Group News

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.

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4th News, Spring 2007

Fred Fletcher - Group Scout Leader

2007 - and Scouting is 100 years old. To celebrate this event we are arranging some special activities for our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts to enjoy this year.

We shall have our Centenary Summer Fete at our HQ in July.

In August everyone is invited to the Scouting Sunrise on the Green near Worcester Park Station at 7.45am, when at 8.00am all Scouts all over the world - millions of us - will renew our Promises at the same time, a unique event.

We will also be holding a Group Fun Day for all the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts ending with a Grand Firework Display. Plus, Sections may organise events themselves to celebrate this great year.

The Sutton Scout District will be organising a District Weekend Camp which all our members will be attending sometime over the weekend.

We will need parent help at most of these events. Please offer your services; your help will be appreciated.

Scouting started in 1907 with a camp prepared by Baden-Powell at Brownsea Island, it was a great success and Scouting began its long journey. 100 years later in 2007, thousands of Cubs and Scouts will still be camping during the summer months.

Scouting over the years has kept up with modernisation, and our movement has given young people the chance to take part in exciting and challenging events that they want.

Let us all have a 'Fun' year.

ASPEN COLONY - Anne Mays (MAYO) Carol Salter (HOLLY)

Firstly let us welcome in our first four girls - Hannah, Grace, Kate and Jessica. They have all now been invested and seem to be settling in with the boys, we hope they all enjoy their time in Scouting.

For the first time ever in 4th Worcester Park Grace held the Beaver Flag for us at our Christmas Going Up Ceremony. She is the first girl to have done this.

We are working hard towards some new Badges and so far all the Beavers are doing well. We must emphasise that it is important for the Beavers to attend as many events as they can because many of these events incorporate work towards their Badges. Badges cannot be issued unless the work has been done. Thank you so much to all the Beavers and parents who gave their time for our Senior Residents' Party. It is quite stressful for us at this time of year, but with your help everything went ok, thank goodness!

Please ensure that Beavers have their names in all parts of their uniforms and coats. When they take their Sweatshirts off many of them have no name in and it is inevitable that someone is going to go home with the wrong clothes. All scarves should be marked at the point at the back of the scarf so that the scarf doesn't have to be unfolded to see the name.

T-Shirts for the summer will soon be available; we have our own for each section of the Group. In the summer when we go out they can just wear the T-shirts that have the Group name and Aspen Colony on them. This helps to make them easily identifiable at District events.

This year is Scouting's Centenary so there will be quite a lot going on, some events are already planned. Please try to let your children attend as many as possible as they will be a 'once in a life time' experience.

One last thing, we are desperate for help at all our events. If you can help at just one event a year that would be great. We have parents running events, but they need helpers to man stalls, make tea etc., it was great this Christmas to have a regular cup of tea (thank you, you know who you are!). Please look at your yellow calendar and let us know at which events you would like to help at. If you don't have a yellow calendar let us know...we will give you one.

BIRCH COLONY - Louise Mullings

With the success of our Christmas Party, Birch Colony now welcomes many new members.

The Colony have enjoyed a recent bus ride to Worcester Park train station learning about transport; a visit to the local park and a special bonfire night. On the horizon we have a few things planned including a special trip to Nonsuch High School for Girls to visit its Observatory and explore space, in particular the moon and Saturn.

We have also contacted the local Fire and Police Stations and invited them to give a talk to the Colony. A special thanks to Harry's mum and sister for their help with our dishes at the end of our meeting. We have now created a rota for the Beavers to learn new skills in the kitchen..so watch out mums!

CEDAR COLONY - Valerie Street (BADGER)

During the autumn term it was lovely to welcome Finn Coolen, Joshua Barnard and at the end of term Katy Coates.

I was not there personally to welcome Finn to Cedar Colony but it was a great pleasure to return to Beavers to enrol him.

