SAC Scouts Newsletter

Issue Issue 8888 August August && September September 2014 2014

From the Courtyard

sac scouts newsletter

From the Courtyard feature of the month

AMAZING PASTA NIGHT! This year’s Fund raising Pasta Night was a great success with attendance reaching a satisfying 200 people!

Our team of kitchen aficionados churned up a myriad of appetisers and four delicious plates of Spinach, Funghi Porcini, Fresh Salmon and Ricotta ravioli kindly supplied by Gourmet Foods Ltd.

This year’s edition was run by a mixed team of Ventures and Rovers who were eager to roll their sleeves up and get the job done.

A special thanks goes to all those who helped in the food preparation and cooking, serving and bar, logistics setup and dismantling and all those who helped with the washing.

Feature of the Month

From the Courtyard

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AMAZING PASTA NIGHT!

Issue 88 August & September 2014

From the Courtyard

GSL’s note

Issue 88 August & September 2014

HQ upgrades As most of you would have observed we are currently working on two projects at our HQ. The first regards the courtyard floor as it is really needs to be replaced due to damage created by the roots of the trees which had to be removed. We hope to start and finish off the work by the end of October. The second project concerns the “room next door” which we have acquired from the College to extend our HQ. We cannot use this room yet as we have to change the ceiling as it is badly damaged. We have acquired architect’s estimates for the works required and this is going to cost around €8000.

To this end we have embarked on a “fund hunt” asking around for help to part finance this expense. If any parents, members, former members or acquaintances can help in this regard please get back to us with good news.

GSL’s note

Summer Camp Summer camp was a great success. All sections participated well and the leaders did a very good job.

Without their time and dedication such events cannot take place. Campfire too was very well attended by around two hundred fifty persons and I am sure our cooking team did not disappoint with the BBQ we prepared.

Forthcoming events The next major troop event is the Bulwark Shield which shall be held in Gozo in November. The exact dates will be announced in the coming days.

New faces Some parents may note that there are new faces in the Group’s leadership team. We are currently introducing new leaders into sections to help and possible eventually replace the ones we have in the future.

Most new prospective leaders are “homegrown” and have been with us since they were cubs. We always try to encourage those that are willing to stick around and remain part of the Group beyond venture age to help out in some section with in the Group.

HMS Bulwark updates The new Commanding Officer of HSM Bulwark wrote to me and the Group on 18th September 2014. I thought I should keep you updated with some of the Ship’s programme over the last few months. Below please find some of the “highlights” below.

Having recently sailed on the COUGAR 14 deployment, I thought it time to write to you with an update of the recent activities conducted by your affiliated ship and her Ship’s Company.

Our arrival in London in May was a very special occasion for visitors and Ship’s Company alike. BULWARK dramatically caught the attention of residents, sightseers and the media as she passed through the Thames Barrier on the way to her moorings in Greenwich. The occasion of our visit was the 350th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Marines and although Royal were very much the stars of the show, the Ship provided a busy base for visitors and participants and a striking presence in the River Thames.

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From the Courtyard

GSL’s note

Issue 88 August & September 2014

Thereafter, it was a privilege for BULWARK, in her amphibious role and as the Fleet Flagship, to play a prominent part in the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of D-Day. From London we headed to Spithead and began the events on 5 June by conducting a spectacular amphibious landing on Southsea Beach watched by over 25,000 people. This concluded with a gun salute to the veterans of D-Day and a ‘cheer ship’ to the City of Portsmouth in recognition of her contribution to the operation before we led an international flotilla of ships to France for the international commemorations on 6 June.

2014 marks the 10th Birthday of HMS BULWARK; to celebrate we invited our families to join us onboard in July. As is traditional, a large cake was baked by one of the Leading Chefs and then ceremoniously cut by the youngest member of the ships company, Engineering Technician Eldon Myers, and my wife Fleur.

Looking to the future, I hope to be able to bring HMS BULWARK to Malta later in the year. I would be delighted to give you the opportunity to spend some time onboard if visit goes ahead.

My Ship’s Company will endeavour to keep you appraised of our activities during COUGAR 14, and wish you the very best for the year ahead.

Captain Dean Bassett Royal Navy

GSL’s note

Officer, Commanding HMS Bulwark

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A FUNNY SCOUTING MOMENT! During Summer Camp, the Cubs had to answer a few scouting questions during a hike.

Here’s one Cub’s idea of who founded scouting: Norman Lowell!!!!!

From the Courtyard

SUMMER SURVIVOR CAMP

Issue 88 August & September 2014

This year’s Cubs’ Summer Camp was held over three days between Saturday 6th and Monday 8th September at Għajn Tuffieħa Campsite. The theme for this year’s Cub Camp was ‘Survivor’. Article by our newest Cub Leader Joanna Ellul—Riki Tiki Tavi .

From the Pack

Cubs arrived at the campsite on Saturday afternoon and following fall-in, a welcome by Akela and the Cub leaders, a general introduction to the theme of the camp, awarding of points, together with camp rules and a tour of the camp site, the Cubs were shown to the barracks where they would be sleeping and where they could leave their belongings.

Soon after, the Cubs started their first ‘Survivor’ activity – Build a Shelter – which involved building a shelter out of the materials that were provided. In the evening, Cubs had a cook-out, where they had to light their own open fire upon which they could cook their dinner. After they ate and they cleared up, the cubs had a night hike followed by wide games including ‘find the glow sticks’, and ‘kick the can’. The cubs then returned to the barracks where they settled down for their first night, with lightsout at 23.30.

The second day of the Cubs’ Summer Camp began with breakfast followed by washing up. Once Cubs were ready they were asked to change into their beachwear and they were then taken down to Golden Bay for some beach activities and swimming. The first beach activity involved building a model raft out of jablo cylinders and other materials provided. Points were given for the best design and the most creative design. After the sixes built their raft they had to test them in the sea to see if they would float. After some swimming the Cubs were called to do a beach scavenger hunt. The Cubs then returned to the campsite where they had a gun shower followed by lunch. In the early afternoon the Cubs divided into 5 different groups so that they could do a proficiency badge. The Cubs had to choose between Athlete’s Badge, First Aider Badge, Weather Lore Badge, Map Reader Badge and Computer Badge. Following the Proficiency Badges, Cub Leaders Rama and Kaa prepared an interesting demonstration of different traps that can be created in order to catch food or to defend oneself as a survivor. An activity that the Cubs enjoyed a lot was the Egg Drop challenge. Each cub was given a raw egg together with an option of other materials such as newspapers, bubble wrap, tape etc. The Cubs had to wrap the egg as best they could so that if it was dropped from a certain height it would not break. Unfortunately none of the eggs survived!

