Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Brownsea Island


Since this year was the 100th anniversary of the Scouting movement and the 95th anniversary of the Ukrainian scouts, our small troop decided to plan a family outing to the origins of the movement in the south of England.

100 years ago, Lord Baden-Powell took a group of disadvantaged boys camping on a small island in Poole Harbour called Brownsea Island. From this experimental camp, Baden-Powell developed the precepts of the Scouting movement.

Our trip started with a short ferry from Poole and we spent the day with a walking tour and special scouting activities. The highlights for the kids were the recreation of some of the games that Baden-Powel had prepared for his boys and the treasure hunt in the afternoon which had them exploring much of the island on their own. (It's fun for our kids to have the freedom that we took for granted when we were young.)

The highlight for me was getting a phone call in the middle of this all the way from Singapore and feeling like it was coming from just down the road. I'm a bit weird that way, technology, when it works properly, excites me.

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