October 2019 Newsletter from the DC Team
Hello to everyone from Heather and Ben,
It’s half term so most of us have a week off, except for the DC Team and GSLs who meet on Wednesday. It’s been another busy month with the District AGM, Beaver Hike AND Swimming Gala…Thank YOU to all the adults who gave up their time to take part in those events! There was also Elements camp at PACCAR; did anyone go? Can anyone send us some photos and a write up?
Remembrance Parade is just around the corner and information has been distributed via the GSLs. Howard, 1EN SL, shared some great photos from a recent troop night where an organisation called Beat2Battlefield visited the troop with some WW1 items….well done 1EN for delivering really important #skillsforlife.
We’d love to hear more about all the incredible sessions you all deliver. Please post on the Ealing & Hanwell Scouts Facebook page (if anyone still uses FB) at https://www.facebook.com/
St George’s Day 2020 – Coordinator sought
St George’s Day 2020 soon approaches and we find ourselves in need of a coordinator to step forward again. Malcolm Turner did a fantastic job in 2019 of leading the organising team but unfortunately wasn’t in a position to repeat his efforts again.
The DC Team does not have the capacity to take on this event so it is 100% dependent on volunteers volunteering to run it or, unfortunately, we have to take the difficult decision to not have a St George’s Day event.
Scouts, Cubs, Beavers – District meetings
Over the last few weeks, each Section has met together so that Leaders from all 10 of our Groups can share ideas and agree plans for District-wide events during the rest of the year.. Many thanks to all our Section ADCs and those who help to organise events. It is great to hear how well supported these meetings are – thank you to all Section Leaders for your participation – working together we can offer even more fantastic opportunities to our Young People.
Is your Safety & Safeguarding Up-To-Date? If Not, then this is for YOU?
Part of the mandatory training that every leader or sectional assistant must keep up-to-date is safety and safeguarding. The County runs a series of these courses but we are hosting one in our District on Saturday 2nd November. Visit https://www.glmwscouts.org.uk/
Report from District AGM, 25th September 2019
The Annual Report will be posted on the District website soon. But below are a few key points for those unable to attend in person this year.
First and foremost we want to extend a massive thank you to Sheila Burt for her years of service on the District Executive as Treasurer. We welcome new Treasurer, Louise Woodward. We also confirmed Jackie Mckenna as Secretary and new member on the Executive Ali Hall.
We had a presentation from our World Scout Jamboree participants Andrew Woodward and Emily Harpley Gebbels…the Jamboree sounded amazing and both Andrew and Emily had a fantastic time. Thank you to all the adults in the District that helped them in some way on their journey to West Virginia.
Wood badges were presented to Ben Pearson, John Foxwell, Laura Belmostefaoui, Martin Truss and Sergio Garrido-Lestache. We thanked Mark Yates for his 10 years of service and, incredibly, we thanked John Matthews for his 50 years of service. Thank you and well done to all those that received recognition.
District Swimming Gala – report by Stuart Flaye, ADC Scouts
The annual District swimming gala took place on Saturday 12th October. I’m not sure what got me wetter – the splashes of water from the swimmers in the pool or from the numerous leaks in Gurnell’s roof (from the rain coming down outside)!!
In the Cubs individual events there were the customary close finishes. It culminated with 16th Ealing walking away with the aggregate points trophy by a margin of two points over the 25th Ealing. Nevertheless, the 25th Ealing retained the Inter-Pack trophy with a convincing win, with 16th Ealing taking second again and 1st Hanwell in third place.
In the Scouts events, there were some signs that certain Scouts may, just may, swim on a regular basis…. The aggregate points trophy this year was shared by 1st Ealing and 25th Ealing who finished with the same points total. Runners-up were 5th Hanwell, followed by 16th Ealing. The Inter-Troop relay went to 6th Ealing, with 25th Ealing second and 1st Ealing North in third.
The Leaders challenge relay is always a serious affair, and this year was no exception. The accolade went to a team from 1st Hanwell, followed by 6th Ealing and then a fast finishing 25th Ealing. The event was rounded off with the Inter-Group relay, which saw 25th Ealing take the crown, with 1st Ealing North and 5th Hanwell taking second and third places respectively.
Congratulations go not only to the medal winners but to everybody who took part. Also, my thanks go to all those people who assisted with the running of the event.
This may well have been the last gala, but we’ll keep you posted as to whether there is a ‘next year’.
District Beaver Hike – report by Heather Jones
On Saturday 12th, despite the wet weather, over 70 intrepid Beavers, along with their Leaders and Parent Helpers, had great fun following a challenging route for 2 hours to earn their Hikes Away Badge. Many puddles, various random giant earth mounds and sticks of many sizes all provided impromptu entertainment along the way.. From what I saw, a certain amount of mud was carried home on wellies and trousers! Many thanks to Martin for overseeing on the day, to Mandy for organising and to Laura for preparing both the route and the accompanying spotter sheets.
UWL Volunteers’ Fair
The University of West London Volunteers Fair was on Wednesday 15th – another great opportunity to raise our profile and engage potential new leaders. Rob Scoynes and Heather set up and manned the stall all day and Holly Smallman also kindly came to provide additional support during the 2nd half. Lots of students (plus people on other stalls!) came over to say hello – many mentioning how much they’d enjoyed their scouting when younger, and others expressing interest in getting involved for the first time. We will be following up with all who want to volunteer.. The next stage for these new ones – plus the contacts made during the earlier UWL Freshers Fair – is to introduce each potential volunteer to the best match for Group and section – so we will gauge availability (day and time), preferred age-range and location and then arrange introductions.
GLMW – County Conference & Launch of 2020 Challenge
The County Conference on Saturday 19th October was excellent. It was great to see a number of E&H people there – particularly the contingent of 3 from 8th Ealing. Looking ahead to next time, all of us who attended would warmly recommend it; whatever your role within your Group, or at District-level – the County conference has a lot to offer! This time, we all benefited from lots of useful sessions providing us with new ideas, plus we got the chance to find out how things are done in other Districts and in other Groups. Dwayne Fields, the scout ambassador and polar explorer, gave an inspiring talk. But the biggest buzz of all came from the launch of GLMW’s new 20 for 20 initiative. A special new County badge is on offer for all to gain – both young people across all sections AND all adults (leaders and executive members alike!) Follow the link to find out how to participate – each individual is invited to complete 20 challenges during 2020! https://www.glmwscouts.org.uk/
Also……Everyone at the conference also got to see the first screening of a video message from Bear Grylls, thanking all the GLMW Cubs and Beavers who sent him their postcards with ideas and suggestions earlier this year. We will pass on the link, once available, so all Beaver and Cub leaders can get to show this personal message to their young people. (And just to highlight how brilliant #youthshaped Scouting can be in action – don’t forget it was an idea submitted by a GLMW Cub that led to the County’s 20 in 20 Challenge!)
Book your next training course!
The course schedule for the next 18 months is available on the County website at https://www.glmwscouts.org.uk/
Some extra opportunities – for example Hill walking – are mentioned in the October edition of the County newsletter. If you don’t receive it directly, here’s the link – https://www.glmwscouts.org.uk/
Yours in Scouting
Ben and Heather
DC team, Ealing & Hanwell