The Group’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place on Tuesday 20th June at our HQ. We were joined by parents, leaders and scouts from all sections to hear about what we have achieved over the past year. This is one of the reports presented that night:
Since last year’s AGM, the troop has had a very busy year, taking part in most of the District competitions including, before Christmas, the Soap Box Derby and the swimming gala. In March we took part in the Stag’s Head trophy, an incident hike at Dibden Enclosure, and the Eagle trophy, which is a night time version of the Stag’s head this year held at Wilverley.
In June we will be taking part in the District camping competition, an event at which we traditionally do quite well, last year regaining the trophy against some stiff opposition. This coming year we hope to again enter teams in all of the usual district competitions and preparing for this will form a large part of our programme.
The troop held a week summer camp in August at Furze Fields Scout Activity Centre near Littlehampton. Activities included kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding and even a trip to watch banger racing. This was on top of all the usual summer camp activities such as backwards cooking, hiking, swimming and a trip to a very rainy Littlehampton to buy souvenirs.
After the success of last year, we once again held a cycle expedition, with the Scouts riding to Ferny Crofts on the Friday and then onto Bragger’s Wood on the Saturday via a new trickier route. On Sunday we returned home, stopping for ice creams at Lyndhurst.
Already this year we have held a polar expedition camp to the wild wastes of Ferny Crofts in January, transporting our equipment by trek cart, and a survival camp in May where the Scouts slept under tarps with many of them in hammocks. The early May bank holiday saw us on Group camp at Ferny Crofts for a pirate themes camp with the Cubs and Beavers.
This year we will be going a little further afield for our summer camp, with a week on Dartmoor near Tavistock. This is a site we have visited in the past, with superb views, and activities will include walking on the moors, cycling on an old railway line and a trip to an outstanding climbing centre with a real cliff face overlooking the sea at Plymouth.