Poacher 2022: Best of Fest - Wednesday August 3rd

Wednesday, August 3rd

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Issue 3

The second PGT Semi-Final

Trekkie Takeover PAGE 3

PAGE 7

Don’t Hit That Tree!

by Amy Crombleholme

Daredevils pay attention - today we’re highlighting some of the more adventurous events available at Poacher!

If you’re like me and think that driving a tank would be the coolest thing ever, then Tank

Heroes is the activity for you. The mini tanks they drive the same as a fullsize tank. Riders must be over 1.4 meters in height to ride so they can see over the top of the vehicle! “I really enjoyed it and the team were very helpful,” says Alfie from 19th Doncaster Scouts, Wild West Fest.

Practice your steering

with the Micro Quads; mini quad bikes that drive around a track.

“Great fun,” according to Putnoe Scouts.

Power Turns are vehicles with two engines on the back that are great for doing donuts, 360s and figures of 8. Participants do a short slalom course and practice some tricks; campers aged

12 and 13 are driven by an instructor, while campers over 14 can drive themselves.

“It was really fast! It was fun, because it was something I wouldn’t normally do,” says Ciara from 1st Morton Guides, Folk Fest.

An Argo Cat is an allterrain motorised vehicle that can go on

land and in water. It is often used by fire and rescue service as it can travel in any conditions.

Participants can drive the vehicle around a circuit using a simple steering system. Again, campers aged 12 and 13 are driven by an instructor while campers over 14 can drive themselves.

Read more on P3.

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Best of Fest

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Puzzles and Polls Logic Puzzle Thank you to Isaac from 1st Stapleford, Carnival Fest, for creating this Poacher Treasure Hunt.

Four young people decided to meet up after their morning activity. Use the clues to help figure out who is from which subcamp, what group they are in and what activity they have come from.

Each person can only be in each category once, when you find the correct space put a tick. When you know a person isn’t in a category put a cross. Read the clues below to get you started.

1. Scarlett is from the 293rd but is not stopping on the Circus subcamp 2. The young person from the 144 is on the Wild West subcamp and did not go climbing 3. The young person who did fencing is from the 25th, but isn’t Bob 4. Of the two people who did Archery and Climbing, one was Jennifer, and the other was from the 171 5. The person from the Quest subcamp didn’t do archery.

6. Dave was on the Carnival subcamp.

7. Scarlett who is not from the Carnival subcamp did enjoy Zorbing The answers are all numbers, and should add up to 1023.9 if you got them all correct.

The Poacher Poll We asked Poacher participants what their favourite type of sausage is.

Killer Sudoku Can you fill the 9x9 grid below with the numbers 1-9 without repeating any number in any row, column, 3x3 box or dashed box? The numbers in every

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Best of Fest

Wednesday, August 3rd

Hope You’re Not Scared of Heights!

by Tom Meads

Water Wars, Karts, and Spider Mountains are just some activities available behind the disco barn, and off the main field. i.Circus are here delivering circus skills giving young people the opportunity to learn new skills, support their mental health, and improve coordination.

Unicycles, Juggling, and many other circus skills are available to try, with the team on hand to help you learn these new skills.

Michel, Lincoln Explorer Scouts, Wonder Fest, explained, “I learned to unicycle at the last Poacher and I am trying to teach myself again”, and it appeared to be going successfully! Not only do they have the equipment to use, there is also some on sale, so you can show off your new skills at home.

Rebecca, Evolution Explorer Scout Unit, Folk Fest, who was found hula hooping with 4 hoops, described i.Circus as fun and said they were “impressed with the number of new skills to learn“.

Stiff and Stilted Active Support Unit (ASU) are also on-site teaching

stilt walking.

They are running the stilt challenge, giving anyone who can walk on 6-foot stilts an exclusive necker.

Jackson, 1st Norton, Folk Fest, was the first person on Poacher 2022 (and the first in 3 years!) to complete the

6-foot stilt challenge.

Well done! If you think you have the balance, and the nerve, give it a go!

Under the sea is where you will find the Kraken Dive ASU team, who are giving participants the opportunity to try diving! Helen from the

Continued from P1 “They’re something a bit different and outthere,” says Charlotte from 6th Gainsborough Sea Scouts, Circus Fest, “especially if you want to drive.”

The Hovercraft is strictly for campers over 14.

Participants are taught by an instructor and then do two laps of the track

by themselves. Can you make it around the track without knocking any poles over?

