9th Scouting

Snow Closures 2010

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:15:00 GMT

Snow Closures

The Following Meetings Have been Cancelled due to Weather:

* Cubs on the 06/01/2010

* Scouts on the 08/01/2010

*Beavers on the 11/01/2010

* Cubs on the 13/01/2010

This Page was Last updated at: 17:39pm on 12/01/2010

See X Factor Lucie's original band

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:52:00 GMT

Lucie might be out of the X Factor but check out her performing in this old video we've managed to get hold of.

Before signing up to the talent show Lucie fronted a scout pop band called The Adventure - and this is her performing at a jamboree in front of 40,000 scouts.

9th Scouting Photograph Makes Front Page on HSN

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:07:00 GMT

My First ever Front page Photograph and i can't not think of a better News letter or paper to be published in....

(above a Small Copy of The Front page of Hampshire Scout News)

9th Scouts on BBC South Today

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:17:00 GMT

_{As well as helping Geoff and The Exbury Ghost Train some willing 9th members and other members of the District who help out most of the week made it on to the BBC South Today News Report and worked with the lovely Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes.}

_{Well Done And a Big Thank You to all those helpers}

_{On behalf of the 9th Southampton City Scout Group}

_{Click link below to watch BBC Report}

_{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlvKIW9Etws}

_{See who you can find from our Group}

Exbury Ghost Train - Dare you ride?

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:43:00 GMT

(Photographs From Exbury Website)

Mon 26th October - Sun 1st November

With skeletons, scarecrows and other ghoulish characters on route, dare you ride the Exbury Ghost Train? Enter the pitch-black tunnel at your peril. Family fun. Full of interesting stories, dreadful puns & even more terrible jokes, played out by your spooky hosts Napoleon Bone-aparte and his sidekick Batty the Vampire! Look out too for some groan-inducing visual gags.

Come in fancy dress and receive a free treat bag. Pre-booking highly recommended for all dates and essential for Sat 31st October, Halloween itself. It’s all aboard for a Halloween “Phantom- mime”!

After the Ghost Train, calm your nerves by visiting Exbury’s collection of autumn colours, and Nerine / Wild Autumn Art Exhibition in the Five Arrows Gallery. Children can discover lots of spooky trees on a special trail, including the Chinese Coffin Tree, The Devil’s Walking Stick and Ghost Tree, and learn about the customs and folklore surrounding some of this country’s ancient trees, such as the Yew and Oak. Mr Eddy’s Restaurant will be open selling lots of Halloween themed food – anyone for Spookghetti or Ghoulash, followed by I-Scream?

Booking Office Tel : 023 8024 5750, currently open daily between 9.30am - 4.30pm. Ticket price £11.50 adults; £11 seniors; £10.50 groups and £5.00 children aged 3-15. This includes entry costs to Gardens.

Scouts at the Ghost Train

For 5 years now Southampton City District Scouting has given support to Exbury Gardens in running the Halloween Ghost train. Many of the weird and wonderful characters you see around the track are played by scouts between 13 and 18 years old. The cast changes every day with as many as 50 to 60 young people taking part throughout the week. They are learning discipline and timing as well as working with adults as part of a team. Do they enjoy it? Well a number of them come back year after year.
What do Exbury do for us? Well apart from a lot of fun and a great experience they do give a gift each year which enhances our Scouting in Southampton City District.

Geoff Johnson, Explorer Leader, Southampton City District - contact: sotoncityexplorers.org.uk

More info @ www.exbury.co.uk

(Photographs From Exbury Website)

INTERCAMP 2009, Wellerlooi (NL)

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:55:00 GMT

On the last weekend of May me and three of our scouts joined the 1^st Troop on a weekend camp to Wellerloi in Holland.

What an adventure, not only for them but this was also the first international camp that I have taken part in. There were nearly 3,000 scouts from all over Europe on site which you would think would be very hectic but partly because of how well it was organised and partly because of the attitude of the European Scout Leaders to Scouting it was the most relaxing camp that I have ever been on.

The 17 scouts we took did not argue about anything all weekend and in truth I did not see any trouble anywhere on site all weekend.

The 3 scouts from the 9^th were a credit to the Troop and their families and I am sure that they had a very exciting time doing all sorts of activities with other scouts from across Europe getting by with sign language and odd words of English.

For me I bring back a new more relaxed attitude with the hope that the Troop will respond in kind.

Well you never know!

