Apologies for the inactivity of late, but thing are about to change!!!!!!

So the 16th edition of the biannual SCaR (Scouts, Cubs & Rovers) newsletter has just come out and is downloadable at: http://www.scouting.org.za/capewest/heritage/scar/

Check out the Hawkeye 2009 article, which we won a while back. I’ve put the clipping up here but be sure to check out the rest of the newsletter for the latest news for Scouting in the Western Cape.

So this last Friday was the second Scout Troop program we got to run as a rover crew, and let me in advance that I think this was a huge success and the scout seemed to have a fantastic time!

The overall theme of the program was ‘Japanese Invasion’ and we tried to keep all the activities in line with this theme. Here are some explanations of the activities and here is the program.

The program started with the usual flag ceremony, but after this, scouts were instructed not to report in with the usual salute and ‘Eagles Reporting!’ routine. Instead they had to give a quick bow and greet the scouter by name, eg. “Weasel-domo”, “Mammoth-domo” or “Panda-chan.”

The first activity was a game dubbed ‘Pearl Harbour’. Basically each of the 4 patrols had  basin filled with water and these were arranged in a squared about 10m wide. Each patrol started with 3 apples (or ‘bombs’) floating in their basin. The aim was to lift up a patrol member by their arms and legs (similar to the ‘Aircraft Carrier’ game) and try transfer as many apples to the other teams basins within 5 minutes, the team with the most apples being the losers of the round. 3 rounds of this were played.

There was then a short instruction on how to make sushi. I’m not giving a guide here, but just search Maki Sushi and you’ll find alot of recipes. They were told to make sushi for their patrols and the challenge was for them to figure out how to make Ura-Maki, or inside out sushi, where the rice is outside the seaweed. The ingredients the patrols were given included Nori seaweed, wasabi, avocado, tuna, bacon, crab sticks, peppers, sushi rice, pickled ginger & soy sauce.

The patrols were also given the following STA’s:

1. Make a Samurai Katana, with a sheath, out of cardboard and foil.
2. Every patrol member needed a Japanese headband.
3. Patrols needed to make a working Japanese paper lantern.
4. A Sudoku puzzle had to be solved.

The scouts were then given alot of time to finish all the STA’s and sushi. In the middle there was a short gap for them to put the sushi and green team in the fridge. During this time, our resident Ninja, ‘Panda’, gave a demonstration on various self defense techniques and locks and holds. This may or may not have resulted in the injury of fellow rover Monkey, but nobody important. And the scouts really enjoyed it which is what matters!

Damon demonstrates how to handle your anger...

We then had time for the scouts to present their STA’s and challenges and also for them to enjoy their sushi!

After a quick cleanup we had the traditional scout flag-down ceremony and the winning patrol was announced. Well done Hawks!!!

So here we are, just past the halfway mark at Scout Law #6: A Scout Is A Friend To Animals. Personally I think this is the most ‘unusual’ Law, as it is the only Scout Law which deviates from social behaviours such as honesty and obedience. It is also the only Law which links up to the outdoor theme of Scouting. Personally, I think that it was fantastic for B.P. to envision this Law over a hundred years ago, when concepts such as wildlife conservation and natural heritage were right at the bottom of the worlds barrel of priorities.

So what does being a ‘friend to animals’ entail? The obvious place to start is how we treat the creatures of the world. Scouts/Rovers are expected to not treat animals cruelly, not to kill unnecessarily, not to start veld fires, etc…. we’ve heard all these basics before. But isn’t this what every person on the planet should be trying? What sets the Scout ideals apart from standard conservation laws?

Remember the World Conservation Badge?

The answer is simple: Scouts are supposed to care. Its one thing to take an injured dog to the vet, but what happens then? Average Joe would probably just leave it, but would anyone care for that injured stray? And when it comes to wildlife, people are quick to run to the nearest nature reserve to take photos of some or other endangered species. But how many of those people are actually to blame for issues such as pollution and poor land usage which let to it being endangered in the first place? As a Scout we can’t just be another bystander, we need to be the people taking action!

B.P. had a religious outlook on this situation, and I know religion is often a sore point when it comes to Scouting. But regardless of whether you’re Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Evolutionist or Agnostic, I hope you can find some meaning in B.P.’s words:

You will recognise your comradeship with God’s other creatures placed, like yourself, in this world for a time, to enjoy their existance. To ill-treat an animal is therefore a dis-service to the Creator. “A Rover Scout has to be big-hearted.”

So what are you going to do? As a Scout, just taking care not to personally harm animals and wildlife is enough, but as a adult and a Rover Scout we need to do something proactive! What to do is up to you, but we all swore to follow these laws, we can’t just let this one slip!

Last evening we officially had the privilage of investing Joshua and Damon as fully fledged Rovers in the 1st Bothasig Rover Crew! Welcome to the Crew guys!!!

D

As you already know, the new buzz term in the media is ‘Swine Flu’. Technically this type of flu is called Influenza Subtype A H1N1, but what is it important for us to know about this new virus?

Basically this virus is a mutation of 4 common types of flu, the common flu, bird flu and 2 non-dangerous types of pig flu. It is believed to have originated somewhere in Asia, where it was then caught by a human and moved over to Mexico where the first outbreak was confirmed. This virus is spread from person to person, usually not from pigs despite common belief, so eating pork is totally safe as long as its cooked.

