![[The Scouts logo]](/images/scouts150.png)
Focus on GLSW
Scouting in Greater London South West June 2002
Commonwealth Visitors
At the end of April the County hosted two Venture Scouts and the International Commissioner, John Marie, from the Seychelles. They had been invited to join our Queens Scouts to parade at Windsor to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee.
During their time here they visited various attractions and were invited to a tour of London. This included visits to The Jewel House, The Changing of the Guard, The Guildhall for lunch, a trip on the London Eye and finished with tea on the terrace at the Houses of Parliament where they were joined by the Chief Scout. Their highlight was however the parade at Windsor.
![[Photograph of the GLSW Contingent at the Windsor Parade]](images/focus-2002-06-p1.jpg "Our Contingent entering the Quadrangle – from the Seychelles and marching in the middle is Mary-Anne Florentine and next to her was Patrick Hoareau (although he is obscured).")
This home hospitality again strengthens our links with the Seychelles. It is hoped that they will be voted into the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) as an accredited member in July.
Reminder for those intending to travel abroad
Those wishing to travel abroad this year are reminded that they must complete an International PC form even if your trip is only for a day. When submitting the form please ensure that all supporting documentation is enclosed as trips can not be authorised without it.
County Annual General Meeting
The County AGM will be held this year on 3 July, it starts prompt at 8:00pm and will be held at Wallington, Carshalton and District's headquarters in Woodcote Road, Wallington (adjacent to Shotfield Car Park).
For those unsure of the location, visit www.glswscouts.org.uk/agm to view a map.
All members of the County are invited to come and listen to the keynote speaker, John May who is the Chairman of the Programme and Development Directorate at Headquarters. After the meeting there will be a chance to catch up with friends across the County and light refreshments will be provided.
Safety in Scouting
The majority of Districts have appointed a Safety Coordinator whose role is one of advice, support and coordination being responsible to the District Executive Committee, through the District Chairman, in discharging its duties with regards to the management of Health and Safety. It has been agreed that, in conjunction with Scout Groups/Camp Site Wardens, the Safety Coordinator would assist them in carrying out a risk assessment of their meeting places and endeavour to complete this task for all Groups/Camp Sites in their Districts prior to 30th April 2003.
If you require any information on Health and Safety please contact either your District Safety Coordinator or myself.
![[PRI]](/images/prilogo.png)
New Programme Launch
Did you miss the previous launches of the New Programme?
There will be one final launch of the New Programme at Bow Lane Scout Centre at 7.15pm for a prompt 7.30pm start on Wednesday 10 July 2002.
The evening will be in a similar format to the previous launches, which took place in March.
The evening will include:
- An overview of the New Programme.
- An opportunity to discuss the new programme in detail with the ACC's and their launch teams.
- An opportunity to ask questions.
This will be a non-uniformed event and everyone is welcome. The evening should finish at 10.00pm. For further information, please contact:
A St. George's Day to Remember: Windsor 2002
We all remember the time of year when we don our uniforms to parade the High Street whilst being watched by our local community for St. George's Day. Yet this year was quite different for me. For a start, it wasn't accompanied by the usual rain. But, more importantly, I was one of the lucky few that had been asked to attend the national parade at Windsor, being a newly named Queen's Scout.
Having grown up with the annual tradition of St. George's Day parades, I thought that I was more than able to march the short distance expected of us. However, this belief was not shared by our superiors, and we were treated to a full morning's marching practice at the barracks. It was always comforting to hear the drill sergeant shout out helpful words of encouragement, such as 'It's not rocket science!'
After literally a quick bite to eat, we made our way up to the castle where we would be able to show off our newly found skills. The tension was high, not least because we were marching in front of hundreds of onlookers, but because, being the Jubilee year, the Queen herself would be inspecting her Scouts, along with the Duke of Edinburgh. Then the moment came, and we set off in front of the 'screaming fans' (well, proud parents, leaders and fellow Scouters!). Once in our positions, we stood awaiting Her Majesty to pass. She seemed to be having a great day as well, taking her time to talk to most of us and in no obvious rush to return and play with her birthday presents.
Once inspected, the parade again displayed their marching skills to the crowds, this time past Her Majesty and onto a service in the castle's St. George's chapel. The service was very diverse, including traditional hymns, the renewal of our promises, Welsh prayers and a Whitney Houston love song! Being spiritually enriched, we departed for a final message from 'the Boss'. George Purdy informed us of how delighted the Queen was and wished us well for our future lives.
![[Photograph of some of the GLSW Contingent at the Windsor Parade]](images/focus-2002-06-p2.jpg "Some of the GLSW Contingent, relaxed in the Royal Mews after the event.")
