Beavers keep their promise

Lothian House, the residential care facility run by Southern Cross Healthcare, benefits of some of the town's senior residents, but recently it received a visit from a group at the other end of the age scale. The First Byers Green Beavers hold their meetings at St. Paul's Church in Whitworth Terrace, just across the road from Lothian House. Beaver Scouts are the very youngest group in the Scouting family. Their members are generally aged 6 – 8 years, although in practice children can join in the three months leading up to their sixth birthday, and can progress to the Cub Scouts at any time between age 7 years and 8 years 6 months. In common with other members of the scouting fraternity all over the world they promise to '...do my best to be kind and helpful, and to love God' and embrace the scouting motto 'be prepared'. As part of their 'Friendship Challenge' they undertook a 'scavenger hunt' on the former railway line behind the church, the eventual winner finding 37 items! Being Beavers, the winner wanted to share his prize with the others in the group, and they all decided to keep their promise, and do an act of kindness for someone else. The outcome of this was that the troop visited Lothian House in order to present residents with a sweet scented Jasmine tree for their garden, where a marker will show how it came to be there. If you have a child aged between six and eight years, and you want them to learn real values for life, you'll find a warm welcome at St. Paul's Church where Beaver meetings are held every Tuesday evening from 6.00 – 7.15pm.