JOTA/JOTI 2008

Unfortunately the weather wasn't very inviting, but still some cubs, scouts, leaders, parents and friends thereof came to the field by the Scout hut in Falkenberg, when Falkenberg Scout group participated in JOTA/JOTI for the first time in approxomately 15 years. Falkenberg Radio Amateur Club, SK6JX, helped set up the radio and we had at the most three computers with a mobile internet connection linked up to the JOTI site. The Swedish introductory speach was held by the acting vice president of the Scout Association, Erik Sillén in Stockholm. In the picture above, Reino from the Radio Club is announcing that Falkenberg is on the air.
There was plenty to do around the little caravan that held the radio. Among other things our mobile climbing wall was up, and there was a quiz walk. When people got peckish, there was hotdogs and buns to barbeque over the fires.Next year we're definately going to do it again, but indoors! October on the west coast of Sweden can be very rough. This year it only rained a little bit, the winds were managable and it was just 9 degrees Centigrades. It could be considerably worse!

Around the world in 40 minutes

There were loads of people at the meeting on September 25th; Both packs were there, and lots of parents! Unfortunately no pictures.

While the Akelas were dealing with the parents inside, all the sixes went on a trail around the world and answered lots of very tricky questions about continents, countries, flags and languages. The cubs also did lots of practical things like spelling, throwing balls into buckets and throwing an old fashioned life line. And of course some games and songs!

Meanwhile, indoors Marie and Lotta had the parents reading the scout law, explained how the law and the promise makes scouting different from Woodcrafters and football teams, how Falkenberg scout group is a part of a family of millions and millions. They also told the parents of the seven different parts of the scout method: Law and promise, symbols and ceremonies, the six, learning by doing, the outdoors, caring for oneself, the society and the world and supportive and listening leadership. Then the parents were put into sixes and told to plan a meeting for their children, using as many of the seven parts as possible.

When the meeting was over everyone sang the scout song. Next week the cubs will take home a nice course certificate for their parents as proof that they all have passed the first module of the basic scout leader course!

St George and World Book Day

Wednesday was a day well worth celebrating: It is the Bard's birthday, his death day and also Cervantes, the guy who wrote the book about the mad, old man who read too many books and thought he was a knight and went out to fight windmills to save his damsel, died that day. Therefor UNESCO has made this the World Book Day. Another person who fought for a damsel, not windmills, but a dragon, was St. George, the boyscouts' patron saint.

St George's is celebrated by scouts all over the world. In Sweden, where girls and boys have been joined in scouting since 1963, all celebrate St George, even if it originally is a Boy Scout celebration. How you choose to celebrate varies between the groups, and "which kind" of scout you are. Some groups have a church service, some only a parade, but most do something publicly, to show the spirit of scouting. In Sweden there are five different nationwide associations, where of The Swedish Guide and Scout Association, of which Falkenberg is part, is the most profane.

So, this year we tried something completely different: We made a Wild Book Release, the first ever in Falkenberg, and held a St George show in the centre of town!

All the cubs brought one or more books, that were taged and put in a plastic zip bag and then hung up in a tree. We played tag and in the water display, and then we put on a dressing up show starring mostly cubs in the roles of St George, the dragon and the princess. It was very silly and very noisy, but after all the frivolities we managed to get some serious words in at the end, about doing one's best, not expecting rewards. At the end all joined hands and sang the Scout song, that echoed against the brick walls of the houses around the square.

Some of the Cubs brought home as many books as they came with, and when the scouts had left we saw that people who walked by stopped and had a good look. Some even picked a wild book to take home, and this morning all the books were gone!

The activity was deemed a great success, and we might do it again.

Wet, wet, wet

This week's meeting was held at the local pool, Klitterbadet. Both groups were invited, but unfortunatlely the flu is raging at the moment and only 22 children were there. We were very happy about having so many parent helpers for the evening and put them to work at once.

The children were given a laminated list of tasks, numbered 1 to 5 in varying order. The tasks were:

• Retrieving Treasure: Diving down under water to gather up coins to make up a certain amount.
  
• Pearl Fishing: By cooperating and using a hook fastened to several strings the children had to fish a sealed bucket up, which contained glass marbles. The marbles were to be handed to the adult manning the next station on the list.


• A Secret Message: Letters were put on the bottom of the pool to be fished up and read out to people on the side of the pool, who were to pick out the same letters from a school scattered by the poolside. Then the letters were to be rearranged into a specific word, in this case "droppe", droplet.


• Remember?: What do you have to do to get a certain swimming badge? The kids had to find the requirements on a noticboard and then remember them and report them back to an adult.


• Lifewest swimming: The whole six had to put lifewests on correctly and swim 25 meters together and return the lifejackets in an orderly fashion afterwards.
  
• After finishing the tasks the children got to play in the pool and the ones who hadn't yet done their swimming badge (50 m in a lifejacket and 100 m without) did that.

After an hour we gathered the children (and parents) with an indian howl and made sure that everyone got ticked off the list and sent them into the changing rooms and we were ALMOST in time for 7.15. Well, at least some of us.

On the way out we recruited a new cub; a girl who had noticed us (wonder why?) by the poolside and shyly came up with her mum to ask if she could come and join. And of course she could!