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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, January 2005
Sections
GROUP SCOUT LEADER
Fred Fletcher
I would like to say thank you very much to all the friends who have offered
me their support in my new role as Group Scout Leader of the 4th Worcester Park
Scout Group. I can only try and do my best, and with your help we might just
succeed.
I was- unable to attend the Remembrance Day-Service at Christ Church with St
Philip and the nearby memorial. Everyone has told me how smart our boys were and
we had a very good turnout. The British Legion were also happy with our support,
and they would like us to parade every year, I am sure we will. I'm quite sure
that I would have been proud of our Group I know that Keith was. Well done all
of you.
Congratulations to Silver Troop on winning the District 5-A-Side Football
Tournament, could this be the start of something big - I hope so!
A very warm welcome to Louise Mullins and Sarah Davies. Louise is going to help
Anne and Carol at Aspen Colony, and Sarah will be assisting Brenda and Doreen at
Anglia Pack. We wish them both well with their Scouting at the 4th.
A big thank you goes to Pam McGill who has been distributing the newsletters in
St Phillips Avenue and surrounding roads for many years. Despite the fact that
her son must be in his forties she has continued this job since her son was in
the Group. Unfortunately Pam has been suffering with a hip problem of late and
has decided she can no longer continue. Thank you Pam for your many years
service.
Wasn't it a super Christmas Bazaar? Many thanks to all who helped at this very
important fund raising event. Of course I must also thank Father Christmas for
coming along again, during this busy time. I hope he had a big Christmas dinner,
because I thought he looked a little thinner this year!
And finally, I would like to thank Keith Daly for doing such a good job over the
last ten years as GSL. Well done Keith, and thanks. Everyone wishes you the best
of luck in your new scouting venture.
That's enough from me - lets have fun!
ASPEN COLONY
Anne Mays (MAYO), Carol Salter (HOLLY)
We really can't believe that it is 2005 and with that time in mind both Holly
and I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.
November was another very busy month for us. We welcomed into the Colony Toby
Dukes, Sean O'Donnell, Oliver Kite, Thomas Gordon, James Parker and Callum
Dennis. They have now all received their scarves and have already gained some
badges. Well done to all of you.
We have decorated our notice board with a firework display and we have coloured
in the books the boys were given at the fire station.
We have made some poppies to put on our board and we talked a little about why
we have poppies. We made some cornflake cakes - food always goes down well and
several of the boys have now received their outdoor badge; well done.
We have also been doing some skipping and played a torch in the dark game plus
various other activities.
We had our District Campfire and we would like to say a big Thank You to Dave
Sweetland and Les Prescott for running the event for us. The weather was cold
and wet but as we have an indoor campfire Dave set it up for us. I think all the
boys enjoyed themselves; I know ours enjoyed watching Holly doing "My
name's Bob".
We have also been rehearsing for the Senior Citizens Party on 12th December and
for Scouts Own on 19th December - with mostly 6 year olds it's really been hard
to keep it all together!
We would also like to thank Mr and Mrs O'Donnell for running a very successful
Christmas Bazaar, all their help and hard work was much appreciated by us all. I
believe that the Beaver Tombola stand at the front of the hall raised over £200
- well done and thank you to everyone that contributed or helped in any way.
BIRCH COLONY
Anne Richardson (MAPLE)
No news this month.
CEDAR COLONY
Valerie Street (BADGER)
We have been very busy in Cedar Colony this month. We had a go at glass
painting by doing the outlines on glass jars one week and filling in with colour
the next week. The jars were then sent home to be filled so they could go on the
Tombola stall.
Many of the boys came to the District Campfire and sang a song in front of lots
of other Beavers! We went to the David Lloyd Centre at Raynes Park for bowling.
We have had an obstacle course and we have made pizza and Tiffin cake. Somewhere
we have also had time to rehearse for the Senior Residents Christmas Party.
ANGLIA PACK
Brenda Hunt (AKELA)
We started out in the cold weather by holding a campfire - the boys were in
good voice and sang like 'Angels'! (I wish)
We all went off to the Westcroft Centre for swimming; most enjoyable and all the
boys behaved.
We showed our camp film, it was so nice to see; what fun it was. Roll on next
year.
We finished the month making our beautiful Christmas crafts, decorations, fridge
magnets and cards.
BROWNSEA PACK
Les Prescott (KERICK)
We had an evening devoted to fireworks safety coupled with traditional autumnal
indoor games such as apple bobbing. This ending with our popular
"submarines" game in the dark. Thanks to everyone who supported our
Parents Evening where John showed his two films - one of weekend camp and one of
summer camp. Our thanks to John for spending so much time producing the top
quality presentations. A copy of the DVD can be obtained from John at a
reasonable cost if you haven't already dome so.
We've spent two evenings working towards the Scientist Badge which has
involved some experiments, observing seed growing and some astronomy.
Thanks very much to the parents who ran our bottle stall at the Christmas Bazaar
- much appreciated.
