Flysheet

The Sutton District Scouting Newsletter – March 2006

Contents

  1. Contents
  2. Notes from the District Commissioner
  3. Beavers
  4. Cubs
  5. Scouts
  6. Explorers
  7. Coombe Farm Scout Campsite
  8. New POR and Fact Sheets
  9. Scouting+
  10. Diary 2006
  11. Flysheet

Notes from the District Commissioner

Join The Adventure

Many thanks to all who took part and staffed bases in Worcester Park, Sutton and Wallington. The weather was against us and very few people were prepared to stop and chat. A number of leads were obtained and these will be followed up and I hope that we will be able to welcome new members to the District before long.

Census

The figures have now been collated and unfortunately we have shown a fall in overall numbers from last year. We have 2,033 members in our District.

There is no point in a witch-hunt as to why the fall has occurred; in most cases there is an obvious explanation, e.g. closure of a section, departure of a leader etc. Rather than asking leaders to worry about falling attendances, I would prefer them to concentrate on the programmes they offer their sections as good, interesting programmes will keep their members interest and keep them coming week after week.

St George’s Day Parade

This will take place on Sunday 23rd April at Manor Park. Details have been sent to all Group Scout Leaders and Section Leaders. Further details will be sent out nearer the day. I hope we will have a good turn out for the first Parade of our District.

John Perkins, District Commissioner

Beavers

There was a very positive start to the new year with a good attendance at the first meeting. Unfortunately our trip to the cinema has been postponed until the autumn as the cinema manager has been on sick leave. An Experiment Badge Day has been fixed for Sunday 14th May at District HQ and arrangements are in hand for celebrating 20 years of Beavers (with the Cubs) at Walton Firs in July.

Pauline Pattison, Assistant District Commissioner Beavers

Cubs

The District Cub Chess competition was held in February and it was super to see so many teams entered. There were three hours of serious concentration to determine who would take away the large new trophy. Many congratulations go to 1st North Sutton for winning the pack trophy and to Robert from 3rd Cheam for winning the individual prize.

[Picture of the 1st North Sutton team]
John Perkins, District Commissioner, presents the 1st North Sutton Team with the Trophy

There have also been several Cubs who’ve received their Chief Scout Silver Award. In particular I’ve been to presentations at 1st Cheam and 8th Cheam, so well done to those boys for all their hard work. This term I’ve had the privilege of presenting warrants to Pam Clarke and Ken Smith at 3rd Cheam who have come out of “retirement”, so thanks to them for their continued support.

As a District we’re now looking forward to a swimming evening before Easter and we already have over 100 Cubs booked onto the District Cub camp in May. It is set to be a busy few months.

Catherine Keen, Assistant District Commissioner Cubs

The Sky Is No Limit!

More than 50 Cubs from 5th Carshalton, 1st North Sutton, 1st North Wallington Bren, 1st Wallington and 14th Wallington Cub Packs enjoyed activities, displays and quizzes at “The sky is no limit!” Space Science Exhibition held at Sutton Grammar School on Tuesday 14th March. The exhibition was organised by scientists and engineers from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, a world-leading space science centre, as part of the National Science Week. The exhibition was opened 30 minutes early exclusively for Sutton District Cubs.

Cubs were able to make star-finders, sundials and parachutes and complete quizzes and word-searches about space and the solar system using the information from colourful displays. There were also models of the satellites used for research and a demonstration of two astronomical telescopes by Croydon Astronomical Society. The Cubs left with souvenir pens, pencils and leaflets and large colour posters featuring NASA space images.

Peggy Charman Trophy

The Peggy Charman Trophy, a District Cub first aid competition that was last run in 1996, took place on Saturday 25th March at Carew Manor School in Wallington.

6th Carshalton won the trophy, 5th Carshalton Floyd finished in second place and 9th Cheam in third place. Teams from 3rd Beddington Milton and Wordsworth, 5th Carshalton Arthern, 1st North Wallington Bren, 1st Wallington, 11th Wallington and 14th Wallington also took part and leaders from 1st North Wallington Gunson and 2nd Cheam also helped run bases.

Scouts

District Cooking Competition

This year’s District Cooking Competition took place at the District Headquarters in Wallington on Sunday 22nd January.

1st Wallington won the competition finishing two points ahead of 3rd Cheam; 5th Carshalton finished third and, just one-half point behind, 3rd Beddington finished fourth. Teams from 1st Belmont, 14th Wallington and 8th Sutton Trinity Ben Nevis also took part.

County Cooking Competition

The Greater London South West County Cooking Competition was held on Sunday 5th February at 1st Hook Scout Headquarters. Teams were required to cook a three-course meal for four people in two hours using ingredients costing less than £12.50.

Twenty-six teams took part but only two teams from Sutton District entered: 3rd Cheam and 5th Carshalton. They finished together in joint 11th place only nine points behind the winners, the East Mitcham A team.

