Greater London South West Scouting

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Focus on GLSW

Scouting in Greater London South West April 2003

St. George’s Day Awards

SILVER WOLF
In recognition for service of the most exceptional nature to Scouting
Shirley B Sainsbury-Brown District Treasurer / District Badge Secretary Richmond upon Thames
Gerald G C Day District Chairman Richmond upon Thames
BAR TO THE SILVER ACORN
In recognition of further specially distinguished service
Peter R Pocknell A.D.C. Cub Scouts North Croydon
Margarette D Donaldson A.D.C. Cub Scouts Richmond upon Thames
John R Howard V.S.L., 2nd Norbiton (St. Peters) Kingston and Malden
Roger A Stanley S.L., 1st St. Margarets Richmond upon Thames
SILVER ACORN
In recognition of specially distinguished service
Barry J Baker G.S.L., North Richmond Richmond upon Thames
Charles A Constantine Assistant Group Treasurer, 22nd Wimbledon (Holy Cross) Wimbledon and Merton
Keith G Daly G.S.L., 4th Worcester Park Sutton and Cheam
Jillian E Forbes A.B.S.L., 3rd Beddington (St Michaels) Wallington, Carshalton and District
Pamela M Grogan District Secretary Purley and District
Lynn M Milner S.L., East Sheen Richmond upon Thames
Miles K Morris S.L., 3rd Teddington (Christ Church) Richmond upon Thames
Mildred J Nelson Group Treasurer, 3rd Carshalton (Methodist)
District Executive Committee Member		 Wallington, Carshalton and District
Avril J Pettitt District Executive Committee Member North Croydon
Henry A Savill Group Executive Committee Member, Ham Richmond upon Thames
David S Shepherd G.S.L., 7th Purley All Saints Kenley Purley and District
Derek H Smith G.S.L., 15th Wallington (Scoutlink) Wallington, Carshalton and District
Roy H Tucker District Supporter Richmond upon Thames

County Commissioner

Hopefully the phrase "Shouting for Scouting" hasn't escaped your notice, and the campaigns that run with the slogan. But do we really do enough shouting for scouting? Perhaps not. We all become involved in scouting for various reasons and must do so because we enjoy it and believe in what it stands for and has to offer to young people, otherwise why would we remain.

Strangely though, we are not very good at marketing, at what many outside scouting see as a worthwhile organisation for young people with a good reputation. We tend to be rather introvert and not shout our wares. Often we don't see ourselves as being particularly 'good at the job of scouting'. I happen to think that in GLSW we are quite good about a lot of things in scouting. O.K. I won't pretend that we couldn't be doing better and there is always the need and room for improvement, but consider for a few minutes the list that I've drawn up.

Across the County in 5 London Boroughs, scouting goes on weekly, providing a programme for thousands of young people aged between 6 to 25.

Groups, Districts and County provide a wide range of activities for all to participate and enjoy. Just look at the County cooking Competition and Operation Red Flare to name but two.

Young people have the opportunities to express themselves to act or sing in gang shows or play in a band. We now have 5 bands in the County, some playing at quite prestigious events. There are opportunities for flying, parascending, hill-walking and rifle — shooting, all under proper qualified instruction.

International experiences last year were at an all time high, we've supported scouting in the Seychelles, not just by going there, but also providing tents and other resources. The Seychelles Scouts at the Thailand Jamboree were using some of the tents that we had sent! Again we had our own County contingent at a jamboree as well, providing a large number of leaders from GLSW as contingent support team members or as international support team.

We have two County bases, Bethesda and Bow Lane, which are well maintained and provide other opportunities for activities and training.

Scouting in GLSW has access to a full time paid development officer to help us put scouting further on the map.

More than 36 young people, last year, gained the highest training award possible in scouting the Queen's Scout Award.

I could state more and I bet having read the list, other things that I have not mentioned are brought to mind as well. Whatever level of scouting you are involved in, either as a warranted leader or as a lay member everyone of us has made some contribution to the above and made some difference to the life of a young person.

Proud of what you achieve? You ought to be, but don't keep it a secret, share it with others outside of scouting, so that other youngsters and adults for that matter too, have the opportunity to develop through scouting. So go..........

"Shouting For Scouting"

Roger

Awards

Bar to Medal of Merit
Martin W Wooden Richmond upon Thames
Medal of Merit
Mary L Kershaw Richmond upon Thames
David B Spear Sutton and Cheam
Ronald J Wellbrook Purley and District

Scouts

During my time at the Jamboree I was fortunate to be invited to a reception hosted by the Japanese contingent. Whilst I was at this event I was approached by a small Polynesian looking man who grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously whilst telling me that he had been looking for me for some days. I was a little bemused as I had never met this gentleman before but it turned out to be John Marie the International Commissioner for the Seychelles. He was there with 15 Scouts from the Islands, who were keen to meet with Scouts from GLSW and continue the friendships that had been forged through the Seychelles project.

