G O V T A C E H T R E I R U CO The Area
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inter 2015
Issue 124 W Newsletter
Season's Greetings from the Area Commissioner
Awards Presentation Evening Lord Mayor’s Own Troop
There has been some fantastic opportunities for our young people this year, within our Area and further afield. This is down to the dedication and enthusiasm of you as adult volunteers. Looking forward to the New Year, we will see an increased presence of Area support for you.
Congratulations go to the 51 Chief Scout’s Gold, 11 Platinum, 6 Diamond, 4 Gold Duke of Edinburgh and 12 Queen’s Scout Award recipients who were presented with their awards at the annual Lord Mayor’s Own presentation hosted by the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Councillor David Walker.
Enjoy your Christmas break and hopefully you've been on Santa's good list!
The evening took place in September and another record number of recipients received their certificates and were enrolled in the LMO Troop this year.
Thank you and Merry Christmas. Steve Evans - Area Commissioner
Well done to you all.
Scout Post 2015
s Grant Application date Thursday: 21st January 18th February 17th March 21st April 19th May 16th June
Thank you to all those involved in this year’s Scout Post. We wish you a Happy and Peaceful Christmas and New Year. See you in 2016
Leader achievement
Members of the 49th Cardiff gain recognition at the annual Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI) Conference. Craig Harper (ACSL), 1st on the left, won the award for the best New Voices presentation & Carl Rogers (GSL), 2nd from the right, won the video award for his entry. The Chairman of IMI is also a Scout Leader!
21st July 18th August 15th September 20th October 17th November 15th December
catvog.org Peter Gladman | grants@ rman Grants Committee Chai
On Social Media? If so follow @CATVOGScouts on twitter or facebook.com/CATVOG for the latest updates and news from around the Area.
Photo of the month
December 2015
1st Penmark with Porthkerry cleaning the local coastal path. Remember to keep sending your images in to comms@catvog.org
Area Swimming Gala 2016 The 2016 Area Swimming Gala dates have been confirmed and the heats will take place on Sunday 28th February 2016 and the final on Sunday 20th March 2016 (starting at 1.30pm on 28th February and 2.30pm on 20th March). It will be held at Penarth Leisure Centre, Andrew Road, Penarth. The cost is £5 per Colony, £17 per Pack and £17 per Troop. Intent to Enter and Rules form can be found on the CATVOG website but if you require a hard copy then please contact the Area Office (02920 210 119) and a copy will be forwarded to you.
Rhoose Scouts get busy!
1st Penmark with Porthkerry cubs recently adopted a coastal path between Fontygary and Rhoose beach and have walked it collecting rubbish and noting down defects and issues to help Valeways keep the path safe and clean. They collected a large bag of rubbish and we're very pleased with their progress. The group also remembered and paid their respects at the local Remembrance Parade with 57 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and leaders marching to the Community centre. They were most definately the largest youth group in attendance. Colette Raymond - 1st Penmark with Porthkerry scout group.
Glenys Shelley Swimming Gala Committee
Congratulations to all those who experienced the World Scout Jamboree in Japan.
Spooky sleepover success for 77th Beaver Colony
Jubilee Shooting Competition 2015 Thank you to everyone who supported and took part in the Area Shooting Competition in September at Jubilee Campsite. What a success and congratulations to the winners: Scouts - Under 12's Gold - 1st Cowbridge Silver - 1st Radyr Bronze - 34th Cardiff
77th Cardiff Scout Group took a bumper number of Beavers on a spooky sleepover adventure on Halloween. The majority of the Beavers faced their very first sleepover challenge, dressed as witches, wizards, zombies and skeletons at another local groups HQ in Rumney. Twenty one girl and boy Beavers, took up the challenge, which is a record number for the 77th group. They were set fun challenges by the 77th leaders that saw them play the “eyeball” challenge, best dressed mummy competition, monster treasure hunt and get creative with some crafty arts and crafts. This was followed by an outside camp fire, singing, then spooky stories before hot chocolate and bedtime with their glowing selfmade nightlights. They slept in tents inside the hall, in practice ready for their next sleepover which will be an outdoor overnight camp. Joanne Burke Assistant Group Scout Leader said ”In a short space of time we’ve gone from having a handful of children to having 24 beavers! It’s amazing the positive impact the 77th has had in the Tremorfa area, there’s not an awful lot around here for our children. Scouting has brought the girls and boys in this area together for fun, friendship and most certainly adventure.” Evie age 7 said “I liked sleeping in the tent with my torch and practising being away from mum – can we do another one?” The group plan another sleep over in February 2016 half term and are aiming for a full house of 24 beavers attending.