District Five-a-Side Competition

The District Five-a-Side Football Competition took place on Sunday 26th February 2006 at Goals! in Wimbledon.

The winners were 5th Worcester Park Warriors I with 5th Carshalton in second place and 8th Sutton Trinity Ben Nevis in third place. Teams from 3rd Beddington, 1st Belmont, 2nd Carshalton, 3rd Carshalton, 6th Carshalton, 3rd Cheam, 8th Cheam, 9th Cheam, 1st North Sutton Chindit, 1st North Sutton Gurkha, 8th Sutton Trinity Snowdon, 1st Wallington, 11th Wallington and 4th Worcester Park Silver also took part.

County Night Exercise

This is an annual Greater London South West incident night hike competition. In 2006 the competition was held on Saturday 11th March at Polyapes Scout Campsite. Thirty-three teams of between four and six Scouts were set off at five-minute intervals into the dark, their mission to navigate a course between checkpoints (which they had to find using grid references) and to complete various tasks at five bases.

[Picture of the 3rd Carshalton B team]
The winning 3rd Carshalton B team pictured with Roger Hurrion (County Commissioner) and Mark Patrick (Assistant County Commissioner Scouts)

The tasks this year were code-breaking, nail-balancing (balance as many 6-inch nails on the head of one fixed 6-inch nail as possible), animal track recognition, crisp tasting (identify crisps as economy, standard or luxury) and a spaghetti challenge (transport two sticks of raw spaghetti back to base without breaking them). On their return, all the Scouts were offered a hot snack and a hot drink. Most Scouts stayed for the rest of the night at the campsite.

The 3rd Carshalton B team were the overall winners of the competition. Five other teams from Sutton District also took part: 1st Belmont, 3rd Carshalton A, 1st Wallington A and B and 15th Wallington.

District Handball Competition

Five teams took part in the junior competition, playing a league at 1st Wallington HQ. 5th Worcester Park, 1st Wallington and 6th Carshalton all played well, but the final, played at District HQ, was between 8th Sutton Trinity Ben Nevis and 5th Carshalton. After an agonising penalty shoot out, 8th Sutton Trinity Ben Nevis won.

Eight teams took part in the senior competition, playing a league and then a knock-out tournament at the District HQ. 5th Sutton, 3rd Beddington, 1st Wallington, 5th Carshalton, 1st North Sutton and 3rd Carshalton fought hard but couldn’t quite match 8th Sutton Trinity Ben Nevis and 5th Worcester Park, who played a close final to finish again on penalties, with victory going to 5th Worcester Park.

Explorers

Operation Red Flare

Operation Red Flare, a 12-mile night hike with eight checkpoints and six tasks and incidents took place in the area around Box Hill near Dorking on the night of Saturday 4th March 2006. Altogether 20 teams – Explorers, Network and Rangers – took part and about 40 adults were involved in the running of the event.

Six teams from Sutton District took part. The overall winners were the Sutton Explorer Scout Unit A team with 424 points; in second place were the Belmont Explorer Scout Unit team with 395 points and in third place were the Sutton Explorer Scout Unit B team with 391 points. The full results are on the GLSW web site, but the results for the teams from Sutton District are shown below:

Place Team Time Points Bases Tasks Total
1st Sutton ESU A 5:50 220 80 124 424
2nd Belmont ESU 6:30 180 80 135 395
3rd Sutton ESU B 6:31 179 80 132 391
6th Double Dragon ESU 7:36 114 80 126 320
9th Cheam Village ESU A 8:27 63 80 114 257
15th Cheam Village ESU B 10:44 0 80 125 205

Coombe Farm Scout Campsite

Did you know that there is a Scout campsite with indoor accommodation in Croydon that is closer to Sutton than Bears Wood and Frylands Wood (you’ve probably driven past it)?

Coombe Farm Scout Campsite, owned by the City Of Westminster District Scout Council, consists of nearly three acres of camping ground and accommodation suitable for indoor camps, Pack holidays, Beaver sleepovers and training courses. Although only a little over one mile from Croydon town centre the site is in quite rural surroundings.

There is an L-shaped field with several camping areas: the lower end is ideal for Patrol camping while the upper field is suitable for games and camp activities. There are three designated fire areas and ample wood for open fires on-site. Water is from a standpipe at one end. The field sits around an old chalk quarry with a large chalk cliff and a bomb crater. The cliff and cliff-top are dangerous and out-of-bounds, but the bomb-crater makes a good “wild area” for games.

[Picture of a sedan chair race team in action]
A sedan chair race on the camping field

The building consists of a large 30’ x 30’ carpeted room and a well-equipped modern kitchen with fridge, freezer, electric range cooker and cutlery/crockery. There are four bunk beds in the main room (sleeping eight) and a separate 8’ x 8’ room can sleep two or maybe three. There is also a single WC off the main room for nighttime use.