Fr Joseph Zahra, a Dominican brother, came from Rabat to celebrate mass for the Cubs, which he also linked to the Survivor theme. After dinner, the Cubs were divided into two groups and Timmy Zammit and Jeanette Cremona gave the Cubs two lectures, one on the Morse Code and one on Sign Language, which the Cubs enjoyed very much. After the lectures, the Cubs had a few rounds of Light House in the open space next to the barracks followed by lights-out.

The last day of camp started with a quick jog, stretching and light exercise, followed by breakfast, after which the Cubs had their camp inspection. Inspection involved the Leaders checking that each Cub kept his belongings clean and in a neat order and that they had not lost anything. After inspection the Cubs headed down to the beach for more activities. The first activity was beach bowling, where three holes of

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From the Courtyard

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Issue 88 August & September 2014

different sizes were dug in the sand and the Cubs had to throw tennis balls and try to get them into the holes to score points. After beach bowling the Cubs went swimming and then headed back to the campsite. After a quick gun shower and lunch the Cubs then had a Treasure Hunt prepared for them. During the Treasure hunt the Cubs had to walk from checkpoint to checkpoint following trekking signs. At each checkpoint each team had to answer a number of questions related to different topics found in the Cub Scout Handbook. It was amusing to see some of the answers that the Cubs came up with to some of the questions they had in the Treasure Hunt such as ‘In what year did Scouting start? – India / January’ or ‘Where did scouting start? – 1914’, ‘Name of Current President – Mary Luwes’, ‘Who is the Founder of Scouts? – Cubbie’. But the over-all most entertaining answer given was ‘Who is the founder of Scouts – Normil Loil’.

From the Pack

After the treasure hunt the Cubs had to go through an obstacle course which was prepared for them by the Troop and manned by the Ventures. Each Six was timed as they all went through the course and an average time per cub for each six was worked out so that points could be awarded. After the obstacle course the Cubs together with the Cub Leaders had a few water games prepared as a final activity for the camp.

At the end of the camp, the Cubs were called to fall-in, points for each activity were counted and the camp shield was awarded to the Brown six as the winning six of the camp. The Cubs were then dismissed.

The Cubs together with their parents were invited to attend campfire on Wednesday 10th September. Since the Cub meeting was held at Għajn Tuffieħa, parents were also encouraged to attend the meeting with their children. Several Games and activities were done which involved the Cubs playing and competing against their parents, such as command tasks, - trying to lift a bucket between two wooden beams without stepping over the beams and using only ropes - or trying to walk using wooden beams as skis with ropes. Another game was ‘steal the bacon’ where Cubs and parents were divided into two teams, with each member numbered and a Leader standing in the middle with the ‘bacon’ and calling out a different number each time. The team members of the respective number then had to run up to the Leader to try to take the ‘bacon’ without being caught by the opposing team member. The Cubs together with their parents also participated in Campfire by singing and acting out together the song Yogi Bear, which they had prepared during the meeting.

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From the Pack

From the Courtyard

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Issue 88 August & September 2014

From the Courtyard

TROOP CAMP

Issue 88 August & September 2014

From the Troop

‘Summer Camps are all different in some way or another. Need it be different programs, different faces in the patrols, new scouts joining the troop or new leaders. Every camp is in a way, unique.’—The Tiger Patrol wrote an excellent logbook about the Troop’s camp. Here it is in its entirety.

Day 1 The first day of camp started off as usual, with the PL’s and APL’s meeting at the HQ to help load the truck with the equipment for camp. This is called Advanced Party. Every camp before there is an Advanced Party so us PL’s and APL’s knew the procedure.. Advanced Party was something we all hated but it had to be done and so be it.

Once we loaded everything, we were already one hour behind schedule due to the fact that the truck arrived an hour late. Next was distributing the scouts and leaders in the cars, which was a bit of a problem but we somehow fit everyone in.

When we arrived at the campsite, we placed our personal equipment in the shade under the trees and started unloading the truck. We organized the equipment into sections; the kitchen section and the store section. Next up was pitching the dining shelter and moving the equipment into the store and the kitchen.

At 10:00, the scouts started arriving and at around 10:30, the camp was officially open. Next up was pitching the patrol ridge tents and settling in. This took quite long and there we were a bit behind schedule.

We had lunch at around 13:30, a much needed break from the work.

The sun was shining and it was very hot which did not really help with the situation. After lunch, we continued setting up the campsite. We put up the flagpole. This was not a hard job and did not take very long to set up. We tied a stave towards the top of the pole to hang the two side flags to. We attached a pulley to the top of the flagpole and another two on the stave, one on each side. We then attached the ropes, stood the flagpole up and guyed it down with some guy ropes.We also dug the wet pit and set up the frame and barrels and water line. Digging was the hard part, as for the frame, it was plane sailing and was done in no time. The water taps were attached to the water pipe and it was finally in working order.

Next up was camp gadgetries. An hour later, we had a patrol meeting. In this meeting, we were allowed to discuss any topic we wanted. Unfortunately, we took long in setting up the campsite and therefore we were behind schedule. Due to this we had to miss the ‘Detective Game’ and ‘water games’ so that we would be in time to go for mass at the Manikata Church.

When we came back from mass, we had some time to have a shower. After showers we had dinner and duties. Next up was Wide Game. Everyone was really excited, especially the older scouts who had played it many times before. Unfortunately, the older scouts were the ones to realize that the place we had to play Wide Game in was not that good. The place was very open and did not have a lot of cover but it was better than nothing and we still and fun.

After the night game, PL’s had PLC and the rest went to sleep.

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From the Troop

From the Courtyard

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Issue 88 August & September 2014

Day 2 We woke up early and had flag up. After that, we had lumbering up with our SPLS’s Daniel and Craig.

Some people said that they found lumbering up as a way of how to make yourself even more tired, but it does wake you up a bit really.

Next up was breakfast and duties. At 09:00 we had a patrol meeting and at 10:00, the Scouts for a Day started arriving. After this was Patrol Corner Pitching where we had to make our patrol corners. We were given a 4m x 4m piece of mesh and clips and an area. We had to be creative and create the best idea, obviously keeping in mind that this was in real life and not in some kind of game where anything is possible.

At around 10:45 we had a cooking and hygiene lecture by one of our leaders, Guza. We talked about precautions when handling food, how to be hygienic and how to cook food well. This was important since straight after the lecture we had International Afternoon. We got our food and cooked our meals and finally, after the leaders tasted each patrol’s food, we ate.

We enjoyed eating the food we cooked ourselves. The leaders also enjoyed tasting our food. We then had duties where we cleared up the tables and cleaned the equipment and utensils used in the cooking activity apart from the normal duties.

