Scouting @ Home

Being a Cub Scout leader with 1^st Taverham I have embraced my inner child and, along with my wife, tried to keep our girls active, engaged and busy.

Grace and Anna are in Scouts and Cubs respectively and are missing not only scouting but all the activities they are involved in.

So what have we been doing? Marie, my wife, has engaged the children in the more artistic side and has done some fun activities including baking short bread and ginger cake, which is not doing the best for my waist line. They also created some ornaments for the garden using beads and wire, wooden Easter eggs as a fun activity, glitter mood jars, rainbow decorations, and planted flower seeds in pots.

Through the weeks they have kept to a schedule which, as a family, we have found really helpful and prevents the children from saying,”I’m bored”

Generally they start off the day with Joe Wicks PE and we have all found some exercises classes using YouTube.

Grace and Anna have also painted pictures of hope for some elderly people both locally and family friends in Scotland. This is a simple activity but it is so easy to forget how our youngsters can be kept occupied with such an easy activity and can make a real difference to those who receive.

Anna and I made Bullace jam from a supply of last year’s frozen fruit, which I have to say was exceptionally easy and delicious. As I write she is in the process of finishing off some shortbread – tasty.

So what have I been up to with Grace and Anna? Just before the lockdown we were fortunate enough to use a friends piece of land and did some shelter building, fire lighting, backwoods cooking and, of course, toasted marshmallows.

The fire was started using flint and steel which I made from an old broken file set in some wood with epoxy resin, local flint and char-cloth made whilst having a previous camp fire. I include some photos of steels I have made. Tools required a pretty basic and it’s a pretty straight forward project. All you need is a hammer, goggles for protection and a file. An angle grinder does help but not essential. Epoxy resin can be purchased in any DIY store and I intend to go a step further in the future using pine resin pitch which is a combination of resin and charcoal.

We cooked sausages over a stick and made nettle tea on the embers finishing off with the compulsory toasted marshmallows.

So far during lockdown, along with the children, I made a tepee in the front garden from some pioneer poles and plastic packaging. We even had a night of sleeping under the stars and I am exceptionally proud of the girls overcoming their fears and cold staying out all night.

We have also had camp fires in the front garden where again we had the compulsory toasted marsh mallows. We made small torches made from skewers with cotton wool infused with Vaseline, but green twigs work better as the wood does not burn out so quickly. Keeping a beady eye on the children is so important so they have respect around fire and don’t get distracted. For me this is an essential skill for life and one not to be underestimated. And of course we had a bucket of water on hand for any mishaps. Thankfully, it was not required.

I have also done a project for myself and made a mallet bush-craft style which for a first attempt I am quite pleased with. The result is a mallet that can be used for battening wood for kindling.

The internet can be so useful and in this time of lock down is a good opportunity to learn some new skills.

Hope you enjoy the photos; All suitable for public use.

Alan Russell
ACSL
Seeonee Pack
1st Taverham