Day 1
After 2 years of planning, the big day has arrived!
15 Scouts & Explorers and 5 Leaders set off from Cambridge to…..Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
Author Archives: Colin Sills
It’s Summer Party Time!
Yes , it’s party time again….put the date in your diary, stick your shades on and head to the hut for some fun!
SUMMER PARTY 2017
Monday 17th July
6pm onwards
7pm AGM
Food provided!
All welcome – bring family & friends, a bottle, some snacks/pudding and (if you dare) a water pistol.
RSVP with numbers/dietary requests to summerparty@12thcambridge.org.uk
About the AGM
The Annual General Meeting (notice and last year’s minutes attached below) is a short, formal part of the evening and is an important event for 12th Cambridge. It is an opportunity for all members to find out about how the Group is doing and to thank those people who enable our young people to thrive through scouting. The 2017/18 Executive Committee members will be elected at the AGM.
We need YOU….NOW!
12th Cambridge has some important decisions to make in the near future, concerning the running of the Group, the scout hut and fundraising. Operating behind the scenes, the Committee is vital to the existence and smooth running of the Group now and for the future. We need new Committee members to act as charity trustees and make the decisions, run events and make plans!
In particular:
– our Chairman is moving away, so we need to find another Chair. Responsible for the running of the committee. More details about the role here.
– we also need to replace other departing Executive Committee Members. More details here.
The Committee meets only once per half-term and organising things can be done when you choose, so the time commitment is not great.
So, if don’t have the inclination to become a Leader or Section Assistant with the Group, please put your name forward to join our Exec committee, and give us a call – we’re always happy to chat about the role in a bit more detail. Of course, if you have even the remotest inclination to be a Leader instead, please do let the GSL know!
Let’s be clear: as a Group, we only exist with the support and commitment of parents and other volunteers. Without a strong committee, the Group (and hence the development of your young people through scouting), WILL be affected. This is not the time to stand back and assume that “someone else will do it”!
Offshore adventures
“We were sailing, we were sailing, home again, ‘cross the sea” (apologies to Rod Stewart!)
Day 1
Assembling early morning for a briefing and issuing of waterproofs & life-jackets, 20 scouts and leaders headed out from Ipswich Haven on a pair of 49-foot Oyster yachts. Passing through the lock, they were soon under the Orwell Bridge and powering down the river towards the North Sea at 6 to 7 knots. The crews were put through their paces by the skippers, raising & lowering sail, helming and sail-trimming.
Lunch, cooked by the scouts in the galley below decks, was served in shifts whilst underway. As the boats steered home towards Shotley Point Marina, there was still time for some play – hanging from the halyards over the water always puts smiles on faces!
Day 2
Sunday saw a fresh pair of crews arrive at Shotley. Perfect sailing conditions were provided – plenty of sunshine and a Force 3-4 breeze. Locking out from the marina, the scouts got their first taste of freedom, with a fast sail up and down the River Stour. A little later, they ventured out past Harwich and the cranes of Felixstowe docks, where the open sea provided slightly bumpier water.
Returning to the Orwell and heading for home, the boats found themselves in a photo-shoot (the strange chap taking photos from another boat turned out to be the GSL’s father). The appearance of the Orwell Bridge signalled the approach of Ipswich and the end of the voyage.
A huge thank you to the skippers and mates of Adventures Offshore for this fantastic introduction to ‘big-boat’ sailing for our novice sea-farers!
Co-op makes huge donation to the 12th!
A massive THANK YOU to the customers and staff at the Co-op store in Newnham for their support and huge donation of £3,758 to 12th Cambridge!!!
The money was raised via a combination of the Co-op’s membership charity scheme and its donation of all the money charged for carrier bags. Those 5p charges really do add up!
We will use the money to improve our offering of scouting for all in our community. We will start with refurbishment and provision of accessible toilet facilities at our Gilbert Road HQ.
Benefits of the Co-op customer membership include 5% of spending for the member and 1% donated to the local community. More details can be found at www.coop.co.uk/membership
Magic at the hut
12th Cambridge Scout Group, in association with The Pentacle Club Cambridge, are proud to present The Magic Show 2017.
For one night only, our scout hut will be transformed into a magical stage, with the city’s finest magicians providing a superb show.
The invitation to attend the event is open to everyone in the community, not just scouters! Ticket availability is strictly limited to 100 people, so book your tickets now!
About the event
When: Wednesday 22nd March 2017
Where: 12th Cambridge Scout HQ, 40A Gilbert Road
Tickets: £6 each / £20 for family of 4
Times: Doors open 6pm / Show starts 6.30pm prompt / Finish 8.30pm
Interval: There will be an interval, during which refreshments will be on sale.
On advice from The Pentacle Club, the show is not suitable for children under 6 years.
Bookings
To reserve your tickets, send your booking request by email to magic@12thcambridge.org.uk with the following details:
- Your name
- Number of single tickets at £6 each
- Number of family tickets at £20 each
Payments will be accepted by cheque or direct bank transfer – details will be given when your booking is confirmed.
