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The monthly newsletter of the 4th Worcester Park Scout Group May 2003Sections
Keith DalyGROUP SCOUT LEADERAdopt-a-BankMy grateful thanks to all of you who wrote to either members or officers of the London Borough of Sutton regarding the threatened ending of the Adopt-a-Bank recycling scheme. I am pleased to say that your efforts have paid off and the Council has reconsidered the decision to end the scheme. The scheme will be continuing for at least this financial year although we understand stricter controls may be applied. Promise RenewalThis years District Promise Renewal event took place on 6 April at Orchard Hill. The day turned out to be surprisingly cold given the earlier forecast but all those who attended seemed to enjoy themselves. The turnout from the Group was a little disappointing given the importance of the occasion. Some sections had a good turnout and some a very poor turnout. Perhaps those parents whose boys did not attend can ask themselves if they really did have a good reason for their absence. My thanks to all the leaders and parents who made the effort to attend and helped to run the stalls for the young people to enjoy. Congratulations to Richard Moverley who read the Cub Scout Law so well. 70th Anniversary DinnerThere are still a few places available for the Group's 70th Anniversary Dinner on 19 July 2003. The event is to be held at the Restaurant in the Park in Morden Park and tickets are £20. There will be a disco after dinner for the more energetic but there will also be facilities for those who just want to sit and chat. Tickets are being issued on a first come basis so if any reader would like tickets please contact me as soon as possible. The easiest way is via E-Mail on gsl(at)4wp.org.uk. 70th Anniversary Fun DayThe fun day for the boys will be held on Sunday 13 July from 11.00 to 18.00. The event will start with a Scouts' Own followed by a number of organised activities for all ages run by the sections. Lunch will be provided. There will be no charge for the boys but boys will need to reserve a place. Leaders will issue forms after Easter. ASPEN COLONYAnne Mays (MAYO) Carol Salter (HOLLY)The month of March has been really busy; we seem always busy these days. We have drawn a journey on long sheets of computer paper showing getting up in the morning until we reached our destination by car or plane, etc. We have also planted some mustard and cress seeds and the boys took them home to grow. Tom and Philip have organised some new games for us which the boys seem to like. We have issued some more badges to the boys. They seem quite happy to work towards earning them. Most of the boys now have their one-year badge for joining in and the rest are to follow. We shall take a break from badge work during the summer term and just have some fun. All the boys have now done their personal challenge, which was skipping. They all skip quite well now and Keith, our Group Scout Leader, came down to witness the event 'thank you Keith'. We have not done pancakes as Holly was ill, but I'm sure we can make a slot later in the year to make them. We have been to Sutton Fire Station and had a wonderful visit with Red Watch. They were really great showing the boys all round the Station. They showed them the sleeping quarters and how all the equipment works, they also let the boys have a go holding the water hoses so you can imagine some of them got wet so did the firemen. We made a donation to the Fire Station for their good turn fund. The Beavers have all written a 'thank you' letter to them. We have been to the cinema to see Ice Age, some of the boys had seen it before, but I think they all enjoyed it. It was very well done with a good storyline. On 17th March (St Patrick's Day) we drew some flags and shamrocks and pinned them on our notice board. On 24th March we went for a stop look and listen walk. It went really well and the boys and leaders had a good time. 'Thank you' to Fred for coming with us. We also made our Mother's Day cards before we went out. Aspen Colony would like to say a big thank you to Birch Colony for a great joint meeting. Pet's Place unfortunately did not turn up but that didn't stop us enjoying our evening. I understand they are going to try and book them again and maybe we can meet with them then. We played some games, some theirs, some ours and we had a biscuit and a drink. If any of the boys have a friend they would like to bring down to see what we do they are welcome to bring them along and we shall see if we can find them a place if they enjoy it. Finally, we would like to say an even bigger 'thank you' to Anglia Pack for a wonderful evening when we joined with them on 31st March. We really did have a good evening. We made funny-faced biscuits with icing sugar and dolly mixtures with red liquorice for the hair. I think all the boys enjoyed making them and eating them. We then played an excellent assault course game with the cubs and finally we ended up sitting round the campfire made by Tom and Philip (thank you) and sang some campfire songs with actions. We can genuinely say that all the boys had a good time and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. This is what scouting is all about so if on one evening you son says he can't be bothered to go to his section meeting, ask them to think on because this new programme may be good for us all. We would just like to mention that we have recently learnt that one of our
