News Section
Haltemprice Fells Marathon 2009
The original plan had been to enter 2 explorer teams and on scout one into last weekends Fells Marathon hiking competition. However the best laid plans ……It ended up being an explorer team of 6 and a scout team of four. Thanks Lauren for dropping down to help the scouts!
We managed to time our arrival at the Birch Hall site to coincide with an outbreak of torrential rain but it’s fun putting up tents in the dark and the rain!
The route always looked as if it might catch a few people out, especially in the early stages…and so it did. The weather on Saturday morning was as good as you can expect and Clem and I had managed to get an early checkpoint – the theory being that we should be stood down by lunchtime – so all was well.
Listening to the radio it was obvious that teams were struggling to get to the first checkpoint and the times were far greater than expected. Our gallant scout team got there in 1 hour 14 mins which was fine (one team took 3 and a half hours!) but then sadly went off the radar. They ended up probably walking more than any other team but sadly this epic trek failed to take in any checkpoints…Still it was a nice day for a stroll and they did join up with Bridlington Scouts who were also not 100% sure of their whereabouts. The Fells competition is designed to specifically allow this sort of event to happen though and the Sweep Teams ( aided by a passing mountain biker) eventually located them! They did complete the course on Sunday however and we are proud of them – a) for taking part in the 1st place and b) for the excellent spirit shown.
The Explorers did fantastically well considered the size and varying ability within the team and finished both days (9th overall). Tall Tom , the map control man says, “What I like about them is that they treat the event as social outing!” However I get the feeling we will surprise a few people next year and I anticipate a podium finish for one, if not both teams!
If you wish to see the results in all their gory detail then check out the Fell's marathon website.
Bailwood Group Camp 2009
Over the May Bank Holiday, all sections of Hornsea Scout Group went to Bailwood Scout Activity Centre, near Aldbrough, en-mass for a three day camp. A massive thank you goes to Raksha (Odette) for organising her first camp – nothing like jumping in at the deep end. Actual numbers on camp varied by the day with helpers coming and going and he Beavers only being there for 24 hours but Sheila reported that she catered for 93 at one of the meals!
The weather turned against us as we strove to set up, some Leaders had arrived early in the morning to get the communal tents set up before the Sections arrived, so nobodies kit got wet! Camping was in tents, bivouacs and the log cabin and having seen some of the bivouacs (Explorers?!) I can only say thank goodness it didn’t rain.
On the Saturday the sun came out and it ended up being a glorious day. Steve Caulfield and his instructors arrived from Kingston Special Needs Group to give everyone in the group Archery instruction and parent helpers, leaders and children were all given the opportunity to try a new skill. Other activities on the Saturday included an alien egg hunt in the wood, our camp theme was Monsters and Aliens. Some of our Leaders and Parents built an obstacle course for the group to attempt and other parents took some children to build shelters. The highlight of the Saturday, was "It's a knockout" Wet Games, with a large body slide and water fight as a grand finale. With a campfire in the evening, the group were all exceedingly tired when they finally got to bed.
Sunday was a little more sedate, but as we had so many parent helpers with us on the camp, lots of smaller groups went off and did the things they wanted to. With our backwards cooking expert Scout Leader Richard Cleminson helping the children to provide really good pizza's for lunch it was decided to break out the body slide and have "ANOTHER" water fight to help everyone cool down on one of the hottest days of the year so far. Some of the group were starting to flag as our busy camp progressed, so when it came to camp fire that evening, twigs were sharpened and marshmallows were cooked.
By the time it came to break camp on the Monday morning, everyone was ready for a decent bath and perhaps an afternoon nap! But not before our Group Scout Leader Rob Carlisle invested our newest Scout. It was a fabulous camp and was only able to be so, due to the outstanding number of parents willing to give their time to come and help the Leaders. A big thank you to all those who volunteered. Same time next year? or are we all too tired to think of that yet!
There was stacks to do over the weekend but I think the star event was the water slide where, I think there was a competition, but the end result was everybody got soaked so I doubt if anyone remembers who won the event?!
The support we had from parents was fantastic and certainly the best I recall having on camp and I’m sure we have discovered some potential leaders. A huge thank you to everyone who helped. Same again next year??
Moonlight Challenge 2009
The weather was surprisingly warm, which was a great start to the weekend. We arrived nice and early which gave us time to set up and socialise with county Scouting friends. The checkpoints were challenging but a lot of fun, and navigation didn’t cause us too many problems thanks to the wonderful navigation skills of Jonny!
Some checkpoints, like aiming water bombs at targets, and trying to build a free-standing bridge out of logs, were almost impossible. However others were more depending on chance, such as playing the higher or lower card game, and we actually did really well on these! After an exciting evening round the dark woods we headed back to the tents for a night of lots of chatting, eating and very little sleep!
In the morning we had our cooked breakfast (some a lot later than others!) and made our way down to the presentation, where we had rather a surprise! WE WON!!! Not sure how, but we did! So after that bombshell we made our way home, having had an awesome weekend.
Former Scouts
While manning a fundraising stall over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend (going through a watching paint dry phase!) our Scout Leader, Rob Carlisle, got talking to Tony Hampton who used to be a member of Hornsea Scouts between 1954 - 1962.
In those days the troop used to meet in an old loft above a farmyard off Back Westgate. The scoutmaster was Adrian Hill who used to be a woodwork teacher at Hornsea School.
Tony remembers that 2 of his fellow scouts were Christopher Dowson and Terry Ward. At the time Tony lived on Hull Road. During his time in scouting Tony went on to gain his Queens Scout Award - the highest award in the movement. He told me that the American equivalent is the Eagle Scout.
He would be pleased to hear from old colleagues as he has lived in New Jersey, USA for many years. Tony can be contacted by email at tony.joette@verizon.net
Rob Carlisle says "We would like to hear from any other former members of Hornsea Scout Group who gained the Queens Scout Award via our contact form which is also available below".