I was very sad not to start last term with the Beavers but am happy to report that I did not have a stroke and although I am not fully recovered from whatever did happen, it is lovely to be back with Cedar. I very much appreciated the cards and good wishes from everyone and it was wonderful when I proudly put up all the hand made cards the Beavers had created. Even the busy doctors commented on the imaginative designs!

At this point I would like to thank my super assistant Sally Coates for keeping the show on the road and Alan Avery for not just covering a few Fridays but the whole term. It is also wonderful that the parents of the Beavers turn up every week. We are most grateful and it is a great opportunity to see what the Beavers do. Nikki Eates is out parent rota co-ordinator. So with such a good team we are guaranteed to have lots of fun on a Friday evening.

We have extended our time on Friday to start at 5.45pm until 7pm to allow us to achieve more. It also means that we are finished and tidy for when the scouts arrive.

Following the enrolment of Joshua Barnard in January, we handed out a whole terms worth of badges. Everyone was so excited. Well done to all the Beavers. On February 2nd, it was a special evening as Sally saw her daughter Katy enrolled and I watched as my daughter also named Katy be invested into the Explorer Scouts.

We have said goodbye to Ben Burlinson and Giho Yoon as they went up to Cubs.

We have worked hard in our four lodges. To help the boys they have been given different coloured woggles to go with their lodge.

We are looking forward this spring to visiting St Mary's church in The Avenue, in Worcester Park as part of the faith badge. We also will visit Morden Hall Park on a Saturday morning to explore and play pooh sticks.

We are very excited that there are new badges for the Beavers and this term we are using our imagination to decorate our notice board, recycle by making giant junk models and will put on a small performance for the parents with some creative poems and sketches. It was most helpful with the giant junk models which the Beavers took home as it was jumble sale weekend. We didn't want great works of art being sold for less than their true value!

We are hoping to visit London after Easter on a Saturday and when I find the right location go for a two hour hike on a Sunday before it becomes too hot!

The District organised a panto for all beavers in January and it was most fortunate for us that it was held at 4th Worcester Park H.Q. It was great fun. There will be other activities organised by the District in this very special centenary year. Watch out for news of forthcoming events.

ANGLIA PACK - Samantha O'Reilly (AKELA)

No news this term

BROWNSEA PACK - Les Prescott (KERICK)

Our programme running up to Christmas included undertaking the Entertainer's Badge (culminating in our Line Dancing at the Christmas Senior Residents' Party). We had wide games, a "seasonal" party games evening around bonfire night, preparing pizzas, ten-pin bowling at Sutton and preparing the "stained glass windows" for the Christmas events.

We were pleased to see so many parents at our film night where we saw John's excellent Summer Camp film - thank you everyone for your support.

We've said goodbye to Brynmor Chittock, Jamie Smart, Joe Finn, William Eyre and Ben O'Byrne - all having gained their Chief Scout's Silver Award and gone up to Purple Troop and we wish them well in their Scouting. The current Sixers are: Edward Yelf, David Nosworthy, William Singer and Thomas Sharp.

Dates for your diary:

CHARTERHOUSE PACK - Margaret Pennington (AKELA)

No news this term.

SILVER TROOP - Paul Green (SCOUT LEADER)

This term the Scouts have been learning new pioneering techniques, cooking, and learning about the responsibility of children. Still to come we have a climbing trip, night hike, wide game and some craft.

We have also been able to award some proficiency badges for DIY as all the Scouts passed the requirements.

For half term we have now re-arranged the patrols. We now have the Tigers, with Tom Burlinson as Patrol Leader (PL). The Swifts with Sam Oxley as PL. Hawks with Grant Hamilton as PL and Panthers with William Yeo as PL. New Assistant patrol leaders have also been appointed and a re-arrangement of the Scouts and the patrol they are in. We have also welcomed Montell into the troop from Anglia Pack.

