6th November 2005

Happy 1st Birthday www.radscouts.org

The 1st Ramsden and Downham Scout Group's web site is now one year old. We moved to this web site after 6 weeks using an AOL free site.

In one year we have:

• had 23,282 different pages looked at

• had an average of 185 hits per day

• 4th November 2005 has been our busiest day (so far) with 430 hits)

• we have posted 1244 photographs onto our photo site

• and the photos have been looked at on 7583 occasions!

So, what are we doing in the next twelve months?

• Adding more information about the history of the group

• Adding information from the Cub Scouts, Scouts and Explorer Scouts on a weekly basis

• Producing a more comprehensive guide for the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards

• Bringing you more information about the Cubs, Scouts and Explorers

• Working on the Ramsden Bellhouse Village Website

• Teaching the Scouts about web site design so that they can gain their IT stage 3 and IT stage 4 badges

• Adding a huge number of images from the various camps that are planned during 2006

• Oh yes, and not forgetting those silly pages, from Stoat Shoes to Muppets that are added when someone has a good idea!

Thank you for all your ideas and comments about our site, we think that 1st Ramsden and Downham is the best Scout Group in the world, and we would like to make this site the best Scouting site on the internet.

15th October 2005

Gardening Night - Wednesday 12th October 2005.

1st Base: The Cubs planted hyacinth bulbs in flower pots which they were then able to take home. Perhaps with regular watering they will flower in time for Christmas.

2nd Base: The Cubs glued cotton wool onto paper plates in the shape of their initials. They then sowed cress and mustard seeds onto the plates. The Cubs took these home as well.

3rd Base: The Cubs had to find the route through a paper maze and answer the question in a picture quiz. They also had a gardening word search to solve. Click here to try the word search for yourself.

Wednesday also forced us to say goodbye to David Campy. David has been helping with the Pack for the past few months but sadly for us, he is moving to the north of England to start a new job. We would like to thank David for all his hard work over this time and wish him well for the future. He was presented with a Scouting mug and a Baden-Powell thank you card.

19th October 2005

This years Charity Games Night will be held on Wednesday 19th October. This year's quiz will be a similar format to the last two years. This year's theme is The Alphabet Quiz.

26 different activities, some mental, some skilful, some physical and lots more besides.

There will also be the usual raffle and refreshments.

Times: start at 6.30pm     The games finish at 8.30pm and the results will be announced at 9pm

Hopefully, between the games and the results, we will have the opportunity to watch the video taken at the Scout and Explorer Father and Son Water Activity weekend in July..

September 2005

One of the changes that the Scout Association have brought in during recent years, is the requirement for all Leaders to have a current First Aid certificate.

Some of our Leaders have passed First Aid Courses in the past, but on Sunday 25th September Akela, Raksha, Tau and Q all spent the day being assessed on their knowledge of First Aid.

They had to show that they could:

• Put bandages on cuts

• Put elevation slings and arm slings

• Recognise the causes and treatment of Head Injuries

• Know how to deal with Heart Attacks, Angina, Strokes

• How to treat people with Asthma, Diabetes, Epilepsy

• Put people into the recovery position

• Know the procedure for Cardio-Pulmonary Respiration

• How to deal with choking, drowning, shock, heat stroke, hypothermia

The following prizes were awarded:

• Neatest Bandaging:    Raksha

• Best bed-side manner:    Akela

• Most cakes eaten:    Q

• Cleverest bandaging:    Tau (for the bandage that he put around Q's head)

March 2005

Cubs in the Bellhouse Cub Scout Pack have spent three weeks working on the My Faith Activity Badge. This is the first time any section in the 1st Ramsden and Downham Scout Group has attempted this badge - widely regarded as one of the hardest badges to obtain.

Week One

In the first week the Cub Scouts visited Ramsden Bellhouse Baptist Church and were given a tour of the Church by the Pastor Rev. Geoff Griggs. They learnt about the history of the Church, about the Prayers and the Hymns that are used at the Church and the reasons why they are used. They also learnt about some of the bible stories that are important symbols of the Church.

Week Two

The following week, Geoff Griggs visited the Cubs at their Pack meeting with a focus on the hymns and choruses that are used. Some of the Cubs knew some of the hymns because they were also used in School Assemblies.

