On Sunday our Explorers went exploring at Dunseverick on our beautiful north coast. We took the opportunity to get our wetsuits on and swim in the many natural sea pools at Dunseverick harbour. Water pistols where a must to get each other even wetter. We even had a few seaweed wigs on display. After our swim we went to the harbour and relaxed around a campfire with s’mores and hot chocolate to get heated up again.
After winning the District heats, Ballymoney Cubs took to Stormont to compete in the Northern Ireland Quiz Challenge finals 2015. The competition was very tough with twenty five teams and one hundred children participating. The Ballymoney team consisting of Luke, Simon, Wade and Luca put up an amazing fight and finished on a brilliant third place beating twenty one district finalists teams.
It was a truly superb effort put in by the boys and the jumping of joy from all of us when Ballymoney Cubs was awarded third place.
Before the quiz started we were all given a tour of Stormont building and learned some very interesting facts.
“Did you know Stormont was exactly 365ft wide, one foot for everyday of the year?”
“Stormont has six floors and six pillars at the entrance, one for each county in Northern Ireland”
Once the tour was finished the parents / leaders were separated from the children and took part in an adult version of the quiz. Let’s just say the kids did so much better than the parents / leaders!
A big thank-you is owed to Anne and Rebecca for making sure everything went to plan and the kids arrived on time, and a big congratulation again to Luke, Simon, Wade, Luca. Hope you are all enjoying your prizes!
The cubs went to Woodhall Residential centre this weekend and undertook a wide range of activities working towards their challenge awards.
Outdoors they zoomed down ziplines, (Kaa was quickest of the Leaders…) skipped by numbers (much much harder than it sounds!) Did human Jenga on crates (congrats to Baggys team… ) High Ropes…. leading to the leap of faith – Akela had none and bailed at the top of the ladder….And Archery… Robin Hood has nothing on the Ballymunion Cubbies….. Shere Khan and Baggy both made the top and leaped but the tigers tail must’ve been scalded as he did it in record time!
Indoors was game show night, ‘Mang’ Edwards hosted Deal or No Deal where everyone one a prize.. and Blankety Blank was a hit as well… After supper off to dreamland the groups worked on their Ballymoney Cubs Got Talent piece for the morning.
Breakfast down and the talent show began! everyone did their best and thoroughly entertained the judges.
Many Thanks to Aubrey, Janet and John at Woodhall and Baggy, Mang, Shere Khan and Kaa of the Cubs Leadership team – special thanks to Mang for the work that went into the Game shows.
Well done Cubs…. lets get ready for the next one!
Friday night saw the Scouts and Explorers taking up the challenge of cooking pancakes. Each patrol cooked their own pancakes and then had the choice of their fillings – chocolate spread, marshmallows, jam as well as the traditional lemon and sugar.
Once cleared away the pancake races started, I’m not sure anyone actually knows who won!!
Once again the chocolate challenge has raised its head. In patrols the scouts and explorers designed a chocolate bar which included coming up with ingredients, naming it, designing its wrapper and this year creating an advertising slogan.
Entrants were varied with the Maple Bar which main ingredient was Maple syrup, Cookie crumble which included chocolate chip cookies and popping candy and this year’s winner was designed by the explorers and promptly called HLD (Hard Lad Dave) this is the explorers we are talking about!! Ingredients included every kind of chocolate you could possibly imagine as well as the engine from a 1986 Vauxhall Cavalier!!!!
Then came the fun part where everyone got to make and taste their own creations with the majority of the ingredients having to be substituted for an edible version.
Next year we might even try marketing these chocolate delights to the unsuspecting public.
The day started by helping local residents with a clean-up in Macosquin village; this goes towards the Global Challenge.
Then over to Kevin’s house for a day of camp skills including putting up tents, setting the site, collecting fire wood, using axes and bow saws, lighting fires with some backwoods cooking. Chocolate cake was on hand for afternoon tea, as the Scouts and Explorers enjoyed the sunshine. Then a few more practical skills of using Tilly lamps and stoves, before heading off to Downhill Beach for a mad and sandy game of rugby.
Once back, supper was had, flasks were sorted and gear packed for a short hike to the bivi site where the scouts and explorers would bed down for the night under the stars.
After a windy but dry night back down the hill for bacon butties, hot chocolate and the cartoon network.
