District Cub Camp 2009

It seemed to have everything against it - 3 out of 7 groups pulled out and we only had a third of our Cubs down to go. The weather forcast was abominable. As Eva and I sat in the car down to the district camp site on Friday afternoon, we were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into...

Pitching the tipi


Chinese sticks in the rain

The first 20 hours were very, very wet. The rain was wet, the ground was wet the firewood was wet, the kids got wet through their rain gear, we got wet through our rain gear... We realised how spoilt we are, having our own hut in the woods, with facilities to dry gear and kids off, running water and water closets, when the kids almost refused to go to the privies.

Kubb, the viking game, works in any weather.
Brave Cubs

Our 10 kids became 7, when two boys got too wet and cold (one had forgotten to pack rain clothes though...) and one of the girls felt too far away from home for her liking, and they wanted to go home.

The Saturday held fun, slightly icky, and difficult tasks to solve. The aim was to win keys to help the Queen retreive her treasure.

Fishing for keys in all sorts of wierd stuff.

The consistant rain didn't prevent the Cubs in our neighbouring group to wake up at 4.30 and almost waking the whole camp up with their "cheerful" shouting, before their leaders took them for a long walk before breakfast in the rain 3 hours later.

Söndrum's new camp kitchen. (Worked beautifully with DRY firewood)

7 hours later, the ones that did stay got their reward when the sun came out. But then the wind picked up, but luckily not enough to prevent the Cubs to take the cannoes out for an hour or so. Some even ventured a swim in the freezing river! We supervised from a dry spot beneath a tree, well away.

They did go in the water, I promise!

The water level had risen almost 40 cm from the rain! The wind made the waves choppy and difficult, but everyone got to get out for a little while on the water.

Not even the parafin could get the camp fire going properly, but the Cubs enjoyed the singing and the entertainment, then had a cup of cocoa before tumbling into their now slightly drier tents. Only one, not ours, girl had to get picked up during the early hours of the morning as she got sick.

We slept quite well during the night, even if the wind didn't die down. The Cubs practised juggling and had a play, got packed up, and had hot dogs before the parents came to get them at 1pm. All that remained seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

Then we drove back and hung the tipis up to dry in the scout hut, went home to have a shower and a nap and started planning the next camp! It IS fun to be a Scout leader! (Almost always)

As the term is ending, the Cubs are now on summer holidays, and my role in scouting is changing this will be the last entry for this blog as you know it. It will be back though, most likely as general scouting blog, reporting from all age groups, possibly focusing on the new program, training and activities.