Chavagnes Scouts: Celebrating Ten Years of Adventures, 2007-2017.

Chavagnes Scouts

2007-2017

Copyright 2017, Chavagnes Scouts. www.chavagnes.org/scouts

Chavagnes Scouts Chavagnes International College 85250 Chavagnes en Paillers, France

Chavagnes Scouts Celebrating Ten Years of Adventures 2007-2017

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Introduction “e real way to gain happiness is to give it to others.”

Lord Baden Powell e Scouts of Chavagnes are a happy band, and now that they are celebrating ten years of existence (more or less; the exact date we began is lost in the venerable mists of time ...) we want to share a photographic record of our adventures with you. We hope that you will be as happy learning about our exploits as we have been living them!

A Chavagnes scout is, like his fellows the world over, a brother to all other scouts; he is also a gentlemen, a sportsman, an inventor, an explorer, a cook, a singer and many other things besides. A good scout can turn his hand to anything in order to be of help to others or simply to have fun learning about new things, places, ideas and people.

But the most important thing about a Chavagnes scout is that he is a Christian who lives the Gospel of Jesus Christ, loving and respecting God’s creation and his fellow man.

Christ said “I came that you might have life, and life in all its fulness”. at is what a scout sets out to do: to live the full life of the children of God. We live in difficult times. e world is changing so fast that we hardly recognise it from one day to the next. And yet, in this changing world some things do not change. Fidelity to those eternal verities, coupled with an every-ready spirit of adaptability and ingenuity are the marks of a scout; the world might just be needing a few more scouts some time soon.

In the meantime, we’ll keep playing and praying, as we enter our second decade as the Scouts de Chavagnes. anks for your support and God bless you, e Chavagnes Scouts

e early days

e boys of 2007-2008

e Scout Law Here is the text of the Scout Law, as adapted by the Servant of God Father Paul Sevin, father of Catholic scouting. e text is based on Baden-Powell's original and Fr Sevin's version was approved by him. It makes it clear that the Scout Law is essentially a call to the evangelical counsels, adapted to our individual states in life, in a special relationship of love and respect for God's creation.

1. A Scout’s honour is to be trusted.

2. A Scout is loyal.

3. A Scout’s duty is to serve and save his neighbour.

4. A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout.

5. A Scout is courteous and chivalrous.

6. A Scout sees in nature the work of God; he loves plants and animals.

7. A Scout obeys without question and does nothing by halves.

8. A Scout is self-disciplined: he smiles and whistles under all difficulties.

9. A Scout is thrifty and takes care of other people’s possessions.

10. A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed.

(Based on the version of the Scout Law adapted by the Servant of God Father Jacques Sevin SJ, father of Catholic scouting, and approved by Lord Baden Powell.)

2009-2010

2010-2011

2009-2011 ese early days before modern record-keeping leave us few accounts of Chavagnes scout activities, but the old boys tell tales of camping, playing soliders and lots of walking, especially the annual Paris to Chartes pilgrimage. Below, however, you can read two reports discovered in the archives for this period.

From September 2010, things start to get more busier, as we shall see ...

October 2009 Orienteering “e most popular sporting activity at Chavagnes this year so far is the weekly 10km orienteering challenge, with a generous reward for the winning house.

Chavagnes boys, pictured here in scout uniform, celebrate a successful trek on 9th October.

The new Chavagnes scouts will be making their promise in early November during a special overnight camp including an all night vigil of prayer modelled on the vigils performed by medieval knights. “ March 2011 Scout Weekend On Saturday 27th March we woke up to a sunny day- a good omen for the long walk ahead. Leaving soon after midday, the temptation for a little detour prevailed, and we only arrived at our destination, the abbaye de la Grainetière, near Parc soubise, late in the afternoon. We were allowed to pitch our tent in the cloister, and had an abundant dinner of food that we had brought with us. When we woke up on Sunday it had started raining, so we had breakfast in our tent.Soon after, we attended mass in the monastery's chapel. e way back proved a lot harder, because, apart from being longer, we were already tired, and the rain made our bags heavier. However, we all made it back to school safe and sound, and enjoyed our school dinner with great enthusiasm. Ironically, it was those who complained on the walk who stayed up longest. It was a great experience, and we would like to do it again.

