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MACLAREN TROOP

Scouts Ice Skating 26th May 2010
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Ice Skating

On the 26th of May 1st Frankby and Greasby scouts went ice skating at the Deeside rink, most of us clung to the wall while some of the older children and adults where skating like professionals. We all soon picked it up and most of us just couldn’t wait for the food everyone got chips. We soon started ice skating again, time flew by so fast it seemed like we only had 5 minutes on the ice. A few people had sore feet after taking their boots off because they were so tight, many people kept falling over so many times, everyone had a remarkable time. I definitely plan to go again soon.

by Jack Meyer

The Cooking Comp 22/05/10
Today was the cooking competition and it was held at the 1st Thurstaston scout group’s base, in Irby. We arrived at 11:30 to get everyone together. It was a great day for the cooking comp, because the sun was shining brightly. We started the competition at 12 and had until 2:00 to make a main course, dessert and a hot drink. We were given these ingredients; potatoes, carrots, an onion, parsnip, an OXO cube, chicken, 1 litre of milk, a small tub of crème, grapes, strawberries, a few little toffees, and a few cubes of chocolate, we also got some flavouring that we could use i.e. salt, mixed herbs.

Before we could start cooking, we had to get the fire started and build the shelter. Jamie was in charge of making the fire so we collected wood. While Jamie was using the smaller pieces to start the fire, George and Max started on the shelter. Louie and I started making our courses. We decided we were going to make a starter, a main course, a dessert and a hot drink.

For the starter, we peeled and chopped a few carrots, potatoes and the parsnip. We made packets out of tin foil and mixed the 3 ingredients. We closed the packets and gave them to Jamie, who then carefully put them into the fire. We left them for 20minutes. While the starter was being cooked, we started to prepare the main course.

For the main course we used the remaining carrots and potatoes, the onion, the chicken a bit of the cream and the OXO cube. We made tin foil packets again, and like before, we mixed them together. We put them in fire and waited for 30minutes. By the time we had finished preparing the main course, the starter was ready. We put the starter onto plates and covered them in tin foil so nothing could get into the food.

For the dessert we chopped the strawberries and kiwi and put them on the plate with the grapes and toffee. We also put in the rest of the cream at the side as a dip. We also had some cooked apple.

When everything was ready we covered all the food with tinfoil and started making the drink. We made hot chocolate; we used the chocolate (which we had melted) and some of the milk and boiled the rest of the milk. We added the boiled milk to the mixture of milk and chocolate. We covered this in tin foil until the judges came round to taste.

The judges came. They tried the starter and said it tasted great. Next was the main course. They enjoyed it. Next was the dessert, they thought it was great and the apple was perfect. Once they had tried all the foods, they said that the chicken was just about cooked which made it taste great but if we’d left it in for less time, it would have been undercooked and we would of lost points. We had to wait for an hour before all the decisions were made and they told everyone who won so we started to pack away everything, wash the plates etc. 3o’clock came and they pronounced who won. It was us!! We had won the cooking competition!!! It was a great day

by Geena Marshall

see pics below

Scouts Cooking Comp 22nd May 2010
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Scouts Bala Weekend 2010

Scout "Wildest" Wild Camp 2009 Ever!!
The wild camp was very good, when we got to the hut on Friday night we had a wide game that was brilliant called dodge the spotlight. The next morning we woke at 5am, most of us did not get up until 5.30am. We had to pack our stuff super quick and I sat by my mates on the minibus. The journey was good because you could go to sleep for an hour or so.

When we eventually stopped we went to a cafe called “Pete’s eats” and it was very good, my food came late and because of this I got a free drink. We got back on the bus and went to the bottom of the mountain. When we got out we made sure that our rucksacks were tight and rain covers were covering the back of the rucksack.

The climb was exhausting and the rucksacks got heavier and heavier the higher we got. As soon as we got to the site we had to put up our tents, because if we did it later it would be too dark.

