The END
The lads on this weekend were absolutely great. This was a camp unlike any other we had done. The location (Anglesey) was further than we would normally go, we have only twice in the last 11 years had a group of sixers and seconders that we felt happy taking on a weekend like this. These lads were really good fun to be around but what came out the most during our time together was their shear grit and determination to enjoy themselves and have fun. The weather (just like at Sandiway, February) was not on our side for a lot of the time but the worse it got the higher their spirits went. This group of lads had managed in a very short space of time to bond together; they looked after themselves and each other.
On sixers and seconders camps the lads are asked to think and behave very differently than most 9/10 year olds. They need a lot more encouragement and support from each other and especially from the leaders. Because these camps are much smaller, it gives us a chance to work with every lad on developing both their scouting skills and their personal skills.
We often sit around for a few minutes between activities and just talking to each other (just talking to kids about everything and anything is something that should be done far more than it is), the lads talk about home and school, the leaders talk about what we were like as kids. During these camps you have to become a much closer group and as that happens the lads become more open and honest as they talk to you, we find it important to return that openness and honesty, showing that even we have strengths and weaknesses and that it is ok not to be good at everything but to realise that everybody is good at something.
We get asked all sorts of weird and wonderful things during their time with us. One evening on this camp David asked me to go around each one of them and say what I thought of them, what makes them a good sixer or seconder. The week after David was made a sixer he came to me during a pack night and asked why it had happened, he didn’t think he was good enough to be a sixer. I then sat with him and explained why I thought he would be a good sixer. This is what I think prompted his to ask the question, my reply was as follows;
David is very good-natured, if one of the other lads is struggling he will help them, he can be put with absolutely any group of lads and he will work with them, he looks after and supports the younger members of the pack and his six is the perfect home for new cubs to find their feet. He has a very polite but also firm way of gaining respect from other members of the pack. He is starting to gain in his confidence in himself. David has always been honest with me about how he feels and what he thinks and has never let me down in anything I have asked him to do, he is well like by all the leaders. David can always find someway of making me smile when I need cheering up and I can likewise to him. A good leader of younger people. There is also one other word that I use to describe him but it really embarrasses him. (Cute)
Tom Bevan is a newer member of the sixers and seconders team but has fitted in well. His knowledge if walking, map reading and general scouting is excellent. He is confident and quick to point out if I make a mistake (much to the other leaders amusement). He loves the outdoors and is willing to have a go at every activity we through at him. If looked after at scouts he will be a future Cheshire Hike Star. Tom is fun to talk too and be around.
Tom Bean is not as self confident as the others but is far stronger than them in other ways. He is the most honest cub we have ever had; I could sit and talk to Tom for hours. He is very trusting and this helps me to help him get through his worries, he often achieves things without realising until you point it out to him afterwards. He is a very likable person and makes great company. He works well with the other lads and is a very good sixer. If I need an opinion on something Tom is one of the lads I will turn too.
Chris is also a newer member of the sixers and seconders team, he is the moral booster. Whenever the others are struggling he is the one who with his wit and humour gets them going again. Behind the humour is someone who is very hard working with endless amounts of grit and determination, he never gives up. He is extremely keen and enthusiastic, always willing to take part in activities outside the normal pack night. Chris was an invaluable asset during this camp.
Oliver is another of the newer members of the sixers and seconders team, he is extremely hard working and has a great sense of humour. Having seen him walking with Tom Bevan he would make the perfect match for Cheshire Hike. Oliver is good fun to be around and no matter how hard things get he just keeps on going. Given the chance he will make an outstanding scout.
Luke has taken me by surprise over the last six months. He has always been a very likable person and on camps I often sit with him, talking and joking. He is keen and enthusiastic about everything we do and is always smiling. If I am flagging he is one of the ones that picks me up. However, since being made a sixer he has really started to grow in confidence, he is developing in to a very good leader of people. When a decision needs to be made between the older lads he will take charge and manage the discussion. He is always willing to listen to the opinions of the others in his group and tries to find an answer that will suit everyone, he is also willing if need be to make a decision that is unpopular but needs making. He is still developing his leader style with the younger lads in his six but has very high standards that he expects from them and will make sure that they achieve them.
George has been in the sixers and seconders team for sometime now. He has endless amounts of grit and determination. He is amongst the keenest in the pack and if I set him a task I know that it will be completed. If the lads go to collect fire wood George will bring back the biggest piece, if I ask for volunteers to wash or tidy up George’s hand will be up first. He is growing into a really nice lad who works hard and is fun to be around.
Leo is by far the youngest seconder we have ever had. This was his first sixers and seconders weekend and he started out very quiet but as the camp went on his confidence grew. This weekend has done him more good than any other cub event could every hope too. He is a really likable lad with lots of Leo personality. The older lads really like Leo and encourage him to give his opinions and thoughts. Leo has a good sense of humour and with the current sixers and seconders as role models will follow in his brothers footsteps as a great sixer of the future (all be it with a little Leo twist thrown in)
And finally, Alex – a helper for so long I’m frightened to count the years. During this weekend he showed complete dedication to the lads. He has now come full circle, as a cub he was looked after and kept safe by us and now he is a leader looking after and keeping safe the current lads. He has now developed the instinctive mind that is needed to look after groups of kids, to keep them safe and happy. This may be my last sixers and seconders camp as the organiser (although you would never keep me away as a helper). But I know that the future is in the best hands it could be.
The weekend could not have happened without many other people. Dave and Louise where invaluable, how they managed to last a weekend like this straight after a college residential is beyond me but it shows how dedicated and where their hearts really are. Dee and Kay bring their own sense of fun and humour to cub events and this camp was no exception (even if the lads looked at them from time to time with complete embarrassment). Kay was with us this weekend knowing that she had important exams the following week (yet another example of complete dedication to the lads). I hope she has done well in them. Rob and Andy were again old cubs of mine; they enjoyed it so much that they are now developing their skills as leaders. This weekend has done them both more good than any scout or explorer weekend could hope to do. They are very quickly learning about being around and looking after young people, how to get the most out of them and how to make sure they are safe and happy.
Rowallan is fortunate to be one of the best Cub Packs in the district and this is solely down to the efforts of the lads and the hard work of my helpers. I am once again grateful for all their help in making this yet another successful weekend. Long may it continue, the next camp is Group Camp!
P.S Just for Tom Bean, here is the long name that you have been asking me to say all weekend;
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch
Or
The church of saint mary in the hollow of white hazel near the rapid whirl pool and the church of saint tysilio near a red cave.
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