Andy

Group Photos during the IC2009 Hike

You can find more photo on www.intercamp.info

Southampton Aircraft Museum (Solent Sky museum)

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:09:00 GMT

On Saturday 10th October 09 we all met in Shirley Precinct and caught a bus into town to go the Aircraft Museum in town. When we got there we were introduced to Andy who was our guide. He took us round all the different aircarfts and told us a bit about each one. At the end we were all allowed to sit in a plane and a helicopter. We then caught a bus back to Shirley where the parents were waiting to pick the Beavers up.

Beaver Funday

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:02:00 GMT

On the 25th September we went to the Beaver Funday at the 13th Scout Hut in Canford Close. The weather was lovely. The theme was beach party. We had to go round to different bases and had 20 minutes on each base. The bases were limbo dancing, making tropical cocktails, underwater assault course, hook a duck, making sand pictures and sandcastles, cooking sea snakes (twists), pebble painting, rope bridge. We did 5 bases in the morning and 4 in the afternoon but it got a messed up along the way as another group missed one out so we had to miss out the life saving base but the Beavers didn't mind. After 5 bases we stopped for lunch and then carried on with the remaining 4 bases. There was also a bouncy castle which the beavers enjoyed. The day ended with a Punch and Judy show and ice cream. It was a very good day enjoyed by all of the beavers.

Scout is one of youngest people to conquer Kilimanjaro

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:54:00 GMT

A 10-year-old Cub Scout from Berkshire has become one of the youngest ever people to conquer Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro.

Jack Harley-Walsh, of Ascot, climbed 19,330ft (5,892m) alongside his mother, Sue, and reached the summit of the Tanzanian mountain on Thursday.

Upon returning to base camp Jack spoke to the BBC about the experience, ‘I can't believe I've done it. I'm really emotional and really happy.’

Jack was raising money for the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust and Sebastian’s Action Trust.

Jack said, ‘Sebastian was a very young boy like me, just a bit older. He died of cancer which is very, very tragic, and I'm upset.

'The reason why I sponsored the air ambulance is because they help people like Sebastian, but also it's quite cool how they take people around.'

Jack and his mother have previously conquered Mount Meru and are now planning to climb Mount Kenya, which is 17,057ft (5,199m) high, before the end of August.

Picture courtesy of the Wokingham Times

Group Camp 2009

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:13:00 GMT

On 1st August we visted the Cubs and Scouts at Camp at Cricket campsite in Bursledon. It was a rainy day but that didn't stop us having fun. We went for a walk when we got there and then did grass sledging before lunch and made bottle rockets. We were already wet by this point so getting more wet did not matter The ones who went on the grass sledging found it very good and even the leaders had a go. After a packed lunch we split the group up and one half did pot holing where all of the Beavers went down which I was very surprised at but glad they did it and Archery and then swapped over. We then had a group meal which was very nice and then the parents came to take the Beavers home. The beavers were tired but had a very good day.

Ash grass sledging

More Image can be found in our Photo Gallery

Prince Charles supports call for more adult volunteers

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:17:00 GMT

Prince Charles supports call for more adult volunteers

Prince Charles visited the Docklands Scout Project today to experience a range of the kind of activities available to Scouts.

The Prince visited the project prior to receiving over 1300 young people from a number of youth organisations at Buckingham Palace to announce the official launch of the London youth partnership YOU London.

YOU London aims to bring a network of youth organisations together in working to recruit more adult volunteers.

This will enable more young people to take part in the kind of great activities that youth organisations such as Scouting have to offer. Within London, across the nine organisations involved, 25,000 adult volunteers are needed to accommodate the needs of nearly 100,000 young people wanting to join.

The Docklands Scout Project is a volunteer lead water activity centre based aboard the Lord Amory on the River Thames in London’s Docklands.

Prince supports getting more adults into Scouting

The Prince was joined at the Project by his wife, The Duchess of Cornwall, and was shown a number of typical Scouting activities ranging from kayaking to zorbing.

The Prince offered his support to getting more adult volunteers in Scouting through YOU London saying, ‘My hope is that, before too long, we can replicate YOU London on a national scale so that every young person in the United Kingdom has the opportunity, if they wish to, of joining a youth organization.

‘Our nation’s youth united together in exciting and rewarding activities should, I believe to be our ultimate goal.’

Sixteen year old Explorer Scout and Young Leader Alec helped show the Prince around the Project telling him about his Scouting experiences, ‘I talked to the Prince about being a Young Leader in Scouting, about how it involves me helping young people do all kinds of different activities.

‘He was really interested in what I’d been up to recently through Scouting. He asked a lot about what activities I’d been doing at a recent activity camp called Gilwell 24.’

