United Reformed Church, Bluehouse Lane, Oxted,
18th May 2007
The President’s Message
Re-reading my Message for last year’s AGM I see that I said that the Donkey Derby for last year would be the last for my wife and me. We had been with it from its inception. I added that we both feel that we needed a break. Anno domini was catching up!!
Sadly, Hazel was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the back end of 2006, so whether or not we had planned a break, it was out of our hands.
I wish the Group every success with the 36th Donkey Derby.
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It seems to me that we have been most fortunate in the securing of our “new” Leaders. Of course, they are no longer new, having been in post for 18 months or more. They have all “blossomed” in their jobs and once again the Group is looking to secure its place at the top of the District for numbers of people within the Group.
There was a glitch. When Peggy Gray retired we were unable to secure a member of staff at Moor House School to replace her. So, unfortunately, the Moor House Cub Pack had to close. Some of the boys have transferred into the Acorn Cub Pack and some into the Scout Troop, but there were some who could not travel to us.
We hope that at some time in the future we may be able to restart the Cub Pack at Moor House School.
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Last year I also wrote of the old hands who have been with the Group over more years than they dreamed of when they started.
I’m not quite sure what it is about the Scout movement, but while there are some who join for a couple of years then leave, there are many who are prepared to devote many years to “Scouts”. They see kids come in as young Cubs (Beavers nowadays!) and progress through the age groups some going on to become Leaders themselves. It’s almost a family thing.
I’ll tell you what, though! You realise that you are getting a little old yourself when you hear that one of your young Cubs is now a Grandfather!!
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I have done the AGM Report for so many years that I’ve forgotten when I started it. I am very pleased that Nick has taken up the “cross”!!
Mike Moss, President
Chairman’s Report 2007
It is with great sadness that I must amend the report I originally prepared.
Hazel Moss, wife of our Life President Mike died last week after a bravely
fought illness. Whilst never a member of the Group, over many years Hazel
was always there to support Mike and the Group wherever possible, and she
participated fully in many ways. We all offer our sincere condolences to Mike
and the family and hopefully we can support Mike in whatever way over the
coming weeks and months.
Last year I reported that after a slow start we were beginning to rebuild; the Scout Troop and the Beaver Colony were re-established and swiftly grew in strength. The Cub Pack was still a concern; we had only just recruited Tony Soutter as the new Cub Scout Leader. Under Tony’s leadership the Cub Pack has prospered, and he now has a new assistant, Phil Dunnell. One sad note was the folding of the Moorhouse pack after 10 years following the leaders’ retirement. Unfortunately no support was forthcoming from the school to take the Pack forwards, which is a great loss to both the School and the children there.
On the positive side, the sections have grown, the leaders have grown in confidence, the programmes are widening, as is the experience for the children. With all this in place I see the Group getting stronger still in the coming years and look forward to the re-establishment of an Explorer Section in the future, as we still have those Leaders in place. We look strong to celebrate the Centenary of the Scout Group in 2011.
The 2006 Donkey Derby was better with improved profit. With the stronger Group and full support from parents, this year should be even better. Last September, after an interval of some years, the Group held a Bike Sale. All things considered this sale proved to be a success. This year’s sale, which took place last weekend, was also a tremendous success. We held a well-attended Fireworks party in March; this will become an established event. We regard this as an important social event in the Group’s calendar.
The venue for the AGM this year is a one-off; we are meeting at the URC in Bluehouse Lane. This is because some of our property is being used by Network Rail for major repair works to the adjacent railway embankment, which should last until August. Network Rail are paying a significant rent for the use of our land. Next year the AGM will be back to the HQ.
Given the income from Network Rail, a successful Donkey Derby and good Bike Sales, significantly improved subscription collection and some grants we have obtained, this summer work will commence on a new kitchen and refurbishment of the toilets, to include a disabled facility. This will widen our appeal to the community and hopefully generate additional income. The increasing size of the Group and continuing fundraising mean that the Group’s financial position should improve further, enabling the purchase of much needed new equipment including new and better gazebos, a few we already have.
I have now been Chairman over 16 years and have seen many people come and go and the Group go up and down, at the moment we are definitely on the up. We have good leaders, good parents and supporters and the Group’s position will continue to improve. By the end of the year the HQ facilities will be in good order for the rest of the current lease and beyond. I look forward with enthusiasm to 2008. Yet, we must not become complacent; we need yet more parent support, people to take on leadership responsibility and still new and younger blood on the Executive.