Not wanting to disappoint the unlucky people outside the castle grounds, we marched the streets of Windsor, before being finally dismissed. Cheers were cried from each section before they departed, and ours was no exception. Having the privilege of being joined by other Commonwealth Scouts, our 'hip-hip-hooray' was somewhat special being lead by a Scout from Cameroon.
Having talked beforehand to other Queen's Scouts who had attended the national service, I had high expectations, all these were met, and more. It was a fantastic day that will live long in my memory. I only hope now that my local one next year can live up to it. Oh well, maybe it won't rain at least!
![[Scout Network]](/images/network.png)
Greetings from your new County Scout Network Commissioner!!
Steady if unspectacular progress is being made in setting up the Network in GLSW.
All Districts have been asked to provide some statistical information about the 18–25 membership in their patch, and I am busy collating the replies. Initial indications would suggest we would start with approximately 350 members County-wide.
The next phase is to discuss with individual DCs where to base Local Networks, and I hope this process will be finalised during July to allow two months before our proposed launch date of 1 September.
Meanwhile, I am hot on the trail of a County Scout Network Administrator, and hope to make an announcement at the 'gathering' for potential members of the Network at the County Base, Bow Lane, Morden, on Wednesday 26 June at 8pm. All existing Venture Scouts and Section Leaders and Helpers aged between 17 and 25 are encouraged to attend.
During the autumn, I plan to organise a 'training' concentrating on the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, and a little later we shall hold the first Meeting of the County Scout Network Committee. This meeting is an opportunity for all Local Network Coordinators – there are no Network Leaders – to meet and discuss the way forward, and arrangements for County-organised events and activities. I shall also be meeting my opposite numbers in adjacent Counties, and in November attend a Network Leadership course at Gilwell. Busy times ahead for us all methinks.
If anyone has any suggestions or questions please email me at chris.dean@glswscouts.org.uk. I look forward to meeting you all on June 26 – see you then.
Venture Scout Unit Plan Their Third Expedition to Kenya
The 1st Merton Park and Raynes Park Venture Scout Unit, from Wimbledon & Merton District have been actively fundraising throughout the last year and a half for their planned expedition to Mbarake-Chembie, Kenya.
The expedition will last three weeks and we are due to depart for Kenya at the end of July.
The purpose of the expedition is to build a five bed maternity ward block which will be able to provide acute and 24 hour care. This is the third time Wimbledon and Merton Venture Scouts have been to Mbarake-Chembie. There exists already at the same site a clinic and doctor's accommodation. Both are buildings built previously by the Wimbledon and Merton Venture Scouts.
![[Photograph of Andre at the County Dinner]](images/focus-2002-06-p3.jpg "Andre with the cheque for £1,000 presented to members of 1st Merton Park and Raynes Park Venture Scout Unit, at the County Dinner earlier this Year.")
The County have donated a £1000 towards our expedition that has involved a huge amount of fundraising. We greatly appreciate the donation and it will go a long way to helping us meet our fundraising target. Statistics available suggest that over 75 babies lives are being saved a year with the existence of the current facilities of the clinic. Imagine what the addition of a maternity/ward block will achieve!
Croham Valley Joint Unit Service Project in Belarus
The Croham Valley Joint Unit is travelling to Belarus this summer to build an adventure playground at an orphanage near Radun in the north of the Country. This project runs from August 3rd to 15th, and will involve approximately 10 people.
The Unit has one or two spare places which it would like to fill, so if you are aged 17 and over, and can afford £200, possibly less, contact Ian Harding, Project Leader for further information.
![[Explorer Scouts]](/images/explorer.png)
Hello again. Since the last edition of Focus, things have been going at a very fast speed… I have been jet setting around GLSW visiting various meetings and finding out what's going!
I'll start with a bit of National news – hot off the press…
The Young Leaders scheme is in the final stages of writing so the full training scheme should be out on time. The team who have been producing this have been working closely with the Adult Support team, to make sure that the systems complement one another.
Now that the new resources are coming on line, the second phase of publications is being looked at – there are some fantastic ideas which are currently being refined, which will be of help to leaders working in all sorts of sections.
The revamp of Scoutbase is well underway and promises to be far more user friendly and corporate in both look and design… watch out at the end of June!
And finally… a bit of a reminder that there will be no changes made to the programme before 2005… this said, if people have noticed either mistakes or other issues please feed them into the relevant sectional teams at HQ! Some of the publications will no doubt have to be reprinted in the not too distant future, so corrections to graphics etc can be made easily… changes to badge syllabuses etc wont be though!
On to some county news…
I have set up a County Explorer Scout Community on MSN: GLSWExplorerScouts@communities.msn.co.uk.
