Happy Birthday Beavers!
The Beavers in New Romney know how to enjoy themselves. On my last visit for their AGM they had a chocolate feast. This time there is birthday cake as this Beavers Colony is 27 years old which makes it the longest established in Kent.
The Beaver Colony
This evening, Thursday 22 October I am with a large and enthusiastic audience of family and friends to celebrate the 27th birthday party. We watch the Beavers talk about what they have been doing and entertain us with songs. We are also invited to join in ‘Four and Twenty Blackbirds’ complete with gestures.
Cllr Susan Carey, Shepway District Councillor presenting the badges
My role is to hand out the badges the Beavers have earned in the last few months and to admire the models they have made. This time I remember to use my left hand to shake hands with the Beavers.
Left-handed handshakes are said to have started when Baden Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement, met an African chief. The Chief transferred his shield which he held in his left hand to his right which contained his spear and offered his left hand as a sign of friendship. So Baden Powell adopted the left-handed handshake for the Scouts as a sign of trust and friendship.
Shirley Carey cuts the cake
The cake is cut by Shirley Carey, Ted’s widow. Ted was a former mayor of New Romney and involved in many clubs and good causes. He is much missed.
Cllr Susan Carey, Shepway District Council Chairman
You will notice that I am wearing a poppy which I had bought earlier that day at the Poppy Appeal Launch at County Hall. Someone at the New Romney event tells me poppies should not be worn till 01 November. There isn’t any definitive ruling on this but I suppose people might think you’re recycling last year’s poppy if you wear it mid-October! Mine will reappear in November.
PS The Royal British Legion have clarified the matter by saying the way to wear poppies is ‘with pride’ and they be worn from the moment of purchase.
