Explorers

Today I find myself with a free half an hour and very little to do. Over lunchtime I have been pondering the Explorer Meeting that Jess and I have planned for tomorrow night. It's epic. So I think I'll write about it.

The evening is called "Confessions" and is a partially group-organised, partially surprise meeting based on embarrassment and getting to know each other a little better. So far the planning is going quite well, but my co-conspirator, Jess, has GCSE exams this week, which she has to take into account in her role in the planning. Fortunately, I have been able to take over from most of the planning she is unable to now do and she is preparing another activity instead, which will take less time (hopefully).

So, to get you started, I have posted a couple of embarrassing pictures which come up when you search "Cuffley Explorer Scout Unit" in Google Images. The above one is Mr Robbie Williams himself (Teej) with Broke The Goat, on one of the rides at Southend. The one opposite is some crazy fool, who thought it would be a good idea to dance like a teapot in a kebab shop. Honestly...

Finally, this is a picture from the Southend trip of another one of our Explorers riding a pink elephant whilst carrying Broke. (You can't say we're not diverse in our madness!)

Scout Group Family BBQ

Howdy folks! As a true Brit, I was hoping to open this blog post with a polite comment about the weather, but it's so changeable at the moment that whatever I write will be wrong. Plus, I'm not sure what I would write anyway, as it is both sunny and cold at the moment. Anyhoo. Today I am pondering the Group Family BBQ on Sunday; it should be fun, if the weather holds up (or at least, doesn't chuck down).

There are several reasons for me pondering this topic. The first is the number of people who appear to be going without their families. Whilst I understand that some people's families are embarrassing (mine more than most), that's no reason not to drag them along to a Scout event. And if you've got a big family, even better! There'll be more people to laugh at/with. It is a FAMILY event and thus you should at least ASK your family if they want to come! (If your brother is hot, you should make him come. Of course, I'm not thinking about anyone in particular... *cough* Pip *cough*)

Secondly, I'm hoping that Gabi and Markus, our German friends (from Germany, because they're just totally awesome like that) will still be in the country on Sunday (I can't remember when they go home) so as to part-take in our "fantastic" British Grillfest. Except that it will be nowhere near as good as a Grillfest, and we're probably more likely to call it a "sausagefest", which gives entirely the wrong idea.

Finally, the Bro Code. I'm not sure how many of my one reader actually know about the Bro Code, so I'll explain. TBC is based on a legen(wait for it)dary tome which is frequently cited in the American Sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" and is (by all accounts except his own) written by Barney Stintson, an infamous (fictional) playboy. I recently bought a copy of this book for myself and one for a friend for her Birthday, and we and the rest of the 'Splorers are planning to live by it for as long as we possibly can (we're all terrible at it, none of us can drive and we all get topless in front of each other sometimes, but only when camping). But we will be upholding this code at Sunday's festivities.

So, that's why I'm excited/pondering the Scout BBQ on Sunday. Not particularly interesting I know, but hey - you didn't have to read it :)

As always, you can follow me on Twitter at @EmPernilla for more random wafflings.
Much love xx

Rain

Hey guys, I don't know how many people are still reading this, it seems to have been a bit of a five-minute wonder. But, in true Scoutist fashion, I shall continue regardless. As the weather has been (as Peter Andre/Jason described it) "hormonal" recently, it has been raining patchily for the last several months. Some much for summer! And therefore my ponderances have been mostly water-based.

Rain may not be the first choice of weather for fishermen, campers, festival goers, lovers of shorts, naturists etc. however, I have come to believe that it is wonderfully good for the natural world (flora, not fauna - obviously it has affected the migration patterns and breeding seasons for loads of animals). I am convinced that this summer there is even more plant growth than normal; trees are greener, grass is higher and thicker (and less dead) and because of the rain, there is a lot less pollen around, which means that hay fever sufferers such as myself are free to explore and discover nature without exploding every three seconds.

Secondly, there's the Gemütlichkeit of it all. Sorry, but there really isn't a word in English that's suitable; if you type it into Google Translate, it'll come up as "cosy", but I think it's more than that. To me, Gemütlichkeit is more like that feeling you have when you're inside (probably snuggled up in bed, or by a fire with a blanket) and it's chucking it down with rain outside and you feel so snug, like you never want to move again. That's the wonderful thing about rain, you feel safe (as long as your not out in it). This still happens at camp, because the rain is really loud on the tent (as long as your tent doesn't leak, it's fine), but it's colder in the morning. And, as anyone who was at Gilwell24 last weekend will testify (Pencil Guy, Liz, Sammi, MatT, Josh, Ollie, Martha etc), the actual participating in activities, unless that activity is mud-sliding, becomes a lot less possible...
You just don't get the same feeling of snug-cosiness when it's boiling hot in the summer - lying on top of your duvet, failing to sleep and needing to get up for a drink every twenty minutes doesn't exactly give you that same experience...

