Moggie

I build aircraft carriers for Her Majesty :-D

My British scouts in NYC out of uniform but wearing their neckers, held with a mixture of woggles and friendship knots. Cheers Gareth

[quote=*currently max of £3000 per year I think you'll find that the current fees are £9000/yr Cheers Gareth

" This type of thing? Cheers Gareth

Why on earth are 16 seat minibuses considered unsafe? We use them all the time over this side of the pond. Many scout groups own and operate their own, in my own scout group we've thought about buying many times but on balance we find renting them is the better option for us. Cheers Gareth

Then I think joining escouts.org.uk is the thing to do, you might be crushed in the rush! I'd say come and visit my group but we're off your planned route Once you have made contact and agreed a visit you'll need to chat with I guess your special programmes people and get an International Letter of Introduction - this will make life easier. Whatelse? Bring lots of patches! If you have the time perhaps visit Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour the site of the first experimental camp Cheers Gareth

Hello From over here, You will be welcomed by any cub pack you wanted to visit, a good place to try is: http://www.escouts.org.uk London: Personally I wouldn't bother with BP House there are plenty of other things to see and do, I concur the Science Museum is great as is the Natural History Museum next door. Pop over to Greenwich and you visit the Old Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory where you can stand in both the eastern and western hemispheres. About the UK: Remember to look the other way crossing the roads - and you wont get arrested for jaywalking. Travel costs will be absolutely horrifying, especially if are driving. Traffic may well be faster than you are used too. The UK is not as big as we think but its not that small either. It's also further north than the lower 49 States so you get more daylight (significantly more so in late June and July). The weather is best described as....damp. What does this mean? well it will rain at some point but it has an odd effect on the temperature you feel. Sometimes it will seem that its a lot hotter than the thermometer says but equally you find youself convinced that device is just plain lying and wondering why you feel so cold. What do want to get out of meeting UK cubs? I'll answer your questions where I can. Gareth 1st Westbury Cub Scouts use the qr code to visit the group website

Er... Herbert Spencer 1864 Principles of Biology "This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called 'natural selection', or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life." Further what Darwin went on to suggest that it was not survival of the fittest that supported his concept of natural selection but rather survival of the good enough. Cheers Gareth

It is my understanding that the phrase "survival of the fittest" was coined by Herbert Spencer after reading Origin of Species. What Darwin was working towards was natural selection, he did use the phrase but for symbolism rather than in its literal sense; rather than the "nature, red in tooth and claw" as you seem to be suggesting and I don't think that was Darwins intention. As always happy to be corrected Gareth

Unfortunately this story has made it on to the BBC on this side of the pond too http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24592482 Gareth

Are minibuses not popular on your side of the pond? They are widely used over here. Cheers Gareth

Well just recovered from cub camp last weekend, 23 cubs in 3 eight man tents. First night usual madness with one tent chatting until 2AM. the second night no problems at all All tents asleep by 23:00. The cubs all went home to their parents Sunday afternoon very happy and very tired. Walked across to another couple of packs that were camping too, and they were pretty much the same. I also had 15 scouts from my group camping in four 5 man tents (we do have to separate the girls and boys) in another nearby field. I love the camp site we use, trees, grass and fresh water. Cheers Gareth

Daft question from across the pond - how old are your cubs? K- 20 means nothing to me really. I'm taking cubs camping this weekend, we don't take parents. Me, two assistants, a cook and 23 cubs aged 8 - 10yrs Cheers Gareth

"2) In some countries, that is how scouting is done, i.e. one committee supports all the units. If I remember correcetly, and one of our Brit members please tell me if I am wrong, A scout groups will consist of Cubs, Scouts, and Explorers. The group leadership is essentially a committee that supports the pack, troop, and crew. Some units have been around longer than some councils have been around." This is indeed how we broadly operate. In my group 1st Westbury in common with most UK groups, we have a single committee, the group is headed by a Group Scout Leader. A young person joins the group at age 6 as a beaver scout, progresses to cubs at 8yrs, to scouts at 10 1/2yrs and then at 14, if the group supports an explorer unit becomes an explorer scout. Explorer units operate at district level rather than at group, although in rural and small towns the explorers tend to be formed around the scout groups. Cheers Gareth