WOODSMOKE

Federation du Scoutisme Europeen (F.S.E)

EUROPEAN SCOUT FEDERATION (British Association)

Issue 120 VOL 2/17

Issue 120 VOL 2/17

Founder member of the Confederation of European Scouts (C.E.S.)

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The European Scout Federation (British Association) The European Scout Federation (FSE) is a Scout organisation for males and females and is composed of the following sections: Otters, Wolf Cubs, Scouts, Rovers and Rangers. Our organisation keeps to the traditional methods of scouting that the founder Robert Baden-Powell set out in “SCOUTING for BOYS”.

We are completely independent of the other British Scouts, (Scout Association, B-P Scouts, British Boy Scouts, Guide Association and other independents). The FSE is not in opposition or rival to the other Scout Organisations in Great Britain or Europe. It is a medium for those who prefer its methods. The Patrol system for example is used for its original purposes, to teach leadership, resourcefulness and obedience. We retain Baden-Powell’s progressive training system of Tenderfoot, Second class and First class badges.

If you would like to know more about the European Scout Federation please go to the FSE Website www.fse-scouts.eu or write to:

Or contact your nearest Province Commissioner:

The F.S.E. (B.A.) is a member of the Confederation of European Scouts (C.E.S.). For more information about the C.E.S, log onto www.ces-scout.org

OUR SECTIONS:

OTTERS (boys or girls) - 5 years to 7 years WOLF CUBs (boys or girls) - 7 years to 11 years SCOUTS (boys or girls) - 11 years to 16 years ROVERS AND RANGERS (boys or girls) - 16 years with no upper limit

European Scout Federation (British Association),

Registered office: c/o Nigel Wright Accounting,

Branwell House,

Park Lane,

KEIGHLEY.

East Pennine Province – Yorkshire and Tyneside Joanna Ward, Province Commissioner, Tel: 01924 525152 or 07833490442

West Pennine Province – Lancashire and Cumbria Chris. Woods, Province Commissioner, Tel: 0161 661 3068 or 07432290138

Iceni Province – Cambridgeshire Fran. Alsop, Province Commissioner, Tel: 01353 741269 or 07757223626

Central Province – Derbyshire, Gloucestershire and Lincolnshire

Laura Symonds, Province Commissioner, Tel: 07841017664

It is our opinion that the original tests and uniform provide a unique appeal because they do not favour those youngsters with academic intelligence, sporting skills or plenty of money. The ‘old’ ideas of woodsmoke are not necessarily “old hat”.

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Page Contents 1. Front Page

2. F.S.E. introduction and contacts

3. Contents

4. YOUR photo’ page

5. Yorkshire Rally - 2017

6. Yorkshire Rally (cont.)

7. Yorkshire Rally (cont.)

8. Yorkshire Rally (cont.)

9. Puzzle Page

10. Yo, Ho, Ho! – Soggy Shoes!

11. A Stitch in Time

12. National Otter Visit - 2017

13. A Walk in the Park – Full House!

14. Wolf Cub Wet Camp - 2017

15. Wet Camp (cont.) – Wolf Cub Needleworker Badge

16. Why I’m a Scout Leader

17. WPP Football Comp. – Welcome … the More, the Merrier!

18. Puzzle Page Answers

19. 3rd/4th Lancs. Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

20. 30 Years On!

21. Borneo Catch-up – Navajo News

22. WPP Cub Blackley Forest Challenge – Otter Blue Paw

23. Otter Blue Paw (cont.)

24. Otter 30th Anniversary Badge

Issue 119 Vol 1/17 is now available on the FSE Website: www.fse-scouts.eu

What’s in store?

Send your articles & photos to:

Kevin Smith,

49 Marlfield Street,

MANCHESTER,

M9 4BA.

kayjay.smith@btinternet.com

Why be in the dark? ….

…….. Look inside your latest

“Woodsmoke”!

Don’t be a parrot … tell us in

your own words!

….. Send your articles and

photos to “Woodsmoke” –

NOW!

