Cambridgeskip

One of the campsites my troop love going to, Phasels Wood just outside London, has a huge population of these little critters. They are properly loud at night! And to add it to it owls love eating them, so the place has a big owl population too. Doesn't make a for a peaceful nights sleep!

Thought I'd share a moment from my troop here in the UK that made me smile yesterday and really made me appreciate the patrol system.

Bit of background, it was only last week that we were allowed to meet face to face again since November, and even in November we'd only been back a few weeks. Not much real scouting been happening! Naturally we lost a few kids along the way including 3 of our APLs. Alas!

Anyway that meant that one of the first things to do was appoint new APLs and the PLC went ahead and chose them (we tend to do that collectively here rather than each PL appoint their own), so far so good. They made some good choices and interestingly overlooked a couple of older boys who are perfectly old enough to get the gig but who to be honest hadn't behaved very scout like in recent months and I was somewhat pleased to see the PLs making some wise choices, picking younger scouts who would make a much better job.

That though isn't the main thing....

At the troop evening last night one patrol was missing both its PL and APL, both away sick. It happens. This happens to be the patrol with one of the overlooked boys. I was curious to see what would happen. He immediately took control of things, was helpful, polite, got everyone involved and made a genuine effort to include a 10 year old who is only just up from cubs and looking a bit lost. It was like watching a totally different kid!

One thing I am curious about is whether I would have seen the same reaction if it had been adults picking the PLs and APLs like some troops do. I suspect I wouldn't, I genuinely think it's the fact his peers overlooked him that has made him buck his ideas up and the fact he took the opportunity to lead when unexpetedly handed it did make me think of that quote from BP about what do we do with the hooligan?

This patrol stuff. It might just catch on!

On 3/16/2021 at 4:42 PM, SilverPalm said:

 

It wasn't about fear of competing with women - I think the leadership missed the mark when they said that.  But having a male-only space allowed a more relaxed atmosphere, I think - it's hard to articulate - because I wasn't worried about being judged by the opposite sex.  At that age, I was very much interested in what the girls in my class thought of me, but that constant worry wasn't present at Scout camp.  Being surrounded only by boys my age or a little older or a little younger resulted in a culture that was much more teamwork oriented than I remember school or sports being, where the guys are constantly trying to outdo their buddies to impress the girls.  

.

I haven't read the full thread (work conference call in a few minutes) but an observation from here in the UK.

I run a coed troop and a few years ago we had a joint meeting with the Girl Guide troop who use our building. And sure enough some of my boys started acting up in just the way you describe. And this was inspite of them all already having girls in their patrols and the troop more widely. In addition the both in scouts and guides were girls they went to school with.

My observation is the problem isn't girls as such. The problem is girls in an unfamiliar situation. Put the girls in the troop or patrol with the boys and they behave perfectly normally.

On 12/11/2020 at 4:22 AM, qwazse said:

Thanks ‘skip. Our governor just increased restrictions.
Our streets are empty, not unlike yours, I suspect.

Switching back to online meetings hasn’t been as successful for us ... especially since next meeting was supposed to be our Christmas party.

We’ve got in a few more campouts than you, although I missed the last two.

Your scouts are asking some good questions. Hopefully the answers will inspire a few to do some great things.

Things have certainly moved on here since December! Just after Christmas we went into a full national lockdown with only the first hints now of coming out of it. Scouts is all online, although we have had some fun getting them through their chef's badge. Attached is the winner of the cake decorating contest. We set the theme of what you love most. Got to say I was impressed with this!

We're hoping for a return to face to face after Easter and hopefully camps in late summer or autumn, if I was putting money on it I couldn't see that being before September but you never know. Better not be too long, we're hoping to take the troop to Canada in 2022....

On 12/11/2020 at 2:05 AM, MattR said:

Sounds like a lot of stress to me.

The questions are good. Some are really old, as well.

The evening with the night shelter went really well. I certainly learned a lot!

For me personally one thing was seeing how things eventually make a difference. At one time we had a problem here with people leaving the military ending up homeless. They'd become institutionalised, often living in barraks with everything provided for them from age 18, then left 20 years later with no knowledge of how to exist in the civilian world. Anyway a good friend of mine from my university days is an officer in the navy and was telling me a couple of years ago that a lot more effort is now put into developing everyone to be able to live better in the civilian world, they have lots of training in the year before they leave and when he was submarine captain part of his job was preparing some of his crew for leaving the service. The speaker from the night shelter said that this was having a big effect now. They see far fewer ex military on the street than they did 10 or 15 years ago.

On 12/10/2020 at 10:54 PM, TAHAWK said:

Hope your dad is feeling well soon.

Thank you! He;s a lot better now but still not 100%. He is nearly 80 so not entirely surprising!

