Happy Beavers.

Being named Happy Beaver myself when the opportunity to assist the local Beaver Scouts came up I volunteered. Twelve seven-year-old boys, an hour and half a week. Last night I gave my first solo presentation on the Solar System towards some badge or other. Taking a seven-year-old’s perspective on the Solar System is illuminating. For instance seeing the sun so big in the sky I never really thought of it as a star like the millions of little twinkly ones, but of course it is; it’s OUR star and that made me feel good. And I’d never really considered that on my birthday on the Earth’s journey through all the squillion acres of space the Earth is in the exact same position, like on every birthday! That’s amazing. Then as we constructed the solar system out of seven-year-olds, James the Sun, Otto as Mercury (too hot), Mars (no air), Saturn (just gas) and so on it made me realise just how amazing and ‘just right’ the earth is, just like baby bears porridge. So a line of beavers emerged each holding a ball the size of their planet radiating out from James holding an orange and each holding a piece of rope signifying the gravitational pull of the sun. And they were off running round James happy as Larry. Each had a ball, each was unique; they all love running about and all organised by a piece of rope into some semblance of order. About as close to the solar system in human form as you can get. When I stopped them all they wanted to do was go round again. So chaos averted I relaxed and went home for tea with Mothermouse. I’m definitely learning there’s an art to controlling cubs and beavers. Maybe they learnt something, I don’t know, but I know I did.