We had a fun year with about 17 boys, age from 6-8 years old. Over the months we played
netball, hockey, dodgy ball and a variety of chasing games.

Last winter we played 'Escape from Alcatraz' which involves the boys creeping around the
hall in the dark, as trigger- happy guard patrols with torch. There are the inevitable minor
bumps. However nothing to match the time a couple of years ago, when one of our boys
jumped/ was pushed? off the stage, landed badly and hurt his arm. He cried and cried,
refusing to pull up his sleeve to show me, and so another parent walked him home for me,
returning half an hour later. It was only at the end of the evening that she revealed that she
was a doctor, had cut the boy's sleeve off to examine him, only to discover he had broken
his arm! Fortunately for me, the family are neighbours of mine, so his mum forgave me.
And I forgave her for having such active and mischevious sons!

Another accident happened when my own son was still young enough to attend Beavers,
so that was about 6 years ago. We were playing outside on the last evening of the summer
term, having a water fight. It was only when it was time to go, and I asked all the boys to
line up at the door to go back inside, that one boy fell on the steps and banged his knee.
Anyway, I've got 3 kids, and they've had their share of accident and emergency, but I have to
say I have never heard anyone scream so much in my life. I had no idea if this child had
actually hit the edge of the step and really done something serious or not, but I had to
assume he had. Anyway he screamed and screamed. All the parent were arriving to collect
the Beavers, all the Cub parents were dropping off. They all had to walk past this
screaming child, who's mother was late. It was only when I offered him a water pistol to
take home that he stopped- instantaneously!

Alison Wallace, Beaver Leader