Diary Dates

District Commissioner

I hope everyone had a good August and that those who were away camping had an enjoyable time.

It is with sadness that I have to report that Mary White passed away recently and the funeral service was held in Austria. David White has requested a Memorial Service be held in the District and this was Mary's wish. Full details are published later in this copy of Links. I had the great pleasure of presenting her Silver Wolf earlier this year. She worked tirelessly for the Scout Movement in our District, much done without fuss. She was much loved and will be missed. The family have asked for donations to the District for something to remember Mary by.  They should be sent to John Young.

I was very pleased to see so many at our Scouting Sunrise Ceremony and especially a group of Fellowship members from New Zealand. This really made our event and to have Bruce a former Deputy Chief Scout of New Zealand with us made it really special. That we made the local papers and right on the front page of Scouting Plus, gave a measure of publicity that we wanted.

My thanks to Michele McNamara and Alan Woolsey for their part in organising the morning

I hope, if you were not there, you enjoyed your ceremony wherever you were. I have challenged all Sections and Leaders to write the story of where you were. Prizes will be awarded for the best submission for each Section.

Our many Jamboree participants had a fantastic time and have all returned exhilarated but exhausted. We look forward to hearing all about their experiences.

We successfully hosted 35 Swiss Scouts at Bow Lane. They had a fantastic time that included a visit from our Mayor and the Swiss HOHO National organisers. My thanks to 1st Lower Morden and especially to AGSL Evelyn Steele for her hard work in making this such a success.
We now have 40 once used, blow up air beds for sale and that will be done through our Shop.

Brian Beckley has advised me that he has decided to move to the South Coast. Brian has done a fantastic job as our Local Training Manager especially as it has been very difficult getting the new training scheme into some kind of shape. Brian has done a huge amount in the District and was rightly awarded the Silver Acorn last year. We wish his wife and him a happy time in their new home.

All of our official Centenary events are now completed and that gives the Groups a chance to concentrate on your own events, particularly if you have not had one yet.
I have to say that I have been delighted with our events in this special year. I set out to ensure we had quality events that we would all be proud to have been to. I am satisfied that we achieved that goal and I have hardly heard any criticism of any event. The jewel in the crown was our Centenary Camp, which will long live in my memory and I guess yours as well. I was overwhelmed to receive a lovely gift from you all presented at the Windmill on the Scouting Sunrise ceremony morning. The success of these events was the culmination of work by a whole team of leaders and also the positive attitude of Leaders right across the District.

We have a very special District and I am very privileged to lead it as your District Commissioner.

Bob Prescott

Appointments Committee
Congratulations to the following leaders who have now had their full warrants approved:

13 Provisional Certificates have been issued, 25 Worker Certificates and 1 cancellation.

District Sports - 14th July

Congratulations to Peter Hutton who organised the District Sports in July - a successful and enjoyable event.  Hopefully, next year will see more Groups present.

Congratulations to all the winners:

    • Inter Group Trophy, 6/12th Mitcham

    • Cubs, 6/12th Mitcham

    • Scouts, 8th Morden

Full results are here.

Swimming Gala - 13th October
Our next District event is the swimming gala, which is being organised by Michèle McNamara.

Michele has circulated the details - if you have not got yours yet, please contact her as soon as possible or download them from here.
As with all sporting events, lots of helpers are required.  Please offer your assistance to Michèle if you are free that evening. 

Training
From 1st September I will be departing the District for Littlehampton. As yet no one has been named for the Local Training Manager's post. If you have any training queries please contact Margaret Pooley or Joan Condon.

I would like to thank all the Training Advisers for their hard work and limited agro during my spell as Local Training Manager and wish all of you continuing your training the best of Scouting.

Thank you to all in Wimbledon & Wandle District for giving me a great few years of Scouting.

Brian Beckley - Departing Local Training Manager.

Training Modules October - November 2007
All modules will be held at the Bow Lane Scout Centre

Beavers - Julia Doolan

Welcome back, we hope you all had a good rest and enjoyed the break.

A Big Thank You - to all who attended the sunrise at the Windmill on Wimbledon Common. We had a good turn out and it was nice to be mentioned in Scouting Plus on the Internet.

Activity Day - Bow Lane, Morden-  Sunday 14th October - for over 7's - Please can we have provisional numbers, as time is of the essence.  Letters will be issued within the next few days, so please reply ASAP.

Please can you collect the cardboard tubes from the Kitchen Rolls for the rockets and bring them to the next meeting.  Thanks.

We sent a special bouquet to Sheila and Tony Mouchi in July and they have sent a big thank you to everyone and the flowers were greatly appreciated.

Next Meeting - Wednesday 26th September.

Cubs - Michèle McNamara (ADC Cubs)

I hope all the Packs that went away during the summer had a good and healthy time.

Please don't forget the next CSLs' meeting is on Wednesday September 19th.  If you are unable to attend please let me know, we need to discuss the handicraft competition at this meeting so please come with some ideas.

Scouts - Dave Bixby (ADC Scouts)

The next Troop Scouters' meeting is on Monday 24th September at the Morden Hall DHQ .  Please try to get someone from your Troop to attend and bring your diaries, as we need to set the dates for next year.

There have been a few suggestions for new activities and we need your input to meet the post Jamboree challenge.

I would like to publish a book similar to the old County Year Book but can only do so with your help.

The District Scout Quiz takes place in the St John Fisher Church hall, Cannon Hill Lane, Morden on 3rd October at 7.45pm.  If this clashes with your Troop night, why not bring them all along?

The Incident Hike will be based around Boidierhurst, Box Hill, on Sunday 4th November.  Basic details are the same as previous years and can be found on the District website here.  Final details will be circulated shortly.

If anyone has difficulty accessing the information online or would just prefer a paper copy - please let me know.

