chatlines - issue 14

8/7/2019 Chatlines - Issue 14

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Chatline - Ed 14 Page 2

ew Year Resolutions!

Thought about your New Year resolutions yet. How about adding oneor two new games into the Troop meeting programme; or making sure

that each Patrol has a minimum of four weekend outdoor activities or

camps planned into the spring/summer period.

Heres a game you may not have tried before: Cable carsEquipment: A piece of string about twelve feet long and a table tennis ball perPatrol.

Preparation: The piece of string should be tied to form a loop. The Patrols areset out as for a relay race, with the exception of the Patrol Leader who shouldbe standing about six feet away, in front of his Patrol and facing them. The loopof string is out from the Patrol Leader to the first Scout in his Patrol: the table

tennis ball (cable car) is placed on the cable (strings) at the Patrol Leaders

end. By raising or lowering either ends of the strings the cars direction andspeed can be controlled.The car must travel from the Patrol Leader to his

assistant and back again without falling off the ca-

ble. The next Scout then takes over and repeats theprocess with the Patrol Leader (the car may be held

on while the change-over is being executed). ThePatrol Leader keeps his position throughout the

game. If the ball drops off it is replaced immedi-ately on the end from which it set off from last.

Dont forget Valentines Day, Feb 14th !!!

DOT MISS OUT

Warrington Gang Show (16th to 19th March) - Booking forms are out with all Groups and Units, so make

sure your section gets their seats booked as soon as possible. This is particularly true if you wish to attend the

Saturday matinee performance. Initially you can book a block by contacting th Booking Secretary, Margaret

Goodhew. This should be confirmed and the tickets paid for as soon as the final numbers are known. Margaret

can be contacted on 01925 816032.

District Camp (8th 20th July) - Your Group or Unit has a form to register your intention to take part in this

event. Please see that you have sent this in to Tony, our D.C. Plans are well underway for exciting pro-

grammes for each Section. The first General Meeting for those attending District Camp will be on Tuesday,

29th March, but the organising committee needs the indications from attending Groups and Units to allow them

to estimate numbers. Post your form to 525 Stockport Road, Thelwall, Warrington, WA4 2TH or email to

[email protected]


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This edition of Chatline in-

cludes our huge KENYA

Supplement. Be sure tocheck it out and read all

about what our Explorers got

up to in Africa

oteANNOUNCEMENT: This is your newsletter - so please send us your latest

comments, information, complaints, jokes, photos, ideas, drawings, or any-

thing else you wish to share with the rest of us. So! ...what have you, or

your lodge, pack, troop, unit, been up to lately and what bright new events are

you planning for the coming year??????

Dont wait to be asked: write in, email, text, pick up the phone, or call round

for a cuppa with whatever items you have to go into the next issue.

TRAINING: N e w t r a i n i n g d a t e s f o r 2 0 1 1 h a v e b e e n i s s u e d . G S L s w e r e g i v e n t r a i n i n g d a t e

p a c k a g e s a t t h e J a n u a r y A D C / G S L m e e t i n g . I f y o u a r e d u e a n y o n g o i n g t r a i n i n g c h e c k o u t w h a t s

o n o f f e r a n d g e t y o u r s e l f b o o k e d i n w h i l e p l a c e s a r e s t i l l a v a i l a b l e .

Calling all S.Ls and A.S.Ls : Started planning your programmes for Easter,district and summer camp yet? How about getting a bit of rope weave pioneering training

into your Troop programme and make some unusual and aesthetically beautiful structuresand gateways. The rope weave, or to use the French name paraboloide hyperbolique, is

eye-catching, graceful and looks far more complicated than it really is. The 4BH-PH on

the next page was given as a first project to a group of six 12-14 year old scouts who

completed the whole project in under 3 hours with only minimum help from a leader.

Once Scouts grasp the basic principle of the rope weave, they can usually think of ways in

which it can be applied in Patrol and Troop camping. Flagpoles and gateways are the best

examples: a rope weave flagpole would be an attractive centrepiece for any camp site,

while nothing could be calculated to impress a camping competition judge more than a

delicate and well-made gateway to a Patrol site.

