Crofton Beacon Entry

September saw the Troop start back after the summer holidays with a Games night and several new members, bringing numbers up to 18 with a Senior Patrol Leader. This required the splitting of two patrols into three patrols and the awarding of patrol leader and assistant patrol leader to several Scouts. Skip brought the Group some new tents, which enabled our Scouts to spend an evening improving their tent pitching skills. The Troop has also spent an evening at Walton Colliery Park geocaching with a decent level of success at finding the caches, considering the dark. The end of September swelled the Troop numbers to 21 members, with a number of investitures. We attended the District Water Activities Camp at Aldwark, where our Scouts had the opportunity to partake in a night hike, cycling, canoeing and kayaking. A lot of fun was had by all who attended, although some got wetter than others. Most of the scouts that attended were awarded their Basic Nautical Skills Activity Badge.

October brought the opportunity to work on basic map skills with the Troop spending an evening in Crofton navigating using compass bearings. The walk concluded with a visit to a chip shop. As part of the Community Challenge Badge a number of Scouts took part in a litter pick down at The Sidings. The troop has also been working towards the Global Challenge Badge with a couple of evenings focused on international issues including Fairtrade and www.shelterbox.org

Coming up we have an evening during which the Scouts will have the opportunity to partake in a Night Line Assault course and indoor caving, the Group bonfire night, and Remembrance Day Parade. We hope as many Scouts will attend the Parade as possible.

Scouting is open to girls and boys aged 10 and a half to 14. For more information please contact David Hodgkinson (skip@croftonscouts.org.uk).