We shall remember them...

Sunday November 8th saw the group attend Failsworth's Remembrance Sunday Service.

A small section of the cubs met at Tesco and proceeded to parade with other groups from the district down to the cenotaph.

Following the Remembrance Service, the parade returned up Oldham Road to be dismissed at the Town Hall.

Thank you to those who turned up - the servide and the walk all go towards your badges. Also big "thank you's" to all those who carried our flags or layed the wreath on the cenotaph. You all did our Group very proud.

Thank You  

Phil
Cub Leader

www.224manchesterscouts.co.uk

 
Run and get the fire brigade.

No - there is no fire. For those of a certain vintage.. thats the song by The Move. As in Roy Wood?? of Wizzard fame? NO?... you must all be spring chickens then...

But why oh why am I rambling on about a song by The Move? Because the cubs went to visit a local Fire Station last Saturday - and they had a great time! ( I know... still no reason to waffle on about an ancient song grandad!!).
 

No not 911! Its 999!

With a nice early start the cubs assembled at Hollins Fire Station in Oldham on Saturday morning. After first meeting Paul the Station Commander(?), the cubs had a discussion with him about fire, smoke alarms and the best thing to do in the event of a fire. He spoke about forming a fire escape plan - this is something we will be coming back to one night at cubs (as it is part of their badge) so it could be worthwhile you all sitting down as a family and discussing it.

Cubs interested in hoses!

After being shown how the station gets the information about what the fire is and where it is etc, Paul gave the cubs a taster of what it sounds like when the alarm goes off! He did inform the rest of the station that it was a test...so we didnt get lots of firemen running about unneccesarily!! And after a brief discussion on how hoax phone calls are dangerous and a no-no (especially for cubs!!) it was the moment that all the cubs were waiting for!! The fire engine.

Oliver feeling the full force of a powerful hose

With a couple more firemen running the cubs through what the fire engine carries from hoses to cutters and a brief foray into the fire engine itself the cubs were fully engaged. Then it was hose time! Each cub got the chance to hold and fire the hose - with some getting a little wet in the process! Finally, after a quick blast of the siren (complete with flashing lights!!) it was time for home.

I thanked all the firemen after the cubs had left and was pleased to get a glowing report from Paul about the behaviour and attitude of the cubs. He was particularly pleased with all their questions. I did mention that the cubs may have been disappointed that there was no firemans pole - but thats the problem with a single storey building... no need for one!

One final thing I did find strange... when i asked for parent help, I expected to be inundated with help from cub's mums!!! You know... firemen!?!

 
Phil
Cub Leader

The obligatory panoramic shot of the skatepark (with cut off bits of cubs!!)

 
Budding Tony Hawk's...

'I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport'. No I didn't say that... that was Tony Hawk, possibly one of the most famous skateboarders of recent times.

Jonny running through the basics

An art form, a lifestyle and a sport? If thats the case then the cubs surely grasped all three when they took part in a skateboarding session on Wednesday 23rd September at Projekts in Manchester! Being led through the basics by our instructor Jonny, the cubs soon managed to understand the basics of skateboarding including getting on and off the boards, setting off and turning whilst on the board. Even those amongst the cubs who were a litlle reticent about skateboarding soon got into the swing of things.

Time for the ramps!

Once these basics were mastered - it was time for some more serious skateboarding! Travelling from one end of the skatepark to another might not necessarily seem like the hardest thing to do... but when you are travelling on four wheels it adds an extra factor of danger! Some fell, some saw their boards shoot from one end to the other (without the cub on I must add!) but they all eventually managed it (more or less!!).

Even Carl was passing on his expert skateboarding knowledge!

Then it was time for the big stuff! The ramps (they probably have a more cool name than that - but I'm 45 and the last time i was on a skateboard was probably about 1978!!). The skatepark had a variety of ramps of differing sizes and steepness - all giving a varied degree of difficulty. With more expert tuition from Jonny, everybody had a go... with varying degrees of success. Some take to it - others need a bit more help and practice - thats the nature of life.

Matthew getting the low-down on going down a ramp

So with all the initial tuition done it was time for the cubs to crack on with coming up and down ramps and falling over! Whilst some were happy to just saunter along gently, maybe sat on the board rather than stood on it. Others took the more adventurous route of coming down the higher, steeper ramps. These ramps were sometimes that steep that they were a struggle to get up (I should know - dirt all down the front of my trousers where I fell trying to get up a ramp!!).

