are. There are a
number of sample activities in Chapter 4 (Page 18.) headed Pack
Meeting Programmes in Detail. Chapter 5 (page 34) titled
’Generating Ideas’ has three pages of ideas for a themed evening on
Trees, China and Water. In the Appendix (Page 72.) there is a
complete calendar with notable dates and anniversaries. When
hunting for a programme idea this is a great tool. You may not use
the exact idea on the page but it may well inspire you to do
something related. It is well worth having a look if you have not done
so yet. A further resource for programme content is discussed on
page 8 in Programmes Online. If you have not used this resource of
tried and tested programme material here is an explanation of how it
works. Very simple explanation. Very useful website.
If you have had time to look, I think you will agree with me that the
Pack Programme Plus booklet is very useful. It is full of
programmes-on-a-plate with good explanations of activities and
games. It would be difficult to make an index of it all. There are at
least five suggested programmes for each programme zone and
ideas to link to activity badges. The question for an index maker
would be: do you put the five activities under each zone or do you list
the activities or the games in an index? To get the most out of this
book you have to dip in and leaf through it until you get to know it
quite well. There are some surprising things in the booklet. For
example planning for camp and activities at camp are covered on
pages 52 to 60 but a programme for an incident hike will be found in
The Pack Programme booklet (page 29).
If, for a year, you took all your programmes from these booklets you
would have some very satisfied Cubs. I think that it would take more
than a year to cover all the suggestions made in these very
informative booklets.
In this Issue of Far and Wide I’m sharing the programme that the
pack I work with did this past term. We decided to try to fulfil the
requirements for the new Community Challenge and work in the
related activity badge of Home Safety. On looking through the Pack
Programme booklet we discovered that with just a bit more work we
would cover the requirements of the staged activity badge of
Emergency Aid stage 1. It did turn the term into a lot of health and
safety but we had time to visit the Creativity, Fitness, Global and
Outdoor & Adventure zones too.
I hope you find the term programme useful. If you have any
questions on any of the activities we did or games we played please
don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected] and I will be
happy to give further information.
Astrid Roberts
Assistant County Commissioner (Cub Scouts)
9th Sydenham Cub Scout Pack
Overview Programme for January - April 2008
Jan 9 - Creativity
First meeting of term. New Sixes, new members
Paper Recycling game - Long fibres, short fibres, mulch - (In a
Corner 1-2-3)
Design & make a paper man / snowflake / castle paper chain
Create new Six Charts for this term’s points.
Jan 16 - Community
Home Safety #5 - Emergency phone calls. How to make them.
Community #6d - How & When to get help. Sixes perform playlets
about accidents.
Emergency Aid stage 1 #2 - know what to do at scene of accident.
Home Safety #6 - List of useful emergency numbers for home.
Jan 23 - Community
Game - Taking candles
Home Safety #2 - What to do in case of fire (have an escape plan)
Game - 999, Smoke Alarm, Fire Extinguisher, escape plan, (a form
of NSEW)
Home Safety #2 - Fire Relay Story about the history of the fire
service.
Jan 30 - Community
Community #5 - Hazards in the meeting hall. Make a list and
discuss.
Home Safety #3 - Causes of accidents in the home - Kim’s game.
Set up a room with potential accidents (overloaded power points,
toys scattered, knives left about, etc.
Emergency Aid stage 1 #1 - Kim’s game outdoors - a scene with
potential accidents.
Look at both scenes in sixes, write results, discuss as a Pack.
Feb 6 - Community
Home Safety #1 - What to do in the event of
A burst water pipe, gas leak or electricity power failure.
Home Safety #6 - Remind everyone of the list of useful numbers.
8 Far and Wide - Issue 79
Feb 13 - Community
Home Safety #4 - Protect your home from crime.
Discuss being burgled with Cubs, Any experience?
Cubs circle hazards on a sheet with a picture of vulnerable home
then Pack discussion.
Game - Steal the Key (Blind Gatekeeper.)
Feb 20 - Half Term
Feb 27 - Community
Community #4 - Visit or Visitors - community helper visits the Pack.
Game - Fire Ladders (rungs being people who help)
March 5 - Community
Game - Just a smoky minute.
Community #6c - Airway Protection.
Emergency Aid stage 1 # 3 - open an airway.
Know how to place someone in recovery position. Cubs practice on
each other.
March 12 - Global - All about Egypt.
Story relay on Egyptian hieroglyphs.
A parent visits the Cubs and tells of his travels in Egypt.
Make your own cartouche.
March 19 - Outdoor Scouting - Mini-Pioneering
Build a pyramid using bamboo poles.
March 26 - Community
Game - taking Candles.
Community #6b - Burns & Scalds. Know difference and know what
to do.
Community #6a controlling bleeding.
