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This page provides access to current and past copies of the the monthly newsletter of the 4th Worcester Park Scout Group plus other reports relating to life at the 4th. The Friends of the Fourth page has copies of their own section's newsletter. 4th News, February 2004Sections
Keith DalyGROUP SCOUT LEADERSENIOR RESIDENTS' PARTYSome 75 or more senior residents of Worcester Park mixed with a few more senior friends of the Group and enjoyed an excellent Christmas party in December. We were delighted that the Mayor and Mayoress of Sutton were also able to join us for the occasion and spent some time chatting with our guests. It was a shame the numbers were slightly down on the day as quite a few of the people expected were suffering from colds etc. We hope they have all recovered now. Those attending were treated to some excellent entertainment from the sections, a tea and, new for this year, a few games of that old favourite - Bingo. My thanks to all those who helped to make the event a success including those who drove our guests to and from the party, those involved in preparing the food and making the teas, the leaders who devised the entertainment and rehearsed the boys and of course the boys themselves who took part so enthusiastically. Thanks also to Dave Sweetland for linking the entertainment and for his jokes. Special thank you must go to Peter Cornish who once again masterminded the whole affair so well. RECYCLINGFor some years now the Group has been benefiting from the recycling centre in Stone Place (Waitrose) car park. Currently we benefit to the tune of almost £1000 per year. The deal is that we keep the site tidy and we then get the revenue from the paper and glass. Last year the council threatened to stop the scheme but thanks to the pressure put on the council by a number of people including many connected with this Group the Council changed its mind. However the revenue from this source is once again under threat but this time the threat does not come from the Council. Geoff Morris has been looking after the site for a number of years and for the majority of the time has done so single handily. However Geoff has decided that he can no longer cope with this burden and has decided to step down from the role at the end of March 2004. We therefore have two months to find a replacement or we will have to tell the Council we cannot continue and thus say goodbye to a very lucrative source of revenue. To find the £1000 a year from other sources is going to be very hard. The task is primarily to keep the site clean and tidy by regular visits and to inform the relevant contacts when emptying the bins has become urgent. A team of people would probably best perform the task with a leader or organiser. It would of course be helpful if some of those involved were available in the day. If anybody reading this newsletter feels they could help in any way or knows of anybody who might help could they please contact me, Ray the Group Chairman or any leader. This really is very urgent so please give it some thought. ASPEN COLONYAnne Mays (MAYO), Carol Salter (HOLLY)Firstly Holly and I would like to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year. Let's hope it brings some peace and sanity into this crazy world. We start by telling you all about our events for December. At the beginning of December we went to the Pantomime at The Adrian Mann Theatre. The boys all went as cowboys and to their credit they were one of the few groups that actually dressed up for the Pantomime at the OK Corral and I have to say that they looked great. We had our Senior Citizens Party and the small group of boys that turned up really did us proud. I would like to say a big thank you to the parents who brought their sons along; I know it is a bit tiresome in the middle of a Sunday afternoon but thank you anyway. We understand that the Mayor and the elderly people enjoyed their afternoon very much. We have had our Christmas Bazaar and thank you again to all the parents who brought down gifts and things to help us raise money so badly needed. WE INTEND TO BUY A NEW MINI BUS THIS YEAR SO A REAL EFFORT ON FUNDRAISING IS NECESSARY. We went down to Worcester Park High Street and took our Pass The Parcel gifts into Superdrug Chemists. This was advertised on GMTV and the Salvation Army deliver the gifts to needy children and Hospitals in this country which is why the gifts must be unwrapped to enable them to deliver the gifts to the correct child. Once they have sorted them out the Salvation Army and their helpers wrap them in Christmas paper. In all they collected TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR gifts for poor and sick children. So well done again to everyone who took part, I know the children were pleased to be part of this activity. We have had a super Christmas Party and the music was organised by our scout Philip Thorne. A big thankyou to him and his friend for all their efforts. Thank you also to Tom Newman for his time and patience for all the things he does. We have been to Burger King for our Christmas meal (thanks to Fred for driving the minibus for us), we had a great time there and they organised a Pass the Parcel for the boys with gift bags for all to bring home. We made a detour down Malden Avenue to see all the houses lit up and then we turned around and went back again along the other side! Finally we had our Christmas Scouts Own on 21st December, it was a lovely evening and thank you to everyone who came. So we start our New Year of boys moving on and new boys coming in. Please remember this group does not