See page 10

See page 19

See page 11

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Y0UR Photo Page

Send in your photo’s from your Colony, Pack, Troop or Crew night, or events you have

organised or attended, and we will try to print them in a future issue of “Woodsmoke”

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Yorkshire Rally, 2017 – Bradley Wood Campsite

Otters at the Rally

This year 3 Otters visited Bradley Wood campsite on the Sunday of Yorkshire Rally. We had a sing song at the camp fire, said a prayer at the chapel and had a peek inside the Cub and Scout tents! The Otters even had cake with Chesterfield Cubs! Their visit was rounded off with joining in with some Cub games ...... no wonder they didn't want to go home! Thank you to those who visited.

Farmer Brown

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Wolf Cubs at the Rally

Cubs from the 3rd/4th Lancashire Pack, winners of the trophy for “Best Wolf Cub Pack” at the Rally.

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Yorkshire Rally (cont.) When you go to Rome, do as Rome does.

This year I was lucky to be somewhere better than Rome, I have been at Yorkshire Rally, which for me, a Scout from Visaginas (Lithuania), was a new experience (not to mention shorts-only-rule on a campsite!). For a few moments I was trying to think about the differences between VSO (Visaginas Scout Organization) and Yorkshire Rally camping, and, to my surprise, there are not so many!

The flag ceremony in the morning- an official start of the day, activities for Cubs that involve discovering nature, developing creativity, and a lot of sport, hikes and challenges for Scouts - these are all very similar.

However VSO camps tend to be smaller and in summer, when we camp in forest, we build our own flagpole, campfire place, kitchen, cooking fire, dining room, and bathroom. Scouts, and sometimes Cubs, are involved in most of these activities! In contrast, on Yorkshire Rally we were surrounded by all essential facilities, which left more time for Cubs and Scouts to participate in the program, meet people from other groups and make new friends.

There were many good things that I liked about camping with 3rd/4th Lancashire Cub group, but what made the greatest impression is how well it was organised and how smoothly it was run!

I would never have thought that a friendship started a few years ago in a ScoutNet meeting would bring me to Yorkshire Rally and I am glad that it did!

Olga Negri – Bagheera, 3rd/4th Lancashire Wolf Cub Pack

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Scouts at the Rally

What a truly wonderful Yorkshire Rally. This year saw seven Patrols take part in the Scout competition.

They all worked exceptionally hard and hopefully learnt a lot of new skills. BRAVO to all Rovers who

assisted in the successful running of the Scout programme! A massive BRAVO also, to 1st/2nd Derbyshire

Kestrels for winning the incident hike and first aid, to 2nd Lancashire Peacocks on winning camping

standards (with only two of you!) and to 3rd/4th Derbyshire Badgers for winning the cooking competition

with only 500gms. of flour, a potato, an egg and a tin of Spam to work with! Bring on next year!

Lauren Topham (1st/2nd Derbyshire)

This year’s Yorkshire Rally was held at Bradley Wood campsite. Yorkshire Rally is a competition where different patrols are tested on how good Scouts that they are. I went with my patrol from the 1st/2nd Derbyshire Scout Group along with the girls’ patrol, Foxes. When we got there on the Friday night, we set up our site. This consisted of a tent, a mess tent and a fire shelter. This roughly took about 2 and a half hours. When we had finished, it was time for supper. For supper you could have a sausage and any more if there were any left over. The next day, was the day that we had to start making useful tools and gadgets for our site and also the day of the competition meal. Working as a team, we constructed a table, a gate, a washstand and a boot scraper. For the table and the gate too, there are many ways in which you can make it. However, for the table we used two simple tripods with a table top attached to them. Also for the gate, we used a basic doorway shape, but much bigger, with pioneering poles. (cont.)

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Yorkshire Rally (cont.) Later that day when we had finished making what we wanted, it was time to cook the competition meal. We were given potatoes, spam, flour and eggs, and where expected to make a meal out of it. Our patrol chose to make spam fritters with mashed potato. Later on in the night there was a wide game, a wide game is a game that is played generally at night with a lot of people. On Sunday, we were going on a hike around the local area. For the hike we were to be in patrols and using our knowledge to navigate our way to the different bases. The bases were dotted around and each base was different and was normally a Scout related puzzle. However though, one of the bases was a first aid incident. They are different every year but this year it was a person that had cut open their leg. After about 4 or 5 hours walking, we got back to camp and made our dinner. Our patrol cooked spaghetti Bolognese. Just like last night, there was a wide game. Like at every camp, there was a campfire. Every patrol had to

come up with a song or sketch that they then had to perform in front of everyone at the campfire. We chose to do one about a very ugly person that scared everyone. The last day, we were packing up and finding out who had won what. After packing up it was time for flag down. When the results were given, my patrol had won the First Aid trophy, the hike trophy and came second in camping standards. Unfortunately, we didn’t come 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the cooking competition. A big thank you to all the people that helped to run Yorkshire Rally and a massive well done to all the patrols that competed! Iain Forsyth (Scout) – 1st/2nd Derbyshire Troop

