Dates for the New Session

The new session is nearly on us, so these are the dates each section will start back.

Beavers (Inverkip): Friday 12th Sep 5.45pm - 6.45pm

Beavers (Wemyss Bay): Thursday 18th Sep 6.15pm - 7.15pm

Cubs (Inverkip): Friday 12th Sep 6pm - 7.30pm

Cubs (Wemyss Bay): Thursday 18th Sep 7.15pm - 8.30pm

Scouts (Inverkip): Wednesday 10th Sep 7pm - 9.30pm

Explorers (Inverkip): Wednesday 10th Sep 7pm - 9.30pm

In the meantime, we wish the best of luck to our Scout Patrols who are entering the Hardie Webster competition this year. They've already started training and should have a great experience at the competition the weekend before we all start back.

Great Tower '08

What a week. Well done to all 15 Scouts and 5 Explorers who took part in this year's Summer Camp to Great Tower on Lake Windermere in the Lake District. Not one complained about the rain as they cooked their meals on their own fires for the week and took part in actvities ranging from Caving and Climbing to Mountain Biking and Hillwalking. With an average age of less than 11½, all campers performed fantastically well throughout. Photos are available here for you to download or order prints.

Austria '08

Four of our Explorers have just returned from the Greenock District trip to Austria. Over 50 Scouts and Explorers from around the District travelled by coach to Austria at the start of July to stay in the idillic Alpine village of Stanzach in the Lecht Valley. They enjoyed Hillwalking, White Water Rafting, Canyonning, Castles and much more. Thanks to David Storey, Mark Sinnamon and team for organising the trip. Check the District website here soon for a gallery of photos or here for Callum's photos.

 

ps. 3 of them got dropped off at our own summer camp at Great Tower on the journey back. Now that's dedication!

 

pps. Good luck to Darren Percival who will complete the Hat Trick by joining the International Jamborette at Blair Atholl next week.

 

 

 

Parachuting - Again?

Here we go again! Not content with jumping out of an aeroplane from 10,000ft strapped to an instructor (March), the explorers have decided to return to try a solo jump or 2. Th enew visit will be on the weekend of 13th/14th September. Any explorer aged 16 or over and under 14st should return their form by end June.

 

Laser Station

Scouts and Explorers are ending the session with a zap at Laser Station in Xscape Braehead on 25th June. Boys should return their permission form on Wednesday 18th.

The places are limited so they'll be allocated o na first-come first served basis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fishing

7th June 2008 - the Unit has spent a great weekend at Portencross beach and Pier near Seamill demonstrating their fishing skills to the local wildlife. At the end of the weekend a total of 4 mackerel had been caught and barbequed. Some photos can be found here using the password fishing.

 

Caving

We are delighted to announce that Scout Leader Alan Fielding has gained his Caving Instructor certification after an assessment with a national coach in Lancashire last week. Alan and caving and climbing partner Gary were able to apply their day jobs as rope access technicians and their years of experience leading in Britain's toughest caving systems to gain the certification. Caving has always been a big hit with 85th scouts in the past and we look forward to opening the experience to more of today's Scouts and Explorers.

Group Camp Everton

The leaders would like to say thankyou to all 100 campers from the 85th who contributed to such a fantastic Group Camp at Everton for making the weekend such great fun. This was the first ever of what we will make an annual event. Everyone showed great enthusiasm for all the games and activities including the slimy slide, the sumo wresting, the boxing, the earthball, Jacob's Ladder, bivouac building and lots more. We had the biggest and grandest water ballooon fight ever seen at Everton, and managed to cook all sorts of concoctions in our backwoods cooking. And for once the weather smiled on us all. It really was a great weekend.

There are loads fo photos available - too many to load onto this website, so as an experiment, we are publishing all the photos on a specialist site. You can browse the photos fairly easily here, (when asked for a password give groupcamp) and hopefully find a photo or 2 with your child in it. Try out the slide show as an easy way to run through the photos, but give it some time to get started. You can even order some prints from the site providers.

Parachuting

Three Explorer’s from our Ardgowan Explorer Unit have successfully completed parachute jumps last week. Jordan, Graeme and Mark each jumped tandem from 10’000ft and enjoyed a 30 second free fall before their chutes were deployed. The boys had pitched their tents and camped out on the airfield and waited all weekend for a break in the weather before finally completing their jumps between 5pm and 6pm on Sunday evening. They’re now planning a return trip in August which may even see them earning their Parachutist badges. Anyone who would like to join them (including parents or other family over 16yrs and under 14st) should contact Andy Yarr using the details in Contact Us. More pictures and videos are available in the Explorer Gallery.

