Yes! ..this could count towards a badge!
Starting February 12th - May 12th
A Quentin Blake exhibition "Drawn by hand" will be on & it's FREE !!!!
http://www.quentinblake.com/news-events/7-news/284-drawn-by-hand
(if you like reading Roald Dahl books (yes & you parents & carers) Then you will have come across some of his wonderful illustrations.....
So why not plan a visit to the Fitz as part of a day out to Cambridge & tell us all about it, visiting a museum is an option for you to do as of the  requirements in order to earn your Cubs Artist Activity Badge!

In fact why not have a look at SIR Quentin's website it's lot's of fun by a man you know a bit about (unless you've avoided books & stories all your life)!

http://www.quentinblake.com/

 

1. Overall view of the cartonnage of Hor before treatment
2. David Knowles, Sophie Rowe and Andor Vince positioning the cartonnage in the purpose-built frame
3. The distorted head and chest of the cartonnage before treatment
4. The cartonnage of Hor suspended upside-down in the frame
5. The cartonnage of Hor after reshaping and stabilisation
6. The cartonnage of Hor on the new display mount

Ancient Egyptian mummy case saved by engineering and LEGO®

The conservation of the mummy case was undertaken with the assistance of the University’s Department of Engineering, who helped construct clever frames to support the delicate case during conservation and a new display mount with internal supports using LEGO®.

The mummy case was found in the Ramesseum at Thebes in 1896. The gilded wooden face had been torn out by robbers and the mummy removed. Cartonnage is a uniquely Egyptian material, often only a few millimetres thick, consisting of layers of plaster, linen and glue. It is remarkably rigid but also very sensitive to humidity. At some point Hor had been exposed to damp conditions and had sagged dramatically around the chest and face. This caused structural problems and also serious cracking and instability in the painted decoration. There had been some attempts at repair and restoration, most probably in the cartonnage's early years in the Museum.

Once Sophie (a restorer at the museum) had successfully re-shaped the chest and face and stabilised the surface, David designed and built a display mount for the mummy case. An essential part of this is the internal support which ensures that the structure cannot collapse again in the future. Six light, ingenious little structures made from LEGO® have been placed inside the chest cavity. They are adjustable using screw threads, and are padded with archival foam where they are in contact with the ancient surface.

Lego, found in space, in museums, ..& all over your bedroom floor (probably)!

By web admin:
We are receiving lots of site hits from all round the world connected to scouting, & are open to other verified scouting groups using our web material (there's more that's hidden) to load a starter site by prior agreement, (duplicating the entire site if need be is easy for us & could save another group many hours of time) ..so if you are one of those groups reading this please contact us (via the contact page) & we will talk about what we intend to do (such as pages & links for scout & explorer scout section badges if that's what you need).

The objective of this site (via weebly) is for simplicity, allowing folks to learn to produce a website confidently in the simplest automated form (in which weebly is pretty darn good)

For instance, any basic errors you may see are by the contributors to the site stamping their own mark on here & learning as they go! ..quietly swept up & corrected if need be by admin ;) ..so if you were thinking of scalping our pages (right click protected, sorry) ..then do come & talk to web admin @Mr__Gus on twitter, (for quickest response). 

Beaver parents & carers: we'd love, appreciate & sincerely need your help! (but first well "try" the polite way before resorting to barring the doors & employing strong-arm tactics)...

Put bluntly, we MUST match up adult to children ratios, to do this we need the assistance of 1 extra adult for 1 whole hour every week to balance things out! no special skills are required (but are always welcome).

The sign up sheet is on the window opposite the kitchen with around 17-19 beavers per week that only amounts to 1 hour every 4 & a half months or so if we get a full rota going.


Dale has kindly stepped in to assist with Beavers in the meantime but the onus should not be placed entirely on him.
So please do consider signing up for a session or two, if not we might have to start reducing new intake numbers (there is already a waiting list).

New Beaver members please read over our parental overview page (which if you are not familiar with  regardless of how long you have been with the pack ..please, do have a read.

As usual, feedback is most welcome.

