A very special year

Having been a Scout myself and a Leader for many years, I had very fixed views about girls in Scouting. But over the past 18 months or so having seen boys and girls working together in mixed Patrols at various Scouting competitions, I started to change my mind, and began to realise that with proper leadership the two can work together. So when at the beginning of the year the age limit for Scouts was changed from 15 ½ to 14 1^st Gt Eccleston decided for a trial period to invite girls to the Scout meetings, this trial period was so successful that on the tenth of October 2003 I invested our first girl into the Group.

We have had a female associate member before, but this was the first time a girl has made her promise and become a 1^st Gt Eccleston Scout making the 10/10/03 a very special day for Great Eccleston Scout and myself, hopefully Lauren will be the first of many.

Once more this year we did a considerable amount of practicing for the First Aid comp, some of the Scouts think that First Aid is boring and rightly so it’s not every ones cup of tea, but out of all the things that they learn it’s probably the one that if needed, will probably save someone’s life, and that could be the life of one of their family, so with this in mind all the Scouts have to learn First Aid. Usually the competition team will consist of four or six Scouts but this year we were told to enter teams of just two, and that we could enter two teams instead of the usual one. Having won this Competition for the past four years all the other teams wanted to beat us, and obviously we wanted to prove we were still the best by wining it back again, so the pressure was on. All the Scouts in the group are invited to be in the team young or old, but as stated before its not everybody who wants to do it, so we only pick team members out of the those who put their names forward, and only after the completion of the First Aid training this gives everybody the chance to be in the team/teams. With one of our more competent members being on holiday during the competition this year, we had six contenders of mixed age’s only being able to pick four from the six was going to be difficult.

The District Swimming Gala

It’s been some time since we entered the swimming gala, usually we are doing the County backwoods or something, but this year was an exception and we entered a team. Having won it the last time in 2000 with a very strong team this years team were under no illusions of emulating that team, but intended to do their best and see what happens, if nothing else they intended to enjoy themselves. All the Scouts in the Troop that could swim were in the team some of whom were only 10, living in Gt Eccleston swimming is something we cannot practice besides I know nothing about swimming other than trying not to drown. The heats are split into two groups, the under 12 and over 12 up to 14 the Scout age limit, this meant we just had enough to enter each race, Backstroke Crawl, butterfly, and freestyle, including the Relays. By the end of the qualifiers we had a Scout in each individual race apart from one, and it looked as though we were in with a chance, but during the Medley Relay we hit a problem, (there weren’t enough teams to have two qualifiers so it was decided at the last minuet, to have one) and during the confusion as to where each member of the team had to start, (we were to be in the second race) two of our team were misled, and started at the wrong ends but we still won.  But after a complaint by one of the other teams it transpired that during the confusion of having started at the wrong end, one of the two Scouts involved broke stork and we was disqualified. Not to be put off our freestyle team came first in the qualifier and we were still in with a chance, be it a slim one.  Not to be put off our freestyle team came first in the qualifier and we were still in with a chance, be it a slim one.

Now it was all down to the last race, and we came a very close second a good result all round, and we congratulated everyone in the team on a job well done. But then we were told that the winning team was different than the one that had qualified, and they had at the last minute, entered the same team that had just won the Medley race. So along with others we put a complaint in, only to be told it’s not the Olympics and the decision stands! This meant when all the scores were added up we came a reputable third overall. Still a good result remembering it wasn’t the Olympics

1^st Gt Eccleston Scouts will rise to any challenge, and on November the 15^th they did just that, by climbing to the height of the tallest building in Blackpool totalling 518 ft 9” yes Blackpool Tower. But not content in just climbing this height, they also abseiled the 518 ft 9” as well, not a job for the squeamish. Why you may ask well to raise funds for the new Scout Headquarters and to help in the completion of one of the Scout Awards The challenge took place on the climbing tower at Waddecar Scout camp; you didn’t think health and safety would let us climb Blackpool Tower did you. Having camped the night at Waddecar the following morning a total of 7 Scouts and 2 Leaders started the clime during the night the weather had been atrocious with gale force winds and heavy rain, but we must have done something right because other than it being a bit cold there wasn’t a cloud in the sky as we started the climb.

But first there were the proverbial photographs for the local papers, and after a bit of posing we started. With the help of our climbing instructor Matt Bent we were able to climb in two’s, one on either side of the tower, taking it in turns of 2 or 3 climbs at a time, we each had to climb and abseil the tower a total of 24 times to complete the 518 ft. So stopping for an hour at lunch we estimated that it would take us a total of 6 to 7 hours to complete and in true Gt Eccleston tradition we all did just that. Everybody enjoyed themselves including the two Leaders, and a combined height of 4,562ft was climbed in les than 6 hours, that’s higher than Ben Nevis at a mere 4,406ft but don’t forget the Scouts abseiled it as well. At the time of going to press it’s estimated that thanks to the generosity of sponsors we have raised a total of £700, towards the first part of the rebuild.

Scout Activity weekend

In October seven of the Scouts went camping at Great Tower the Scouts campsite at Windermere in Cumbria, they were sleeping indoors in bases, with transport, food, activities, and accommodation provided all for just £34, and as usual they had a fantastic time. The weekend is attended by Scouts from all over the Wyre District both boys and girls, they split into mixed Patrols of six from different Scout Groups and then go out and learn a variety of things including, Backwoods cooking and survival skills, map and compass work, climbing, abseiling, first aid, archery, shooting, sailing and canoeing, hiking, Leadership and life skills, and take part in wide games and other activities. All the things they do go towards their Badge Work and help in preparing them for other Scouting Activities and competitions, but the main thing is they learn to socialise, something that young people don’t seem to learn nowadays.

Fire can be your best friend or your worst enemy, at best it can save your life or at worst it can take it away from you. In a Survival situation it can be a lifesaver, a good fire will keep you warm, cook your food, protect you against wild animals, and help your rescue. But it can also damage you’re clothes, burn you, your shelter, and destroy thousands of acres of forest, and don’t forget the smoke, yes it can help your rescuers find you, but it can also choke you whilst you sleep at night, so always treat your fire with respect. Contain it within the area you want it to burn, don’t let it spread to surrounding grass or trees.

What dose it need, remember the three elements, Air, Heat, and fuel. When starting a fire remember its better doing it by the book, there’s no short cuts as BP used to say, start with some good tinder, this can be paper sweet wrappers, letters etc, wood shavings, dried bark preferably birch, dried moss, seed heads, dried leaves, if you have a first aid box then you can use cotton wool, bandages, plasters, alcohol hand wipes, lint, if you have rope or string then you can fray the ends and use that, pull fluff from woollen clothing, or use shredded cotton and linen, but remember some clothing is flame retardant. If you have a good source of lighting your tinder (matches, lighter, etc) then set it at the bottom of your fire leaving access for lighting, if not then you will need to light it first, blow on it to get it going, and then put it in the bottom of your prepared fire.  Place kindling on top, of the tinder this can start with, thick grass stems,

 or dried leaves, pine cones, bigger shavings, small dry dead twigs, etc, getting bigger, but remember that the fire needs plenty of air so don’t press it down on the tinder. Start small and once the kindling gets going feed it with bigger twigs the thickness of your finger, building up to the thickness of you wrist.  Put bigger logs around the outside so they can dry, and push them in as needed, another thing to remember is stock up with plenty of wood before you start and keep it dry.

Things to look forward to in 2004

Backwoods cooking, Abseiling, Climbing, Canoeing, Go Carting, Camping, First Aid, Pioneering, Swimming, Football, Orienteering, Hiking, Archery, Shooting, Cooking, Walking, Games, etc.