In January, we held a Martial Arts evening with a visit from Adam Askew of the Twae Kwon Do Association. The Cubs enjoyed trying out the various chops, kicks and cries and especially the punching gloves. In March we tried our hands at miniature indoor cooking with almonds- these can be placed on the end of a piece of wire and once lit, the oil in the nut burns for a very long time and gives out enough heat to cook an Ulster Fry in a small tinfoil pan or for the more adventurous banana, apple or even mini-pancakes! Also in March, we visited Trax Arena in Bangor with other Cubs from East Belfast, spending an enjoyable evening zapping each other with laser guns and bouncing on the giant inflatables. Some of the Cubs also took part in the Junior Ardnavalley Walk in March- well done to all those who earned sponsor money. Just before Easter, 38 Cubs and Leaders visited Dundonald Ice Bowl for an ice-skating session and to complete the requirements for the new Skater badge; it has to be said that the Cubs were much more confident skaters that the leaders; Akela in particular had some difficulty with the badge requirement ‘demonstrate how to fall safely (without anyone noticing) and regain your balance (dignity?)’.

After Easter, all of the Cubs completed the Navigator Badge; as well as getting to grips with local maps and street directories, we followed trails of sawdust, wool and sugar puffs scattered along the streets of Gilnahirk by imaginary sheep, woodpeckers and honey monsters! In May, we took part in the Belfast County outdoor 5-a-side competition, and although one of our teams progressed to the quarterfinals we were no match for the stiff competition and unfortunately failed to reach the semi-finals. In June, we joined with the Troop for an evening of Dragon-boat Racing at Lagan Watersports, with the Cubs and Scouts working towards the water activities and Dragon-boating badges respectively. This provided a good opportunity for the two sections to work together, encouraging the older Cubs to move up to the Troop in the autumn. The Pack also entered two teams in the Castlereagh Borough Council 5-a-side football competition in June, coached by Billy Jeffrey, and even though we didn’t win we were delighted when our B team reached the final of this competition despite the players of many of the other teams being older and bigger than our Cubs! We finished in June with a visit to Crawfordsburn Scout Centre, with Cubs, parents and leaders all tackling the assault course where our suspicions that the Cubs were much fitter than the adults were sadly confirmed; a muddy, exhausting but hugely successful evening, which ended with the presentation of badges and trophies; congratulations to Ryan Harbinson who was presented with the Cub of the Year Cup and his brother Adam who was awarded the prize for best Junior Cub Scout.

In the autumn, we have been completing the requirements for the various Challenge Awards. This has included a workout session with a gym instructor from Fitness First, recycling rubbish to make model rockets, and a visit from one of the keepers at Belfast Zoo who brought along some snakes and other cuddly reptiles for the Cubs to stroke! We have also been making various crafts as part of the creative challenge, including stone and shell ornaments, scented oranges and decorative Christmas cards. At half-term we had our traditional party with all the usual messy games and team challenges, while at Christmas we decided to celebrate Christmas down under style with an Australian and New Zealand Night; challenges included a Rolf Harris Art Competition, All Blacks War Cry, Didderie Doo playing, dressing a team member as an Aborigine Warrior and a series of Bush-tucker trials!

30th Pack again played an active part in District and County events in 2003. Four of the Cubs took part in the District Mountain Bike competition held at Crawfordsburn on a bitterly cold Saturday in early January. Congratulations to Robbie Lamont who won gold in the 9-year olds’ race, with Ryan McKnight finishing in bronze medal position, and to Andrew Flack who not only struck gold in the 8-year olds’ race but went on to the win the final race of the day, the Champion of Champions Race. Several of the Cubs also completed their Cyclist Badge that afternoon and many thanks to Davy Hawthorne for helping to examine this badge. Also in January, 12 members of the Pack represented East Belfast District in the Belfast County Swimming Gala; congratulations to Philip Hawthorne who earned gold in the Senior Backstroke and bronze in the Senior Breaststroke, Niall Morrow, silver in the Senior Backstroke, Michael McMillan, silver in the Senior Breaststroke, Matthew Cahoon bronze in the Junior Backstroke, and Richard Anderson bronze in the Junior Breaststroke. Philip and Michael swam for the District relay team, picking up further gold medals, while another relay team, made up entirely of Cubs from 30th, Ryan McKnight, Niall Morrow, Matthew Cahoon, and Richard Anderson finished in bronze medal position.

