October 2017 December2016
n i g n i Scout
d a e h n e k r i B Celebrating our oldest and newest groups...
formed 110 years apart!
Hi, In the last couple of months I have been focusing on our Nepal fundraising efforts. You’ll remember that 15 from Birkenhead District are going along with another six from other Wirral Districts. We have now raised a fantastic £10,000 from a combination of bid-writing, bagpacking, street collecting, cake selling, charity-shop running, sponsor-donating etc etc. Lots and lots of things coming up including a fantastic Bingo and Baked
Potato night on Friday 17th November. If you are interested in buying a ticket please contact Paul Ellis on paul.ellis@ birkenheadscouts.org.uk I’ve also been out and about visiting the lovely Scouts, leaders and executive committees at the 2nd Birkenhead and the 2nd Thingwall. All of this has been great fun and a break from working for the NHS where I am a Chief Executive in Cheshire. Alison Lee District Chair - Birkenhead Scouts
Please send your group news and photos to: SMO-MediaTeam@birkenheadscouts.org.uk by 24th November for inclusion in December’s edition
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Hello and thank you for reading the
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District Chair
Nepal Charity trek fundraising update
October edition of Contact.
Lots of news and pictures this The DC month and it’s DHQ makeover been a busy time Our heqdquarters receive since our last such much needed TLC edition.
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Moot 2017
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7 Cubs Summer Camps 8
110th Anniversary
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Birkenhead Ansar
2nd Birkenehead celebrations
Our newest group is launched
10 265th hut clean up
I have seen frst hand great work from our volunteers at events across the District... From a makeover of the 265th’s hut to celebrations of 110 years of the 2nd. Cofffee and cake at the Beechwood as well as camps for
Cubs, Scouts and Explorers - and a new group for the District! Our own District headquarters has been given a new lease of life and is looking brighter than ever! I’m always grateful to our regular contributors but am struggling to cajole leaders to send in pictures and stories on time - hence the late publication of Contact once again. I hope you enjoy reading this month’s issue... Paul Ellis
Parents and friends answer call for help!
11 Scouts Summer Camps 12-13 Explorers Summer Camps
Contact
14 JOTA
Birkenhead District Scout Council 15 Balls Road, Oxton, Wirral CH43 5RF
Please email content to : SMO-MediaTeam@ birkenheadscouts.org.uk
Mark was one of the most generous, kind hearted and caring people anyone could meet. Nothing was too much trouble for him and anyone who knew him all knew that he was a great guy. Mark got involved with the 2nd Birkenhead many years ago as his sons were in the Group’s Beavers & Cubs. He started by helping with Beavers which quickly led to Cubs and then, as he was enjoying it so much, he decided to take out a warrant. Not just one warrant - Mark before long held a warrant as a Beaver Leader then a Cub Leader then Scouts and then GSL – all with the 2nd Birkenhead. Mark loved Scouting and when he was organising events for the various sections he really went overboard. One time he arranged for the Cubs to go on one of the Mersey Ferry boats as a treat. What Mark hadn’t told everyone was that in addition to organising the ferry trip he had also arranged for all the Cubs (a few at a time) to spend time up in the wheelhouse with the skipper of the ferry. The Cubs couldn’t believe it – driving a ferry. Mark also got involved on a District level by helping out with many projects because he was a very good organiser. He loved scrounging things off people to be used within Scouting – not necessarily for his own Group. He would easily talk people into helping out with functions and fundraising.
is published by
Compiled by : Paul Ellis Tel: 07720 555885 paul.ellis @birkenheadscouts.org.uk
Obituary Mark Holmes
Cubs and Scouts from the 1st Beechwood group held a cake sale for Macmillan Cancer Support at their hut
Mark has left many wonderful memories with the 2nd Birkenhead and he will be missed.
