A Centenary Treasure Hunt
Scout leader Charlie
had decided to plan an extra-special centennial hike in the forest for his
scouts. He wanted it to be challenging and full of fun. So he decided to make it
a hike with puzzels and clues to find a hidden treasure buried in the
forest.
To add that extra element of surprisehe took along his
prize racing pigeons, so he could send the clues back to the scouts at
home. Unfortunately, just as Charlie had finished burying his treasure and
tying all the clues to the pigeons' legs, a big storm blew in from nowhere.
Charlie soon found out that the forest was no place to be in a storm. A large
branch from a tree broke off and fell on his head, squashing his scout hat and
knocking him out.
All the
pigeons panicked and flew away. Meanwhile the scouts were looking
at theweather and thinking, 'can't we hike tomorrow
instead?' Charlie came round eventually and all he could see were trees
and grass and more trees. He tried to stand up, but he was too dizzy and he
couldn't walk far. So he got out his mobile and rang home. It was then that he
realised he had a problem. He couldn't remember exactly where he was. 'Er...
er... I'm in the middle of the forest', was about the best he could do.
'Well, have you got any clues for us?' 'Oh yes: the pigeons. They'll be on the
way home.'
Poor
Charlie, little did he know, all the pigeons had been blown off course by
the storm. They were heading in every direction except home! The hours went by
and no pigeons turned up. Gradually Charlie remembered a few of the clues and
phoned home. Scouts everywhere were asked to look out for lost pigeons and get
the clues so Charlie could be rescued. The good news: apart from a mild headache and short
term memory loss he was feeling fine. He pitched his tent in the
clearing and settled down to wait forhelp.
The bad news: the pigeons were enjoying their taste of freedom
and had decided to take 
on local
disguises and try and blend in to avoid detection. Apart from one
poor bird who'd suffered a similar fate to Charlie and fallen
out of the sky.
The messages and information
received are being passed on via scoutlink in the #english channels.
Help us find the pigeons, and find Charlie and his
treasure.