The Sound of Silence

December 31, 2025

Apologies that we fell silent after Easter break last year! We were busy with our usual section meetings, planning our Group Summer Camp and we had a project underway in the background. More on that later.

The Beavers kept busy in the summer term working on their Outdoor Challenge badges, including learning some basic knots, making bird feeders out of apples, going on a nature hike on the Wedge, river dipping, pitching tents and building pom pom catapults. 

In the autumn term, they worked on their navigation and map reading skills, practiced basic first aid, discovered facts about common wild British animals and learned about safety at home, around water, fire and roads. They’ve been raking the badges in! The Beavers also got to enjoy two District events with other Squirrels and Beavers: the annual Bablake District Craft and Campfire evening, with lots of leaves, glue and singing, and the annual District Christingle, hosted this year by the 36th/51st.

The Cubs spent a fair bit of their summer term around campfires, making cheese toasties, s’mores and banana splits, practising their fire lighting, as well as working on their pioneering skills and learning the Countryside Code. 

When the autumn rolled around, the Cubs explored the history of the Castle Mound that is next to our hut, mapping the local area and improving their map reading and navigation skills, and fine-tuning their road safety knowledge. Adding to their sleeve of badges with each meeting!. Highlights of the autumn for the Cubs were the District Cubs Campfire, with all the Cubs in fine voice, and the District Cubs Christingle at St Nicholas Church.

The Beavers and Cubs also held a Christmas Craft Sleepover together at Twin Oaks Scout Centre, making beaded snowflakes, clay bead bracelets, tri-bead wreaths, two different wooden ornaments (one of which was very fragile and needed a gentle touch), and a special diamond painting Christmas card. We watched a film and had lots of Christmassy treats before bed, and there was even a snowball fight in the morning after the tents were packed up!

The Scouts kept their programme largely outdoors over the summer and autumn terms, with loads of campfires, some orienteering in the park, and quite a few nights of wide games. A big chunk of the autumn term was spent creating a video to advertise Scouts as a part of their Creative Challenge badge, some of which took place indoors and some outdoors. They also got to have a riflery night in the autumn and keep those skills fresh, with a special visitor from Canada giving them tips on both outdoor survival and shooting. The Scouts also had a couple of smaller camps at Rough Close in the summer term, one of which was to give the Patrol Leaders and Assistants training. They also held a JOTA-JOTI sleepover to get in touch with Scouts around the world in the autumn.

The Beavers, Cubs and Scouts had a great time on their Group Summer Camp, which was held at Beaudesert Scout Camp. There were lots of incredible activities available, which our young people hadn’t had a chance to do before, including raft building, kayaking, coracling, the monkey trees, a via ferrata, quarry zipline and fencing (en garde!)! 

Together, all three sections also went to the Gang Show, had our annual Bonfire Night party, with lots of food, lots of fireworks and lots of singing around the campfire and held our annual Christmas Jambowlree in December, winding up 2025.