Outside, but adjoining, are separate male and female toilet facilities, each with a hot shower, two hand basins (with hot and cold running water) and two WCs. A further room at the end of the toilet block is currently used as a storeroom but contains two bunk beds that could sleep four.

The warden and his team maintain the site and the building to a very high standard. He is often at the site at weekends and would be happy to show visitors from Sutton District Groups around (please arrange by phone first). Further information and a booking form are on the City Of Westminster Scouts web site at www.westminster-scouts.org.uk. Alternatively call the warden on 020 8830 5223 or 07816 453221.

New POR and Fact Sheets

There is a new January 2006 edition of Policy, Organisation and Rules (POR), the document that defines the structure, training requirements and management of Scouting in the United Kingdom. Important changes include the replacement of the Activity Authorisation Scheme with the Activity Permit Scheme and changes to the adult-to-young-people ratios for Beaver Colonies, Cub Packs and Scout Troops. In brief, the new minimum adult-to-young-people ratios are:

Minimum adult ratios Beaver Colonies Cub Packs Scout Troops
Indoors 2 adults 2 adults 2 adults
Outdoors 1 : 6 + 1 adult 1 : 8 + 1 adult
Nights Away 1 : 6 + 1 adult 1 : 8 + 1 adult 1 : 12 + 1 adult

New and recently updated fact sheets include:

FS250054 What are Special Needs? (Mar/06 Edition 4 70KBytes)
FS120081 One Day Activity Form (Mar/06 Edition 4 47KBytes)
FS909003 How to be involved as an adult in the 21st World Scout Jamboree (Mar/06 Edition 1 58KBytes)
FS909000 Scouting 2007 UK Events & Activities Key Dates (Feb/06 Edition 1 102KBytes)
FS120086 Commercially Led Activities Index (Jan/06 Edition 3 89KBytes)
FS120084 Scout Led Activities Index (Jan/06 Edition 4 103KBytes)
FS120100 Adventurous Activity Permit Scheme (Dec/05 Edition 1 60KBytes)
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Guidance Notes (Dec/05 154KBytes)
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Frequently Asked Questions (Nov/05 116KBytes)
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Policy and Procedure (Nov/05 95KBytes)

There are also over 100 new fact sheets covering the various new adventurous activity permits.

Scouting+

Scouting+ is a new weekly e-mail newsletter from The Scout Association. It will contain updates, features and details of recent additions to the www.scouts.org.uk web site to keep members up-to-date with changes in the world of Scouting.

The first issue of Scouting+ was sent out on Friday 24th March. If you didn't receive a copy and you would like to receive future copies then you will need to sign up to the Scouting membership database at www.scouts.org.uk -- see the Sign-up Guide on the web site for details.

The first issue of Scouting+ can be read online at www.scouts.org.uk/scoutingplus/220306.html.

Diary 2006

March 2006
30th Thu District Cub Leaders Meeting – 8:30pm at 8th Cheam HQ
31st Fri Sutton LEA Spring Term ends
April 2006
1st Sat District Cub Swimmer Badge and Fun Splash
5th Wed Canoe Club AGM
8th Sat PAGGS Camp 2006 Activity Day
13th–17th
Thu–Mon		 Explorer Estrek Expedition to Derbyshire
18th Tue Sutton LEA Summer Term starts
22nd Sat District Scout Indoor Climbing Day
Canoe Club River Trip
23rd Sun District St George’s Day Parade
26th Wed Young Leaders Module F – 8:00pm at DHQ
May 2006
4th Thu District Beaver Leaders Meeting – 7:45pm at DHQ
5th–7th
Fri–Sun		 District Cub Camping Weekend
9th Tue District Scout Leaders Meeting – 8:00pm at DHQ
13th–14th
Sat–Sun		 PAGGS Camp 2006 Camping Weekend
14th Sun District Beaver Experiment Badge Day
19th–21st
Fri–Sun		 District Scout Water Activities Weekend
29th–2nd Jun
Mon–Fri		 Sutton LEA Half-Term
June 2006
TBA District Cub Mat Ball Competition
7th Wed County AGM
8th Thu District AGM
30th–2nd Jul
Fri–Sun		 District Scout How Cup Camping Competition
July 2006
TBA District Cub Sports Day
1st–2nd
Sat–Sun		 Canoe Club Symonds Yat Weekend
1st Sat County Beaver/Cub Fun Day at Walton Firs
25th Tue Sutton LEA Summer Term ends

Flysheet

Flysheet is the Sutton District Scouting newsletter. Please send material to the editor, Chris Sowden, preferably by e-mail to flysheet@suttonscouts.org.uk.

Submissions for the May issue should be sent to reach the editor by 28th April 2006.