Former 25th Young Leader and Network member Alice Mintoff tell us about her University Adventure and that Scouting is still possible plus the skills she uses to tackle everyday life as a University Student!

Moving to uni is terrifying. It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever done and that includes capsizing a kayak in the river Itchen. You really don’t know what your parents do for you until you’ve moved away and then get sick. It’s not something I regret doing though and it’s an adventure worth embarking on. Scouting has taught me various skills that have been quite useful and my multi tool was quite useful when fixing saucepans! I knew right off that I was going to get involved in Scouting whilst I was away and before I’d even got to Cardiff I’d found a pack that I could help out at and I knew about the SSAGO unit within the student union. To those who don’t know, SSAGO stands for student scouts and guide organisation, there are various groups at various universities up and down the county and we all meet up for 3 camps a year and one formal dance. I was fairly nervous about making new friends but after 1 meeting with Ssags – the Cardiff SSAGO group, I knew I’d found my people and from there making friends wasn’t so scary anymore. There are times when I seem to do more scouting things than Chemistry which is always worrying when I realise that my degree is in Chemistry and that I’ve actually got to pass but it’s always nice that there’s something else in my life to keep me busy. The great thing about scouting at university is that you can do as much or as little as you want because everyone understands that’s there’s a lot going on. Ssags provides a nice change to the volunteering side and we do all sorts, a recent favourite was our puddings and board games evening which we had during exam time. I can definitely recommend playing twister before you eat your body weight in trifle! Uni isn’t just about studying your chosen course, it’s about broadening your horizons and becoming you which scouting really does help with. In the interest of stopping with the clichés, I shall now stop talking! Hope the weather is good where you guys are! YiS Alice (:

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce the newly revitalised Southampton City Network (you may know us as Ducks). For those of you who don’t know,

Network is the Scout section for 18 – 25 year olds, we’re a District based unit and meet wherever the activities take us – recently taking advantage of a few drier days in the New Forest.

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IT is one of the oldest Cub Packs in Hampshire and 100 years on it is still flying high under its original flag.

There was a Wolf Cub Pack at Highfield, Southampton, two years before the founder Lord Baden-Powell introduced them across the worldwide Scouting movement.

Now the 14th Highfield Scout Group’s Cub Pack is celebrating its centenary by asking past and current Cubs for memories and memorabilia which will go into a time capsule.

It will be a fascinating archive of local Scouting history.

The Pack will also be saluting their proud past by creating a giant jigsaw portrait of Lord Baden-Powell.

It was in 1913 the Scouting movement’s founder Robert Baden-Powell published a first draft of a scheme for Junior Scouts.

And the following year there was a more detailed outline for Wolf Cubs or Young Scouts. Cub Scouting was officially launched in 1916.

But records have revealed that the 14th Highfield Wolf Cub Pack began as an experimental section two years earlier on January 30, 1914.

Today the 14th Cub Pack still has its original flag and this rare picture shows the Highfield Wolf Cubs in 1918.

Now the pack’s major milestone is being marked with a series of celebrations.

Throughout 2014, the current Highfield Cub Scouts will be taking part in activities focused around the history of Cub Scouting.

On Sunday, July 6, from 12pm to 4pm, the Cubs will be holding their own centenary fete, inviting local dignitaries, local residents along with any past, present and future members of the 14th Cub Scout Pack.

The 14th will be compiling a book of memories from past and present Cubs and along with other items these will be put in a time capsule and buried on July 6.

They are asking the wider community to share any memories or experiences linked to the group.

Anyone interested in being involved in the celebrations should contact Assistant Cub Scout Leader Rama (Iain Tinkler) at iaintinkler@yahoo.co.uk.

For more information, please visit http://www.highfieldscouts.org.uk.