Wednesday 1 August 2007

Beaver Patrol....



Back in March the eldest of our little monsters (6) enrolled in our local Beaver Scout Colony. This for the uninitiated is the youngest group within Scouting for children between 6 and 8.

Yesterday was his first experience of a major occasion within Scouting when we went to the World Scout Jamboree at Hylands Park in Chelmsford. This is the 21st World Scout Jamboree which will help mark the Centenary of Scouting, with over 40,000 Scouts attending from almost every country in the world.

From what I can tell Beavers weren’t officially meant to go. Probably because it was viewed as a pretty gruelling day for your average 6/7 year old which in all fairness it was. However the group leader was quite happy for her Beaver Scouts to attend along with the groups Cubs and Scouts as long as the parents also went along and took responsibility for the care of their own children.

So for a day I left the NHS to its own devices and escorted ‘eldest little monster’ and two of his comrades in walking around one of the largest campsites and display areas I think I have ever seen.

Eldest little monster had a wonderful day and it was a pleasure to see his curiosity and interest in seeing and meeting so many people from so many different countries and coming away with an interest and an enthusiasm for all that he met. It’s an opportunity that I would imagine that many 6 year olds don’t have. During the eight hours we spent there we only saw two other Beavers (also under parental supervision) which is a shame as so many have obviously missed out on the opportunity to take part.

Blogging may be light for the next few days as I now have an inestimable number of new badges to help him sew onto his campfire blanket.

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