I'm an Explorer Scout get me out of here!

Almost everyone has heard of I'm a celebrity get me out of here but it is not often that you hear the celebrity replaced by Explorer Scout. But last weekend (19-20th June 2010) the 6 of us from Langollen Dragons ESU were hoping we would hear it a lot as it would mean people had given up on a challenge!

 

 

Our 'jungle' was Pen-y-Cae scout HQ and from half 8 we were no londer just Explorer Scouts. We were 2 teams- the Supreme team and the blue ninga pirate penguins (bnpp).

 

Our first challenge was to design a team flag and fly it on the highest falgpole we could make. And of course my team (the supreme team) designed the highest flagpole which survived the whole weekend :) The bnpp's flag was about 1 meter shorter than ours and fell down about 3 times.

 

Then with our remaining bamboo canes, bin bags and cellotape we had to build a shelter for our team of 3. We didn't finish our shelter until 10 past 1 in the morning but it was worth it as we were warm and dry!

 

Mathew's team's shelter kept wasn't too bad but they did start again the next day possibly due to the many holes between bin bags!

 

Saturday morning we woke about 8 and had our breakfast. Then we had to create a way of telling the time using the sun and some sticks. we were told we would have to use it the following morning to work out when it was 9 oclock and the person to eat their breakfast closest to 9 would be exempt from the first eviction. We cleverly used our flag to create our own sundial.

 

Then throughout the day we had to complete various challenges and the winning team got treats from chocolate to biscuits to our lunch.
The challenges included having to fill up a tube with water to get the code to a box but the tube had holes in. Also seeing which team could do the most laps on a bike in an hour and then an archery challenge. After some practise we had 1 arrow each to see who could hit the picture of the chocolate. The team with the closest arrow won the chocolate.
And then it was the dreaded food challenge. Each member of the team took it in turns to eat the certain food. We had to eat food ranging from chillies to liver to heart to various bugs.

 

 

And then, of course, dinner was cooked on an open fire which both teams worked together on. We invented a new cuisine which consisted of jacket potatoe with chocolate spread! It was actually very tastey.

 

After the full day of challenges we had an earlyish night as nobody wanted to miss the nine oclock breakfast. We all handed our watches and phones in to make sure no-one knew the time from then on.

 

The morning seemed to come really fast and I had to guess the time from the position of the sun as I couldn't see the sundial from the shelter and really didn't want to leave my warm sleeping bag. My other option was to crawl across the grass in my sleeping bag but I thought that might scare someone :p

 

Once everyone was up the challenge was on- who would eat th closest to 9am? Robin and James caved pretty early as their stomches couldn't wait any longer. Tom.C followed soon after so it was down to me, Tom G and Mat. Every so often we would go and check the dials and then give each other weird looks. Then when I thought it was near time I went and prepared myself a sandwich. Then as I took my first bite the time was written down by Jo. Tom ate a few minutes after me and Mat followed not long after.

 

 

Then the times were revealed- I ate exactly at 9 o'clock! I'm not 100% how that happened but that then meant I was exempt from the eviction.
We each had one vote and the person with the most votes was out of the competition. James was first to go. Then following other challenges Tom C and Tom G were also evicted. That meant the final was between myself, Mat and Robin. The challenges had involved getting sweets from water full of mealworms then flower then custard by using our mouths. Another challenge was to see who could stand on one leg for the lonest while balancing on a brick.

 

Then in the final we had to use a sponge to collect as much water as we could and put it in our own buckets. The person with the most water in their bucket after all the water had been taken was the winner.
And the winner was- Robin! I came second and Mat third.

 

I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say it was an awesome camp and we would definately do it again.

 

Thanks Jo!

 

by Suzie, 21 June 2010

Jamboree journey so far

 

Wow. Its hard to believe that six months ago we were all taking part in the challenging Selection weekend to attend the jamboree and now...

 

We're here and in the middle of all our preparation. We have been meeting as regularly as possible, raising funds and having fun at all the events. So far we have done 2 bag packing events and had great fun doing this. We also held a ready steady cook competition which I hear was enjoyed by all that attended.