Paris to Chartres Pilgrimage June 2011

2011-2012

With Italian Scouts d’Europe Rome, February 2012

Rome Trip, February 2012 After a term and a half of hard work, the school choir and scouts were rewarded by a trip to Rome.

For many this was their first visit to the Eternal City, so the trip was highly anticipated and a cause of great excitement for adults and boys alike. We arrived at our objective with little difficulty except for the distribution of cottas and folders in our baggage under the close scrutiny of Ryan Air staff who can spot a 10.2 kilo bag at thirty paces. Our group consisted of choir, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Tyldesley, Mr. Crawford, the parents of Louis and Armand, and of course our trusty Chaplain, Father Bede Rowe.

Our lodgings were at the Seraphicum, an educational establishment run by the Franciscans on the outskirts of Rome, conveniently located at one end of the Roman metro. ey were very good to us during our stay, providing excellent breakfasts and meals and showing patience towards their excited guests. e first evening was largely spent getting used to our surroundings, excepting a brief visit to the Abbey of St. Paul of the three fountains. We discovered that each fountain sprang up where Saint Pauls decapitated (and presumably bouncy) head had hit the ground. e next day we walked a short distance to the grand, spare buildings of the Museum of Roman Civilization. is was an excellent museum for curious children, as many of the artifacts were reproductions and were designed to withstand pawing. Particularly impressive was the large scale model of Rome under the mid-Empire which we spent some time staring at and debating the scale of.

Our next stop was the Colloseum. As this trip to Peter's city was, as is the case for any Catholic, also a pilgrimage, it was pointed out that the Colloseum was also a Church, consecrated, as it were, by the blood of the martyrs spilled on its sand. At this point our group split into two; one, zealously directed by Father Rowe, examined some of the churches around the forum and the other explored the forum itself. e low walls and truncated columns of the forum can be underwhelming, and it was only at great expense to Mr. Tyldesley's theatrical skills that they could be brought to life. After returning to the Seraficum, its prayerful chapel, which was the location of all our masses, became our rehearsal space.

e next day we had Sant John Lateran on our agendum and we were heading in that direction when we were lucky enough to come across Father Redmond, a friend and visitor of the shool. e magnificent frieze and main door gave pause for wondrement but rain drove us inside. With Father Redmond on our team, the pool of local knowledge increased considerably and he pointed out many interesting features of the building and spoke Italian better than those of us who cobbled it together from bits of French, Spanish and Latin. Particularly interesting, other than the combination of architectural styles, is a small but much revered statue of St, John the Baptist. It is customary to throw coins at the foot of this statue, a custom the boys were keen to honour. It was probably with scouts and choirboys in mind that a strong pyrex screen had been erected in front of the delicate statue.

Retreating from St John's we returned to our lodgings to prepare for the evening parish mass at which we were singing. We had been in communication with a troop of Scouts d'Europe from the parish and were keen to meet them. Consequently all the scouts in our party were in uniform and I am sure we made a smart impression on our hosts. e mass itself was celebrated by a special Monsignor from the Vatican, brought in at the request of the Parish on account of his linguistic skills and scouting experience. After some strong singing (though stronger was to come) we were welcomed in their function rooms and distributed among tables of talkative Italians. Next was the which was completed with a larger open (and more explosive) fire than one expects to see in inner Rome. e boys learnt a variety of new games and songs in rather strange English (such as the wonderful 'I say do you know dog') and in return Mr. Crawford sang one of our classics, 'J'avais un camarade.' All in all a warming experience and good networking for our scouts. e rest of our visit included a tour of the Vatican gardens, our singing at Mass in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and also Mass with the Pope on Ash Wednesday, together with rather a lot of impromptu busking ...

î “e Promise Vigil

March 2012 e Promise: Louis Vadot Renoul, Mr. Tyldesley and Father Rowe After a time of preparation, one day it was time for Louis to take his scout promise. It is not something to be taken lightly and a scout is allowed time to make sure he is ready for the commitment to charity, loyalty and obedience that it requires. Louis' hard work in the patrol had matured him to the extent where he merited admission into the state of the fully-fledged scout. Joining him in this commitment were our chaplain and Mr. Tyldelsey. e location was the tiny and atmospheric St. Joseph's chapel by the lake at the back of the school.