Explorers - Neil MacLauchlan (DESC)

October is outdoor month for all Explorers & Leaders! We have 3 exciting events as listed below:

1. Remote Camping Course - 2007 Snowdonia National Park
Sunday 30th September (pre-meet 9.00am-1.30pm)
Friday 5th October to Sunday 7th October
This course is run by GLSW and Surrey Scout County and is open to Leaders (including assistants and skill instructors) and members of the Scout Network.

2. County Explorer Scout night hike 2007
Sat 13th - Sun 14th October
First group check in @ 7.00pm
Teams of 4-6 Explorer Scouts hiking between checkpoints 

3. County Explorer Scouts Mountaineering Weekend - 2007
Sunday 21st October (pre-meet 2.30pm to 5.00pm)
Friday 26th to Sunday 28th October
This is an activity weekend held in the North Wales mountains open to all Explorer Scouts staying at the County Activity Base at Bethesda in North Wales. The weekend's programme will include hill walking, rock climbing, abseiling and various instructional sessions.

Full details for all of the above from me.  Let's have a full turnout from our District

Network - Chris Dean

The summer has passed by so quickly that it seems hard to believe that is two months since the Scout Network was in North Wales for the annual MS Challenge. This took place in the most appalling conditions imaginable - driving rain, hail, and the 'mother of all peat bogs', and only a day after the glorious sunshine which enabled the team to create a carpark behind Yr Hen Neuadd, and also to summit Tryfan. Many thanks to all those who sponsored the team in the MS Challenge - the funds raised were donated to the Sutton & Croydon MS Therapy Centre.

This brilliant weekend was followed in late July by Charborough 2007, a small International Camp based at Charborough Park in Dorset. It was arranged for GLSW Scout Network members and associated groups, including Scouts and Explorers. For the most part we were blessed with good weather, and the highlight was surely being on Brownsea Island with 1000 other Scouts on August 1st. Photos from our Sunrise Ceremony at Hamworthy, overlooking Poole Harbour, can been viewed on the County website here.

During the second half of August we trained for the Great River Race, which takes place on September 8th, the same weekend as the Gilwell Reunion, at which the Network will, as always, be well represented. The main event in September, however, is the Queen's Scout 'Muster' at KCS Wimbledon. Already some 800 invitations have been sent out, and we are expecting a really good turnout. Among the VIPs attending are the Mayors of all five London Boroughs in GLSW. If you are a Queen's Scout (or indeed a King's Scout)it is not too late to come - please contact me for details.

We were unable to mount a 4-day expedition for Queen's Scout and DofE Gold Awards in August, but will be doing so in October half-term, when we are going to the Lake District. The next expedition week will almost certainly be in August 2008 as Easter looks to be tricky due to holiday dates, and the Network is planning a major expedition to Nepal.

Programme information can be found on www.glswscouts.org.uk/network, and is a good read! Saxons (Royal Kingston) and Saturn (Sutton) Networkshave found themselves regular meeting places, and it is hoped that the other Local Networks will follow soon.

Finally, we are now asking for subscriptions for 2008. This is to give us more time to register members and collect subs in time for the 2008 Census. All members and prospective members will have received the 'membership form', and this should be completed and returned in a timely fashion. Everyone's co-operation is appreciated, and......expected !

Fellowship - Linda Vaudrey

We were very sad to hear of the passing of Mary White.  Mary had been a member of the Fellowship for a number of years and I had recently received a very chatty letter from her.   Our thoughts are with her family at this time.

The B.B.Q. was, as usual, a successful evening.  The weather was awful but the food was great!  Many thanks to Jean and Dave.

We were pleased to see so many members on 11th July when we visited the House of Commons for what proved to be an interesting tour by Siobhan McDonagh.

Please let Bill Walden know if you are attending the general meeting on Tuesday, 18th September, as refreshments will be provided. The speaker this time is a Private Investigator so the evening should be enlightening!

Hope you managed to find the sun somewhere recently and are ready for another busy Fellowship year.

Best wishes to Bill Cronk, recovering after a recent operation.

District Store

The Store will re-open on Thursday 13th September 7.45 - 9.15pm.  If you need any leaflets to hand out to the parents of your new recruits, contact Brian Whalebone. Details of the store are here.


Scouting Sunrise

Wimbledon and Wandle District met at the Windmill on Wimbledon Common to celebrate 100 years of the Scout Movement and to welcome the dawn of a new century of Scouting. The District Commissioner, Bob Prescott, led our celebrations.  He was joined by Deputy DC, Keith Daly, District Chairman, Eric Hayward, Stephen Hammond MP and Cllr. John Dehaney, the Mayor of Merton.

Also present were a Group of Scouters and supporters from New Zealand.

The 8th Wimbledon celebrated Sunrise in London and many members of the District were among the 40,000 Scouts at the 21st World Jamboree at Hylands Park, Essex.

Tony Webb has over 200 photos from the Windmill Sunrise event which he will copy onto CD for anyone who is interested.  Please contact him if you would like a copy.
A sample of the photos is available on the GLSW web site here.

 

Greater London South West County Scout Council
cordially invites

ALL KING'S AND QUEEN'S SCOUTS 

to a 'Muster ' 
of King's and Queen's Scouts
on Sunday 30  September 2007
at Kings College School, 
Southside, Wimbledon, London, SW19 4TT
from 3pm to 6pm.

This will comprise an act of worship and re-dedication which starts at 3pm.
and will be followed by a reception with refreshments
with an opportunity to meet old friends.

RSVP
Chris Dean
13 East Hill Road
Oxted,Surrey,RH8 9HZ
chris.dean@glswscouts.org.uk

"Never fear shadows.
This simply means there's a light shining somewhere."

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