May 2008
EDITOR IAL
Pondering and head-scratching are the order of the day! Whet her to …. or whether not too? T he
subject being pondered is t he issuance of your resurrected Chatline. As we are a bit short on deci -
sion (not really, keep making one and then changing it)), thought we’d do it the democratic way
and put the question to t he vote. So—do you want to see YOUR publication monthl y, bi -monthl y
or quarterl y? If t he vote-count is for bi -monthly, t he next issue after this will be the Jun/Jul issue, if
quarterly Aug/Sep/Oct, if nobody votes I suppose I may as well turn off the computer and go find
myself another job.
So come on all you Scouters, we’re doing our best to gi ve you (hopefully) some extra support and
means of communication, we just need to know how you want it, when you want it and if you
want it!
Dates for May/Jun/Jul ST. GEORGE’S DAY DISTRICT YOMP
Weren’t we lucky with t he weather? A bit on A beautiful day, a reasonably good turn-out
Troop SC 5 the ‘parky’ side but only a few drops of rain and some groups were highly delighted with
GSL/Dist Team 7 and we’ve had a l ot worse other years. We the fund-raising i njection t hey have earned
had a good t urn-out a gain and the District whilst enjoying a delightful stroll round the
Pack SC 8 Commissioner was very appreciative of all nature reserve. I don’t have any figures to
Back to Basics 9-11 Scouts, Leaders and Parents or helpers who hand at t he moment but it was evident that
Beaver Outing 10 gave up their Sunday and took part. some groups were goi ng to benefit exceed-
In the last year or so, more and more shops ingly well.
Fellowship 12
have taken to openi ng on Sundays. The re- Congratulations to all our youngest members
Beaver SC 14
sult is that our parade from the Town Hall to (beavers and cubs) who valiantl y dra gged
District AGM 15 the Parish Church has a much wider audi- parents, aunties, grannies, and dogs around
Explorer SC 19 ence than i n the pre-Sunday- tradi ng years with them. Well done t o all who t ook part
when we marched through almost empty and thereby showed a commitment to their
Exec Comm 20
streets. Therefore, it is now a big PR boost for group/unit and a willingness to put a little
Dist Camp General 4 Scouti ng i n our town, as long as we set a back in recognition of what the y gain from
Dist Camp Comm 5 good impression before the t ownspeople Scouti ng and their leaders.
watching us.
Dist Camp Site Visit 7 Thanks are due to the catering staff (couldn’t
Unfortunately, I a nd some others, overheard have managed without them and the
County Parade 8 several remarks from Johnny Public which ‘cuppas’ they provided t he staff), also to the
Fellowship 9 were not complimentary about t he behav- tent and course ‘putter-uppers’ and ‘taker-
iour and bearing of a few groups on parade. downers’, the rest of the backroom lads and
County AGM 10
lasses, and to the Nature Reserve for t heir
District Team Meet 11 Years ago the RSM at Bruche P olice Training permission to run the eve nt.
College used to gi ve us all a re hearsal on the
Cheshire Show 17-18
Saturday morning and lick us all int o shape If you weren’t t here you missed a great day
District Camp 26-29 before the parade. Bruche doesn’t exist any out—make it a ‘must’ for next year. See ya
Explorer SC 7 more and while I have no wish to see military there!!!
precision marchi ng, a general l ook of smart-
Beaver SC 9 ness and suitable behavi our woul dn’t come
Troop SC / Pack SC 10 amiss. Perhaps groups could organise their How about some
Scout Cyclo Cross 13 own rehearsals next year in the run up to t he
parade so the scouts know what is expected photographs of
Fellowship 14 of them and ca n improve our image. the parade and
Diary Meeting 16 At the same time perhaps it would be possi-
the yomp that we
Camp Site mgmt 17 ble to emphasise that standing at t he alert
could publish in
County Cub Fun Day TBA without talking during the re ndering of our
national anthem is a sign of respect to our our next issue?
Exec comm 22
flag. from HQ’s PL Training
PA GE 2 THE C HAT L INE
S p r i n g Ac t i v i t i e s a n d g e t t i n g r e a dy f o r S u m m e r
FIRE AWARENESS situations. If they know the morse
code they could build their own little
generator to practice signali ng, See
diagram.
They could also learn how to make
When was the last time you had a fire and use a heliograph, Morse knowl-
drill at your Hq a nd, j ust as important, edge will advantage any scout wish-
a fire drill in a camp situation? ing to take up Amateur Radio .
SIGNALLING (Jamboree-on-the-Ai r)
If your Scouts learn at least one of the Semaphore can be the basis of a lot of
methods of signaling it ca n form the games , and has been prove d useful in
basis of quite a few good wide games the hills .
and may one day be useful in other Both systems can be useful survival
tools.
