1st Ealing North News

Cubs from both packs joined the annual Ealing and Hanwell District Camporee at Walter Davis Scout Camp. This year's theme was the Commonwealth Games. We began with our usual Grand Howl Cubs were allocated to tents named after continents and designed flags to match.  They also had a Bake Off competition and baked and designed their own cakes: And everyone chipped in with camp chores There were also lots of active pursuits to engage in including archery: Air rifles: Laser tag: And an inflatable Commonwealth games which included: Bubble football Nerf battles An obstacle course And, for good measure, a bouncy castle: The food was also Commonwealth-themed with an English breakfast  Aussie BBQ: Brownies made with Ghanaian chocolate With a refreshing side of juicy watermelon And an Indian curry We celebrated birthdays ...

For our last meeting, Lou and Paul joined us to talk about using knots on their adventures as crew on the Clipper Round The World race, circumnavigating the globe on a 70-foot ocean racing yacht. The Cubs had loads of questions from roles on the boat, dropping phones in the sea to coming up with a better design for the toilet! With an understanding of the practical use of knots, Cubs had a go at tying clove hitches and lashings to make a tripod to complete their pioneer activity badge.

Cubs got to experience a bit of culture from across the Atlantic with an Independence Day themed session, complete with a game of baseball at Fox Wood. Everyone had a go at pitching, fielding and batting with lots of home runs hit.

Cubs from St Benedict's and St Peter's pack and Scouts from Walpole troop got together at Longridge on the banks of the Thames for a water-based activity weekend. They began with pitching tents Followed by a picnic dinner and washing up before lights out: Saturday morning began with some warm up exercises: And then a hearty breakfast: Which we needed for dragon boat racing along the River Thames: We returned to our campsite for a tent and kit inspection and some free time After lunch we were back on the water for stand-up paddle boarding And for those on dry land, some skipping practice Unfortunately the weather was not on our side and the heavens opened monsoon-style during dinner. The whole group showed resilience by sheltering in the mess tent and began singing campfire songs: But the sun came out again which allowed Cubs and Scouts to do the dishes and with some excellent backwoods skills we built a campfire and toasted our pudding and had some popcorn too Sunday morning be...