Beavers’ 30th anniversary camp at Pinsent

Several of our Beavers were among over 100 local Beavers who participated in the anniversary District camp at Pinsent in September 2016. The Beavers followed Ladybird’s kit list to the letter and arrived with their teddies and onesies, tea towels and torches. Much fun was had sorting out sleeping arrangements, laying out carry mats and sleeping bags (query – are any of them ever so keen on bedtime at home?) and learning the importance of the “shoes off” rule in the tent. Then came lunch and an impressive variety of activities including archery, an obstacle course, cake decorating and, of course, songs and marshmallows around the campfire…… Everyone slept well, achieving a new and impressive morning lie-in record of 6.45am, and was thoroughly and happily grubby by noon on Sunday when it was time to go home.

Many, many thanks to Ladybird, Slug and Chick – and congratulations to Tyler for his award for “most helpful camper”.

What the Beavers said…..

‘It was SO much fun!’

‘Mummy, you’d be so pleased. I ate the biggest lunch!’

‘We didn’t go to sleep ALL night.’ [They did; I checked with Ladybird and Slug – Ed]
What one of our new Cubs said….

‘Can’t I be a Beaver again for the weekend?’

Sailing at Spinnaker Lake

beaver-sailing-2        beaver-sailing

Rafting, kayaking and sailing…..our Beavers tried all of them one grey July day. Suitably garbed in wetsuits and life jackets, the colony did its very best to emulate their watery namesakes. New skills were acquired, new alliances made (‘I’ll sit this side, you sit there and we’ll both try not to fall overboard’) and, at the end of it all, another of Slug’s legendary barbecues fortified the tired and soggy sailors with pemmican and ships’ biscuits (aka sausages and cake).

Our thanks to everyone at Spinnaker for such a brilliant – and bargainous – day out!

What the Beavers said…..

“Our group fell in the water….because we wanted to!”

“I liked the barbecue afterwards. I had four sausages!”

“I got really wet but I didn’t mind because it was fun and I had a nice warm shower when we’d finished.”

“Can I go next year?”

Remembrance Sunday – 13th November

Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, we will be joining the veterans as usual this year at the Kings Royal Rifle’s Company memorial outside the Cathedral on Sunday 13th November.  We will be parading with our flags at 8.45am, and at 9am there will be a short prayer by the army chaplain, followed by a two minutes silence and then an army bugler will play the last post.20161020_121000

A representative from our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts sections will lay a wreath alongside the veterans.  It is a small and moving ceremony, and we are the only Scout Group invited to attend.

As you may be aware, our Scout Group has had a long association with the Green Jackets, going back to the Second World War, when our Scout Troop raised money for the Regimental Prisoners of War Fund.

In recognition of the efforts of our Scouts, towards the end of 1943 our Group was granted an honorary affiliation with the Rifle Depot, and we changed our necker colours and insignia to model those of the Rifle Brigade.   We still use those colours and insignia today, and have continued to proudly turn out to lay a wreath at the war memorial every year since then.

This means a lot to the young people who attend, and the veterans, and it is really important that as many of us attend this as possible, and we look forward to seeing you there

green jackets scout badge

Your chance to spend half a day at Pinsent !

Saturday, October 8th & Sunday, October 9th

pinsent-working-weekend-oct-2016

Pinsent is widely used by all the Groups in the District but is managed and maintained by a very small group of people. The day-to-day maintenance is fine but it is not possible for all the larger projects and jobs to undertaken by those few people. To enable these larger jobs to be tackled, we hold two weekends a year, one in both the Spring and Autumn when we ask for as many volunteers from the District as possible to come along and help.


Although it is good to have the Young People along, under supervision, the real aim is to encourage adults to get involved. We are not fussy and will welcome Leaders, Helpers, Parents, Exec members, etc. in fact anyone with a remote association with Winchester District Scouts.


In the past, we have had a small, but very enthusiastic, group of helpers turn up but we would really like to get more people involved.  Two of our uniformed volunteers, Andy and Martyn already do a great deal to support Pinsent in addition to all the work they do with our Cubs and Scouts, and it would be great to see some more parents turn out on the day to help maintain this amazing facility for our youngsters and to show some support for all the hard work done by a small band of volunteers !

VOTE FOR SCOUTS AT TESCO !

Depending on how you vote in-store, Tesco will provide a grant of £2,000 or £4,000. This is to provide the materials for our volunteers to replant and rebuild more hedgerows and fences at Pinsent Camp Site.

PLEASE HELP! Between Monday 26 September, and Sunday 9 October, please vote for Winchester Scouts when shopping at Tesco. Do ask for a token at the checkout.

tesco-bags-of-help

New Camp Fire Circle at Pinsent

Winchester Scouts have won an £8,000 grant from Tesco to build a new amphitheatre style Camp Fire Circle at their Pinsent Camp Site.

You can see all this at:
http://www.winscouts.org.uk/development/pinsent-camp-fire-circle/

This amazing new facility replaces the old circle that dates back to the 1930s
when Pinsent was donated to Winchester Scouts.
The new Camp Fire Circle will seat 300 Scouts at any one time – an increase
of 200 to accommodate so many more young people and parents wanting to
share in the modern SCOUTING ADVENTURE. There are now 11 Scout
Groups in Winchester, with 50 sections and 300 leaders for over 1,200 young people.
The rebuild will be one of the largest camp fire circles in the UK – a
testament to the growth in local Scouting and the demand for camping at
Pinsent.  This cements Scouts as Winchester parents’ preferred destination for young peoples’ character development and adventure based non-formal education. Scouts call this ‘learning by doing’.

pinsent-camp-circle-plan

St George’s Day parade – Sunday 24th April, 12.45pm

This year’s St George’s Day parade is only a month away. We’ll be marching our flags past the Guildhall and up through the High Street to the Cathedral.
Please keep the date free, iron your neckers, find your woggles, polish your shoes and bring your cameras!

We’ll post more information about precise timings and where to meet nearer the time.