With the camping season new getting nearer, it’s time to dust off the old camping blanket (or buy a new one) and get sewing all those spare badges on. Of course if you are relatively new to scouting, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about….
The Camp Blanket is a Scouting tradition stemming back to the very beginnings of the Scout movement. It has many functions, not just for keeping warm. But the main function of the Camp Blanket is as a place to keep all those badges that can no longer be kept on your uniform, campsite badges, event badges, badges from your old uniforms, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers etc.
Camp blankets are traditionally worn around the campfire circle and represent a history of your Scouting career, so others can see your achievements, where you’ve been, and the people you’ve met, it’s yours to carry through all sections of Scouting and is very much yours to personalise as you see fit.
them, as were Union and Confederate forces in the American Civil War. In the 20th century, they subsequently became field issue for troops in the Great War and the Second World War on both Axis and Allied sides too. Blankets also went to sea, and cabin blankets were first made in the early 1700s. In almost all cases, these military blankets were a drab khaki or grey colour. Following the cessation of these conflicts, forces veterans often kept them for their own use, while surplus blankets were frequently co-opted by other outdoorsy types, including numerous Boy Scout troops. In turn, this gave rise to the Scouting tradition of the camp blanket as a wearable reminder of shared adventures and experiences, gradually becoming adorned with embroidered Scout badges.
It’s been another exciting year in the scouting world!
As the days grow shorter, it’s tempting to stay indoors, but just because the temperature’s dropping doesn’t mean the fun has to!
No doubt we have around 80 exhausted people after returning from our annual family camp! With 24 families attending, it was sure to be a successful weekend and it didn’t disappoint. 
We are so often asked… “Where does this badge go?”
Your World Membership Badge follows you in every section, from Squirrels all the way through to Network, and even being an Adult Volunteer. You can either unstitch it from your current uniform and re-sew it, or buy a new one to sew onto your new uniform.
You can wear up to four Joining In Awards, which should be the four latest ones you’ve earned. So, if you’ve been in Scouts for 5 years, you’d wear your Level 2, Level 3, Level 4 and Level 5 awards.
The Moving On award is given to you as you prepare to move from one section to another, to show that you have moved on, so you would only wear the last badge you achieved in the previous section.
When you complete your Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, you can wear the highest award you’ve achieved on the uniform you’re currently wearing. When you achieve a higher award, unstitch the old one and sew on your new one.
The Chief Scout’s Award is the highest award for every section you’ll be part of, so, you always wear the highest award you’ve achieved. Unstitch the old award, and sew on your new award, and wear it with pride!
You should only wear Challenge Awards from your current section on your uniform. For example, you wouldn’t wear your Squirrel Awards on your Beaver sweater, or Beaver Awards on your Cubs sweater, or your Cubs Awards on your Scouts uniform.
You’ll start to earn Staged Activity Badges in Beavers and keep earning them all the way through to your time in Explorers, so you can carry these over onto your new uniforms whenever you move on. You should only wear the highest level you’ve earned.
You should only wear Activity Badges from your current section on your uniform. As with Challenge Awards, you don’t wear your Beaver badges on your Cubs sweater, or your Cubs badges on your Scouts uniform.
So you’ve signed your little Monkey up to join our Beaver Colony, they go every week and have lots of fun learning new skills and making new friends. 
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is something every young person should get involved in. In this article, Elysia Gorman, an active Regional Youth Ambassador for the Cardiff area gives us the background on the award and tips on how you can get started. Elysia is currently working on her Lowland Leaders Qualification and speaks with schools, participants and other leaders to provide feedback and improve DofE experiences.
fifth section for those going for Gold. These are volunteering, physical, skills, expedition and for Gold only, a residential trip. 
Camping season is coming! 
Just like rice bowls, pasta pots are super convenient too. Boil up plenty of wholewheat pasta in a saucepan, and add in your tomato sauce, basil and other ingredients for a hearty Italian camping feast. Let it cool and then simply spoon into individual pots.
chunky soups or a blitzed up version, this is great opportunity to pack your kids’ camping lunches with goodness. Use a base of tomato or flavoursome stock and you’ll be able to mask all manner of healthy ingredients within the soup. Spinach, broccoli, peppers… the choice is yours.
7.Eggs