Douglas Scouts6th/47th Cork Douglas

Hi All, It’s that time of year again – time to announce Summer Camp! This year, we’re going back to Boyle!!  We’ve previously camped there on 3 occasions, 1985, 1998 and 2006.  To say it’s a magic location for a camp is really to play it down!!

The website for the campsite can be found here.

The website for the nearby forest park can be found here.

The dates of the camp will be from THURSDAY 12th  JULY to THURSDAY 26th JULY.  This is a bit of a change for us.  We’ve had to defer the few days to the Thursday, due to the popularity of the campsite.  It’s completely booked out up until 12th July! The price of the camp will be €350.  As ever, this will include ALL expenses for the camp, including:

• Travel
• Food
• ALL activities
• ALL admission fees
• Days Out

Basically, the only money needed by anyone on camp is for snacks, presents etc etc. What will we do there?  There is a huge list of activities in the area.  (Have a look at some of the possible options HERE. We would plan on doing at least some of these – we won’t have time to do them all!!!)

During the previous camps we’ve had there we took part in Hikes, Loads of water activities (Boating, Swimming, Rafting).  We’ve explored the islands.  We’ve had some of the MOST amazing backwoods nights.   We’ve had activities on our own & with other Scout Groups on site.  We’ve toured nearby.  Spent days out in Bundoran……   The list goes ON AND ON AND ON!!!!

What do you need to do now? Tell your leader that you’re going!  We need to know numbers as soon as possible.  Also, to confirm your place, we need a €100, non refundable deposit – by the end of January please.  But the most important thing is to let us know!!! It’s going to be so so great!  If getting the deposit together is an issue – don’t worry!  Just let us know that you plan on going.

Keep an eye on the website here.  We’ll post more info as we have it.  And maybe some teasers of what’s going to happen on camp!

Enda.

TOMORROW

The remainder of the sleeping bags etc that came back from Gilwell can be collected Saturday 20th next between 12 and 4 where the leaders will be in the hall finishing up the big clean before the sections start meeting again in September. The hall has been closed up for this Saturday.

Hello again folks,

The new scouting year is almost upon us and the John Slye Scout Hall is getting ready for it’s weekly meetings; the 100 plus scouts that will be using it several nights a week and at other times for activities.

The gear from camp has been shipped back and on Saturday August 13th those who went on Camp2011 are asked to come down and collect their sleeping bags/overnight gear that was shipped back along with the troop gear between midday and 4pm.

Your leaders and members of the Group Council will be giving up their free time over the course of that weekend also to pack away the gear from camp, ensure the tents are stored correctly and get the hall back into shape and ready for Scouting 2011/2012

If you can spare a few hours to give us a hand with gear and general clean up of the hall it would be very much appreciated. Those Ventures and Scouts who went on camp are asked to chip in. Even those who didn’t go on camp including the families of our Cubs and Beavers who can spare some time are asked to join in.

Get in touch with your section leader and let us know if you can come along at some stage over the weekend of August 12th, 13th & 14th. Your Leaders are giving up their time and would be a great way to start of the new scouting year with some scouting spirit.

Yours In Scouting,

Conor Crowley
Group Leader

Hi All,

As is well tradition, we’re meeting up on Wednesday night this week  (20th July) at 7pm for about an hour.

This will be a very casual meeting, to chat, share memories & lots of photographs!!!!  Bring them along if you have them.

All are welcome.  If you’re reading this and you WEREN’T at camp – still please come along!  We’d love to see you there & share some of the happenings.

Talk to you then,

Regards,

Enda.

Well we’re all back home – camp once again has ended – washing machines are running overtime!

Thanks to all who were involved.  To the Scouts & Ventures who were there & helped expand their Scouting Experience just a little bit more.

In particular, to the other leaders, including the Rovers, who were just brilliant.  Nothing was ever an imposition to them.

To Billy & Margaret & all those at home who helped along the way but couldn’t be there.

To Veronica Brennan – one of our registered leaders!  (And, I suppose to her husband Johnny too!!!