As soon as we got the tents up we headed for the top of Snowdon, I didn’t go all the way to the top because I was feeling sick. The night was rough and the wind was blowing hard, I could not get to sleep. In the morning we had to take down the tent in the wind that was blowing hard, one tent flew away with all the stuff in it.

The journey down was easy as pie because there was no wind and it was a nice stroll down. When we got down we went to another cafe and had tea, hot chocolate and bacon butties. It was the wildest wild camp ever!

By George Lawless

see pics below

Quad Biking 2009

(click link above for gallery)

The winning patrol in the patrol competition went quad biking in Leasowe on Saturday. After playing in the park for a while we went on the quad bikes, they were too small for me (I banged my knees a lot) but alright for the smaller scouts. We had three practice runs in two groups, at first everyone went very slow but still kept crashing– some more than others. The track was good and it had jumps and sharp corners. I was surprised that if you went fast enough you could get airborne on the jumps, but too fast on the corners and the bike would tip over. We than had timed laps to see who was the fastest. Afterwards we had a nice lunch in a room. At the end we got certificates for the time trials (I was first). It was quite exciting on the quad bikes and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Jack Cundall

Geoffrey Beavan Challenge 2009
(click link above for gallery)

On the night when we got there we put up the tents and got all the food and equipment unpacked, then we set up the inside of our tents and sorted our stuff for the weekend out. We had supper which was cake and a hot drink, then went to bed.

The next day we woke at 7am, we quickly had our breakfast as by 8am we had to be at the orienteering / hike start to receive our instructions. We started the event at 9am and came back at 11.56am. We had planned our route to get to the five bases or poles, however we got lost on the first one. By the time we found number eight we started to get better.

We had our lunch then at 1pm it was our turn for shooting. We had ten shots each with air rifles.

At 2pm it was out turn for first aid, we had to treat a person who had fell off a bike and another person who had been stung by a bee- we did rubbish at this event.

At 3pm we went to the low ropes course where we had to walk along ropes or nets off the ground.

When we finished we had a break until 6pm when we did a camp project, this was to fill with water a tube with holes in to get a ball out, we had to try and cover the holes with our body.

We went back to our tent for tea, the table was set with flowers. After long talks together it was time for bed.

The next day we woke for breakfast, and at 9am we went canoeing for 3 hours. We had to go around a lake doing up to 3 laps each then passing a turn to each other. When we finished we went back to have lunch and put the tents down. After the presentation ceremony we then went home.

Jamie Berry

Junior team- Jamie Berry, Michael Bibby, George Lawless

Scouts Orienteering 2009
District Scout Football 2009
Expedition Challenge 2009
The Great Escape Winners 2009
(click link above for gallery)
The Cromwells versus The Simpsons at the Great Escape 2009
This year Maclaren Troop of the 1st Frankby Greasby took part in the Great Escape at Tawd Vale. The Great Escape is a patrol-based competition requiring the patrol to complete a range of fifteen fun challenges, which test their ability to work as a team and their initiative. 1st Frankby Greasby joined with seventy other teams from all over Merseyside including teams from 5th Heswall, 1st Thurstaston and 2nd West Kirby Sea Scouts.

We were able to enter two patrols this year The Cromwells and The Simpsons. Like many of the other Scouts at the Great Escape, they found themselves being woken up at 6.30 am in the morning, to have a quick breakfast before they found themselves down at campfire circle for the start of the Great Escape and to do early morning aerobics.

At 9.00 am The Great Escape competition began and both patrols went off to find their first base. Each patrol was responsible in finding the bases and arriving there own time, as they had fifty minutes between each base. Through out the day both patrols found themselves completing a range of tasks. They had to carry a stretcher through an obstacle course, build the highest tower possible with milk crates, while one of the Scouts was standing on the tower, use pipes to get marbles in a bucket, pull a chariot around a muddy assault course and navigate through a spiders web of ropes with out touching them. The teams also had to manoeuvre a canoe with the bottom cut out for their legs around a slalom course, complete a low ropes course, with some of the team were blind folded and transport a radioactive container without the buzzer being set off.

