Douglas & St. FinBarresScout Group – 2nd 6th 47th 93rd Cork

Hello everyone: it’s been a while so here is an update for all our members.

The Group Council prepared our ‘Roadmap to return’ and this was shared with our Scouters at a virtual meeting on July 28th.

Following on from the government’s announcement on Tuesday evening the Group Council must review our plans regarding our return to regular Scouting.

At the moment and in line with our own roadmap we will continue to permit planned outdoor activities but now with the revised numbers of 12 youth members and 3 leaders and only with our Covid19 declaration completed in advance.

Resuming our regular weekly meetings is still under review but in line with government guidelines these will not occur until mid September at the earliest

Changes to the Group Council of Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group have been made and we’re thrilled to announce that Vickie Swanton has been appointed as our Group Leader.

Following Eoin Fields decision in January 2020 that he would step down towards the end of this Scouting Year the Group Forum met virtually in May and unanimously agreed that Vickie would be nominated for the position of Group Leader of the Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group, this decision was ratified by the Group Council and Eoin officially stood down on June 8th. The County Commissioner has been informed and Vickies details will now be forwarded to Scouting Ireland for approval.

Up to this point Vickie had held the role of Group Secretary and also that of Assistant Cub Scouter.

Vickie has been a member of Douglas Scouts since 2008 and has previously held the roles of Beaver Leader, Assistant Scout Leader and Cub Scouter. Vickie comes from a Scouting family and her fiancee Mark, her mother Wendy, her father Nick and her brother Cian are all current members of our Group.

The Group Council, the Group Forum and the leadership team of all our sections wish her well in her new role and look forward to supporting her and helping her to lead Douglas & St. FinBarres into the future.

Sean Taffee was duly nominated and elected to the role of Group Secretary and we extend our congratulations to him also

Hi Friends,

Unfortunately at this stage, we feel we have no option but to cancel Camp 2020 to Silver Cross in Swansea.

The current situation with Covid-19 makes it seem less and less likely that we would be in a position to run this trip safely – and the safety and welfare of all our members is always our paramount consideration.

Over the weekend, we will be cancelling the ongoing payments made – and refunding all monies paid to date – including the deposit.

We know that this will disappoint & upset many of our members – both young and old – and it’s heart breaking for us to do so.

In the event that we’re all pleasantly surprised & things improve unexpectedly, we will of course look at planning another camp. Unfortunately though, that seems highly unlikely.

To our friends in Silver Cross – so sorry – but we know your understand.

As ever, please contact us at camp20@douglasscouts.ie with any thoughts or queries.

Please Stay Safe – you and all your families,

Camp 2020 team.

Hello fellow Scouts and Parents,

Given the updated announcement from the Government today we will continue with our decision to stop ALL Scouting activities, including but not limited to, weekly meetings, weekend activities, Group Councils, Group Forums, scouters forums, section councils, quarter master work, for our members, both adult and youth.

We are doing all this in the best interest of our Scouters and our youth members.

Section leaders have already canceled any activity they had planned until further notice.

The Governments update restrictions runs until April 19th, we will be working along the same timelines and we will keep you updated as the information comes to us.

As always, remain calm and focused, and thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation.

With regards Camp 2020; that is now under review and we will provide those going with an update at the weekend.

If you have follow up questions please email me eoinfield@douglasscouts.ie.ie or the Deputy Group Leader conorcrowley@douglasscouts.ie

Yours in Scouting,
Eoin Field – Group Leader

Hi All,

As you can all imagine, like everyone else, our thoughts are all centering on Covid-19 at the moment. And how it’s affecting us all in our daily lives & affecting our friends and families.

We also have, as you can imagine, been discussing ongoing Scouting – and in particular our upcoming Summer Camp in Swansea in July / August of this year.

While everyone acknowledges that the Covid-19 situation is constantly evolving, as of now we’re currently still planning Camp 2020 as if it is going ahead as planned. This may change of course, and if it does, we will notify you as soon as possible and will refund all monies paid.