Discuss and practice bandaging with pressure, elevation and slings
Emergency aid part 1 # 4 - know how to treat minor cuts, scratches
and grazes.
April 2 - Fitness
End of term games - Use games played during term as a review
End of term and Six prize awarded. Three badges awarded.
(Community Challenge, Home Safety Activity badge and Emergency
Aid part 1 completed)
12 meetings in all. 5 Zones visited this term.
SCOUT SPEAK
Apologies for no Scout Speak in the last issue of Far and Wide. I
have been pretty poor at meeting the deadlines, so you have missed
out. However, this time I’ve had some reminders so there was no
excuse to fail!
As I sit and write this it is a sunny Bank Holiday Monday in May. Just
the sort of day where you could imagine yourself being out in the
wood, or down at the local campsite, taking part in the adventure that
is Scouting. Of course, a sunny day in May in the UK is probably
very different to the sort of day in May that you may be experiencing
where you are based!
By now you will have received an email from me, just to catch up and
see how the Troop is working and what programmes you have been
involved in. This is part of my challenge to make contact with every
Troop (and beat the Beavers and the Cubs at communication!) so if
you have not been in touch – please do so.
This issue my programme theme is FOOD – with a host of ideas on
how to include food based activities in the weekly Troop meetings.
What I would like to do next time is to come up with ideas for a
theme of your choice. Email me with a theme and let me see what I
can develop – I am up for the challenge, so don’t make life too easy!!
I attended the St George’s Day Parade at Windsor this year – not for
myself, but with my father who has been awarded the Silver Acorn.
It was a beautiful day and certainly took me back to the day eighteen
years before when I was honoured to be part of the parade as a
Queen’s Scout (there, that’s given my age away). The achievement
of those in the parade is fantastic – their dedication and commitment
to their Scouting, and to their own development. That got me to
thinking. How are we doing in the County with Gold Chief Scout’s
Awards? Do we get many? How do we recognise those that
achieve? Can we get their names each time and publish in Far and
Wide (and for the other sections as well?). May I suggest the idea of
a County Roll of Honour, and perhaps a County Certificate? This is
something that I used to do in Essex when I was Assistant County
Commissioner (Scouts). We also used to have a Chief Scout’s
Award Presentation Day – not sure how we could do this remotely –
but perhaps we have a virtual on line event – a bit like Jamboree on
the Internet.
Anyway, have fun with this month’s theme, and be in touch.
Darren Bretton
County Scout Leader
Far and Wide – Issue 79 9
EXPLORER SCOUTS AND SCOUT NETWORK
Programme Zone – Values & Relationships
In a previous article we looked at the Relationships part of this
Programme Zone. So this time, we will consider the Values side.
In a free society, no person has the right to demand that their fellows
should adopt their beliefs or live by their values. Each individual is
entitled to grow in his own understanding of life and to live by his own
moral code, but at the same time he is entitled to be helped to
understand the implications of accepting or rejecting a religious
creed, a political theory, or a moral tenet. Our values and beliefs are
very personal things, but at the same time they are greatly
conditioned by society and by the world in which we live. As our life
experience evolves, so too do our personal values in a never-ending
search for wisdom and truth. The activities in this experience area
are designed to help the Unit and the individual in that search.
Programme Ideas
Visit a Court and watch a trial. Discuss whether the law discriminates
in favour of or against any subgroup of society and, if so, why.
List the taboo subjects in present-day British society and/or in your
own Unit.
Discuss the reasons for these prohibitions. Why is it, for example,
that for many, the three subjects where jokes are often frowned on
are religion, sex and race?
There are many versions of Christianity. Arrange a series of talks or
visits with a different denomination each time. Compare the
similarities and differences between the forms of belief of different
denominations and why they differ.
Debate feminism and the role of women in different societies. How is
it different from men’s?
Take an active part in the life of your own religious community (eg,
as a server, bell ringer, chorister or Sunday school teacher).
Rewrite the Scout Promise and Law in your own words and discuss
these `translations' among yourselves. Examine the wording of the
alternative forms of the Promise. Are any of these forms more
relevant than the form currently used?
Discuss with a local religious leader (e.g. minister, priest, rabbi,
imam) his role in the community. Is he only a spiritual leader, or
does he have a social or political role?
Hold an `inverted debate', at which each member must argue as
strongly as he can in favour of a point of view with which he himself
disagrees. This is a great way to understand the case for the other
side.
Visit a Buddhist, Sikh or Hindu temple or mosque or synagogue. Or
invite a speaker of that faith to talk to the Unit about their way of life.
How does it compare with western religions as an alternative?
Debate the need for religion in some form in almost all societies,
from the most primitive to the most advanced. Consider such
motions as `Religion is the opium of the people' (Karl Marx) and `If
God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him' (Voltaire).