At 6.00 pm the Simpsons and Cromwells returned back to our campsite tired and muddy. After a delicious dinner of chicken tikka masala with rice and naan bread we all attended the campfire and went to watch the spectacular fire works display that had arranged. Returning back to our campsite we spent the remainder of the night toasting marshmallows on the fire.

After a cold night the Cromwells and Simpsons again found themselves up and at an early time to do their morning aerobics before breakfast. At 9.00 am the Great Escape began again, but this time each patrol went dressed in fancy dress. The Cromwells went around dressed as Roundheads and Cavilers, while the Simpsons, as you can guess, where dressed as Homer, Margie, Bart, Maggie and Moe the Bar Keeper. As you wandered around other patrols had joined in the fun and you could see a patrol of Mexicans, a patrol of dancers, an118 patrol and one of partygoers.

Both patrols soon found themselves having to complete four more tasks. They had to cross a minefield, cross the River Tawd on a rope bridge and then work as a team using a chair on a pulley to get the patrol back across the river, do first aid even had to use a block and tackle to lift a log off a trapped dummies feet, so that they could take them to safety, after first making a bridge over a deep and very muddy ravine.

At the prize giving ceremony The Cromwells came first and won the Standing Patrol Competition. At the Great Escape patrols compete against each other in either a composite patrol, a patrol made specially for the competition, or a standing patrol, a patrol made up of existing patrol members in a troop. This year we were able to get a standing patrol to take part, the Cromwells, usually known as the Panthers at Maclaren Troop. However, like last year the best prize was still to come. As the temperature had dropped below zero the Scouts had got into the Tawd Vale Penguin Club. To enter the Penguin Club, as Scouts, you have to camp at Tawd Vale for two days and the temperature has to drop below minus 2. After a very enjoyable and tiring weekend our second Great Escape camp from Tawd had ended. We all cant wait to take part next year.

Scout Expedition Challenge Practice 29/03/09

(To read this article please go to end.)
7. We then had inspection, with extra marks being awarded for having a red nose. This was then followed by flag break, which ended our unusual, but funny backwards night.

6. After the posters had been cleared away, there was still time for one more game. This time we played opposite catch, where you had to catch a red nose, with the opposite hand. If the leader said right, you had to catch it with your left hand. It was harder than you think to play, as the nose was smaller and bounced out of your hand.

5. The Scouts then began working on posters, which they where doing for the Global Challenge Award. As part of the Global Challenge Award the Scouts had split themselves into patrols and had researched information about different countries in Europe such as Spain, Denmark, Austria, Malta and Greece. They started to make posters about what they found out about them and about Scouting in that country. The information they found out will also be used for a games evening and foreign cuisine night, with each patrol will be expected to cook a national dish from their country to share with other patrols.

4. After the games the Scouts had a short talk about what Comic Relief was, when it was founded and how it helped many children in 71 countries through out the world. This was shortly followed by a quiz, with points going towards the patrol competition.

3. After the prayer we began our first game. The Scouts had to play a series of relay races wearing their red nose. The Scouts then played hunt the red nose in the dark. We sometimes play hunt the shoes in the dark, but this was much harder as the red noses where smaller. Each time the Scouts played the amount of noses was reduced, until there was only one winner.

2. Each Scout was expected to turn up wearing their Red Nose and bring a pound to donate to Comic Relief. Then the fun began. Instead of starting off with flag break, the Scouts where told that they would be doing everything backwards and that they had to listen and do the opposite of what they had been told to do. As a result, we started instead with flag down. This was followed by the reading a prayer to celebrate Comic Relief backwards.

1. On the 13th March 2009 Maclaren Troop held our most unusual night ever. We often celebrate events at the troop such as Halloween, Chinese New Year and saint days such as our patron saint, St. George, but we had never celebrated Red Nose Day. This year the troop decided that we would celebrate this Red Nose day early and help raise money for Comic Relief.

(Please click on Red Nose below for Gallery of Backwards night)

!Relief Comic for Night Backward A.