W I DE G A ME S
Scavenger Hunt rules the better, but t hese tend to get preparation.
Requires nothi ng but t he wits to write complicated by ‘lives’, identit y cards, Please allow the cashier at the Odeon
passwords or secret agents cunni ngl y
a list of assorted and unli kely articles. and the Duty Sergeant at t he ni ck to
disguised as parents. Wide games are
get on with t heir jobs instead of being
Variations include large plastic bags far better in open country where you
asked for their signatures by a
and an angler’s spring balance (or can play steal-a-flag or douse-a-candle
bathroom scale) to collect the greatest procession of scruffy scouts because
without waking t he neighbourhood. you coul dn’t thi nk of anyt hing else for
weight of waste paper in a gi ven time.
Or if you really can’t be bothered, t ry them to collect !
Helps clean up the neighbourhood at
walking along a woodla nd path
the same time. Make sure your P L’s understand their
slightly ahead of the Troop: you blow
Try a wide game that demands some responsibility to the rest of their patrol
a whistle, they have to hide, whe n you
while they are out on the wide game,
intelligence: li ke list the make and have walked anot her ten paces, turn
particularly a ny ’ new’ scouts who may
colour of every car parked within a round and the first scout you see takes
be scared if left alone in t he dark.
specified distance your Hq whose the whistle. Simple and old-fashione d,
number plate adds up to more than but fun—and no excuse for not having Finally, ha ve fun but never run t he
20—if you ca n trust them to act ually go a programme in t he first place! game too long, parti cularly if it’s a
out and look! night game and/or cold weather. Call
Wide Games are possible even in city
a halt while they are still enj oying it
A wide game where no-one knows centres, but the y do need a proper
the rules is pointless, and t he fewer and they’ll be keen for the next one.
degree of pre-pla nni ng and
Want to share some of your
favourit e wide game ideas
with us? Send them in and
we’ll publish the best with
acknowledgements.
THE C HAT L INE PA GE 3
NETWORK
Go for your brand new PL’s: Organise a special Special competition for KIDS OUTDOORS
Eat in Colour Healthy meeting of your Patrol Explorers:. All you have This programme is well
Eating Badge. Details somewhere different to do is write the last
up and runni ng and a
are available on li ne three lines of the follow-
lot of Scout support has
and how to take part i n ing limerick:
already been reported
the special competi-
Explorer Scout Dave here in the North-west
tion! from Pwllheli by networks, camp staff,
Beavers are looking leaders and units. Please
One ni ght was sat
forward to their trip to tell Chatline what you
watching the tele…………
the Zoo t his month and have done to promote
the County Challenge Send your best effort to the Kids Out doors
in June and organise a Patrol the Ed. on a postcard programme. Details can
activity to li nk with along with your name be found on line.
Cubs , and unit.
National Network
oooOOOooo oooOOOooo gathering will be held
D of E weekend was this year at Great Towers
The Orienteering com- in Cumbria.
petition will take place held successfully.
Special Announcement on Sunda y, 13 J uly on 20 Jun is t he “all you New Network flag was
can eat” buffet followed dedicated during the St.
oooOOOooo George’s Day service.
The Warrington West Scout District AGM by the Starlight Walk,
The date of the Blakfoot and on 20 Jul y we are 6 out of 9 members on
will be held at Bold Street Methodist Hike has been cha nged holdi ng ’Challenge Ex- the next E xplorer Belt to
Church on Thu, 15 May 2008, 7 p.m. A from 17/19 Oct to plorer’. Summer Camp Kandersteg, Switzerland
24/26 Oct due to already has 45 parti ci- are from Warrington
special presentation will be given by Scouts
school holida ys. pants signed up and
who attended the World Centenary Explorers born before
looking forward to Gil-
Jamboree following the business meeting well, and 13 Se ptember Xmas 1990 are invited to
the 20 June Network
and presentation of A wards. is Mingle at our Grap-
Meet. Email name to
penhall Campsite..
Hannah@networkrocks.
Go Go Go Explore !!! [Link]
PA GE 4 THE C HAT L INE
A Royal Occasion - Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth unveils bronze at
home of London Scouting
P re s i de n t s Patc h
Since Warrington Scouting is 100 years old this year I t hought being reissued. Some num bers have been held by several
that you may be i nterested in hearing how the District took Groups over the years.
shape in those early days.
The 1935 census listed 30 active Groups of which three we
Records confirm that the first Scout Troops were formed in the would still recognize.
Latchford (St. Hilda’s Mission) and the Winwick Road (Dannet
How has the history of your Group de veloped? Why not
St.) areas closely followed by t he formation of troops i n How- trace it.!
ley, Fairfield, Whitecross and Padgate areas.