Find out more about how you can volunteer for Scouting right now.

YOUR NEW COUNTY COMMISSIONER

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:04:00 GMT

YOUR NEW COUNTY COMMISSIONER

The process to identify a new County Commissioner is inevitably a long and arduous path, especially when the role is to lead the largest Scout County in the United Kingdom.

I am delighted to announce that we have reached the end of that road and that Adam Jollans has accepted the invitation to be the next CC for Hampshire.

Adam will be well known to many in the County as he has held a leadership role in Hampshire for over 20 years. Prior to this his Scouting background was in Wiltshire and Berkshire where he became a Queens Scout and gained the D of E Gold Award. His outstanding service to Scouting as an adult has been recognised by the award of the Silver Acorn in 2002 and the Bar to the Silver Acorn in 2008. Adam has extensive experience of Scouting at local, County, national and international levels, whilst his professional background as Worldwide Marketing & Strategy Manager with IBM is indicative of the skills and leadership he will bring to this demanding role. I know you will wish to join me in both congratulating him on his selection and to wish him well as he takes over the reins from Dick.

Adam will take up his appointment on the 1st September. Although their will be a more appropriate place to say 'thank you' to Dick it is right that in announcing his successor I acknowledge the tremendous debt that we owe Dick for the time, commitment and dedication that he has given in leading Hampshire Scouting over the last five years, May I also extend my sincere thanks to Mike Barker and the members of the Search Group for their work over the last three months in producing the short list for the interview panel, they did a challenging job extremely well. Mike put in a tremendous amount of extra work to ensure the process was managed professionally and that it was seen to be open and fair for which I am very grateful.

Most importantly my thanks to all those good people who kindly participated in the process as candidates for the role. It is true to say that we received more nominations than I have experienced for any other CC Search Group - it shows the high calibre of folk in Hampshire! I know the Search Group had tremendous difficulty in producing the final short list, a dilemma matched by that of the interview panel in reaching a decision. Thank you to all those who participated in this way.

By Martin Gerrard- Regional Commissioner South East of England

Thanks to you all From County Commissioner

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:50:00 GMT

Thanks to you all

My time has come to stand down as County Commissioner so this is my final monthly contribution. The past 5 years have been some of the best of my life. Leading Hampshire Scouts has been a great privilege and honour, and will be an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. Hampshire is a great County full of great people and I have been lucky to have been supported by some of the best. We have a great Scouting tradition, (even BP chose to live in Hampshire) and I am proud to say that this tradition is alive and well.

The past 5 years has seen significant growth in our membership and that has taken much hard work by everyone. So one of my final 'well dones' must be for you all and the tremendous commitment you have all given to Scouting at all levels.

There will be opportunities for me to thank specific individuals of course, but I must publicly express my thanks to the County team and Executive who have stood by me, as together we have done our best to develop a professional level of support for Scouting.

To you all out there, I would ask that you strive to remember one thing. Scouting is for young people and they must remain at the centre of all that we do. I have experienced many issues and problems during my term of office, most driven by adult agendas, and often involving entrenched positions fueled by emotions. We are all driven in some way by emotion, however our decision making needs to rise above this so that we can ensure that we retain young people's interests as the priority.

On 1st September I will handover the reins of the County to Adam Jollans. Adam is totally the right person to take over, and his commitment and passion for Scouting, linked with his professional background will, I am sure, prove beneficial for the County. I wish him every success for the future and trust that you will all give him the very same support that I have enjoyed.

I will recycle myself into local Scouting and look forward to more achievements, but with fond memories of the achievements of my time as CC of the largest, and easily best County in UK Scouting. Thank you all!

Have fun---- keep living 'the adventure'

Dick Whittington County Commissioner

Scout's honour for Britain's best

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:06:00 GMT

Scout's honour for Britain's best

Joanna Lumley, Sir Chris Hoy, Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity and Dame Ellen MacArthur are among those credited in The Scout Association’s annual Scout Birthday Honours.

Fifteen Scout badges were awarded to a variety of individuals in the public eye to celebrate the Movement’s 102nd birthday on 1 August.

Our half a million Members were given the chance to vote online for public figures that have inspired young people and have contributed to society. The celebrities honoured have encouraged others to try new activities and learn new skills.

Many met with Scouts to receive their awards, including Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity who accepted their Entertainer Badge. Choreographer Ashley Banjo said, ‘Thank you to all the Scouts who voted for us. We are really happy to be awarded the Entertainer Badge. It is really important for young people to be fit and active. Just go for it. Dream, believe, achieve.’

