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The monthly newsletter of the 4th Worcester Park Scout Group February 2003Sections
Keith DalyGROUP SCOUT LEADERSenior Residents PartyOn the 8th December 2002 the Group played host to some eighty senior residents of Worcester Park plus a selection of senior friends of the Group. The guests were treated to tea, a show by the boys and a gift to take home. The Mayor and Mayoress of Sutton also joined us. The occasion was very enjoyable and my thanks to everybody who helped in any way to make the event the success it was. However I must say a particular thank you to Peter Cornish who masterminded the whole event. Christmas Scouts OwnIt was nice to see so many people at Christmas Scouts' Own, let's hope we will see as many at the next one in February. 70th AnniversaryThis year the Group will be celebrating its 70th anniversary. We intend to celebrate this occasion by holding a fun day for the boys and a Group Dinner. Both events will be taking place in July. Further details will be available soon. BeaversFor the first time that I can remember the Beaver waiting list is getting very short and there are vacancies in the Colonies. If any Beaver has a friend who is six or nearly six and who would like to join the Beavers could they let me or their current leader have the details. ASPEN COLONYAnne Mays (MAYO) Carol Salter (HOLLY)Firstly, Holly and I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and a big thank-you to everyone who has helped us in any way last year. Nearly everyone attended the District Beaver Christingle Service held in Trinity Church on St Nicholas Way (6th December). It was lovely to see all the children standing round the church with their Christingles they has made the previous Monday. Thank you to all the boys who put on an excellent display to the senior citizens at our Christmas party for them. The poems were read beautifully and the boys spoke very clearly so they could be heard at the back of the hall. I find it easy to make poems rhyme but getting the boys to read them is sometimes quite difficult but I think they all did really well. Thank you to Philip Thorne who provided us with disco music for our Christmas party. Thank you to Tom Newman for his continued support. Our last meeting before Christmas was a trip to the David Lloyd Bowling Club, thanks to Fred for driving the minibus and to Mr Green for also offering his services but we were able to get all the boys into one bus. The return journey was via Lower Morden Lane where the boys could see so many houses lit up with fabulous lights and displays. It really was a pleasure to see so many houses in the Christmas spirit. Thank you to all the parents for their support over the last year in helping with the rota and for bringing your sons down to the Group for the extra activities and for supplying goodies for our Bazaar and Fete. The boys are now working for badges and will be involved in quite a few things during the meetings and as the uniform has changed so too has the programme and if they are sent home with something to do towards a badge don't panic, all will be explained to them. Once again, best wishes for 2003 from Mayo and Holly. BIRCH COLONYAnne Richardson (MAPLE)As usual, December was too short and too busy! We made a collage of 'The Owl and the Pussycat' for the notice board, made Christmas biscuits and had a party, including a visit from Santa at our last meeting. We also fitting in a trip to the Pantomime 'Mother Goose' at Nescot, which was great fun and I thought extremely good value. CEDAR COLONYValerie Clarkson (CHIPMUNK)Sunday, 12th January saw twenty one of our boys and siblings attend an excellent Pantomime here at HQ. Everyone who attended, adults and children, had a wonderful time, full of audience participation. Well done to the three Pantomime players who put on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I'm sure if you live within 1 mile you heard the noise!! However, only eight boys turned up to the Senior Residents' Party to perform our action song. This was extremely poor and I cannot tell you how I felt on the day. The eight who turned up did amazingly well, but had it not been for Mrs Buckeridge, Mrs Burlinson and Mrs Moverly who all sang backstage it would have been awful. Yet again I must ask why so few boys turned up on the day? At the December Scouts' Own, Jack Francis, Joshua Peel and Elliott Williams were presented with the Bronze Award. This is the highest badge a Beaver scout can obtain and in order to receive this the boys have to pass three other badges from three different groups - so well done! We have in fact three more boys who have now gained the Award and who will be presented with this at the next Scouts' Own. On Friday 6th December twelve boys attended the District Beaver Christingle service. For the boys that attended this was the last part to be completed towards their Faith Badge and those badges have also been presented at Beavers. Our first meeting back saw us playing