Hello and welcome to the news. Imagine a world where nothing ever changes. Where the sun shines for 12 hours and 43 minutes every day. Where people all drive the same cars, have the same haircuts and all enjoy the sweet blue eyed soul of Marti Pellow's Wet Wet Wet. Imagine how dull that might be. Well, we're here to save you with the Explorer Scout news. A big announcement Parp pa pa pa parp paaaarp. And with that stately fanfare we are proud to announce Ross is to become the proud recipient of the Medal of Merit for his services to Scouting. Conservation Heard this the other day about figs and had to tell someone. Figs are pretty amazing. They have many thousands of flowers but chances are you’ve never seen them. They’re hidden away inside the fig fruit and are pollinated by tiny fig wasps. Most of the 750 species of fig have their very own species of fig wasp which in turn is completely dependent on that fig species for food and shelter. It’s where they will grow up, meet their partner and die. So anyway well done to Catrina, Jordan, Jack and the guys from the 13th Explorer Scout unit for turning out for the conservation project on Saturday. Don’t forget these counts towards your Explorer awards, D of E and John Muir award. This Wednesday We will be doing the staged swimming activity badge at Lochgelly high School from 6.30pm till 8.30pm. So we will leave the community at 6.00pm returning at 9.00pm then on Saturday we will be taking part in the Kirkcaldy swimming Gala details to follow on Wednesday. Next Wednesday We feel for you. We really do. Some of you have been receiving the Explorer Scout news for over four week now, and what have you got in return? A load of chat about Explorer Scouts, some pictures of you, a couple of special features about the Duke of Edinburgh and a photo of Santa. Some would argue that that is actually quite a good return on your investment. So on the 19th of November we are going Ice Skating to Dundee its party night and its Free Last Wednesday We are really happy when someone we know wins something as it normally means its there round at Starbucks latte all round. So well done to the team that won the ready steady cook on Wednesday night 3rd December Conservation Falkland Making stuff is great. You start off with some drinking straws, sellotape and an old cardboard box and before you know it you've got a scale model of the Guggenheim in Bilbao. We like making things, so we are very happy to be heading to Sugar Acers to make Bird boxes for your next conservation project. Duke of Edinburgh We would like to say we have been invited to the palace of holyrood house for tea and crumpets and those little cucumber sandwiches with out the crust but no its just or next D of E up date. Ever wanted to have a go at something completely different? Or get recognised for the time and effort you put into your favourite hobby? This is what the Skills section is all about.

From podcasting to painting, from DJing to driving, from music to making kites, whatever skill you choose can allow you to develop new talents or perfect existing ones. Follow a passion or discover a new one, the choice is yours.

“I learned so much…the tutors were such talented musician. The highlight was taking part in the ‘Proms in the Park’ celebrations which was televised live.” Dipak, Gold Award holder

Once you’ve chosen your skill you’ll need to decide how long you’re going to do it for and set yourself some objectives – what you want to get out of doing it. You’ll then need to find someone who will agree to be your Assessor – they need to have some knowledge of the skill you’re doing so they can help you along the way and agree at the end that you’ve met your goals.

As soon as you have all this in place just check with your Leader before you start – this enables us to establish whether you’ve ‘ticked’ all the boxes needed to progress towards achieving your Award and that you’ve set yourself enough of a challenge. They’ll also make sure what you’ve chosen counts for the Skills section, for example, dance is physical but dance appreciation is a skill. And Finally
According to France's Chocolate-Makers Union, the Swiss are the world's top consumers of chocolate, chomping through 12.3 kilogram’s per person per year.