After that we had 50 challenges. This is an activity where each patrol has 50 challenges to complete in a given time and they have to complete as many as possible to get as many points as possible.

This was a fun event and everyone enjoyed it.

Next up was archery and water rockets. Two patrols did archery and the other two did water rockets, when they finished, they switched. We were told to prepare for an archery target for camp and right before archery, we built the targets. Archery was pretty hard and there was only one person who got a straight bull’s eye!

Water rockets were fun too.

We then had command tasks and an interesting scouting history lecture by our SL Mani. This was the last thing the Scouts for a Day were going to do. Shortly after they left, we had our dinner.

After duties we had showers and preparation for the night hike. We then left as a group to the first checkpoint: Manikata Church. From there, we were given the next checkpoint which we had to work out patrol for patrol and then set out to walk for it.

This checkpoint was the Olympic Rings near St. Paul’s Bay. From there, we were sent back to camp. It wasn’t very long, around 10km in total. When we got back, the PL’s had a short PLC and then everyone went to sleep.

Day 3 We woke up and had the usual flag up. After lumbering up, we had breakfast and duties. We then had a personal equipment inspection. Inspections are actually useful because you make sure that you have all your stuff and it gives you a chance to arrange them as well.

Next up was building our obstacle course. We made a ladder obstacle where you would go climb up from one side and go down from the other side.

Unfortunately, we took a bit long to build the course and therefore we were a bit behind schedule.

In the obstacle course we had to carry a water balloon while doing the course. This was to increase the level of difficulty.

After doing the obstacle course and dismantling, we had lunch. After lunch and duties, we prepared to go

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From the Courtyard

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Issue 88 August & September 2014

From the Troop

to the beach. When we were at the beach, we swam and played a game where we pass a ball we got from a Kellogg’s cereal box. The game was leaders versus scouts.

When we arrived back at camp, we had a shower and prepared for that night’s troop camp fire. We were going to do a stunt where a person selling Mani’s tea interrupts a world cup final. Apart from that, the PLs and APLs also did a stunt together imitating the leaders.

We then had dinner and duties and then the troop camp fire. We all had fun and laughed at each other’s stunts and jokes. We closed off the camp fire with Kumbaya and then went to sleep. Unfortunately, even though we, PLs, were tired, we had a short PLC and then we were off to bed too.

Day 4 That morning, all the PLs were excited for the activities that we were going to have. Only the PLs knew what we were going to have due to PLC the night before. We decided to keep it as a surprise from our members, although they were still going to find out once they put up the program on the board.

We had flag up at 07:15 and lumbering up straight after. Obviously we were extremely happy that we had lumbering up and while we were doing the exercises, most of us were half asleep. We definitely woke up after doing all the stretching and running.

At 08:00, we had washing up, and patrol by patrol, we came out feeling fresher than before. The secret to these magical happenings was the phrase Mani had got stuck into some of our heads, ‘Teeth, underarms, face and hair’! The aim of this phrase was to remind people the important places to wash so that we would have a nice, decent smell, fresh breath, and a clean face and hair.

Next up was breakfast, so the next fall in was with mess kits. As always, there had to be that one or two people who would complain upon the fact that everyday we would have to eat cereal. Well, camping isn’t a hotel and anyway, any food is good food at camp!

After breakfast was duties and then preparation for the scavenger hunt in Mdina.

We boarded the coach and left at 09:30. Some of us were relieved by the fact that we weren’t going to walk it to Mdina. Once we arrived we were given a paper and told to be careful and be back by 12:00. Once we were given the fall out, we looked at our paper and chose the closest ones to do first.

We also had to take many pictures with houses or signs. We had to take a picture with two different green doors. We also had to take a picture in front of Casa Inguanez. Another picture was to be taken with a member planking on a bench.

We also had to take a picture with the Mdina Dungeons, Mdina Experience, the old gate, a member buying sparkling water, a sign saying ‘Misrah il-Kunsill’ and a sign that shows Mdina is a silent city.

Time flew in Mdina and it was soon 12:00. Once everyone met in the garden, we crossed the road to go to the playing field. We gave the person at the kiosk a hard time as he tried to keep up with all the scouts piling up wanting to buy a drink or some food.

Eventually, we all got what we wanted to buy and relaxed on the benches or swings.

We arrived back at the campsite at 13:00 and had lunch. After duties we had a patrol meeting and at 15:00 we had a First Aid Lecture.

After the lecture was the activity we were all waiting for! Finally it was 16:00, time for Laser Tag! Everyone was really excited. When we first saw the laser tag guns from a bit of a distance, some people thought they were Nerf guns but obviously they weren’t.

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From the Troop

The person who owned the gear explained the rules and then we divided ourselves into two teams. We then played 2 hours worth of laser tag, throughout which we had the time of our lives! Sadly, it came to an end and shortly after, at around 18:00, we had the first aid scenarios.

After the scenarios, we had stunt preparations. At 19:00 we had dinner and, as you can expect, we talked about our experiences in that day’s Laser Tag. We talked about how much fun we had and how we wanted to do it again.

We ate dinner and did our duties quickly so that after, we would have time for a night game. As we hoped, we had time to play a game of wide game and so we did. We enjoyed wide game as usual but due to that fact that we had quite a few activities in that day, we were all pretty tired.

When the game ended, the PL’s went to have PLC while the rest slept. We agreed to cooperate well so that we would have a short PLC and we go to bed faster. During PLC we talked about the day we had and our personal thought about it and also a bit about the day after, mainly about the Camp Fire. As we were dismissed, we walked wearily to our tents, made any last arrangements and finally went to sleep.

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Day 5 Day 5 started off with a surprise, excluding the daily routine of waking up early. That morning, we were going to go for an early swim at Golden Bay. We woke up at around 6:15, had fall in and at fall out, we got our things ready to go to the beach. At around 6:45, we left the campsite and walked down the road to the beach. Fortunately, the beach is very close to the campsite, which was a major relief since none of us really wanted to go on a hike just to have a short swim.

As we got to the beach, it was still early in the morning, and not a single swimmer was in sight. In fact, there were only two people who were flattening out the sand. We pitied the two a bit since soon we were going to ruin part of their hard work once we get onto the sand and lay our things down.

We had a great time at the beach and we were actually surprised at how the sea was not as cold as we expected. Once it was time to leave, we dried ourselves up, grabbed our personal equipment and walked back to the campsite.

We got there at around 8:00 and after we put our things away, we had a shower with the pipe by Mani.

Fall in for flag up was at 8:25 and after we got our mess kits, we had breakfast. After that was duties and a Knife and Axe lecture by one of our SPL’s, Craig.

