Scouts went out around Hitchin in Patrols, looking for words and signs on the sheets they had been given. It can be remarkably easy to miss a bill-board just because it’s above head height! Congratulations to the Kestrels, who are clearly the most observant Patrol and were our winners for the night.

With the District winter camp coming up, we knew that our eight Scouts taking part would be building shelters from plastic sheeting and sisal, so we practised some useful knots. The clove hitch is OK for tying off an improvised guy line to a tent peg, although it’s better when both ends of the rope are being pulled equally (for example when attaching a rope fence to a post). The round turn and two half hitches is better for the bigger jobs, such as tying a rope between two trees to support the shelter.

The Scouts were invited to bring along their hobbies and interests to demonstrate. As well as a number of collections qualifying for the hobbies badge, we got several musicians as well, so the hall was quite lively.

The Scout Troop is concentrating on the Creative Challenge this term, and there’s nothing better to create than food. Some of the Patrol Leaders had already had a go at this, so they showed their Scouts how to roll out dough and bake it. Then to test the results!

It was only in looking at next year, for the Troop Forum on 4 December, that we realised that 2014 had been a record year for camping in the Scout Troop. With considerable support from Hitchin District and Hertfordshire County, we had eight camps:

• Winter camp in February had Scouts from all over Hitchin working, and competing, on camping skills
• The County PACE (Patrol Activity Challenge Experience) in early May was a weekend packed with different activities, with Patrols organising, and catering for, themselves
• The District Activity Weekend later that month combined resources from various Groups to offer a range of opportunities
• Our own Scout Group’s family camp in early June was a chance to see what your Scouts, Cubs and Beavers have been doing, and try a few things yourself – parents rafting can get quite competitive!
• Our summer camp was in August at Phasels Wood, across the county near Hemel Hempstead
• We again entered a team for the County Born 2B Challenged competition camp
• In October, a small group took part in the County air activities camp, and qualified for three badges in one weekend
• Just to round it off, Hitchin leaders took a team of our Scouts, with others, to the County’s premier Scout competition, the Green Beret Challenge

2015 may not quite achieve the quantity, but many of these events will be back, and the quality should be just the same! Scouts are already signing up for the next running of the winter camp.

We celebrated the coming festival and the term just completed, with the usual mix of games and sitting with friends over food.

Each Patrol had prepared a short presentation on a different world issue. The challenge was to find something that the rest of the Troop did not know about poverty, famine, the work of charities and so on. We got some remarkable and impassioned talks, including one presented as a drama, and all learned something new.

Planning as a Patrol and a Troop is an important part of Scouting. First, Scouts worked in Patrols to decide what to present next week, and who would prepare what in the days to come. Then we all gathered as a Troop Forum to talk about camping plans for 2015, and what kind of summer camp we would like.

We were asked to help the local homeless shelter by making decorations for their supporters’ entry for the Christmas tree competition. If you want any miniature woollen hats, we’re the people to ask!

Patrols went out around the town on a scavenger hunt. Full marks to the Patrol who, looking for money, found a security van delivering it to a bank!