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Original poster

Why do people fear the Woodcraft Folk?

118 replies

spidermama · 23/03/2006 11:20

I don't think we had them in Scotland. I have only heard bits and pieces about them. I had a quick look at their website which doesn't give much away, but they have some lovely campsites.

I mentioned them to dh on the phone just now and he sounded alarmed. 'What do you want to contact them for?'

There are also references on other threads about Woodcraft Folk making children into weirdos.

I've never been averse to swimming agains the tide, but just exactly why do people react against the Woodcraft Folk.

Come on. You can be honest.

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Marina · 23/03/2006 12:48

Thanks Hallgerda - I am much further into N Kent/SE London and even Streatham is a stretch for us. I did investigate when ds was four. But holiday clubs might be worth another look :)
zippi, I bet there is one near Findhorn too!

Blu · 23/03/2006 12:55

I've seen them running parachute games in Brockwell Park...I was terrified, and ran a mile.

littlerach · 23/03/2006 13:05

There's a group close to us.
Am tempted to try DD1 there.

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Fauve · 23/03/2006 13:22

The dd of a friend of mine used to go to a group in SW London somewhere - can't have been far from them as they only travelled by cycle - they lived in Colliers Wood, the radical branch of Wimbledon. They were very normal, and not too scary

Hallgerda · 23/03/2006 13:37

Blu, it's all harmless fun and you missed a good laugh.

Mind you, I wish I hadn't bothered going to the parachute session in the hayfever season when the grass hadn't been cut!

gomez · 23/03/2006 13:40

They have quite a presence in Edinburgh but not sure about anywhere else in Scotland Spidermama.

Cristina7 · 23/03/2006 13:50

I take DS to the Colliers Wood branch. He loves it. They play all sorts of games, make some sort of pledge at the beginning and end and sing songs about friendship, cooperation, justice, unity, as well as wackier ones. The uniform is optional (and I've only seen one girl wearing a uniform sweathsirt). The kids are nice and the parents seem very mainstream. It can be a bit chaotic at times, but I think that's the norm with out-of-school activities.

DH made fun of me when I started taking DS there but he's been to a few and likes it.

Blu · 23/03/2006 13:56

Hallgerda - I am an old hand at parachute games, just highly amused that Spidermama has found that people seem afraid of woodcraft folk

I think it must be because they lost their funding because of some spurious belief that they were recruiting for a revolutionary cause. I would sign DS up like a shot if there was a branch. Maybe I should start one....

hovely · 23/03/2006 13:59

As I understand it they were part of the co-operative movement originally.

My sis and I used to go, our parents being of the non-queen/country/religious sort. We did arts and crafts, folk-dancing, songs, lots of nature learning & environmental awareness, plus loads of games. It was mixed girls and boys, and everyone seemed much less smug than the Brownies I knew. We got badges for things to sew on the sleeves of our forest-green jackets. I guess just as with Brownies or Scouts the activities depend on the interests of the group leader and what's available locally.
Some years later I did come across a book with bizarre pictures of various earnest types standing on hills and holding their arms out in a 'K' shape, which apparently had something to do with a commitment to a Teutonic lifestyle of early rising and outdoor activities, and was connected with the early roots of the WF.
Anyway when DD and DS are old enough I will definitely be investigating local groups. I have never been to a Steiner school but I always assumed that the interests of the two would cover a lot of common ground, so no more 'weird' than any kind of pro-nature grouping.

Blu · 23/03/2006 14:07

The woodcraft folk site shows lots of groups active in London - but is very vague about actual meeting places - this, it explains on the Wimbledon page, is because of their child protection policy. But there are 3 groups operating in the Wimbledon area, some in South lambeth (called the Boveney region - never heard of that), Bromley/Beckenham, and lots of other places.

\link{http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/directory/22\here}

fennel · 23/03/2006 14:23

they're very involved in the Peace movement, go on anti-war demos etc. we are about to join a pack (group? coven? sect?) next week - there seem to be lots in Devon. am rather hoping it is full of hippy weirdos, would enjoy that

SnowdropsInTheSpring · 23/03/2006 14:26

I used to go to Woodcraft once a week. My friends nan ran our group and it was good fun. But we were classed as oddballs which i find strange as the people calling us that didn't know what we did.

Rhubarb · 23/03/2006 14:26

Do they burn a huge straw man every year?

Sari · 23/03/2006 14:36

Cristina7, I was hoping to start taking ds1 to the Colliers Wood group in the summer once he has turned six so it is great to hear good things about them. Maybe see you there one day ...

oliveoil · 23/03/2006 14:44

I said that earlier Rhubarb

FioFio · 23/03/2006 14:49

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FioFio · 23/03/2006 14:52

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KeepingMum · 23/03/2006 15:03

Just told dh about this thread because we were thinking of starting ds in cubs and this sounds like the perfect alternative. But we watched the Wicker Man at the weekend and I think he might get scared off!

serenity · 23/03/2006 15:09

Blu - I tried to contact the 'boveney region' lots about a month ago, as there is meant to be a group/pack/coven near me, but their email doesn't work. My bf in school used to go to a group in Mitcham, and I was always fascinated with it. I wanted to find out more for the DSs.

Lucycat · 23/03/2006 15:12

sounds like an Enid Blyton book......

Tortington · 23/03/2006 15:16

i have no idea who or what they are - i therefore have ideas about them like wittling wood into whistles, making a fire but safely and dancing in the woods playing a guitar

Lucycat · 23/03/2006 15:19

Just checked out our local group - they're based in Didsbury (to Mancunians not entirely surprising!) and the members are straight out of a Boden catalogue, Scarlet, Lucy, Daisy, Millie, Phurie and Charlotte, the boys seem rather odd ans they have 'wacky' photos of them all too!

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 23/03/2006 15:27

pmsl Lucycat. I am pleasantly suprised to find a Kingston group and have rattled off an email for more info. And I thought Kingston was all either 4-wheel drives or Burberry baseball caps. Did anyone else go to woodcraftfolk.com and wonder what on earth you'd uncovered?

Orlando · 23/03/2006 15:58

My dh used to be a member when he was younger

(but sadly not very much younger... he was still helping out when he was a teenager and even used to admit it on his CV)

He thinks they are ace.

fennel · 23/03/2006 16:01

Lucycat we were supposed to be joining the Didsbury group but then we moved away. are there any children in Didsbury NOT called those names, btw?

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