Congratulations to Jasper, Alice, Becca and Dafydd who have been selected to represent the Area at next years #Youshape
Scouts - Under 14's Gold - 2nd/4th Barry Silver - 1st Dinas Powys Bronze - 1st Barry Explorers: Gold - Phoenix ESU (E&S) Silver - 13th Cardiff Bronze - 13th Cardiff Leaders: Gold - 11th Barry Silver - 11th Barry Bronze - 94th Penarth Take a look on the CATVOG website for details of taster sessions, YPS or adult courses and don't forget the closing date for the Postal Shoot knockout is January 31st 2016. Richie Phillips Area Adviser for Shooting
Date for your diaries: ScoutsCymru will be running a GSL Support Day on Sunday 24th January 2016 at The Hub. Keep an eye on the website for more details..
Well done to our volunteers
Vanessa Jeremiah, a Beaver Scout Leader at the 44th Cardiff was recently presented with the Award for Merit. Congratulations and thank you for your contribution to Scouting!
Also a big congratulations to Kelvin of 2nd/4th Barry who received his Woodbadge along with Dave for his 20 year service award. Congratulations both and thank you for all your hard work and support.
Pumpkins - Grow and carve your own
2nd Rhiwbina Scouts had a pumpkin night for Halloween. Four scouts, Emily, Jack, Seren and Simon had grown these over the summer as part of the Smallholder badge. They looked after a vegetable plot for a neighbour who was not fit enough to do the gardening herself. Throughout the spring and summer the scouts grew beans, potatoes, courgettes, sweet corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and leeks. The pumpkins were stored until the autumn and have been used to make soup, carved into lanterns and the seeds roasted as a tasty snack.
Why not try this next year in your group?
3rd Generation Scout Visit
1st Rhiwbina Cub Pack was recently visited by a 3rd generation “Scout” from Melbourne, Australia. Jack was visiting his grandparents in Cardiff with his family, swapping the warmth of an Australia summer for our winter weather. He needed a “warming” experience, so visited 1st Rhiwbina Cub Pack for 2 weeks doing the same activities that they were doing and giving them an insight into Scouting in Australia. Jack is a Cub at 1st Victorian Sea Scouts in Melbourne and explained what badges he had achieved and how he achieved them. He also showed the Cubs a very interesting pin wheel that the Scouts have to use to identify poisonous snakes and spiders when out camping!!! Jack is the 3rd generation of the Collis family to be involved in Scouting. His grandfather, Peter was a member of the group (1st Rhiwbina) for a number of years, ending up as a Rover Scout in the 1960s. His father, Andrew, was then Scouting with the Group before emigrating to Australia. Jack really enjoyed his visits with the Cubs and they really enjoyed his visit too. Photo from left to right: Andrew, Jack and Peter Collis with the GSL at 1st Rhiwbina Scout Group, Mike Lewis.
11th Barry Sea Scouts break fundraising record!
Congratulations to 11th Barry Sea Scout Group who supported the Royal British Legion by raising an amazing £8029.42 for this years poppy appeal, The highest ever in the District. The Barry Branch of the Legion also formally recognised the group’s affiliation with the Royal British Legion at a special ceremonty attended by the High Sheriff of Glamorgan and local dignitaries.