 

 

Personally I have found the build up so far to be an outstanding success and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Currently I am looking forward to our race night which will be held in Northop Hall Cricket club and the event looks to be an enjoyable and humorous night (if our leaders so far are anything to go on). I look forward to all the events in the future, in particular the up and coming camp!!!

 

by Elliot, 12th May 2010

K2's Question Time

Last night K2 ESU held our version of Question Time. The night started with the Explorers setting up a panel, seats for the audience (the unit) whilst myself, Ben, Ellen and Moz welcomed the candidates and their agents.

 

As Chairman, I introduced all of the candidates - we had Tom Rippeth (Lib Dems), Ian Lucas (Labour), Arfon Jones (PlaidCymru), Gareth Hughes(Conservative), John Humberstone (UKIP) and they then gave a brief introduction of what their parties were all about. The BNP party are also standing but were not invited as Scouting doesnt agree with their policies.

 

 

The night ran very well, loads of questions were asked on topics like education, healthcare, the troops in Afganistan, the voting age and many more. There was a few places where certain parties strongly disagreed with each others views in the debate - but isnt that what politics all about sometimes?!

 

I think from the feedback at the end of the debate of the candidates showed that they were impressed that we had shown a specific interest. I enjoyed the night and I know many of the Unit and Leaders did too. So hopefully we will do one next year.

 

by Danny, 20 April 2010

The journey to achieving my Young Leader Belt

As a young leader I was always aiming to achieve something that would give me a challenge and allow me to improve my confidence and leadership skills.

 

When you become a young leader the first thing you have to do is Module A. There are 11 modules in total and they all teach you about different things from games to working with people with disabilities and first aid to programme planning. Module A is basically an introduction to the young leader scheme and teaches you the basics.

 

 

Because I use my volunteering hours at Beaver Scouts for my Duke of Edinburgh's Gold award I wanted to set myself a proper target. So I set myself the target of completing the young leader belt which is the highest award young leaders can achieve.

 

It takes a long time to complete and basically prepares you for your adult leader training as well as giving you many skills in the process.

 

There are 2 parts to the award. As I said the starting point is module A but then you have to complete the other 10 modules as well. I was able to do this through Team X which is a Welch young leader training unit. Over many weekends I met young leaders from all over Wales and learnt many skills about how to improve my leadership skills.

 

The second part of the award is the Missions. There are 4 young leader mission badges which all have different targets and try to allow you to put your skills into practise.

 

Mission 1 involves planning and running 3 indoor meetings, for your section, trying to use different programme zones and the skills you've learnt from the modules.

 

Mission 2 involves planning and running 3 outdoor meeting for your younger section, still using the skills you've learnt and planning activities that fit into different programme zones.

 

Mission 3 involves planning and running 3 sectional forums. This can be quite tricky with Beavers, as I found out, as they seem to think that building giant jelly houses is possible in an hour :p You are supposed to set an agenda and get someone to write minutes (which is also tricky as most Beavers can't write :p) Then you should take action from the minutes.

 

Mission 4 can be achieved over a few months or more really as it involves taking a bigger role in the section. Suggestions are to take an active role in planning the meetings, deliver the content of challenge or activity badges or take responsibility for record keeping.

 

To achieve my missions I ran meetings about the water safety code, the green cross code, fitness testing and circuit training, as well as loads of games!

 

Recently I have started running more games and getting more involved in running the meetings and I have learnt a lot as well as having loads of fun.
And that is one of the main aims- Have fun!

 

Volunteering with a younger section is a great way to achieve a section of the Duke of Edinburgh's award as it has so many opportunities for you to achieve goals and improve your skills. It's great fun and you'd be surprised the things you can learn from Beaver Scouts :p

 

If you are interested in getting involved in the young leader scheme speak to one of your leaders and check out the Scoutbase website for much more info!

 

by Suzie, 11 February 2010

Explorers' Blog

Explorer Scouts from Clwyd Area, have volunteered to write a regular blog of their exploits with their Units and as Young Leaders. Follow their posts on this page, updated every few weeks.

We'd be interested in hearing from anyone else who'd like to write an entry too, whether you're a Scout, Explorer or adult. Send us your blog