This got me thinking. All the adults from the UK had the option of keeping the tents that they had been issued and I struck upon the idea for asking the GLSW leaders if they would consider giving their tent to the Seychelles Scouts. There was one small problem with this plan, namely that they were due to leave before any of us. So after a brief chat with the powers to be I was able to secure 6 brand new UK contingent tents to give to our friends.

So at around 7pm one evening near the end of the Jamboree all the adults who were available from GLSW, including a number who had been part of the expedition to the Islands gathered at the site where the Seychelles were camping to present them with the tents.

I think that it is fair to say that both sides will remember the warmth of friendship experienced that evening. Our hosts were delighted with our gift and delighted us with a gift in return of a signed book about the Islands and their contingent badges. The inscription in the book reads:

"Greater London South West. Thank you for all the help and support extended to the Seychelles Scout Association. I can assure you that what we have received so far has been of great help. Please convey our sincere thanks to each and everyone in the County. John Marie, Commissioner International."

But the highlight for me was when they proudly showed us the tent that they were using at the Jamboree. — It was one that had come from GLSW.

Many thanks to all of you who were able to complete and return the questionnaire that went out with the Scout Section Events book. As promised there was a prize of a new hike tent to the first Troop drawn out of the hat........... I am pleased to say that the 8th Morden can expect a delivery very soon.

I have not had much chance to look at the results but I can tell you that 86% of Troops have started the new programme, unfortunately 27% of you did not see the transition material that was sent/given to GSLs to help you change over schemes.

I know that it is still early days but only about half the Troops have discussed with the Cub Scout section about how the Moving On Award will work in their Group. This award is a very positive step in helping to retain our young people, so please do use it. I will give you a fuller break down of the findings in the coming months.

Ian Newbery Assistant County Commissioner Scouts

County Cooking Competition

Congratulations to 9th Carshalton, the winners of the recent County Cooking Competition. Here is their report on the day's events:

The GLSW County Cooking Competition 2003 took place on Sunday 9th February at 1st Hook Scout Hall. Our team the 9th Carshalton, consisted of Jen, Warren, Sachiko and Russell.

We started at 11am sharp and got straight into preparing our meal. Warren got to work right away on the beef stew and dumpling as the meat needed a lot of cooking. Russell was busy chopping the vegetables, Jen got to work on the lemon cheesecake and Sach took charge of the prawn cocktail! We made sure we all helped wash up and clear away as we went along and Sach prepared the table for dinner. We finished cooking our meal right on time at 1pm.

When the Judges came round they were highly commendable of our 'Best of British' meal.

When we were announced the winners we were ecstatic and our Leaders were very proud of us! We also won one of the many special awards, a rolling pin, for being perfect in every way.

We would like to say Thank You to our leaders Paula Wilson and Jenny McCarron and everyone who helped organise the competition.

The 9th Carshalton Team

Are You A Development Free Zone?

GLSW is currently the only County in the London region that has been able to obtain sufficient funding to set up and run a new Scout Development Project.

GLSW is actively supporting the Development of Scouting in the County, so don't be a 'Development Free Zone'! To find out how the Development Project could help you, go to our page on the County web site (www.glswscouts.org.uk/development) or give me a call. Tel: 020 8647 0969 E-mail: jo.launchbury@glswscouts.org.uk

Jo Launchbury Assistant County Commissioner Development

Group Accounts — A Reminder

All Groups must have an Annual General Meeting (AGM) and accounts, properly examined/audited must be presented at that meeting. If accounts, not properly examined/audited are not available, the AGM must be adjourned until these are available.

Group Treasurers and G.S.L.s are reminded that a copy of these accounts, approved at the AGM must be sent to the District Treasurer within 14 days of the AGM.

District Treasurers must ensure that every Scout Group sends him a copy of these approved accounts every year.

Please make sure that all Treasurers use the appropriate format issued by the Scout Association in the preparation of annual accounts.

Hallum Carter Pegg Chairman County Finance Committee

Evening Workshop Success

There was an overwhelming response to the Managing Unacceptable & Disruptive Behaviour workshop held on Thursday 6 March at Wallington. A total of 57 leaders took part in lively discussions and heard about Autism & Aspergers Syndrome, Stammering and Learning Difficulties, food allergies and allergic reactions, as well as other causes, and how to try and manage unacceptable and disruptive behaviour from youngsters and adults. This workshop may be repeated in GLSW or in one of the neighbouring London Counties.