At 10:30, we had the ‘Chop a Log’ competition. The aim was who can break part of a pellet the fastest.

This competition served as the practical part for the lecture. At 11:30, we had our Knife and Axe test. This was done by Craig. When we finished the test, we all cheered as we got to know that everyone passed with flying colours and continued on with the program.

Next up was a game called ‘Senseless’. The aim of this game was to test the patrol’s communication and combination of talents. This was to be done through a certain set of rules.

The patrol leader had to be blind folded and therefore could not see but was able to move and speak.

The assistant patrol leader could not move but could see and speak.

The members could not speak but can see and move.

Somehow, the patrol had to communicate, use each person’s capabilities, create a stretcher and move the APL to another location. This proved to be a challenging task for all the patrols but we managed.

At 13:30 we had lunch, a break from a row of activities. We enjoyed the break while it lasted and half an hour later we had our duties. We didn’t really enjoy duties but well, they had to be done and one of the Scout Laws states that you should make yourself useful and help out.

From the Troop

From the Courtyard

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Our SL, Mani, then gave us a lecture about weather knowledge. We named some weather instruments such as the anemometer, rain gauge, Stevenson screen, thermometer, barometer and so on. We mentioned different cloud types such as cumulus, cumulonimbus, cirrus, cirrocumulus, stratus, etc. We also mentioned the points of the compass both in Maltese and English.

After the lecture, we had an hour to prepare and finalize our stunts for that evening’s stunt show. We made sure we had all our props, revised the script, made little adjustments here and there; all to make the best stunt we can make.

We then had to start preparing for the camp fire. We got the tables to serve the food on them, benches to sit on, the containers for the fire so as not to damage the concrete floor, the projector and laptop to view a series of pictures and videos taken throughout the camp and so on.

At around 18:45, we went to have a shower. This was our time to change into fresh clothes and arrange a bit our appearance to make us look somewhat decent. By 19:00 we were done and at around 19:15, a few parents arrived at the campsite.

The campfire started at 19:30, by then, most of the parents had arrived and were sitting on the walls, talking, trying to find their son, watching the videos and pictures from the projector and looking at the gate we built together with the tents.

It was a great atmosphere, people with smiles on their faces and laughing, music playing; and finally, it was time to eat! It was a great meal and everybody enjoyed it. Next up was the lighting of the campfire and the stunts and jokes.

It started off with Mani and Andre pretending to have just come back from the feast of St Julian’s, emphasizing that the group from St Julian’s who was camping a few plots away had made a huge and very loud party and kept it going for nearly three nights in a row!

Then there were the patrol stunts, venture stunt, the SPL stunt, and the leaders’ stunts. We all laughed when the interview came with Brad Pitt (aka Andre, Venture Leader) and Angelina Jolie (aka Zarbie, our amazing cook). We didn’t expect them to adopt one of the cub leaders, Stefan, as one of their children!

We sang songs throughout, involved the parents in some of the stunts and laughed all together. It was a great! I’m sure everyone enjoyed it, scouts leaders and parents, and it is an experience that should not be forgotten.

Unfortunately, everything comes to an end and the show ended. The parents started leaving and by 22:30, we had started clearing up and washing the dishes together with our usual duties. We were all tired, and clearing up was the last thing on our minds but, with some teamwork, we managed to finish and at around 23:30, we were finally going to go to bed. Except for us patrol leaders of course, we still had PLC but that wasn’t a big deal, 10 minutes and it was over.

That was all for that day, and most of us were probably glad it was because we probably wouldn’t have been able to take more! It’s a shame that some scouts had to leave after campfire, either due to them being sick or maybe because of a family event or other reasons, we knew they were going to miss out on the fun which was in store!

Day 6 Day 6 started off with the usual flag up and lumbering up. We then had washing up, breakfast and then duties. We then had mega fortress building. Each patrol was assigned with an area and in it; they have to build a fortress to be used in a night game later on called Fortress Wars.

Next up was tent inspection. After that, we had a lecture about highway and country code. This was important for the expedition which was

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From the Troop

From the Courtyard

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Issue 88 August & September 2014

still to come. After the lecture, at around 13:30, we had lunch. Following that was duties and then a lecture about How to build a Fiji Oven by Mani.

This lecture was to serve as guidance as after the lecture, we were going to build Fiji Ovens and cook dinner in them. After the lecture, we went to an open area where we were able to dig holes and cook.

A Fiji Oven is made by making two holes, one of the holes has to be deeper than the other. In the shallower hole, you have to start your fire and heat the smooth pebbles. When the pebbles are very hot, cautiously put some pebbles in the deeper hole, put the meat on them, cover everything with a bit of soil, put more pebbles, place your vegetables on them and cover everything with soil.

At some point, the APLs and members left to go to the beach while we, the PLs, continued heating the pebbles, putting in the food and finally clear up. Once we finished, we met them at the beach. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time left and soon after, we made our way back to the campsite.

When we came back, we had a shower and proceeded to make our sword and shield of war for the game of Fortress Wars. At some point, we stopped to have dinner. We were really happy that the food came really good! The rabbit was super tasty and really tender.

We were satisfied with the result and ate contently. After dinner we had duties, continuation of the making of the sword and shield and then Fortress Wars explanation. It had been a while since we last played Fortress Wars and that was going to be our second time playing.

We played Fortress wars together with the ventures and had loads of fun. Obviously everything comes to an end and the game came to an end. After a short PLC for the PLs, everyone was asleep, getting the rest needed for the next day.

Day 7 We started off with flag up lumbering up. After that we had breakfast. We were really happy to see that it was English Breakfast because we love having that at camp. After that was duties.

Mathias was chosen to go buy food for the Ready Steady Cook. We had €1.50 per person and therefore had a disadvantage due to the small amount of people we were. The less number of people you have, the less money you get and as a result, we only had €4.50 to work with.

Mani took the members of each patrol to Piscopo supermarket, including myself, for the Ready Steady Cook while the rest of the patrol were dismantling the fortress we had built the night before.

From the supermarket I bought digestive biscuits, Nutella sachets and a strawberry. Basically that was all we needed for dessert. I also bought sausages for the starter. The rest was provided by the camp kitchen.

We presented a 3 course meal.

Starters: Scrambled eggs with sausages and bacon.

Main course: Pasta bolognese with macaroni.

Dessert: Digestive biscuits with Nutella and strawberry.

Due to the number we were, we were very satisfied with what we pulled off . We obviously started eating immediately.

