CC’s Message Scouting’s a Team Game! It has occurred to me more than once recently that Scouting is much better when played as a team game. We go to great lengths to organise our young people into lodges, sixes and patrols that have the right balance of experience, numbers, talents and skills. In so doing we try to ensure that the teams work well together and when the teams work well the whole section benefits. But do we take the same care with our teams of adults? It feels so much harder where adults are involved. Our choices and options seem so much more limited. While you may be able to tell a Cub that he needs to move from Green to Blue six to balance the numbers and we can generally assume that most Scouts would like to become Patrol Leader if offered the job, we can’t make these assumptions with adults. We have to persuade them to change roles or take on an additional responsibility and it all seems that bit more difficult. What is more, traditionally we have designated one person as the section leader or Group Scout Leader to whom everyone looks for considerable guidance and leadership so that it feels as if all the responsibility is on one pair of shoulders. This tends to give the impression that success or failure is all down to one person. Of course, that is not the Scout way. If you look behind every iconic Scout Leader you will find a gang of leaders, assistants, helpers, supporters and others on whom that Leader him or herself relies and depends. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said “No member of a crew is praised for the rugged individuality of his rowing. “ So, when you are asked to take on a job, think about the team you will be working with. Be careful not just to pick the people you get on with. Think who will complement your skills and preferences by bringing different ones to the team and don’t be afraid to share the workload amongst your team. There’s nothing worse than recruiting a good bunch of helpers, only to do all the work yourself. And remember to refresh your team from time to time, using the Adult Review process to check whether the right people are doing the right jobs. As someone else said “T.E.A.M = Together everyone achieves more”. Paul D. Trott County Commissioner
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The St. George’s day celebrations in Pittville Park were all organised by the District’s Explorers and, although wet at times, everyone had a great time.
On Saturday night at Fairford Church, 1st Fairford Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders with the Brownies and Guides formed a guard of honour up the path leading to the Church to welcome Prince Charles. Also, the district organised a short district hike, approx 16k for Scouts with Explorers accompanying them with bbq afterwards.
The District Fete and fun day also went well, with sectional activities based on the Olympics and Paralympics. In total, £600 was raised for Riding for the Disabled
Andy Martin, a leader from Gloucester, carried the Olympic Torch through Chipping Campden and a new group, 2nd City of Gloucester, is opening a Beaver colony and Cub pack in September. A mixture of new and experienced leaders will be running the sections.
It was noted that a number of out of County groups have been camping in the District. Some have come from as far away as Kent and Derbyshire.
42 Cubs attended the Chief Scout’s Silver Award evening and over 1,000 members attended the St George’s Day parade. The local MP, the Mayor and the Sheriff were also in attendance.
A shortage of members of the District team has been causing administrative problems.
n going on in your district? news@gscouts.org.uk and share or everyone to see.
Over 400 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers attended a very successful District Camp. The “Forest Flame” was looked after overnight and an Olympic torch was on display. The camp proved to be a useful opportunity to recruit adult helpers. Two groups from the Distr ict represented the County at the Regional Cooking Competition and a taster session for Beavers attracted 22 attendees.
The new website has been launched. Activities can now be booked directly from the website. 150 Beavers, Cubs and Scouts attended the St George’s Activity Day at St Peter’s School. The Pennwood Scout Centre open day was well attended. A group of Scouts slept out in bivvies overnight. A 24 bedded lodge is being constructed at Penn Wood. This is made up of 6 modular units, which have been donated to the District. Electrics need to be installed and the walls need cladding.
CUBS VISIT GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL On the 24th May, 34 Cubs from 1st Upton St Leonards Scout Group went on a visit to the cathedral, led by the Dean, Stephen Lake. While there they learnt about the organ, the purposes of different parts of the cathedral and, of course, Harry Potter. They visited the crypt and the whispering gallery among other locations before returning to the high altar for six very special investitures. It was a great evening full of interesting and informative facts.