... s g n i l b m a R ’s C The D Hi all,
Well another great Scouting Summer has passed with an amazing nine groups away for Summer Camps! I do hope everyone has had a wonderful time on their own Everyday Adventures. There has been some great work done at District HQ which I am sure, by now, a lot of you will have seen – my thanks go to everyone who helped in any way in getting this work completed. It is now a much nicer environment to spend time in and will hopefully make our volunteer journey more positive. Jordan is now our District Centre Manager and is your contact for booking rooms at DHQ. Please contact him on jordan.davies@birkenheadscouts. org.uk Team Merseyside is well on its way to being formed by the new County Commissioner, Peter Oliver. He still has some vacancies for his team and I would encourage anyone to approach him or a member of Team Merseyside for more information on any role you may be interested in. There are lots of great events coming up soon with our Birkenhead Summit 17 – where you can have your say on the future of Scouting in the UK as well as the future of Scouting in Birkenhead. There are still spaces available, so book now to avoid disappointment. The Wirral Scout and Guide shop has been rebranded after not having the Guide Licence renewed. It is now the “Wirral Scout Shop” operating as the Trading Arm of Birkenhead District Scout Council. The Shop Volunteers have been doing some great work over the summer giving the shop a refreshed and spacious feel – if you’ve not seen it yet be sure to pop in and say hello! For those who can’t remember its open Monday,Wednesday Thursday 6.30pm-8.30pm and Saturday 10am2pm. It’s also open on the first Friday of the month 6.30-8.30pm. Team Merseyside are also putting on some Support Sessions on the following topics: ADHD – 23rd January Raising Awareness of Inclusivity – 6th February Challenging Behaviour – 27th February
I have been able to get down to a few group events too recently such as the 2nd Birkenhead’s renaming ceremony where their meeting place was officially named the James Johnson Hall and people were able to take a look at some of the groups archives as well as share memories with old friends and new. I was also able to attend 2nd Thingwall’s AGM where I heard about the great things they have been up to over the last year, building some incredible partnerships with local businesses as well as listening to some of their plans for the next 12 months! Some of our Explorers and Networkers went off to #MOOT17 where they enjoyed a wide array of activities as well as the famous or rather infamous Summer Mooter! I was able to join some of them on the Saturday afternoon and they were all having a great time! We joined forces with the other Wirral districts over the Summer Holidays to attend an event called One Wirral at Birkenhead Park – this was a family fun day where charities could shout about what they do and engage with the local community. It was a really successful day where we were able to make lots of contacts – this is something we are really keen to do more of in the future, so if anyone hears of any community events, please do let us know. We are going to be searching for our own District Youth Commissioner very soon – so stay tuned for more information via email and social media. If you want to be able to champion the thoughts and opinions of our Young People then this could be the role for you!
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Birkenhead District Headquarters is having a makeover! The Dudleston and Coughtrie rooms have been decorated thanks to the hard work of “Colin the Decorator� And big thanks from our centre manager Jordan Davies to everyone that came and helped at the work day last month, it was a brilliant day and the HQ looks amazing.
If anyone would like to use any of the rooms or the District pioneering poles please contact Jordan.
We are looking for some fun, energetic and knowledgeable trainers to join our new Training Team. You should have knowledge of planning and delivering high quality training preferably in First Aid or healthcare related topics. You should be able to plan the course and gather the required resources and ensure that are effectively used. You should have experience of running training with emphasis on providing accurate course content using effective training methods to ensure candidates have a positive learning experience. We expect variety of delivery methods and training styles to be used including practical demonstrations. You will need to seek feedback from candidates and ensure this is reviewed and any necessary changes needed are implemented to future courses. You need to have a valid First Aid at Work qualification (or higher) and preferably a training/assessing qualification too.
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n i p m a c o g s b Cu
Well what can I say...?
‘We had a brilliant time!’
1st Beechwood, 64th and 265th Birkenhead started camp with everyone putting up their own tents and then a little free time to explore before dinner. Well explore to our cubs meant “lets go jump in the stream.” They were soaked but they had a smashing time! Day 2 and camp woke to sunshine or so we thought! We went back to basics for the morning. We hunted for fire wood, the kids learnt how to cut and chop safely, they all lit their own fires and then prepped their own food (main course and pudding), which they cooked in/on the fire. The rain came down and washed the fires out so we altered the plan slightly and we had another BBQ which they loved…so their backwoods cooking had all day to stew ready for their dinners…..delicious! Although it was a miserable day with shocking weather it didn’t bother the kids! They played football and the Explorers ran a few games in the shed on the training field.