Think Oliver's 'thumbs up' sums up the evening!

But as is always the case, time was soon up. With Jonny's praise for how well they had done ringing in their ears - off the cubs went into the night with beads of sweat running down their faces and quite possibly the odd bruise or tow. But, most importantly of all, they left with massive smiles on their faces!!

Below is a small video of the skateboarding (including a cracking fall!)...

Finally, thanks to Jonny and the other people at Projekts (www.projektsmcr.com). Hopefully you will be seeing a lot more of some of these cubs!
 
Phil
Cub Leader

Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.

So said Thomas Jefferson. And while Im not sure about the last bit - the first bit is most definitely true!

This is why we took the cubs on a hike around Daisy Nook. Not only is it good for them it also goes towards a badge!!

Slide Time!

After assembling at the cafe in various degrees of waterproof clothing (it was throwing it down when we got there!!) we set off. With the help Amy's dad and Matthew's dad the cubs attempted to get as fr round Daisy Nook as they could but leaving us with enough time so that they could enjoy the park area.

Tony (Amy's Dad) doing the pushing!

 
Through the forest we all went... along the road... up the steps... along the canal.... down some steps... along the path... down more steps... And we had arrived at the park! Time for a drink and a biscuit and a bit of swinging, sliding and general playing about.

Just general park-life

 Then back to the car park where the cubs could play on the wooden boat before their parents picked them up. A successful trip was had by all I think.

 
Phil
Cub Leader

The Cubs and Scouts pay attention to the Birds of Prey!

Kes! Kes! C'mon Kes!!

Probably a bit vague for most - but the film 'Kes' (and the book version) has always been one of my favourites. And Ive always loved hawks, falcons and other birds of prey.

Daniel looking admirably at the owl

So we were honoured to have a visit from Wild Wings who currently house over 90 birds, and are rehabilitating and releasing  injured wild Birds of Prey on a regular basis, as well as providing permanent care for injured, neglected and unwanted Captive Bred Birds of Prey.

Aleesha having the Kestrel put on her arm

From a barn owl to a Harris Hawk we had a great range of birds on show. And had great information from our falconer. With both cubs and scouts very attentive and interested there were many questions.

Amy studying the soft feathers of the Barn Owl

But the most popular request was... 'Can I Hold it??'. And we tried to accommodate as many of these as we could - but obviously we are dealing with live animals and were also short of time so not everybody could manage it.

Kyle keeping the Harris Hawk at arms length!

But at the end of the night everybody had seemed to enjoy it. Now we just need to book a visit down to Wild Wings centre so we can see all the birds they have and see how they help the birds.

My personal favourite... the beautiful Peregrine Falcon!

 
Phil
Cub Leader

Budding Robin Hoods!

Shoot that poison arrow...

Next up for the cubs on Saturday 13th June was archery. A chance to try out for the vacant role of Robin Hood!

Again the most important part of this event was to try something they had maybe not tried before. Nobody would laugh if you did not hit the target. It was about personal challenges.

Going through the safety and technique requirements

Everybody had a go - from those who hit the target on their first set of three arrows to those who concentrated more on hitting the surrounding ground! We even had some who were so 'confident' that they even hit somebody else's target!!!

Matthew getting some tips on his aim

Everybody seemed to enjoy the chance to shoot arrows at a target. And Im sure that if there had been a picture of Carl's or my face on the target we would have had many more arrows hitting the centre!!!

Phil
Cub Leader

Up, up in the air!

Not quite, but when the cubs tackled 'The Cube' at Linnet Clough Campsite some of them did get quite high up in the air!

On Saturday 13th June, a merry band of cubs landed at the campsite in Mellor with the intention of challenging themselves. The challenge was to get as far round the Cube's high rope course. Not everybody is keen on heights - and the cube does get quite high!!

Traversing the ropes!

But every cub tried their very best. From those who only managed a small attempt at the high ropes to those who managed to get to the top of the 'leap of faith'. It didnt matter how much they did or didnt do. The whole point was to at least try - and every cub came out of it with flying colours!

The long climb to the 'Leap of Faith'

With lots of encouragement from the instructors and also from the other cubs Im sure everybody enjoyed the challenge - despite some of them being scared at points! Special mention to those who made the 'leap of faith' and hit the ball - see the video above of Amy flying through the air!!

Phil
Cub Leader