I hope that this will be used as a tool to initially help support adults involved or interested in the Explorer Scout section…
All the Districts are at different stages with their implementation plans, but I am glad that people are putting the time in to really think about what would work best in their patch. A few Districts have already got their proposals in to County – which I have started to read through. It is not a race, and although most people are itching to get started, we have to ensure that the plans are well thought through as well as planning for success…
It has been good to see the different ways that the young people concerned have been directly consulted and their views and opinions listened to – often with some surprising results!
The key thing to remember is that there are very few hard and fast rules about how Explorer Scouting can be set up – this is to ensure that a chosen structure is right for that area. Flexibility also means regularly reviewing the provision in an area, and making changes as required. It is worth remembering this as Districts are putting their plans together, as the structure that they set up now is likely to evolve as the new section takes off, numbers and the opportunities on offer will increase!
As ever, please contact me about any thing to do with Explorer Scouts… We have a fantastic opportunity ahead of us to bring some brilliant Scouting to more young people, but we have to make sure that we have the structure in place for it to work…
Electronic Communication
The County Support Team is currently looking at ways to improve how it communicates with others within the County and it is now very clear that the use of e-mail is a very effective tool. To assist us with our plans, I would be pleased if your could take some time to consider the following questions:
- Is your e-mail address registered with SiD at www.scoutbase.org.uk?
- Are you a member of a District Team or a GSL and have not yet registered your e-mail address with webmaster@glswscouts.org.uk or would you like to nominate someone in your group to become your Group e-mail secretary with webmaster@glswscouts.org.uk (only one entry per group please).
- Are you registered on the e-group facility associated with the County Website www.glswscouts.org.uk? – if not please consider registering today.
- Do your entries in these registers need to be updated?
- Do you know someone who has not registered their details with any of these facilities, if so, please encourage them to do so.
Thank you
Awards
| Bar to Medal of Merit | |
|---|---|
| L K Bixby | Wandle |
| D A Johnson | Wandle |
| B E Whalebone | Wandle |
| R S Mann | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| Medal of Merit | |
| P Norton | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| J Waghorn | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| E Aslett | Wimbledon & Merton |
| J B Burgess | Wimbledon & Merton |
| L K McLauchlan | Wimbledon & Merton |
| W J Tombs | Wimbledon & Merton |
| Chief Scout's Commendation for Good Service | |
| C Bygrave | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| S M Carlin | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| M R Clarke | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| M R Davey | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| I M L Ellis | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| N D Heron | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| A F Lasrado | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| G A Renton | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| S G Smith | Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| J Purchase | Wimbledon & Merton |
| P J Skrebowski | Wimbledon & Merton |
| J P Whiting | Wimbledon & Merton |
| Chief Scout's Long Service Decoration | |
| Anthony G Edwards MBE | County |
| Bar to Long Service Decoration | |
| Nigel C Steward | County |
| Jenny M Jefferson | North Croydon |
| Shirley Sanders | Wandle |
| Long Service Decoration | |
| Andrea J Leonard | Central Croydon |
| Christopher Nelson | Central Croydon |
| Peter Heather | Eastern Croydon |
| Malcolm H Dalton | Purley and District |
| Stuart England | Purley and District |
| Russell G Priestley | Purley and District |
| Kevin J Bagwell | Richmond upon Thames |
| Mary L Kershaw | Richmond upon Thames |
| Alan M V Cooke | Surbiton |
| Jacqueline L Taylor | Surbiton |
| William J Tombs | Wimbledon and Merton |
Diary Dates
| 2002 | Meeting | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June | 9 | DCs Conference | County Scout Centre |
| 26 | Scout Network | County Scout Centre | |
| TBA | Finance | 67 Westow Street, SE19 | |
| July | 3 | AGM | District HQ Wallington, Carshalton & District |
| 10 | Programme Launch | County Scout Centre | |
| September | 6–8 | Bethesda Working Party | Yr Hen Neaudd (Bethesda) |
| 9 | Finance | 67 Westow Street, SE19 | |
| 25 | Executive | County Scout Centre | |
| October | 22–26 | Gang Show | Secombe Centre |
| November | 14 | Team | County Scout Centre |
| 17 | DCs Conference | County Scout Centre | |
| 18 | Finance | 67 Westow Street, SE19 | |
| December | 4 | Executive | County Scout Centre |
Focus on GLSW
After a year in the editor's chair, Phil Davies has decided to step down. So the search is on again to find an editor for Focus. If you know of someone who would like to take on this important role for the County, please contact me.
Items for the October issue should be submitted by 15 September 2002 to the editor: focus@glswscouts.org.uk
E-mail to webmaster