After an all-night vigil of adoration the three new members of Scouts dee Chavagnes were sworn in at dawn holding onto the altarcloth. As symbols of their new membership they received our capbadge and the Vendeen sacred heart.

e Scout hut

May 2012 Noirmoutier, the pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Philibert It is generally accepted in scout circles that the January exit-weekend scout camp is the most feared in all the scouting calendar. It is cold, it is dark and the laws of science concerning combustion seem to have changed. For this trip our destination was the isle of Noirmoutier and to make things easier (oh the naivety!) we had bikes.

Here we are (left) setting out, all smiles and mouths full of apple. e first section of the journey (a small railway station in the heart of the bocage to a chateau just outside SaintGilles-Croix-de-Vie) was completed fairly easily, though it became clear that riding uphill with a remorque was not an easy task.

We were very lucky that as the sun set over the fields casting a red light on the fields and calvaries of the bocage to come across a potential camp for the night. Our hosts were very hospitable and we soon had a campfire going. e next day we awoke to a beautiful but cold morning, more than a little apprehensive of the long cycle ahead.

After a short, unplanned stop in St. Gilles (our first technical fault!) we took the coastal path towards the Marais Breton, stopping for lunch by the long, fine beaches.

Despite the flatness of the terrain the strong winds made progress difficult, especially for those trailing the remorques, which now began to act like sails dragging the rider the wrong way. e weather was very bright and clear however, which made things much more pleasant. en one of the remorques broke. en it broke again.

And then again.... is was the most trying part of the journey but with mutual support, the faultless (well, more or less) guidance of Max, patrol leader and navigator, and sheer determination we made it to the enormous humped bridge connecting Noirmoutier to the mainland. At this stage a mention must be made concerning the fine conduct of the younger members of our group who cycled hard and didn't complain.

Tired, we made our way three quarters along the island to pitch camp, which was in the form of some rough common ground no more than a hundred metres from the beach:

After a very sound sleep we awoke keen to explore Noirmoutier and discover what it was that St. Philibert had seen in the place. From the day before we had seen that it was a charming island of attractive villages and in the morning we were equally impressed by the lovely Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile. Of particular note is the whitewashed chateau which dominates the centre of town; then the Church of St. Philibert. Entering the church, we descended into the crypt to pay homage to the saint. e interior of the crypt was extremely atmospheric and encouraged silent contemplation. After the church, we changed our itinerary and decided to spend the day exploring the island.

We spent some time searching for a monastery shown on our map, only to discover it appears to have been changed into something else, but it was still a rewarding exploration. ere can be no doubt, however, that when the hire people arrived and took our bikes off us that there was a general sense of relief!

2012-2013

A hike to Clisson for the ‘Remise des foulards’.

Paris to Chartres Pilgrimage June 2013

2013-2014

At the Cross of Charette

‘Remise des foulards’ and appointment of Assistant Scoutmaster

Weekend camp, November 2013

March 2014 Spring Camp

Braving the cold, for a bracing spring dip

April 2014 Scout pilgrimage to Compostella

A special dinner in Caldas de Reis

After lunch with some sister guides in Tui, over the border in Spain.

After our ďŹ rst concert in Pontevedra.

On Palm Sunday, we found some palms ...

î “e pilgrim shell

Which way now?

î “is made us laugh ...

All work and no play ...

Santiago!!

2014-2015 î “e Promise

Various camps

February 2015 Trip to Latvia and Estonia Mass with the Archbishop

A visit and concert with residents at an old folks’ home in Riga

A day of ski practise and a camp ďŹ re with Baldone Christian scouts (WFIS), Latvia.

Estonia was even colder than Latvia!

Ski, snowboard, sauna, roll in the snow ...

Back safely in Paris

Pentecost 2015 î “e Chartres pilgrimage again!!

2015-2016

Leaders’ long-distance trek to Mont St Michel December 2013