After duties we had a fall in. We didn't know what was wrong until Mani told us in the fall on. Somebody had stabbed Antonio's sleeping mat with a pen knife. The camp activities all came to a halt. A full investigation of this was carried out. We all had to look Mani in the eye and say if we did it or not. Till that point nobody admitted. We had a fall out and we had to go and pack our stuff and put it in the dining shelter.

We were told that if nobody admits, camp would be over and we would leave that night, meaning the expedition won't happen.

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The PL's bags were checked inside out to see if there is a knife matching with the stab marks.

We then had a fall out and some people were called for questioning. The rest of the bags were not checked. With the panic people were accusing others, other people were scared that they would be accused of something that they didn’t do. Everybody had a fear at that moment.

From the Troop

We got the news soon after that somebody admitted but the leaders were very confident that it wasn't he person who admitted. The person who admitted probably gave himself in not to ruin the camp for the others. Camp continued and we took down the tents.

It was the time for the expedition. We were first to leave from campsite and first to arrive at the first checkpoint which was the Roman Baths. After that we went to the Mgarr church where we arrived first too. We had a refreshing cup of Joey and we were ready to march on to the next checkpoint. When we were getting very close to the checkpoint and we started to go uphill, Andrew started losing his breath and getting stomach pain. With some extra encouragement, we continued to move on until we reached Bingemma where we all needed a rest. After a quick re-charge, we were the first one to leave but we took a wrong road and it was at that moment when we lost our place as 1st.

Once we got out of the wrong road we started moving in the right direction, thanks to the leaders. We continued with a steady pace as we were now very close to finishing the expedition. When we arrived at the checkpoint before the last one leading to our sleeping location we were gaining our pace back and everyone encouraged each other to move forward.

We arrived at the last checkpoint at Zebbiegh. There we found out that our sleeping location is the campsite.

We arrived second overall which is a very good place for us considering the circumstances. Everyone was dead tired and soon after we slept.

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From the Courtyard

ARTICLE TITLE

Issue 88 August & September 2014

From the Troop

Day 8 We woke up on the last day pretty tired after sleeping late because of the expedition. We started off with taking down the bivouac shelters. After dismantling them, and putting the equipment away, we had flag up. This was followed by showers and then breakfast. Next up was loading the truck with the SAC Equipment. We also had duties to clear the campsite and fill up the wash-pit.

We carried a sweep search around the campsite to make sure that there was no rubbish or equipment left on the floor. Once everything was loaded onto the truck, we went on the coach and made our way back to HQ in Birkirkara. When we arrived, we unloaded the equipment. When we finally unloaded everything, everybody parted and went their separate ways.

Conclusion Summer Camp 2014 turned out to be a great camp. It was planned out well and we managed to do nearly all of the planned activities. This camp had a wide range of different activities and lectures.

It was also a good idea to conduct a lecture and test on Knife and Axe for the whole Troop to ensure that every individual who utilizes these tools are reminded of their responsibility when carrying such tools and handling them in the proper manner.

It was also great to do activities and games that we had once done in another camp but we rarely do such as: Fortress Wars, Laser Tag and Fiji Oven Making. These proved to be very important team building opportunities. They also served as practice for communication and teamwork in the patrols.

This camp also served as training and practice for the new PLs and APLs so that they practice their skills learnt in PLTC in real life situations.

One point that is important to note is the fact that on certain occasions, we were a bit behind schedule in our planned activities due to lack of cooperation, efficiency and time management. As a result of this, we were forced to miss out on a few activities to make time for more important ones.

On the whole, it was another successful camp and one to be remembered.

On a final note, the Tiger Patrol would like to thank the Scout Leaders involved in the planning and organization and for their time extended to all the scouts who attended this camp. Their personal contribution for making summer camp 2014 possible is greatly appreciated.

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From the Courtyard

A VERY BUSY UNIT!

Issue 88 August & September 2014

The Venture unit has been extremely active during August and September. Following our recent intake of young able bodies, we rolled our sleeves up and tackled some long awaiting projects. VSL Andre (proudly) tells us more.

Mousehole Renovation Part 1 & BBQ The new Venture Unit thought of giving our beloved Mousehole a well needed breath of fresh air after laying for a few months in a neglected state. Originally the plan was just to touch up some peeled paint, but soon this became a full swing archaeological dig / restoration.

Under the direction of Isaac, Zarby and myself (all certified experts at everything) each Venture got to pick whichever field of expertise he wished to specialize in, namely:  Woodwork wonders—restoring an old table destroyed by

a previous reckless venture  Applied masonry—filling in holes with cardboard and ce-

From the Unit

ment  Picasso revisited—painting the walls, and everything else in its vicinity  Enemalta apprenticeship—removal of old unused electrical sockets Soon all works were underway and it really looked like a good old ‘Laurel and Hardy’ construction site, but with god spirits and enthusiasm all tasks were achieved in some way or another.

To reward ourselves after a day of good work we ended the day wit a Barbeque in the courtyard where we all gave our share to prepare salads, burgers etc . Music as always was provided by our DJ Luke.

I hope Part 2 of our renovation project will be just as successful and will then keep our Mousehole in a decent state for a couple of years.

Ghajn Tuffieha Campsite—Cleanup As part of our programme, the Unit was glad to respond to a request by the Cief Scout to give a helping hand at the Scout Campsite. Following a massive event, with more than 1000 youths camping there, our unit was asked to give the campsite a thorough sweep search and collect all the rubbish we could find.

There was so much we were spoilt for choice!

Although not one of the cleanest or most fun activities we could take part in, I must say that the Ventures undertook this task with a cheer and did not stray from their mission. During this cleanup event we were also assisted by some Rovers and Leaders. We all did a splendid job and for a reason too since we would be camping there the following week.

Time to say goodbye Sadly we must say goodbye to three older members of the Unit. Alas it is time for Jamie Maistre, Andrew Zammit Montebello and Albert Galea to move from the Venture Unit to the Rover Crew.

All the Ventures wish them great fun times with the Rovers and good luck in any future Leadership roles with the Group.

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From the Courtyard

VENTURES at CAMP

Issue 88 August & September 2014

For the first time in many years the Venture Unit has taken part in the Group Summer Camp in its entirety and wit their own programme. Here’s a writeup compiled by Mike Psaila, James Caruana, Daniel Pace and Jonathan Pace about how we spent our time.

Day 1 - Saturday 6 th September

From the Unit

Today was the first day of summer camp 2014.

The ventures gathered up at HQ, at around 8:00am, to load up the truck with all the equipment necessary for the camp. Apart from the ventures, there were the PLs and APLs together with their SPLs to help out, as they usually do. Of course there were some leaders to guide us and help out.

