Issue 103.06
Copyright; The magazine LaDS is only meant for those in Scouting .
No unauthorised copying or publishing to anyone not in Scouting. 1
WATER ACTIVITIES
The time has come to encourage young people to embrace all things wet n wild!
Our kayaking and canoeing sessions are proving to be very popular, and it has been
noted that more Beavers are taking part, which is fantastic.
Over the years there has been no provision for replacing worn out equipment, and as
such, our section has had to look at how we deal with the provision of this activity, to
ensure the safety of the young people and to ensure we adhere to the strict guidelines
as laid down by both Scouting and the British Canoe Union. Consequently, our fee
structure has had to change to reflect this, and whilst the overall charge per paddler
has remained the same for many years, we have now introduced a non-refundable
booking fee to secure a booking in line with many other youth activities.
2015 Booking and fee structure
April, May, August, September
Booking fee (per session not per night)
District Scout Members
£3
Non District Scout Members
£4
Others (eg. work colleagues)
£5
June, July
Booking fee (per session not per night)
District Scout Members
£3
Non District Scout Members
£4
Others (eg. work colleagues)
£5
£10
£20
A minimum fee of £30 (excluding booking fee) will charged if the minimum numbers
are not met.
If you wish to make a booking, please email me for a booking form.
RIVER NIGHTS & MINT WITH A HOLE SESSIONS!
Open sessions are still being held monthly, and to increase experience and/or fun, we
are introducing a water polo night.
The second Saturday of every month will be an open session for skills or
enjoyment.
The fourth Saturday of every month will be for a game of polo, or learning the skills to
paddle and throw!
Please book a space so we know how many instructors to provide.
will still only be £3 per paddler.
The price
Angie ([email protected])
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Caving Club News
We are now coming up to the busiest 3 months of the year with caving activities on almost every
weekend through the summer months. Since the last edition of Lads we have managed to fit in
some crate stacking at Sudbrooke, a Scout caving day in Derbyshire, a Scout caving course at
Altham Terrace, Bear in the Air at Burghley House with the cave challenge, and this coming
weekend (District Camp weekend) we are at the National Mining Conference near Alston in the
Pennines.
It all sounds impressive but unfortunately we don't seem to have more than 2-3 members at most
of these events so we really could do with a few more adult members to keep the club going.
Because of this and due to the fact there are spare places at the Explorer Scouts Caving
weekend (26-28TH JUNE 2015) at the Selside Activity Centre in the Yorkshire Dales, we can now
open this up to Network Members and leaders. if you would like to go please send a deposits now
to Brian Sutton.
The inclusive cost of the weekend is £40 and this includes equipment, transport, tuition, food and
accommodation.
Bear in the Air_the queue was like this all day!
The next beginners caving trip is to be held on September 12th, though if you have half a dozen or
more Scouts who would like to go then we can possibly arrange an extra date to suit; just contact
Brian to check availability.
Our web site is https://sites.google.com/site/lincolncavingclub/
You can see the cave challenge in action at the Eagle Gala on June 13th, at Belton House on June
21st, in Boultham Park on July 11th and Hartsolme Park on August 9th. Please come along to any
of these events with your Beavers, Cubs or Scouts.
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Something very different from marching - maypole dancing!! After a game, and talking about May
Day celebrations, the Beavers formed a circle round a hoop (no maypole available in the hall) and,
following Ladybird's directions, proceeded to weave different patterns around each other. They even
progressed to an inner and outer circle without too many mishaps. Some years back we did have a
maypole with ribbons, it was the only time the Beavers have managed to tie knots. Rather than
trying to weave patterns with a maypole it had been decided that they could weave wool strands to
make friendship bracelets. This was much more to their liking and, with help from adults, this
activity went very well. In the meantime those Beavers waiting to do the weaving coloured pictures
of maypole dancers. At our closing ceremony the Beavers who had attended St. George's Day Parade
were thanked by the Leaders for looking so smart and behaving well. Big smiles appeared on the
faces of the Beavers concerned when they were each given a small bag of chocolates.
One of the first things on the agenda at our next Meeting was the Investiture of three new Beavers,
and I must say all three had really practiced their Promise. A game of beetle drive followed this,
which is a game the Colony have not played for quite a long time and, although they were enjoying
the game, we had to stop halfway as we had quite a lot to do - the game was finished at the end of
the Meeting. The game was chosen as it linked into the theme for the night, which was animal
homes and also building an insect house. Everything for the insect house was recycled - the plant
pots were all old ones gathered over the years from garden centre purchases and the twigs were from
a laurel hedge that had been lopped (Butterflies fingers have now stopped aching after all the
chopping up). With the help of adults the Beavers took it in turns to stuff their pots with the twigs
until they were tightly fitting. In the meantime the rest of the Colony were busy on a word search,
which had the names of animals and their homes hidden in it. After yet another very busy evening
it was time to hand out a couple of certificates to two of the Beavers who have been with the Colony
for a year, before saying goodnight.
