Tonight was the first session for the osr scouts on communication a brief history and several examples of morse code and the phonetic alphabet. The scouts need to learn 5 Q codes for our next session which will be at Woodhouse Park in the shack.

The OSR scouts Travelled to The Mendip Hills today for a caving session with Marek. After getting kitted up and a safety talk we walked the short distance to Goatchurch cave. As we descended into the system we had to make our way through passages and chambers down to the water chamber where we switched off our lights to experience pitch black. The scouts then explored various tunnels before we started back up to the surface. The scouts had a fantastic time and all want to cave again. Big thank you to Marek.

It was time for our annual caving trip under the mendips with Marek. We arrived at the car park early and dressed in our hard hats and belts after walking a short distance and a safety talk it was into the darkness and off we went. The Goatchurch cave system was crowded and meant we needed to wait for passages to clear which added time to the session. The scouts had lots of fun and we descended down to the water chamber where the scouts explored various tunnels befor we started back to the surface. The scouts changed before returning to osr and on to home. Big ty to Marek £2.50 for a few hours activity when private groups were paying £35 each.

Tonight the OSR borrowed the Blast Off educational box from the SS GB team. Everything needed for the challenge is in the box including the firing mechanism, card, pens, scissors and reward badges. The scouts had great fun designing and building their rockets and then out into the cold night to see who’s would reach the highest. It came down to the best 5 to have a second attempt and the eventual winner was Oliver earning 5 patrol points for Merlins.

Tonight the OSR scout troop challenged themselves to build a rocket from the Blast Off box supplied by the SS GB Team. Everything you need plus badges are supplied free of charge for groups to use. This is a big help and covers things like the Creative Challenge Award.
The scouts spent time building and decorating the rockets and then it was out into the cold to see which of the 30 designs could reach the highest. Winner was Oliver and earned Merlins 5 Patrol points. The scouts wanted to say thank you to the SS GB team with a troop photo for their website.

On Monday the Beavers were very fortunate to be allowed in to the Patchway Fire station for a guided tour and to learn all about fire safety. The Beavers learnt about the tings, other that putting out fires, that the fire service might be called out to deal with. We learnt about fire safety in our homes and inspected the main fire engine.  All the Beavers (and leaders) were very well behaved and at the end we said a very large THANK YOU to the firemen for letting us into their station. 

This evening the OSR scout troop from Stoke Gifford attended Patchway Fire Safety to learn all about fire safety and the officers of Green watch were great. As well as teaching us everything we needed to know they also set up an obstacle course for the scouts which included assembling branches and hoses, extinguishing a traffic cone (well using water to blow it 5 meters) and rescuing a dummy. After all that excitement the scouts were shown around the fire engines and all the equipment they need to deal with traffic accidents, rescuing cats and of course putting out fires. The scouts even got the chance to sit in the back of the fire engine.

OSR scouts return after the Christmas break for Fun and Games in the hall. 7 challenges to test the scouts in their patrols with points available for the end of term trophy. First up were magic carpet racing as a relay then came the hourglass shake followed by cup stack swap and balloon cup blow. The 5th challenge was separation and next came face the after eight and finally office tennis.
All these challenges tested the scouts dexterity, coordination, skill and hopefully they had a lot of fun taking part. Well done to all with the Falcons patrol overall winners.