Good Scouting………………………...…… ……………...George Carman
In the early days Troops were identified by location and not
numbers, I am not sure when t he use of numbers was first The 10th Warrington, Sanke y
used but by 1916 a system of numbers ha d been established. St. Mary’s was registered in
1927. Pict ures of their first
The composition of the District has changed over the years as
Scout Hut (corner of Meeting
some Groups have become defunct a nd new Groups have
Lane & St. Mary’s Rd) and ‘on parade’! (insert from...B. Ed)
been formed resulting in t he numbers from defunct Groups
L e t te r fro m t he E dit o r L E T TE RS T O TH E EDI T OR
To all recipients of ‘Chatline’: (Submissions for pri nt in next issue require d by 28 May 08)
This free newsletter service is delivered to you i n the sincere
hope that you will see it is further disseminated by you t o ot hers
within your Group, Troop, Unit, whatever; a nd to any parents,
friends of Scouting or people you t hink would like to read it.
GSL’s should, please, also ensure it is posted on the Group Hqs
noticeboard, Section Leaders should please pass copies on to
assistant leaders, helpers, lodge leaders, sixers and PL’s, as appro-
priate.. There are items and competitions for you all.
Anyway, with no people there ca n’t be any “chat” ca n there?
If you have read/seen/discovered ‘Chatli ne’ and are not on our
mailing list but woul d like t o be, please contact us with your
email address.
[Link]
THE C HAT L INE PA GE 5
Got an idea worth passing on? Let’s have it!
‘ SCO U T ER ’ s’ SWAP SHO P:
SURVIVAL FIRESHIPS FUN WITH PLASTER
Here are a few suggestions which Stretch a string across a pond ,with Mix the plaster a little thinner than
might prove useful at summer or the middle four feet marked off by usual and pour it into a bottle. Place
weekend camps: produce fire by pieces of wool. Worki ng from any- an inflated balloon over the neck of
means of a burning glass or with natu- where on the bank, each Patrol/team the bottle and pour the plaster into
ral flint and a steel; experiment with a must make a small raft, light a fire on the balloon. This ca n then be
solar still; dig for water above t he hi gh it, and manoeuvre it to burn through moulded by hand i nto virtually any
water mark on a beach; im provise and the string between the wool markers. shape , or by draping it over ot her
use fish hooks; improvise a heliograph; Time limit 30 minutes, or first to finish objects or suspendi ng it from string.
make and use a hammock i n camp. wins. When nearly dry, cut away the bal-
loon a nd allow the cast to harden
Detailed reports from Scouters, Explorers and PL’s following experiments would be completely; then decorate with poster
appreciated - after all this column is called ‘Scouter’s’ SWAP Shop paints and take home to Mum!
I n si de St ory He ad l i ne
NAUGHTY KNOTTING NITE
We have been offered a superb venue for
this event but, up to now, only two peo-
ple hav e evinced any interest. It ‘s good
fun and a good laugh and you might
ev en remember a bit of what you learnt.
Need the numbers or we will have to can-
cel. Call 01925 493753 .
The Adventures
of Scout Leader
Fred and the 1st
Much-Binding-
in-the-Marsh
Scout Troop
COMPETITION - To find the “‘Scoutiest “ Scout Group in Warrington West. Is it yours?
Question 1 For GSL: Where am I?
Question 2: For SL: What is the tartan badge on t he Gilwell Scarf and why is it there?
Question 3: For CSL: What conservation project have your Cubs accomplished t his year? Details!
Question 4: For BSL: Who was Dinizulu?
Question 5: For PL: Devise a humorous commercial to “sell” your Scout Leader to t he hi ghest bidder. Poster or
tape or vide o or slide show are acceptable.
Question 6: For Sixer: What year did Scouting start and when a nd where was the first scout camp?
Question 7: For Lodge L Who is the Warrington West District Commissioner?
Question 8: For Scout: Learn a Filipino lashing and teach it t o the rest of your patrol.
Question 9: For Cub: Why do we shake hands using t he left hand?
Question 10: For Beaver: How many gnawing teeth does a beaver have?
Question 11: For Chairman How many ‘beads’ are there on t he necklace of a trained Leader?
Question 12: For Treasurer From 27 Feb 07 what accounts should Groups prepare with gross income over £10K but
under £25K a nd who should sign off as a minimum requirement?
Question 13: For Secretary Who is the Chief Scout of t he World?
Question 14: For anybody A photo of someone i n your Group enjoying a Scout activit y
Email—or hand deliver—or snail mail
Your replies to arrive with the editor
Not later than 4 June 2008
Winner’s prize to be presented at District Camp
