February began with a very special sleepover. We teamed up with 23rd Oldham, Greenfield and took 14 of our Beavers to spend a night at the Sealife Centre at the Trafford Centre. We had a great evening, with opportunities to look round the galleries with no-one else there, as well as stroking starfish and crabs, making badges and playing in the play area. For nine of our Beavers, it was their first ever night away with us, but the excitement meant that nobody wanted to go home - not even a little bit! It was an amazing experience for the leaders too - how else would you have the chance to be all alone in that “undersea” tunnel communing with Ernie the Green Sea Turtle? It was well worth staying up until the middle of the night for the opportunity. I have to admit though, that when we saw them all sleeping along the sides of the corridors, next to the tanks, it looked like the zombie apocalypse had happened and we’d all taken to living in tunnels! Thank you very much to Freya, Jude and Julie who came along.
The Cubs very much enjoyed their visit to Tesco, as part of their Farm to Fork programme. They started by finding out about fruits and vegetables, learned about different breads and cheeses, and got to go in the freezer, and even had a go on the till. Jude has made the move from being a section assistant at Beavers to Cubs, but we are still looking for people to join the planning and leadership team for when Freya can’t make it. Their Nights Away experience this term is coming up next month.
Scouts have had a more traditional overnight experience with two nights at the Hesley Wood Freezer Camp, near Sheffield. We joined up with Scouts from 3 other Oldham Borough groups to spend a great weekend with more than 500 Scouts and Explorers on site, enjoying a range of activities including 5-a-side football, abseiling, air rifle shooting, archery, axe throwing, campfire, cavebus, climbing, laser clay pigeon shooting, laser quest, orienteering, quadbiking, segways, tug of war, woggle carving, zip line and the all important, messing about in the woods. For 5 of the 7 Scouts who went this was their first Freezer Camp, and for 4 of them it was their first experience of camping with any of our sections. They rose magnificently to the challenge of the wet and muddy conditions, with no concerns or complaints, even when the girls had to switch tents in the middle of the night because theirs was leaking. It turns out the boys’ tent was a bit leaky too - so it looks like we’ll be in the market for new tents!
It was hard work at times, but also a good opportunity for the leaders of our different groups to get together and work as a team as well. It was a learning experience for us too - among other things, we now know how to erect and dismantle two different types of marquee! Most of our camps are with the groups who came this time, so it was a chance to meet up with old friends, and make new ones and we are all particularly grateful to Barry Ratcliffe, who organised the booking and catering.
The Cubs very much enjoyed their visit to Tesco, as part of their Farm to Fork programme. They started by finding out about fruits and vegetables, learned about different breads and cheeses, and got to go in the freezer, and even had a go on the till. Jude has made the move from being a section assistant at Beavers to Cubs, but we are still looking for people to join the planning and leadership team for when Freya can’t make it. Their Nights Away experience this term is coming up next month.
Scouts have had a more traditional overnight experience with two nights at the Hesley Wood Freezer Camp, near Sheffield. We joined up with Scouts from 3 other Oldham Borough groups to spend a great weekend with more than 500 Scouts and Explorers on site, enjoying a range of activities including 5-a-side football, abseiling, air rifle shooting, archery, axe throwing, campfire, cavebus, climbing, laser clay pigeon shooting, laser quest, orienteering, quadbiking, segways, tug of war, woggle carving, zip line and the all important, messing about in the woods. For 5 of the 7 Scouts who went this was their first Freezer Camp, and for 4 of them it was their first experience of camping with any of our sections. They rose magnificently to the challenge of the wet and muddy conditions, with no concerns or complaints, even when the girls had to switch tents in the middle of the night because theirs was leaking. It turns out the boys’ tent was a bit leaky too - so it looks like we’ll be in the market for new tents!
It was hard work at times, but also a good opportunity for the leaders of our different groups to get together and work as a team as well. It was a learning experience for us too - among other things, we now know how to erect and dismantle two different types of marquee! Most of our camps are with the groups who came this time, so it was a chance to meet up with old friends, and make new ones and we are all particularly grateful to Barry Ratcliffe, who organised the booking and catering.
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