Congratulations to the following Cubs who have gained badges this month:
Ben Purahoo - Swimmer Stage 4
Edward Yelf - Home Help and Artist
Sunday 6th February, 11.00am Scouts' Own
Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th May 2005 - Weekend training camp
Sunday 24th July to Friday 29th July 2005 - Summer Camp
CHARTERHOUSE PACK
Margaret Pennington (AKELA)
We attended a fun splash evening organised by the District - all the boys
could try Stage 1 or Stage 2 Swimmers Badge and then had the chance to have fun
playing with the inflatables and the giant slide, it was a very successful and
entertaining evening.
As we missed Halloween we decided to have 'Mischief Night' instead. All the boys
arrived in fancy dress clutching a hand crafted pumpkin (no-one brought a
pumpkin pie for us to sample) so serious judging took place - my thanks to Rama
and Bagheera who bravely undertook that task. The boys were then rewarded with
games which involved lots of food - no knives, forks or hands allowed for apple
bobbing and doughnut eating but knives and forks were permitted to eat
chocolate.
The firework display fell to us this year as Baloo was off on his hols. Everyone
worked very hard and what a wonderful display we had. Well done and many many
thanks to all the workers both on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
After Cubs on the following Wednesday we had a chance to find out what the
County Network people get up to in foreign parts. It was an educational
experience but very poorly attended.
On Sunday 14th the boys turned up at the hall looking very smart and fresh
(after a quick play round the hall they still looked ok). We walked up to the
church for a Remembrance Day Service and then along to the War Memorial for the
2 minutes silence and the laying of wreaths. Callum did a very respectful job
with the Group's wreath and we were very proud of all the boys. Afterwards we
were invited down to the Legion for refreshments, the boys were so well behaved
that we have been invited back next year; very well done to all of you.
Our Pack meetings in November were spent making Christmas decorations for the
artist badge and rehearsing for the Senior Residents' Party. One of the evenings
we had an impromptu fire drill as the heaters in the Appledorn were a bit dusty.
Parents showed how willing and able they are to support their boys on the
Wednesday before the Bazaar. The evening was spent putting together prizes for
the raffle and what a wonderful display it was. There was also a chance for
those strong people to lift and shift furniture and bits of the stage to get the
place tidy for the Saturday. Thank you all for your excellent input.
At the Bazaar we suffered from the many boys and/or parents who were ill, but in
spite of that the boys who were there did work very hard with their game (their
parents were busy running stalls and spending money). The atmosphere was lovely
and we must thank the O'Donnell clan who must have spent a very large amount of
their time down at the hall (we did offer to sort out beds for them). A really
lovely day raised lots of money.
As I have probably left it too late to wish you a Merry Christmas I may be in
time to say Happy New Year so, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
PURPLE TROOP
Alan Avery (Scout Leader)
We had a sleepover at the HQ and burnt lots of surplus wood around the field
using the magnificent fire to do a spot of backwoods (not backwards!) cooking.
The next day we went up Leith Hill Tower and went swimming.
In the course of two months we did route cards for walking, mechanics, a
firework wide game, a bases training evening and finally Chris Mullins arranged
for a fire engine to come down and general safety at home was covered.
My thanks to Nick Attwell, Albert and Chris Mullins (when not playing
football!). It beats me as to why 22 people fight over a ball - give everyone
one and they can play with themselves.
SILVER TROOP
Paul Green (Scout Leader)
No news this month.
EXPLORER UNIT
Alan Avery (Explorer Scout Leader)
We had a sleepover at the HQ with Purple Troop and started to clear the soil
from the side of the garage and burning loads of wood. You Explorers kept me up
'till 3am!
We did a London Quiz, went to a car auction, had a wide game and went to the
Rangers for a school uniform evening.
My thanks to Albert for assisting me for the past year and filling in on the odd
occasion.
Finally we owe Keith our Group Leader, a thank you for his 10 years at the helm.
It was clear to see he did a lot more behind the scenes than the GSL and I am
sure in his retirement he will still be very active - once a Scout always a
Scout.
Next year the subscriptions will be £90 for the year - £45 in March and £45
in September - or the whole lot if you are really flush.
PARENTS & FRIENDS
Richard Marston (Chairman)
Christmas Bazaar
Once again the 4th produced an excellent Christmas Bazaar with Santa managing
to drop in for the afternoon to talk to over 50 children in his grotto. The
quality of goods and prizes was very high and although the attendance was not
felt to be as high as in previous years the profit is likely to be over budget
at around £1,400. This is always a huge event to organise and I would like to
take this opportunity to record the thanks of the whole Group for the effort
Mike O'Donnell (and family) put into it. It was the first time Mike had managed
the Bazaar but no one would have guessed from the way it looked and ran. Thanks
also to the many helpers and those who provided gifts and cakes.