And yes, there is an element of Schadenfreude in there [for those of you who've never come across the most fantastic word Schadenfreude, it's the concept of "pleasure from the pain of others", the Germans have a word for it :-)] - the idea of being cacooned inside, wrapped up with your big thick book and a cup of tea whilst the rest of the world is experiencing this torrential downpour on their heads, makes you feel quite good (unless you have a Tom and Jerry Christmas moment...)

Don't tell me you've not seen "Tom and Jerry; The Night Before Christmas"?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Right! Next post...

Cubs - An Advancement Of Ponderances

OK, I have thought about this long and hard (yes, I am aware how funny you find the words "long" and "hard" to be when put together. Grow up) about the whole Cub Leader thing and I think I might like to be a Cub leader actually. Think about it; you get super powers (see previous post about Cub Camp), and Cubs always do exactly what you ask them to (unlike Scouts, who are total beaches once they reach about twelve). Plus, you get to do all sorts of awesome crafts and nature walks and schtuff which, if you tried that with Scouts, they'd get bored. But you can still do awesome games and activities such as Wide Games, because they're old enough to understand and appreciate them.

My other plan is to help with Explorers, because (let's face it) Explorers are the reason for living; they're practically adults when they get to that age and they've (normally) got over the argumentative, rude streak (well, OK, no. But they've learnt to control it by that time). Plus, you can be so much more adventurous with their activities, such as Gilwell24 and random nights away, which is awesome. Plus, you can treat them like people and become almost like proper friends with them.

And by that time I'll be living with the rest of the current Splorers, minus Andrew probably - he's not overly liberal - and I'll need something fun to do with them. Somehow I highly doubt that I will ever get married in this hypothetical world; who'd want to live with me when I spend all my free time Scouting, apart from other Scoutists? Unless I marry another Scout/Cub/Splorer/Beaver Leader, which would solve a lot of problems, as I hope that, if I get married, I can have children and raise them in the Scouting religion (I'm pretty sure this is what happened in my family; my parents married and "what happened in the tent (i.e. me) stayed in the tent"). This is a lovely image.

Plus, you know, I don't have a career plan at the moment, so doing something like this will make me feel good. Volunteering makes everyone happy, right?

Splorers: My Real Homies (Or Something)

'Allo Darleeengs. Today I am pondering the Splorers, who are perhaps my homies, besties, and the coolest people I know who I don't share the Common Room, or the lounge room at Church, with (Sorry guys, I have to put in that disclaimer).

Currently, our Explorer Scout Unit consists of:

• Andrew Wilhem Nigel Marshall
• Elizabeth Gillaaay Concertina Sartori
• Emily Rupertia Alfonz Young
• Me
• Jacktopher Arnold Maria Coleman
• Jessiqua Juan Wendy Kraushaar
• Joshua Irene Callum Roper
• MatThew Icecreamcone Raccoon Weller
• Oliver Nancy Margaret Brossi
• Philip Pippin Gorgeous Collis
• Phoebekins Noel Philanthropist Neal
• Rebecca Jayne (BJ) Tyrannosaurus (BT) Harvey
• Rossington Goatbreaker Toasteroven Staunton III
• Samantha Post Office Theodora Watts

And the Leaders consist of:

• Beardy McBeardson Bedwell
• Special Steve Bicyclist Motorcop Rowsell
• Pete von Petey Pete Pete Slugdance Cracknell
• Lovely Likeable Leedley Leeeeeee 
• Diane and Pam, The Logical errr, Man(?)

They are beautiful, and I very love them much. They should all be awarded with awards and shiz for recognition. And we recently got a reverse TARDIS. It says "Blue Box" on it and it's bigger on the outside. We're gonna put mirrors on the ceiling for Becky and Ross...

Odd Requests

Today I have been pondering odd requests, such as the one which was put to me on Thursday.

As a result of this, today several of my friends and I went to meet up with Ross and some of his friends (who we had never met) at the cinema in Enfield. This was both funny and awkward as Ross didn't bother to introduce us to his friends, so we named them Julio. All of them. Well, apart from one, who we named Juan. He was our favourite; there was also one (Julio) who looked like Michael Crout, which was really funny. So, after being asked to see a film  I wasn't particularly interested in seeing, but which was very good, with a bunch of people I didn't know, I didn't even get to know the people I didn't know. But Josh Roper came, and that was nice.

As part of today's outing, I have now purchased a bright turquoise wig and a pair of fetching rose-tinted spectacles. They are both amazing and look rather sexy whether worn together or separately. It really is better looking at the world through rose-tinted spectacles; everything looks very grey when you remove them. I'm currently considering whether or not I could get away with wearing them for exams, as a medical purpose (preventing depression or sleep). I'm also wondering whether the head would allow the wearing of a turquoise wig as part of the uniform; it doesn't say we can't wear wigs.

So yeah, that's all really, I like fun fun fun things.

By the way, I have Twitter. If you want to follow me, or tell me or anything, or just laugh at the two happy whales I have as my picture, then please do. It's probably #EmPernilla I'm not quite sure how this dooby works. I also don't use Twitter much, ever, so I don't even know why I am suggesting this, but it seems like the cool thing to do these days.