On receiving the Communicator Badge for her work for the Gurkha Justice Campaign, Joanna Lumley said, ‘Of all the great strokes of luck and fortune that have swept me up in life none can compare with being awarded a Scout badge. I am as thrilled and proud as can be, and shall wear it at occasions when it says “medals may be worn”. Thank you with all my heart for such an honour. You know, I was simply doing my best.’

Active supporters

Four-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, who won the Cyclist Badge said, ‘I'm delighted and very honoured to receive the Cyclist Badge from The Scout Association. I have always loved riding my bike and it's great to see so many more people of all ages and abilities taking up cycling and getting involved in the sport.'

Sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur was awarded the Water Sports Instructor Badge for the work her Trust does taking young people with serious illnesses sailing. She said, ‘It was fantastic to meet the Scouts in Glasgow this week and I was really surprised to receive such a wonderful award. The badge will remain on the Scarlet Oyster for the rest of the Ellen MacArthur Round Britain Voyage before returning to Cowes in September.’

Explorer Scouts also visited the River Cottage Canteen in Bath to present Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall with the Smallholder’s Badge and the home of Britain’s top Alpine Skier,Chemmy Alcott, who won the Snow Sports Badge.

Chemmy Alcott said, ‘It’s a real honour. I wish I had joined the Scouts when I was younger - it seems a great way of inspiring people to really go for it in life and have an adventure, and it teaches you so many practical and social skills that you can use forever.’

Major Phil Packer received the Athlete Badge for completing a 30-mile channel row, a 14-day marathon and a four-day mountain climb in spite of spinal cord injuries he sustained in Iraq. He has raised over £1,000,000 for Help for Heroes in the process. He added, ‘I am honoured and delighted to have been awarded this badge. As a former Cub and Scout I know how fantastic the organisation is to so many young people and I feel humbled that my endeavours have been recognised by the Scout Movement. I wish everyone in the organisation a very happy birthday and share the excitement of the future leadership of Bear Grylls. Thank you very much for voting and for your support. I will wear the badge with pride.’

TV presenter Kate Humble, who was awarded the Conservation Badge said, ‘What an honour! I am extremely proud and absolutely delighted to have won the conservation badge. Thank you very much indeed.’

‘Empowering the youth of tomorrow’

Chief Scout Bear Grylls welcomed the awards, ‘Scouting loves to recognise those who have made a significant contribution to inspiring and encouraging young people during the past year. Those honoured today have demonstrated, through action, all the skills and knowledge that are required to attain an honorary Scout badge. I am so glad to welcome them into the Scouting fold that believes that together we can empower the youth of tomorrow with a spirit of endeavour and camaraderie.’

Explorer Scout Dannie Barratt helped present the Birthday Badges. She said, ‘We chose these celebrities as they have all done something to inspire us, like trying out a new sport, completing a challenge or thinking about where our food comes from. Watching people like Joanna Lumley and Phil Packer makes me believe that I can achieve anything.

‘I felt that people like Diversity and Kate Humble help to promote an active and environmentally-friendly lifestyle which are important to us, as young people and Scouts.’

The list in full

All 15 Scout Birthday Honours winners:

•    Ainsley Harriott: Chef Badge
•    Chemmy Alcott: Snow Sports Badge
•    Chris Hoy: Cyclist Badge
•    Comic Relief Kilimanjaro Team: Climber Badge
•    Dame Ellen MacArthur: Instructor Badge
•    Diversity: Entertainer Badge
•    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: Small Holder Badge
•    J K Rowling: Writer Badge
•    Jenson Button: Motor Sports Badge
•    Joanna Lumley: Communicator Badge
•    Kate Humble: Conservation Badge
•    Phil Packer: Athlete Badge
•    Tommy Walsh: DIY Badge
•    Rebecca Adlington: Swimmer Badge
•    Tom Daley: Water Sports Badge

Loggerheads Competiton

9thscoutgroup.webmaster@live.co.uk — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:45:00 GMT

On 11th July we entered a team of 4 into the Loggerheads Competion. It was based on Bear Grylls and they had lots of survival bases to do. They had to make a bow and arrow using sticks and rope, made bear biscuits, cooked and ate a fish, did some stalking in the woods, had an observation game, and had to match the trees with a photo. After lunch there was football goalscoring followed by water games which turned into a big water fight with Ash and Oak getting wet. Unfortunately we did not win but the 4 who took part were a credit to the colony on the day so well done to Reece, Lewis, Tia and Kym.