What we cleaned up:
The toilets and the poo…
Best excuse of the night:
“I really needed a poo…”
This was the explanation for:
- leaving the game without warning,
- reappearing five minutes later with no context,
- and then acting like we were overreacting by asking where he’d been.
Council Estate Cubs: where gastrointestinal emergencies outrank all rules.
Best moment:
WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN £5000 TO GET STARTED!
Enough to subsidise uniforms, trips, camps, badges, and probably a mop that doesn’t give up mid-clean.
We told the Cubs and they blinked at us like we’d just told them we’d bought a spaceship.
One simply shouted:
“MUM SAID I CAN GO ON CAMP!”
and honestly? That was the real win.
For so many of these kids, “Mum said yes” is not a small thing.
It means:
- someone believes they can do this
- someone wants them to go
- someone has said, “You deserve adventure too.”
That £5000 isn’t just money.
It’s access.
It’s fairness.
It’s a chance for families who are struggling to say “yes” without worrying how they’ll pay for it later.
It means the estate kids aren’t the ones left behind.
OK I did have a little cry again.
Tonight’s Topic: BADGES!
If there is one universal Cub truth across all postcodes, backgrounds, and decibel levels…
It’s that everyone loves badges.
We brought out the badge poster and the hall instantly turned into The Apprentice:
kids pitching, arguing, campaigning, forming alliances.
Two clear winners emerged:
1. Animal Carer Badge
Because:
- “I want to wash a dog!”
- “I want a hamster but mum said no so I want a pretend one.”
- “Can we adopt a fox?” (No. Absolutely not.)
- “I want to stroke a horse AND feed it AND ride it AND also maybe own it.”
We will… manage expectations.
2. DIY Badge
Because estate kids LOVE tools.
We’re talking:
- hammers
- screwdrivers
- wobbly shelves
- questionable enthusiasm
One Cub asked,
“Can we build a bunk bed?”
Not in the hall.
Not ever.
Probably.
Dodgeball: The Great Unifier
We ended with dodgeball, obviously.
There are few pure, universal truths in this world, but one is:
All Cubs, regardless of behaviour, background, or energy level, become Olympic athletes when dodgeballs appear.
The transformation is instant.
Kids who can’t sit still for 10 seconds suddenly develop elite tactical awareness.
Children who walked in tired find the power of 10,000 suns.
The Leader Survival Instinct™ kicks in.
It was chaos.
It was loud.
No one cried or got hit in the face (much).
10/10. Would dodge again.
The Real Stuff Beneath the Banter
Behind the shouting, dodgeballs, poo excuses, and badge debates, something big is happening:
- Kids who’ve had it rough are starting to smile more.
- Children from struggling homes are talking excitedly about camp instead of worrying about cost.
- Young people labelled “difficult” are shining because we see their strengths first.
- They’re learning, bonding, and actually listening (sometimes, briefly, miraculously).
And now, with £5000 behind us, we can really make this Pack something special:
Affordable.
Inclusive.
Joyful.
For every child on this estate, not just the easy ones, not just the quiet ones, not just the lucky ones.
We’re only at Week Four, and already their world is opening up.
Imagine Week Ten.
Imagine camp.
Imagine the confidence, the chaos, the growth.
This is how change starts:
with a poo excuse, a handful of dodgeballs, and a whole lot of hope.
Council Estate Cub Pack 