Tails of the New Forest – 28th August 2022

Welcome back to the new term, we hope you all had a lovely summer break, with family and friends and for all of those who ventured out for Scouting camps across the district.

What’s been happening?

New Group Scout Leaders

Not one but 2 new GSLs in the district!

We welcome Shirley Brookes to 1^st Fordingbridge. Earlier in the year, Shirley relocated to Fordingbridge from Solihull, Shirley has been in Scouting for over 18 years and was County Commissioner for Solihull for a number of years, held various training roles, was a GSL and has also held section leader roles. I know some of you will have already met Shirley at the district AGM and during her travels to get to know her new group.

We also welcome Steven Osborn, moving on to the GSL role at 5^th Testwood, Steven has been the DGSL for a little over a year now. Steven has been at the 5^th since starting his adult Scouting when turning 18, having previously been one of their first Young Leader buckle holders. Steven has been a section leader for Beavers and Young Leaders, our District Scout Network Commissioner, is our district media & comms lead, plus holds County roles of Trainer and Training Advisor.

Thank you to you both for agreeing to take the helm at Fordingbridge & Testwood, we all look forward to Scouting with you.

We also need to give our sincere thanks to both Julie Mair, for being the temporary GSL looking after 5^th Testwood for the last year, in addition to her own group 1^st Lyndhurst, and to Martine Coatham for being the temporary GSL looking after 1^st Fordingbridge, in addition to her own group 1^st Sandleheath. We know this was a significant addition to your already very full Scouting lives and it was so much appreciated by us and the groups you were supporting.

Tom, who was one of our Beavers from Bartley Water Beavers (2nd Copythorne), is an amazing athlete and was awarded a trophy because he won the U8s Cycle Speedway British Individual Championships, is currently unbeaten in the British Youth & Junior League U8s at both Regional (South and South Wales) & in the National League.

What an amazing achievement for someone so young – he has since moved onto Cubs and we look forward to watching what this young man can do in the future – well done Tom, a fantastic achievement (pictured with proud Mum).

At the end of last term 4 Beavers from Bartley Water Beavers (2nd Copythorne) were awarded their Bronze Chief Scouts Awards and to make it more memorable for them it was done while crate stacking at Ferny Crofts. (Thanks to the team there they were amazing) Group Scout Leader Warren Turvey – even wore the required safety head gear to be able to present the awards. So well done to Blake, Ethan, Miles and Tom, an amazing achievement and all are continuing their Scouting journey and moving up to Cubs.

Over 120 Explorers & Network members from across Hampshire set off for the biggest adventure of their lives as part of an expedition to Switzerland.

Delayed several summers, Suisse Adventure was back for a fortnight of activities at Kandersteg International Scout Centre where our young people mingled with 7,000 Scouts from across the world. Over sixteen days, our Scouts broadened their horizons, immersed themselves in foreign culture and built empathy with others and our planet.

There were a large number of our young people from New Forest and New Forest Solent in attendance, they all had an amazing international experience and made some fantastic ‘Skills for Life’

Read & see more pictures here: Hampshire Scouts set off to Switzerland for Summer of Adventure – Hampshire Scouts & the daily newsletters here: Suisse Adventure: Keep up to date with all the highlights. – Hampshire Scouts | Members

It was so good to see so many of the district’s Beaver Scout colonies meet up on sunny Thursday evening late last term for the annual District Beaver Picnic.

It was a brilliant chance for Beavers to work together, play some new games, and enjoy some food in the beautiful forest at the heart of our district. Plus, it was a chance for our parents to enjoy a relaxed evening, their siblings to see what all the fuss is about and for our leaders to receive the thanks of all who came along. Special shout out to Eling’s parachute games keeping all of us cool from the breeze and Netley Marsh’s tricky Jenga challenge which captivated more than we expected!

It will be great to see more colonies enjoying this event next year, or sooner at the District Beaver Camp fire on 22^nd October at Sandleheath.

As the warm nights stretched on, a number of Network members took an unplanned trip to Calshot beach to enjoy the sunset, the sounds of the waves and taste test the local chippy (BBQs being frowned upon currently).

Lots of opportunities coming up for Network members to get involved with independently including some feeding into their Top Awards, the Alton Towers trip on 8^th October, Network Gathering in April 2023 and Gilwell Reunion returning this September. Plus, a couple with links to New Forest’s Scout Network which were at Suisse Adventure this summer!

Steven is still looking for someone to help him with Network going into the future as his time will be more limited – contact him on [email protected] or Team DC to find out more.

As the summer term drew to a close, Steven was able to get out and about to present some well-deserved Young Leader awards to young people in the district. As part of the team that looks after Young Leaders, it is one of the big perks of doing this to meet the leaders of the future and see what an impact they are making right now in sections across the district.

Congratulations go to Joshua Treen-Cooper, Haydn Jones and Izzy Simes, all of Cerberus ESU, who were presented their Mission 1 and 2 patches at their final Explorers meeting of the term (watching Disney classic Cool Runnings if you’re interested!) for running a series of games and activities with their young people. Well done to all!

Next up was Rose Szymanski who was presented her Mission 3 patch at the conclusion of the joint Testwood and Eling Cub packs summer get-together. Richly deserved and now Rose is focusing on her fourth and final mission, exciting stuff.

Finally, in with a surprise was Alex Evans of Eling Sea Scouts who Steven tracked down to their Summer Camp at Sandleheath – mid-camp fire! Alex had completed all of his Modules and Missions and had earned his Young Leader Belt Buckle, the top award for any Young Leader and something to be proud of. Congratulations to Alex and thank you for all your hard work so far.

