Personal Memories of my Scouting by Eddie Pratt (Steady Eddie).

I joined Scouts (in 1983) as an Assistant Scout Leader because I enjoy seeing young people growing into young adults with new skills which they can use for the rest of their lives plus scouting values, a role I continue to do with the Troop. Games are a significant part of the weekly Troop meeting as they let the youngsters let off steam after Flag Break and Inspection. The best thing to do with any game is not to ‘kill it’ by running it until the scouts get bored but to stop it at maximum enjoyment. Also not to play it too often as the same boredom might result. Games have to be fun and also a learning experience, such as teamwork, skill building and knowledge development. Kingy is always a popular game involving everyone and on one such occasion we were using a large ball (bigger than a football we called it ‘Over the Moon’) made of plaster which had been very hard wearing and robust. The end of the ball came when at the time we had a small stage HQ hall and the ball hit a corner and disintegrated into hundreds of pieces. The scout, of course, had to clean up afterwards which they really enjoyed!!! Of course hiking was also an important activity with Scouts. The thing about hikes is that one very often only enjoy them after they have finished. This is because hiking and navigating as well as carrying gear can be hard work. However, the sense of achievement at the end and camaraderie with your patrol cannot be understated. As well as Cheshire Hike, District events and Troop night hikes there was always lots of opportunity to get out in the dark such as a time in Rivacre Valley Nature Reserve. Night hikes are always a little edgy due to the pitch blackness (in parts) and the strange sounds of night-time wildlife. One night time activity involved going up Moel Famau, this involved many parents for obvious reasons. We parked at the bottom car park and made our way up from there, keeping the scouts under close supervision (bit like herding cats). We never had any issues even when going up in winter when the snow had been cleared from the narrow road. Any risk taking was very closely controlled. Going up in the fog was ‘different’ and on one occasion we let rockets off at the top as the stars were breaking through. Training for outdoor activities during the weekly troop night was always put to good effect such as: clothing, footwear, navigation (sometimes by stars) and of course everyone had a torch which could be used only when really needed. In the summer months we had meetings down Church Wood, Childer Thornton and the activities involved much running around so as not to get caught in ‘capture the flag’ and the ‘great egg race’ across the ponds. We also visited Thurstaston beach for games when Les Osbourne could get hold of a minibus. Calling in at Heswall for Fish and Chips was always a good end. Of course there were no mobile phones then so getting back for 9pm was difficult to coordinate. Annual Camps are meant to be the pinnacle of the scouting year where all the training can be practised away from home. Scouts camped in our 14’ x 14’ patrol tents and had to keep it clean and tidy, inspection every morning for points and at night at lights out by the Leaders. Whenever possible we cooked on wood fires, which of course meant spending lots of time fetching and cutting wood. The right type of wood is important as there are some that are no good for cooking. On the point of wood at Bryn Bach, Denbigh we decided to kill two birds with one stone. This involves finding some soft, dry and seasoned fir tree wood which was in abundance. We decided to develop the scouts skills in not only finding the correct type of wood but also in sawing it into 6” lengths and then splitting it with an axe. Axes must be sharp to be of any use and eagle eyed leaders were always vigilant and the ‘chopping area’ always clearly defined. Several bases were set up to accommodate four patrols: pioneering, backwoods cooking, wood preparation and fire lighting. One Patrol brought some wood and chopped it up. However, it turned out to be the landowners fence posts prepared to contain his sheep! After apologising to the farmer for burning his fence posts Les. went into Denbigh the next day and bought £30 worth of posts, the farmer was more than happy. At the end of the day when the Scouts were sleeping off the fatigue from their activities. Les. John and myself made a fire in an old shepherds hut on our campsite and warmed ourselves on some of the wood making a fantastic roaring fire up the chimney. At our Ennerdale annual camp we travelled and hiked around the northern lakes and at Coniston Water we stopped for a BBQ. We decided to tune into the match in Belgium, Liverpool playing Juventus in the European Cup at the Heysel Stadium, a very sad end to the day. One particular District Camp I recall was on the farm located between Badgers Rake and Heath Lane. There were about 200 Scouts and Leaders camping on a very flat farm field. It rained from Saturday morning until we struck camp on Sunday (Friday was dry). The field completely flooded to a depth of about 3”, it can be remembered looking from my LiLo and seeing water lapping against it. The Leaders tent blew upside down, we did however continue with all the usual camp activities. Enlisting the help of the farmers tractor we were able to pull cars, vans and trailers off the field – it was a great camp.