Successful summer camp for 1st Cowbridge people were complimenting us on the behaviour and attitude of the Scouts. It was really great to be involved”
1st Cowbridge Scouts have been enjoying their first organised summer camp for several years. 20 Scouts and 4 adult leaders made the trip to North Cornwall where they spent 7 nights camping at the Nine Ashes Scout Activity Centre. The Scouts, took part in a whole range of exciting activities, including Coasteering, Surfing, Hiking, and Crate Stacking (A fun team building exercise which involves trying to build a stack of crates whilst staying on top of it – much more difficult than it sounds). The troop also spent a day at the Eden Project near St Austell where they learned about our UK connections to the tropical rainforests of the world. During the hike, some of the group even got an unplanned safety talk from the Coastguard after they witnessed the rescue of two stranded Kayakers by the Coastguard and RNLI As well as enjoying all these special activities, the Scouts also had to look after themselves for the week. Under the supervision of the leadership team, they put up their own tents, cooked for themselves and generally maintained the campsite – learning and practicing many basic life skills, including team leadership, map reading, chopping wood and cooking – even tasks as simple as buttering bread for the first time. Camp leader, Piers Hallihan said “All of our training through the year builds up to this camp, the Scouts get an opportunity to put into practice the skills they’ve been learning in the Scout Hall and grow together, as a Troop, as small teams and as individuals. Our young people did Scouting in general and Cowbridge in particular proud. Everywhere we went, from the campsite to the Eden Project, and on our regular trips to the beach,
Pete Gardner, helping out as an adult leader for the first time, said, “It was absolutely amazing to see the difference in many of the scouts as they were learning to take responsibility for themselves and others for the first time. Having the opportunity to learn those kinds of skills in such a fun, supportive and adventurous environment will clearly affect them positively for the rest of their lives. It was such a pleasure to be able to be there and be part of the experience, I would encourage any other adults who can spare an evening every now and then to contact 1st Cowbridge scouts and get involved”
The feedback from the Scouts and parents has been just as good. One Scout, after a very long day’s hiking around the Cornish coast said, “I normally hate walking but this has been awesome, we saw so much cool stuff!” One message really sums up the aims of Scouting. From a parent, “Thanks for Scout Camp [my son] really enjoyed it and returned a far better person” The camp was made possible by the hard work of an awful lot of Scouting volunteers and with the support of local businesses. Particular thanks to Ysgol Y Deri in Penarth who came to the rescue with the loan of a minibus and to OBI Camping who donated a large mess tent which became the centre of the camp, providing a kitchen, dining room and general meeting area.
Groups from all over the Area have been enjoying caving this term
It's been a busy term for the Area Caving team with three very different groups taking part in trips over the last few weeks. First up, in October were the Afon District Explorers. 14 Explorers and two leaders took on the challenges of Ogof Clogwyn, a nice active river cave in the Clydach Gorge. Of course, being a bit older and more adventurous, the Explorers got the full package - tight crawls, climbing, lights out caving and some very wet challenges. Next up were 22nd Cardiff Cubs. Two groups got their turn in Ogof Clogwyn, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The 17 cubs and one intrepid Beaver along with their leaders and assisted by one of our experienced Scouts, got to paddle in the river, wriggle their way through some cub sized challenges and, of course, paint their faces with all the mud they could find.
Yr Ogof, the 7 Scouts along with their leaders made the short journey to the Neath Valley to explore the hidden world of Bridge Cave with it's waterfalls and spectacular cave features. As well as counting towards the Cavers badge for Scouts and Explorers and various Challenge Badges for all sections, Caving is a great way for Young People in Scouting to try something new - it boosts confidence and encourages teamwork and helps develop problem solving skills as they climb and wriggle through the various challenges. If your Section, Group or District would like to add caving to your programme for the new year, please contact the team via caving@catvog.org or, to keep up to date, follow us on twitter @catvog_caving
Finally, a small group of Scouts from 1st Cowbridge spent the day undergound in the Western part of the Brecon Beacons. After working out their techniques in Porth
Submission deadline for the next Courier is: Sunday 20th March 2016 Editor: Gareth Johns c/o The Hub CATVOG Scouts Maitland Street Gabalfa, CF14 3JU