former Aspen Beavers, Danny Connor, is currently serving in the Gulf. We would
like to wish him a safe return and send our best wishes to his family. Holly and I hope you all enjoy your Easter holidays and all remain safe. BIRCH COLONYAnne Richardson (MAPLE)We've had a busy month of activities and have been joined by six new boys: Michael Cooney, Miles Mitchell, Jamie Scarborough, Mark Dawson, Stuart Grigg and Daniel Lipscombe. Michael and Jamie have been invested, so has Bryn Chittock who has been coming since January. I'm very pleased to say that Bryn's dad, Douglas, has agreed to help us regularly at meetings and is already proving to be a great asset under the pseudonym of 'Elm'. This month we've made and eaten pancakes, made an animal collage and talked about our pets, and made a Mother's Day present. On 18th April we were joined by eight (I think!) boys from Aspen colony and their leaders, for what was supposed to be a visit complete with animals from the Pet's Place people in Worcester Park. Unfortunately they failed to arrive owing to his car breaking down, we'll try to re-schedule the visit for next term. I know all the boys were disappointed but we all managed to have some fun anyway, and I was pleased to see how well the two colonies mixed. Thanks to Ann and Carol for bringing their boys along. On 16th March we went with 14 Beavers to see 'Ice Age' at UCI Sutton with the District. All went smoothly and again we were pleased with our boys for being exceptionally well behaved, long may it continue! We've been making serious attempts to get to grips with the new Badge system since Christmas, and I think most of the older boys now have at least one of the new badges; those that haven't yet will have soon. Since our last report, Daniel Collins has gone with his family to live in Australia - we wish his all the best and hope he joins a Cub pack in his new home. I'm going to be writing to him shortly and hope he'll write back with some news for us. CEDAR COLONYValerie Clarkson (CHIPMUNK)March has been a very long and very varied month - we started off by making place mats with cork tiles and paint, dinosaurs proved to be very popular. The following week we made pizza faces and very edible they turned out to be! Then, for something completely different, made picture frames for Mother's Day. Towards the end of March we had an evening with motorbike magnet races, a marble maze game, biscuit decorating and made paper planes on straws to be blown out at 'speed' and to round off the evening we had an Easter egg hunt in a dark field - right down the very end. Many thanks to Sam's dad and Jamie's dad for hiding the eggs - 25 hidden and 25 found - well done and not a torch to be seen. The next Friday we made large 'finger painted' flowers. They also were a great success. The last Friday of the month saw us bowling. Many, many thanks to Elliot's dad and Matthew's dad for helping us on this evening. Scouts' Own saw us sending Jamie Overall and Cameron Phillips up to Brownsea Cubs. We will miss not only them but also their mothers, who between them have helped every single week since the boys started. We had 13 boys attend Scouts' Own - well done. The Promise Renewal was also well attended with 14 Cedar colony boys - an excellent turn out and though the day was cold, at least it didn't rain and most people had fun at the sideshows after the formal ceremony. Thanks to Kenny Carly for helping out on our fishing side show so I could have two cups of coffee and some excellent shortbread provided by the Carly - Tappendon picnic services. Congratulations to Adam Watts on the arrival of his new baby sister Megan, who also came to the Promise Renewal at two weeks of age. ANGLIA PACKBrenda Hunt (AKELA)No news item this month. BROWNSEA PACKLes Prescott (KERICK)On the nearest meeting to Shrove Tuesday, the sixes took it in turns to cook pancakes which were delicious. We also played table tennis and learned about health and safety in the home. We've also had a superstars competition - climbing ropes, penalty goals, fitness course and obstacle course. The fitness theme continued with our fitness