First News

The Newsletter of the 1st Northwood Scout Group - Issue 45, Summer 2001

Summers Coming…….

Well that's the theory! As the evenings draw out we know that once we have got the dreaded Jumble out of the way we can start to turn our thoughts to more outdoor activities. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that the Foot and Mouth situation will soon be over and we can once again put the OUT truly back in ScOUTing. We certainly do seem to be having so many things thrown at us to stop us going outside at present. We hope to have more information soon for those boys going on the joint Cub and Scout camp in June.

Leaders

As those who have boys in the Beavers will know, 'Charlie' Manfredi has been helping out with Beavers since his son joined. He has offered to take out a Leaders warrant and the application is with the District.

We have had no such luck finding Leaders to work with the Cubs. I will be sending a letter to all the Cub parents explaining that I will not continue to run the Pack after the summer break. As with all requests for Leaders I will not be walking out on any new Leaders but I do not want a full time role with the Pack as well as doing my job of Group Scout Leader. If there is anyone reading this Newsletter who would like to find out more about being a Cub Scout Leader please ring me on the number below. Cubs meet on Monday evenings from 7.00pm to 8:15pm.

Boys

As you will read in the Section reports we are still short of Beavers and Cubs. It was once the case that to be a Beaver at six you had to have the boy's name on a waiting list by his fourth birthday, not any more. If you know of anyone looking for a place for a Beaver, please ask them to contact us.

And girls.....

The District Venture Scouts meet at our HQ at 8:00pm on Thursday evenings and they too will also welcome new faces. The Venture Scouts also welcome female members. To see the sort of things the older members, 15 to 20 years, get up to, read the Venture Scout News section.

Trevor Alexander - Group Scout Leader - TrevorAlex@aol.com

Diary Dates:

Group News

There does not seem to be very much good news around these days, especially if one relies on the - daily papers to keep one abreast of events. Recent events over the last few months enable us to report several items of very good news, which we hope you will enjoy reading.

Firstly our Supper Quiz on the 24th February was an extremely enjoyable and successful occasion. The HQ was so full that we would have had difficulty in finding space for another chair About 80 people supported the event, which we hold once a year. Whilst it is not intended to be a fund rasing exercise, the modest ticket costs and generous contributions in the form of raffie prizes ensures the income exceeds expense and we were able to donate a sum of £237 to wards the appeal for the costs of a replacement Rowallan Building at Chalfont Heights Camp Site. Stephen Plume was once again our Quizmaster and our thanks go to him, together with all the other helpers.

Further good news is that we seem to have cracked the problem in terms of discovering exactly where the rainwater has been seeping, in considerable quantities, into the HQ.

The vast amounts of rain we have experienced this winter has resulted in this matter being a particular problem both in terms of the carpet in the main room being soggy and also the aroma that emanated from the floor. Many thanks to our Leaders and band of helpers who undertook many hours of hard and rather monotonous work mopping up. We greatly appreciated all the help we were given, often at short notice for we are never certain when the next down-pour was going to arrive. Our thanks also go to Sheila and Mike Corfield for loaning us their carpet machine, which will hopefully not be required again.

Returning to the source of the 'leak' we discovered after some deliberation that the water has been seeping in from the back and side walls, having flowed down from the Hogs Back. A substantial trench has now been excavated around part of the building, revealing amongst 'other things, a drain that has ceased functioning. Some more work will be necessary to finish this task off but well done to the team of excavators, who endured some rather unpleasant conditions throughout the exercise, yes -it was raining again

There is more good news in that our Kitchen has been completely refurbished from top to bottom and end to end. It looks extremely smart too, especially the new cupboards and worktops. A number of people have put in many hours work on this project for there was a considerable amount of work to do. Well done to everybody and a special vote of thanks should be extended to Richard Plume for all his efforts that have enabled the work to be done within budget.

The last item of good news that I have to report is that it is Jumble season again. I fell it is good news because we are able to organise this function and raise funds to keep Scouting in a state of buoyancy. Without this source of income we would not be able to carry out many of the tasks and keep Scouting running. We are always careful with the finance we raise but we do need income for the future. I have written to all of the parents already with details of the event, on Saturday 19th May, together with times and dates of collections leading up to the day of the sale Please support us in any way you can to help make this years Jumble Sale another successful occasion. The Ist Northwood has a tremendous reputation and a first class committee, who deserve to be supported by all parents on such occasions.