Our final activity is something that’s probably caught your eye already – the hot air balloon. After playing a starring role in the opening ceremony, the balloon is not a ticketed event and is

only available in early in the morning and later in the evening (depending on the weather). A typical flight is around 45 minutes to an hour, plus a safety briefing.

You’ll go up to a few hundred feet in the air and enjoy stunning views of Lincolnshire, so don’t pass up the opportunity if it comes!

Team explained, “Scuba diving is quite difficult to get into... lots of people don’t get the chance to do it, so we wanted to give as many young people the chance to try scuba as possible“. Along with this, divers often help the environment by cleaning up the sea

and supporting ocean conservation.

Hetty, 1st Molescroft Scouts, Carnival Fest, enjoyed her first time diving, saying, “[the diving] was really fun,“ and that it was weird breathing underwater. So, make sure to give it a go if you have a ticket.

Retro A notice from Honeybee and John Between us, Poacher 2022 is our 68th Jamboree - and we have decided that it will be our last.

As such, we are going to be selling off our crafts equipment today from 7-9pm in the Creative Zone.

We hope to see you there!

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Best of Fest

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All the fun of the fair

by Amy Crombleholme

Reserved for Poacher’s 10–13-year-olds from 7pm, the fairground is located behind the Exo Centre (where the roller disco and 10-13 disco take place).

Participants need to be wearing both their neckers and either their lanyard or wristband to get in. There was a big queue when Best of Fest visited on Sunday night, so make sure you come prepared!

The fairground has a ferris wheel, a helterskelter, waltzers and dodgems.

Hundreds of happy Guides and Scouts were already lined up to ride with their friends.

“It’s crowded but it’s so

fun!” says Sophie from Islington Guides, the group rode the helterskelter together five times and were in line to go again. “It’s really worth it. I love it!”. “It’s amazing”, shouts a big group of Scouts who

were too excited to tell us where they were from, “We heart it!”.

The fairground’s friendly staff members are always on hand to help.

One such red-jacketed volunteer Nicola, who has travelled all the way

from Stirling in Scotland to work at Poacher, says “I’m loving it, seeing all these happy children having fun and mixing with lots of new people.”

The fairground is also open to everyone in the afternoon.

What a Poacher night!

by Amy Crombleholme

Following Poacher’s Got Talent, the 14-17 retreat comes alive.

Hordes of young people were ready to release their pent-up energy before returning to their subcamps. Located in the Barn, the disco and mocktail bar gives the teenagers your own space and mingle. The Poacher DJ started the party with a ‘You’ve got the Love’ remix, continuing with disco music and remixes throughout the night.

The mocktail bar proved to be the most popular attraction, with queues starting as soon as the bar was open. Drinks

such as the Great Wall of China, Colosseum, Statue of Zeus, Great Pyramid of Egypt and the Taj Mahal pulled the crowds in.

Evie from the 1st Norton Scout Troop on Folk Fest commented on the retreat, saying she likes “meeting new people” as part of the experience.

Chloe from Pennine East Guides and Rangers unit, also on Folk Fest, commented about the “very good drinks in the mocktail bar, and the opportunity to peg people.”, The big barn is providing everyone with an excellent opportunity to socialise and solidify friendships made during the day.

Joseph from the 4th Bolsover Scout Troop likes “the party vibes” that the retreat has to offer.

Alfie from 78th Leicester Scout Troop on Circus Fest likes the retreat as “it’s a nice way to chill after activities”. A fantastic point from Alfie, as it’s important to decompress after a jampacked day of Poacher activities. Imogen from the 1st Harborough Guides and Rangers Unit camping on Carnival Fest enjoyed that “it’s all within the age range, tailored for the age range”. So, come along and try out a mocktail and make some friends on an evening this week.

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Best of Fest

Wednesday, August 3rd

Hope You’re Not Scared of Heights!

by Deanna Carden

Climbing and abseiling are near the Wonder Fest subcamp. When first confronted with the climbing wall, many participants face personal challenges.

The most common fear the young people face with the climbing wall is getting up.

Thankfully, however, there are different climbing walls which take different levels of skill to complete - it’s up to the young person which they climb. First there is the easy wall, often taken up by the younger participants, the middle wall challenges coordination and upper body strength.

Finally, on the most difficult wall, the young person’s concentration is stretched to the max, testing their thinking abilities as they scale their way up the sheer face of the gigantic wall.

As the saying goes, what comes up, must come down. The first nerve-

wracking step over the edge, causes many young people to pause at the abseiling tower.

Those who face the initial fear of climbing over the edge to touch down onto the solid ground, get a sense of relief like no other.