Week Three

A change of venue for the third week of the badge. This time Mr. Len Ferris, the Churchwarden of Saint Mary's Parish Church guided the Cubs on a tour of his church. They compared the two churches, the costumes, buildings, decorations as well as the use the church made of Prayers, Hymns and the Bible. Len also allowed the Cubs to ring the Church Bells in the Bell Tower!

Week Four

The final part of the Badge was for the Cubs to attend a service at Ramsden Bellhouse Baptist Church. Some of the Cubs helped collect the collection, others handed out the flowers to the Mothers in the Church on Mothering Sunday, some Cubs helped Geoff Griggs illustrate the Bible Story by pretending to be a forgiving king and an unforgiving servant. Baloo read the lesson brilliantly. Finally after a huge amount of work Akela and Geoff presented 19 Cub Scouts with their My Faith Badge.

We would like to thank everyone at Saint Mary's Church - especially Len Ferris, Everyone at Ramsden Bellhouse Baptist Church - in particular Geoff Griggs and our intrepid Cub Scout Leaders in attempting this difficult badge.

Find out the requirements for the My Faith badge click on: http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/badges/cub-activity-myfa.htm

March 2005

The Scout Troop recently participated in the Billericay and Wickford District Scout Night Hike.

12 Scouts and 4 Leaders met at 2nd Billericay HQ, before being driven to Ingrave. The first team of 6 Scouts left 15 minutes before the second team. The weather was cold - the ice hard ground was sometimes painful to walk on, but the Scouts spent most of their time jumping through the ice in the puddles.

After about 30 minutes walking, the 2 teams could see each other which meant the race was on. Could team A hold onto their 15 minute head start?

By the time Team A reached checkpoint one, the lead was less than 10 minutes. The A's decided that Botney Hill was too icy to negotiate on foot, so followed a 1km diversion across fields. At the bottom of the Hill, the A's saw the B's overtake them! The B's had decided that they wouldn't follow the safer and slower diversion, instead they decided to continue on their planned route.

So could team A retake the lead?

At checkpoint 2 team A were about 5 minutes behind team B. But then the crucial decision was made. The B's decided to walk through the housing estate, while the A's continued uphill across the muddy field. After a encounter with a frozen rubber chicken, and slipping up near a tree, Team A returned to 2nd Billericay HQ, in the knowledge that they hadn't overtaken the B's.

However....... some things don't entirely go to plan!

Team B had got lost walking through the housing estate and after being forced to retrace their steps they had lost their lead and arrived back at HQ 2 minutes behind team A.

So honours were shared - Team A hadn't been overtaken despite all Team B's boasting, and Team B were the quickest at covering the distance.

Congratulations to both Teams and to the 2 leaders who were kept awake almost all night!

January and February 2005

Information to come here about:

District Scout Swimming Gala

District Cub Scout Swimming Gala

National Scout Pedal Car Championships

and District Scout Forum

December 2004

The Essex Scout Fireworks Camp took place at Coalhouse Fort, East Tilbury.

We took 2 Leaders and 7 Scouts for a small camp fire, hundreds of pounds worth of fireworks and very little sleep!

The challenge on Saturday morning was to build a weapon that could fire missiles (tennis balls) into the fort. This meant the Scout's weapons had to fire over the moat-ditch, over a wall and into the fort. This meant constructing a huge catapult.

Made solely out of bamboo canes and rubber bands, it took 1 1/2 hours to build. That's we the fun really began!

October 2004

Each year we raise money for the Village Hall Charity. This year we challenged our Cubs and Scouts together with their friends and families to a Senses Quiz.

This quiz consisted of 75 things that had to be identified:

Taste:    5 crisp flavours, 5 fizzy drinks and 5 colourless drinks

Hearing:    5 National Anthems, 5 TV program theme tunes and 5 everyday sounds

Sight:    5 Leaders from their school photos, 5 famous buildings and 5 everyday objects close up.

Touch:    5 foods, 5 household objects and 5 "weird" things (to quote one of the Cubs!

Smell:    5 scented bubble baths (Akela's favourites), 5 garage products (Q's favourites) and 5 kitchen ingredients.

This was complicated by a Marathon, 25 events from the last 25 years!  Click here to see the marathon.

We raised £200 for the Village Hall charity, which is our best ever result. On behalf of all the Leaders and Group Council can we thank you all for making the quiz a success! We will be having another quiz evening on 26th October 2005.

04 March 2006