The benefits of knowing scouts

Early this spring I was contacted by a aquintance who was going to recieve a visit from an Australian family. He is a confirmed bachelor, and was a bit worried how to entertain the ten-year-old in the family, but knew that the girl was a Cub and her mother a Cub leader. I put him in contact with one of our other leaders, who I knew had been Down Under, and I thought might be interested in trying to arrange something. We figured that Cubs would be slightly to young, as their English isn't that good yet, so the younger scouts were invited on a short hike and sleepover.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to go, but it was reported that all had a great time, even though it rained on the lightweight shelters, they had to fight off mosquitoes the size of aeroplanes, one or two wasps and quite a few flying ants, and now we have a great, new mascot: A cuddly Aussi Roo, with a cork hat and a lovely necker with Aboriginal artwork on it!

I'm sure we'll stay in touch somehow, and I look forward to getting the opportunity to fight of some Aussi mossies at some point!

Tomorrow term starts for most children in this little town, and most schools in the country start sometime around this time. For some it's a greater change than others, moving up from one stage to another, both in school and scouts. The daughter of a good friend, who is a very talented musician, has been accepted to a music sixth form in Gothenburg, almost an hour and a half away. My friend has been looking to find lodgings for her, but it's not easy as Gothenburg is a popular place to live, and you nessecarily don't want to house a 16-year-old in any crummy flat, or room, to fend for themself for the first time. She was at her wits' end when she went to pick her younger daughter up from summer camp, and found herself sharing a table at the farwell feast with a family from Gothenburg.
-I thought I might as well ask, she says. The greatest risk I took was getting a no for an answer.
Instead, she came home with an adress and new friends. Their oldest daughter had just flewn the nest, and their youngest is a year younger than my friends daughter.
-And it feels safe. They're lovely people, and as they are scouts I know what values and standards they have. I'm sure it will be great!

In scouting we have a great web of contacts. As any contacts they are not to be abused, but do not hesitate to make use of them! The only thing you are risking, asking for a favour, is getting a no. And most people are willing to lend a hand if they can, because we know we'll get a good turn back - at some point.

One Piece of Rubbish Aday

Someone nudged my memory today, and I had an idea. . .

Sweden is a relatively clean country. We have the highest numbers in the world of recycling, especially drink cans and PET bottles, as we get a small amount of money for every can or PET bottle we hand in at the shop. (This is paid for by an addition to the price of the drink in the first place) Nevertheless you see an awful lot of rubbish along the roads and on the ground in the town centres. Even in the middle of the woods! Some people seem to think that dropping rubbish on the ground is what you should do, even if there are bins around.

In 2005 the organisation Håll Sverige rent! (Keep Sweden Clean!) started a campain called One piece of rubbish aday (In Swedish of course) The campain, in all its simplicity, aims to raise people's awareness about the damgers of those little bits of rubbish that we drop on the ground and to get people to pick up their own rubbish, by urging people to pich up one piece of rubbish aday and put it in the nearest bin! If everyone did that, hey presto! We'd have a MUCH nicer environment!

Someone has now taken this idea onto Facebook, and someone else mentioned this in their blogg, which jolted my memory. And I thought, why not spead this via the Cub Scout groups around the world too!

So this autumn you'll hear more about what rubbish we have in Falkenberg, Sweden, and what we do with it!

Happy scouting!

Picture by: Alfred N