Adiji Chief Scout Carnival - 25th February 2012

By Scribe/Sixer Jeremy Tan







I woke up with eagerness go to school early as we were going to St. Patrick’s school for the Adiji Chief Scout Ceremony of the new chief scout, our President of Singapore, President Tony Tan. We had to be in school by 7.15am.

The new recruits wore their uniform for the first time but without their scarf as they have not had their investiture yet. They looked incomplete without their scarf but nevertheless look good and smart and blended in with the Cubs. We assembled outside the general office and 3 charted buses took us to St. Patrick’s School. Each Six had an adult leader who took care of the Six as many Scouts from all parts of Singapore were expected at the Adiji ceremony at St Patrick’s School.

When we arrived at St Patrick School, there were almost 6,500 scouts already assembled there. We were awed by the size of the St Patrick School as our school was very small compared to theirs. We assembled in the massive school field and were briefed on where we had to go if we were lost and when and where to re-group. After that, we were dispersed and we moved in as a Six.

There were many game stalls like fishing and shooting and a souvenir shop where proceeds from sales were donated to a charity organization. There were also D.I.Y slide, see-saw, swing and merry-go-round. There were also free 100 plus energy drink and even free popcorn! However, tokens tickets were needed to play the games but the organizers gave everyone only two tokens. Extra tokens could be purchased at $2 for every 2 tokens.

My Six Emu, decided to go to the fishing game stall. However the queue was too long and we decided to move on to the next game stall which was the shooting game. At the stall, the queue was even longer and we decided to revisit the stall later when the queue was shorter.

There were some scouts demonstrating how to cook a chicken using a dug-out, some wood and tin-foil. We watched as they cooked it in pit in the ground. It smelt good and we wished we could sink our teeth on the chicken. There were fire pits for visitors to roast marshmallows which were the organisers provided free. We tried our hands at it and the roasted marshmallows tasted deliciously Yummy!

It was soon 9.30 am and all the scouts had to gather at the field to practise the Adiji cheer before the Chief Scout arrived. All 6500 of us Scouts had to Adiji in unity. It took many rounds of practice before many Adiji cheers became one loud Adiji cheer. Finally, at about 10am, his Excellency, our President of Singapore, President Tony Tan arrived dressed smartly in a scout uniform. All the scouts rose and cheered in unison the Adiji. President Tony Tan acknowledged the Adiji and walked to his seat. Not long after, President Tony Tan was declared the Chief Scout. It has always been the tradition that the President of Singapore becomes the Chief Scout. Before President Tony Tan it was ex-President of Singapore, Mr. Nathan. After the installation of the Chief Scout, the 6500 scouts continued to soak in the carnival like atmosphere at St Patrick School.

My Six and decided to get the free 100 plus drink. It re-energised us and we got moving again. Next we went to the souvenir shop and bought ourselves many souvenirs. We gladly paid for the souvenirs as money we paid was donated to a charity organization whose benefactors are the elderly and disabled. There were many things like notebooks, soft toys and even badges.

My Six next visited a game stall. The game required the use a pair of chopsticks to get 20 marbles from a bowl to its cover in less than 60 seconds. We decided to play this game as there was no queue at all. Encouraged and cheered on by my cubs, I managed to accomplish the feat in under thirty seconds. I won a lanyard.

We were hungry and tired so we decided to go to the canteen for a drink and to get some free popcorn. There was a beeline for the popcorn and we had to queue up for it. The popcorns were delicious for hungry stomachs. As there was only half an hour left, we decided to queue up for the shooting game. After about fifteen minutes, it was our turn and we played the game. Although none of us were sharpshooters, we managed to hit almost everything down and we won lanyards (again!). I took a glance at my watch and realised that it was time! We quickly hurried back and assembled at the designated re-grouping point on the field. Under the hot sun, we sat rooted to the ground and waited for the bus to transport us back to School.

Although I was burnt black from the hot sun and lost my voice practising the Adiji cheer, I had no complains. There were many good deeds I realised I had done. I managed to exercise leadership and control as I kept my Six intact till we reached school. I learnt to be charitable as I bought many souvenirs and encouraged my Six to do so. I learnt that practice makes perfect as in practising the Adiji cheer. I learnt that if you set your mind to do a task you can do it as in the picking up the marbles game I conquered. Last but not least I had the opportunity to meet and interact with other Scouts from all parts of Singapore. The Adiji Ceremony enriched my experience as it broadens my perspective of scouting.