Latest Scout Report

My Night for my Gold Chief Scout Challenge Award

(Please click on pic below for gallery of Carabean Night)

By Michael Walsh 1st Frankby Greasby, Maclaren Troop

On the 14th January 2009 I ran a night, at Scouts. The theme was The Caribbean. As the Scouts walked into the hut they could hear steel drum music playing to help create a Caribbean atmosphere.

After Flag break we started off by playing indoor cricket, as cricket is a very popular sport in many Caribbean counties. Every one who wanted to got two chances at batting. Then I started the Caribbean quiz. I showed them a computer presentation that I had done, which included a list of all the Caribbean countries. Each patrol had to try and remember, as many countries as they could, with points going towards the Troop Patrol competition.

While I counted up the scores from the quiz Dave ran a game called Islands. On the floor chalk islands with numbers had been drawn. The scouts had to run to an Island when Hurricane was called. The leader then chose an island at random and all the Scouts left on it where out.

The troop then had a go at limbo dancing. I think all the Scouts enjoyed the limbo, because it was something that we had not done before. We also shared round pieces of sliced plantine and had a chance to drink guava juice, which was very nice. Overall t I believe the night was a success.

Michael Walsh (Senior Patrol Leader, Maclaren Troop)

Scout camp at the 1st Frankby Greasby scout hut 7th to the 9th of febuary 2009
As we arrived at the scout hut on the friday everyone was excited.We started by putting our bags down inside the hut,then we were put into patrols.After that we were then given tents to put up for ourselves that took around half an hour.With our tents set up, we were ready to go we rested for a hour then set off for a wide game in Royden Park (a wide game is a tactical game where you must find the enemy objective).After a fun wide game in Royden Park we all returned and went to sleep.

As we woke to a nice cold,muddy,damp morning we clambered into the hut we were fed breakfast and made our own sandwiches,then told we were going to Liverpool for the day. We travelled there by bus then train and finally the ferry. As we got over the Mersey to Liverpool we set off to the Maritime Musuem then followed the Tate art gallery, St Georges Hall and last but not least the Liverpool National Museum.On the way home we took the bus.We got back to the scout hut to find our dinner was ready then were told we had a hike on the way.So we packed then set off it was around 6 miles long and took about 4 hours.

On the Sunday we woke up and were allowed a lie in, thankfully!Then we got up had breakfast and packed up our tents and we were off.All in all I personally think the camp was great and so would many of my friends. At the end of the camp, our Scout Leader told us that the overnight temperature was below freezing and that we could join the 1st Frankby Greasby Polar Club. We were then presented with certificates at our Troop meeting.

by Oliver Prichard
(Please click on his Lordship below for the gallery of this camp)

Other recent events
Scouts Barbados Night

Scouts Invested in Mersey Tunnel

Wild Camp

Cubs and Scouts Joint Night

The Older Cubs met up with Wednesday Night Scouts as a taster to see whats scouts do before moving up to Scouts in September.

Scouts Beavan Practice

Lucky for some
On Friday 13th June six members of Maclaren Troop and a fellow Scout from 5th Heswall and took part in a night hike around Dodleston near Chester, as part of their training for the Beavan Challenge. The Beavan Challenge is a team based competition were three Scouts take part in Canoeing, Mountain Biking, Air Rifle Shooting, a First Aid Challenge and Assault Course. As part of the Beavan Challenge Scout also have to complete a three-hour hike, with out leaders. To help prepare them for the hike we split into two groups, one walking clockwise and one anti- clockwise. The Scouts had to map read and use a compass to navigate their way around a five-mile route. Avoiding the cows and bulls both groups successfully completed the hike, with out getting lost!!!!!
David Blackwood
Scout Leader

