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May 2008

EDITORIALEDITORIALEDITORIALEDITORIAL

Pondering and head-scratching are the order of the day! Whet her to .or whether not too? T he

subject being pondered is the issuance of your resurrected Chatline. As we are a bit short on deci -

sion (not really, keep making one and then changing it)), thought wed do it the demo cratic wayand put the question to the vote. Sodo you want to see YOUR publication monthly, bi -monthly

or quarterly? If the vote-count is for bi-monthly, the 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 findmyself another job.

So come on all you Scouters, were doing our best to give you (hopefully) some extra support and

means of communication, we just need to know how you want it, when you want it and ifyou

want it!

ST. GEORGES DAY

Werent we lucky with the weather? A bit on

the parky side but only a few drops of rain

and weve had a lot worse other years. Wehad a good turn-out a gain and the District

Commissioner was very appreciative of all

Scouts, Leaders and Parents or helpers who

gave up their Sunday and took part.

In the last year or so, more and more shops

have taken to opening on Sundays. The re-

sult is that our parade from the Town Hall to

the Parish Church has a much wider audi-

ence than in the pre-Sunday- trading yearswhen we marched through almost empty

streets. Therefore, it is now a big PR boost for

Scouting in our town, as long as we set a

good impression before the townspeoplewatching us.

Unfortunately, I and some others, overheard

several remarks from Johnny Public which

were not complimentary about the behav-iour and bearing of a few groups on parade.

Years ago the RSM at Bruche Police Training

College used to give us all a re hearsal on the

Saturday morning and lick us all into shapebefore the parade. Bruche doesnt exist any

more and while I have no wish to see military

precision marching, a general look of smart-

ness and suitable behaviour wouldnt come

amiss. Perhaps groups could organise theirown rehearsals next year in the run up to the

parade so the scouts know what is expected

of them and ca n improve our image.

At the same time perhaps it would be possi-

ble to emphasise that standing at the alert

without talking during the rendering of our

national anthem is a s ign of respect to our

flag.

DISTRICT YOMP

A beautiful day, a reasonably good turn-out

and some groups were highly delighted with

the fund-rais ing injection they have earnedwhilst enjoying a delightful stroll round the

nature reserve. I dont have any figures to

hand at the moment but it was evident that

some groups were going to benefit exceed-

ingly well.

Congratulations to all our youngest members

(beavers and cubs) who valiantly dragged

parents, aunties, grannies, and dogs around

with them. Well done t o all who took partand thereby showed a commitment to their

group/unit and a willingness to put a little

back in recognition of what the y gain from

Scouting and their leaders.

Thanks are due to the catering staff (couldnt

have managed without them and the

cuppas they provided the staff), also to the

tent and course putter-uppers and taker-downers, the rest of the backroom lads and

lass es, and to the Nature Reserve for their

permiss ion to run the eve nt.

If you werent there you missed a great dayoutmake it a must for next year. See ya

there!!!

Dates for May/Jun/Jul

Troop SC 5

GSL/Dist Team 7

Pack SC 8

Back to Basics 9-11

Beaver Outing 10

Fellowship 12

Beaver SC 14

District AGM 15

Explorer SC 19

Exec Comm 20

Dist Camp General 4

Dist Camp Comm 5

Dist Camp Site Visit 7

County Parade 8

Fellowship 9

County AGM 10

Distr ict Team Meet 11

Cheshire Show 17-18

Distri ct Camp 26-29

Explorer SC 7

Beaver SC 9

Troop SC / Pack SC 10

Scout Cyclo Cross 13

Fellowship 14

Diary Meeting 16

Camp Site mgmt 17

County Cub Fun Day TBA

Exec comm 22

How about somephotographs of

the parade andthe yomp that wecould publish inour next issue?

from HQs PL Training

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FIRE AWARENESS

When was the last time you had a fire

drill at your Hq and, just as important,a fire drill in a camp situation?

SIGNALLING

If your Scouts learn at least one of themethods of signaling it can form the

basis of quite a few good wide games

and may one day be useful in other

PA G E 2

situations. If they know the morse

code they could build their own littlegenerator to practice signaling, See

diagram.

They could also learn how to make

and use a heliograph, Morse knowl-

edge will advantage any scout wish-ing to take up Amateur Radio .(Jamboree-on-the-Air)

Semaphore can be the basis of a lot of

games , and has been proved useful inthe hills .

Both systems can be useful survival

tools.

rules the better, but these tend to get

complicated by lives, identity cards,passwords or secret agents cunningly

disguised as parents. Wide games are

far better in open country where you

can play steal-a-flag or douse-a-candle

without waking the neighbourhood.