In February, we entered two teams in the East Belfast District Quiz, finishing 1st and 3rd, respectively. Our ‘A’ team of Jordan Douglas, Ryan McKnight, Niall Morrow, Richard Anderson and Tom Noteman (sub) progressed to the NI final at Ardnavalley in April, coming a credible 3rd just behind teams from Jordanstown and Londonderry in a hotly contested quiz. 30th also entered 4 teams in the NI Orienteering Competition at Crawfordsburn in March. The Cubs seemed to enjoy taking part in this event even if they did display varying degrees of success at reading a map and going around the course in the right order…perhaps if they’d realised that the Scouts were doing a different course and had actually tried to work out a route for themselves rather than following the older lads, we might have fared better!! In November we once again entered the Alexander Swimming Competition, one event that still eludes us every year. Despite a much higher than usual turnout from the Cubs this year, we were unable to wrest the trophy from 1st Carryduff, who have successfully retained this trophy since 1996. Maybe next year…

The highlight of the year was undoubtedly entering two teams in the Belfast County Flag Competition in April, not only winning but finishing in runner-up position as well. Events ranged from mini-pioneering, compass work, and first aid to playing ‘musical’ tunes on glass bottles half filled with water, and of course not forgetting the lunchtime cooking event. According to Michael’s menu, the day’s special was Chef’s Uniquely Brilliant Soup (a blend of seasonal vegetables simmered to perfection) followed by Chef’s Unbeatable Beef Surprise (cooked over an open fire with carrots and onions, served with delicious mashed potatoes, well worth the wait). I’ll leave it to the readers’ imagination to define ‘simmered to perfection over an open fire’ and to speculate just how surprised the judges were by the beef!! Well done to our winning team of Rory Foye, Niall Morrow, Michael McMillan, Tom Noteman, Richard Anderson and Matthew Welsh, and to runners-up Philip Hawthorne, Ryan McKnight, Ryan Harbinson, Rob Bennett, Adam Harbinson and Christopher McNaney and special mention to Davy Hawthorne for all the help given to Donna and myself in training the teams especially at Cairn Wood where we practiced for the cooking event. Both teams were treated to pizza and ten pin bowling to celebrate their victory and later in the year we visited Belfast City Hall in November to be formally presented with the County Flag by the High Sheriff, Councillor Margaret Clarke; we were very grateful to Peter McNaney for making it possible for both teams to attend the reception and receive a guided tour of the City Hall.

The Cubs helped out enthusiastically at the book and records stall at the Autumn Fair and played an active role in the Thinking Day Service in February and the organisations’ Christmas Service in December. We were also represented at the District St. George’s Day Parade in Sydenham and the Christingle Service at Knocknagoney. This year our Christmas Good-turn involved participation in the Aquaboxes for Africa appeal, and we linked up with the Rotary Club –many thanks to Michael Thompson for making this possible. Earlier in the year, we also helped to collect old uniforms, badge-work and other programme materials to send to the Scout Association of Malawi, through a project organised by South Antrim District Scouts.

4 camps were held during 2003. In March, we spent a weekend at the Cladagh Glen Scout Centre, on the banks of the Cladagh River, near the Marble Arch Caves in County Fermanagh. Following some martial arts combat training on the judo mats at the Lakeland Forum on Friday evening, we were up early on Saturday morning and on our way to the Correlea Activity Centre, undeterred by signs such as ‘Dead Man’s Land’ and ‘Death Ridge” and under surveillance from crazy cowboys and Indians in authentic costume who emerged onto the path in front of us to greet us on our arrival. Soon, clad in boiler suits and gloves for a morning’s caving activity, and armed only with miners’ helmets and torches, what followed was like a re-enactment of the Great Escape as we slithered and squelched, crawling on all fours on the mud, squeezing through increasingly narrow underground tunnels before eventually emerging through a narrow opening onto the Fermanagh hillside and into glaring daylight once more. After lunch and a quick game of football, we divided into two groups, one taking to amphibious landing craft to secure a deserted harbour outpost on a nearby island while the other scaled an abandoned lookout tower (Akela and Alyn crawling their way up the rock face with all the finesse of a pair of demented spiders, before landing swiftly back on the ground again with a bump!). Next morning, after inspection and Cubs Own, we honed our fire-lighting and backwoods cooking skills under the direction of Sergeant Davy Hawthorne who impressed us all with his potato, leek, beef and onion soup, managing to melt only a few pot handles and one plastic fork in the process! Finally we rounded off the weekend with a visit to the Marble Arch Caves, feeling just ever so slightly sorry for the one young couple who were the only others there, having unwittingly booked for the same tour as the Cubs!