After all the loading was done, we gathered our belongings and put them inside the truck. We packed inside the leaders cars and drove to the Għajn Tuffieħa campsite. Here, we met most of the scouts already helping out in unloading the truck, with their SPLs guiding them where to place the equipment.

Once the ventures arrived, we started pitching up the dining shelter. We spent quite some time finding out how we’re supposed to pitch it, however in the end we found out how. We first joined the metal poles with their joints and then placed the tent on top of them.

When the dining shelter was up, we placed the benches and tables and got ready to have lunch, pasta with tomato and pork sauce.

After that the ventures set up to pitch up their own hiking tents, one tent between two ventures.

Once our tents had been pitched up, we placed our rucksacks inside and got ready to go to the beach. We spent the evening there till sunset, a beautiful scene. When we returned to campsite we washed up and had showers.

We then had dinner, timpana, and then helped out in duties.

After some had an early night while others stayed up to chat.

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From the Courtyard

VENTURES at CAMP

Issue 88 August & September 2014

From the Unit

Day 2 - Sunday 7 th September

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We woke up this morning at around 7:30am, and had washing up. After wards we had breakfast, coco pops with milk.

We then had high ropes. We got all the equipment necessary and got some ropes and a mesh to create a sort of shelter to keep our belongings (mainly our water) in the shade. We pitched that up first and then got ready to do Jacob’s ladder. We went in threes, first Jamie, Albert and Mike, then Johnny, Luke and Daniel and finally Isaac, ‘Zarby’ and Daniel Pace. After, we each had crate stacking, each having two tries.

The highest venture was Albert who managed to get up well above 15 crates.

After we played Poker; well mainly those who knew how to play it.

After a number of rounds, we got ready to go to the beach. We stayed there till around 5:30pm and then went back to campsite and had showers.

We then helped ‘Zarby’ cook an Indian meal for the troop, ventures and leaders. He gave us a short lecture about what spices Indian food contains.

We then split up in three groups; each group had a different sauce to make, peanut, tomatoes or coconut and carrots. After we mixed the sauces with the homemade curry ‘Zarby’ made, and added chicken cubes to the sauce.

We then served our sauces with rice to the scouts.

After we ate, we washed up and helped in duties. Like last night some played poker while others went to sleep.

From the Courtyard

VENTURES at CAMP

Issue 88 August & September 2014

Day 3 - Monday 8 th September

From the Unit

Today we woke up as usual at 7:30am and had washing up. We then took breakfast, same as the day before, coco pops with milk.

After, we were given a lecture about air rifle shooting by Andre. He spoke about the posture and the proper way how to aim at a target. He also spoke about safety precautions.

After the lecture we went to practice in a field close to the amphitheatre. Here we pitched up a shelter (using ropes and mesh) to protect us from the sun. We each had 5 tries and shot at a target that Andre put for us.

We had another round and on the third round we started shooting objects like plastic bottles, cans and Pringles boxes. On the whole we didn’t do that bad, with some developing quite a skill too.

After, we had a siesta during which we played Poker at the site where we were shooting.

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After several rounds of playing, we packed up and dismantled the shelter and went to the area where the scouts had their obstacle course. We were supposed to build an obstacle course for the cubs; however we made some improvements to the scouts’ obstacle and used that The ventures were positioned at each obstacle to help the cubs or else catch them if they fall.

There were 6 obstacles and each six made two rounds, they were timed and points were given as to how fast they were. After the ventures dismantled the course and put the equipment back.

We then ate dinner and after got ready to go to the beach late at night. After we came back to campsite and had showers.

We discussed a stunt for the campfire. After we played Poker in the dining shelter and then went to sleep.

Day 4 - Tuesday 9 th September We woke up as usual at around 7:30am, had washing up and finally we had breakfast.

Since we really enjoyed shooting the day before we decide to do shooting again. We went to a different area, since the area used the day before was occupied by other campers, and placed our targets, mainly bottles filled with water, around the area, some further away than others. We each had a try of five shots for several rounds.

We spent the whole morning shooting and most of the afternoon. After that we spent the rest of the day mainly doing what we like, some helped in cooking, others played poker and some just roamed about.

When evening was drawing in, we helped in the cooking. After we had dinner and got ready for our night hike. We packed a small rucksack with our necessary belongings. We also took some of the unit’s equipment (first aid kit, mesh, 6 staves, several ropes, etc) with us.

We walked to Ġnejna. We mainly walked crosscountry and at some point we even had to climb down a cliff. Although we met many obstacles, we all managed to enjoy it, with Andre telling us stories from the past of scouting.

From the Courtyard

VENTURES at CAMP

Issue 88 August & September 2014

When we arrived at the beach, we started building a shelter for the night. We used the staves, ropes and the mesh to build it. We also used some large rocks, found on the beach. When we finished we went to sleep straight away, it was around 1:00 in the morning.

From the Unit

Day 5 - Wednesday 10 th September

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Today we woke up at Ġnejna where we walked to the night before.

We started dismantling the shelter we built and packed up our belongings. We also got changed to go kayaking. In fact that was the main reason why we walked and slept at Ġnejna. The plan was that we go around the surrounding beaches and stop at Għajn Tuffieħa to walk back to campsite.

Once we were ready, we walked to the store and the instructor showed us how to wear the life jackets and use the oars. He told us that we would be split up in pairs. We put our bags in one of the speed boats and got inside the canoe.

We spent around an hour. We steered through the boulders of the bordering cliffs. We stopped at Għajn Tuffieħa beach for a short swim.

We continued to Golden bay and we had a race just outside the swimmer’s zone. We got off the canoes and waited for the instructor to come and collect his canoes and bring our belongings.

We swam for some time and walked back to the campsite.

We had showers and breakfast, some called it ‘brunch’ because we took it at around 10:00am.

From the Unit

From the Courtyard

VENTURES at CAMP

Issue 88 August & September 2014

After that we spent the afternoon doing what we liked. Most of us stayed helping in the cooking because of the campfire.

At some point we had lunch and after continued helping out with the preparations for the campfire. Some of us chopped onions, tomatoes or lettuce.

Others helped in making coleslaw and pasta salad. Well we were basically there when the leaders needed our help.

At around 5:30pm we started preparing the campfire area, with the lights, tables, benches and all. Firewood was also chopped and the food was nearly ready. The scouts were also with us.

At around 7:00pm parents started coming. We had everything ready. The ventures helped out in serving the food or helping out with the bar, together with the scouts. Once everyone was served, it was our turn to eat.

After that, the whole group joined in at the campfire area. There, we laughed at the stunts made by the scouts, ventures and rovers, and especially at the opening of the campfire. Anyway, it was a chance to enjoy a time with friends and family.