games with balloons which everyone enjoyed. Many thanks to Brian Yearley for giving these to us. ANGLIA PACKBrenda Hunt (AKELA)No news item this month. BROWNSEA PACKLes Prescott (KERICK)We spent an evening devoted to making Christmas decorations to take home - our thanks to Margret Wilkinson for agreeing to lead this for us. Margret (and husband Eric) have been helping us at camps and activities for many years and we are very grateful to them and others who help us behind the scenes. We also practised our "Falling Rock" sketch for the Senior Residents' Party - our thanks to the Cubs who attended and made the afternoon go so well. We made a visit to the Sutton Bowling Alley where we had an exciting bowling competition. Some of the Cubs had very high scores, beating some of the Leaders! Maybe the Leaders could have the exclusion bars (preventing the ball entering the trough) next time....? At our first meeting in the New Year, Sally ran a games evening and we formulated plans for the term until Easter. We are looking closely at the new training programme. Dates for your 2003 Diary: Saturday 10th May / Sunday 11th May Weekend training camp Sunday 27th July to Friday 1st August Summer Camp CHARTERHOUSE PACKMargaret Pennington (AKELA)We spent the first meeting of December practising for the Senior Residents' Party - the Cubs worked very hard learning songs and sorting out the sketch. On the day they were brilliant, all the guests were delighted with the effort the boys put in. We were very proud as everyone was accounted for and we had an excellent turn out. The Pantomime at the Adrian Mann Theatre put us well into the festive spirit. Mother Goose was excellent and the boys were a real credit to the Group. Thank you boys. The District put on an evening at Cheam Baths for the boys to attempt the new Stage 1 swimmers badge. Everyone who entered achieved the badge and after all that effort spent the rest of the time enjoying the fun bit on the wobstacle and the floats. Scouts' Own was very well attended, only one boy unaccounted for. No blackmail was used, boys and parents turned up to enjoy a very special pre-Christmas act of worship. After a very busy month, the Pack party was a special event. Cubs dressed up, played games, ate lots and generally enjoyed themselves in preparation of a very well deserved holiday. Will we have the energy and enthusiasm to be as busy in 2003? - Maybe. PURPLE TROOPAlan Avery (Scout Leader)Our last meeting in December was ice skating at the Spectrum at Guildford which everyone really enjoyed but it was slightly curtailed by my assistant - Dave - having a nasty fall on the ice - thanks to Phillip Thornes' dad and the use of the Marston-mobile to assist us in getting there. We will go skating again and have longer on the ice. The programme will soon be set and completed right up to the summer - the lads have already had a good look at the new progress books and identified things they have already done within the programme. The new Patrol Leaders will meet on Thursday evenings as we have done in the past. This has proved very useful in the past - 5 minutes discussing matters and 55 minutes letting off steam! SILVER TROOPPaul Green (Scout Leader) - report by Steph JonesNo news item this month. EXPLORER SCOUTSAlan Avery (Explorer Scout Leader)Thanks go to Andy Root, who used to be an Assistant Venture Scout Leader, for running a 'Trial by Jury' evening - it was good to see him again. Thanks also go to Patrick for running a fitness evening using a blood pressure and heart rate machine. It was interesting to see the level of people's fitness - surprisingly my blood pressure was fairly low! We were joined at this by the Rangers. We also welcomed the Sutton Rangers to a proper Christmas meal - a very pleasant evening capped by Hazel announcing her engagement to Jan. We are all delighted and wish you both the very best for the future. We have discussed and costed a trip to the Czech Republic - I think everyone was a bit surprised at the list of things that need to be looked at - both costings and logistics. The trip will be 8th-24th August. PARENTS & FRIENDSRichard Marston (Chairman)How are we doing?2002 has now passed and I am pleased to report that we have achieved our target of raising £8,000. Many thanks to all those that helped to achieve this demanding figure. Now that 2003 has arrived our balance is back to zero and we, the parents, have an even more challenging £8,500 to raise. Special thanks to the two parents who recently offered to join the committee of the Parents and Friends, your help and fresh ideas are very welcome. There are still some sections that are not represented so please contact me if you feel you can give a little of your time. Recent EventsChristmas Bazaar - Further to last month's report I can now advise a profit of around £1,400 for the Christmas Bazaar which was above expectations. Coming SoonJumble Sales Saturday February 8th and 15thAs always, there will be bargains galore. As mentioned last month, a shortage