Once you arrive on terra firma, a glance back up at the full height of the tower makes it clear just how much you’ve achieved.

Crate Stacking requires different skills to complete the challenge - how high can you stack the crates?

You hang onto each other while people on the floor stack crates for you to climb.

The higher the stack, the higher the risk of collapse, so you’ve got to rely on the teamwork and trust between yourself and your partner to keep yourselves upright, keeping balance, grace and poise.

Whereas with climbing, you are relying solely on

yourself and climbing using your own strength, with crate stacking, you are working as a team with people you don’t know.

So, stick to your Scout and Guide values and make some new friends at the same time.

Brentwood Activities team, who run the climbing, abseiling, and crate stacking, are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, so wish them a happy anniversary if you’re passing the activity.

The cave bus, located near the air rifle shooting, is all about the challenge of facing tight spaces. Basically, it is a cave, on a bus.

The bus has five layers of zig-zags to navigate through to get back to daylight.

At the end of the challenge, it gives an adrenaline rush from the achievement of completing the tight twists and turns of the dark maze.

Wild West

by Emily Cowling

Leaders Quiz Wednesday night 7.45pm (updated time) Please drop in to HQ to let use know if you’d like to come along.

L e a d e r s M e e t i n g Wednesday night 7.45pm (updated time) Please drop in to HQ to let use know if you’d like to come along

Gateway Competition Judging will commence on Thursday with results to follow.

N o t i c e s Please bring your cans to HQ for the community food collection

Lost Item Charity Of The Day Meg O’Sullivan

There are still many items in lost property waiting to be claimed.

There are still plenty of towels, jumpers, water bottles and hats. All named items will be attempted to be returned to the appropriate sub camps to be efficiently reunited with grateful participants.

Today’s most random items in lost property is an

inflatable pink fish and an among us stress toy!

Also a friendly reminder to label all of your important things so that the lovely people at lost property can return them to you.

The Big Top, the over 18’s venue for staff and leaders, ran a charity quiz on Sunday evening with 300 leaders participating.

Rounds tested participants’ knowledge of hearts, music, and more to the limit. The winners were able to choose which charity would get the proceeds.

The proud winners of the quiz were leaders from Riddlesden Scouts, who scored an impressive 84 out of 101 points. They made an easy decision to help the Ukrainian Scouts

after contacting them, as they have carried on showing the values and spirit of the Scout movement around the world. The £300 in proceeds will be sent to the Ukrainian Scouts and will significantly help support Scouting there.

Quiz The quiz winners, Riddlesden Scouts, received the cheque from the I. Entertain team.

The Big Top is open to all over 18’s on-site from 7-11pm every night and is located near the climbing tower.

Old Man Clanton is pleased to see you’ve been trading your pesos for dabloons, come along to HQ during protected times to exchange your dabloons for questions!

Birthdays The subcamp team wishes a happy birthday to: 2nd August Matthew Bacon (8th Lincoln) 3rd August Sam Ousley (34th Kingsthorpe) Thomas Stegg (98th Leicester) Alice Blackwell (Subcamp team)

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Best of Fest

by Amy Emmott

Dragons, goblins, quests and adventure. If any of these interests you, then head on over to Quest Fest – their mystic charm will enchant you.

Going into the camp, it’s not unusual to see a unit chanting and cheering their way back to site.

Dave, the subcamp leader, said it was “based on the renaissance fairs from America”.

The success in this endeavour is evident as you get the medieval and mythical vibe from the moment you step into the subcamp.

On Monday night, they held a massive fancy dress festival. In their costumes, they paraded around the subcamp, past guest Judges sitting on the thrones. While they were walking by, they gave a backstory to their character. These ranged from Doctor Who to Harry Potter, whilst the Welsh came forward with a spectacular flaginspired dragon.

When we spoke to Louisa from Lincoln Guides, she told us that she enjoyed watching the parade but thought that she, “could do better”

as she brandished her newly painted shield.

If you want to drop in, feel free to say hi as there are plenty of on-the-go crafts. You can do these anytime, such as Hama beads, keyrings, shields and paracord woggles.

Tonight, the 54 units will go head-to-head in a heated quiz to determine which unit has the most powerful and quick minds.

For an inclusive and magical evening, on Thursday, they are hosting a dungeon and dragons’ night full of battles, friendship and good fortune.

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Best of Fest

Folk

by Emily Cowling

Subcamp fashionistas We’ve taken up crocheting for the week - here’s Alan and Rick in their “fetching” shorts.

Celidh Here’s some action shots from Monday night’s Celidh.

