With the Guide Association still offering meetings online, my fellow leaders and I decided to step away from the official guiding programme and just let our members have fun!
With this in mind (and our members being in the TikTok generation), I was inspired to run a pirate-themed evening by 'Shanty-Tok'. Sea Shanties really set sail after Nathan Evans' video singing 'Wellerman' went viral (he even got a record deal from it!). With this genre of music finally entering into the mainstream media I saw my chance to share my interests with our members.
To prepare I did some reading around the Golden Age of Piracy and especially about Anne Bonny and Mary Read. I wanted to make sure I had a few facts in hand to show our members the history of piracy - they aren't just restricted to the mythological and legendary realm of tales. Our meetings are restricted to 1 hour so I couldn't focus on the history but instead interwove facts with the activities.
We began with a scavenger hunt around their houses - finding a variety of objects that could be linked to piracy. From a compass and map to sugar and coins - it was a great way to get them up and moving after a day of online school and get them in the mood for the meeting.
We then made a magnetic compass - explaining and looking at the magnetic poles and how valuable they are in navigation. Here's how to make one:
You will need: a needle, a magnetc, a bottle cap and a bowl of water
1) Magnetise the needle - stroke the magnet in one direction 50+ times (keep trying until it works because the number will change depending on the strength of the magnet)
2) Place the needle in the bottle cap and place in your bowl of water
3) Watch your needle find North! You can check this is correct with a traditional compass
I then asked the members to design a treasure map (after explaining these weren't actually used by pirates who instead memorised locations) OR design their own pirate flag, showing them some examples and what each symbol meant.
It would be remiss of me to not mention 'The Longest Johns' - a Bristolian band that sings sea shanties.
We had a great time and of course, we just had to dress up!