There are a number of “thanks” as always; in no particular order: Nick Hough, Scout Leader and “Scouter in Charge” for his work with the troop and the Group; Tony Soutter, our Cub Leader for his hard work and enthusiasm in turning the Cub Pack around; Jenny our Beaver Leader for her help especially in matters beyond the Colony; Pat and Stan Leveridge for their continued support with fund raising activities, particularly the Donkey Derby; Tony Batchelor for his tireless work maintaining the HQ and successful negotiations with Network Rail. Also, our Treasurer Tony Martin and Secretary Carol Summers, the other Assistant Leaders, and lay members of the Executive like Debbie and Colin. Finally a big thank you to all the parents, supporters and children without whom, the Group would not flourish.
Malcolm Kirk
Group Executive Chairman
Beaver Leader’s report
Firstly, let me thank Ali and Kate for all their hard work and support this
year. We would not have a Beaver Colony without them! We are also
lucky to have on board two young lads working towards their Duke Of Edinburgh
Awards, who have contributed with great energy to our meetings.
We currently have 17 Beavers in our colony, and a waiting list of the same number. Some of the Beavers who initially formed the Colony have already moved up into Cubs, and it looks likely that more still will move up towards the end of 2007.
So, what have we been up to this year? We joined in a district Beaver Sleepover at Lingfield in May 2006. This involved a train journey back to Oxted to visit the bakery at Morrisons and a play in a rather wet Master Park! We had several games bases followed by a good sing-song before bed. The Beavers were under canvas but also under a roof! The next morning we went for a long walk before sending some tired Beavers home!
In June we went to “Bazazz” in Cranleigh, meeting up with Beavers from all across the county. There, Beavers had the opportunity to try pot-holing, go-karts, wall-climbing, badge-making, meeting ferrets and snakes, have a “train” ride, experiencing the “fun-house” and other bouncy castles, watch a Birds Of Prey Display and get a thorough soaking by the fire engine. Some Beavers were snoring on the coach back home that day!
Back at HQ, we have been working towards some badges. The majority of Beavers now have their Animal Friend badge. This involved a visit from Akela, who brought in his ferrets for us to handle and ask questions about.
We’ve also had a visit from our local Police Community Support Officer, Lisa, who spoke to the Beavers about road safety, and handed out lots of goodies too!
We presented the Red Cross Centre with a food basket for Harvest Festival and also had an evening making poppies for Remembrance Day. We had a fancy dress Halloween party, with traditional games such as apple-bobbing. (That was a wet one for some!) We’ve also been spies, and had a go at code-cracking.
So far this year, we’ve planted seeds which we hope will grow into vegetables, made (and ate) pancakes and also prepared some healthy sandwiches, which has counted towards the Healthy Eating Badge which all Beavers now have.
Our plans for the future include visiting 1st Godstone Beavers, and as part of the Centenary Year celebrations, joining up with other colonies for the day at the “Tons Of Fun” Camp at Blacklands Farm.
Jenny Roe
Cub Leaders report
The Cub Pack has moved from strength to strength, currently averaging well
over 20 Cubs each week, with a record 27 coming along recently. Finding sufficient
adult help has proven to be a continuing challenge throughout the year, and
it is great to be able to announce that Phil Dunnell has joined us as an Assistant
Cub Scout Leader. In addition, Josie Hough, Nick Hough’s daughter, has
been assisting me at meetings as part of her work towards the Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award.
We have had an action packed year, including pot-holing at Merstham, Sixers camp, a Science night which will be repeated next year, night hikes and a lot of solid badge work.
The cubs along
with others from our group will be attending the district Centenary camp at
the end of May, which will be a great experience for our younger Cubs. We
will also be going to camp in August, to “Hampshire 2007” for
one week and also anticipate canoeing on Mercers Lake in September, and will
be organising a sleepover on board HMS Belfast.
We have ordered some young trees from the Woodland Trust and will be planting
a small copse on a private estate in Bletchingley in the autumn. As well as
all that we anticipate getting in some watersports on Mercers Lake in September.
We have in place a “card system” for discipline within the pack, which is working well. It is very important when there are 20+ 9 year-olds that they behave in a disciplined way.
Tony Soutter
Scout Leader’s report
The last twelve months have been a year of consolidation of the Troop. We
now have a strong Troop of 20+ Scouts with the potential to approach 30 by
this time next year. Our female leader Sarah has moved to another part of
the country and is no longer with us. Though three of us continue to lead
the Troop, occasional absence through work, illness or family commitments
does mean occasionally there has been only one of us for a Troop night, which
can be fraught! I remain committed to using a parent rota such that one parent
assists every week.
Currently we have 23 Scouts. We have lost five Scouts for one reason or another, and a further two children elected not to come up from Cubs. We have taken on three from the Cubs, and two direct entrants, one from Moorhouse School. The troop remain very young, having a average age of 12½.