Wednesday, August 3rd

Talent keeps coming

by Lily Hambly

Monday’s daily semifinal for Poachers Got Talent had eleven fantastic contestants performing chosen from the seventy-nine auditions throughout the day. An achievement in itself!

The first contestant was Emily, Quarrington Guides, Carnival Fest, a repeat contestant from the day before coming back even stronger. She sang the same song, ‘I Kissed a Girl’ by Katy Perry and was described as “perfect” by one of the judges.

Next to take the stage was charismatic Ivan, Rutland Scouts, Circus Fest. He was another repeat contestant and gave another fantastic performance.

The crowd clapped along with his wholesome singing and ukulele playing.

Contestant three was Riana from Bristol, Circus Fest. She performed ‘Rather Be’ by Jess Glynne to the same

ability as the original singer. Unfortunately, Riana couldn’t make Sunday’s competition as she broke her arm, which the judges stated, “shows real resilience”.

Tamzin, East Lothian, Circus Fest, was the fourth contestant. She performed a lovely dance routine. When the microphone glitched, making her lose her step, she found her place again and continued like a professional would.

To follow was Kiera, 2nd Brigg Guides, Circus Fest. Captivating the audience with a performance of ‘Breathe’ by the School of Arts and Enterprise.

The judges said the performance was “just like a theatre show.”

Contestant six was Eddie, who claims to be from Pandamonia, which is the capital of Hell in John Milton’s epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’, Wild West Fest.

They performed “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles, singing and playing the guitar in a

charming performance.

Up next was Scarlet, 1st Eastwood, Circus Fest, also a returning contestant, performing a different song from the day before, which shows range and ability.

She was confident and demonstrated a perfect air guitar.

Hailey, Wisconsin, USA, Folk Fest, performed a beautiful contemporary dance to ‘Love in the Dark’ by Leroy Sanchez. She danced with emotion and engagement. Overall, her performance couldn’t be faulted.

Contestant James, Hessle, Wonder Fest, played the guitar with energy and accompanied it with an incredible rendition of ‘Mardy Bum’ by Arctic Monkeys. The judges described James as looking “like a proper little rockstar.”

The penultimate contestant took the crowd by surprise and, quite frankly, by storm. Laura, Tweed Valley, Wild West Fest,

performed the opera song ‘Se tu m’ami’ by Victoria de Los Angeles.

She even continued to sing when the microphone stopped working with the same energy and confidence.

Judges described the performance as “so powerful.”

The last act was Magdalene, 3rd Altside, Wonder Fest, who finished the night with a confident and thrilling

performance of ‘Proud Mary’ by Tina Turner.

The crowd danced in beat with Magdalene’s spectacular singing.

Finally, the contestants that made it through to the final of Poachers Got Talent are singer Kiera (contestant five), dancer Hailey (contestant eight), and opera singer Laura (contestant ten). An unforgettable night and I know we are all excited to see tomorrow!

Poacher Toilet TripAdvisor

by Isaac and Emily

Over the past few days, we have visited different toilet blocks from every subcamp, to build the most comprehensive guide to the loos at Poacher you’ve ever seen (or read).

We started at Wonder Fest and then visited different toilets going round the site in a clockwise direction.

We marked them based on their atmosphere, ease of access, and the

view you have from the outside.

Starting from the toilets at the back of Wonder Fest, we rated them a 17/24 with a score of 6/8 on the view, 6/8 on atmosphere and 5/8 on ease of access.

The loos near the staff car park were rated a 17/24 with a score of 8/8 on the view, 4/8 on atmosphere and 5/8 on ease of access.

After that we went to the toilets opposite the air rifle shooting on the

path to Wonder Fest where we rated them a 15/24 with a score of 4/8 on the view, 3/8 on atmosphere and 8/8 on ease of access.

Once we had done these, we went to the toilets at the bottom left corner of Carnival Fest on the map where we rated them a 18/24 with a score of 5/8 on the view, 6/8 on atmosphere and 7/8 on ease of access.

Then we went to the toilets near the transport

hub where we rated them a 14/24 with a score of 4/8 on the view, 4/8 on atmosphere and 6/8 on ease of access.

After that we went to the toilets on Retro Fest where they got a 9/24 with a score of 3/8 on the view, 3/8 on atmosphere and 3/8 on ease of access.

Once we had done this, we backtracked slightly and went to the toilets in the top right of Folk Fest where we rated them a 17/24 with a score of

5/8 on the view, 6/8 on atmosphere and 6/8 on ease of access.

