Summer Camp 2011

We've had an excellent initial response for next year's Summer Camp at Waddecar, as a result all places on the first minibus have been taken. If you'd like to go, to be sure of a place on the second minibus you need to return your reply slip and deposit as soon as possible.

Fun' Raising Group Scout Halloween Party

Open to all Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers, and their families and friends.


For the scarily low price of only £3.50 per person, why not join us for an evening of Halloween fun and frolics at our Halloween Party at Silverwood Camp Site on Saturday 30th October 2010 from 6PM until 8.30PM. Explorers, Scouts and Cubs can sleepover in the accommodation provided within Silverwood Lodge at no additional charge. However we would really like to share the Party experience their families and friends so don’t forget to order tickets for them as well!

What's on offer.
 A hot or soft drink  A tall tale from beyond the grave in our Ghost Walk
 Pie and Peas  Songs around a huge camp fire
 Piece of parkin  A Pumpkin Parade (Prizes per section)
 A DIY Toffee Apple for the kids  Best dressed Halloween costume (Prizes per section)
 A camp song sheet  Decorate It Yourself (DIY) Toffee Apple Covering!

Dress up in your best Halloween costume and bring along your own carved Pumpkin Lantern and join in the pumpkin parade, with prizes for best costume and best pumpkin lantern! You can get a stencil for your pumpkin at:
http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf1/1004_pumpface.pdf

DONATIONS OF FOOD REQUIRED: As part of our fund raising we would request donations of food items that we can create a hamper with to raffle off at this event. You could donate tea bags, coffee, cakes, biscuits, jam, sweets or chocolate - just watch the Best Before Dates! Please have these donations to us by Thursday 14th October 2010.

Your invitation will be handed out to Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers at this weeks meetings.

Any questions please ask one of the leaders.

Happy Halloween.

Ed.

Equipment Plea from Ardsley Scouts

One of the staged badges that all members can get the opportunity to do through Scouts is the Information Technology badge.  In order to make the activities interesting, we would like to ask you if you have any old working technology that you may have around the house, that you would be willing to donate for Scouts use. 

It could be that you have equipment like computer monitors, keyboards, mice, digital cameras, old mobile phones or printers that you really meant to sell on eBay or donate to a charity shop but never got round to it.  So why not bring it along and let us use it in our Information Technology badge work?

Any items that are donated will be gratefully received and most likely used to destruction or dismantled and rebuilt as part of the Scouts investigations into how these things work, so we could not take anything on a loan or temporary basis. 

If you have any questions please speak to one of the leaders or email me.

Thanks

Ed.

ed@ardsleyscouts.org.uk

Summer Camp 2011

Letters will be going out this week for next year's Summer Camp, which is open to all Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. The camp dates are 23rd - 30th July, which is the first week of the school holidays. The venue is Waddecar Scout Camp, which is situated in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire. This site is an old favourite, which we've camped at several times over the years. There's loads to do onsite and in the surrounding area, so it should be an excellent camp. We hope you'll be able to join us.

Scouts Back 2 Basics Camp 03/09/10 - 05/09/10

16 Scouts set up for a weekend of back to basics camping at Squirrel Wood near Doncaster.  The weekend was aimed at making use of the natural resources around us like the fallen wood to provide our heat for making drinks and cooking our food.  Friday night came and with only a couple of hours of daylight, the Scouts did manage to put up quite a large number of tents by the time that dusk had fallen.  For the weekend the group were split into 2 cooking patrols, and they started the difficult task of continually fetching wood and water as well as taking turns with the chores like making meals and washing up.

The first nights supper was meant to be pancakes, but 1 group did not quite manage to produce anything that any of them wanted to eat.  They had to make do with some fruit as a substitute and probably a visit to the tuck shop which should have been named "Open All Hours" - 'cos it was :-)

Once the washing up had been done, it took quite a bit of time to settle the campers down, as having a few first time campers seemed to make for a raucous night.

On Saturday morning the camp awoke to bright sunshine and breakfast was eventually pulled from out of the fires.  3 leaders joined us in preparation for a bike ride around the local villages and after a while sorting out 20 bikes, helmets and hi-vis vests we set off for an explore.  After a couple of set backs most of the Scouts made decent progress and some really enjoyed it, and after a couple of hours and a pit stop at a village store we returned to enjoy our lunch.  After some free time, either resting from the bike ride or exploring the camp, the Scouts started to prepare for their big meal, which was to be Loin Steaks of English Pork with Vegetable Stew and Dumplings.  During the meal preparation one of the Scouts had an accident and he spent a couple of hours being looked after in Accident & Emergency, but returned back to camp later that evening after being put back together by the lovely doctors and nurses at Barnsley Hospital.

On Sunday morning, we were greeted again by the warm morning sun, and despite a shower of rain in the night, both groups had managed to achieve keeping their fires in all weekend.  After a bit of a lie in bed for most, breakfast was being cooked on the open fire and some Scouts practised their newly found cooking skills.  Washing up after cooking on open fires is always going to be a chore, and sure enough it took some doing, but we eventually got through all the equipment and packed away for midday.

The turn out for this camp was exceptional, thank you very much for that and to all the leaders and adult helpers who play their part in making it all happen.

More pictures can be found at this location.

Regards

Ed.

Emma’s Kilimanjaro Expedition

Tomorrow, Emma Jackson, our Assistant Beaver Leader, is setting off on an expedition to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. She’s hoping, with your support, to raise lots of money for our Scout Group. Kilimanjaro is in north-eastern Tanzania, and at 5893m above sea-level, it’s the highest mountain in Africa, so this is a major challenge for Emma.

We’re hoping to use the money Emma raises to buy a new box trailer, which we can use for camping trips, expeditions, and other activities with the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

Emma has already raised £2000 towards her target of £3000, which is absolutely fantastic.

It’s not too late to support Emma’s expedition by getting sponsorship from friends, neighbours, family and work colleagues. You should all have received a sponsor form over the holidays, if not we have spares, or you can download one from here.

There’s also an option to donate via the Just Giving website

We will be awarding a prize to the Beaver, Cub and Scout that raises the most money.

We don’t need your completed sponsorship forms and money until the end of October, so there’s plenty of time.

Please do what you can to support Emma’s Kilimanjaro Expedition.

Scouts Back-to-basics Camp

This weekend we're running a Back-to Basics camp for Scouts at Squirrel Wood. During the camp, we'll be cooking exclusively on open fires, and practicing other traditional scout skills. On the Saturday morning we're hiring some bikes for a ride around the local villages.

For those Scouts who are going, but aren't able to make it to tonight's meeting, can you please download a Permission to Camp Form and make sure you bring it with you on Friday night, together with the balance of your camp fee. You can also download a Kit List.