of helpers at the last Jumble Sale put unreasonable pressure on the 'maturing' core of non-parent Jumble Sale helpers. A contribution of a few hours from some more new parents will help to spread the load and increase the income. Please contact me as detailed below. For your diarySat 8 March 14.30 Grand Auction Sat 22 March 19.30 Race Nite PlanningWe are still considering organising an additional, new, event - any more suggestions? It seems a long way off but planning has already started for the Summer Fete in July. This is our largest event of the year and it is extremely important to the group financially. We are constantly looking for new ideas that will raise more money and make people want to come back. If you have any comments about past fetes, or ideas to improve the next one, please let me know. If you are interested in a major, or minor, role in the planning or management of the fete please contact me to discuss how best we might use your skills. Internet www.4wp.org.ukThe number of people visiting the site continues to increase and people are making use of the feedback and contact facilities provided. Despite the stereotypes of typical Internet users I am pleased to say that all ages within the group are making use of the site. The link to Amazon is still bringing in income and affiliate deals with other companies are being investigated. All company links on the site are being carefully chosen and represent quality household names and respected Internet newcomers. All these links will generate commission for the group at no extra cost to you. Please ensure your family and friends also make use of them, but remember the group will only benefit if you enter the sites via the special links provided. Please let me know if you purchase from any sites on a regular basis, we may be able to add a link. ** STOP PRESS ** By the time you read this there should also be links for Allders and travel company Opodo. Buy some furniture, book your next business flight? Comments or suggestions?I welcome, and need, your comments and suggestions about the Parents and Friends section of the group, and the events it runs. Your views enable the Parents and Friends Committee to schedule events you want to attend, and improve existing events. Please contact me via p-and-f(at)4wp.org.uk, or by telephone on 020-8337 2641. FELLOWSHIPGraham SmithAlthough I was unable to be present, our November meeting on the 27th was, from all accounts, very well attended. Our treasurer, Alan Hedger, took the chair and reviewed recent Group events - the Fireworks Display and the Auction. Arrangements were then discussed for the Fellowship's involvement in the two major forthcoming events - the Christmas Bazaar and the Senior Residents' Party. Again I was unable to be present at either but I do thank all the ladies who supplied cakes and mince pies and who manned the cake stall. A total of £80 was raised at this one stall alone. My thanks then go to all those members who helped in one way or the other at the Senior Residents' Party on Sunday, 8th December. The Group's guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves, in the company of the Mayor and Mayoress who honoured the Group with their presence. Reverting to our meeting, events taking place over the Christmas period were discussed and the details of the Fellowship Annual Dinner on Thursday, 30th January at the Kingswood Arms were finalised. Following the formal part of the evening, everyone moved from the Den into the Hall and listened to a most entertaining talk given by Ian Smith on his life and times in both Scouting and the BBC, where in the latter he had been a producer on outside broadcasts for many years. Ian had brought along mementoes from both his years in Scouting and the BBC, which proved of great interest. This was then followed by the opportunity to a 'sampling' of Ron Kinton's amazing collection of liqueurs, which he had brought along. Members gave a donation to Ron's charity, Children's Liver Disease, in return for the enjoyment of tasting many different liqueurs. This event, together with sales made by Ron at the Auction plus sales to individual Fellowship members, raised a total of £129.20 for charity. The Scouts' Own on Sunday, 15th December was well attended by Fellowship members. With the addition of parents and friends the Hall was full to capacity. On Christmas Eve we held our own traditional service of carols and readings in the Den, led by Ron Kinton, again an event very well attended. The service was followed by the serving of mulled wine and mince pies and our thanks go to John Green and Peter Cornish for making these available. With the annual dinner taking place on Thursday, 30th January the next meeting in the Den will be on Thursday, 27th February when, following the business part of the meeting, a talk will be given on 'Flora and Fauna in Florida' by Mr and Mrs Strange.
Information for March 2003 Newsletter to be with Keith Daly by Monday 3rd February
This page was last updated on 22 May 2003 |