Photos of this year’s Rally (courtesy of Lauren Topham – 1st/2nd Derbyshire Group)

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Yorkshire Rally (cont.) On Friday night we arrived at Bradley Wood Campsite after a long journey. After a quick catch up with our friends we started putting up out tents. Just after we finished another Scout came and told us there were hotdogs in the hut. Everybody ran up eager to get food. After the food was all gone there was a meeting for PLs (Patrol Leaders)

and APLs (Assistant Patrol Leaders) informing us about the activities and timings of them during the camp. After our meeting we went over to our friends’ site and sat around their fire talking. At eleven we headed back to our tents and fell asleep straight away. The next morning after breakfast we carried on putting up the rest of our site. At 10.00am we all went to flag where it was explained to us that today the competition meal day. For it we were given 500g of flour, an egg for every member of our Patrol, a potato for every member of our Patrol and 1 tin of Spam. We decided to make a fry up using the potato, egg and Spam, it was actually quite nice. After this the Rovers set up an obstacle course which was so much fun. It included lots of small tunnels, cargo nets and crawling across the floor leading to many scraped knees and elbows. Later there was a very rough wide game including pushing and attacking everyone! After this all the Scouts went to bed. On Sunday, after flag we set out on our 11k hike. The hike included many fun activities which we had to locate ourselves using map and compass including camouflage, first aid, shelter building and many more. Thank you to all the Rovers/leaders who were on the bases or walking around with the groups! The hike was long and tiring but everyone enjoyed it! For the rest of the day everyone prepared their sites for the inspection which would occur later. On Sunday night there was a huge campfire where everyone sang and joked around until it turned dark. After campfire there was another wide game, still rough though, and after that everyone went to bed. On Monday most of the day was spent packing up our things and tidying the area we stayed in. At flag down the awards were presented and Yorkshire Rally came to an end. After lots of goodbyes and hugging everyone got into their mini buses/cars and went home. P/L Emily Daniels, 1st/2nd Derbyshire Scout Troop

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Rovers at

Yorkshire

Rally A right motley

crew, prepared, as

always, to be of

service, and ready,

willing and able to

take on any task.

Without our Rovers

and Rangers, events

such as Yorkshire

Rally would be

almost impossible

to stage.

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What word or phrase is represented by each of the following images?

????? Puzzle Page ?????

BAKED

Collar

80 degrees C

T

O

W

N

Bus.

T

E

S

Can you help the fly escape from the web before the spider wakes up?

Which pieces (A – F) will slot together to

form a perfect copy of the brick wall shown

below?

Answers on page 18

Which knot is this and

what is it used for?

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Yo, Ho, Ho!

One meeting night, Wolf Cubs from the 1st/2nd Gloucestershire (Ynot) Pack visited Bristol where they had

a great time following the “Blackbeard the pirate” trail around the docks. Barrels at key locations give the

history of Blackbeard, and main stopping points include the entrance to his cave (secretly hidden in the

Ostrich pub) and the sloping docks, where pirates were chained up and left to die by drowning at high tide! It

was a great evening, with everyone attired in fancy dress.

Did you know … ?

Soggy Shoes! The Ynots spent another great evening, stream walking through Vassles Park

woods with the Wolf Cubs. This was then followed up by the building of a

rope bridge with the Scouts. Mark Keene (1st/2nd Gloucestershire Ynots)

Edward Teach or Edward Thatch, better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West

Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Although little is known about his early life, he was probably

born in Bristol, England. Teach captured a French merchant vessel, renamed her Queen Anne's Revenge, and equipped her with

40 guns. He became a renowned pirate and his nick name was derived from his thick black beard and fearsome appearance. He

was reported to have tied lit fuses under his hat to frighten his enemies! On 22 November 1718, during a ferocious battle, Teach

and several of his crew were killed by a small force of sailors led by Lt. Robert Maynard.