Debate the right of freedom of expression and its limitation by the
laws of obscenity, libel and sedition. Consider whether this freedom
should be allowed to those whose declared aim is to destroy society
as we know it. Does this also apply in wartime?
Discuss the standards of conduct imposed upon members by the
Unit, by Scouting or society as a whole. How far can the imposition of
such standards be justified?
Hold a `mock trial’ within the Unit and appoint a judge, jury, clerk,
counsel for the prosecution and the defence, witnesses and prisoner
at the bar. Choose in advance a fairly common crime and prepare
evidence for and against. Have someone present who can advise on
court procedure.
Of all the countries of the World Scout Conference, around two-thirds
are from the Third World. With the help of a speaker from Oxfam or
Christian Aid or similar NGO, or after watching a film, discuss the
morality of a rich third and a poor two-thirds of the world. If action
should be taken to change this, should it be by governments or by
individuals?
Invite a shop steward from a local business to talk to the Unit about
his work and his motives for doing it. Are strikes effective or
expensive for both sides?
Debate the `Permissive Society' and just how permissive it really is.
How does permissiveness affect the formation of sound relationships
with the opposite sex?
Visit a military base and discuss with the Commanding Officer or
other representative the morality or immorality of a military deterrent'.
What case is there for unilateral disarmament? When is the invasion
of another country justified?
Relate the teachings of the various religions to such contemporary
issues as theft, abortion, euthanasia, poverty, gambling, alcoholism
and political protest. How far is it justifiable for legislation to be
based on the moral precepts of a particular creed?
Take one of the `eternal' themes - war, race, sex etc. Produce a
commentary on it using different media, such as video, music,
photography, poetry and sculpture.
Invite a local church organist to discuss church music in all its forms,
from plain-song and Gregorian chant to jazz and pop.
Hold a debate on addiction (drugs, alcohol, tobacco. food); invite
speakers with experience of the problems (doctors, social workers,
policemen) to give their views.
Discuss with a religious leader the teachings of your own faith,
especially those points over which you have doubts or disagreement.
Make a video or PowerPoint show illustrating aspects of your
community and the way it treats the elderly, the poor, the disabled
and so on. Show it to other people and use it to stimulate
discussion.
As a Unit, go to a film or play, or watch a television programme,
which raises moral issues, or download similar from the internet.
Discuss these issues afterwards.
You will not find answers to all the above questions, and some
answers will lead to more questions. But the more you debate them,
the more answers you will find.
Tony Dunn
Assistant County Commissioner (Explorer Scouts)
and County Scout Network Commissioner
10 Far and Wide - Issue 78
Activity Programmes
BGA Beaver Colony Weekly Programme
Time Activity Zone Method Instruction
5 min Joining in
Game
Four Corners
Learning about
yourself
Play
Games
Give the four corners of the room the name of underground, tree, bush, on the
ground. Beavers need to go to one of the four corners when the name of a
fruit or vegetable is called (eg Apple)
10 min Opening
Ceremony
Exploring the world
around us
Follow
Themes
Introduce theme for the evening. Talk about healthy unhealthy food
10 min Game
Fruit Salad
Learning about
yourself
Play
Games
The Beavers sit in a circle and are given the name of a fruit in rotation. When
the leader shouts the name of a fruit the Beavers with that name have to run
round the circle back to their places and sit down. The last Beaver to sit down
is out or loses a life. If the leader calls ‘fruit salad’ all the Beavers run round in
a circle and sit down..
25 min Potato printing
Fruit Face
Exploring the world
around us,
Discovering
Creativity and
Practical Skills
Make
things
Split the Colony in half. One half can make a pattern using a potato and paint.
The pattern can be fruit or vegetable orientated. They can then make a group
collage on healthy food using the prints. The rest of the Beavers can make a
face using fresh fruit and veg. They swap over halfway through so that at the
end of the evening they have all made a fruit face
10 min Game
Relay
Learning about
yourself
Play
Games
Place a variety of pictures of healthy and unhealthy food around the room.
The Beavers are split into small teams. Task is for the first Beaver in each
team to go and find a picture. They then take this back to their group and the
next Beaver goes. Once all the pictures have been collected they then need to
sort them out into healthy and unhealthy.
5 min Closing
ceremony
Beliefs and Attitudes Follow
themes
Beaver Prayer. Review the activities and explain what will happen the
following week.
Week 2 Why not have a mini sports day? You could use the programme from the last issue of Far and Wide on Olympics.
Week 3 Take your Beavers on a ramble. You may wish to collect leaves etc for future use. If you are feeling really fit and healthy you could
take them on a small hike. This would gain them Stage One of the Hikes Away Badge
Week 4 Get the Beavers to monitor their heartbeat. They could then take part in a keep fit session and check their heartbeat again to see
what the difference is. You could also maybe invite a Doctor or Nurse down to your colony meeting who could let the Beavers listen
to their heartbeat.