In May, we attended the NI Cub Scout Fun Day at the Ulster American Folk Park, taking the opportunity to spend a weekend camping at Omagh District Campsite; our programme included some outdoor wide games, a campfire and building model rafts to race at Gortin Glen. In September, four of the seniors attended the District Sixers’ Weekend at Killyleagh Outdoor Activity Centre; this time activities included canoeing and sailing in Strangford Lough, bouldering in the Mournes and a campfire in the grounds of Inch Abbey on Saturday evening.

At the unearthly hour of 6.30 a.m. on a Monday morning in August, a bleary eyed group of Cubs and Leaders met at the Jack Britton Hall, piled into minibus and car and headed for the Sealink check-in desk en route to Troon. On our journey to Edinburgh, we stopped off at M&Ds Theme Park near Kilmarnock for an afternoon sampling the thrills and spills of roller coasters, waterslide, log chute and other scary rides, before travelling on to our base for the week, Bonaly Scout Campsite. This year, we went up-market, staying in the recently refurbished Forth Lodge Chalet, complete with duvets, hot showers and microwave oven!! Of course, we didn’t want to spoil the Cubs completely, so they all had the opportunity to spend a few nights camping in the grounds around the chalet for their camper’s badge, and the seniors built a tree shelter which they slept out in on several occasions, wakening to find squirrels crawling over their sleeping bags foraging for food- which was in fairly plentiful supply thanks to the midnight feasts and regular trips to the campsite tuck-shop to restock supplies.

Activities during the week included a visit to Edinburgh castle to scale the battlements and tour the prison cells, and to Edinburgh Butterfly and Insect World, where the Cubs completed the Naturalist Badge- we plan to give Donna a bravery award for overcoming her fear and venturing inside a greenhouse full of butterflies, moths, ants and assorted beasties. Midweek we travelled across the Forth Bridge to Deep Sea World, where the Cubs were able to grapple with snakes and lizards before heading on to ‘Scotland’s Secret Bunker’ built during the Cold War, now how was someone with Akela’s legendary navigating skills ever going to find a secret bunker hidden in the middle of rural Fife?? Well fear not, the helpful Scots had actually posted signs directing us to the ‘Secret Bunker’! The Cubs were soon mesmerised by all of the army equipment, radios, maps, weapons and supplies they encountered on descending underground to the restricted access area.

Many of the boys are keen rugby fans so we spent a very enjoyable afternoon touring Murrayfield Rugby Stadium, taking in the stands, pitch, dressing rooms, function rooms and VIP and Press areas and inevitably the gift shop too! We also had an excellent trip to the Museum of Flight at East Fortune, which had expanded since our last visit in 1995, with many more WWII planes in the hangers, a 737 outside and a new display on space travel; the staff at the museum were very helpful and all of the Cubs had the opportunity to work on their Air Activities Badge.

Another highlight was the Edinburgh Dungeon, complete with a visit to the torture chamber, a boat ride in the dark through the sewers of old Edinburgh, being trapped in a burning cottage as Highland Clansmen and wailing banshees moved in to massacre us, and best of all ringside seats in the dissecting room where a frightening surgeon asked Jordan to assist on stage in dissecting a bloody and gory decomposing corpse!! We’re not too sure what long-term effect all this had on Jordan, the leaders felt he was a little too keen to help the surgeon throw rotting body parts and squirt vile bodily fluids at the unsuspecting audience; Akela is already dreading the day Jordan enrols at QUB Medical School!!

During the week, we also took part in some of the excellent activities available on site, including the aerial runway and orienteering course, fought off a multitude of midges that attacked mercilessly each evening and also cooked many of our meals outdoors on the campfire, including a traditional Burns Supper of Scotch Broth, Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, and stodgy pudding, washed down with Irn Bru and finished off with Highland Toffee. One night we ventured to the Artificial Ski Slopes which bordered our campsite for an evening of skiing and snowboarding; with the exception of Gail, who is an accomplished skier, the Cubs put the adults to shame and we reckon it will be a long time before Akela and Haithi venture onto a real ski slope- we’re both still nursing bruises and suffered the ultimate indignity of having to ask Cubs to help us get back on our feet each time we tripped on our skis and fell over!!

We rounded off the week with a visit to the Magnum Centre in Irvine on our return journey to ensure that all the Cubs returned home to Mum having washed at least once that week! It was amazing how many bars of soap we found still in wrappers during mid-week inspection, and one Cub even claimed his mum hadn’t bothered to send any soap this time as he had never bothered to use it at previous camps so why would he start now? (Shame on you, Tom!!). Congratulations to Andrew Kernohan who was presented with the Cub of the Camp Shield.