Links - Wimbledon & Wandle District Newsletter

While I know some of you camp all the year round, for many the season starts with the bank holidays in May. If you have been under canvas recently, I hope your camps went well and your members are already planning the next one!

10th July 2004 at Wimbledon Chase School, Merton Hall Road. Have you let Dave Gould know whether or not you will be entering?

The timing of this event depends on the number of Groups attending.

Brian Beckley is still waiting to hear from the majority of Leaders across the District who have not yet applied for their Nights Away assessment. From 1 September you will not be able to take your members camping without a permit so you need to get your application in as soon as possible.

Along with your Nights Away permit, you need a current first aid certificate. Two Groups have now successfully run courses for all their Leaders over a couple of evenings.

Why don't you have a go at organising one - it's not difficult - and invite along Leaders from neighbouring Groups to fill any empty spaces?

Eurojam 2005: pennants 180mm x 175mm are £4 and ribbon badges £1.25 can be ordered through the badge secretaries.

A big thank you to everyone who helped at the Fayre. Despite the weather we managed to make a small profit which has now been distributed to Groups.

The mobile display unit made quite an impact and special thanks to those who helped with it. The climbing wall was very popular.

Lost property at the National Trust Fayre. Two padded jackets (one adult, one child) were left in the Admin Tent over the weekend, together with one lady's wristwatch found in the compound. Enquiries to Bill Vaudrey please.

I understand that a proof of the new badge has arrived in the District for approval so hopefully we will be seeing real thing before too long.

Scoutbase are running a survey to find out how easy we find it to use the website. I can never find things, especially when I'm in a hurry and at last I've had a chance to say so. Let them have your comments by clicking on the button on the top right hand side of the main Scoutbase menu.

To come along with a couple of mates and your personal kit, and have a great weekend with 30 other scouts. A weekend filled with fun and challenge - including The BIG Breakfast, wide games, the Ravine Challenge and loads more."

This action filled weekend for Scouts is being run by the County. No Leaders are required and there is no minimum number from each Troop (help on the organising team would, however, be much appreciated!). Full details are on the GLSW website - get your booking in by the end of June, please.

Thank you to the few Leaders who attended the last Meeting and also those who sent their apologies!

There will be 7 Colonies attending the Gilwell Medieval Day in June and they will be joined by a Colony from another District who were unable to get transport. Thank you Jane G of the 16 Morden for organising this - I hope you all have a good time.

Cubs

No Cub report this time but may I say that I thought the football competition went very well. Congratulations to the 5th Morden who won.

Scouts - Paul Atkins

Thanks to those leaders and members from 4 of our Troops who met with representatives from HQ to comment on the implementation of the balanced programme. After a hesitant start a constructive discussion considered which of the Challenges are being actively used in Troop programmes and which are less successful with suggestions for changes. All comments were backed up with evidence of real situations in Troops to produce reasoned, well thought-out arguments. It was a shame that more Troops were not represented as this was a good opportunity to influence changes in the future.
The evening ended with a lively discussion on the modified age ranges and I believe that the reassurances that we received will allow each SL to manage their Troop based on an individual's needs whilst still working to reduce the leakage between the Scout & Explorer sections. Thanks to the Scouts of the 22nd Wimbledon who provided the refreshments.

Planning for our key event of the year, the Patrol Camping Weekend, is progressing well although, at the closing date for entries, only 2 Troops had paid the fee and sent in the form. A number of Troops have advised me that they will not be able to attend this year but no indication of intentions has been given by the majority. Please tell me whether or not you will be entering.

Offers of adult help are still welcome, particularly for judging First Aid skills and running a few games on the Saturday evening.

There are a couple of changes of Troop leadership imminent and we will be very sorry to lose Nigel Hewitt-Cooper from the 16th Morden and Garry Eves from the 23rd Mitcham who are both planning to move away from the area. Nigel & Garry have put in a huge amount of time and skill over the years as evidenced by their successful and active Troops and we wish them well in their new homes. A new team has been formed at the 23rd and contact details will be circulated shortly. The 16th will be led by Anthony Ginty and Marc Coggins who will continue to build on the strength of the Troop.

Our next Scouters' meeting will be held on Tuesday 22nd June at the 8th Morden HQ in Yenston Close near to St Helier station.

Explorer Scouts - Gareth Beynon

We recently held a District Explorer Night Hike in which three of the Units participated. A good crew made up of the Leaders and Network members supported the eight teams around a course on Ranmore Common. My thanks go especially to Neil McLauchlan for fronting this and Clive Tullet for his constant cooking during the evening. The clear sky certainly made it a cold one.

Edge Hill Unit continue to build towards their summer trip in Nicaragua and have run a number of events including the highly successful Prohibition Ball where £1,100 was raised. They have followed this up with a Weekend camping in New Forest where preparation took place for the expedition.

Raynes Park Unit are off to the Kandersteg International Scout Centre in the summer and I know their plans are advancing too.

Mitcham's unit is now up and running and have a good time ahead using the new badgework to drive their programme.

