15 May 11 - 21:52Photos from Bear's visit to District Cub Camp

Bear Grylls visits Bath District Cub Camp

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12 January 09 - 21:01Wiltshire Scouts Save Injured Women

Scouting PLus Issue 145

Three Explorer Scouts and one member of Scout Network helped their Leaders in rescuing an injured woman from the side of a mountain near Aviemore in Scotland.

Neil Wills, Scout Leader at North Bradley, was approached by the husband of the 29 year old woman as he decended Cairngorm mountain with a group of Scouts he was leading on an expedition.

Neil explained, 'About half way down I was approached by the woman's husband asking if we could alert the Mountain Ranger to her predicament and mount a rescue when we reached the bottom.

'I saw that we could help them out in a quicker and more efficient way by radioing our bus driver below, who alerted the Ranger whilst we made the lady comfy and sheltered her from the elements.'

The Ranger established their location approximately 1600 feet up the mountain, and that the temperature was dropping below zero with blowing snow and cloud cover as darkness fell.

Explorer Scouts Pete Woodhead, Harry Newman, David Keiller and Scout Network member Andrew Woodhead had been climbing different corries in the region and joined the mountain rescue team in constructing the stretcher before going back up the mountain to bring the lady down safely.

Scout Network member Andrew Woodhead who wants to become a mountain guide said, 'It was an honour to serve a fellow climber who really needed help, I would do it again should the occasion arise.'

They all trekked across the slopes to reach the woman after taking the mountain train half way up.

Eric Johns, Scout Leader and former RAF Mountain Rescue, strapped the woman's legs before she was raised onto the stretcher and carried by the four very helpful Scouts back down the slope to the waiting ambulance.

Explorer Harry Newman said, 'It was my first rescue and my good turn for the day, I felt proud to have played apart in her safe return.'

The lady was taken to Aviemore hospital nine miles away where she was treated for a break to the lower part of her left leg. She had slipped on compacted snow whilst not wearing crampons on her descent.

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12 January 09 - 20:27Cub Scout First To Earn All Badges

Daily Telegraph 26.12.09

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The 33 accolades show Ben can canoe, hike, ride horses, cook basic dishes and even practice first aid.

Ben said, "It took me nearly two years, it was very difficult to accomplish but I feel quite proud.

"I really enjoyed my Adventure Badge; it taught me how to camp out with my friends. The most important badge I have achieved however is emergency aid, I feel confident that I could help my friends if they had an accident".

The youngster also gained badges including air activities; astronomy; book reading; camping; cycling, DIY, entertaining; home safety, martial arts, navigation, road safety, science and world faiths.

Ben's Mum Debs Spratling was thrilled as Ben was awarded with his final badge in time for Christmas. She said: "Ben has had a fantastic time trying out all the different activities and he's learned so much in the process.

"Joining the Scouts has given Ben the chance to experience a huge range of activities. There is simply no other organisation in our area that provides 8 to 10 year olds with the opportunity to try activities ranging from Canoeing and Climbing to Hiking and DIY".

One of Ben's greatest achievements was completing his Serco Personal Safety Badge where Cub Scouts learn about Rail Safety, the Firework Code and how to keep safe while using the Internet.

Worldwide Scouting has 28 million members both male and female and operates in nearly every country in the world.

At present there are nearly 30,000 young people on waiting lists.

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17 December 08 - 17:00Hippo Sinks Scout Leader Canoe

Taken from BBC Online 15 December 2008

Three scout leaders from Cornwall are back home after their canoe was sunk by a hippopotamus in west Africa.

Brian Sheen, 66, Geoff Ryder, 59, and Michael Dillworth, 23, had to abandon their dugout canoe after the hippo attacked four days into the trip.
They had to trek through the jungle for five days to reach a small village where they received help.

Mr Sheen said, despite training for the dangers of hippos, nothing could have prepared them for the surprise attack.

The three adventurers had planned to paddle 2,500 miles (4,000km) down the river from Faranah in Guinea to promote the scouting movement.

Mr Sheen said: "We were on full hippo watch and all of a sudden we came to an abrupt halt.

"I thought we had hit a rock. Then the front went up and the middle went up.

"Then the back flew in the air and Geoff, who is 16 stone [102kg], was suddenly airborne and landed in the water beside the boat."

Mr Sheen said there was "not the slightest inkling" that there were hippos about on the stretch of river where they were attacked.

Brian Sheen it burst on us like a submarine-launched missile" "It happened so quickly we didn't have time to be scared."

After dragging Geoff Ryder back on board, the trio managed to get their semi-submerged boat to a mud bank.

"The canoe was going down fast," said Mr Sheen.

"The hippo was about 20 yards away looking at us."

His concerns were raised when the animal was heard running through the undergrowth nearby.

"We hoped he wouldn't come back for a second bite," said Mr Sheen who was relieved to see the beast heading inland.

The three then ditched most of their gear, apart from satellite navigation systems, and started a trek through head-high elephant grass and bamboo.

Geoff Ryder, Michael Billworth and Brian Sheen. The three get their first proper meal after their ordeal

It took five days and nights.

"Every few yards there were crevasses where the rainwater had run down to the river.

"We had seen a village before the attack. It was our only hope," said Mr Sheen.