challenge when 12 cubs gained the badge. Well done, boys. John and Ben ran an evening on recycling when we made recycling boxes from McDonalds' cartons. The Cubs had to fill them with recycled material for a week. Once the clocks had gone forward, we were able to get outside and had a Smugglers' wide game in Nonsuch Park - good fun. We practised for the Scouts' Own at the end of March, which the Cubs ran very well. After the Scouts' Own we said goodbye to Asher Curren and Robert White who went up to Purple Troop and Chris Cuthbert who went up to Silver Troop. We welcomed Cameron Philips, Jamie Overall and Edward White from the Beavers. Well done to Chris Cuthbert and Robert White on gaining the Adventure Crest Award and the Cub Scout Challenge. Reminders: Saturday 10th May/Sunday 11th May Weekend training camp CHARTERHOUSE PACKMargaret Pennington (AKELA)No news item this month. PURPLE TROOPAlan Avery (Scout Leader)We went swimming at Westcroft and had the usual splash about. We did a mini Easter egg hunt in the hall - everyone went mad! And then negotiated an obstacle course in the hall. In preparation for the Mountain Camp we did clock face orienteering on the field using a large circle of pegs - lettered - to ultimately make a word and looked at good eating and mountain walking dietary requirements. We also looked at burners - trangia, primuses and gaz and used the parts of a primus as the pieces of a nuclear bomb in a wide game. You will have details of Summer Camp in Guernsey - space is limited to first come first served. SILVER TROOPPaul Green (Scout Leader)This month we have been busy sorting out the boys' badge work so they can do activities on camp, which will help them, attain their badges. Some of the boys have already attained some badges such as the Adventure Challenge Badge and the Outdoor Challenge Badge. Also this month, the Local Community Officer came down to see the boys to talk to them about behaviour in public, how dangerous drugs can be, and answered questions the boys wanted answers to. It was a very informative evening and the boys were well behaved. We also had an assault course evening, which was a lot of fun. We had teams, which we timed and they raced each other. The boys enjoyed themselves and asked if they could do it again. Last week we had a backwoods cooking evening, organised by Paul and Jo, where the boys cooked sausages, bacon, an egg and chocolate bananas. There were some very ingenious ideas used and most of the food was cooked very well. Some of it was even edible! Thanks to Jo and Paul. The next few weeks we will be preparing for camp and making sure the boys know how to put up tents and know how to use some of the equipment. We seem to have quite a good response for attendance so far and the boys are really looking forward to the activities we are going to be doing such as potholing, canoeing, climbing, abseiling, air rifle shooting, and a visit to the zoo, swimming and much more. We are hoping for some good weather, so please keep all your fingers crossed for us!!!! EXPLORER UNITAlan Avery (Explorer Scout Leader)We had a master chef evening to which James Tomlin came down to sample the rare delicacies - the food I must say was exceptionally good. We went up to Covent Garden expecting some lively entertainment but it was pretty dead! The Rangers came down and ran an evening for us and we did the rounds of Worcester Park playing tiddlywinks with pennies. We went golfing and skiing at Sandown. We wish Steve Marston - ex-chairman of the Unit - all the best as he has emigrated to sunny Manchester. PARENTS & FRIENDSRichard Marston (Chairman)How are we doing?Up to and including the Race Nite our total profit for the year is now around £2,300, which is slightly ahead of budget for this stage in the year. By now £2,000 should have been paid to the Group to assist in providing and improving the facilities available to the children. The Group needs, and makes good use of the income produced by the P&F but there has been, and still is difficulty getting parents to support the fund-raising effort. This has been a problem for many years and, as I have mentioned before, events largely depend on others within the Group to manage and run them. Those among you at the March Scouts' Own will be aware that the Bingo evening planned for April had to be cancelled as nobody was willing to run it. Thanks to Graham for offering to bring forward the Quiz to fill the gap. If a volunteer does not come forward the Bingo evening, now scheduled for June, will have to be cancelled and the income lost. Recent EventsRace Nite Sat 15th March. All tickets for this extremely popular event were sold well in advance of the day. Thanks to Fred and his team for raising over £700. Quiz Night Sat 12th April. Your diary may have shown this as the