Annual report 2017
Treasures report
The Group has run at a surplus of £6,241 this year, with funds available increasing to £19,817 from £13,576. Income is in line with last year - thanks to everyone who has completed a gift aid form, as ever this is an important source of funds for the group. Didsbury festival raised around £800 for the group.
This year we’ve replaced the wall at the back of the hut with a fence after the wall fell down due to trees encroaching on it and bought some new tents for the group. We’ve been in our current location for over 30 years and the hut is in need of refurbishment. We now have sufficient funds to start work on improving access to the hut and updating the toilets and kitchen area – watch this space!
The 2016 - 2017 accounts will be audited over the summer.
Matthew Rushton
Group Treasurer
GSL’s report
We have had another successful year and all sections are near maximum size.
We still have issues with the number of leaders we have, this is especially a problem in both cub section, They both need more leaders as at times we are at the minimum number allowed to run the sections. The number of leaders needed is higher for activities outside which means we might not be able to do them.
As you will see from the front garden we are fully involved with the community in an attempt to win the urban section of Britain in bloom for Didsbury. The garden project is sponsored by the RHS “Greening Grey Britain”. Many thanks to Helen and the team of helpers, who have got it to this stage.
We are still wanting to upgrade the toilets, kitchen and Den . This project had been ongoing for too long, it is hoped to get it done in the near future.
The troops did an accessibility survey last year which highlighted several short fall to our HQ we are hoping to remedy these as soon as possible.
We are in discussions with, Greater Manchester East scout county with a view to the feasibility of opening new sections at venues remote from our HQ. The driving force for this is to try and reduce our waiting list.
Many thanks, to all leaders and supporters, well done.
Keith Hampson
Group scout Leader
Beaver report
Beavers continue to have a very long waiting list and it’s likely that a number will never get into our group. We try to encourage the enquiries for older children to apply to 241st and 306th beaver scouts as they have shorter waiting lists. We have the maximum of 24 on each of Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
We are furthering our links with the community and Didsbury in Bloom specifically by continuing to look after the planter on School Lane. With assistance from other members of the group and finance from the RHS we are developing the scout hut garden.
Amongst the many things the beavers have been doing was an activity day and sleepover. The beavers made their own packed lunch and then went to Fletcher Moss park to do outdoor activities. In the evening they put up their tent and we had a campfire which the parents were invited to.
The two district events the beavers attended were Remembrance Sunday parade and the Christingle service at Emmanuel Church.
Amongst the evening activities the junk modeling always proves very popular which develops imagination (possibly on our behalf!) team work and construction skills. We try to get out as much as possible and the summer term, when the weather seems to be at its worst, is when we attempt to go to the park and do outdoor activities. We have also covered serious aspects and most of the beavers gained their first response badge level 1and have done safety in the home, garden and by water. We also covered disability and dementia awareness.
My thanks go to all my leaders for all their support and effort especially to John who will be leaving us in the summer to go to Scotland. We also welcome our recent new leaders Karin, Sara, Alicia and Rowan, also our young leaders Dodo and Joaquim without them all we would not be able to run a fun filled programme for the children. It takes commitment to give time for preparing and attending each evening but at times we still need a parent rota to help us especially when we are away from the scout hut.
Helen Hampson (AGSL Beavers)
Cub report
The cubs have had another busy year, with 11 chief scout silvers from the Celts and Saxons have awarded 218 badges this year. There are 23 cubs in the Celts and 28 in the Saxons. We have all completed the Athletics, disability awareness, local knowledge and artist badges. We also did the DIY badge, making bird boxes, which have been put up around the hut.
The cubs have been out and about, with a canoeing trip on the Mersey last July, and a sixers and seconders camp in September. The cubs very much enjoyed learning some traditional scout skills, from tracking to firelighting, with lovely weather helping things along. There was a sleep over in the hut in December, with a viewing of the new Jungle Book film and a small campfire, to round off a year of cubs 100. Earlier this year, some of the cubs went to Didsbury park and helped to do some litter picking and tidying, so that it is nice for everyone who goes there. Celts were also involved in the consultation about the park, and as a result, directly influenced the decision to install a zip wire.
In April, the cubs went to annual pike view hike competition, with one team from each pack competing. The cubs put in a strong effort, coming 11th and 22nd out of more than 30 teams, which is pretty good considering we didn’t do a practice this year!
Coming up this month is the annual cub camp, with both packs, which has a Wild West theme and promises to be an exciting weekend. We also hope to run another sixers and seconders camp and make the next year just as exciting as this one.
Claire Lydon
(Celts CSL)
Scout report
Griffin Troop (Tuesday)
We currently have 24 scouts in the Griffin troop with regular attendance making for lively meetings. We have run a varied programme this year supported by our six leaders. One of which is currently travelling around South America and we are looking forward to him returning with some exciting stories.
We have had a number of activities and camps away from the scout hut this year. We had a number of very successful camps in the spring/summer of 2016 including a summer camp held at Gradback campsite in the peak district. This included a trip to the Roaches for some outdoor rock climbing.
We have just had our first camp of 2017 at Sandiway campsite where we had 28 young people taking part. We completed some climbing and Norwegian crane activities.
The troop is going from strength to strength with a dedicated leadership team that I would like to extend my thanks to for their efforts throughout the year.
Brian Cosgrove
Scout Leader
Phoenix Troop (Wednesday)
Since the 2016 AGM, Phoenix and Griffin scouts had a fantastic summer camp at Gradbach in the Peak District. Activities included climbing, geocaching and building and sleeping in shelters (on possibly the worst night of the year in terms of rainfall!)
In October, Phoenix scouts were joined by Griffin for Access Didsbury, part of the national campaign ‘A Million Hands’. Our scouts, parents and members of the public performed an accessibility survey of shops, restaurants and public buildings to identify areas of potential improvement and to raise the profile of accessibility issues. The worst performing venue was our own scout hut.
Notable troop nights include a visit from our local PCSO team, Crystal maze themed assault course, and customizing, distressing and decorating jeans. We also managed to design and build fires floating on water.
Already in 2017 we’ve had a joint camp with Griffin troop at Sandiway scout campsite and we’re planning a 5 day backwoods camp in August (details coming out very soon).
Simon Jermy
Scout Leader
DVESU (Didsbury Viking explorer scout unit)
2017 has been another busy year for the explorer unit. We now have 18 members of the
unit and regularly have double digit attendance at the meetings. We also have 5 young
leaders helping with other sections within the group as well as others who are interested in
starting.
We have had a very active program this year, including a fencing lesson, a trip to Awesome
climbing wall, a quiz night and also the usual scouting activities such as first aid, map
reading and pioneering. Over the last couple of weeks we have been very active in the
garden project helping to design the layout, build the raised planters, lay the anti-weed
sheets and install the gravel borders. The unit also had its largest presence yet at the
annual Greater Manchester explorer winter camp. As well as competing in Pike View Hike
for the first time in a number of years, where the team came a fantastic 8th overall. Also in
July we will be attending the Gilwell 24 camp (a weekend camp at Gilwell park that features
24 hours of continuous activities) for the first time.
We have a significant proportion of the unit that are signed up for the various levels of the
Duke of Edinburgh's Award and the associated Chief Scout or Queen’s Scout Awards. Over
the summer and into the autumn we are going to be looking to work on the expeditions and
the extra requirements that are part of the Scout Awards.
Will McGenn
(Explorer scout leader)