To our Group leader Conor, who as ever contributed in it own (VERY) unique way:

Camp 2011 was certainly a good camp.  It was hotter & drier than we’ve had in a few years now.  (Despite the fact that as usual some of the camps came down wet – ah well!!)

Among the things that we did on camp were:

• Lot’s of patrol cooking on fires
• Lot’s of games, soccer, wide games, tip the can, rounders etc
• Gilwell activities including climbing, leap of faith, zip wire, rotating wall, crate stacking, high ropes, raft building.
• Ventures took part in Gilwell 24 along with about 2,500 venture scouts from around Britain & further
• Scouts went to see Duxford air museum & also a “Flying legends” air show including spitfires, Lancaster’s etc.
• Patrol Hikes
• Open Top Bus tour of London
• River Tour along the Thames
• Science Museum
• Shopping opportunities in London
• Hamleys
• Harrods
• Camden Market
• Day out in Thorpe Park

and at all that – I reckon I’m forgetting loads!

Most importantly to everyone I’m forgetting.  THANK YOU.  Just ’cause I’m tired right now – doesn’t mean I’m not grateful for all your help.

Enda

July 2011.

Contrary to what our Glorious Group Leader said in the previous post, it did not all come to an end just because he left us! We woke up early this morning to a wet site. It has become tradition in Douglas to drop the tents in the rain and this year we were lucky that it rained the previous night and continued to drizzle. Tradition lives on for one more year!

One thing this morning highlighted was the real hard core Scouts among us, who despite packing their main bag yesterday in the roasting sunshine and heat still felt the need to keep their rain gear for their carry on bags! The Scout Motto: Be Prepared! It paid off this morning.

It was all hands on deck to drop the remaining tents and pack them into their bags. Not an easy task with the added challenge of packing the water along with the tents. But in about 1.5 hour everything was pretty much down and it was the final clean up of the site.

The Scouts headed off to look for a Scouts Own that was being run by Gilwell, but it seems the wet morning dampened their spirits as nobody showed up!

The gear was moved to the Car Park for collection and I began the task of ferrying people to the train station. Four trips later and I handed the keys back to the rental company and hopped in a taxi with 15 minutes to spare before the train arrived. After one quick change we were at the Airport. The usual security and shopping followed and most patrols managed to stay together.

The flight was quick for everyone, as I took a look around half way through and everyone was either asleep or catching up on some reading. It was a bumpy landing in Cork, and you know the rest.

As this is the last post for Camp 2011, we collected a few pictures during the two weeks of people asleep in various places. Enda will claim he just had his eyes closed.

We’ll be back at Cork Airport at 6:30pm on Saturday 16th July.

As I type this, sitting here in Pembrooke Dock I have no doubt of the excellent memories that have been stored on the
minds of the 13 Scouts and 10 Ventures left behind in Gilwell tonight… With a load of leaders looking after them!!

This morning on site was a little different, following a relaxing night with a few games of frisbe and kick around with soccer ball it was up around 9am for breakfast followed by the beginning of the end, time to break site, well most of it, down came the gates, gadgets, store tent, some leaders sleeping tents and along with all the personal gear into the waiting van. Activities for the scouts after lunch as ladder climbing and for the ventures was raft building and both groups really enjoyed them. Time in the shop for some last minute souvenirs and back to site. Swimming pool time was booked for 6:30 followed by dinner and the last campfire to close out Camp 2011.

See you all at the airport on Saturday evening!!!!

Today we took the Scouts on a long drive around the site and dropped them off at the back to demonstrate some of the advanced pioneering that the Leaders carried out during the night; Fully working rollercoasters, flume rides and much much more. Some claim that it was just Thrope Park but us Leaders are just that good at pioneering projects.

An excellent time was had by all despite the crowds and long queues. Many stuffed animals were won by the Leaders at the various carnival games around the park.

After a long day we returned to site for a quick dinner and some games of Frisbee and throwing a ball around to wind down the evening. An excellent day was had by all.