SEA SCOUTS RESCUE SHEEP

Suzanne Smith RSPCA Welfare Officer 9200.

23rd October 2010

Hi there, I work for the RSPCA and on attending a sheep rescue today in Hereford, which was stuck in the river on the far bank, some canoeists came down river. I asked if they could help get the sheep across the river, they were superb, and did a fantastic job, they safely swam the sheep across the river to the safety of the field bank where it trotted off safe and sound back to the rest of the flock. I would have had serious problems in rescuing this sheep if these canoeists hadn't turned up at exactly the right moment!

They said they were I think the Batchworth? Sea scouts on their Duke of Edinborough. I would like to pass on the attached pictures and my personal thanks to them.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY - 14th November 2009

The second Sunday in November is traditionally put aside to remember all those who have given their lives for the peace and freedom we enjoy today. On this day people across the nation pause to reflect on the sacrifices made by our brave Service men and women.

Batchworth Sea Scouts will at the memorial in the grounds of St Mary's Church. Being Royal Navy recognised we have pride of place at the ceremony and ALL members of all ages are encouraged to attend.

It is an important day in our calendar and is especially important to members past and present. Attendance from all in full uniform is expected from 10.30am to 12 noon. Please be at the Batchworth HQ in plenty of time before 10:30am on November 14th.

CHIEF SCOUT SILVER AWARD

Cub Scout, David Shaw, received the Chief Scout Silver award at the recent inspection.

This badge is the highest award available in the Cub Scout Section. It is gained by completing the Outdoor Challenge, the Promise Challenge, the Creative Challenge, the Fitness Challenge, the Global Challenge and the Community Challenge

Well done David, fantastic achievement.

PARTY PARTY

This year we want the Batchworth Christmas party to be better than ever. Which means we need plenty of Scouta's Little Helpers .. (adults, not kids). The aim is to share the load and for everyone to do something small, rather than a few people doing the whole thing.

So far we have someone to coordinate the entertainment (which is a good start). We also need the following:

Caterers (shopping, cooking, serving etc)
Bar Staff
Quiz organiser (Quiz posted around the room)
"Decorators" - artistic people who can "dress" the HQ festively on the afternoon of Sat 11th Dec
People to help with the entertainment - (very basic) props, (very basic) costumes, music etc
Someone in charge of ticket sales
Someone on the door
Someone to organise the raffle (getting prizes donated, selling tickets on the night etc)
People to clear up
General "happy to help"ers
etc...

If those who have helped before are happy to help again, please let us know as soon as possible. But we also need new faces and we'd like parents from Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers in the party working party. We promise it will be fun.

There are not many Scouting Days to Christmas. So we need to get organised. There will be an initial meeting of not more than 45 mins at the Scout HQ on Wed 3rd November (the week after half term) 8.15pm to 9pm. Followed by a meeting in the pub for as many hours as people want to stay... Please put it in your diaries now and make every effort to come along. The more the Merrier.

It would be extra helpful if people interested in helping out could email Helen Webb on hwebbhome@gmail.com, indicating what you'd like to run / help with, That way we can get some names against tasks ahead of the meeting (in the interest of keeping the meeting short). Remember, it's always better to volunteer than be volunteered. The Big Society starts at Batchworth.

We look forward to seeing you on 3rd November. Oh yes we do....

BEAVERS - NEWS

Jane Spurr

We were incredibly proud of the Beavers at the recent inspection, 14 were in attendance. They made paper plate portholes, which impressed the inspecting officer. After hanging them on the wall, he noticed that some were "authentically" wet - dripping in fact. It turned out that one or two beavers overdid the glue! We had spent the previous nine months vigorously pursuing badges and the fact that several beavers have an armful did not go unnoticed!

The following week, as a "reward" the Beavers went on a canal boat trip, working their way through 4 locks. We expect that this reinforced the knowledge they gained from visiting the Little Union Canal in the summer, where they discovered the principles of how locks work.

When the HQ was out of action because of the Jumble Sale, we walked to the Three Rivers Museum and learnt some interesting facts about Rickmansworth. The historical walk around the town offered by the museum staff will be on our summer programme.

We're now planning for Halloween, Remembrance Sunday, and Christmas, with the Pantomime at Watersmeet to look forward to, as well as a unique performance at the Batchworth Christmas Party on 11th December.

BOAT HOUSE FLOOR PROGRESS

Emma Turner, Assistant Boatswain

As those who frequent Batchworth HQ may now have seen, we have a brand new Boat House Floor, which was painted in early October over the course of a few week day evenings by some volunteers.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that helped to organise, and paint- it could not have been done without you!

Now that we have a nice clean, working space available to us, the Boatswains next task is to fill it with boats of exactly the same standard!

DRAGON BOAT CHAMPIONSHIP

The annual National Youth Dragon Boat Championships are held each September at the Longridge Activity Centre on the River Thames in Marlow. Dozens of teams from across the region fight it out in a series of heats in order to reach the finals and a chance to win prizes in three age categories.

This year, Batchworth entered a crew in the “14 and under” category, the most hotly contested class with teams representing schools, youth groups and even established dragon boat clubs. After storming through their heat with a winning margin of over 20 seconds, our valiant paddlers faced stiff opposition in the semi-final which proved to be their last race of the day. Competing in an organised dragon boat event earns each paddler (and our drummer!) the Scout Dragon Boating Activity Badge.

JUMBLE SALE

A big thank you to all those who gave jumble, helped with leafleting, collecting, sorting, selling, moving the boats and kayaks and the clearing up afterwards..
We had a great day and made £2,000.85 profit.

Thank you to everyone who helped. We couldn't have done it without you!

SHIPSHAPE - WHAT DO YOU THINK?

You all know that shipshape days give us an opportunity to keep our HQ tidy and to put right what needs to be done. If there is anything that you have noticed, which needs to be done, please drop a line to the Chairman, Keith Wall, on batchworth.chairman@ntlworld.com or call him on 01923 777 340. That way, we can make a plan for the next shipshape event.”

ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE?

Scouting encourages the best from all our members. The young members of all the sections, plus the uniformed adults, make a promise that includes the adage “to do my best”. Therefore, in the coming weeks, the Leaders in the Scout Section will be asking each member to think up a challenge that they feel they can accomplice over the next few months. It should be something fun but also rewarding.

However, it is not just the Scouts that we are extending this challenge towards. Batchworth relies on fundraising activities to maintain our equipment and facilities. Do you think you can challenge yourself and raise money for Batchworth Sea Scouts in the process? How about entering the Ricky Road Run later this month and asking colleagues at work to sponsor you through a ‘Justgiving’ page? Or complete the parachute jump that you’ve always wanted to tackle but never had the motivation?

If you have any fundraising ideas, please contact the Group to register your intentions before starting to collect money.

PLYMOUTH WARSHIP SAILS FOR ARABIAN GULF

Plymouth-based warship HMS Cumberland, a Royal Navy type 22 Frigate affiliated with Batchworth Sea Scouts, sailed for the Middle East for her third operational deployment in as many years.

Her next deployment includes maritime policing patrols as part of the wider international effort to deal with the problem of illegal use of maritime trade routes in the region.

Read more here.