What we cleaned up:

Noodles. On every surface known to man.
Noodles on chairs.
Noodles on the floor.
Noodles in hair.
Noodles inside a shoe that WAS NOT REMOVED DURING COOKING.

We also discovered a carrot slice on the ceiling.
We are still investigating.

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Best excuse of the night:

“The pan was too hot so I threw the vegetables at it from far away.”

Innovative?
Yes.
Correct technique?
Absolutely not.

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Best moment:

Samuel came back.
In a wheelchair.
Grinning like he owned the place.

The Cubs swarmed him like he was a celebrity returning from tour.

One Cub yelled,
“SAM’S BACK! WE CAN START AGAIN!”
And honestly, same.

Remember. Samuel is the boy who had no friends when we started all this.

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The Bird Houses Are Officially Up!

This morning the estate warden, screwdriver in hand, fluorescent jacket glowing like a beacon of authority installed the Cubs’ bird houses around the estate.

They are:

• colourful
• crooked in extremely charming ways
• enthusiastically painted
• definitely child-made
• already admired by several passing residents

One old lady said,
“It brightens up the place.”
Another said,
“Mine looks like it’s screaming, but I like it.”

The Cubs were buzzing to hear their creations were now officially beautifying the estate.

One Cub said,
“Can we put a camera in one box to watch the eggs.” That’s a nice idea.

We’ve created landlords.
Oops.

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Samuel’s Return A Real Moment

Samuel rolled in through the doors and the room exploded with excitement.

Some tried to hug him.
Some tried to push the wheelchair.
Some tried to sit in it.
Leaders intervened promptly.

His mum teared up.
A leader teared up (me).
Even Custard the Rat seemed emotionally invested.

Samuel said,
“I’m not missing Cubs again.”
And that was that.

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Tonight’s Main Event: Our First Cooking Activity

We christened the brand-new electric hobs with a proper cooking night:
Stir fry … Cub style.

This included:

Skills learned:

• chopping veg (mostly safely)
• stirring without flinging the pan across the room
• using tongs responsibly
• identifying which vegetables “look suspicious”
• not licking raw chicken (we got there in the end)

Skills not learned:

• cleaning as you go
• portion control
• not eating half the ingredients during prep

The Cubs each cooked:

1. A portion to eat at Cubs,
2. A portion to take home in a takeaway container.

For some of them, this was the first time they’d ever cooked a proper meal from scratch.

One Cub proudly said,
“I’m feeding my mum tonight.”

Another said,
“Can we do this every week? I want to learn more stuff.”

And there it was…
the spark.

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A New Idea Begins

Tonight showed us something important:

These kids are desperate to learn how to cook.
Properly.
Confidently.
Healthily.

And so many of our families would benefit from it
from learning cheap, nutritious, simple meals they can recreate at home.

Maybe this isn’t just a one-off.
Maybe this is the start of something new:

• regular hot meals
• cooking skills they can take into adulthood
• food confidence
• fewer empty cupboards at home
• fewer evenings where dinner is “whatever’s left”

Imagine if our Cub Pack becomes the place where estate kids learn to cook better than most adults.

Imagine the impact that could have.

It starts with noodles on the ceiling.
It ends with real-life skills that change lives.

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Week Ten Verdict

• Bird houses: Installed. Beloved. Slightly wonky. Perfect.
• Samuel: Back, bold, brilliant.
• Stir fry night: A triumph and a near-health-code violation.
• Food plan: Emerging loudly and proudly.
• Leaders: Exhausted but hopeful.

Ten weeks in, and the Pack is becoming something bigger than we ever expected.

We’re not just running meetings anymore.
We’re building skills, building community, and building futures.

One bird house, one Cub, one stir fry at a time.