run itself and to remain successful we need help from new parents and some new ideas. If you think you can help in any way please let us know. Maybe you know someone interesting who can talk to the boys or show them something new? Every little helps to make a constructive programme for the boys. To all of those who have helped us in the past THANK YOU and to all of those who will now rush forward and help us in the future THANK YOU. BIRCH COLONYAnne Richardson (MAPLE)No news this month. CEDAR COLONYAnne PriceThe highlight and the last meeting of the year was a 2-course meal at the Hogsmill for all the boys and leaders. The food, and organisation was excellent. Many thanks and well done to the 12 boys who did turn up to entertain the senior residents at their annual Christmas Tea. Our "turn" was well done and the praise for this must go to Valerie, William Eyres' mother, who brought us through. All the boys who performed have gained their Creative Badge. The Friday before this we made amazing marzipan sweets which we packaged up and donated to the senior residents as bingo prizes; they really were excellent both in appearance and taste. Not a very good turn out for the Christmas Scouts' Own, about 50%, but those that came saw Adam Watts presented with his Chief Scouts Bronze Award - well done Adam. Now I really do hand you over to the new leadership team. ANGLIA PACKBrenda Hunt (AKELA)No news item this month. BROWNSEA PACKLes Prescott (KERICK)In December, most of our programme was connected with Christmas activities in one way or another. We made the "stained glass" windows for the hall in time for the Senior Residents' Party. Having practised for this, we did a rehearsal (together with singing Christmas Carols) at the Old People's Wardened Home in Lynwood Drive - the residents were delighted with our entertainment for them. We then, of course, took our part in the Group's Senior Residents' Party which also went very well. Thanks very much to all the parents who helped us at the bottle stall at the Christmas Bazaar which we much appreciate. Our last meeting before Christmas was spent in playing seasonal games - pass the parcel etc., and on our first meeting back we made badges using our brand new badge-making machine. Congratulations to Sixer Nathan Dunne on gaining the Chief Scout's Silver Award. Dates for next year's diary:
CHARTERHOUSE PACKMargaret Pennington (AKELA)I am very sorry not to have written to you all for a while. December was a very busy month, and around everything else the boys managed to fit in badge work and finished both the Caring and Creative Challenge. Outside of Pack night, all the boys and parents were accounted for at the Bazaar. Everyone worked very hard on the day or had genuine reasons for not supporting the Group. Well done to you all! The Bazaar was followed by the Senior Residents Party and again we were very proud as the boys and support chorus (the latter were behind the curtain) entertained the guests with an excellent sketch and very melodic songs. Our own Christmas Party was an end of year triumph; games, competitions and lots and lots of food. It was marvellous. Scouts' Own which was a lovely evening service was not as well attended (only 15 boys) but just this time we will let you off as you were already away on your holidays. The next 12 months could be very exciting. I will try to report each month. PURPLE TROOPAlan Avery (Scout Leader)
During the month we went Air Rifle shooting in two shifts - those remaining behind looked at quantities of burners/stoves - i.e. gas, primus, meths burner and trangias. Thank you those who were waiters at the Senior Residents Beano. Well done James Reino and William Stevenson on gaining their Chief Scout's Gold Awards - the highest in the Scout Section. A reminder - Sleepover 17th -18th February and Mountain Camp 13th -18th April. SILVER TROOPPaul Green (Scout Leader)Many of the boys in the Troop have spent the first couple of weeks in December rehearsing for the senior residents Christmas party, which was held on the 14th. The boys did very well and their sketch (based on the Egyptian King Tut) went down well with the audience. Our last meeting before Christmas was held on the 19th and took the form of a report back evening from summer camp. Despite some technical difficulties at the beginning we did eventually manage to show the film. (Our thanks to John Green not only for editing and mastering the film but also for providing a DVD player at short notice on the night - thanks John!!). Paul then provided some information on our plans for summer camp 2004 (the Lake District!!). The evening was rounded off with some seasonal mulled wine for the parents and juice for the boys. It was a shame so few parents were able to attend as the film gave a good idea of all the activities enjoyed by the boys during their week under canvas. Please Note: - The dates for camp this year are Saturday 29th May 2004 until Friday 4th June 2004. Further details are to come. Below is a link to the website for Souwest Gangshow. Please have a look and if any of the boys wish to audition for the show which is held in October or would like to speak with me please let me know. All it needs is a stamped address envelope for you to try. It's open to anyone involved with the scouts and it's fantastic fun. http://www.glswscouts.org.uk/gangshow/audition-2004 Finally - please could all parents also make sure that they are up to date with their subs payments as we have to pay our capitation for the year this month and we are still missing money from last term. Wishing all parents and boys a happy and prosperous new year in 2004. Neal Oxley