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To start off the next Meeting one of the Beavers gave a presentation for the Collectors award. His
family obviously get out and about quite a lot, as his collection consisted of fridge magnets from
each visit. He had magnets from Cadbury World, Gainsborough Old Hall, Lincoln Castle and an owl
from a wildlife centre among many others. Collecting the magnets helped remember where he had
been and what he had seen. How long before the parents of the other Beavers find their fridges fronts
filling with magnets? The theme for the rest of the evening was teamwork and the Colony talked
about all the different forms of transport they could think of before splitting into four teams. The
plan was for each team to draw a plan of their chosen model and then build it from a box of junk
(cardboard, egg boxes, cardboard tubes and various bottle tops). At the end of the session they had
produced a speedboat, a space rocket, a police car and a submarine. The speedboat had passengers
and a propeller, made from a small yoghurt pot cut to shape, which actually turned. The police car
also had passengers and the submarine had a very impressive periscope. The space rocket looked
quite realistic. The Beavers and the adults had really enjoyed this teamwork which took quite some
time, so there was only time for a quick song before it was time to finish for the evening.
Thanks to several parents helping out, our Meeting before half-term went very well. After discussing
road safety it was time for a short walk to the Forum shopping centre, although one or two of the
Beavers seemed to think a five minute walk was a marathon. Having reached the Forum the Beavers
were split into teams - each parent taking three Beavers each. They were then handed quiz sheets
with questions relating to various businesses, questions such as "What colour are the bells", "Which
saint can you find" and "Why do think this is called the Forum". There were also two picture
questions, one with a large eye and the second with a black horse, which the Beavers had to find.
When they had finished and gathered together they were highly delighted to find that Ladybird and
Dragonfly had paid a visit to the chippy. They all enjoyed a few chips before setting off back to the
hall. By the time we got back the Beavers were ready for their drink, and despite having had chips, a
biscuit. Everyone had enjoyed the evening which could not have taken place without the help of the
parents - many thanks to them.
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I was really ‘over the moon’ the day I received my letter informing me that I had been awarded the
Silver Acorn and thought the year couldn’t get much better but how wrong I was. After and
excellent presentation evening at Burghley it was time to head south. I was never going to be in
Lincoln for St George’s Day as I had already
accepted an invitation to my younger brothers
surprise 70th birthday party down in West
Byfleet. I was planning to parade with the
nephew’s Explorer Unit in the Woking District;
how convenient that I was only thirty minutes
away from Windsor. So as not to spoil my
brother’s surprise I invited my nephew to
accompany me to the Queen’s Scouts parade at
Windsor Castle. I had also been lucky to receive
two tickets to attend the morning service
‘matins’ in St Georges Chapel with the Chief
Scout and the rest of the United Kingdom
Scouting hierarchy. Kevin and I arrived in
Windsor at about 9.15am on a dry but cold and
windy morning and dived straight in to Starbuck’s for a
warming carry out coffee whilst we walked up the road
to join the waiting queue for St George’s Chapel. The
first coincidence was bumping in to Jim Deboick and
his wife as we walked up the road. Soon after came the
second. We joined the queue and it was very gratifying
that the Scouting hierarchy were walking up and down
working the line. I had lengthy conversations with
Tim Kidd, the Deputy Commissioner for the United
Kingdom, Alex Peace-Gadsby the newly appointed
Chief Commissioner for England and also the Chief
Commissioner for Scotland; what an excellent way to
start the day - could it get any better? Yes!
Continued on page 7.
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Behind us in the queue was the ACC International for the Isle of Man; he introduced himself and
the big coincidence being that my nephew, a bit of a motorbike fanatic, is running his annual
Explorer camp in the IoM during the road race week. They were soon deep in conversation and my
nephew now has a full camp planned on the back of a postcard but even more. The IoM Explorers
run the timing boards and route maps during both the TT and the Road Races and my nephew has
got slots for some of his Unit to help out with this activity. By this time we were sitting in St
George’s Chapel waiting for the service to begin and my nephew got his phone out to show his new
friend some photos he took at last years TT and this chap pointed out himself in the middle of one
of the pictures. I was being ignored so I looked to my left and noticed that the next couple came
from Warrington West District; my home town where I was born and bred. We got talking and
exchanged pleasantries and it transpired that they were both born and bred and had never left the
area. It gets better as, the lady, a little younger than myself, attended both the same Primary and
Grammar school as myself. No, not done yet; there’s still more. During the sermon the Chief Scout
was asked at one point to open a book at any page and to memorise the first word on the Page. As
part of the demonstration he was asked the page number; 70, which is why I was there in the first
place for my brothers birthday. Can it all go on; of course it can. Opposite me in the Chapel were
the County Team who had also been award recipients and you can see them in the photo on the
steps behind me.
Kevin and I were lucky enough to gain early entry in
to the quadrangle for the Queen’s Scout Parade and
you can see from my photo with the Chief Scout that
we were very well placed; the icing on the cake but
not the final coincidence. There was only one Queens
Scout from Lincoln on parade, Beth Taylor who was a
member of Sentries hosted by me at Waddington, and
as she marched on she stopped directly in front of me;
the photos tell the rest of this story.
Only receiving my MBE
from the Queen at
Buckingham
Palace
beats
my day
of
coincidence at Windsor;
another day I won’t
forget.
Stan Davis (GSL)
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Diary Dates
Lincoln District
Youth forum
12th June 2015
————————Mountain Craft
Weekend
Goredale
Yorkshire Dales
Friday 12th-14th June 2015
———————————
Caving Club
Weekend
Friday 26th-28th June 2015
——————————County Wintercamp
Friday 20th-22nd November 2015
——————————————
Caving Beginners Training day
Altham Terrace
Saturday 12th September 2015
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