lower stondon scout group

Contribution thanks to Catherine Wakely 1st Stondon Group Scout Leader 1stStondon.GSL@gmail.com 07968 082620 Exciting Times for Stondon Scouts COMMUNITY 1 st Stondon are celebrating new leaders in their Scout section and planning ahead for the coming year, helping over 50 local girls and boys aged 6-14 to gain Skills for Life. You may remember in the November issue we wrote about 1st Stondon’s Scout section, appealing for volunteers who’d like to help young people gain skills to succeed. In December the Scouts bid farewell and many thanks to Ian Montgomery, who had led and supported them through many adventures in the past three years; in January we were joined by three fabulous new Scout Leaders who are busy settling into the group.

This year’s biggest event for the young people (and the leaders!) will be BigJam – the Biggleswade District Jamboree – in June. This activity weekend will be attended by all three sections, with Beavers sleeping under canvas for one night, and Cubs and Scouts for two. BigJam happens every other summer at Boyd Field in Henlow, and is a fantastic opportunity for the young people and leaders alike. We can’t wait to see what the organisers have in store!

Thinking back to the last BigJam, in 2018, Arthur said: “I really enjoyed BigJam last time, there were lots of great activities and my favourite was the caving. I can’t wait to go again!” and Xanthe said: “I liked going around all the different things to do with my group. We had hot dogs for supper.”

All the sections will be doing other camps during the year, as well as the yearly St George’s Day and Remembrance parades. Last Remembrance Sunday we were proud to attend the service at All Saints’ Church in Stondon. Two of our Beavers laid a wreath on behalf of the group, and the Scouts laid wreaths which they had made themselves. In the First World War the Scouting movement was only eight years old and many Scouts took an active part in the war effort – carrying messages, watching the coast, and guarding railway junctions, telegraph and telephone cables against enemy sabotage. We are proud of this heritage, and that our young people in 2020 are as courageous and resourceful as those Scouts long ago.