It's not just the Explorers that don't like exams!

Are any other Explorer Scout Leaders noticing an absence of most of the Unit at the moment? At K2 over the last few weeks numbers have been disappointingly low, with most absentees blaming revision.

 

Yeah, yeah, I know that school work is obviously really important, and if there's an exam the next day then I expect people will want to spend the night before doing some last minute swatting.

 

 

On the other hand though, is a complete blanket ban on attending Explorers and other clubs at exam time a good idea? If they're off school anyway, surely all day with noses in books deserves a bit of a break in the evenings?

 

Perhaps we're fighting a losing battle and should accept that numbers are just going to be low, but it's hard when you put a lot of work into planning a programme and just a handful turn up.

 

Update - 22/06/10

 

 

Just a quick update to the above. I tried something new last night with our Explorer Scout Unit, we had a Revision Corner.

 

In the text that goes out to all Explorers to tell them what's going on, where to meet etc, I said that anyone who needed to revise would be given a place in peace and quiet to get on with their revision.

 

This meant that they'd still come along, be able to catch up on what's going on and see their friends, but would spend the bulk of the time getting on with their work.

 

Numbers went up by 50%, and those who attended to do revision said it was useful. Hopefully that's a bit of a result!

Evening all!

My highlight of the last week was definitely K2's visit to Wrexham Police Station. We had a fantastic demonstration of defensive tactics, including use of handcuffs, batons, pepper spray and even tasers.

 

 

On Tuesday I headed down the A55 to Prestatyn where I met our Local Development Officer Mark Winson and District Media Development Manager Gareth Sandilands. We had a productive meeting discussing how best to promote development work, and also several media projects.

 

A word about the venue for our meeting: The Scala Cinema and Art Centre is a fantastic new centre in Prestatyn. A two screen cinema, cafe-bar, meeting rooms and media training facilities. I'd recommend people to have a look at it.

 

 

It was back to basics in Scouts (what's wrong with that now and again) this week with a night on pioneering. We started with a game of office chair racing, then the Patrols build A-frames in the hut before taking them out onto the back field where we used them to cross an imaginary river.

 

All that's good about Scouting

 

I've just come back from the River Wye Canoe Cruise. In my view it's an example of all that is good about modern Scouting, for several reasons:

1. It's a big adventure - a three day expedition down 35 miles of the River Wye, each night putting up your tent at a different campsite.

2. It's timeless - canoe camping is something that's been done for generations, but looking around at all the high-tech equipment in use (carbon fibre paddles, the latest in stoves, lightweight tents) there's certainly nothing old fashioned about the event.

 

 

3. It's for everyone - despite being a ScoutsWales event, there were plenty of people taking part from England, including Rotherham and Derby. Age was also no barrier to taking part as toddlers were in boats being passed by those many decades older. Levels of experience ranged from those who'd only been in a boat once or twice before, to those who are rarely seen without a dry suit on.

 

4. It's a shininy example of flexible volunteering - many of those helping with the event aren't 'full-time' Leaders, but help out occasionally on specific events such as the Wye Cruise.

 

5. It's growing - with way over 200 paddlers this is one example of the success story that is modern Scouting.

 

Thanks to Barry and his team for all that they do.

Media coverage? What media coverage?

Do you think Scouting gets enough coverage in the media?

 

Recently I've heard a few comments from people who think that we don't. I'm not sure whether they mean locally, or nationally.

 

Personally, while I'd be foolish to be complacent, I'm pretty happy with the coverage we get. In Clwyd, virtually everything I send in to the press (at least a story a month) is covered either in print, online and/or on the radio. Thanks to the local media for that. Nationally too we get more positive coverage than I can ever remember.

 

 

All press releases that I send out are listed on our Media page, and when we get a result, I add it below.

 

You can also see a clippings page of everything that I've noticed getting in the papers.

 

Recently we've been getting a great amount of coverage on Heart radio too. When MFM/Marcher Sound became Heart I was worried that they'd be London based and have no interest in local news. However, quite the opposite has been the case. The people at Heart have been very cooperative and we've had quite a bit of airtime.

 

 

As I say though, I'm not complacent. We could get more coverage. There are two things stopping this:

 

Firstly, like lots of us, I've got umpteen other jobs in Scouting, and finding time to cover some events - even put together press releases sometimes - is tricky to find.

 

Secondly, I don't get told about as many events as I'd like. Gareth in Vale of Clwyd and Phil in Flintshire do a great job keeping their ears to the ground in those Districts, but the three of us need the help of every Leader in Clwyd to tell us what's going on.

Long weekend on the Long Mynd

It's been a packed Easter 'break' for me and others from K2 ESU. Unfortunately it's not been spent doing activities, but instead we've been fundraising for our Swiss expedition this summer.

 

 

This resulted in spending 20 hours in various Iceland stores around Wrexham, but we raised well over £1,000 so it was worth it.

 

Now attention turns to our upcoming Duke of Edinburgh's Award Silver expeditions which are taking place in the beautiful location of the Long Mynd in Shropshire.

 

 

Ten of our Explorers joined four from Atlas ESU last night to get their kit checked and put the finishing touches to their routes.

 

Fingers crossed it's a good weekend for them.

 

I'm booked into a lovely B and B!

Moz's Musings

Moz is Assistant Area Commissioner for Communications and International, and is also a Leader with 1st Rhosnesni Scouts and K2 Explorer Scout Unit. Look out for the bits in bold - they're links to resources and further information that readers may find useful.

Follow Moz on Twitter: @wxmmoz