28th – 30th September & 26th – 28th October 2012
Open Water Scuba Dive
5th - 7th October Operation Bald Eagle 7th October
Dragonboat Racing
8th October
Young Leaders Module A
12th - 14th October
Mountain Activities Weekend
19th - 21st October
Information Technology, Digital Photography & Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA)
20th - 21st October
The Beast of the Night
24th - 25th October
Climber Badge
2nd - 4th November
Canal Weekend
16th-18th November
Scout Forester Badge
Want to find out more? Visit: gscouts.org. uk
Find out about adult training courses by clicking HERE or by going to gscouts.org.uk and clicking on member’s resources. (http://tinyurl.com/gscoutstraining )
The weekend of 17th/19th August saw the largest ever group of qualified Octopus ESU and affiliated scuba divers head for what proved to be an interesting and educational dive trip to Pembrokeshire. After bedding down in 2nd Pembroke Scout HQ, Saturday dawned with a call from the scuba team to say the planned dive site at Martins Haven was at zero visibility. However the signs were promising for St Bride’s Haven. We headed there arriving at low tide on a beautiful summer’s day. The bay was devoid of water but we could see the sea at the entrance to the cove. The divers walked (with their gear) to the mouth of the cove and entered the water. 15 minutes later they were out! Visibility was poor (approx. 0.5 m) but more importantly a rip current was running. The divers had to work hard to counter the effects of the rip and safely exit the water. All agreed that it was a valuable learning experience actually being in poor conditions and having to negotiate their way out – but with the assurance that the instructors were there to make sure they were OK (where possible all divers avoid such conditions). Saturday afternoon therefore saw us go to the beach for a relaxing couple of hours at Broad Haven and the evening was spent back at 2nd Pembroke Scout HQ. The adults in the party were kept entertained by the Scouts and Explorer Scouts singing along to their MP3 players – but many songs by Rolf Harris were not the expected fare from such an evening! There was a superb sunset over Pembroke Castle which promised a fine day for the Sunday. Sunday had an early start – breakfast at 0600 to get to the dive site for high tide at 0800. To conserve air the dive instructors decided on one long dive (1 hr) instead of the more normal two short (20 min) dives. Visibility was 4 – 5 m and lots of aquatic life was seen. The more experienced divers in our group were taken out of the cove and in to the channel whilst the less experienced stayed in the cove. The divers had a great time and really enjoyed the dive whilst Shore Support (me!) got soaked as it rained heavily until all the divers were back and had changed....(typical – what happened to that sunset?) Due to the early start we took pity on the lads and went back to Pembroke for some lunch before heading back to Gloucestershire. Despite the short dive on Saturday they all agreed it had been a brilliant weekend with lots learnt on the Saturday and a more enjoyable dive on Sunday. Thanks, as always, to Jason Costello and his crew from JCScuba for giving us the opportunity to try a new dive site. Derek Newman
Tony Day
Keith Stanley
Stephen Larkcom David Adkins Mike Purcell Richard Auld Michael Seamarks Darren Young
David Gealer Martin Williams
Paul Emmett Louise Fazelli Mel Richards David Aldred Peter Aldridge Adrienne Bennett
Glenda Dittman Philip Edge Sarah Etchells David Green Ceri Jones Edna Mills Daniel Orchard
Sarah Phillips Neil Rawlings Dale Savery Craig Sprigmore Patricia Veal Derek Watson Robert Williams
The Secret Island Adventure game has now been released for Android and iOS devices. You can download it HERE for Android devices and HERE for iOS devices or on their respective app stores
The Beaver and Cub County Funday took place on the 16th June at Cheltenham Racecourse. Although damp, Cubs and Beavers enjoyed moving round the bases to try all of the different activities on offer. These included Go Karts, Crazy Bikes and an assault course. Pictures, taken by Paul Callera-Gera, Richard Nicholls and Dominic Trott, can be found on page 9 and 10.
The Ordnance Survey has created a set of map activity packs for Cubs and Scouts to help them meet all of the requirements of the Navigator Activity Badge. For more information click HERE.