Plans are set for the centenary camp on 25th May until the 1st June. This is half term. We will be spending the first half of the camp with the rest of the Group and the District. After Monday we will be staying on at the camp site while everyone else goes home. Plans are being sorted out as we speak and should follow soon. The price for the week is expected to be around the £100 mark.

EXPLORER UNIT - Leigh Wicks (EXPLORER SCOUT LEADER)

We ended 2006 with the Christmas meal which the lads cooked in the headquarters. The food was well presented, and tasted lovely. After a short break over Christmas, the exec met up to decide a new programme for the first term of 2007.

This started with a film eve which included popcorn and candyfloss (!), and then all the lads trained as penguins for an evening. This involved such antics like egg relays and passing ice through your team without using your hands - a lot of fun!

We also spent an evening making pancakes on the top of tin cans with only candle power, and also spent an evening out for wide games!

The last evening we have had before half term all revolved around challenges with only the use of newspaper. These involved dressing people up, making the tallest tower, and inventing a contraption to move an egg from one end of the den to the other.

Please don't forget to pay subs for the first term of this year - £36 please!

PARENTS & FRIENDS - Kevin Mohr (CHAIRMAN) (8644 7165)

Please check the Calendar page for events where your support will be much appreciated.

FELLOWSHIP - Graham Smith (CHAIRMAN)

Having enjoyed our various outdoor activities during the summer months, we returned indoors for our meeting in September when Peter and Marion Phillips presented for our enjoyment 'Another countdown'. This suitably tested our mental ability (?) and a good time was had by all.

Jumble Sales followed on the 7th and 14th October and a Scouts' Own on 15th.At our meeting on Thursday 26th October and when the business of the evening had been completed, Ron Kinton showed a film taken at the Jamboree held in Holland some five or six years ago. Very nostalgic for those who were there at the time.

A party of some sixteen or so of us went to see the GLSW Gang Show at the Secombe Centre on the 27th October and marvelled at the level of dancing that the boys and girls in the cast had been able to achieve. A first rate show only lacking, perhaps, in sketches.

The Remembrance Day service at the War Memorial in Worcester Park on Sunday 12th November was well attended by both boys and girls from the Group and adults including Fellowship members.

On the completion of the business part of the meeting on 23rd November, Alan Avery gave, firstly, a most interesting talk on dog breeding and, secondly, relating to us tales of his visit to Peru including the fascinating Macchu Pichu.

One of the two big events of the year took place on the 25th November, the Christmas Bazaar. Again, one was able to marvel at the time spent by parents and friends in creating and preparing all manner of gifts to place on the various stalls. Both the hall and Apeldoorn were extremely well decorated and looked very festive indeed. Fellowship assistance both before and on the day itself was considerable.

Sunday 10th December, was the date of the Senior Residents' Party and Fellowship members had the responsibility of preparing the tea for the Group's guests and arranging the transport of the many of them from their homes to the hall - and their return afterwards.

The pre-Christmas Scouts' Own was held on the evening of the 17th December. It was well attended.

And that brings me to the last event of the year - the Christmas Eve service in the Den.

Some twenty or so Scouters and Fellowship members attended and very much enjoyed the service arranged by Peter Phillips.

The effort he had put into it was very much appreciated. The service was followed by Gulwein supplied by John and Bridget Green and mince pies by Joyce Smith.

Now to 2007 - the centenary year of Scouting which will involve at various stages, every single member of the Group. The Fellowship start the year with the annual dinner on the 25th January; it is expected that some 35 members will have sat down to dinner.

Assistance will have been given at the two Jumble Sales on the 3rd and 10th February. After the business of the meeting on the 22nd February has been completed Ian Smith will be talking to us once again, this time on 'More BBC Memories'.

The Fellowship year ends with our AGM on Thursday 29th March, when our year will be reviewed and the election of officers for 2007-2008 takes place. In the meantime our programme for the coming year is, at the time of writing in early January, beginning to take shape.