Evening!

So it's been a while since I put my head in around these parts. Read a couple of things but not really had time to comment. As well as this covid nonsense life has also seen me move house, my business take off, my dad fall ill and generally be somewhat busy.

However I thought I'd swing by and see what's happening and let those interested know what scouts is looking like this side of the pond.

Back in March all face to face scouting was stopped due to covid. Some groups started meeting online via Zoom etc, some stopped meeting altogether. My lot have gone with zoom although as I'm sure you can imagine and I'm sure some of you have experienced it does have its limitations. We've managed cook offs, mini pioneering, had some guest speakers etc. But for an organisation based on the outdoors and team work meeting via a video conference does somewhat stump things. Nearest we got to a hike was getting everyone to climb their stairs at home as many times as it takes to get to the top of Ben Nevis (our highest mountain).

Anyway back in August we were finally allowed to meet face to face although with strict limitations. Groups of no more than 15 kids, had to be outdoors (that's fine in August) but the really tough bit is the amount of cleaning and sterilising of kit and having to keep all kids 2m apart. It wasn't until we had to do that it struck me just how much scouting involves small scale physical contact. Imagine pioneering but everyone has to be 2m apart. Getting a fire lit where your mates are trying to form a wind shield, again 2m away. We've got by but it's been somewhat difficult.

Then we had our second lockdown and back to zoom it was. In theory we could meet again face to face as of two weeks ago but as there has been a massive spike in covid cases at the school most of mine go to we're sticking with zoom till the new year. Even then I can't see us being allowed to camp till June at the earliest.

There have been some bright spots though, particularly tonight. NExt week we have guest speaker coming to tell them about the work of Jimmy's Night Shelter which is Cambridge's main homeless shelter. Despite Cambridge being one of the wealthiest cities in the UK it has a staggering problem with homelessness and Jimmy's do some fantastic work dealing with it. Anyway the guest speaker asked if we could get a few questions in advance. I've listed them below, copied and pasted direct from the chat section on zoom. I was really quite proud of how intelligent some of their questions are, something that I think adults can learn from, but also quite touched by the innocence of some of them. Our scouts mostly come from pretty stable, middle class households where they are pretty unlikely to see many of the issues that lead to homelessness and it's quite a stark reminder that not everyone has the same privelidges

how do the homeless keep warm.?

how do they get food?

how much has the homeless population increased during COVID 19?

why is it so hard to stop being homeless or to find somewhere to warm and safe to sleep?

why do they sometimes drink too much alcohol

What is the most common way to become homeless

Why do they smoke when they know that it's bad for them.

why do homeless younger people get taken into orphanages and stuff but adults and elderly people are just left?

Why do homies people beg rather than getting a small job

do people fake to be homeless?

what is the average number of years that people can survive being homeless?

how come homeless people are never in families and are usually by themselves?

can the homeless be dangerous

Genuinely wish I knew the answer to some of those myself!

Anyway hope everyone your side of the pond is looking after themselves ok.

Interesting thread to see from this side of the Atlantic. We have no dangerous wildlife! The only advice we really have to give our scouts is don't wave you arms around wasps and in farming areas don't get between cows and their young. Other than that it's pretty safe. Quite scary to see stuff like this!

18 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

From  the Scouting Association in the United Kingdom which as I understand provided alternate Promises starting in 1993? Hopefully I found a current link

https://www.scouts.org.uk/por/1-fundamentals-of-scouting/11-variations-to-the-wording-of-the-promises/

1. Scouting is open to people of all faiths and of none and must therefore take account of the different religious obligations of its Members while upholding the essential spirit of the Promise.
    
2. The following table shows the alternative wording of the Promise that young people and adults may wish to use to best reflect their own beliefs:

Religion or Belief	Beaver Scout Promise	Cub and Scout Promise (for British Subjects)
Christian, Jew, Sikh	...to love God	...duty to God and to The Queen
Muslim	...to love God or ...to love Allah	On My honour... or In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful... ...duty to God and to The Queen or ...duty to Allah and to The Queen
Hindu	...to love God or ...to love my Dharma	...duty to God and to The Queen or ...duty to my Dharma and to The Queen
Humanist, atheist or no faith	... To be kind and helpful and to love our world	... To uphold our Scout values, to do my duty to The Queen

 

Recite a traditional Scout Promise that fits the spiritually of some,  a generic promise for all, or an alternate promise for you? 

Alternate promise was from around 2013 sometime. Although even before that for youth members at least there was not requirement to actually have a religious belief. You just had to make one of the (all religious based) offical versions of the promise to join.