Hopefully at the end of this your Beaver Scouts will have gained their Fitness Challenge Badge, Hikes Away Badge and completed part of their
Health and Fitness Badge and Healthy Eating Badge.
Far and Wide – Issue 78 11
SCOUT SECTION - Food, Glorious Food!
Idea How long How to do it What do I need What Zone
Shop and
Plot
60 mins Give each Patrol £5 (or equivalent)
Get them to go shopping in the local supermarket
Aim is to buy as many food products as they can from different countries
Plot on a map where the food products come from
EXTRA: work out how far the food has travelled and talk about the Carbon
Footprint and Food Miles
EXTRA: Try to buy products that have only come from the Country that you live
in
£5 / patrol
Maps of the world
Atlas / globe to help
find the countries
Global
Try
Something
New
30 mins Prepare some new and interesting foods – could include fresh products like
fruit and vegetables, or packet products that you may want to review for a hike
or camp
EXTRA: Perhaps have a vote on who likes what the best
Food items as chosen
Plates / forks to eat it
with
Global
Fairtrade
Fun
30 mins Buy different Fairtrade products (like chocolate) and their non Fairtrade
equivalents
Sample each side by side in a blind test
Which tastes better?
Discuss what Fairtrade is all about (log onto www.fairtrade.org.uk for info)
EXTRA: Visit the supermarket to see what Fairtrade products are available
EXTRA: Design and cook a meal based on Fairtrade ingredients
Range of Fairtrade
and non Fairtrade
items
Plates and forks
Global
Community
Beliefs and
Attitudes
Backwood
s Bounty
Whole
Session
Get outdoors and experience the adventure with some backwoods cooking.
Previous week get the Scouts to design / create some new ideas for
backwoods food. Try to move away from the old favourites of chocolate
bananas and marshmallows – although these do have their place
Either get them to buy the ingredients and bring them down to the Troop Night,
or buy in one batch and dish out
Cook!! And eat EXTRA: Try cooking with no foil!!
EXTRA: Make a meal and invite the cubs to come along and try the food
Various ingredients
Fire making kit
Outdoors and
Adventure
Creative
Expression
A ‘pizza’
art
60 mins Supply Pizza bases, tomato sauce and grated cheese
Ask each scout to bring along a secret ingredients
As a Patrol the Scouts use their own ingredients to create a designer pizza
Cook them, photograph them (send pictures to me for next FAW) and eat
EXTRA: Arrange a visit to a pizza restaurant and see what goes on behind the
scenes
EXTRA: Cook the pizzas in a solar over (I did this on the World Jamboree in
Chile) – only really works if you have plenty of sun!!
Pizza Bases
Pizza tomato sauce
Grated Cheese
Baking trays
Creative
Expression
Super
smoothies
15 mins Healthy drink making – whether on camp or down at Troop
You will need a hand blender or food processor to make this work
Mix combinations of ingredients together and serve. Simple
EXTRA: Run as an activity with Beaver Scouts as part of the Healthy Eating
theme
Fruit
Juices
Cups
Hand Blender
Yoghurt
Fit for Life
Creative
Expression
Five a Day 30 mins Plan a meal for a Camp Weekend menu, but make sure that it is balanced
enough to include your 5 a Day portions of fruits and vegetables
Create a weekend menu out of the options
EXTRA: Add a theme to the camping weekend and design the menus around it
Paper
Pencils / pens
Recipe books
Creative
Expression
Fit for Life
Cocktail
Capers
20 mins Ideal for a beach party activity
Provide a range of juices / sparkly drinks and fruit
Combine these into tasty and drinkable combinations
EXTRA: Give the drinks funky names – and send me the ideas so we can
produce a BGA Camp Cocktail Recipe Book!
Fruit, Juices
Food colourings
Umbrellas
Glasses / cups
Other decorative items
Creative
Expression
Sandwich
relay
15 mins Patrol lines up at one end of the hall
Table per patrol at the other end with the equipment and ingredients on it
On the word go the first person runs up and butters a piece of bread. The next
runs down and adds the jam. The next butters a piece of bread and makes the
sandwich. The next runs down and continues the stack. Game ends when the
whole loaf has been used. EXTRA: Eat it!!
Per Patrol:
Loaf of bread
Small tub of spread
Jar of jam (similar)
Spreading knife
Tray / large plate
FUN!
Patrol
Picnic
Whole
Session
Each Patrol has to provide the picnic food for the Troop Meeting. They need to
work out who is going to bring what and how much is required.
Choose a location and arrange the meeting
Provide drinks and paper plates, and lay on some games
Games equipment Outdoors and
Adventure
12 Far and Wide - Issue 78
County Team
