Links - Wimbledon & Wandle District Newsletter

We finally have a name for our newsletter. A big thank you to everyone who submitted their ideas. Out of the 15 possibles the Media sub-committee voted in Links, with Cascade and The Mill Stream as runners up.

Notes from the DC

We are up and running and what a night it was. Many thanks for all those who braved the elements and make it a memorable evening. What with the snow outside and brief showers over the Mayor inside, it was truly un-forgettable.

My thanks to the steering committee and many others for the input that enabled us to have such a successful evening. I am sure it would have been standing room only had it not been for the weather.

Your support was fantastic and a massive indication of your affirmation of all that we are doing.

Once again my grateful thanks to those who have taken the opportunity to step down and many others who will continue to serve, possibly in different roles. I should also welcome those who are new to the District and I am sure you will enjoy the role you will be playing in shaping the new District.

New Committees and Committee members

The new Committees are beginning to emerge and I look forward to them taking up their new responsibilities

New people have joined the team since merger day

Peter Newman has accepted chairmanship of the Appointments Committee

Sue Southwood will serve as secretary to the District Team meeting and will also serve on the Appointments Committee. as will Polly Carter

Tom Griffin has accepted the appointment of District Explorer Scout Leader

My thanks to Jim Anning; David Johnson; Robert Bromwell and Stan Nelson who have undertaken training for the Appointments Committee work; the first to have done so in the County. The remaining five members will do their training on a later course.

My thanks to Pat Askey, Joan Condon and Margaret Pooley for providing the training evening.

I am intending to split off Development from the current Media and Development Committee. If you are at all interested in being part of a Development group please let me know. I have had one volunteer since the merger and I would like at least four others.

Group Reviews

I shall shortly commence the review of every Group in the new District to enable me to put together a Development Plan for the District. I will be writing to every Group in turn and am hoping to meet the GSL and Chairman of each Group.

District Badge

Many thanks for the 56 entries for the District badge design. The winning entry from Jeff Toombes of the 19th Wimbledon will need some slight alteration before we go to the manufacturer. The committee also picked out four entries from young people which were highly commended and all of which incorporated elements of the accepted design. They have all received small prizes.

St George's Day

The St George's Day service will be on Sunday 25th April; further details later in this newsletter or from Dave Gould.

Nights Away

Will all Leaders please read the separate notes regarding the Nights Away permit scheme, it contains some essential information that requires your action if you want a permit.

And finally - congratulations

Many congratulations to all 21 young people from the District who took important parts in the Founders Day Service in Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's Church. They looked really smart and a great credit to themselves, their Groups and the District.

Bob Prescott

Please be aware that after that date you must have a Nights Away permit for any night's away activity that is undertaken.

The District has now got 3 Assessors and a further 4 will complete the course by the end of February. They will be joined by a further 4 in due course.

The first assessment evening for existing and experienced Leaders will be Thursday 1st April at 1st Morden HQ Central Road Morden

The evening will commence at 7.30 and each applicant will be allocated a 45 minute slot. We will assess the first 18 applicants. You will be advised of your time slot in advance.

The second evening will be on Monday 26th April at 19th Wimbledon HQ Oakwood Road Raynes Park when we should be able to assess the next 24 applicants

If you wish to get your permit please download an application form from "Scoutbase" and submit your form to the DC as soon as possible.

You will need a current first aid certificate, this can be obtained later and will not prevent the assessment; but the permit will not be issued until confirmation is received.

Assessors will make recommendations on the classification. There maybe other restrictions noted e.g. A Beaver Leader might be restricted to Beaver sleepovers only.

The DC issues the permit and is the final arbiter on the level of permit issued.

The above describes the fast track assessment for existing Leaders; new Leaders requiring a permit will normally have completed module 16 of the new Leader training scheme and will be further assessed at their first practice camp by a visiting assessor.

The current PC form approval will continue up to 1st September. All Pack Holidays/Camps to Liz Laverick. All others to the DC.

Every nights away experience after 1st September must have a permit holder of the required level in attendance without exception.

Do not leave this until the last minute as it could affect any camps you may have planned for the autumn

Once you have a permit you can camp as often as you like using a simple notification sheet issued prior to the night's away experience.

