Explorers Report – November 2007

There are 6 Explorers at present and 3 leaders. This is quite a fall in numbers over the last year, with Explorers mainly moving on due to age and other overlapping activities.

Our main event was to go to “Awesome 07” at Glanusk park in Wales. This was a activity camp run on a mini jamboree idea, only for Explorers. Examples on offer at the many numerous bases around the estate were climbing, kayaking, air rifle shooting, survival skills including skinning, preparing and cooking rabbits, a bungee run of which our most athletic member claimed the furthest distance. We rounded of this excellent camp with a short walk up onto the Brecon hills surrounding the site.

We started of our Autumn term with a pleasant trip to the seafront at Hayling Island in what seemed like a raging gale. There has also been a trip to the diverse Camden Market in London.

We base ourselves at the HQ undertaking various skills training and did some maintenance to the hut. But we try and be out in the local area where we have been expanding our nature skills, by pond dipping, identifying trees etc, star identification and map reading using the lay of the land. On Halloween evening we had a tour of Brookwood war graves, not for the faint hearted in the dark!

All the explorers have gained experience cooking in the unlikely event of them leaving home, including making there own fruit cakes that were all edible.

We are about to have a bonfire with Network, in so doing encouraging our older explorers to join them.

We joined in the District centenary camp celebrating a 100 years of scouting on a wet weekend with all the other sections. We helped with the hike and cooking of course.

There is a good atmosphere within the unit but we need new members 14yrs to 18yrs male and female