Day 4 it’s always a sad day to say goodbye to camp…for the kids lol….so we packed everything away and tidied up camp not an easy task when everything is so wet! We then had our duck challenge everyone had decorated a duck on day two so they could be identified…..and the race was on down the stream they all went in……leaders, Explorers and Cubs ducks raced from the start line to the finish line the crowds cheering them on they came over the finish line one, two until the last duck was fished out of the water……and Tom Kenyon won the race and took the trophy home!
Day 3 and an emergency trip to the laundrette was needed to get some kids’ clothes dry, most of them had gone through three or four sets already! But we were ok and the weather was on the better side. Activities day had arrived and gave the kids some exciting new things to participate in with shooting, A banquet of food was laid out for everyone when they arrived archery, low ropes, kayaking and lots of food! It was back. The camp chefs came highly recommended and we would a brilliant day and the leaders running the activities certainly give them a glowing reference! were brilliant.
s r a e y 0 1 1 s e t a r b e l e c d a e h n e k r 2nd Bi Sunday 17th September 2017 will go down as a wonderful day for the 2nd Birkenhead. It’s not very often that a Scout Group can celebrate a 110 years birthday and prove that the Scout Group is that age. In addition to the celebration we had one more job to do and that was to give the “hut at the bottom of North Road” a name. Let’s face it - the 2nd HQ has always been known as that. Well it is now called the “James Johnston Hall” as we were honoured to have with us at the celebration, James Johnston’s Great Grandson Dr Ian Hasler who unveiled a small plaque for us in the hall. Some of you may be saying, “Who is or was James Johnston”? Well, let me explain... James Johnston was born in 1884 and died in 1963 and it was him who started Scouting in Birkenhead and in particular was the first Scout Master of the 2nd Birkenhead Scout Troop and that was in 1908 – the same year that B-P presented his newly published book “Scouting For Boys” at the YMCA in Grange Road. B-P’s YMCA presentation had a break half way through it and during that break James Johnston and another Birkenhead Youth Leader had a chat with B-P about forming the first Scout Groups here in Birkenhead. B-P agreed to this idea as this is the way he wanted his idea to go – those Scout Groups were later called the 1st and 2nd Birkenhead. The 1st Birkenhead was disbanded a number of years ago but the 2nd marches on. The latest figures I have obtained from Gilwell are that Scouting registered members are now 525k in the UK and 31m across 216 countries worldwide with Bear Grylls as the Chief Scout. If only B-P and James Johnston & a few others knew what they were starting all those years ago. One of the documents the 2nd have is dated 8th February 1914, which was on display at our celebration, shows that Birkenhead had 12 Scout Groups around the town with a total of 456 members in the District of “Wirral Peninsular” in the County of “Cheshire”. How things have changed. At the celebration we also had on display the original 2nd Birkenhead “Boy Scout Troop Register”. It is dated 24th January 1908 now so fragile that anyone who wanted to view it had to use the provided gloves.