After that, the parents started leaving one by one, saying there last goodbyes to their sons. We, ventures and scouts, already started packing up the extra food, the bar and dismantling the campfire area. At around midnight we went to sleep, however some still insisted of playing poker.

Day 6 – Thursday 11 th September Being the day after campfire, we got to wake up late after the hard work we all put in to dismantle the campfire setup, however we were all satisfied that the parents had appreciated the songs and sketches we had prepared for them.

The first thing we had today was flag up with the troop. Attendance had diminished since some had to leave due to private lessons or some other reasons. Next was breakfast which was cornflakes so that we would restore our lost energies in preparation for the rest of the sunny day. After breakfast we were supposed to build a tower, but since we were few in number we decided not to. While thinking about what to do instead, we were invited to join the Scouts in building their own towers / forts for the upcoming activity! This took up all morning and soon it was time for lunch which consisted of a leftovers buffet. The catch was that everyone had to eat the whole contents of his messtin before being allowed to leave the dining tent. That taught us all a lesson about exaggerating with portions.

Unfortunately this delay altered the plan for the afternoon which was spent finishing off the towers. When all was ready we managed to fit some time for the beach. We went down with the stragglers from the troop but only had about 30 minutes to swim. We returned to the campsite and rushed to get a quick shower before the scouts. Right after this some of us

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From the Courtyard

VENTURES at CAMP

Issue 88 August & September 2014

finished off the campfire duties from the previous night. At the same time a lecture was held to explain the rules of tonight’s game and after this we had an early dinner while the scouts fetched their rabbit from the Fiji Ovens.

After dinner it was time for the fortress wars. We all joined different patrols and at the blow of a whistle we all rushed to our fortresses to prepare for the defense or attack of other forts. By the end of the game we all were knackered so we went to sleep whereas some other Ventures stayed up for a quick game of poker.

From the Unit

Day 7 – Friday 12 th September After a night playing fortress wars the group woke up for another day of activities.

We started the day with flag up, after that the troop had gone for lumbering up and the ventures helped prepare an English breakfast for the group. After we finished eating, the ventures went to help the troop dismantle their fortresses.

When the dismantling was done, the venture unit helped Ian Meli prepare lunch for the leaders and ventures whilst the troop had their own cooking activity.

During this time both Albert and Luke had left camp, unfortunately this was Albert’s last camp as part of the unit.

Since only James and Daniel Vancell were left, they both together with the VSL, Andre sat down by the ablution block and played a game of cards to stay out of the nasty sun. After Andre beat us in cards we decided to go outside our campsite to a safe place, to practice our aim at rifle shooting. We used coke cans and water bottles as targets and managed to hit each and every one of them at a far distance.

After we were done and the troop were finished preparing for the expedition in their own fun way, we decided to go help prepare the sandwiches the troop were going to take with them during the hike.

When we were done from preparing the food and the scouts were ready to leave, Jonathan and Luke arrived at the campsite. When the troop had finally left for the camp the ventures dismantled the camp gate and the floodlights. Meanwhile the rover crew had set off for their own expedition.

Since both the scouts and rovers had left, the venture crew were the only ones at camp. This resulted in some well deserved relaxing time after an intense week and in preparation of the coming day of dismantling. And what better way to do this than an all night poker game? The idea was that the game would keep going until the scouts arrived back at camp. It wasn’t our fault that they all got miserably lost and arrived at 3am!

When the troop finally returned the ventures together with the rest of the group went to sleep.

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From the Courtyard Day 8 – Saturday

VENTURES at CAMP 1 3th

Issue 88 August & September 2014

September

From the Unit

The entire group woke up late. We woke up at 8:30 instead of half seven. This was because the previous night the scouts had a hike and two patrols got lost. So the scout leaders had to go and find them and get them back to the campsite. We had breakfast prepared by Ian Meli. This consisted of bread with butter or jam and cornflakes or coco pops.

After half an hour of breakfast, we had to dismantle the campsite. The scout’s ridge tent and main gate were put down by the Ventures the night before. The Ventures had to put down their own hike tents they were sleeping in while the scouts had to dismantle their bivouacs. In about 15 minutes, the hike tents were dismantled and packed. Afterwards some of the Ventures helped taking down the leader’s tent while the rest of the Ventures helped taking down the party tent. It took a bit less than an hour to take the both tents down. Soon after the truck had arrived and some scouts took the spars and tents next to the truck while other scouts loaded it. It was around half eleven when the truck left Ghajn Tuffieha to the Headquarters. With the truck there were Kyle Mangion , Edward Apap Bologna, Simon Gauci and James Caruana to help unload the truck. At half past noon, the coach arrived for the scouts to take them at HQ. Meanwhile the Ventures, Andre Brincat, Ian Meli and Kurt Ciangura stayed at the campsite cleaning up the site and picking up the lost and found items. At around half two the truck came back to load the last few kitchen things. At last, it was time to head back to HQ. When we arrived at the HQ it had already been three o’clock and we found that James Caruana had left because it was time for parents pickup. He left without his rucksack and bags. After unloading the truck it was time to go home and have a good shower.

A Venture’s Best Friend!

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From the Courtyard

ROVERS ON THE GO!

Issue 88 August & September 2014

The Rover Crew is one of the busiest sections within any Scout Group as they provide the core of the behind the scenes work force, many of them are directly involved with another section, and those that don’t serve as a leader with another section help out with million other logistical odd jobs! Rovers are generally also highly busy with their work and/or studies. All this thus leaves the Rover Crew with very little time for their own activities.

From the Crew

Rover Crew Snorkelling Activity & BBQ The Rovers decided to hold a snorkeling activity and small BBQ afterwards on Wednesday 20th August instead of a regular Wednesday meeting so as to kick off a list of activities with something simple which everyone would be able to attend and enjoy.

The activity started off a bit later than originally planned due to work commitments and thus sunset was about to take place, leaving us with little sunlight available. So after quickly finding a spot on the beach in Sliema, we all put on our masks and snorkels and jumped into the sea. We all split up in twos, making use of the “buddy system”. This was done for precautionary and safety reasons, as this system makes it easier to keep track where everyone is, making sure that no one ventures too far out or in the event that someone gets injured or caught by a current etc. we would immediately be notified by his buddy, who could also be nearby to help the other out.

The crew got a chance to observe some of the marine life to be found in Exiles Beach in Sliema. Amongst others the crew observed numerous kinds of fish such as Blue Damselfish, Saddled Bream, and Painted Comber, a large quantity of sea urchins, which the rovers competed to see how many they could each pick up, (after which they were all left to live the rest of their merry lives in the sea) and a number of sea sponges. The activity continued after dark, as one of the crew members possessed an underwater torch, illuminating the way for the others. In the darkness, the RCC even believed to have found a bomb, only to find out, that it was only a rather large oddly shaped chunk of rock. The usage of the buddy system during the activity prompted a small discussion of a few simple first aid scenarios which are likely to take place whilst swimming such as the treatment of cramps.