"We were pretty whacked. The temperature was 100F [38C] during the day."

The villagers, who were initially wary, fed the adventurers before giving them all a lift 60 miles (96km) on motorcycles back to Faranah, where they had begun.

The men, who have all returned to Cornwall, now hope to revisit the area next year, but said they would be taking a ferry next time.

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11 December 08 - 16:57Scouts Tackle Railway Crime

taken from Scout Base 11/12/08

Geoff Hoon MP met Cub Scouts in London yesterday for the launch of a new Scout programme of activities tackling railway safety.

The Secretary of State for Transport was at St Pancras Station with 30 Cub Scouts to launch the new Cub Scout Personal Safety Badge.

Sponsored by Serco Integrated Transport, the new badge looks at how to travel safely on the railways and the dangers of trespassing and vandalism.

Geoff said, "I am delighted that the Scouts are spearheading this brilliant initiative to show over 100,000 young people how to travel safely by train, and to act in a responsible way when they visit their local train station."

The announcement comes as it is revealed that railway crime adds a staggering twenty two pence to every journey made on UK railways. Rail crime includes trespassing, vandalism, stone throwing, obstructing the railway and endangering safety.

The rail industry spends over £260m every year on tackling rail crime including repairing damaged trains and tracks, replacing staff who have been injured, and in delays to trains.

Over 42,000 Personal Safety Badge resource packs have been requested so far, making it the most popular Scout programme available.

Jade, a nine year old Cub Scout from London said, "It has been brilliant doing our Personal Safety badge. We have learnt loads of things about how to act safely on a train and about how to help other people. My favourite bit was when we went to see our local station and met the train driver!"

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11 December 08 - 16:55Bathampton Scouts in Model Car Competition

Taken From Bath Chronicle 11/12/08

All members of 28th Bathampton Scout Group

A team of boys from a Bath school have taken their design skills out of the classroom and onto the race track.
Pupils from Beechen Cliff School have scooped a top award in the regional finals of an F1 challenge, where they had to design, build and test a model car.
The four Year 8 boys impressed the judges with their design and were named best "first time challengers", winning a place in the national final in Birmingham.
Teacher Paul Johnson said: "They have committed a great deal of time and energy in creating the vehicle and testing it.
"We can only hope they achieve the same success in the nationals."
winning pupils, Ethan Rose, said the team had enjoyed the experience.
"It was a fun experience, developing teamwork skills to manufacture the car and test it," he said.
"We really enjoyed the chance to test ourselves against teams from schools across the West; even more so the fact that we managed to win through to the national finals."
A member of staff at Beechen Cliff has also been named as an award winner. Personal assistant to the headteacher, Helen Bletso, has been highly commended at a national annual award ceremony in London.
She was recognised as one of the 34 best assistants in the country at the third annual SecEd Headteacher's PA of the Year awards.
Ms Bletso said: "I really enjoy my role at Beechen Cliff School, and I am proud to have been a finalist at this prestigious event."
Headteacher Andrew Davies described her as a "dependable colleague who has excellent organisational skills".
He added: "She is fully involved in the life of the school and is a huge asset."

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03 October 08 - 10:49Scouts Welcome Plans to Support Volunteering

26/09/2008

The government will this week outline plans to make it easier for more people to volunteer for key roles in their local community, a key recommendation of The Morgan Inquiry that was launched earlier this year with The Scout Association's support.

Launched in February, The Morgan Inquiry found that many young adults would benefit from an extra eight hours leave a year from their jobs for voluntary activities. It also included the recommendation for a flexible day off to encourage volunteering.

Later this week, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears will announce proposals to broaden the list of activities that will entitle people to time off work.

Magistrates, school governors and members of health bodies or police authorities already have time off entitlements. But the government will be looking at whether this should be extended to other roles to better reflect modern life and the needs of local communities.

"Nearly three quarters of all adults volunteered at least once during last year, with almost half volunteering at least once a month," said Blears.

"If we value volunteering and community spirit then we have a responsibility to see what we can do to make it easier for more people, from all walks of life to get involved."

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03 October 08 - 10:48Paralympics success for Assistant Cub Scout Leader

22/09/2008 BBC Online

With the Paralympics coming to a close last week, ParalympicsGB were helped on their way to a brilliant second place finish on the medals table by a fantastic performance from an Assistant Cub Scout Leader from Stockport.

Matt Walker, 30, has been involved in Scouting since he joined as a Cub Scout and is currently the Assistant Cub Scout Leader at the 1st Marple Arkwright Cub Pack.

1st Marple Arkwright Scout Leader Mark Statham said, "Even as Matt's training schedule intensified in the build up to the games, he still kept up his commitment to Scouting."

Matt, who has mild cerebral palsy, clinched five medals; including gold in the 4x100m Relay, silver in the 50m Fly, silver in the 50m Freestyle, bronze in the 200m Individual Medley and bronze in the 100m Freestyle. In the 4x100m Relay the team also achieved a new world record.

Overall, ParalympicsGB finished second in the table with a haul of 42 gold medals, 29 silver medals and 31 bronze medals. China came first and the USA came third.

Commenting on his performance Matt, a veteran of games in Athens and Sydney, said, "I am just so happy. It's my best result at a Games ever. I want to compete in London. I don't want to miss it. I want to come back and have more success."

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