Bingo Evening. Due to the resourcing difficulties mentioned above the Quiz and Bingo were swapped around. Coming SoonBook Sale Mon 5th May, Cheam Park. For your diarySummer Fete Sat 5th July. Still a long way off but planning and work has already started. Large numbers of helpers are always required so please contact us as shown below or at fete(at)4wp.org.uk Internet www.4wp.org.uk.Use of the site continues to grow and we received our first (and second) membership enquiries via the form on the Membership page. The first enquiry resulted in a new Beaver starting within a week of the enquiry - the wonders of modern technology! Don't forget you can help Group fundraising by using the shopping links on the site. CDs, DVDs, books, wine, flights etc. all at competitive prices and they all provide money for the Group at no extra cost to you. Comments or suggestions?The Parent and Friends section of the Group is running events with the aim of providing enjoyment while raising vital funds for the Group. Please let me have your comments and suggestions about the Parents and Friends section 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 SmithSeveral members attended the Race Nite on Saturday, 13th March. This was the first time that I had attended this annual event and a thoroughly enjoyable evening it proved to be - as I had previously been told by colleagues that it would most certainly be. The Fellowship AGM on the 27th March was very well attended and by the time you read these notes, you will have received a copy of the minutes. Suffice it to say, therefore, that our Secretary, Mary Root, gave a report on the Fellowship's activities during a very busy year and Alan Hedger, our Treasurer, gave his report on our financial situation, which is perfectly healthy, bearing in mind that we do not generate many expenses. It was decided that the annual Fellowship subscription has to increase to £22.00 per non-uniform member, £20.00 of which is to be paid over to the Group as capitation fee. The Election of Officers followed and our Treasurer, Alan, although having served three years, agreed to put himself forward for re-election, as did Mary Root as Secretary although she does wish to step down at next year's AGM. I allowed myself to be put forward as Chairman again and all three officers were then duly elected, there being no other nominations. We discussed Group functions where the Fellowship's assistance has been requested, principally with regard to catering arrangements following the Group AGM on the 8th June and at the Fun Day on the 13th July and then referred to the programme for the coming year, details of which were circulated. John Green spoke about arranging a visit later in the year to a Hindu Temple in Neasden. This will be an event additional to the events already detailed on our programme. The last item to which we made reference was the sponsorship for Paul Green who is undertaking a 4-day trek in New Zealand in May in aid of the charity 'Help a London Child' organised by Capital Radio. With the business of the evening completed we then enjoyed a splendid cheese and wine party put on by Pauline and Geoff Morris. Our thanks to them were duly expressed. We have acquired a new (to us) table tennis table and its mechanics make it a far easier table to set up than the existing Jacques unit. It remains to be seen what effect it has on the quality of our play on a Wednesday morning! Finally, when I was drafting the programme for the new Group year I was assuming that the Christmas Bazaar would be held on Saturday, 29th November and therefore planned our November meeting for Wednesday 26th. In fact, it became apparent that this year's Bazaar is being held on 6th December, which means that there is not any reason to bring forward our November meeting to the Wednesday. November's Fellowship meeting is therefore on Thursday, 27th November. Please amend your programmes. QUEEN'S SCOUTS PARADE AT WINDSORThis year was the 70th year that the St George's Day Parade has been held at Windsor Castle followed by the National Scout Service in St George's Chapel. Phil Wicks, who gained his award in December, had the honour of attending the
ceremony this year. Arriving at 9.30am he had to register in the nearby Victoria Barracks, have his uniform meticulously inspected and any inappropriate badges removed before being drilled along with all the other 500 award holders from all over the country, by the Army, in the art of marching and listening to orders. After a break for lunch, he was then required to assemble at the Royal Mews before marching behind the Band of the Welsh Guards the short trip to the Quadrangle in Windsor Castle.
Information for June 2003 Newsletter to be with Keith Daly by Monday 12th May
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