I suspect that Scouts Canada will simply be the latest in an increasingly long list of national organisations doing this. Scouting is a movement, it has to move with the times. Just like in the UK Scouts Canada are not ditching religion but simply making room for those with no religion. And that can only be a good thing, bringing people together with different beliefs.

You can change the word all you want but people will still use it.

In the UK we changed "master" to "leader" in the 1960s, I forget when, and half the people I meet outside of scouting still refer to scout masters.

I really wouldn't worry about it.

Being British with our 27 thousand words for rain or whatever it is I thought I'd throw in some comments....

First of all yes jacket and trousers rather than ponchos. Ponchos really are quite useless. Quite simply too many different ways for water to get inside. If you want something waterproof then make sure it is water proof. In practice I too rarely use waterproof trousers, they can be a bit too sweaty and awkward, they really only go on if the weather is utterly torrential.

I don't know what the brands are like your side of the Atlantic but here you can pretty much pay what you want for waterproofs. I always warn scouts and their parents that if you go too cheap you really will get something useless but unlike an adult what fits today may not fit in 6 months. Bit of a balancing act.

Taped seams. If it's going to leak that's where it will leak.

Adjustable cuffs. You lose a lot of heat from your wrists, keep them dry.

A hood that gives some face protection.

I also like bright colours. I've not had to have mountain rescue come and get me yet but should the day ever come I intend that they will be able to see me, hence my current one is BRIGHT RED!!

Hi Joris

I'm based in the UK and have a couple of observations.

Firstly yes, we have had very occassional comments that we are some kind of far right organisation. Mostly they come from very foolish individuals and it has caused very few problems.

Secondly one of my assistant leaders is half German and has spent time with British and German scouts. She does say that the perception in Germany is very different. The group she was associated with in Berlin very rarely wore uniform at all.

47 minutes ago, Thunderbird said:

If you are using Zoom, there are some things that the host can do to reduce the potential of Zoombombing:

• Use Zoom's waiting rooms and only let people you know into the Zoom meeting
• Ask Scouts to use their real first name or nickname so that the host can recognize them
• Use meeting passwords
• Remove participants, if needed

https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/04/08/zoom-product-updates-new-security-toolbar-icon-for-hosts-meeting-id-hidden/

Exactly what we are doing here in the UK. Zoom has become the forum of choice for every age group and we use all the above. 

The other thing to remember about the two deep rule is that presumably that is the rule for your normal troop nights? What we are trying to do at our troop here is try to retain a sense of being as close to normality as possible. So our zoom meets are at the same day and time as our regular troop nights. We still have flag break (I share my screen and show a video from youtube of a flag break and ask them to stand up, to attention and salute during it), we still use the patrol system as far as zoom allows (break out rooms), of course it's not the same but I think the sense of normality is helpful for everyone. The point being that maintaining your two deep rule can simply be part of that mainenance of normality.

I'm getting Linkedin and new build homes! 

On 1/19/2020 at 1:17 PM, qwazse said:

Not to promote stereotypes, but ...

Throughout my life, I've noticed average British youth tend to be a little more reserved than other youth. Simple example: at World Jambo, I struck up a conversation with two young women from Kent who were watching me hang a flag. They had heard that the Indians were giving henna tattoos. I showed them the one they gave me and pointed to their camp, encouraging them to pay a visit. They looked at me sheepishly, and asked me if I would make introductions for them, which I gladly did, and soon they had called to their mates two campsites down, and soon Mumbai's lawn was full of English scouts having a henna party. As the week wore on, these girls became bolder. It's a rare American youth who would feel that  they needed my assistance.

But even our lifesaving instruction usually involves training youth to be firm and directive. It doesn't come naturally.

Not a totally unfair observation! I know that my lot, while quite good natured, can take a little prodding to break the ice. At our last summer camp we were invited by a neighbouring troop for a 1 August breakfast and promise renewal to mark the Brownsea Island aniversary (is this a thing in the USA? It's become quite popular here since 2007), it took a little bit of prodding to get them to mix and mingle a bit.

An interesting observation a friend here made was whether it might be a class thing. Fact is my lot are unashamedly quite middle class given the area we draw from. If you look at sport in the UK the more traditionally working class football (soccer) has a culture of players arguing with the referee. The more middle class games of rugby and cricket you just simply do not argue. To the point in cricket a batsman who is out, and the umpire didn't see it (typically is the slightest contact with the edge of the bat before being caught out) will sometimes walk off the pitch as a point of sportsmanship. Traditionally anyway. You don't see it as much these days!

Personally I'm not convinced its a class thing but thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

6 hours ago, T2Eagle said:

Even in the military there is a distinction drawn between lawful and unlawful orders, and my understanding from close relatives who are officers is that there is a lot more questioning and give and take than you would expect if your image is the drill sergeant from boot camp or OCS. 