Or if you really cant be bothered, try

walking along a woodland path

slightly ahead of the Troop: you blowa whistle, they have to hide, whe n you

have walked another ten paces, turn

round and the first scout you see takes

the whistle . Simple and old-fashione d,

but funand no excuse for not having

a programme in the first place!

Wide Games are possible even in city

centres, but the y do need a proper

degree of pre-planning and

preparation.

Please allow the cashier at the Odeonand the Duty Sergeant at the nick to

get on with their jobs instead of being

asked for their signatures by a

procession of scruffy scouts becauseyou couldnt think of anything else for

them to collect !

Make sure your PLs understand their

responsibility to the rest of their patrolwhile they are out on the wide game,

particularly any new scouts who may

be scared if left alone in the dark.

Finally, ha ve fun but never run the

game too long, particularly if its anight game and/or cold weather. Call

a halt while they are still enjoying it

and theyll be keen for the next one.

Scavenger Hunt

Requires nothing but the wits to writea list of assorted and unlikely articles.

Variations include large plastic bags

and an anglers spring balance (orbathroom scale) to collect the greatest

weight of waste paper in a given time.

Helps clean up the neighbourhood at

the same time.

Try a wide game that demands some

intelligence: li ke list the make and

colour of every car parked within a

specified distance your Hq whosenumber plate adds up to more than

20if you ca n trust them to act ually goout and look!

A wide game where no-one knowsthe rules is pointless, and the fewer

T H E C H AT L I N E

WIDE GAMES

Sp ring Activ ities and getting ready for Summer

Want to share some of your

favourite wide game ideas

with us? Send them in and

well publish the best withacknowledgements.

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Special Announcement

The Warrington West Scout District AGM

will be held at Bold Street Methodist

Church on Thu, 15 May 2008, 7 p.m. A

special presentation will be given by Scouts

who attended the World Centenary

Jamboree following the business meeting

and presentation of A wards.

PA G E 3T H E C H AT L I N E

NETWORK

Go for your brand new

Eat in Colour Healthy

Eating Badge. Detailsare available on line

and how to take part in

the special competi-

tion!

Beavers are looking

forward to their trip to

the Zoo this month and

the County Challengein June

KIDS OUTDOORS

This programme is well

up and ru nning and a

lot of Scout support has

already been reported

here in the North-westby networks, camp staff ,

leaders and units. Please

tell Chatline what you

have done to promote

the Kids Outdoorsprogramme. Details can

be found on line.

National Networkgathering will be held

this year at Great Towersin Cumbria.

New Network flag wasdedicated during the St.

Georges Day service.

6 out of 9 members on

the next Explorer Belt toKandersteg, Switzerland

are from Warrington

Explorers born before

Xmas 1990 are invited tothe 20 June Network

Meet. Email name toHannah@networkrocks.

co.uk

Special competition for

Explorers:. All you have

to do is write the lastthree lines of the follow-

ing limerick:

Explorer Scout DaveExplorer Scout DaveExplorer Scout DaveExplorer Scout Davefrom Pwllhelifrom Pwllhelifrom Pwllhelifrom Pwllheli

One night was satOne night was satOne night was satOne night was sat

watching the telewatching the telewatching the telewatching the tele

Send your best effort to

the Ed. on a postcard

along with your name

and unit.

oooOOOooo

D of E weekend was

held success fully.

on 20 Jun is t he all you

can eat buffet followed

by the Starlight Walk,

and on 20 July we areholding Challenge Ex-

plorer. Summer Camp

already has 45 partici-

pants signed up and

looking forward to Gil-well, and 13 September

is Mingle at our Grap-

penhall Campsite..

Go Go Go Explore !!!

PLs: Organise a special

meeting of your Patrol

somewhere different

and organise a Patrol

activity to link with

Cubs ,

oooOOOooo

The Orienteering com-

petition will take place

on Sunday, 13 J uly

oooOOOooo

The date of the Blakfoot

Hike has been changedfrom 17/19 Oct to

24/26 Oct due to

school holidays.

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To all recipients of Chatline:

This free newsletter service is delivered to you in the sincere

hope that you will see it is further disseminated by you to others

within your Group, Troop, Unit, whatever; and to any parents,

friends of Scouting or people you think would like to read it.

GSLs should, please, als o ensure it is posted on the Group Hqs

noticeboard, Section Leaders should please pass copies on to

assistant leaders, helpers, lodge leaders, sixers and PLs, as appro-

priate.. There are items and competitions for you all.

Anyway, with no people there cant be any chat ca n there?

If you have read/seen/discovered Chatli ne and are not on our

mailing list but would like to be, please contact us with youremail address.