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A Stich in Time …

Scouts from the 6th/15th Lancashire

Scout Troop have been busy

working towards gaining their

Needleworker proficiency badges.

Most recently they have been

getting to grips with the intricacies

of using a sewing machine!

A great big BRAVO to them, the

parents who helped and to The

Sewing Bee’s Tracy. Teapot

Rover/Ranger Conference - 2018

Date: 9th – 11th February, 2018

Host Crew: Navajo

Venue: Osmotherley Youth Hostel

Cost: £45 (£20 deposit - rest by National Assembly)

For further details contact any member of the Crew

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National Otter Visit – 2017

On Saturday, 3rd June, 15 Otters, 3 Cubs and a Scout travelled from Manchester to Bedale, in North

Yorkshire, to visit Big Sheep Little Cow farm.

The day was fun packed, starting with Go Karts, followed by a hands-on farm tour. Packed lunch was next,

then a tractor barrel ride and fun in the play barn, all rounded off with homemade (Farm made) ice cream!

A brilliant day was had by all. Thanks to everyone who came – as always, the children would not be able to

enjoy such trips without the leaders, who give their time freely. Thank you so much!

Farmer Brown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Did you know … ?

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body.

The earliest false teeth found date back to the

8th century BC.

Originally, tooth brushes were made from cow hair.

Most people prefer blue tooth brushes to any other colour.

In Germany, in the middle ages, it was a commonly held belief that kissing a donkey

would relieve tooth ache.

Friendship Camp - 2017 8th – 10th September

Contact: Laura Symonds (P.C. Central Province)

Venue:

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A Walk in the Park

1st/2nd and 3rd/4th Derbys. Cub Packs joined up

once again for their annual walk around

Linacre and on to Holmebrooke Park. It was a

truly fantastic turnout, with the extra bonus of

sunshine! All the Cubs walked brilliantly and,

along with leaders and guests, thoroughly

enjoyed themselves.

Halfway round we met up with the Province

Otters who were equally as brilliant and,

together with the Cubs, did everyone proud. We had such a wonderful time!

We also set off balloons, in memory of Rikki (Eileen Draper of 3rd/4th Derbys). It was a truly wonderful

moment for such a lovely lady.

Lauren Topham – 1st/2nd Derbyshire Group

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Full House!

It’s a proud moment for the leaders of the recently re-formed 3rd/4th Lancashire Wolf Cub Pack, as its last

five un-invested members make their promises, receive their Group neckerchiefs, and become fully fledged

members of the Pack.

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Wolf Cub Wet Camp - 2017

We enjoyed the canoeing and doing the hunt on Saturday. It was fun swimming because it was really cold,

but it was a shame we did not do a hike. I really liked capsizing in the lake, it was so fun. I would like to go

next year but I will be too old. The swimming on Sunday was fun and the boat trip.

Finn and Henry – 1st Essex Pack.

Wet Camp was 9 to 11 of June where the cub groups got together for fun.

At Wet Camp we set up our tents and unpacked our bags ready for the night, but before that we were put

into 3 teams: Superman, Batman and Captain America, we then had a good night’s sleep.

(cont.)

(1st/2nd Cambridgeshire Pack)

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Wolf Cub Wet Camp (cont.)

The next day we did activities, these are some of them: Canoeing – we got really wet … a scavenger hunt

for heroes and villans – it was hard … flag break … we did capes and banners – that was really fun. Then

we went to bed.

The next day we took the tents down and got ready to go home.

Russell and Harry – 1st Essex Pack

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Wolf Cub Needleworker Badge

Part one of this badges requires a Cub to “Work four of the following stitches:

chain, blanket, stem, cross, fly, running and herringbone.”

Obviously, you will need someone who is good and experienced at sewing to

teach you how to do all these stitches, and you will also probably need quite a lot

of practice before you can sew them yourself, but sewing is a very useful thing to

be able to do, and well worth learning.

To give you some idea, here is what each of these stitches looks like:

Chain stitch

Blanket stitch

Stem stitch

Cross stitch

Cross stitch

Running stitch

Fly stitch

Herringbone stitch

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Why I’m a Scout leader

As part of my squire-ship journey I decided to undertake my minimum service period as a Scout leader at

6th/15th Lancashire. To start with, I didn’t think much of it other than it being an opportunity to do some

service and get my 1st class finished off so I could be invested as a Rover. Over time, though, it has become

a vital part of my life and I have found a genuine passion for being a Scout Leader.