On Saturday 6th March 10 young people from the 9th and 14th Wimbledon Scout Groups will represent Scouting at a celebration to launch the new Oxford University Press edition of Scouting for Boys. The Chief Scout, George Purdy, and the current Lord Baden-Powell will be there.

Please note that the telephone number is 020 8687 0428 (not as in new directory).

The service will take place at the Canons Leisure Centre, Madeira Road, Mitcham on Sunday 25th April. There will not be a parade.

Groups should assemble on the green outside Canons House at 10am behind their Group markers. At 10.15am the District will lead into the hall. The service should start at 10.30am and will last about three quarters of an hour. Everyone will then re-assemble outside for the Mayor to inspect the Groups.

If you are driving to the Canons, please park in the main car parks and not in the Canons House drive as this is for the Mayor only. There will be marshals on duty if you are not sure.

Would you please note that membership fees are now due, and that the latest date for payment to reach District is 15th March 2004.

Groups previously in Wimbledon & Merton District should make cheques payable to 'Wimbledon & Merton District Scout Council' and send them to:

Groups previously in Wandle District should make cheques payable to 'Wandle District Scout Council' and send them to:

Please note that the Store times are 19.45 - 21.15 (not as published in the directory).

New product: Short sleeve Explorer shirts made from a lightweight fabric similar to that used for the Thailand Jamboree shirts. £17.

Special order scarves: if you wish to order in time for St George's Day, you must notify Brian by 11 March at latest.

Brian has pretty well saturated the area with leaflets about the Store (complete with map), however, if you need further copies, contact him.

Have those of you who travel into London seen the large advert for Scouting on the tube? There is one on Gloucester Road underground station - big, colourful and full of kids involved in exciting activities.

Mary White has a stock of the old badges which she is selling off at 10p each. If there are any collectors out there who would like to buy some from her, she can be found at the District Store every Thursday evening.

Many Leaders need to renew their First Aid qualifications and it is now part of the compulsory training. If you can get a group of 12 people together, it is worth ringing Erica Bishop who runs the courses at Wimbledon Park, as she may be prepared to come to you to provide the necessary training at a cost of approx. £20 each.

Hope you all had a good half-term break! By now all Leaders should have received notification of an Activity Day to be held on Sunday 28 March at the Bow Lane Centre - this will be for 7 year old Beavers and up. Please do try and attend this first 'new' District event.

I am aware there are concerns about future District activities in view of the number of Beavers that could be involved and we need to get together to discuss how we progress on this point. The next Leaders' meeting is on 17 March at the DHQ in Morden Road.

In January 111 Cubs from both Districts enjoyed themselves whilst earning their entertainers badge. They took part in various activities including juggling, video reporting, puppet making and campfire singing.

On April 4th an adventure day is planned at Frylands Wood campsite for all Cubs aged over 9½, the organisers will issue letters with full details shortly. Please make sure that you reply letting the organisers know whether your Pack is attending and the number of cubs.

The next CSLs' meeting is to held on Wednesday March 10th at 20.30 at Morden Hall Park, H.Q. Please let Liz Laverick have your apologies if you are unable to attend.

I have failed so far to produce the Activity Questionnaire promised in the last Newsletter but will renew my efforts to get it done before our next Scouters' Meeting. Sometimes paying the mortgage has to take priority over Scouting - Sorry!

The level of interest expressed in running a section Swimming Gala is such that we will proceed with it subject to confirmation from Dave Gould. A good number of volunteers will be needed to staff it if we are to have a successful event so don't be shy in offering your services please.

Volunteer Scouts & Leaders are also needed for the New Training Programme Audit which will be held on Wednesday 5th May at 8pm. We need to find a dozen Scouts and Leaders to give their views of the new programme scheme to representatives from HQ. Wimbledon & Wandle has been "randomly" chosen for this so here is a chance to tell the people responsible for the scheme what you really think - good and bad.

