6th Gainsborough Sea Scouts had a good turnout for their water activities day at Girton Sailing Club on Saturday 11th September, and were joined by Councillor Jessie Milne and Bill Hurst, Deputy District Commissioner. Jessie came along to see the Beavers and Cubs out in their kayaks, gaining new skills and confidence on the water, while the Scouts were building rafts in readiness for a race in the afternoon. She was also able to see the equipment that had been purchased with money provided from her Councillor Initiative Fund and she enjoyed a trip out in the safety boat to see the action up close.
While Jessie and Bill were there, the Scouts took the opportunity to make some surprise presentations to a number of leaders. All leaders are required to undertake training for their roles and on completion they are awarded a set of wood beads. Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, spent a lot of his army career in Africa and returned home with a large necklace of wooden beads worn by Chief Dinizulu. In 1919, BP was looking for something appropriate to award to Scoutmasters and decided to use a leather lace with a wooden bead from Dinizulu’s necklace. In addition, recipients were given a small piece of hornbeam from a tree in Gilwell Park, from which they were expected to make a copy of the original bead and to wear both around their neck whilst in uniform. Bill presented the wood beads to Pat Willcox and Becca Wilson as leaders with the Cubs and Beavers respectively.
During the COVID pandemic Adam Middleton, Scout Leader, devoted a lot of additional time to ensure that the Group continued to offer meetings, using Zoom, and took on the role of Assistant Group Scout Leader. Having completed his training, he was presented with his Wood Badge Certificate.
Jessie took the opportunity to thank the leaders for all the hard work that they put into Scouting and could see the enjoyment that all the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts were having on the water. This was especially evident during the afternoon raft race where all the Scouts slipped off their raft during the event and spent a lot of time safely splashing their opponents to slow their progress. Jessie then went on to present the Chief Scout’s Commendation to Pat for her work over the years with the Beavers and Cubs and the Commissioner’s Commendation to both Becca and John Wilson for the impact that they have made on the Group in a very short space of time. Throughout the Gainsborough District there are young people aged six to 18 years who are on waiting lists to join 6th Gainsborough Sea Scouts, and they can only sign them up if they can get more adults on board. They also need adults who are prepared to help with maintenance at their campsite, make and repair equipment and to run sessions where they have expertise, such as with electronics, first aid or photography. Nowadays Scouting is about providing ‘Skills for Life’, especially resilience and responding to challenges. It is also a great opportunity to have fun and share in the growth and development of young people in our town and, if you were a Scout and enjoyed it, an opportunity to put something back into Scouting. Find out more and sign up at https://6thgainsborough.co.uk/.