The 2nd Birkenhead Group has had its ups and down’s over the years but it is still on the same piece of land in North Road even though the building has changed. The 2nd Birkenhead has Trusties to ensure that the piece of land will only ever be there for the use of Scouting. The original Trustee agreement goes back to our Mr James Johnston, as he was the person who obtained the land and the original building in 1913 and handed it over to Birkenhead Scouting. This was the first building to be erected in Birkenhead for the specific purpose of Scouting. The North Road site is a prominent spot in Birkenhead as most people must be aware of it on the corner of North Road and Borough Road. Just recently we have had new signs installed outside the building – have you seen them? They are brilliant! Let’s hope that the 2nd Birkenhead Scout Group marches on for another 110 years – I may not be around to celebrate it though! Mike Lennox - GSL 2nd Birkenhead
Welcome to our newest group... Birkenhead Ansar
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On Tuesday 3rd October Birkenhead’s newest group opened its doors and Birkenhead Ansar was formed. Lots of new Beavers in the making met at 6pm with some incredibly nervous Beaver Leaders. They played games getting to know each other, played more games learning the Beaver Scout Promise and took part in prayers. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and had lots of fun and made loads of new friends! The next day there were some incredibly nervous Cub Leaders and some very excited Cubs! They played some ice breaker games to get to know each other. Paul Coleman, Growth & Development Officer, showed the Cubs some of the exciting things we got up to in our Cubs 100 year last year and showed them some of the exciting activities on offer in our Balanced Programme! Then they took a look at their promise and prayed as well. This is a really exciting and innovative project that will enhance the provision of Scouting in Birkenhead and we are really lucky to have the support of Paul and to have found some really keen, knowledgeable and excited volunteers to steer the group forward! I cant wait to see what they do next.... Matt Jones - DC
Long Service Awards... DC Matt Jones has been presenting awards to members across the District including Tony Fox - 40 years, Dave Price - 50 years and Mave Lennox - 50 years
At the AGM this year I asked for help in cleaning, decorating and gardening at the hut. The parents welcomed the idea, so we could make the place the best it can be for the kids, so agreed to help. We started with cleaning and being ruthless throwing out things, which haven’t been used for years and general tidying. We mainly used white paint to brighten up the hut and had some extremely bright green paint so we mellowed it down and used that in the main hall, which turned out well….. The outside was cleared of all the rubble etc on the Saturday, and then on Sunday Tom’s dad and sister did an amazing job clearing the brambles, which broke a few of his tools! Sorry :( We had Josh’s dad come in and clear the grass in record time. And Ian trying to burn as much of the stuff as possible. One skip was not enough! Others painted the hall inside, kitchen and the corridor and the Scouts painted the room with all the cupboards and it is fair to say they enjoyed it and there was possibly more paint on them and the floor than on the walls!
265th hut spruced The Viking Explorers came and helped us on the fill a second skip and finish some of the up with Thursday painting off. A massive thank you from the 265th to a little you guys! had a successful weekend and it won’t end there… help We we have further plans for the garden area, which is an from theirongoing project……. do have some leaks which need looking at and friends! We fixing so if anyone knows a builder, a plumber, a roofer
and possibly an electrician then please let me know and discount for scouts welcomed! We will have to start fundraising so events will be planned which I hope lots of you will come and support. Thank you to the parents, Scouts and Explorers for helping us. Liz Bridgelock, Akela - 265th Birkenhead Lastly I would like to say thank you to the leaders at the
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er C m m u S s t u o c 64th S The 64th Scouts headed out for an unconventional summer “camp” this year...with no canvas! We stayed at Cornel Scout Centre on the banks of Llyn Crafnant in the heart of Snowdonia. Carefully selected to have no mobile signal, let alone data connection without a 40 minute hike to the top of the nearest hill! One week of Snapchat cold turkey for our Scouts! That said, there were some scouts convinced they could get a signal in the drying room! After settling down into the unusual luxury of proper beds, double glazing and a fully equipped kitchen, we headed out for a night hike around the lake, making a quick detour to look at an old abandoned lead mine. Our next two days were spent kayaking and canoeing on Llyn Geirionydd in the next valley, with most of us making a large dent into our paddle sports and nautical skills badges. It’s a location we’ve paddled on before, but it was fantastic to have it on our doorstep, even if it was a hair raising tow along the narrow country lanes.
For those with some energy left, headed up to walk the first part of the Miner’s track towards Snowdon. Sitting with hot chocolate on the slabs near the causeway over Llyn Llydaw, was just perfect for chilling out. After a rest day in what can only be described as torrential rain, the clouds parted and we headed out in two groups to walk the hills of Wales. One group walking from Crafnant to Capel Curig and back, the other making our way from Capel Curig to the centre via Llyn Cowlyd. This left me with the in enviable task of walking back in the dead of night over the spooky landscape.