B.Ed

PA G E 4

being reissued. Some numbers have been held by several

Groups over the years.

The 1935 census listed 30 active Groups of which three we

would still recognize.

How has the history of your Group de veloped? Why nottrace it.!

Good Scouting......George Carman

The 10th Warrington, Sanke ySt. Marys was registered in

1927. Pictures of their first

Scout Hut (corner of Meeting

Lane & St. Marys Rd) and on parade! (insert from...B. Ed)

Since Warrington Scouting is 100 years old this year I thought

that you may be interested in hearing how the District tookshape in those early days.

Records confirm that the first Scout Troops were formed in the

Latchford (St. Hildas Mission) and the Winwick Road (Dannet

St.) areas closely followed by the formation of troops in How-ley, Fairfield, Whitecross and Padgate areas.

In the early days Troops were identified by location and not

numbers, I am not sure when the use of numbers was f irst

used but by 1916 a system of numbers had been established.

The composition of the District has changed over the years as

some Groups have become defunct and new Groups have

been formed resulting in the numbers from defunct Groups

T H E C H AT L I N E

A Royal Occasion - Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth unveils bronze at

home of London Scouting

Presi dents Patch

Le tter from the Editor L ETTERS TO THE EDIT OR

(Submissions for print in next issue require d by 28 May 08)

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SURVIVAL

Here are a few suggestions which

might prove useful at summer or

weekend camps: produce fire bymeans of a burning glass or with natu-

ral flint and a steel; experiment with asolar still; dig for water above t he high

water mark on a beach; improvise and

use fish hooks; improvise a heliograph;

make and use a hammock in camp.

PA G E 5

SCOUTER s SWAP SHOP:

T H E C H AT L I N E

I nside Story Headline

Got an idea worth passing on? Lets have it!

FUN WITH PLASTER

Mix the plaster a little thinner than

usual and pour it into a bottle. Place

an inflated balloon over the neck ofthe bottle and pour the plas ter into

the balloon. This can then bemoulded by hand into virtually any

shape , or by draping it over ot her

objects or suspending it from string.

When nearly dry, cut away the bal-

loon a nd allow the cast to hardencompletely; then decorate with poster

paints and take home to Mum!

FIRESHIPS

Stretch a string across a pond ,with

the middle four feet marked off by

pieces of wool. Working fr om any-where on the bank, each Patrol/team

must make a small raft, light a f ire onit, and manoeuvre it to burn through

the string between the wool markers.

Time limit 30 minutes, or first to finish

wins.

Detailed reports from Scouters, Explorers and PLs following experiments would be

appreciated - after all this column is called Scouters SWAP Shop

NAUGHTY KNOTTING NITENAUGHTY KNOTTING NITENAUGHTY KNOTTING NITENAUGHTY KNOTTING NITE

We have been offered a superb venue forWe have been offered a superb venue forWe have been offered a superb venue forWe have been offered a superb venue for

this event but, up to now, only two peo-this event but, up to now, only two peo-this event but, up to now, only two peo-this event but, up to now, only two peo-

ple have evinced any interest. It s goodple have evinced any interest. It s goodple have evinced any interest. It s goodple have evinced any interest. It s good

fun and a good laugh and you mightfun and a good laugh and you mightfun and a good laugh and you mightfun and a good laugh and you mighteven remember a bit of what you learnt.even remember a bit of what you learnt.even remember a bit of what you learnt.even remember a bit of what you learnt.

Need the numbers or we will have to can-Need the numbers or we will have to can-Need the numbers or we will have to can-Need the numbers or we will have to can-

cel. Call 01925 493753 .cel. Call 01925 493753 .cel. Call 01925 493753 .cel. Call 01925 493753 .

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Emailor hand deliveror snail mail

Your replies to arrive with the editor

Not later than 4 June 2008

Winners pr ize to be presented at District Camp

COMPETITIONCOMPETITIONCOMPETITIONCOMPETITION --- - To find the Scoutiest Scout Group in Warrington West. Is itTo find the Scoutiest Scout Group in Warrington West. Is itTo find the Scoutiest Scout Group in Warrington West. Is itTo find the Scoutiest Scout Group in Warrington West. Is ityoursyoursyoursyours????

The Adventures

of Scout Leader

Fred and the 1st

Much-Binding-

in-the-MarshScout Troop

Question 1 For GSL: Where am I?

Question 2: For SL: What is the tartan badge on the 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 sellyour Scout Leader to t he highest bidder. Poster or

tape or video or s lide 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 the 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 the World?

Question 14: For anybody A photo of someone in your Group enjoying a Scout activity