Paul Akers - Group Chairman.

Beaver Scout News

We have enjoyed lots of games and activities during the last term. Just before Easter the Beavers made chocolate nests and took part in an Easter Egg hunt, two very popular activities.

We said "Big Goodbyes" to three of our Beavers during the last term. They were William Martinez directly after Christmas, Thomas Westford after half term and Jonathan Ward on the last night before Easter. We wish them every success as they continue their Scouting in the Cub Pack.

Although we have welcomed several new Beavers into the Colony we still have places available. We are now able to take boys from the age of so if you have a friend or neighbour who may be interested in joining us, tell them it's a chance to make new friends and to have good fun. They can speak to me during a Colony meeting or contact our Group Scout Leader, Trevor Alexander.

Avril Cruse -Asst. Beaver Scout Leader.

Cub Scout News

Due to the lack of Leaders in the Pack at present, the Pack meetings continue to proceed in a less coordinated way than would be the-case with a full time Leadership team. We have tried to provide a varied programme and some boys have gained their Cub Scout Award.

During the past term I have welcomed three new boys from the Beaver Colony and one boy has joined us directly. Like the Beavers we do have spaces and until they are filled I will be reducing the number of Sixes from four to three and appointing a new Sixer and three new Seconders.

There have been two District activities during the term. The first was the Communicator and Computer badge afternoon at Hillside School in January. We had a number of boys present and most gained their badges. The second was the weekend for older Cubs. This was held in early March at a soggy Gilwell Park in Chingford and attended by three of our boys. This turned to be one of the only outdoor events last term not to be cancelled or curtailed by Foot and Mouth. The boys all had a good time.

In the coming term we have a joint camp with the Scouts and hopefully, if it stops raining, the chance of getting out onto the Hogs Back for some outdoor Scouting.

I would like to thank the District for their continued help and support with running the Pack. All parents should note that without that help we would have had to cancel many Pack meetings.

Trevor Alexander -Group Scout Leader.

Scout News

The last term has been very busy for the Scouts with growing numbers of boys coming each week. They have been kept busy with a variety of activities including swimming, climbing and camp training.

After several weeks of theoretical training as part of troop nights a group of boys went to Brunei University one Sunday to put it in practice and have since gained their climbers badge.

The spring night hike could not take place along the usual country paths due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak so we did a town trail around Northwood and Pinner instead. The boys went out in pairs with an adult to follow a specified route and answer questions on the things that they passed. There was a good turn out and all seemed to enjoy it -that could be because the food stop was McDonalds rather than the usual fry up in a car park! Back at the hut the boys were given Twister, Jenga and other games to keep them quiet before bed.

This term has also seen the troop going back to basics with training in first aid, map work and expedition food -if you want to know how to cook a vesta pack or other dried food ask the Scouts.

Next term sees us preparing for a County Weekend camp at Chalfont, which the Cubs will join us on, Summer Camp to the New Forest and other outdoor activities.

Mike Bennett -Asst. Scout Leader .

Venture Scout News

The District Venture unit have had a relatively quiet term with both a weekend expedition to Shropshire and an evening walk having to be cancelled due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak. However, we have managed to go skating and climbing to ensure that activities away from the hut stay on the programme. We also did a "dummy run" of the Scout's night hike but only made it half way round in the time we had -perhaps they'd have been faster if they were offered a McDonalds like the Scouts were!

Meetings in the hut included games evenings, music making and cooking. For the latter we managed to cook pancakes (and toss some of them successfully) and some Easter food including chocolate flake nests (sampled by the District Exec) and Easter Biscuits, which tested out the new kitchen.

Next term we hope that the Foot and Mouth situation will have cleared and that we will be able to get back outside again.

Christine Bennett -Venture Scout Leader.

Previous Editions:

• Issue 31, April 1997
• Issue 32, October 1997
• Issue 33, January 1998
• Issue 34, April 1998
• Issue 35, July 1998
• Issue 36, October 1998
• Issue 37, January 1999
• Issue 44, Spring 2001