I've not been in the military but I have many friends who have been or currently are. One thing that is consistent whether they went in as recruits or officers is they tell me that new officers, fresh out of training, may technically be superior in rank to their sergeant (or equivalent)  but in reality especially for that first 6 months (but also after) when they are in it for real they look to that sergeant who is their deputy and who probably has 15 years in both age and experience on them for guidance on how things are really done. And if they don't they are a fool! 

Nights like tonight don't happen very often in the UK scout section, where PLs are aged 13 and 14. Nevertheless tonight I ran flag break, flag down and pretty much nothing else* instead the PLs ran the night.** The 4 adults present stood to one side and let them get on with it.

One interesting observation though was while 3 of those adults were quite experienced and happy to take that step back one is a parent where the family recently moved here from China. While scouting has started to reappear there it is generally not a thing. He was clearly not used to simply standing back and letting the kids get on with it. It does make you realise how revolutionary this whole scouting idea must have been in its early days.

*one kid fell over and bumped his head. Checked for concussion, told parents, no problems.

** I'm not getting too excited, based on previous experience they may struggle to walk and breath simultaneously next week.

6 hours ago, TAHAWK said:

https://wiki.tfes.org/Flat_Earth_-_Frequently_Asked_Questions

These people walk among us.

To add to Ian's comments, I too find it hard to recognise the UK that article depicts.

Like Ian as well I am lucky. I live in Cambridge. A relatively small city at approx 160K local residents and around 30K students, and also a very wealthy area, but an urban area nonetheless. And I can say there is not a single street or area that I would feel in any way unsafe visiting. There are perhaps 2 or 3 streets where, should I find myself walking through them at 2am, I would keep my wits about me and not wave my wallett or phone around, but nowhere feels unsafe.

Some of our larger cities do have some more dangerous areas. Nottingham, for a while at least, had some dangerous areas. Manchester has one or two areas I would steer clear of. Nevertheless these are exceptions and I don't know of anyone that feels generally unsafe.

There has been a rise in violent crime in recent years. Yet these are percentage point changes in what are already very low numbers. Some of our more shouty newspapers keep going on about "Wildwest Britian" but this is a picture I don't recognise. There have been some terrible tragedies, the Jodie Chesney murder earlier this year was particularly shocking, yet these are still isolated incidents in the bigger picture. Fact is that on Thursday evening, when scouts has finished, me and the other leaders will go for a beer at a pub called the Carlton Arms. In theory the Carlton is on a street that has a high crime rate as the UK goes. I can tell you I will think nothing of walking up and down that street.

As for these calls to ban pointy knives, it has no momentum behind it at all. Find an absurd suggestion, any absurd suggestion, look hard enough and you'll find someone arguing for it. It doesn't mean it will happen. There are people in this country who believe the earth is flat. Says it all really.

To add to the last one, Neil Armstrong actually took his scout world badge with him to the moon! If memory serves it is on display at world HQ in Geneva.

I like to tell my scouts the story of the only time I've put someone in the recovery position for real, the moral of the story being don't make any assumptions.

It was about 15 years ago now. It was late  in the evening and myself and Mrs Cambridge Skip wrere walking home when we came a cross a man slumped on his hands and knees in the gutter. It was a busy road so we helped him onto the pavement. He was very unsteady on his feet and sluring his speach to the point that he was incomprehensible. We were also right outside a pub. Our assumption (and we all know what that is the mother of!) was that he was drunk. We sat him down and were debating whether to call him a taxi or the police when he slumped forward unconscious on the ground. We put him in the recovery position and called an ambulance.

The emergency operator also called the police (I believe that's standard if the patient is believed to be drunk) and they arrived first. One of the police took a look in the man's pockets and what did he find? Insulin! It looks like he was in some kind of diabetic shock. They bundled him in the back of the car and took him straight to hospital.

The moral of course being don't make any assumptions, especially if you didn't witness what actually happened to the patient!

3 hours ago, mrkstvns said:

I don't know how I overlooked a great badge like Circus Skills!

Somehow, I can't imagine BSA telling kids it's okay to practice their skills as a trapeze artist.

Some of mine have done the circus skills badge but alas no trapeze involved. Simply impossible to find the facilities!

Just to add.... the link you provided is for the scout age range which is 10-14 year olds. There is a similar list here for explorers, 14-18 year olds, the two sections essentially overlapping what you call Scouts BSA. There are similar lists for Beavers (6-8) and cubs (8-10)

Those badges marked as "staged" can, at least in theory, be done at any stage from 6-18. In reality the younger sections do the lower end ones and the older age ranges the higher end. For example at my group our cubs, as standard, look to complete emergency aid 2 before moving to scouts and we look to get them through emergency aid stage 3 before they move up to explorers.