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Buckholt Bulletin
October already! But what happened to the summer?
Buckholt as ever have had an extremely hectic time with the scouts enjoying a varied & adventurous programme. Monday nights have been very well attended with some weeks where 50 + scouts have turned up - which is very encouraging. Again it is only thanks to the dedicated leader team, helpers & explorers who are present each week that we can offer a full programme to so many scouts.
So what have we been up to?
Each scout had the opportunity to visit the Creation Rock climbing Centre in Moseley as part of a four way base - the other activities being Backswoods cooking, knife, axe & saw training & taking part in an animation project.
The troop as a whole completed a night hike based from & around Hampton in Arden & training programmes of first aid & map/compass instruction have been undertaken.
Throughout April the entire troop gained the Fire Safety activity badge with the help of Solihull Fire Station. The course which was totally organised by the fire service ran for three weeks. Week one was held at the HQ with the scouts learning the theory behind fire safety. During week two a fire engine was present at the HQ to put out a staged fire as one of our old tents was set alight to demonstrate fire safety procedures whilst away at camp followed by the scouts in teams entering a smoke filled hall & committee room in order to rescue a “body” (ok a bit dramatic - a rugby ball…). Week three & the troop were invited to Solihull fire station for a final exam & a tour of the station & appliances. The fire fighters also set up an assault course in the station yard which involved ladders, hoses & lots of water! Needless to say there were many wet scouts & leaders. Our thanks go to Solihull Fire Brigade for their help & hospitality.
In May the troop had an activity weekend at Ystradgynlais which is situated at the southern end of the Brecon Beacons in Wales.
Our accommodation was the HQ of the 1 Swansea Valley “Oak” scout group & Saturday was spent hill walking locally in very changeable weather conditions ending with a campfire in the evening. On Sunday we visited Dan-yr-Ogof, The National Showcaves Centre for Wales, ironically we go underground & the sun shone brilliantly! All in all a very enjoyable weekend.
Back to the summer & throughout June & July the scouts undertook another four way base programme - canoeing down on Olton Mere, Archery in the scout HQ, building fires & cooking & a scavenger hunt around Shirley. The bad weather throughout the so called summer months did mean that we had to improvise on more than one occasion!
Summer Camp - the highlight of our scouting year and the plan was to celebrate the centenary of scouting at our favourite site at Burrington near Ludlow. Following several days of extreme wet weather, the river Teme (on whose banks our camping field is situated) flooded leaving our site several feet under water which left Buckholt in somewhat of a dilemma with only four days to the start of our camp.
After a morning of making endless phone calls attempting to find an alternative venue at short notice, Andy B. (Explorer Leader) pointed us in the direction of Parc Le Breos, a back to basics scout campsite situated on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales. Fortunately they had a field available for our camp & it was with huge relief when our convoy of three minibuses, one lorry, five cars & a box trailer eventually hit the road on the Saturday morning. For Buckholt this was our largest ever camp with 36 scouts, 5 Explorers, 2 Cubs & 13 leaders all hoping for a dry week!
We left Shirley in glorious sunshine but ended up pitching tents on the Gower in the pouring rain which lasted until the early hours of Sunday. Fortunately we took for the first time on a summer camp the largest of the groups marquees & it was in this that everyone congregated somewhat soaked for our first evening meal as the dining shelters were no way ready to cook in on the Saturday.
The weather then changed from the Sunday morning to sunshine for most of the week which meant we could proceed with our planned programme which included archery, abseiling, making plaster casts, kite building, preparing & cooking mackerel in newspaper over embers, walking a stretch of the Gower coastal path, visiting the town of Mumbles, constructing mud ovens to cook chickens, visiting two local beaches & taking part in the Scouting Sunrise. This momentous event took place at 8am on 1 August around the Centenary flag which we flew for the entire week. Buckholt scouts joined in with a global renewal of the scout promise - it was a thought provoking moment as we entered a second century of scouting.
Back to the rain - Friday pm on camp & as we started to take down some of the tents the heavens opened & it poured down. The rain didn’t stop until we were on the M5 on our way home Saturday afternoon. It took 16 days after returning home to hang & dry all the canvas used on camp - but that’s the risk with camping! A very tiring but none the less successful summer camp for 2007. We will endeavour to return to Burrington for 2008, weather permitting…
September - back to School, the evenings are fast drawing in, programmes on the whole are HQ based apart from a wide game at Earlswood & a night hike planned mid October. We look forward to our usual bonfire night celebrations & then before we know it Christmas will be just around the corner.
The planning of next years activities has already started - watch this space!
Finally, thanks go to Andy V. who has generated a new website for Buckholt - be sure to check it out - www.buckholtscouts.org.uk
That’s all for now!
Paul W. - Scout leader