Diary Dates

County Appointments

Pat Askey has been appointed as the new ACC Beavers with immediate effect. Until a replacement County Training Manager is found, Roger Hurrion and Nigel Steward will handle any queries.

Alex Minajew has commenced his appointment as ACC General Duties.

District Camp

Plans are well advanced for the District Camp and further information will be distributed separately.  If your Group has not told Neil McLauchlan whether you will be attending, please let him know your intentions and approx numbers as soon as possible.

Peter Hutton, SL of the 13th Wimbledon, has taken on the role of co-ordinating activities for the activity zones at the Centenary camp.   He is developing a list of activities for each of 8 themed activity zones and is looking for ideas and leaders to run each activity.  He is also looking for people to co-ordinate each zone, ideally a cub leader and scout leader working together.  GSLs and scout section leaders should respond to Peter’s recent email which you can see by clicking here. Cub leaders please respond to Michele McNamara.  All responses by December 20th please so Peter can move forward with finalising the overall plan.

The dinner is on 24th February at the Wayfairer Hotel in Wimbledon; cost £28 per person. Full details are available by clicking here.

Band
It is not so long since we heard that our Scout Band was really struggling but a Leader from the Mitcham end of the District reports that their performance at the Remembrance Day service was excellent.
Congratulations to everyone concerned.

Badges
As Bob says in his report, Mary White's health has forced her to give up as Badge Secretary. The job is currently being covered by Lesley Bixby.

The new Beaver badges have been on order since the middle of October, when they were due to become available, but unfortunately they have not yet been delivered.  The other badges listed in last month's newsletter are now in stock.

Sets of the new Centenary badges can now be purchased at the Store £4.

Please note that the badges will not be available at the Store on 11 January or 8 February.  If you need anything urgently on either of those weeks, please contact Kath McLauchlan.

Store
The store will be closed on 21 December, 28 December and 4 January

New:  Ink-jet compatible certificates for Chief Scout's Silver Award and Moving On - £3 for a pack of 10.

Special offer: Knots and their Uses - Pack 0f 50 Cards  rrp £7.99 cost £5.99

Don't forget all your Centenary souvenirs can be ordered through the Store.

Appointments Committee (September - November 06)
Congratulations to the following Leaders who have had their warrants approved:

• Lisa Eales, SL 4th Morden

• Andy Edmonds, ASL 20th Mitcham

• Rebecca Gregg, ABSL 19th Wimbledon

• Laurence Harvey, ASL 8th Morden

• Anna Hurst, GSL 11th Mitcham

• Mark Steed, ACSL 19th Wimbledon

• Evelyn Steele, AGSL 1st Lower Morden

Cancelled Warrants:

• Colin Stubbs, SL 8th Morden

South West London Gang Show
Our Producer, Andrew Hayward, each year tells the cast that we always promise them, especially the young ones, that we would give them the best week of their lives&ldots; and we didn't disappoint them again at this year's show.
We, again, put on a very varied show, full of fun and laughter, song and dance&ldots; and did it very professionally.

I can do little more than include the review that appeared in 'The Guide' (Croydon Advertiser Group of Newspapers) written by Peter Steptoe who gave us a 4 Star rating.

"Gang show: Souwest '06  'The Guide' Nov 3 2006  Secombe Theatre, Sutton
I suppose I had thought that gang shows were things of the past, but here I discovered they still are brimming over with verve and vitality.

Under producer Andrew Hayward, this one ran to time, no item was too long and the costumes were superb.

I loved the Can-Can, and if I hadn't been banned by age I would have felt like joining in.

The chorus-singing was excellent and the result of many rehearsal hours, so plaudits for music director Jason Edge.

The singing and costumes in the item Black and White moved me greatly and I was amused by the Rules of the Pool and the lovely lady in the itsy-bitsy bikini.

A Tale of Two Cities was cleverly done and the scenery effectively indicated London and Paris.

To nit-pick I would say that the dialogue should have been sharper with better groupings for the cast. Some sound amplification would also help for young voices which could not always be heard.

But on the whole, it was a great evening.

Peter Steptoe"

In 2007 we will not only be celebrating 100 years of Scouting but 75 years of Gang Show and 25 years of the South West London Gang Show. We promise you a great show. Work has already started on it and if you wish to be part of it then details are here.
Audition dates are Sundays 25th February, 4th & 11th March 2007 (you will only have to attend one) and will be held at St John's Church Hall, Northdown Road, Belmont.

Terry Mitchell  Chairman, South West London Gang Show

Census

The census will be distributed to GSLs as soon as it becomes available.  Section Leaders are asked to co-operate and get their figures and other details in to their GSLs as quickly as possible.  The returns must be handed in at the GSLs' meeting on 22nd January.

The membership fee remains unchanged this year:  £24 per person if paid before or on 22nd January; £24.50 after that date.
The new centenary scarves will be distributed that night, based on the census figures.

All details are available on the club web site here.

New Members
We are also looking to recruit up to 10 new members who are Over 14 (no upper age limit) as of April 2007; they will receive free training during the year and help with courses. We will be running 2 weekends next year dedicated to training these new members and existing members: this, hopefully, will mean that, by the end of the year, they will be able to represent the club at the Scout National Accuracy Championships in September, where we have a very good record of wining the National Trophies. (Currently we hold 6 of the 7 Trophies).