EXPLORER UNITAlan Avery (Explorer Scout Leader)I am pleased to say Nick Attwell has gained his Chief Scout's Diamond Award. In English this is equivalent to the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award. We went to the Rangers for a Christmas meal - a very pleasant evening. Even more pleasant was the Rangers Leaders' marriage - Best Wishes to Hazel and Ian. We did a "dump" in the heart of leafy Surrey where each group had to find where they were and get to a certain point using map and compass. We did a sketch for the Senior Residents Beano, surveyed the Wandsworth McDonalds and sorted out our programme for the next term. Please note - Sleepover 17th - 18th February Mountain Camp 13th - 18th April PARENTS & FRIENDSRichard Marston (Chairman)Recent Events - Christmas BazaarDespite Santa being delayed slightly by, we believe, congestion in the Greenland area the Christmas bazaar was once again the place to be to pick up some bargain presents and get into the Christmas spirit. It was refreshing to see children queuing up to GIVE. Our new 'Secret Room' assisted them in obtaining and wrapping a present to give to someone at Christmas. Our thanks once again to Jenny for taking on the extremely difficult job of managing the Bazaar and raising a record-breaking profit of over £1,500. Jenny has asked me to pass on her thanks to everybody who helped and took part at the Christmas Bazaar. Special thanks to the people outside of scouting who helped, without them many of the stalls would not have been able to run. She also hopes everyone who attended enjoyed themselves and thanks them for spending so generously and making a good amount towards the Group. Her only disappointment was that some people who offered to help did not turn up on the day. This does cause us problems, so if you can't make it please try to let us know before the event so that we can make alternative arrangements - thanks. Coming SoonJumble Sales, Saturdays 7th and 14th February - Our first events of the year and your first opportunity to help us towards our new £8,500 target for 2004. Please remember to bring your jumble and unwanted Christmas presents down to headquarters. Grand Auction, Sat 6th March - Always popular with 100's of lots, come down and pick up a bargain. Race Night, Sat 20th March - Have some fun without losing your shirt. Internet www.4wp.org.ukIn case you haven't noticed a complete calendar of events, meetings, camps etc. can be found on the Group web site. Unlike the paper edition we are able to update this version as necessary. If you know of any date changes please inform us via the 'webmaster' e-mail address. More people are buying things through the site and during the run up to Christmas generated over £40 in commission. The number of people using the shopping links is still very small so think how much we could raise if even half of the Group used them. Please have a look, and tell your friends and family to start shopping at the 4th. How are we doing?Those of you who were at the Christmas Scouts' Own will already be aware that I was able to hand over a final £2,000 cheque to the Group bringing our total for the year to an amazing, and record-breaking, £10,600! Thanks to all parents, friends and Group members who helped during the year to raise this amount. Special thanks to those that worked on the fund-raising committee during the year and those that took on the huge task of managing the events. The bad news is we have raised £0 for 2004 and still have £8,500 to go! If you weren't able to help during 2003 please try to help at, or support, one of this year's events. Remember, the Group depends on parental support and the low subscription rates reflect this. ContactI am pleased to receive any comments, suggestions and offers of help by e-mail to "p-and-f" at "4wp.org.uk" or by telephone on 020 8337 2641. FELLOWSHIPGraham SmithDecember is always, of course, a busy month for everyone but particularly so for those who are involved in Group activities - the Christmas Bazaar, the Senior Residents' Party, the pre-Christmas Scouts' Own and the traditional Christmas Eve Service of carols and lessons held in the Den. We have heard how very successful the Christmas Bazaar proved to be and Fellowship members were pleased to have been able to contribute towards this success both in the preparation and on the day itself. The Senior Residents Party on the 14th was, I think, enjoyed by all our guests, including the Mayor and Mayoress. Under the leadership of Peter Cornish, Fellowship members helped in the collection from their homes of those who lived a little too far away from H.Q. to be able to walk there, and also assisted in serving tea. Many of us attended the Scouts' Own on the evening of the 21st and the final event of 2003 was then the Christmas Eve Carol Service. The order of service was arranged by, and also led by, Alan Hedger and Colin Barnard and my thanks go to them for taking on this responsibility. With the service ended, mulled wine and mince pies were served before we departed for our homes and our final preparations for Christmas Day. We now look forward to our annual dinner on the 29th at the Kingswood Arms - at the time of writing these notes there are 34 acceptances - whilst a reminder that the Fellowship meeting on the 26th February is to be a talk given by Colin Read entitled "A Humorous Look at 19th Century Medicine" and not a Quiz as was originally listed on our programme. Our March meeting on the 25th will, of course, be the AGM.
Information for March 2004 Newsletter to be with Keith Daly by Monday 2nd February
This page was last updated on 27 February 2004 |