The Story Box is a new online tool for your group to post what they have been doing recently. You can find it at www.scouts.org.uk/ community/story.php
The Scout Association is running Scouts Speak Up events at the three main autumn party conferences for the fifth year running. These events give young people involved in Scouting an opportunity to discuss the issues that affect them and their local community with their MP. The events provide a chance to debate the topics of the day and allow for Scouts’ voices to be heard by the policymakers. There will be a free buffet lunch provided at each event and a travel bursary of up to £30 per person, for young people aged 25 and under, to help ensure that cost does not prevent attendance. The details are as follows: Liberal Democrats – Sunday 23 September, Britannia Hotel, Brighton from 35pm 35 Old Steine, Brighton, BN1 1NT Labour – Sunday 30 September, Manchester Town Hall from 2.30-4.30pm Albert Square, Manchester, M60 2LA Conservative – Sunday 7 October, Malmaison Hotel, Birmingham from 35pm The Mailbox, One Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B11 RD
This year the global celebration of responsible forestry will take place on Friday 28th September! FSC Friday is an awareness raising initiative aimed at making people appreciate the importance of the world’s forests and increase recognition of the FSC’s tick tree logo as a mark of responsible forestry. The FSC is particularly keen to involve Scout groups all around the country in this awareness-raising day. The event can be tied in with the Adventure Activity Badge and Explore Activity Badge for Beavers and the Global Conservation Activity Badge for Cubs and Scouts. It can also count towards the Global Challenge for Scouts.
If you would like to register your event please go to www.fsc-uk.org/fscfriday or to find your nearest FSC Forest you can visit www.fsc-uk.org/ ukforests.
A volunteer-led search for the new Chief Executive After 16 years as an integral part of the leadership team for The Scout Association, Chief Executive Derek Twine CBE is retiring from his role. A member panel will be formed to meet the shortlisted candidates and help with the selection process for the new Chief Executive. If you are interested in being part of this panel please submit your details.
From Abseiling to Zorbing – A parents’ guide to Scouting Over 14,000 copies of the new ‘A parent’s guide to Scouting’ have been distributed since April and it is a fantastic resource to engage with parents. Order the guide and de-mystify all those Scouting myths and help parents get more involved. You can view the guide before you place an order.
Using camps to recruit parents
45% of new adult voluntee sectional roles are parents camps are a great way to s them the fun and adventur Scouting offers. Visit ‘Using to recruit parents’ and get involved, especially as sum now upon us.
Birthday Badge Winners
This year birthday badges have been aw Frank Skinner (Swimming Badge), Russe (Writer’s Badge), the Hairy Bikers (Chef Miranda Hart (Adventure Badge), Milita (Community Badge), Ed Sheeran (Music Michael McIntyre (Entertainer Badge), G Cairney (Communicator Badge), John Bi Enthusiast Badge), Nick Park (Model Ma Brian Cox (Astronomer Badge), Steve Ba (Animal Carer Badge) and Gary Barlow Partnership Award).
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Director of Adult Training Training Administrator Local Training Manager (Tewkesbury) Local Training Manager (Cotswold) County Active Support Manager
Please contact Adrian Austin (dcc.adultsupport@gscouts. org.uk) for more information.
warded to ell T Davies f ‘s Badge), ary Wives Choir cian Badge), Gemma ishop (Sports aker Badge), ackshall (International
Rob Stevens made a presentation to the Committee concerning the future oversight of the Sun Run and Malvern Challenge. The Committee agreed in principle to both events being “county run” and further discussions will be held with the organisers.
Census figures show a further increase in total membership of 4.7%. However the ratio of adults to young people is widening: thus more young people are being led by fewer adults.
HQ is running a major campaign on Safety which will include focussing the responsibility for safety on GSLs, DCs and CCs. It is therefore all the more important that all Groups have GSLs.
The Annual Accounts show a smaller than expected deficit and Bill and the staff were congratulated on this outcome. The accounts were approved. Budgets for next year are being discussed and will be submitted to the Treasurer.
Chris Brewster, Chris Langham and Mick Seamarks have been appointed as ACCs for Development, Scouts and Beaver Scouts respectively.
Terms of Reference for the County Appointments Advisory Committee, Cranham Management Sub-committee and Finance Sub-committee were approved.
The County AGM will be held on Tuesday 18 September at the Chapter House, Gloucester Cathedral.
For more information visit: gscouts.org.uk or phone the County Office on: 01452 812309
The next edition of gscouts will be published soon! Please send any contributions, both news and pictures to: news@gscouts.org.uk