Camper and Camper....

the weekend saw many new things... not least a new (ish) leader executing his first camp... which is always a great and joyous, if stressful experience.... not least to the poor Nights Away Permit holder on whose permit the whole thing is carried... but these things usually go well, and this was no exception.. lessons were learned, fun was had, and Jim brought his spinny thing to shoot at (all in the safe environment of the range and under the strict guidance of qualified NSRA instructors...)... which was fun.. and yours truly slept in a transit van, due to two of our more experienced Scouts managing to find a new (if ineffective) method of pitching a Vango TBS Micro 250.... as far as i remember, its the first time I've encountered a tent wetter inside than out... but that's by the by.... wisdom notwithstanding, I decided to let our Baloo get on himself with the camp, giving him help with the planning stages, but allowing things to go wrong as long as they weren't too life threatening... luckily the site used was close to our hut.. I knew he'd forgotten the tent pegs, but decided to let him find out for himself.... mistakes make for good learning! and I think this is the essence of training... we could obviously point out things such as this as they happen..myself, being a cruel and unusual GSL prefer to let them happen, then ask how we can rectify the problem then help fix it.. and I find that most of the leaders seem to learn a lot more, and a lot quicker.... and it's better to let these things happen on a short camp close to home, than find them happening on a week in Queensland.... but all in all, the camp went well, though slightly damply for the first night.... all the Cubs involved had a great time, which is the main thing.. and our two Scout Helpers proved themselves invaluable... its only when you watch a 13 and 14 year old advising a 40 ish year old on the best way to lay out a site, that you realise (a) how much Scouting has taught the young ones and (b) how much it has taught the older one... in what other field would that happen?? where else would a 40 year old respect the experience and ability of a 13 year old enough to ask for advice? and where else would the 13 year old have gained such confidence that he or she would give such advice as an equal? This to me is one of Scouting's greatest achievements, this almost levelling, this respect for experience regardless of age.... at school, the 13 year old was taught map reading by a geography teacher who knew not his eastings from his northings, and when attempting to inform (politely and subtly, I hasten to add) of this error, our very experienced hiker and hill walker ( having navigated us over Foel Fras, up Snowdon, and all along the Norfolk Coast path, among others..) was told that he was wrong.... which makes me wonder how many young people are taught map reading badly.... and consequenntly think of it as difficult.. but I'm rambling (no pun intended) so I shall sign off for now.. until I have more nothingness to tell you of, keep Scouting...!!!!