About the fundraising event
A party of 15 intrepid scouts from 12th Cambridge will be setting off on an international adventure to Canada in Summer 2017. Throughout this year, all the scouts involved have been tasked with organising fundraising events as part of their contribution to the trip. The scouts are delighted to welcome The Pentacle Club and its team of expert magicians for this special show. All profits from this event will go towards the Canada fund.
About The Pentacle Club Cambridge
Founded in 1919, The Pentacle Club is one of the world’s oldest magic societies. It is a friendly, social group for magicians of all kinds in Cambridge, and meets fortnightly. To find out more about the club, please visit www.pentacleclub.com
Explosive fun!
Yes, it’s our most exciting event of the year, louder than a Grand Howl, brighter than a Beaver’s sweatshirt and with more bangers than a Patrol camp fire…it’s our Group fireworks night!
Friday 4th November, 6pm on
Fireworks @ 7pm
Free entry (donations invited on the night)
Come along, bring friends & family, and enjoy hot dogs, soup, mulled wine and the best fireworks since Guy Fawkes gave it his best shot.
Volunteer scouts to help serve & shake the collection buckets would be welcome.
RSVP to fireworks@12thcambridge.org.uk
Help! DIY work weekend 15 & 16 Oct
It’s been a while since we have had one, but it’s time for a parents’ HQ work weekend on 15th & 16th October, so please save the date!
Let us know that you can help by popping an email to diy2016@12thcambridge.org.uk, and roll up your sleeves and prepare to have fun!
We have two projects lined up:
- clearing and making safe the alley behind the HQ building
- redecorating the meeting room and Brownie room to make them into Activity rooms
Project 1: alley clearance
What are we aiming for?:
Make the alley behind the hut useful and safe for for storing equipment & accessing the gas bottles.
What will we do?:
- Clear all the weeds and overgrowth
- Dig out the uneven soil, broken glass and rubbish – enough to fill the skip that we’ll hire!
- Fix the perimeter fence
- Lay weed-control fabric and approx 2 tonnes of gravel
What do we need?
- An army of willing volunteers to dig, shovel and barrow the rubbish out and the gravel in
- Tools: wheelbarrows, spades, shovels, pruners
Project 2: room improvements
What are we aiming for?
Transforming two rooms from junk stores to Activity rooms for our young people to use during scouting sessions – the large room will become an informal, nice room and the smaller one a meeting room with table and chairs. With carpet, we hope to make the rooms feel less cold in winter!
What will we do?
- clear the rooms of all clutter and excess furniture
- paint the walls
- fit blinds to the windows and seal draughts
- fit carpet tiles on the floors
What do we need?
- volunteers to clear, clean, paint & fit out the rooms
- Tools: we already have most items already, but a couple of stepladders would be handy.
So, if you are up to challenge, please email the team: diy2016@12thcambridge.org.uk, letting us know when you can make it, how many people, offers of useful tools – basically any info that would be helpful.
As is traditional on these occasions, leaders are excluded from parents’ work weekends, and the GSL will supply the tea and biscuits!
Scouts scrub up for Canada fundraiser
Cambridge 12th scouts will be rolling up their sleeves this Saturday to wash as many cars as possible in a drive to raise funds to go to Canada in summer 2017 to meet up and spend time with the 12th Cambridge Canadian Scout troop.
15 scouts will have soapy sponges and chamois leathers at the ready at Chesterton Sports Centre in Cambridge in a bid to raise buckets of cash to help fund their adventure.
For fourteen days days they will all live together under canvas, stay with host families, and take part in a packed programme of activities.
This will be a fantastic experience for all concerned. But before then, all the scouts are really looking forward to seeing as many people as possible with their cars at Chesterton Sports Centre on Saturday.
The Car wash is kick starting their year of fundraising activities, including baking cakes to sell at local events and bag-packing at local stores, with other plans in the pipeline in the coming months.
The car wash will take place between 8.30am and 2.30pm at Chesterton Sports Centre car park on Gilbert Road, Cambridge this Saturday 24th November.
For each car wash, we suggest a minimum donation of £7. More appreciative donations are gladly accepted!
(Not) Messing about on the river
Raptors Troop ventured in punts onto the Cam once again. Graham had ‘had a word’ with the powers-that-be on this occasion, cancelling the side-order of torrential rain and lightning served up previously.
The scene was perfect – warm, calm as a millpond and blue sky. The ‘mate’s rates’ from Scudamores meant that we had the punts for an hour and a half, more than enough to reach the ‘money-shot’ location near King’s College chapel.
All the scouts got the opportunity to wield poles and, ahem, navigate the mighty river.
On the subject of navigation, one punt (Izzie, you shan’t remain nameless!) received the order to stop and reverse a little. Apparently, this was to enable the capture of a nearby-located Pokemon Go character. It’s amazing what you can spot amongst Cambridge’s world-class architecture.
Somwhat disappointingly to the GSL (who had brought a towel and combat-stripped his wallet for the occasion), nobody fell in and waterfights failed to break out. Parents may have had a different opinion. Maybe next time!
It’s party time!
Yes, great weather has been booked for our summer party!
Thursday 21st July, 6pm onwards – all welcome!
RSVP to summerparty@12thcambridge.org.uk