Merton Park are now planning for Kenya 2005 and held a disco to kick off their fund raising efforts. Neil McLauchlan and I have recently spent an evening with the Iceni Explorer Unit leaders talking about their plans for their future programme too.

A good number of Queen Scout Awards have been gained over the last year and a number of our Explorers were at the National Parade at Windsor. This should be the aim of all Explorers so well done to all of those involved.

We are in exam time which has traditionally caused a bit of a lull with attendance with this age group but are looking beyond that to an exciting summer.

To finish with, just a request for all Explorer Leaders to let Neil McLauchlan know numbers for the forthcoming District water sport event ASAP.

Network - Chris Dean

I was delighted to attend the Windsor Parade of Queen's Scouts on Sunday 25 April. Greater London SW was well represented, and our contingent, many of whom were from Wimbledon and Wandle, looked very smart and marched better than most !

Earlier in the month two groups, each of 7 Network members drawn from 4 Local Networks, successfully completed combined Queen's Scout and Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award Expeditions on foot across Dartmoor. This augurs well for our tally of Queen's Scouts in the future. Network is arranging two further such opportunities this year, from August 22-28 in the Lake District, and from October 24-30 again on Dartmoor. Further information is available on the County website - www.glswscouts.org.uk/network - and anyone interested should contact me as soon as possible.

This summer we are looking forward to two major events. The first is the County Scout Network Conference at Frylands Wood Scout Camp on Saturday July 10, and all members are encouraged to attend. Immediately afterwards there will be a barbecue and social; and camping space has been booked for those who want to stay overnight in time for Paragliding on Sunday morning and the Blues Gig in the afternoon. The weekend wraps up with a fabulous firework display at about 9.30pm. Everyone in Network should have received an invitation and booking form for the various 'activities', and also nomination papers for the forthcoming Committee elections. Do please return them right away along with payment for activities.

On July 25 a party of 18 Network Scouts from across the County travels to Belarus to construct an adventure playground at an orphanage near Radun. Most will fly via Warsaw while a van-load of equipment, supplies and humanitarian aid makes its way through Holland, Germany and Poland thence across the Belarussian border at Brest. It should be a life-changing experience for all concerned.

I will be visiting the Local Scout Network in Wimbledon and Wandle again on June 17 to continue the process of CRB checking. As usual I will have with me plenty of merchandise - 'exclusive' GLSW Network scarves, County badges, GLSW Network nametapes, and 'Navigator' files. See you all then.

Fellowship - Bill Vaudrey

National Trust Fayre - Thanks to all members who helped out over the weekend - sorry about the weather on Monday!

Evening Ramble over Epsom Downs - Friday, 14th May - the usual hardy few turned up and we had a pleasant walk followed by our normal refreshment stop.

Saturday, 12th June - Summer Meal, 7 for 7.30 p.m. at the Compass, Gomshall - reminder: names to Bill by Friday 4th June.

Saturday, 17th July - B.B.Q. - 7 for 7.30 p.m. - Wandle DHQ - names to Bill by Saturday 10th July, please.

The Wimbledon ESU are holding their Midsummer Ball on Saturday 3rd July to raise money for the expedition to Nicaragua later in the summer. The Explorers and Networkers going on the expedition will be building a community centre in the poverty stricken Barrio Sandnio, which will provide local support as well as basic medical/education facilities. This is the last big fundraising event before the trip so any support would be appreciated.

The Midsummer Ball is always a great night, with Live Music, a licensed bar and a 5-course meal - so please get as many people to come along as you can! People are beginning to book tables and tickets are available,

Any queries please call Tom Griffin. Hope to see you all on the night. Midsummer Ball Poster

District AGM
There was a reasonable turn-out for the District AGM last month and the Kenneth Black Hall was comfortably full. However, this was still only a small proportion of the total number of Leaders in the District. Where were the rest of you? You missed the most marvellous refreshments afterwards (and the meeting was quite good, too!)

Wimbledon & Wandle District Scout Range
Are you looking for an activity for your Scouts or Cubs that will teach them safety, concentration and self discipline? Try the Wimbledon & Wandle District Scout Range, Wimbledon Park Hall. We meet on Wednesdays during term time:

Wednesdays 5.30-6.30pm
Beginners Course (8-week NSRA Youth Proficiency Scheme - Master at Arms). Parents are welcome to take part.

Wednesdays 6.30-7.30pm
Continuing Shooters Group (may also attend earlier session).

The range materials are portable - we can bring everything to one of your meetings for an introductory lesson for the whole Troop. District Range Details

Lands of Adventure - You are Europe
Are you Euro-hopping into the Lands of Adventure with the new European programme for Scouts and Explorer Scouts aged 11 to 16. Its aim is to assist in enriching the Scout programme with a European dimension and to contribute towards the development of a well-balanced, attractive, and relevant programme for the Scout age section in Europe. Details on Scoutbase.

If you need any help with your Local Knowledge badge, a lady at the Wimbledon History Museum on the Ridgeway is happy to be of assistance.