After this the Rovers all decided that it was time to go back on land and dry up as we were all quite famished and we could then commence the second part of the activity, the BBQ! A number of other rovers turned up for the BBQ as they could not make it for the snorkeling activity due to personal commitments. For this part of the activity rovers brought their own food and drink and the bbq set and charcoal were provided by one of the leaders. Rovers partners were also invited for the BBQ. The Rovers were then able to enjoy some good food and each others’ company, making the activity a success as its stated goals of having a simple activity instead of a Wednesday meeting and serving as a team builder and morale booster were all successfully reached.

David Pace—Rover Crew Chairperson

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From the Courtyard

ROVERS ON THE GO!

Issue 88 August & September 2014

Newest additions to the Rover Crew A word of welcome is due to Jamie Maistre, Albert Galea and Andrew Zammit Montebello who have started attending Rover Crew meetings and activities as from September. All three newest members of the Rover Crew were formerly active members in the Scout Group’s Venture Unit.

New Rover Crew Executive Committee A new Rover Crew Executive Committee has been appointed. The previous Rove Crew Executive Committee had been in place for six months.

From the Crew

The Rover Crew Executive Committee consists of the three members: a Chairperson , Secretary and PRO (Public Relations Officer). The Chairperson is tasked with drawing up the agenda for the Rover Crew’s weekly meetings, disseminating Rover Crew weekly meeting agenda at least two days in advance and chairing the Rover Crew weekly meetings. The Secretary writes down all that was discussed during the Rover Crew weekly meetings, disseminates this information to all Rover Crew members and files the minutes. The PRO takes care of chasing people for the Group newsletter articles and updates the Group website and Facebook page with posts on Rover Crew activities.

The elections for the Rover Crew were held on the 13th August 2014 – timed in order to ensure that the Crew Executive Committee has a smooth transition prior to the Group’s Annual Summer Camp. As always, it was quite a heated debate but all roles were filled following a unanimous vote by the Rover Crew. The new members of the Rover Crew Executive Committee are Chairperson David Pace and PRO Liam Curmi de Gray. Secretary Matthew Zammit was re-elected.

A word of thanks goes to the outgoing members of the Rover Crew Executive Committee; namely: former Chairperson Emanuel Lewis and former PRO George Zammit Montebello; for the service provided in the past months.

Liam Curmi de Gray—Rover Crew PRO Fund-raising World Cup Final BBQ As part of its continuous fund raising activities towards the Group, the Rover Crew organised a World Cup Final party at Headquarters on the 13th July 2014. The Headquarters was turned into a makeshift stadium with a big screen in the central courtyard to benefit from the cool breeze that evening.

Around fifty members, partners and friends attended this event against a nominal fee. Needless to say good food and beverages pub style were served by our Rover Crew with bangers and mash being the main course accompanied by the proper beverages for such an occasion. Support was divided equally between Germany and Argentina but the tension was minimal as our main focus was to have a good time and watch a good game. Had Italy or England been in the final it would have been a different story.

The funds raised during this event will be going towards the refurbishment of the Headquarters Courtyard.

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From the Courtyard

ROVERS ON THE GO!

Issue 88 August & September 2014

From the Crew

Rover Crew Overnight Expedition Normally Summer Camp would be quite a busy time for the Rover Crew as many of its members would be busy with their respective sections. As a result the Crew does not often have an activity of its own – let alone an overnight one. Having said that, the recent inclusion of a number of new members has meant that there would be more Rovers able to participate in a given activity and therefore we duly obliged by organising an overnight hike.

Given that camp was being held at Ghajn Tuffieha, it was only natural that the starting point would be at the camp site. Therefore, on Friday 12th September at precisely 9pm (and only about an hour and a half or so after we were mean to meet and depart), Nina and Pierre Sant, Timmy Zammit, Edward Apap Bologna, Simon Gauci, David Pace, Liam Curmi de Grey and Meli ‘Matthew’ Zammit departed from the campsite.

Being a proper scouting activity we made it a point to head away from traffic and cars (but not the mobiles and the internet connections) to the nearby ‘woodland ‘ that is Mizieb. Therefore we duly headed towards Manikata and quickly went cross-country off the beaten track. Of course being a particularly hot and stick night water breaks under the trees were a must.

After just one mapping ‘dispute’ we made it out of the woodland mostly intact and soon came to Xemxija.

The dilemma there was whether we should head towards Selmun or opt for a night by the sea. The calm sea and pleasant surroundings (and having nothing to do with the big hill between Mistra and Selmun) we bravely opted to find a spot by the sea.

After another water break and considerable debate about where the bivouac should go we were joined by Emmanuel Lewis (whose car was identified by the not un-substantial lighting of the ‘Grundig’) who immediately joined the debate. We eventually decided and therefore split into two teams. One team set out to get a fire going to cook an overdose of burgers and sausages and another team worked on the bivouac.

Just as we got into our stride Timmy’s girlfriend joined us and brought with her a cake to celebrate Timmy’s birthday. Suddenly the fire seemed a bit extra – especially since Pierre, Nina, Liam and Lewis were not going to eat and sleep there. Nonetheless, the remaining Rovers persevered with their dinner preparations and talking by the fire.

Interestingly enough the latter proved to provide the highlight of the activity because just after we finally got to bed, we were joined by two policemen because they got a report of a fire going under trees and what not. Needless to say all precautions were heeded to and in fact by the time they got there, there was no fire to speak of. The incident was made even more amusing due to the case of mistaken identity between Frank Zammit and the Police Inspector.

The hot and somewhat draining walk ensured that we were soon back to sleep. But before long the hot Maltese Summer sun shone its glare to us and brought our sleep to an end. Therefore, the remaining 5 rovers were soon up and packed and ready to go. The plan was pretty much to retrace our steps from the previous night. But the startling thing was that in the dark we did not realise we had gone over ups and downs.

Nonetheless we soon made it back to the campsite. But this was far from the end of our hard long say...

The Rover Crew is all about Service. However talk is cheap... and to put our ethos into practice, despite many blisters and a night’s sleep on the ground in a field, the Rovers were soon helping out in the dismantiling of the campsite and loading of the truck. This therefore brought the Crew’s event and the Group’s camp to an end.

Edward Apap Bologna—Rover Crew Member

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From the Crew

From the Courtyard

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ROVERS ON THE GO!

Issue 88 August & September 2014