This year the Scouts have done the following:
Outdoor wide games, indoor and outdoor initiative games, pioneering and lashings
Traditional Scouting –orienteering, Kims game, Pack a rucksack, Axe and Saw, putting up tents, knotting, bivvi shelters and hypothermia, water purifying, Morse code
Navigation – grid references til the Scouts are all familiar with them
Fire lighting and outdoor cooking
Plays, Quiz night and “Just a minute” - entertainment
Two visits to the Fire Station at Godstone (one curtailed) leading to Fire Safety badge
Four walks in the Downs, two in the hours of darkness
Litter picking, preparing and delivering charity bags – community badge (ongoing)
Climbing wall visit
Night-hike and sleepover (joint with 1st Tatsfield Troop)
Car engines
Community police officer visit
Science talk at Crawley by the Institute of Electronic Engineers – the Faraday Lecture
First aid training
Building boxes with power tools
District events: Swimming gala and Five-a-side, Colditz night-hike.
The Scouts have clearly expressed an interest in a number of activities which we will attempt to bring into the programme. Amongst the most popular ideas are DIY, watersports and camping.
Communication with parents is primarily by email. No paper letters are issued to the Scouts except on the most special occasions; I send an informal newsletter once a month or so and post this on the web. We now have a website www.1stOxtedScouts.com. This increasingly is the place to look for what is going on at the Scouts and also within the Group as a whole.
We have a programme in place for the summer term which will should include climbing, archery and swimming as well as walks and navigation training and more traditional Scouting. We will finish the year in July with an open fire cooking evening to which parents and siblings are invited.
In the longer term, during late 2007 the Troop needs to get away for a weekend, and in 2008 the Troop should have a proper summer camp under canvas. I will endeavour to get some plans laid for this in proper time, such that booking can be made this coming Autumn.
Nick Hough
Scouter-in-charge: Annual report
The three Sections are in good health. It is good to see a strong Beaver Colony,
as this ensures a supply of Scouts for the future. Long term planning is needed
for the Group, primarily in two areas; firstly in the way we manage waiting
lists for the Beavers and the Cubs, and secondly, in the way we handle changes
to the Scout Troop. It could grow to over 30 Scouts next year and then fall
very suddenly the year after as some youngsters move up to Explorers.
It is great news to see Phil Dunnell joining the Troop as an Assistant Cub Scout Leader, providing much needed assistance for Tony. There is no room for complacency though – parental support is essential for the continued well-being of the Group. The uniformed leadership and the Executive cannot run the Group properly without practical support from parents.
Because our resources are finite, because many of us have families and full-time jobs that can take priority over youth work, there is much that remains undone, mainly administration of the Troop and the Group, leader training, and bringing the HQ back to top-line condition. Some parents have assisted willingly, and for this I offer thanks, particularly to Mrs Sue Daly who has remained a willing administrator and helper, and other Scout mums who have given of their free time to clean the kitchen and lavatories at the Stafford Hut.
The Group needs someone willing to work with as a Quartermaster and pull together an inventory of usable equipment – there is much tackle that has lain unused for a number of years. Also, the Group is indebted to all the members of the Executive committee, who have given of a great deal of their spare time freely to facilitate the work of the uniformed leadership.
The Group now has a website www.1stoxtedscouts.com. I am willing to put in some time to make this site as accessible and useful as possible. That said, if there is a parent out there who is willing to offer professional assistance in web page development, please get in touch! I am only an amateur in this respect.
Finally, I should like to speak briefly about Subscription and Capitation.
Subscriptions are paid by all invested children; these fees of £20 per term cover the costs of maintaining the HQ, the cost of utilities and services to the Scout Hut (particularly heating in winter), as well as the resources needed for week-in/week-out youth work at the HQ and at off-site events. As Scouter-in-charge I make no apology for the level of the Subscription, and there are several points worth making:
£20/term is not expensive - some Troops in the District charge still more than we do.
The £20 per term works out at less than £2 per meeting.
Piano lessons, touch typing, martial arts and other sports can cost a good deal more than Scouting – and offer a narrower range of activities and possibilities in the long run.
Scouting is not expensive, and is of tremendous benefit to your son or daughter as they grow older.
Capitation Fees are levied by the Scout Association to cover the costs of maintaining a national, County and District level support structure. Much of this is unseen by parents – an example would be the public liability insurance protecting both your children and uniformed leaders both on and off-site. Another is the organisation behind the Tons of Fun camp and other Centenary activities – these would not happen, and would cost a lot more if they did happen, if there were not District and County level Scouting organisations. Capitation fees pay for these, and were charged in 2007 at £30 per invested member.
Nick Hough