I am constantly saying, and always have done, that I would not be me now if it hadn’t been for being a Scout

and the people who influenced me as I grew up. Coupled with finding the best group of friends, no ... family,

I could ever wish for, Scouts has had, and continues to have, a huge influence on my life and my personality.

I had no idea, until fairly recently, how rewarding I would find being a leader. Passing on my experience and

knowledge to the Scouts I’ve been working with has been challenging but I have thoroughly enjoyed every

minute of it.

I’ve learnt new skills along the way as well as honing old ones and the Scouts genuinely make me laugh

every time I see them. Watching one of my Scouts go from having barely any confidence in himself to a

kind and popular young man who has no problem taking the lead in a situation has made me proud to have

been a small part of his development. I’ve spent time encouraging him to believe in himself through lots of

different activities which has helped him to become a better team player and leader as well as giving him the

belief in himself to succeed in tasks he may in the past have given up on.

The FSE approach of ‘Putting the Out in Scout’ and using traditional scouting techniques, as taught by

Baden Powell, still offers the same benefits it did when Baden Powell started the movement. Spending time

outside, learning to work as a team, developing leadership skills, using initiative and becoming self-

sufficient is as valuable today, if not more so. I know that my Scouts will be able to leave home and plan

their food and purchase it with a budget, cook for themselves, wash up properly, sew on a button, repair a

plug and use a map if their sat. nav. breaks. These are real world, adult skills that they will need in future

and I know from experience that having those skills made my time at university and moving away from

home much easier.

I’ve had so many wonderful experiences as a leader including summer camp and Yorkshire Rally, but also

activities from our Monday night Scout meetings such as teaching the Scouts about British birds and how to

spot them or making cinder toffee for bonfire night. I’ve also widened my own interests by also helping out

at Otters and Cubs when I can. This is a very different experience but one I enjoy thoroughly and can’t wait

to get more involved in! I’ve learnt so much from my excellent fellow leaders, from improving my Scouting

skills to management of a camp or Group and I know that I will continue to learn from them for many years

to come.

The two patrols Middleton took to Yorkshire Rally placed in every single competition at the camp and I

couldn’t have been prouder! We’ve since had a debrief session and hearing them all talk about how much

they enjoyed the camp and the personal goals they reached only made me more determined to work hard this

year to give them the chance at a similar experience next year.

Maybe I’m lucky that the FSE has such great kids and leaders to work with but I also think that the

opportunity to help develop a group of teenagers into good citizens would be rewarding in any situation.

Sometimes, parents, colleagues or friends query why we volunteer so much of our free time to the Scouting

movement. I hope this gives you a little insight into how much we gain from it.

Laura Symonds - Assistant Scout Master, 3rd/4th Derbyshire Troop/Central Province Commissioner

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West Pennine Province Football Competition

The WPP Cub/Scout Football competition took place on Saturday, 8th July, at Heaton Park. It was a great

turnout from everyone involved – the kids seemed to enjoy it

too!

Cub football – The Cub football had four teams enter, two

from the 5th Lancs, one from the 6th/15th and a joint effort from

a few players from the 1st Lancs. joined by a few from the

1st/2nd Yorks. Everyone played great and showed respect

towards each other and everyone involved. Unfortunately there

can only

ever be one

winner, and

that was the 5th Lancs. (A) team who were undefeated on

the day, winning each match comfortably. Very

impressive from them!

Scout football – There were only two teams entered, so

it went straight to a final, with the 1st Lancs. taking on a

mixture from the 5th Lancs. and the 6th/15th Lancs. It was

a good game which was end-to-end. With just a few

minutes to go it was four all and heading for penalties,

until the 1st. Lancs. bagged a couple of late goals to win

the Scout trophy six – four!

Dolly - 1st. Lancashire Mohawks

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome … the More, the Merrier!

We recently had a truly successful night at 1st/2nd Derbyshire, which saw the investiture of not one, not two,

not three, but FOUR Scouts into the Troop! G.S.M. Tadge also had the pleasure of presenting a public

service proficiency badge and a second class badge.