Information Technology Activity Sheet 1

Information Technology Activity Sheet 2

Scouts St Georges Day Celebrations

Gallery
By Joseph McDowell 1st Frankby Greasby, Maclaren Troop

On April 23rd 2008, St. Georges Day, I ran a night down at my troop as part of my Gold Chief Scout Challenge Award. As it was a special evening I decided that we would not have inspection, so we went straight into a game. We began with a St. Georges Day themed game of elephant hunt. We played Dragon Hunt on our field, which the Scouts and Young Leaders enjoyed. We then move onto to one of the main parts of the evening, the story of St. George and the Dragon and the History of our nations flag, as we were going to have a quiz later on in the evening. The Scouts also found out the reason why Baden Powell chose St. George to be our Patron Saint. He felt that the St. George of legend set a good example of faith, courage and perseverance. These beliefs are still held to day by Scouts 100 years after Scouting began and can be seen in the Scout Law and Promise that every Scout follows.

After the grueling task of trying to get 19 Scouts to sit still for 20 minutes we started a game of our nations national sport, football, which was a terrifying task of deceit, evil and injury, and that was just picking teams. However, in the end the game turned out honorable as the score was three three, and that was even after extra time.

After the football match we began a quiz about England. The quiz consisted of 15 questions all related to events in English History and Sport. What should have been a short 10 minutes quiz , soon became longer than expected, as it had to be decided with four rounds off sudden death questions. The Panthers eventually emerged victorious.

Following the quiz the Leaders and myself began judging the sporting costumes that each Scout had come in. Each scout had been asked to come dressed as an English Sporting Hero, and I was not disappointed. We had Freddie Flintoss, Nick Fannin, David Beckham, Tim Henman and Mat Foffman. It was so hard judging the competition that in the end we decided to award two prizes to the Scouts who came dressed as Nick Fanning (World Champion Surfer) and Mat Foffman (BMX Champion)

From what I heard from the lads, it was an enjoyable evening, and it was a pleasure to run.

Joseph McDowell
Senior Patrol Leader, Maclaren Troop
1st Frankby Greasby Scout Group

Scouts Expedition Challenge 16 - 18th May 2008

Community Work
Trip to The Tip
(Bidston Moss Recycling Centre)

Gallery
As part of our work towards competing Community Challenge Award, Maclaren troop of 1st Frankby Greasby visited the Bidston Moss Recycling Centre in Birkenhead. To complete the Community Challenge Award badge we have to take part in six hours of community service and explore our local community through a visit to a local place of interest such as a museum, police station or tourist attraction and writing a small report about the visit. We were going to the tip.

When we arrived at the tip and were first given a talk about the tip and the safety rules that we had to follow. We all had to wear yellow high visibility jackets and white helmets. We then began the tour of the site.

It was very interesting going round and seeing how the rubbish was recycled. We saw how the waste was split up to be sorted and the types of materials that could be recycled at the site. We found out that the Bidston recycling Centre actually operated 24 hours a day and the recyclable waste from our grey wheelie bins like cans, paper, glass and plastic were actually sorted by hand, as it was the only true way to separate the different material for recycling. We also found out that although on the Wirral we do recycle, that we only recycled about 50 % of our rubbish, with the rest going to a land fill site in Wales, as the sites on Wirral had become too full.

It was really interesting going around the Bidston Moss Recycling Centre and we learnt a lot about how Wirral is recycling its waste.

Daniel Hughes (Cobra Patrol)
Scouts Bidston Tip Trip Gallery

Activities and Competitions
Congratulations to Maclaren Scout Troop for not only Winning the West Wirral Bowling Competition but winning the final of the 5 a side football competition.

More Bowling Pics
More 5 a side Pics

Canoeist Badge 2008

Gallery
Maclaren Troop Leaders would like to congratulate the ten Scouts who recently took part and successfully completed their canoeist badge at West Kirby Marina with 2nd West Kirby Sea Scout Group. Starting at the beginning of April this year the Scouts had to brave the cold water of West Kirby Marina for six weeks.

As part of their course the Scouts learnt how to manoeuvre the canoe forward, backward and sideways. They canoed around the marina lake. However, the worst was that they had to capsize properly each week, as for their badge they had to capsize three times and swim 50 metres. At the beginning of the course only one Scout had a wet suit, but by the end, several had them.

