Almost the end of 2013

We've just had our pre Christmas meeting and said a sad "goodbye" to Mathilda, our oldest Cub. The year's almost over, but before we forward to 2014 and all the excitement that a new year brings, I'd like to take a moment or two to look back.

Firstly, do we have a photograph that sums up 2013? I've chosen one taken at the end of the Saturday on camp at Blackwell in the summer. Not all the Cubs are in it, there's no-one dangling off the end of a rope or doing anything spectacular. It's simply one of some Cubs gathered around a fire, toasting marshmallows at the end of a long day of activities.

We have a group of Cub Scouts who attend many different schools, have diverse interests and, because they are aged from 7 to 10, different levels of self-confidence. On camp, the camaraderie this year was very good - not surprising really; they are a lovely bunch of young people who are a credit to their parents.

In 2013, they gained a lot of badges! In fact, 195 of them!! The top five were:

1. Service Awards (17 of these)
2. Global Challenge Award and Local Knowledge Activity badge (16 of both)
3. Navigator and Artist Activity badges (15 of both).

I'm actually really pleased that our most given out badge is for service. It shows that the Cubs enjoy what they are doing.

We've been out-and-about more this year, thanks to the minibus provided by our Group Scout Leader and sponsored by his business Morris MOT Centre (with Andy moving on, we'll miss that next year).

But, we can always do more. That's where the thinking about 2014 starts....

Paul Sanders

(Akela)