The start of the Nights Away Permit scheme is heading this way and from 1st September you will not be able to take your Troop away without one. Please submit your application to Bob as soon as possible as there is a finite number of Assessors available to process the applications and we need to avoid creating a bottleneck in the summer. Permit application forms are available on Scoutbase or from the Information Centre. Once your application has been submitted you will receive an invitation to meet with an assessor.

Our next Scouters' meeting is on Wednesday 24th March in the 22nd Wimbledon HQ, Arthur Road, Motspur Park at 8pm.

January and February have been a busy time for Explorers in Wimbledon and Wandle. On Saturday 14th February the Wimbledon (Edge Hill) Explorer Unit held its annual Pantomime Ball. This year the theme was the Wizard of OZ, featuring Ant and Dec, Will Young and Gareth Gates as well as the usual characters. The audience were treated to a superb three course meal and finished the evening dancing to the Unit / Network band, 'Double Buchi'. The performance was repeated on Sunday with the inclusion of the 9th Wimbledon Cub Pack. The events raised over £2,000.00 towards the Unit's expedition to Nicaragua in July where the Explorers will be constructing a community centre in the town of Ocotal, near the Honduras border.

Merton Park held their launch evening for their expedition to Kenya in 2005 together with holding a disco in order to raise much needed funds for this project.

For the future, the District team are running an Explorer night hike in March in followed by soup and burgers. The Raynes Park unit are planning award hikes over the Surrey hills where the young people can test their navigational skills out over the Easter period whilst Edge Hill unit are looking forward to a Salsa night with dance instructors.

We are keen as a District Explorer team to look at provision within all areas of Wimbledon and Wandle. I am pleased to say that Joe Rogerson has volunteered to at least start up a unit based at the 11th Mitcham meeting on a Tuesday night and we hope to be able to support him in this venture.

The District team of myself, Neil McLauchlan, Dick Hooper and Tom Griffin are keen to make contact with people looking for a unit to send their older scouts. Dick has responsibility for links between troops and units but please feel free to contact any of us.

Reminder - Fellowship A.G.M. at Wandle D.H.Q. at 745 for 8.00 p.m, on Sunday, 7th March 2004. Light refreshments will be provided.

Spring Hike - Sunday, 28th March - around the Horton and Ewell area. Meet at 10.00 a.m. at Bourne Hall Car Park. Please let Rob Brumwell know by Saturday, 20th March, whether or not you will be attending.

If anyone is interested in going to see Croydon Stagers production of 'Guys & Dolls' at the Ashcroft Theatre in April, please contact Bill Vaudrey as soon as possible so that tickets can be ordered.

The Wimbledon Network has had a busy start to the year, with a whole host of activities. The highlight of the term so far was a night at the stock car races. Although not quite 'Days of Thunder' the Robin Reliant Derby was the favourite of the night!

Many of the Network members helped organized the recent Explorer fundraising Panto Ball - with a few stars making appearances as a host of characters, including the Pinball Wizard (for all the Who fans) in the 'Wizard of Oz'.

Numbers are strong (30+) and an updated programme will be distributed shortly, but up and coming events already planned include rock climbing and a weekend away in the Black Mountains - so the fun continues.

To Bob McNally and John Gales who have both been awarded the Long Service Decoration.

Have you looked at the new activities pages on Scoutbase? They are clear and easy to follow and give details of the relevant rules in POR and what factsheets you need to consider. Well worth a browse, especially if you are planning something new.

Many of you are already aware that the Scout Association is planning to develop "Centres of Excellence" at their campsites - Gilwell, Downe (Kent), Youlbury (Oxfordshire) and Great Towers (Cumbria) - and they will be reviewing many other sites which are currently leased to Districts/Counties. A number of these Districts/Counties were having difficulty in making ends meet financially and having the man power to run the sites properly, so they prompted the review by asking HQ if they could return the sites to their control!

When Scouting Essentials was first published it quickly became obvious that the Scoutcount software was not up the job of recording the members' details and monitoring their progress through the training programme. Scoutcount 2 has now been launched and is available for free download to Members who would like to explore its capabilities and assess if it will be of use to them in running Sections or Groups. It can be found at http://www.henleysoftware.co.uk/scoutcountii

Copies are available on cd-rom from the Information Centre at a cost of £ 2.50.