SCOUT NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 60, 8 September 1937, Page 20

SCOUT NOTES

(By "Chingachgook.")

Thought lor the AVcck.—The appre-. ciation of beauty cannot bring happiness if your conscience is not at rest! Metropolitan Headquarters Notices. The services of twelve Rovers in mufti are required by the Smith Family to assist at a concert on Thursday at the Wellington Town Hall. Will they please report on that date to Mr. Maxwell at 6.45 p.m. Rover-Hanger Social. A Rover-Ranger social is to be held on Saturday, October 2. The hall has yet to be arranged; it will be announced when decided. An invitation is extended to all Scouters in the Metropolitan area. In the past it has been the policy oi Rovers to support Scouters' functions, and this social will provide an opportunity to reciprocate. Ambulance Competitions. "Kamahi" writes: Last Saturday, by invitation of the officer responsible for the arrangements, I visited the, St. John Ambulance Cadet competitions, in which teams from all over the Dominion were entered. I was in time to see the inspection, by the three knights of St. John, and I thought it ■ most impressive. The greatest thrill of all came when I was shown the magnificent shield presented by Miss Robin in honour of Sir Alfred Robirt. Sir Alfred was one of the Knights of St. John, a rare distinction, and was held in great esteem throughout the order. We Scouts remember his devoted service to Scouting for over ten years as.V Metropolitan Commissioner with- pride and fondness. Sir Alfred was awarded the Boy Scouts' Association's highest honour, the Honorary Silver Wolf, shortly before his retirement. While I was at the competitions I met some chaps from the Terrace Troop, un4er Scouter Ray Scarff ("Skip") and later went with them to their hall, where I spent an interesting and enjoyable half-hour on games, and' taught them some stunts. This troop appears to be one of the small but keen ones, and the efficiency of the P.L.s was evident even in the short time I spent wiUj them. . They may be surprised to hear that I learned a good deal from my contact with them. Johnsonville Group. A very successful dance was held at Johnsonville on September 4, the hall being packed with Scout supporters. The splendid work done by Mrs. R. Hogg contributed largely to the success of the, evening, and special thanks are due to her. First Roseneath Troop. The First Roseneath troop was very pleased to welcome two members of the Old Boys' Patrol—Murray and Pat Aitken (of .Nelson College), who with Brian Gawith, of Masterton, spent an evening with the Scouts last Saturday week. A humorous "log" of the previous weekend camp was read by the Scribe. Patrol-Leader,, J. .; Houston ("Tara"), and a stunt game calling for Ihe exercise of intellectual was arranged by "Koala" and "Ra"kau." For the information ~of intending visitors, it is announced that, the First Roseneath troop will meet in future every Thursday evening at 7 "o'clock instead of Saturdays as previously. Mr. P. Clark ("Mohua") is now Acting S.M. of Roseneath, and with Mr. C. Leighton ("Rakau") as A.S.M. will carry on the troop in place of Scouter W.-.G. Bear, S.M. ("Koala"), who is shortly resigning from the Roseneath group, and Scouter J. O'Neill, A.S.M. ("Hiwi"), who has been granted leave of absence. "Koala" and "Hiwi" will continue in their capacities as Camp Warders for Scouting of the Toe H Hut and Camp Site at Mahina Bay, Ngaio Cub Pack. i The Ngaio Cubs are collecting articjes which will be sold in aid of their funds. They need gear, etc., and as they are putting their backs into the ■vvork there is no reason why this effort should not raise the necessary money. There are two collection centres, one at each end of Ngaio, and it is a race to see which will win. The score at present is as follows: —Commissioner: Bobbie 74, Bob 74, Paul 70, Peter 70, Clyde 38, total 306. "Barloo": Laurence 60, Morton 60, Jim 60, Allan 60, Bryan 60, Ashley 8, total 308. Don't forget the new war cry: "Ten articles a day keep the Cubs at play." 2nd Kelburn Pack. The 2nd Kelburn pack paid a visit to the liner Rangitane recently and found much of interest. The Cubs were impressed with the galley, which is equipped with modern oil cooking apparatus. The saloons and state-rooms came in for a good deal of attention, also the spaciousness of the decks, assuring plenty of room for games and relaxation Lyall Bay Baptist Troop. ■ ■ The Lyall Bay Baptist Scouts held their annual meeting on August 31. It was largely attended by parents and church officers and was a most successful meeting. A strong committee was elected to look after the boys' interests and a competent ladies' body to attend to the social side of the troop. Elected for the year were the Rev. Mr. Matthews as chaplain and the Rev. T. W. Weston as chairman of committee. A meeting of the new committee will be held on Thursday at 8 p.m.: all district officers are cordially invited to be present. The Cubs will parade on Thursday evenings except the fourth in each month, when they will meet on Tuesday. The duties of secretary have been transferred to Mr. Scott. 57 Yule Street. Kilbirnie. Mahina Bay Hut Competition., ;To foster good Scouting standards of camping among Scout troops and crews who make use of the Toe H Hut at Mahina Bay, a competition has been, arranged to commence from September, 1937. The troop which receives the highest grading and points for each half-year ended June 30 and December 31 will be awarded the Me-1 Kinnon Cup (named after the patrons of the. camp site), and, in addition, will have its name inscribed on the I honours board to be placed in the hut. The.competition will be judged by the Camp Wardens and the following nine factors will be taken into consideration:—l. Sleeping (cleanliness of bunks, palliasses, and pillows). 2. Eating (table, crockery, benches, and meat safe). 3. Cooking (stove, billies, frypans, oven cloths, wash-basins, outdoor fireplace, wood supply). 4. Generalities Inside (floor, seats, and allround appearance). 5. Generalities Outside (verandah, yard, toolshed). G. Hygiene (latrines, disposal of food scraps, and tins). 7. Good Turn (work performed during camp with due regard to opportunity, weather, etc.). 3. Conduct of Camp (maintenance of programme and production of written copies of programme and menus to adjudicators). 9. Record of Camp (writing up of a "Scouty" log of camp in the. camp log). The following table indicates the method of grading and awarding points in the competition:— 100 points, grade A plus, super excellent (hard to reach but not altogether impossible); 80 points, grade A, excellent (little fault to find); 70 points, grade A, minus, very good (can improve a little); 60 points, grade B plus, good (several improvements possible); 50 points, grade B, very fair (definitely can improve); 40 points, grade B minus, fair (considerable improvement necessary); 30 points, grade C plus, passable (definitely not good); 20 points, grade C, work not at all well done; 10 points, grade C minus, very weak (a poor attempt). After each camp, the troop or crew concerned will be notified (through their District Commissioner) of the Camp Wardens' grading and points.in the competition, and this will also be recorded on the chart kept in the hut at Mahina Bay. It is hoped in this way that good camping standards will be encouraged by all who use the hut, and so tend to make the camp site a training ground for reasonable cleanliness and orderliness when camping elesewhere. A Dish for Camp Cooks. A little Irish friend of the writer informed him of a dish known as I "Coddle" to the inhabitants of "Old Erin" and yery popular there. Here is • the recipe: Put several sausages together with bacon cut into about twoinch pieces, tomatoes, and a mediumsized onion cut into quarters, and j cover with water in a pot. A few i pinches of salt may be added and the i whole brought slowly to the boil and! allowed to simmer for about thirty minutes. On cooling take away the fat from the top and heat up again, when the thickening of mixed flour and water or milk can be added. ».