Most importantly – Please keep safe and look out for each other.

As ever – please contact us with any queries to: camp20@douglasscouts.ie

Hello fellow Scouts and Parents,

Given the announcement from the Government this morning we have taken the decision to stop ALL Scouting activities, including, but not limited to, weekly meetings, weekend activities, Group Councils, Group Forums, scouters forums, section councils, quarter master work, for our members.

We are doing all this in the best interest of our Scouters, and our youth members as of 6pm this evening. This means the meetings in the hall tonight, will NOT be going ahead.

Section leaders will now cancel any activity planned until further notice.

The Government advice runs from 6pm this evening until March 29th, we will be working along the same timelines and we will keep you updated as the information comes to us.

As always, remain calm and focused, and thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation.

With regards Camp 2020 we will make a decision on that in due course.

If you have follow up questions please email me eoinfield@douglasscouts.ie.ie or the Deputy Group Leader conorcrowley@douglasscouts.ie

Yours in Scouting

Eoin Field, Group Leader

Howdy…

The following was posted to Facebook over the last few days by one of our Scouters – Shane Crotty.

It AMAZINGLY sums up what we’re all feeling after camp – and is well work a read. Kudos Shane

‘Kids are getting worse’

I’ve heard that before, and no… no, I don’t think so. Over the past two weeks I’ve spent with the Douglas & St.Finbarres Scout Group in Adelboden, Switzerland, I’ve witnessed and have come to attest that that idea couldn’t be any less true.

The statement ‘Kids are getting worse’ is a sentiment reserved solely for the cynical and pessimistic amongst us, the ones who look at kids on bikes, kids on trees and kids hanging out and assume the worst in them because they’ve forgetten the best in themselves.

The past two weeks showed me that some kids aren’t merely getting better, they’re leapfrogging even some of the best and brightest in current and older generations. They’re showing us that the virtues that we take for granted, respect, honesty, duty and hard work, courtesy and love of nature are alive and well in young people. I’ve been reminded that the most thoughtful lessons aren’t always passed down through the generations, sometimes they are passed ‘up.’

I’ve been reminded that many of us as we get older often forget the way we were as kids and lose an essential essence of ourselves in order to grow up while forgetting that the most old at heart amongst us are usually the ones that aren’t afraid to be young in spirit.

The Irish seanfhocal ‘níl thagann ciall roimh aois,’ (‘sense doesn’t come before age,’) was the saying that really stood out to me over the past year, as most seanfhocail do, but after two weeks in Adelboden, Switzerland, I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t make any sense at all!

Contact Number while Away

Hi All,

While we’re away, we have an emergency contact number.  This is:

087 0562736

Can we stress that this is an EMERGENCY number?  We’re all going to be busy keeping everything going – so really can’t handle lot’s of “how’s my darling getting on?” calls as well! ????

We’ll try to have this number available at all times, but can’t guarantee constant coverage.  Also, the email address camp19@douglasscouts.ie will be maintained & checked on an ongoing basis.

Keep an eye here on the website too.  We hope to have regular updates on how things are going!

The gear list hasn’t changed in the last while, but is worth checking over to see if you’ve everything you need.

As ever, any queries or thoughts to camp19@douglasscouts.ie

Camp Adelboden Team.

Hi all – one week to go now..

There are still a small few people with stuff to had up.  (Passports, EHIC Cards, Consent forms, Camp Bank).

There will be somebody at the hall next Tuesday night @ 8pm to collect these items.  But not for long – so please aim to be there at 8.

We have been asked if somebody could bring an atm card instead.  We HUGELY say don’t risk it to this!!  There are not a lot of ATM’s in the area, and those that are there sometimes don’t “play nicely” with “foreign” cards.  Make it cash – and hand it up to camp bank for safekeeping.  (Next Tuesday night – 8pm).

Keep an eye here on the website – it’s where any & all updates are going, and there WILL be updates!

As ever, any queries or thoughts to camp19@douglasscouts.ie

Camp Adelboden Team.