Church Parade this weekend

This Sunday we'll be taking part in the Harvest Festival Church Parade at Christ Church, Ardsley. This is one of four Church Parades we do through the year as a Group.

All members are expected to take part.

We'll be meeting at 10.15am on Sunday at the Scout Hut. The service will finish at approximately 11.45pm.

Please wear full uniform.

Parents are welcome to stay for the service.

The Billingham Activity Centre

Please read this notice from our District Commissioner. We would be very grateful if you could support this funding bid, which is awarded on the basis of public votes:-

With your help 2012 will see the transformation of the Training Hut at Silverwood into a custom built facility to support Scouting in Barnsley & South Yorkshire, plus all young people both locally and nationally who have a love for the outdoors.

For many years now the Training Hut has been a popular building used by Scouts to provide catering and dining facilities, a base for camps, training courses and for evening activities. It is by far the most popular facility Silverwood Scout Campsite has; however as with all old timber built buildings it has seen its fair share of wear and tear and as such, it is in constant need of repair.

So the time has come to replace the building with “The Billingham Activity Centre” using newer and stronger materials and at the same time update and enlarge the facility so it will continue to be used by Scouts and attract other users, providing much needed revenue for Scouting in Barnsley and Silverwood.

Thank you for supporting Scouting in the Barnsley area and providing us with the means to provide continued adventure to young people for many years to come

Please follow the link, register and vote for us. Spread this message far and wide so that that we can build the Billingham Activity Centre at Silverwood. We really do need your votes, your tweets and you to ‘like’ us because we are competing against many other worthy causes! Voting started on 26th September and closes on 23rd October 2011 so please don’t delay! If you are unable to vote online, please ring the Community Force helpline on 0800 2100 246 to register your support. I can assure you that your help will be greatly appreciated by everyone involved.

The Link http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/1236

Beaver and Cub Sleepover

We are holding a Beaver and Cub sleep over from 16:00 Saturday 1st October, which will be followed by our annual Harvest Festival with Church on Sunday 2nd October.

There will be games, a movie, pizza and other snacks.

This will give both the Cubs and Beavers chance to mix as a group and it will also count towards their nights away badge total.


The cost will be £5 to be returned with your consent form (available from your leader) no later than 29th September.

Backwoods Camp - 8 October

A District Backwoods Camp is being organised for 8-9th October. The event will take place at Silverwood and is open to Scouts and Explorers. 'Backwoods' is a style of basic camping, where cooking is done on open fires. This is a training camp where Scouts will learn backwoods skills - there will, hopefully, be a competition next year.

The camp will be from 9am on Saturday 8 October to 2pm on Sunday 9 October. The cost will be £15.

If you would like to take part in this camp, please bring your £15 (non-returnable) to Scouts by Wednesday 28 September.

UPDATE 28/9/2011

Please note: The venue for this camp has been changed to Squirrel Wood Camp Site, The Abbes Walk, Burghwallis, Doncaster, DN6 9JQ.

Beaver Olympics - Tuesday 20th September - Directions

Hi to everyone coming on the Beaver Olympics on Tuesday the 20th of September 2011.  Please click on the link below for a map and directions.

Please park on Queens Drive, Look out for Ardsley's Beaver Leaders

Wear Trainers.

Bring Bottle of Water

Bring Waterproofs if you have them.

Session Start: 5.30pm to 7.30pm

Click Here for Directions

Breeze

Advance Notice - Subscriptions to rise to £9 from January 2012

The group has agreed to raise the subscription charge to £9 per month, for all members, in all sections, starting in January 2012.  The fee has remained at its current level for many years and we regret having to raise the charge at a time of economic hardship for so many.  But as all of you will know, living costs have continued to rise steadily over the past 5 years and the cost of the utilities is expected to continue to keep rising in the near future.

However I'm sure that you will agree that this charge still represents fantastic value for money. We strongly believe that Ardsley Scout Group provides a well rounded programme of scout based activities for all sections from Beavers, Cubs, Scouts through to Explorers.  We look forward to your ongoing support and your continuing commitment to help us provide all our Scouts, whatever age, with a range of exciting adventures.

Thank you.

Summer Camp 2012

Next year's summer camp will be held at Hawkhirst Scout Activity Centre, which is situated on the edge of Kielder Water, a magnet for water sports enthusiasts as well as boasting 70 acres of forest for traditional scouting activities. 

The camp dates are Saturday 21st July to Saturday 28th July and the cost will be £220.


As usual this camp will be open to Cubs, Scouts and Explorers.


More details about the site can be found at the following location:

http://www.scoutactivitycentres.org.uk/locations/hawkhirst/

More details about booking will follow, please do not send any money until requested.

Ardsley Air Scouts Group Camp 2nd to 4th September 2011

From Friday the 2nd to the 4th of September, 38 members of the group enjoyed a weekend up at Silverwood, which as we were the only group camping you would have expected to be quiet. But on Saturday and Sunday we shared the site with a Scout Marching Band, who were rehearsing a set to the Mission Impossible theme tune! - all day, both days.

It's all go!

As usual a lot of effort went into setting up camp, by the Leaders, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers.

Follow the Bear?

Ripsaw

The search for wood had begun and there was lots of sawing to be done to keep 2 fires going.  For supper there was tomato soup and crusty bread.







Whilst the Cubs, Scouts and Explorers stayed over on the Friday, a couple of Beavers joined us for a full day on the Saturday.  Ollie the dog was camping too.

Dog Tired?

Whilst the Explorers were taken to the Sculpture Park for a walk, the Scouts set about a pioneering project, which was to construct a climbing frame to hang a cargo net.  The Beavers and Cubs got all creative and made face masks and dough bread sticks on the fire.

Construction of the frame is well under way

Getting creative on the grass

This beaver can't believe what that looks like!

The Scouts take credit for building the cargo net

Is this a Halloween Camp?

Little fingers make the dough

Not everyone is sure that these dough sticks will work!

Our resident minstrel is finding it harder to keep an audience these days...

The BBQ was fired up and after what seemed to be about 5 hours later, long after the Beavers had gone home; we all had enjoyed a great meal quickly followed up by hot chocolate and 'Maureen' buns before bed.  As usual some Scouts had thought it was a great idea to sleep out in the woods in a 'Bivvy' - the idea lasted until dusk fell and then they said 'it was too dark' to sleep out.  Never mind, it kept them busy whilst we were cooking tea :-)

On Sunday the rain came, mainly on our tents, and caused us a few problems with getting them dried out this week.  But all in all, another great camp.

Whilst this camp marked the end of the traditional camping season and the return to school for the kids, planning is already underway for 2012, more details to follow!

The remaining pictures (there's not a lot, as I've wore the camera out and it's being retired) from the weekend can be found here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30263703@N04/sets/72157627497322693