Also, on an equally successful meeting night, Akela

invested three new Cubs into our brilliant Pack.

Lauren Topham

5th Lancs. (A) … winners of the Cub trophy

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Answers to the puzzles on page 9

What word or phrase? … From left to

right/top to bottom:-

Upset

Half baked

Big head

Holy water

Bus stop

Hot under the collar

Downtown

Which pieces? …

What time? … 4. The numbers the hands on

each clock face point to can be multiplied

together to make 12 (12x1, 6x2, 4x3, 3x4.)

Which knot? … The marlinspike hitch - a

temporary knot used to attach a rod/baton to

a rope in order to form a handle. This allows

more tension than could be produced

comfortably by gripping the rope with the

hands alone. It is useful when tightening

knots and for other purposes in rope work.

As the name suggests, the type of rod

traditionally used with this hitch is a

marlinspike, which is a tool used in marine

rope work. Shaped in the form of a polished

metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened

point, it also aids in such tasks as unlaying

rope for splicing and untying knots.

Most marlinspikes are 6–12 inches (15–

30 cm) long, but may reach 2 feet (61 cm)

and more for working heavy cables and

ropes. Usually made from iron or steel.

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3rd/4th Lancs. Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

On Saturday 20th May 2017, Cub leader Sarah Dudson and I set off for the bottom of Pen-y-Gent to start the

mountain challenge of hiking up the 3 highest hills in Yorkshire - 5000ft climb in 12 hours!

The first mountain was a breeze, 1 hour 40 mins up to the top and back down again. We thought “right that

was easy. Let’s do this”. Hmm Yeah….. 4 hours later (!) we arrived at the foot of the second mountain –

Wernside. Not so easy this one, we had to walk round the mountain to get to the top and as I had pulled my

groin just before getting there, I dragged my left leg round the hillside. The weather at the top of Wernside

was not great - hail, wind and rain! However, we were dry again by the time we got to the bottom. Onwards

we went. We had to get to the foot of the final mountain by 1630hrs to ensure we would be back before

dark. We made it to the Ingleborough with minutes to spare! So, off we walked from the foot of

Ingleborough, No one told us we would be rock climbing! It’s a practically vertical climb to the top! We did

it … we did go over time, and it was dark by the time we got to the finish … but WE DID IT! Raising £350

for our Scout Group along the way!

Donna Halliday - Group Scout Master

Did you know … ?

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is a 24 mile walk which involves climbing, within 12 hours, the

tallest mountains of Yorkshire – Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough

It is probably the original “three peaks walk” within the UK. The first recorded ascent of the three hills

was in July 1887 by J. R. Wynne-Edwards and D. R. Smith in a time of 10 hours.

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30 Years On!

In 1987, the idea of having an Otter section was the brainchild of

Phil. Balfe, then both CM and SM of the 3rd/4th Lancashire Group.

This came in response to the fact that several Scout and Guide

Association Groups in the area had recently set up Beaver and

Rainbow sections. This presented the very real possibility that the

brothers and sisters of 3rd/4th Lancs. members who were too young

to join the Group could be “lost” to these other organisations. There

was a tremendous response by parents, especially as meetings were

held on Saturday mornings, which enabled them to drop their

children off on the way to the local shops and market, and pick

them up again on the way back!

This original Colony was not officially recognised by the F.S.E. but

was more of an “add on” service provided and insured by its parent

Group. Phil. “recruited” July Carp, Jean Casey and another, and, at

a later date, Ken Baines, all of whom had children in the Group, to be the first ever Colony leaders, and

between them they formulated the original training programme for the section. Several years passed before

the National Leadership Committee finally voted to recognise Otters as an official section of the F.S.E. and,

as at that time it was the only Colony in existence, it was named 1st/2nd Otter Colony, a title it still proudly

bares today.

As this year sees the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the Otter section, I had the fantastic opportunity to

catch up with two of the original Otter leaders, Julie Carp and Ken Baines, at a meeting set up by the current

GSM of the 3rd/4th Lancashire Group, Donna Halliday who, incidentally, was one of those original Otters

(the fifth ever one, in fact!) Thank you, Donna! Thanks also to Nick Waite for letting us use the Seminole

Rover hut for the

meeting, and for the

provision of tea and

biscuits!

