Report for the scout section from September 2017

After the summer boating we returned to evenings at the scout hall and completed the almost inevitable shuffling of the four patrols.

We presented badges and awards which had been gained over the summer sailing and kayaking activities.

We held a weekend camp for ten of our oldies where they were independent of the leaders, who kept a safe distance. It was an intriguing mix of personalities, but no blood was spilt, and they enjoyed it.

To coincide with Diwali the scouts were shown examples of Bangrah dance. They then practiced, perfected and performed their own interpretations using appropriate music. Interesting . . .

Over two Fridays, we divided the troop into two and helped at Care UK in Northwich and as a follow up we had an evening with activities based around the plight of refugees.

We took part in the District Night Wide Game on the Friday evening and the following Sunday we returned to Forest Camp for our annual Remembrance Sunday event for the whole group from the youngest Beavers to the oldest leaders and supporters.

In December we visited North West Face climbing centre in Warrington. With the help of Dave’s crew, we divided them into roughly ability groups and they harnessed and roped up and attacked the various pitches. Excellent.

In the spring we had a music culture night which included a short recital by two of our brass players, we had a visit by one of the volunteers from the Memorial Orchard which is situated on Northwich road, and to continue with our culture theme the scouts prepared and decorated dragon costumes from various sized pieces of card and practiced and performed dragon dances.

One of the main thrusts of the programme was to prepare teams for the Cheshire Hike. This involves teams of two based on age where they must complete a two day and overnight hike navigating a set route and carrying tents, cooking equipment and all their personal gear. We held a practice weekend camp at Forest Site where they completed navigation exercises carrying all their own gear, cooking for themselves for the overnight in hike tents and then hiked back to the Scout Hall. In all my years in scouting, that was the coldest night I have spent under ‘canvas’. The scouts coped remarkably well. On the hike itself, all our 5 teams completed successfully, and our senior team of girls won the district trophy and came third overall in their age range. Well done all round.

Our attention turned to preparing for the summer boating at Budworth with time spent on theory and safety on the water and we hired the Weaverham swimming pool for a Friday evening session with kayaks to practice capsize drill and other techniques in a warm and safe environment.

Our first boating session was in early June and over the Summer we had twelve Fridays on the water dinghy sailing and kayaking

The highlight of the Summer was our camp at The Cheshire Chamboree. Twelve scouts attended along with 5000 others and we were joined by some of our Beavers and Cubs for short stays. The opportunities on such a large event were varied and challenging and after the first weekend of storms and a visit from the chief scout, Bear Gryls who arrived by helicopter, the scouts had a go at a wide range of activities during the day and a mix of entertainments in the evening.

We currently have our usual four patrols, Kingfisher, Seagull, Kestrel and Falcon and have 23 on role now.

Support from the committee and others in their leadership roles is invaluable and much appreciated.

Geoff Hornby. Scout Leader.