UPDATE: take up of hanging around with we leaders (& beavers) has proved a bit hit & miss, so please do check your schedules (yup! ..ours are busy too) & if you can spare an hour or two, pour a brew & keep a simple eye on proceedings with us you will have greatly improved our lot & made things safer for all the attending Beavers...


Thankyou.

After a long period of stagnation, (otherwise known as xmas) the site is back, being updated, viewed & receiving hits from all around the world! ..for a small village site within a few months we are regularly receiving a steady trickle of 2000+ page hits per month, ..not bad for January, & a new site quickly made for a total of around 36 children, parents & carers to keep an eye on what's happening within the pack.

But, we'd like to know what you would like placed within easy reach of these pages, so do make yourselves heard! 
...camp, trip, & badge links, badge progress etc are of course a priority, info will hopefully be linked (dates, mapped locations & reminders which can be accessed via our tablet & smart-phone friendly site, admittedly there are a few glitches whilst new to computer leaders get to grips with posting & changing the content, but we hope you enjoy what we've done to date...

Sign up to our twitter feed, check out our links, & pick out the badges you'd like to go for next! 

Hopefully more leader bio's will be forthcoming.. watch this space

Bowling @ Pidley golf & activity centre has been changed to Saturday 9th of February (as per notices given out on Wednesday pack meeting)...to everyone but the parent updating the site! ...Grrr!

Please remember to fill & return your forms, ((& money)) for next Wednesday 30th January 2012 so bowling lanes can be booked

UK Scouting has appointed Matt Hyde as its new Chief Executive to build on current strengths and lead the next step of retaining an organisation relevant to the needs of young people.

Matt will take up his new post on Monday 29 April 2013 and will work with The Scout Association’s Chairman, the UK Chief Commissioner and the Chief Scout to lead the growth and development of Scouting in the UK. Matt will replace Derek Twine CBE, who is retiring from the post after 16 years of service.

Read more about Matt Hyde on scouts.org.uk

We're over here Matt & would love help from "up top" back at a literal "local" grass roots level ;) 
Congratulations on your new role! ..don't forget the little guys!

By Izzy M.


Because Cubs CAN cook!

Always have help from a parent or carer when working in the kitchen

Whitebait was my first attempt at gutting fish, (as they are so small you don't really need to but my dad thought it might be a bit more interesting for me to have a go...& it gave me some very important practise using a knife safely

After washing our hands well we got started!

Surprisingly it was very easy & not at all messy (we put some paper down having rinsed off the whitebait) gutted them carefully with a knife & my dad watching me really closely.

Then we popped all of the little fish (about the size of your thumb) in a clear plastic food bag with some flour & gave it a really good shake! 


We tidied away the knives chopping board & paper then washed our hands again because we had finished handling our raw fish. 



The flour covers & coats the fish which you then lightly fry for a few minutes & gobble them down whilst they are hot bones & all, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice really makes them yummy, or you can add your favourite seasoning such as salt & pepper 

Because they are SO tiny the bones stay soft, ..tiny morsels you need a good portion per person but they are quick to cook & very different to a boring slab of  cod.... & I can make it myself!


Just before serving them hot, butter up some white bread & make up a super salad, a simple & supremely tasty food combination!


This is a very easy  introduction to cooking from raw with children, (& fun shaking up the bag of floury fishies) !

By Izzy M.
Made by me, ...because Cubs CAN cook!
Always get a parent or carer to help you in the kitchen..
We love banana's & custard, which is a great camp food using a simple packet mix & banana's that you've brought with you or bought from a local shop. Tasty, energy giving fast & simple treat food!

But Dad thought it's time I learnt to make simple proper custard & really appreciate how quick it is...
People worry about "lumpy custard" but it'd actually quite hard to get it wrong!

we used a vanilla pod which gives it about 10 times more flavour than the shop bought custard! ...I sliced the banana's (dad is awkward because he likes his cut super thin!

Except for the cornflour (which some people use to make it thicker custard, ..it's thick enough for us) this is nearly the same as making  ice cream except you pour it over your pudding instead of churning it & freezing it! 