For those wanting to get started with Young Leaders in the new term, Steven will be running a Module A in September.

Following on from Sandleheath’s Cubs letters to the Queen marking her Platinum Jubilee, the Pack has received a delightful reply from Windsor Castle!  PDF copy attached.

This year’s Summer Camp, expertly led by Shere Khan (Tim Ash), had a survival theme, with the cubs having to find equipment, navigate to “booty chests”, cook their own dinner, and the highlight, build their own water craft to escape the island! 

So, after a 3 year hiatus, we finally got back to our Annual Summer Camp in the first week of the school holidays. 33 Cubs, Scouts & Explorers and 8 Leaders
headed off to a greenfield site, just outside King’s Stag, Dorset. It had already been decided to shorten the normal 7 day camp to 5 days to allow for Leader commitments, and to break all the newbie campers in gently. Only 5 attendees had taken part in a previous Summer Camp!!

3 patrol areas were set up and all the children were grouped in to the 3 patrols, working, cooking and eating together throughout the duration. They coped adequately with this format, and produced some fine Stews, Curries, full English Breakfasts and Pancakes, to name a few. Wood was in plentiful supply, so virtually all the cooking was done on open fires!!

Our day out started with a trip to Shaftesbury’s outdoor Lido – a chance for us all to have a proper wash!! We then went on to Old Wardour Castle where we all had a chance to explore the ruins and enjoy some peace and quiet in this tranquil setting. Then, back to Shaftesbury for a walk down Gold Hill and fish and chips in the park.

Our Camp ‘Olympics’ consisted of Air Rifle target shooting, Archery and ‘how far can you go’ – in teams they had to use a some of their personal equipment [Sleeping Bag, Karrimat, Towel etc] to see how far they could make a line across the campsite using only their belongings – with some ingenuity thrown in by some, of course! All in all, a fab time was had by everyone.

What’s coming up?

The Solent Scout Regatta has changed, now it is a two-day event with pulling on a lake and sailing at sea. The events this year take place on the 24th and 25th of September. The first day hosts the pulling, at Testwood Lakes in the New Forest, courtesy of the 4th Eling Sea Scouts who let us use their HQ. The second day will be at Hythe Sea Scout HQ on Shore Road, Hythe where they have a beach and great sailing facilities.

The regatta is organised by the Solent Scout Regatta committee, a part of Hampshire Scouts, and has been running for over 20 years. It’s changed and developed to fit in with modern Scouting requirements. 

The boats are provided for use by Troops from around the area and all you need to bring is a buoyancy aid and some boating clothes. We have safety boats with qualified drivers, therefore the leaders (although in charge of their troop on shore) can let the Scouts sail.

Burgers, hot dogs and similar food will be available on site. The award presentations are made at the end of each day.

More info and booking forms here: The refreshed face of the Solent Scout Regatta – Hampshire Scouts | Members

Got young people looking to become Young Leaders for the new term? Or maybe your existing Young Leader wants to get their Belt Buckle and needs to complete some of the Training Modules to do it?

There is lots of choice to do this. First, all are available as eLearning (links from youngleaders.hampshirescouts.org.uk/modules/) and can be completed any time. Plus the B-K Modules are being offered in Lyndhurst on 24^th-25^th September as a residential course (£15 cost to cover food, book by the same link). And for those starting out, Steven will be running a Module A at Testwood on Friday 30^th September, 6.30-9pm free of charge. This module covers the essentials and expectations so is the only compulsory module for Young Leaders.

Help is still required for the Lyndhurst weekend course, please get in touch with Julie Mair if you can help.

Reminders and Notices:

With Nights Away events on the increase again, we felt we should bring the following point to your attention. Within the training matrix for Group Occasional Helpers (GOHs) there is no requirement for Safety or Safeguarding training to be completed. However, if you intend to invite GOH role holders to assist, it would be best practice to encourage them to complete these 2 sections of online training before the event.

The benefits are 3-fold: 

1. All leaders on the event have completed the Safety and Safeguarding training and there is a standardised base line for all leaders.
2. If a young person approaches one of the GOHs during the night, as 1st point of contact, the adult will know the correct protocol on how to deal with the situation.
3. From a “Best Practice” stand point, as an Association, we are endeavouring to deliver high quality events with well-trained adults.

For Team DC, Robin checks and reviews the Nights Away notifications.  He will continue to notify all nights away permit holders of the above requirement as their applications are lodged.

Please take this as notice that the DC Team would expect this training to be completed before the Nights Away Notification is lodged.

Important: A reminder to use the most up to date Nights Away Notification form and not just adapting the one you may have stored on your computer:

Robin is also looking for additional Nights Away Advisors, please contact Robin direct if you are interested and he will let you know what’s involved.

‘The Science and Engineering Careers Challenge’, Andrew spotted this online and shared it with us as it looks like some fun activities that could work for all ages. More info on the STFC website.

County Emlyn Trophy – 16^th-18^th September, flyer here.

Soap Box Derby – 25^th September, get those amazing carts built, plenty of time to get them done.

Chief Scouts Awards Day – 2^nd October, Ian has sent out the details to GSLs & Explorer leaders. Ian’s email was amusing, please note, there are no ‘elf’ led bases for the Beaver’s bases, but leaders running the bases, please feel free to dress as elves!

District Diary

Lynn, Ian, Kevin & Robin

Team DC – New Forest