Margaret Pooley Assistant County Commissioner Special Needs

Training Dates for 2003

Campfire Leaders 6 April Margaret Pooley
First Steps 1 May, 8 May and 19 June
Wimbledon & Merton District HQ
Tutor groups may meet on one further evening		 Margaret Pooley
Leadership One Beavers 5 October, 9 November and 7 December Joan Condon
Leadership One Cubs 8 June, 5–6 July, 5 October and 9 November Joan Condon
Leadership One Scouts 8 June, 5–6 July, 5 October and 9 November Joan Condon
Leadership Two 3–4 May or 18–19 October Pat Askey
GSL / Commissioner 21–23 November and 7 March Martin Whiting

Network

After much burning of the midnight oil the County Scout Network Committee has made its decision on the GLSW Scout Network scarf. It is royal blue with a narrow gold trim, and looks really 'wicked '! An order has been placed with Hewitts of Croydon, and delivery should be approximately 3–4 weeks. Not so, as far as the County Scout Network Standard is concerned. After three attempts an order has been placed with Lancing. Once we have the delivery date the Committee will arrange for a suitable occasion when the flag can be dedicated.

The Annual census has now been completed, and 36 members registered directly with County. Many thanks for all your co-operation in sending me your completed registration forms and subscriptions. This number will increase significantly when we have added those who have been included on the District census returns. The next administration task is to ensure everyone is CRB checked. Oh, what joy!!!!

Local Scout Networks are now fully operational in three of the five Boroughs — Croydon, Merton and Richmond, and I commend the efforts of the Local Coordinators for their commitment and enthusiasm. A programme planning meeting in Merton on March 2 attracted 22 'members', and this augurs well for the future. Meetings to kick-start Local Scout Networks in Kingston and Sutton will take place on March 27 and April 9 respectively, and we hope these will be equally well-supported. The Belarus Project Network meets at Bow Lane on April 2 — all of you are welcome to this — refreshments from 7.45pm onwards.

The County Conference will be held on July 10, and all members of the GLSW Network are encouraged to attend and have their say. Details will be available shortly, but we can tell you there will be a barbecue and disco after the business part of the meeting. Navigator files will be on sale at a bargain price!

Our most recent activity was 'Operation Red Flare' on March 1. A team from Croydon battled it out against 19 others, including Explorers, Venture Scouts, and Rangers, in a large-scale points-score orienteering competition with incidents on Headley Heath at night. Alas, they did not win any of the trophies, but their presence was noted! Several other members of the Scout Network from across the County assisted by staffing checkpoints — many thanks to them.

Future events include the Rugby Sevens on Sunday April 13 [note: now rescheduled for Sunday September 21] at the Old Whitgiftian RFC in South Croydon, and a Water Activities Extravaganza over the early May Bank Holiday at Longridge. Please hurry and book your place if you wish to participate — details on the County website. The Network will not parade together on St.George's Day — please will all members make their own arrangements to attend local District parades.

At this point there are no firm plans for the Summer, but we have received invitations to attend one or both of two camps in southern Sweden at the end of July as members of their Service Teams. Ho Ho can also be arranged. Watch the website or ask your Local Coordinator for information.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns about the Network.

Christopher Dean County Scout Network Commissioner

Tony Edwards

Tony Edwards, our County Chairman, is recovering well following his recent major heart surgery. We wish him a speedy recovery and send our good wishes also to Shirley and the family.

Please note that, for the immediate future, any County matters that Tony was dealing with should be referred to John Taylor, Joan Uridge, Nigel Steward or Roger Hurrion.

International

International PC forms

Reminder that for all trips overseas an International PC form has to be completed. These are available from me and have to be submitted with an outline programme, insurance details and overseas activity authorisations. These will need to be countersigned by GSL for Cubs and Scouts and Explorer Scout Commissioner for Explorer Scouts. County Network Commissioner and County Commissioner will countersign any Network forms. Please make sure supporting documentation is enclosed and that these are submitted two months prior to trip for Europe and six months elsewhere.

12th World Moot — Taiwan 2004

The first bulletin from the Moot Contingent Leaders has recently been forwarded to all DCs. It contains more details about costs and various options available. Details have also been added to the International pages of the County website. If you are interested please complete and return the application form. The age range is 18–26 so it is open to Network members, Leaders and there may be some older Explorer Scouts who will be of the correct age next year.