A rope weave flagpole requires only a few items of special equipment; at least 2 poles,

which must to set at an angle to each other in the finished project (some suggestions for

pole combinations are given overleaf); digging tools, a hammer, half a pound of wire fencestaples; a ball of sisal or similar string and lashing rope. An old groundsheet to pile dirt on

and a tape measure are useful but not essential.

Our six scouts were left almost entirely to their own devices se we could discover the problems involved in

erecting what is really a simple flagpole. Several points arose which would apply to any rope weave project.

Siting: the transparent nature of the rope weave means that it will blend in with any countryside and wouldnot look out of place on a hilltop or against a dark hedge. Nevertheless, the site should be chosen with care to

gain best advantage from the changing shape of the parabolic curves when seen from different angles.

Digging: guy lines of any sort will ruin the effect of the rope weave project, which means a bit of spade work!

Any upright poles must be dug firmly into the ground.

Staples: by placing the staples at different distances apart on each pole, the shape of the curve can be varied.

There should be an equal number of staples on each pole. On our flagpole, the staples on the vertical pole were

six inches apart, and the staples on the other two poles were three inches apart. This is where a tape measure isneeded.

Stringing-up: the poles should be loosely strung together on the ground, using continuous lengths of string

which can be tightened once the poles are firmly in place. On our flagpole there were three parabolic curves,

each made with one continuous length of string.

Erection: can require a lot of muscle, since the poles must be held in place while the holes are refilled and theearth tamped down

Tightening: May need to be redone, depending on the weather.

Pioneering engenders teamwork, discipline, skill with knots and lashings, a good dealk of fun and a sense of

real achievement. But, remember, it should be the Scouters who get cold from doing nothing. Adults should

only act as safety checkers, heavy lifters, fountains of knowledge and cooksand provided the Scouts havelearned their knots and lashings in the Troop room there should be little else for the Scouter to do except

shiver!


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WARRINGTON WEST SCOUTS EARN COMMUNICATORS BADGE AND

NOW HOLD AMATEIR RADIO LICENCE!

Three Scouts from the 28th Warrington and one from the 21st Warrington gained their amateur radio licence recently

by completing the foundation course and passing an exam in conjunction with the WARC (Warrington Amateur RadioClub). They now have their very own call sign and are licensed to speak on their own radio. Any Scouts from other

troops who are interested, should contact P. Houghton at the 28th Warrington Scout Group for details. The Scouts

themselves found it had a degree of difficulty but very interesting:-

Editors note:

Congratulations to the Scouts on

their achievement.Also glad to hear that Albert Heyes is

still helping Scouts with the Commu-nicator badge, as I can remember inthe long-ago when Albert and John

Hughes at the 10th Warrington wereinstrumental in bringing their exper-tise in this field to many Scouts. In-deed, the 10th had their own radioshack and , even today, I think I can

remember their call sign as G3WSG.

The WSG stood for Warrington ScoutGroup. Somewhere in the mists ofantiquity I still have photos some-

where of the 10th Scouts in their

radio shack. Must dig em out oneday.I am sure their newly found skill

will enable these Scouts to have a

lot of fun when JOTA (Jamboreeon the Air) comes around, and

they will also make new friends in

countries around the world. How

good is that!

Well done! B.Ed.


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x

Activi-ties

Mingle

Crafts

Ex-

plorerAustria

Sum-

Easter,District

&Summer

Climb-

ing

Canoe-ing

A FEW PICTURES FROM 2010

Scouts on the go!

Always knew that Explorers were really

just big Beavers!!!

Where was the RSPCA?

Chain Gang(or passing the buck(et))

A prize for the best caption sent in for this pic-

ture! And can you guess who it is?

OW FOR 2011 !

Voices in fine fettle at a great show. OUR

GANG!

chatlines - issue 14

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