Jumble Sales Saturdays 5th and 12th February at 14:30
Please make it your New Year's resolution that you will help at or attend some
of the Group activities during 2005, the two Jumbles are your first chance to
put this into practise. Ray and his team will need help sorting the jumble and
setting up in the days before the Jumbles plus they will need more helpers on
the day to sell and clear up afterwards. Please contact Ray Hammett by email via
chairman at 4wp.org.uk. If you are unable to help please make sure your friends
and relatives are aware of the huge stock and amazing bargains available.
Finance
With the Bazaar likely to come in above budget at around £1,400 the total
raised during 2004 is likely to be over £9,500 against our budget of £8,500.
Thanks to all who helped during the year to raise this enormous sum. Those that
didn't manage to help, or attend, events - it must be your turn in 2005!
Chairman
As some of you may know this will be my last newsletter contribution before I
stand down as Chairman of the Parents and Friends Fundraising Committee at the
end of 2004. Unfortunately we have been unable to find a replacement so the
future of the Group's fundraising activity is currently unclear. If you would
like to consider taking on the role please contact me to discuss the content of
this rewarding job.
As a result of the uncertainty there is a likelihood that some events in the
2005 diary will not run, and extra events will not be introduced. I have
therefore taken a more conservative approach in my calculation of the likely
income for 2005 and at the Group budget meeting reduced the level of fundraising
income from £8,500 to £7,500. Despite this large fundraising income and an
increase in subs the Group is expected to run at a loss during the coming year -
YOUR help is needed.
I would like to express my thanks to the small but committed group that makes
up the P&F Committee for their help, guidance and support over the past two
years and four months and to the Fellowship, Scouters, parents and friends of
the Group for the support and enormous help they have provided. Without this
core of helpers my role would have been untenable and the P&F would not have
been able to raise the huge sums that were necessary to keep the Group running
to its high standards.
The 2005 calendar was added to the web site during November and at the time
of writing income from the shopping links was ahead of Christmas 2003. Income
will be received early in 2005 and will provide a start to the year's
fundraising. The site will continue to be updated regularly so please pay a
regular visit and make use of the shopping links for your personal and business
spending.
Contact
Until a new Chairman is in place I will be happy to continue to receive your
comments and suggestions by email to "p-and-f" at
"4wp.org.uk" or by telephone on 020 8337 2641. Information will be
passed on to the P&F Committee members as appropriate.
FELLOWSHIP
Graham Smith
The re-introduction of the Group's attendance at the Remembrance Sunday
Service seemed to have proved very successful and several members of the
Fellowship were able to attend, firstly at Christ Church with St Philip and
followed by the Act of Remembrance itself at the War Memorial. A reception was
then held at the British Legion Club in Central Road for those who had attended
the services.
The previous day, the 13th November, was the occasion of the Auction and, as
usual, several Fellowship members were on hand to assist, as they had also been
in the setting up arrangements during the morning and the previous evening.
At a well attended meeting on the 18th November the business of the evening
followed the usual pattern including the review of recent Group activities and
the consideration of those in the immediate future and, in particular our own,
including the traditional Christmas Eve service in the Den. This becomes in
effect the Fellowship's December meeting, of course, and commences at 7.30pm.
The January meeting on the 24th is the occasion of our annual dinner at the
Kingswood Arms, 7.00pm for 7.30pm.
One of the major events in the Group's year, the Christmas Bazaar, took place
on the 27th November and several of our members manned the stalls, which
traditionally, are our responsibility. At the time of writing these notes it is
too early to know the financial result, but if all the efforts put in by so many
parents and friends were truly reflected, that result should be extremely good.
As I expect most of you reading this report will do so after Christmas, I will
just say that I hope you all had a lovely time with family and friends and I now
wish you all a very happy and peaceful New Year.
'Appreciated'
Ron Kinton - Vice President
Having been at every Auction run by the Group and seen how professional they
have been let me enlighten you as to how this is achieved.
This has been due to teamwork of all involved. From putting the adverts in the
local press, to preparing the Apeldoorn for receiving lots, arranging the
outside cover, placing notices in the auction room, arranging the chairs,
organising the float, selling the catalogues that have been typed and collated
just in time before the buyers are admitted, the kitchen with the sales of food
and drink, tea for the helpers, someone to take it round; all this before the
Auction starts!
When the Auctioneer starts all goes smoothly, the runners ensure the bidders get
his or her ticket and the team recording the details of the sale work
efficiently as does the backroom team ensuring the items arrive according to the
catalogue.
The collecting of money from the purchasers and issuing money to those who
have put items in for sale goes smoothly. The clearing up is done efficiently
and purchasers of items and those putting items in for sale go away satisfied.
The helpers are satisfied due to supporting the Group but all involved should be
aware that the Group appreciates the team effort as it does those involved at
the Fete, Christmas Bazaar and the Jumble Sales. In effect the Group as well as
benefiting financially are also serving the community, so why not join the team!
Information for February 2005 Newsletter to be with Fred
Fletcher by Monday 10th January
This page was last updated on 04 February 2005
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