Ingredients

• 1 Madagascan vanilla pod (if you haven't tried cooking with one yet you're missing out)
• 250ml milk
• 250ml double cream
• 5 egg yolks
• 100g golden caster sugar

1. Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape the seeds out with the point of a knife. 
2. Put both the seeds in a medium pan with the milk and cream. Bring to just below the boil slowly then reduce the heat to just keep it nice, warm & thickening up.
3. Lightly whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and thick.
4. Whisk in the vanilla- infused milk -- then wipe out the pan & enjoy (to get rid of any milk that has caught on the base) and strain the custard mixture back in. Put it back on a medium heat, stirring continuously until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, (& drip off slowly) Don't let it overheat or boil or the egg will curdle.
5. Just don't stop stirring it & you'll be fine! (about 5-10 minutes)
6. save your vanilla pod for either vanilla sugar or to start off a small amount of vanilla essence!*

*each time we cook or bake with vanilla if we have a spare pod it's chopped up & added to our big bottle of  homemade vanilla extract 


7. store the egg whites (covered in a bowl) & pop them in the fridge for making yummy sticky meringues or similar!

The custard will keep in a fridge for several days, but is too yummy to not eat the same day.

By Izzy M.


The great thing about Vanilla is that none of it go's to waste.
When we cook we often use vanilla extract which is cut up bean pods once the seeds are removed (using scissors).
We got a bottle of vodka (which is important) but the alcohol burns off  when cooking or baking so it's ok!

Then we poured around 100ml out into a measuring cup (we use the spare in our ice cream machine).

after that we split open 18 vanilla pods & took the seeds out then popped it into the vodka..

Next we use scissors & chop up the pods to 1cm size & add them in too.

Now shake it up for as long as you can! (Dad shook it solidly for over 2 hours while watching a film) ..then shake it every day for a fortnight (2 weeks) then every time you remember!
It's best if you can keep them in a dark brown bottle or else keep it in a dark cupboard.

After 3 months it will be raw vanilla extract, after 6 months it will be pretty magic to use in baking, it will keep well for several years!

after 6 months, pour it through a strainer to separate the pods from the liquid & pop the pods back into the bottle to start another batch! ..you will never run out of vanilla extract & you'll have enough to give as presents to your friends who bake!

Months have passed & it's just about ready to strain, we've added so many more vanilla pods when cooking, so not only does it add to the flavour, it saves waste too! ...I cannot wait to bake with another ingredient I made myself.

Note: certain religions will not be allowed to consume alcohol (which we use for a base ingredient) so it's always best to ask before you serve folk up something just in case, so always have a list of ingredients to hand, you can make vanilla extract without alcohol but it's a tiny bit more fiddly! ;)

Why not practise this neat recipe to improve on Akela Judith's burnt campfood offerings!? 

Camp pizzas with Creative toppingsPizza Serves 4

Ingredients300g (12oz/1 and a bit cups) 
self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting, 
a pinch of salt,
150g (3oz/ó cup) margarine or butter,
 250ml (ó pint/1 cup) milk

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt and margarine or butter with the milk to form a smooth, thick dough and knead on a lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes.
2. Roll the dough out using a rolling pin or an empty wine bottle onto a double layer of foil that has been sprinkled with a little flour.
3. Place the foil onto the edge of hot campfire embers for about 15 minutes, then remove it to add your toppings.
4. Once you have topped your pizza (see suggestions below) return to the heat for a further 15 minutes.Check it frequently so that it doesn’t burn.

Topping ideas
Classic Margarita – tomato pizza sauce, sliced mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and basil leaves. Breakfast pizza – tomato pizza sauce, bacon, sausage slices, mushrooms and a cracked egg on top. Oriental surprise – cooked chicken, spring onions, cashew nuts and hoisin or plum sauce. Seafood platter – flaked cooked salmon, prawns, anchovies and Gruyère cheese.

Try something different..

• Cook on a hot barbecue grill and add 10 minutes to the cooking time.

• Cook in an oven preheated to 160°C (325°F), gas mark 3 and reduce the total cooking time to 20 minutes.