We then visited one between Circus Fest and the epic centre, we gave this one a score of 19/24. It scored 5/8 for view,7/8 for locale and 7/8 for atmosphere.

Our top rated toilets, however, were Quest Fest where we rated them a 20/24 with a score of 5/8 on the view, 7/8 on atmosphere and 8/8 on ease of access.

Which are your faves?

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Best of Fest

2022

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Card

Pickup

Snap: Shuffle a deck of cards and deal them out evenly face down to all playing.

Next, pick someone to go first who will take the card on the top of their pile and place it in the middle face up.

The following person does the same, and so on.

When a card value matches, e.g. a king and a king, the first player to say snap wins the middle pile.

Once one player has all

the cards, they win.

Chase the Ace: You’ll want to get as big a group as possible to play this one, 3 or more are recommended.

Remove all the jokers and 3 of the aces out of the deck and leave them to one side. Next, deal out all the cards evenly between all players.

Once everyone has their cards, each player needs to take out all the pairs in their hand and lay them out in front of them. The game begins with the person to the dealer’s left, taking a card from the person to their right. If the card can make a pair, that can be placed in front of them.

The game continues until you run out of cards, the first person to do this wins.

The loser is the person left with the ace at the end of the game.

Pig Firstly, take out enough denominations for each player in the game. So, for 4 players take out all the A K Q J. Next, shuffle these together and deal them out evenly between the players.

Now all players look at their hand, on “go” pass one card to the left and pick up the card given from the right.

This should happen simultaneously, and

speed is the key.

Once a player has 4 of a kind, they stop passing and picking up cards and place a finger on their nose.

Other players must stop and place a finger on their nose when they see anyone doing so, no matter what cards they have in their own hand.

The last person to do so is the pig.

52 card pickup A fun one for leaders!

Find a group of willing players.

Take a deck of cards and explain that this is a game of pure skill, then throw the cards up in the air and get the players to pick up all the cards.

1st Short Drove Rangers would like to wish Kirsten Watkins a happy 15th birthday & first Jamboree done in style have a fab day.

Pancake truck for the evening - complete with authentic Canadian maple syrup. Head over at 7pm today if you’re interested.

Hi Abbie! *insert Taylor Swift reference here*

Tregi - 84th Nottingham & 3rd Ockbrook.

Congratulations on your 20-year service award from all your Guides and Rangers!

WSJ South Korea 2023 fundraising - take a picture with Supergirl for a small donation!

Congratulations to Tzara Pudsey, who left camp on Monday to go and take (and pass!) her final entrance exam to AFC Harrogate - and so has now joined the Army!

From all at Pegasus ESU.

Are you looking for card games to play? Well look no further. Here are some classics and some lesser-known ones.

Your Announcements

It’s 4th Towcester Guides 20th birthday.

Happy birthday!

Happy anniversary to Andrew and Emma Chilton who have been together for almost 30 years and met through Scouting. Both are leaders for 1st Steeple Bumpstead.

The pancake truck is turning into a Canadian Your newspaper was brought to you by:

Congratulations to our ever so very special Newspaper Team Leader Jake William Bernard Dixon MMath, who graduated yesterday from Nottingham University.

Wanted: Badges. Will trade for ice cream. Ask for Jesus at Circus Fest subcamp.

Bruce is missing!

Bruce is Old Catton Guides Guides’ mascot, and he went missing after the Euro final on Sunday. He was rescued in Holland during Haarlem Jamborette, and he has been on many adventures with the unit, including a cold adventurous weekend in January! If you find

him or know where he is, please return to the Quest subcamp. There is a reward for finding and returning him.

Happy Birthday From All Of Us Wednesday 3rd August Jack R, 12 Evie L, 16 Thomas S, 11 David B, 29 Teale N, 13

Newspaper Team Leader: Jake William Bernard Dixon, MMath.

Reporters: Kate Broadbent, Thomas Meads, Amy Crombleholme, Deanna Carden, Lily Hambly, Amy Emmott, Ger Hennessy, Alex Richardson, Emily Probert, Isaac Mason, Media Panda

Sam O, 5 Benjamin P, 15 Abigail R, 17 Suranne M, 15 Ewan M, 6 Martin S, 40

Alice B, 25 Alan D, 44 Elizabeth S, 43 Nick J, 27 Misha S, 15 Thomas R, 13

Photography Team Leader - Ellen Tack Photographers: Helen Zealand, Zackery Phelps, Stephen Way, Ian Guy, James Hage, Emily Mackwood, Robin Almond, Katie Burgess, Eli Bush