Julie and Ken brought

along some of their

photographs, and we all

had a wonderful time

looking at these and

reliving the Otter

section’s beginnings. We

also brought them right

up to the present with all

the advances that have

been made over the years

to the section they

worked so hard to create.

Before they departed, I

took the opportunity to get their approval of the 30th anniversary celebration programme. I think they liked it

(!), especially as the games included in the event are the original games they played with their Otters all

those years ago.

It was really lovely to talk to people who are just as passionate about our section 30 years on!

Farmer Brown

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Borneo catch-up

I’m back!!!

Thank you to everyone who

helped/fundraised/donated to my

Borneo Expedition … it was

amazing! Nothing in my life will

ever compare with how good it

was! It taught me to appreciate

certain things in my life that I

used to take for granted, like

safe, clean water, and even

running water in some cases.

One of my favourite parts was the Tenom Project which was where we painted 8 rooms in the local school,

and built some furniture. I liked it best

because the children loved it, and seeing

the joy on their faces from what we had

done for them was inspirational. It made

me want to stay and help forever!

The trip has had a huge impact on my life

and I will never forget it, so ‘Thank

You’!

I hope you all had a great time at

Eurojam.

Neve Wood (2nd Lancashire Scout Troop)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Navajo News

We would like to welcome Lucy Hopkins and Andrew Walker into our Crew.

They both enjoyed their first night

with us, during which they were

introduced to one of the Crew’s

more important traditions … they

were each presented with that most

precious of all Rover possessions –

a coffee/tea mug bearing their own

name!

Neve (front row – left of centre) with her fellow travellers

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West Pennine Province Wolf Cub Blackley Forest Challenge – 2017

This Challenge is an annual event, in which competing Sixes follow an incident course through Blackley

forest. They encounter several bases along the way and, at each one, have 10 minutes to complete a task,

then 5 minutes in which to locate the next one. BRAVO to this year’s winners - 2nd Lancashire.

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Otter Blue Paw Badge

The blue colour of this badge represents water, and freshwater in particular. There are three requirements:-

1. Find 5 different things which float and 5 which sink in water.

2. Name 5 animals, other than otters, which live in freshwater.

3. Visit a freshwater stream and take a photograph of yourself when there.

Britain has many different types of freshwater habitat, all of which absolutely teem with an amazing variety

of wildlife living in, on or around them. These include rivers, streams, canals, ponds, lakes and reservoirs.

Streams, canals and ponds are the easiest, and probably the safest, of these to explore. If you plan it

carefully, you could pass all three of the requirements together, and have a really good day out at the same

time. As well as many, many other objects, some creatures float on the water’s surface, whilst others sink

beneath it. Some even do both! You may already know, and be able to recognise lots of water life, other than

Otters, but if you don’t there are plenty of books (as well as computers!) that will help with identification.

Instead of simply taking a photo of yourself by a stream, why not also take pictures of as many different

types of wildlife as you possibly can? This will not only help you identify things, but you could also make

scrapbook or album for future reference.

Once you have decided on a body of water you would like to study, choose a good day for your visit (not so

easy in Britain!) and take a picnic, a plastic bucket or similar container to collect samples in, a fishing net, a

magnifying glass, a note book and pen or pencil, any books you may have on the subject, some waterproof

clothing (just in case it does rain!), a camera, and anything else you think may be of use. A pair of wellies is

also a good thing to have with you, or to wear! Some of the many things you may see are shown on the

following page.

Watery habitats can look beautiful and peaceful, especially in the sunshine, but never, ever forget that they

can also be very dangerous places, especially if you are not a good swimmer, so be very careful at the

water’s edge. Never, never go on your own and without letting your parents know where you will be!

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Just a few of the many birds, fish, insects, plants and animals that live in and around freshwater

Male and female Mallard ducks

Bullrushes

Kingfisher

Yellow Flag Iris

Common toad

Azure Damselfly

Pond Skater

Common Frog

Water Boatman

Dipper

Great Crested Grebe

Water Vole

Water Lily

Dragonfly Lava

Pike

Smooth Newt

Perch

Caddisfly Lava

Male and Female Sticklebacks

Common toad

Azure Damselfly

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Otter Section’s 30th Anniversary - 2017

Anniversary badge – designed by Isla Chandler, Central Province Otter Colony