For more details about joining this group of 10, please email Simon Sykes with membership in the subject line. All new members will have to become members of the BHPA, our governing body, at their own cost; other than that, all training for the year and flights will be free. This will be first come first served basis so first 10 members to sign up with the BHPA will receive the free training.

Hall required
Cliff Condon has details of a local Religious Group who are looking for a hall for a regular booking on Wednesday and Sundays.  If you think this could be a useful find raiser, contact Cliff to discuss.

County Training for 2006/2007 - Brian Beckley

All at Bow Lane Centre, Bow Lane, Morden.  

First module on date is morning; last module on date is afternoon. Please check middle modules with your Local Training Manager. 

First Aid Training:
Ring Janet Drinkall for information

8th January at Sutton DHQ
11th March at Hounslow:  both cost £15.

Janet may be able to come to your Group HQ if you have 16+ needing a first aid course.

Gilwell Park are running various training sessions - full information on website.
Applications can be made as follows:

a) If you are re-visiting a module as ongoing learning, via GSL to Joan Condon

b) If you have a training advisor please go via them to Brian Beckley.

Please contact either Joan Condon or Brian Beckley if you have any queries.

11 packs attended the Handicraft day on November 19th, which was won by the 20th Mitcham, well done to them.  Thank you to all the Leaders who helped on the day and a special thank you to Will Smith, Mark Gales & Colin Pullen for all the time they put into preparing the materials needed for the day. Also, thank you to our 2 judges Muriel Treagust and John Young for undertaking such a daunting task.

Next event for the Cubs is the badge day on January 28th at Bow Lane, if you haven't indicated yet that your Pack would like to attend, can you please let me know a.s.a.p. and advise whether they wish to attend in the morning or afternoon.

Cub Leaders' Christmas meal is planned for 5th January at Park Place, all are welcome.  If you wish to attend, please contact Brian Beckley before Christmas to book your place.

County Chief Scout Silver Award Celebration - to be held in February: please let Graham Fairclough have the names of any eligible Cubs within the next 2 weeks.

I hope you are all thinking up activity ideas for next year's District camp, I need these to be sent to me by next week at the very latest.

Finally, can I take this opportunity to thank you all for the work you have done with your Packs and within the District this year and wish you a very Happy Christmas and a good New Year.

Scout Network activities for the remainder of the year are as follows - and I hope they will be well supported:

December 13 - Meeting at the County Training Centre, Bow Lane Morden (8pm) to plan the County Scout Network Expedition to Nepal in 2008 or 2009. All are welcome including Explorer Scouts over the age of 16.
December 15 - Network Christmas Meal hosted by Saturn (Sutton) Local Scout Network at TGI Fridays in Croydon.  If you wish to attend please contact Chris Dean as soon as possible, or be disappointed.
December 18 - Reunion for all those who participated in the County Explorer Belt Expeditions to Lithuania and The Seychelles last summer. The Reunion will take place in the Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way, Sutton at 8pm. Uniform please.
December 22 - Spend a day helping in a hostel for the homeless in London. For further information please contact Christine (Kit) Budhan. E-mail chris_budhan@hotmail.com

The first event in 2007 is a Volleyball Competition on January 12 at Overton Grange School, Stanley Road, Sutton at 7.30pm. Network members and Scouters from all sections are invited to make up squads of 6-10 players. Cost is £5 per team payable on the night. Contact me if you wish to enter a team.

All Scout Network members will shortly receive a mailing, which will include the subscription renewal request for 2007. Please complete the form immediately and return it with a cheque for £30 (Network-only members) or £10 (if you are a Leader and your Group pays for you at the Census) in favour of GLSW Scout Network. Subs are payable by all Network members including those at university.

Also in the mailing is a calendar of Scout Network events for 2007, which will be memorable year for all involved in GLSW Network Scouting.

A Happy Christmas to everyone.

We are sorry but due to lack of response, the Christmas Party, due to be held on 2nd December, was cancelled.  We are hoping for a better number at the New Year Meal.  This year this will be held on Saturday, 20th January, at the Blue Ball, Walton on the Hill.  If you would like to go please let Dave Gould know (020 8395 1885) by Friday 12th January 2007.

Reminder: Carol Concert, Saturday 9th December 2006, help required for the evening performance.  Please contact Brian on 8330 2088, if you can assist.

Centenary Dinner and Dance - 24th February 2007 at the Wayfairer Hotel.  Please contact Bob Prescott for tickets.

May we take this opportunity to wish you well for Christmas and the New Year.

Our thoughts and prayers go especially to Mary White and Jean Prior.

NSPCC Child Protection Awareness programme
There are two programmes, which could be of interest to Leaders:

1. NSPCC Child Protection Awareness - a programme of 4 short modules each with its own questionnaire. £22.50 + VAT

2. NSPCC Keeping Children Safe - a programme of 3 short modules each with its own questionnaire.  £21.50 + VAT

Upon successful completion, participants will receive feedback regarding their answers, along with a personalised NSPCC certificate.

Further details on the NSPCC EduCare website

www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/TrainingAndConsultancy/EduCare/Educare_asp_ifega23440.html or phone 01926 436211

Copy Date:

There will not be an issue of Links in January but copy date for the February issue is Thursday 25th January.