So far authorities can’t even give an estimate of how many people have contracted this virus, but they are pretty sure its over 1 million. The WHO gave an estimate that 2 billion people will get this virus before it stops being a pandemic. In fact the WHO has declared this a phase 6 pandemic! Thats the highest anything has ever been! There are no global numbers of how many people have dide from this, but if we look at the US figures, over 50000 people have been confirmed to have the virus, yet ont 353 have died. That gives you about a 99.3% survival rate. Here in South Africa there have been 700 confirmed cases, with only 2 deaths. Thats a 99.7% survival rate. So don’t panic! Although this virus is becoming unstoppable and widespread, your odds of death are very low and will be even lower if you follow a few simple steps:

• Use tissues to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough and throw them away afterwards.
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and warm water. Don’t just use alcohol based hand cleaners, alcohol cannot kill viruses. You need to was them off, not try to kill them.
• Stay away from people with flu-like symptoms, and likewise if you think you have the flu, stay away from work, school, scouts, etc. until a doctor has seen you.
• Read these camping guidelines: CLICK HERE!

Don’t panic! Swine flu is far from the most dangerous virus out there! The CDC released the following statement: “20000 people die from swine flue and everybody is rushing to wear a face mask, but 9 million people die from AIDS and they still won’t wear a condom.”

Sorry, I know it’s been awhile since my last ‘Scout Law’ post, but here I am, back with Scout Law number 5 “A Scout Is Courteous.” For those of your who aren’t fluent in english, or struggle with words longer than 2 syllables, courteous means: mannerly, gratious, civil or polite.

So what does this mean for us, the teens and adults of the 21st century? It’s not saying we must ‘yessir, nosir’ everybody we meet, doesn’t mean we can’t put our elbows on the table occassionally or that we can’t wear hats indoors (which I often do in anycase). What it is saying is that we must act with RESPECT to everyone, and even if there is someone we dislike, disagree with or even – dare I say – openly hate, we will suck it up and treat them with the mutual respect everybody on this planet deserves.

BP’s comment:

Like a knight of old, as a Rover Scout you are, or course, polite and considerate to women, old people and children. But more than this, you are polite also even to those in opposition to you. “Whoso is in the right need not lose his temper. Whoso is in the wrong cannot afford to.”

Remember there is no point losing our temper or giving into the modern pop culture of trying to all be rappers and rockstars. If you want to be ‘cool’ or ‘angry’ why not show that you are better than others by exerting some self-restraint and common decency. These 2 qualities seem to be few and far between and genuinely showing them is the best way to gain the respect of others, or to spit in the eye of an adversary who can’t.

So what it all comes down to is this: Respect others with the respect you would want for yourself if you were in their shoes. The rest comes naturally.

Ok so today was the 2009 District Orienteering and I’ve got to say I feel it was a big success. We tried a few new things (longer times, more points to test time management,etc.) and think all went well! Just a few point I’d like to make clear before I get into the results:

There are 7 active troops in the district, that means around 21 full patrols at least. This year we only saw 8 teams from 4 troops. To those who didn’t attend, this competition is FREE! It’s only a few hours on one day a year and everybody sees the date on the planner almost 6 months in advance. There aren’t many valid excuses for not attending so please don’t let the scouts miss out on these opportunities. In the same breath, it’s difficult to plan these type of events and we’ve already lost out on Roberts Trophy for lack of interest, don’t let the Orienteering go in the same direction!

Another point, for those teams that did attend, remember orienteering is about 2 skills: Mapping & Management. Junior teams tended to score low due to bad plotting, but with practice this gets much better (even the top orienteers were juniors once). The senior teams lost out due mostly to bad time usage, this comes down to planning. We are going to be putting the orienteering plans out on this site so feel free to use them as practice sessions in your troop!

So here are the final the results:

1. 1st Table View Cobras   -   260 points
2. 1st Bothasig Hawks   -   247 points
3. 1st Blaauwberg Seagulls   -   166 points
4. 1st Bothasig Leopards   -   119 points
5. 1st Bothasig Eagles   -   117 points
6. 1st Bothasig Cobras   -   78 points
7. 1st Factreton Swifts   -   0 points
8. 1st Factreton Leopards   -   -3 points

The maximum points achievable was 350. Click here to download the full score breakdown in .pdf format. As alway, you are all winners for attending so WELL DONE!!!

1st Table View Cobras - Winners of District Orienteering 2009

Finally, we will be putting up all the documentation and maps we used on the site at a later stage so watch this space!

Cheers!

Ingredients:

• 180g self raising flour
• 100g sugar
• 100g margarine
• 2 eggs
• 40ml milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 x empty 450g jam tins
• 3/4 cup golden syrup

Put all the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and rub the marge in well. Add the beaten eggs and a little milk. Mix well.

Grease the tins and put 1/3 cup golden syrup in each.

Pour the mixture equally into the tins and stand them in a pot containing 3cm of water and steam them for 3/4 hour.

Serve with custard or cream.

So heres the next recipe from last weekends Cooks Badge course which myself and Jon thought was pretty decent. Its called the Harvest Loaf, its quiet sweet but in the good way for a bread!

Ingredients:

• 120g margarine
  

  A Harvest Loaf (which I stole from a rival weblog hehehe!)

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 340g mixed fruit (aka. cake mix)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 3/4 cups bread flour

Simply beat all the ingredients together well and pour into a greased bread pan. Place it in a Dutch Oven (remember to raise the dish from the bottom to prevent burning) and bake it over hot coals for about 1 1/2 hours. Enjoy!