Beavers enjoy the beautiful game courtesy of St Mirren

Nov 23 2011 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

GOOD sports at St Mirren have made a big impression on more than 100 Beaver Scouts after treating them to a day at the football.

The Beavers are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, with 200 members of the Paisley and District Scouts staging a special camp, as well as fun days and lots of other activities.

Jill Brooks, one of the assistant district commissioners, also got in touch with St Mirren bosses, who agreed to hand over a section of the West Stand to the Beavers for the home game against Dunfermline on Saturday.

And a total of 113 boys and girls were thrilled as they watched the Buddies beat the Pars 2-1.

Stuart Duncan, who is also an assistant district commissioner, said: “It was an excellent day – especially as St Mirren won!

“They put us in the West Stand and also arranged some catering for us, so we had sausage rolls, hot pies, bridies, boxes of fruit, sweets and juice.

“St Mirren’s mascot, Paisley Panda, also came over to see the kids at half-time.

“It was a fantastic day out and the boys and girls loved it. There was a great atmosphere and I think a lot of the kids would like to go back.

“The new district commissioner, Andy Robson, was also there and said he’d like to make it an annual or bi-annual event, so he’s going to talk to St Mirren about that.”

Stuart has also thanked everyone at St Mirren for making his group so welcome.

“They bent over backwards to help us,” he added. “We’d like to say a big thank-you to St Mirren for organising the day and for everything they did for us.”

St Mirren general manager Brian Caldwell said: “We do a lot of stuff with local groups, whether it’s football teams, the Cubs, the Boys Brigade or others, and we’re always delighted to get young people along to the stadium.

“We pride ourselves on being a family-friendly club and, hopefully, we’ve encouraged a few more St Mirren supporters to come along to games.

“We’re glad we managed to put on a win for them as well!”

Beavers are the youngest members of the Scout movement, with children aged between five and eight welcome to get involved. They can then move on to the Cubs and, eventually, the Scouts.