After walking miles, we headed out to Angelsey for a beach day. Rhosneiger provided a stunning location for lunch, with Cable Bay providing perfect waves for jumping into as the sun came out. All too quickly our week came to an end and it was time to make our way home. It made a fantastic change to not have to take soggy canvas down! We headed back via Llanberis and stopped on the banks of Llyn Padarn to check out the lagoons for yet another future kayak trip....a perfect location for our last kayaking session of the season. Paul Chaplin - 64th Scouts
mp a C r e m m u S 25th Scouts This year the 25th camp was at Sandiway in Cheshire. Scouts were joined by the cubs and 265th scouts on the first weekend. We enjoyed sharing activities and a very loud campfire that could be heard back in Birkenhead we believe! The weather was kind while setting up camp but sadly it did not last and we saw frequent visits from the rain. This, however, did not dampen spirits or determination to have fun even when we had to wade into the garage tent!! Our programme included; It’s a knock out, archery, team building, bush craft, a quiz night, cave bus and, of course, camp wouldn’t be camp without wide games, hotdogs and cocoa!
Scouts enjoyed a day at Manley Mere where they tried their hand at paddle boarding, kayaking and of course a very muddy adventure trail where swimming in muddy pools and lakes was a real favourite. Everyone had a great time and are looking forward to our 2018 adventure.
mp a C r e m m u S Viking
So... we experienced the hell of the M6, M5 and M4. We pitched our tents and had a campfire. We swam in the muddiest assault course, threw tomahawks, shot rifles and pistols. We walked a gorge, climbed a huge waterfall and jumped into deep pools and had chips and lemonade in the pub! We went to Barry Island and had a Gavin and Stacey tour! We went down a mine, had lunch in Morrisons car park and then swam at Waterworld. We cooked chickens in a fire. We went to Oakwood Theme Park. Rode the big dippers and some of us went on the biggest swing you've ever seen! We covered ourselves in paint and had a UV party! We surfed (well some of us did!) and had another lemonade in a pub! We BBQ'd and had camp doughnuts. We packed our tents and most of us slept as we drove home through the hills of Wales. We had a great week. Thank you to all of our Explorers. They were fabulous and we all had great fun! Paul Ellis - Viking Explorers
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p m a C r e m m u rers S o l p x E d r a z i W
On the 29th July, ridiculously early in the morning, eight of us, that’s two leaders and six explorers boarded our trusty (borrowed) minibus, hitched up our slightly less trusty (also borrowed) trailer and headed south for a week of adventure in the wilds of Cornwall, a place the locals call ‘Kernow’.
deep and red, but the pasties were amazing!!
We were taking part in Kernow Jamboree 2017, a camp for Scouts, Explorers and Guides at Bodmin. Over 1500 were taking part and after a long and slightly eventful trip, we arrived at the campsite, set up our camp and joined the fun!
Here’s to the next one! Paul Coleman - Wizard Explorers
During the week we enjoyed loads of different activities, High Ropes, Bushcraft, Shooting, Zorbing to name but a few. The Explorers also made friends with other Explorers from all over the country, learned about global issues, explored Cornwall and went surfing! Kernow was a great camp, the weather was typically Cornish summer weather, which is mostly rain, the mud was
Yes it was a long way and the weather was far from good, but we had a great time, learnt loads of new skills and made new friends, and that’s what it’s all about!!
Jamboree On The Air 2017 (JOTA/JOTI) WHAT? Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) and Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) The JOTA and JOTI are real jamborees during which Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas shared. They happen over the third weekend in October each year and are worldwide events. They use Amateur Radio to communicate to people all over the world.
WHEN? Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) and Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) run on the 3rd full weekend in October. This year’s event runs between Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd October 2017. Our station will be open from 10:00 A.M. till 9:00 P.M. on Saturday 21st and from 10:00 A.M. till 3:00 P.M. on Sunday 22nd
WHO? Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is run locally by members of Wirral and District Amateur Radio Club (WADARC), on behalf of Scouts and Guides throughout Wirral and across Merseyside. BOOKING Although Booking is not necessary for the event, please inform us before the event if you intend to come, so we can make sure that there are no clashes.
WHERE? This year’s Jamboree on the Air station will be run from 20th Birkenhead Scout H.Q. (McAllester Field) BIDSTON ROAD, OXTON
Facebook.com/GB2JAM
For more information, please contact Daniel Richards (Birkenhead ASU) on m6cul@wadarc.com or phone WADARC on 0151 601 3269 Our NEW Website - tinyurl.com/GB2JAM
Twitter.com/_GB2JAM (@_GB2JAM)