Well done to all the Cubs who managed to survive the survival hut weekend! They cooked, they washed up, they hiked and they did lots of activities and ate lots too.
Friday night kicked off with a camp fire whilst the sun went down and then we went inside to watch The jungle Book. Energy was high so a late night was inevitable! But eventually they all fell asleep.
On Saturday morning a hearty breakfast of scrambled egg, sausages and beans along with cereal was devoured and it was time for the first activities of the day.
We kicked off with a few rounds of non stop football cricket whilst the activities were setup.
Each team spent half and hour making worting coloured survival bracelets, a pioneering challenge with bamboo sticks and string to hold a bean tin over a fake fire and a candle lighting challenge in which the distance from the candle was increased with each successful lighting of the candle. Only bamboo and rubber bands were allowed for that one. Teamwork was essential in these two challenges and from what I heard the bracelet making was a favourite. Making a nice keepsake from the weekend.
Next we moved on to bread making for our lunch. Each Cub getting their hands dirty with flour, butter stalk and milk. Listening to Sam as he walked them through the instructions, with each cub having a good amount of dough to cook over the open fire. A mixture of successful cooking occurred but overall it was a very good way of making bread. The cooking took a little longer than expected so it was soon time to go on our hike.
Parents arrived with empty cars and all the Cubs and leaders were taken to Steventon church. From there we headed through fields of grass and rapeseed to Oakley Scout Hut where we rested for around 45 minutes as we had made such good time! The Cubs played in the park whilst the leaders discussed the day and took in the warmth of the sun. From there it was off along next to the railway back to the hut for well deserved snacks and a bit of a rest.
Dinner was another element of survival with the Cubs cooking the beans in pots hanging over the fire. Making sure they were well stirred and heated. They did such a great job doing it that there were no beans burnt to the bottom of the pots. Excellent. The washer uppers were very pleased with this! Sausages, mash (thanks to Arthur's mum for prepping all the spuds in the morning) and beans were munched and a rather fine apple crumble (again thanks Fay) with custard was demolished by all. It was so good there wasn't much talking whilst we ate. The fire was kept burning and the Cubs cooked marshmallows on sticks to finish off a hearty meal.
After all the cleaning and washing up the.screen and projector were setup and and The Jungle book was back on. Half way through a game of barricades was set up. Still the Cubs favourite game! With the long day and everything that was done then Cubs were well worn out and settled down around 11pm to sleep.
Sunday mornings breakfast was either a wrap filled with beans, egg, bacon and sausage or a sandwich of the same. Great scooby snacks to built to get the day going, followed by bowls of cereal and fruit juice.
After washing up and more football cricket the Cubs settled down to write up a diary of what they thought of the weekend.
Each cub that came completed four badges. Two activity awards. Survival skills and pioneering and staged awards of nights away and hikes away badges.
A lot of fun was clearly had and all Cubs returned home with lots of great memories from the weekend.
Well done to our great leader team of Sam and Amber. Their organisation and running of the weekend was very very good. They deserve a lot of credit. Thanks to Tim Clark for sleeping over and helping out, Mark Packer for his efforts all weekend and amazing video montage see below, all the parents who chipped in with lifts and cooking prep and to all the Cubs for making it an amazing experience for everybody.
Roll on the next one!
Check out Marks amazing vlog below!