Stephen Clark Assistant County Commissioner International

Diary Dates

2 April Executive County Scout Centre
28 May Gang Show Management TBA
29 May Team County Scout Centre
2 June Finance 67 Westow St., SE19
8 June DC’s Conference County Scout Centre
11 June County AGM Wimbledon & Merton District HQ
19 June Scout Section County Scout Centre
16 July Gang Show Management TBA

Message from Roger Hurrion

Many thanks to all those who sent cards and messages of sympathy after the recent death of my mother. Your kind words and thoughts at a difficult time were very helpful and much appreciated.

Roger CC

Making Scouting Count

The census has been completed for another year! We have been catalogued, counted and categorised, There has been the race for which Group or District will complete first to submit its information and of course, the competition for the Group that will complete last!

Now the work has finished, many people need to be thanked: Section Leaders, GSL's, Group and District Secretaries and of course our County Secretary, Angela Sailing who has once again done a sterling job coordinating the whole task. However, what should we now do with the information that has been collected?

If we do not understand who we are, what we are made of and the type of people who now appear to join, we cannot develop Scouting in our County and make it more relevant to the communities within our boundaries.

District 2002 2003 Variation (%)
Central Croydon 608 557 -51 (-8%)
Eastern Croydon 722 633 -89 (-12%)
Kingston and Malden 539 523 -16 (-3%)
North Croydon 499 473 -26 (-5%)
Purley and District 1,246 1,177 -69 (-6%)
Richmond Upon Thames 1,753 1,696 -57 (-3%)
Surbiton 957 949 -8 (-1%)
Sutton and Cheam 1,330 1,198 -132 (-10%)
Wallington, Carshalton & District 952 934 -18 (-2%)
Wandle 808 761 -47 (-6%)
Wimbledon and Merton 711 675 -36 (-5%)
Scout Network   36    
County 21 24 3 (14%)
Total 10,146 9,636 -510 (-5%)

So, exactly what is contained in this year's membership figures? First, the bad news:

However, there is some good news and some interesting details contained within the results:

Many Groups have provided figures relating to their waiting lists. Once again, this is an interesting point..... alarming in fact. There are 293 young people, who are of the required age, on waiting lists who want to take part in Scouting within GLSW! If places had been offered to these youngsters, three of our districts would have seen an increase in their membership and we would have recorded an overall increase in Beavers across the County. Food for thought maybe?

Now is the time for each of us to look again at the census figures. In fact, I suggest that the issue is placed on every Executive and Leader meeting agenda in the next few months and perhaps consideration is given to how one of the following new initiatives can resolve, or even enhance your particular circumstance:

Nigel Steward Deputy County Commissioner

GLSW Scout County Information Sheet
Internet and E-Mail Resources

GLSW County Resources

GLSW Web-site — at www.glswscouts.org.uk is an evolving web-site for all members of the County, including the GLSW newsletter 'Focus' on-line, County and District contacts, diary, information, and news. Please send any changes or new content to webmaster@glswscouts.org.uk.

GLSW E-Group — an e-mail group with over 170 members — e-mail announcements are sent to the e-group on a regular basis, keeping everyone up-to-date with any developments. You can join the e-group via the Home Page of the County web-site (see above). You can also use the e-group to send information using glsw@yahoogroups.com (messages to the group are checked before they are distributed).

UK Scout Association Resources

The official web-site of the UK Scout Association is www.scoutbase.org.uk. This is a vast resource of information for anyone involved in UK Scouting. This site also has links to many other useful Scouting related sites. Scoutbase includes an e-mail directory (SiD) that covers the whole of the UK. You can add your contact information to SiD if you want to.

Scout Association e-mail groups — via SiD on Scoutbase it is possible to join different 'specialist' e-mail lists and information will then be sent to you on a regular basis. This is a good way to hear about special events and keep up-to-date with the latest information, particularly things that come up at very short notice.

Scouts Reunited is a website that allows Scouts to make contact with old Scouting friends: www.scoutsreunited.co.uk.

There is another Scout Association web-site for those who are not currently involved in Scouting and want to know more: www.scouts.org.uk.

Other Resources

Scoutlink provides a safe area for Scout and Guide members world-wide to join together in supervised 'chat' rooms. This service is used extensively during Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) but is available all year round. It is easy to set-up and use, and all you need can be found on the Scoutlink web-site: www.scoutlink.org.

There is a popular 'open forum' or newsgroup that can be found via groups.google.com and then searching for 'uk.rec.scouting' [note: or can be accessed via news:uk.rec.scouting if you have suitable news reader software] — there is always lively debate covering many issues on this unofficial site.

These are a few of the resources that we have found useful or interesting. There are many more and if you have any you would like added please let us know. Contact us via webmaster@glswscouts.org.uk.

Focus on GLSW

Items for the June issue should be submitted by 17 May 2003 to the editor: focus@glswscouts.org.uk