Auchengillan

Well done to the 25 Scouts and Explorers who braved the weather in our weekend Orienteering camp at Auchengillan. The camp doubled as a Patrol Training Camp and boys have learned some new camping skills in preparation for Summer Camp in Great Tower as well as completing the 2nd of 3 Orienteering events towards the Orienteers badge. Look out for more camps and orienteering events in the comng weeks. There are a few pictures in the Scout Gallery.

Leader Hillwalking Authorisations

We are delighted ot announce that Alan Fielding, Carrie Gibson and Andy Yarr have all renewed and upgraded their Hillwalking Authorisations for the next 5 years. Each is now able to lead a party of Scouts on any hill in the UK in either Summer or in Winter conditions within reasonable safety conditions. In addition to that, each is now qualified as a 'Hill Supervisor' and is able to coordinate multiple parties on the same hill. We understand we are now probably among the most highly qualified scout hillwalking leaders in the country. Supported by the arrival of the new District Minibus, we are now looking forward to arranging many hillwalking trips in the future.

Orienteering

Congratulations to all boys who took part in the Orienteering day at Mugdock Country Park on Saturday. We divided the groups into mixed older and younger Scouts to give the younger boys a taste of the Medium level course. For those who are interested we now need to take part in 2 more organised events to earn the Orienteering Badge. Watch out for details of the next trip coming soon. See some pictures in the Scout Gallery.

Great Tower Summer Camp

All Scouts and Explorers look out this week for your registration form for this year's Summer Camp at Great Tower campsite in the Lake District. An advance party has just visited the site and planned our programme for the week. The site and surrounding area has new activities including high ropes and low ropes as well as Kayaking, Caving, Climbing, Mountain Biking and some hillwalking.

Summer camp is a great chance for new and younger scouts to learn how to look after themselves from getting themselves ready for action every morning to preparing and cooking their own meals. Older scouts develop their leadership skills as they run their patrol site with help from Leaders and Explorers. No-one ever forgets their Scout Summer Camps.

The date has unfortunately had to change from our original planned date due to a new partnership agreement Great Towers has with an activity company. This camp will now take place from Sat 5th - Sat 12th July.

A few of the photos taken from the advance trip can be see at the Scout Gallery.

Amateur Radio

A big thanks to the 10th R&I who very kindly hosted a few of our scouts for an evenign fo Amateur Radio in January. 3 scouts have gained their Communicator badge after the event and the other sare hoping for a return visit to allow them to complete the remaining work.

Meanwhile, Blair, Stefan and Lloyd have signed up for a full Amateur Radio License course with the 10th which is being run over the next few months. Good luck to all, and more thanks to the 10th.

Climbing Wall

Well done to all 24 Scouts and Explorers who spent an evening at the Ibrox Climbing Wall over the last 2 weeks. Together you climbed a total height of .. well .... a lot! And more importantly, you learned to trust your rope and your climbing partner. Look out for similar events outdoors as we come into summer. The Climber badge requires you to have a good understanding of ropework and to have taken part in several climbing seesions indoors and out.

Thanks also to the parents who helped out with transport for these evenings, we can't do it without you.

Burns Supper

The Scouts and Explorers are holding our annual Burns Supper in the Church Hall on Friday February 15th. The evening will be a traditional supper cooked by our professional chefs (really) followed by entertainment. To book, you tickets contact any Scout leader Details are in the Contact Us page. BYOB.

Bag Packing 

Well done to all Scouts and Explorer Scouts who helped raise funds on Saturday by packing bags at Morrison's Supermarket in Greenock. Morrison's have kindly allowed us to provide this service again this year following our success with the venture in the past. The shop was busier than ever before and after an exhausting two shifts for all involved there was a whopping £1685.73 raised on the day for our funds. We are now looking forward to our follow up event on Saturday 22nd March.

Holiday Snaps

29th Dec. While most of you were playing your xbox's or feasting on too much Christmas Pudding, Jordan and Mark were deep below the ground in Yorkshire rolling in mud and climbing into and out of the odd abyss. Here's a few of their holiday snaps. Do you have any to add?

The 85th Hits the News Again

Have you read the latest issue of Scottish Scout News? Two of our Explorers have made the front page after their photos have been used on the new SHQ Display Trailer to promote Scouting at major outdoor events. We can't name them here but you know who they are. The trailer made its debut at the National Conference last month. Look out for it at a major event soon, and see what you can aspire to. Check out the full story on the Scottish Scout Headquarters site here.

Armistice Parade

The leaders would like to thank the 100 Wemyss Bay and Inverkip Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and of course the parents behind the scenes for turning out so smartly and in such great numbers on Sunday for the village’s Armistice parade. They were all a credit to the Group. Along with the Guides’ sections, we managed to fill Inverkip Church to capacity before marching to the Cenotaph to pay our respects.