Bathgate scouts make sure Oor Wullie is toast of the world

OOR WULLIE’S japes and hijinks have been entertaining readers young and old ever since he first appeared in our Fun Section back in 1936.

Now more than 80 years later, the cheeky wee lad is still inspiring kids in Scotland… and worldwide.

Lately, that’s thanks to a creative Scout Group from Bathgate.

The 31st West Lothian Scouts brought a taste of Auchenshoogle to Lincolnshire last month at the Poacher 2017 International Jamboree.

The event invited over 9000 Scouts, Girl Guides and their leaders from 25 countries to get together for a week of activities, learning and fun.

And when the 18 boys and girls from Bathgate learned the theme was ‘Comic Book Legends’… one feisty home-grown comic book character sprang to mind.

With support from DC Thomson and help from their four Scout Leaders, the group of 10 to 14-year-olds created a brilliant Oor Wullie-themed campsite for the event.

The kids even designed and built a camp gateway in the shape of a magnificent 10ft high bucket.

This was adorned with pictures and fun facts about the cheeky wee scamp…

And this, of course, introduced Scotland’s favourite character to kids from all over the world.

The Scouts dressed up in the character’s iconic black dungarees to welcome visitors to the campsite.

Guests were then invited to sit on tin buckets and read a selection of Oor Wullie Annuals.

All this led to plenty of laughs as visitors from places like Canada, Germany and Norway had a go at pronouncing “Oor Wullie! Your Wullie! A’body’s Wullie!”

According to Scout Leader Paul Clark, his group didn’t get up to the kind of pranks that our wee rascal is generally known for.

Instead, they had plenty of fun and were excellent hosts who treated guests from 1st Whittington Scouts to a feast of haggis, neeps and tatties one night.

Now their new friends from Derbyshire are planning a trip to Scotland next year for the Edinburgh Tattoo, and they’ve been invited to stay in Bathgate.

Sounds like Oor Wullie and the 31st West Lothian Scouts made a very good impression. Michty me!