As well as gaining the Scout Canoeist badge they also gained their British Unions Paddle Power Passport 1.

I would personally like to thank all the Leaders and Young Leaders for running a very enjoyable course.

David Blackwood
Scout Leader
1st Frankby Greasby Scout Group
Maclaren Scouts Canoeing

The Walsh Trophy

Trophy awarded to the person who finds the strangest object in the strangest places

Feast Of Lanterns 3rd-12th October 2008
Attached is a copy of the intention form for the feast of lanterns to be returned next week.
Intention Form
2007 Pics

2008 St Georges Day Parade

The Great Escape Weekend Report
We Escaped From Tawd and got the Penguin too

This year, the Maclaren took part in the Great Escape at Tawd Vale. The Great Escape is a Patrol based competition requiring the patrol to complete a range of 15 fun challenges, which test their ability to work as a team and their initiative. Each challenge is based upon the theme of Escape and runs along the line of Now get out of that.

It all began at 6.30 am in the morning, as the Scouts were woken up and breakfast served. Sleepy eyed, the Scouts quickly ate their cereal and made their way for the start of the Great Escape at the camp fire circle for 7.00 am. They had a long day ahead of them, as they would not finish until after 6.00 pm.

As this was our first Great Escape, neither the Leaders nor Scouts knew what to expect. After 20 minutes, The Planks, as they called themselves, returned with looks that could kill. While at the fire circle, theyd had to join the other Scouts to do aerobics! We quickly served them their cooked breakfast.

The Great Escape officially started at 9.00 am. As part of the Great Escape, each patrol had to find their way to each base, where they then spent 10 minutes completing a patrol activity. The first base, that The Planks went to, was the Chariot Race. They had to pull a chariot, with one of them acting as a jockey, around an obstacle course. They had to cross ditches, move the chariot over and under logs and ring a bell. When they finished, they then had 40 minutes before the next base.

Throughout the day, the Planks found themselves completing a range of tasks. They had to carry a stretcher through an obstacle course, get a tennis ball out of a leaking pipe, play Jenga, make a stretcher and give first aid. They also had to light a fire, escape from a locked cell, cross a rope bridge carrying Scout staves and navigate through a spiders web of ropes without touching them. They even had to find buried pirate treasure, with two patrol members shouting instructions to one member who was blindfolded, someone who could not speak, and someone who could not hear, as he wore earmuffs. And this was just the first day!

At 6.30 pm, the Planks returned back to our campsite, tired, wet, muddy, but in high sprits as they had enjoyed their day. That evening, we all attended the Camp Fire and then returned back to our campsite where we spent the remainder of the night toasting marshmallows and jaffa cake biscuits in the fire.

After a freezing night, where the temperature dropped to minus 3, the Planks on the Sunday morning, again found themselves up and down at the fire circle for their morning aerobics before breakfast. At 9.00 am the Escape began again. This time they where dressed differently. On Sunday, Patrols have to go round dressed in a themed costume. The Planks had decided to go round dressed as trees.

The Planks

The Planks soon found themselves having to complete four more tasks. They had to solve the Tower of Hanoi, complete a slalom canoe course on land standing in a bottomless canoe and cross the River Tawd on a rope bridge and then work as a team using a chair on a pulley to get the patrol back across the river. The final task was the best, as they had to ride a blow up mattress down a foam water slide.

We then attended the Scouts Own and prize giving ceremony. We were all surprised when The Planks won the best themed patrol competition. As the temperature had dropped to minus 3, the Scouts also got into the Tawd Vale Penguin Club. To enter the Penguin Club, as Scouts, you have to camp at Tawd Vale for two days and the temperature has to drop below minus 2.

After a very enjoyable and tiring weekend our first Great Escape camp from Tawd ended. We cant wait to take part next year.

David Blackwood 1st Frankby Greasby Scout Leader
More Pics!

MACLAREN SCOUT TROOP MEET ON A WEDNESDAY EVENING

6.30PM TILL 8.30PM.