Camp 2009

Our 2009 camp took place on Formosa Meadow from 23 to 25 May and, for the first time in years, we enjoyed glorious weather.

Our theme this year was Space in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landings and the International Year of Astronomy.

We started with a game called Blast Off and had a Space Race on Saturday as well as Flying Saucers (Earthlings call them Frisbees), Space Hoppers and Stomp Rockets.

On Sunday we had a Moonwalk and Phaser Battle (Water Fight). As part of the Cubs' work towards the Astronomy badge, we made a model of the Solar System. Unlike most models which use different sized globes which are the correct relative sizes, we chose to use the correct relative positions on a scale of 1 metre to 20 million miles. On this scale, we had the Sun at one end of the Meadow and Pluto at the opposite corner. Sixers stood at the relative position of the planets but on this scale Earth would be 1.4 millimetres across and the Moon 1.4 centimetres away.

Leaders took the place of Earth and Uranus as these planets did not have sixes.

On Monday, we jettisoned our service modules (took down our tents) went through a hot re-entry (cooked over open fires) before Splashdown - the camp ended with another water fight!

Everybody seems to have had a great weekend and planning has already begun on the 2010 camp.

Robert Scott pack win Flag Competition

Congratratulations to Robert Scott cubs who have won the 2009 Maidenhead District Flag Competition.

With no time to practice before the day, we were not sure what to expect and were all very pleasantly surprised when we improved on the 3rd place achieved last year to beat holders Boyne Hill Altwood by just one point to take the honours for the first time.

Here are some pictures from the day.

The team sets out on the obstacle course

Finding a way through the scramble net
 - a future team for the Boxing Day Games in the making!

Showing we know our knots

Boyne Hill Altwood hand on the flag to our team captain

Robert Scott's team with the flag

Summer Time

We hope you have all had a good summer. We have generally been quite busy.

Chil, Kaa and Baloo all went off to the Gower in South Wales to help with the Scout Camp (they were very close to one of the best beaches in the world).

During that week, those of us who stayed behind took advantage of the stores being empty to reorganise them. Our headquarters have now also been revamped with new loos, new paint and new notice boards. There is also a rule that stops us sticking things to the fabric of the hall.

We think it looks much better.

When the stores were reorganised, we discovered lots of old stoves and lanterns. Akela and Bagheera rescued them before they went into the skip (a big metal thing, not a Scout Leader!) and Bagheera has been restoring them. Look out for the lanterns at the Bonfire on 1 November

Barbecue

Just to remind everybody - both packs will meet on Formosa Meadow next Wednesday for a barbecue and water fight.

Make sure you come well armed!

Camp this weekend

So here we go - camp is almost upon us. The cubs' tents are up as is the marquee.
The weather has also arrived!

Don't forget your waterproofs and wellies.

District swiming gala

Congratulations to our swimming team! We had swimmers in every race posible and had many in the finals.
Our overall position was a very creditable second place!
Our cubs did themselves proud and were a credit to Cookham group.
Bravo!

Lets make the second century even better!

The Centenary Year is now over but we still have much to look forward to in 2008.

We are already to embark on an exciting programme but there is still time to take on board your ideas and suggestions. If there is something you would like to do, speak to your leaders. We cannot promise to use them but we would like to hear what you want to do.

We start again on 9 January for Robert Scott and 10 January for David Livingstone.

Cookham Cubs amongst the best!

Congratulations to those Scouts who were in the top 25 nationally in the 2007 KS2 SATs. No less than 7 out of 21 were previously Cubs and 3 more later joined Scouts with another 2 former PG Cubs.

Saturday 3 November saw our annual Firework display. A fine mild evening saw an excellent turnout and despite having more mulled wine than last year we ran out again!

Here are some pictures from the evening

We charged just £6 per head for our fireworks, which we think is excellent value.

You would pay far more than that to get into Cliveden and guess what -
their display started just five minutes after ours finished and we got to see it.

Here is a picture from their display.
Only one because it wasn't (in our unbiased opinion) as good.

We look forward to seeing you at next year's fireworks

(well maybe not actually see you but you know what we mean!)

Help Wanted

We run a wide range of activities for our two Cub Packs as well as this Blog and our website.

Unfortunately, though, we do not have enough leaders to keep running two packs.

If you would be interested in helping please speak to Akela or come along to the forum at the Scout HQ at 8 p.m. on Tuesday 6 November.

Cookham Scout group Artsmart award ceremony at Tate Modern

Cookham Scout group were the proud winners in the national ArtSmart competition with our centenary gateway. A representative group of us traveled up to London to the Tate Modern on Saturday 20th October to be presented with our prize winner's certificate by Peter Duncan our Chief Scout.
The gateway looked quite splendid spread out against the wall. Here is what the judges said about our work
""judges view: An awesome effort from a large group of people, including some members of Girlguiding UK. Technically complicated and ambitious in scope,this piece really pulls together the work of a large group to great affect - a fantastic celebration of the "One World" of international Scouting, and 100 years of friendship and active participation. A lovely memento for a scouting community"

Bring and buy for Oxfam

1st Cookham cubs raise £349.49 for Oxfam
The Scout HQ in Pierce Drive had been packed with people snapping up bargains and Akela finally found a moment to snap a picture!
Here pictured with our newest friend, Barbara Walmsley MBE are a few of our cubs who stayed behind on Thursday night to help tidy up.
Both Robert Scott Pack who meet on Wednesday night and David Livingstone Pack who meet on Thursdays had arranged Bring and Buy sales for Oxfam as part of their Global Challenge award.
A few weeks ago Barbara had been to us to tell us about her life-long devotion to Oxfam. The cubs were very impressed with her medal! I noticed too the amazement on their faces as she demonstrated the little bands that Oxfam use around the arms of sick children to decide who should be treated with the most urgency. Needless to say none of the cubs were found to be "starving". The cubs decided for themselves what they would like to buy with any money they raised and a shopping list will be going to Oxfam very soon.
The stalls ranged from cakes to comics, toys to toiletries and of course a giant chocolate reindeer raffle.
Thank you all who came along to support the cubs. It really is a stunning total.

We are delighted with the results of all their hard work. They have learnt something of what can be done for others - to change the world, one step at a time.
We wish Barbara well with her annual fast in the new Sainsbury's . Do support her if you can.

Akela

WE WON!

We have heard today that our Centenary Gateway has WON the general group category in the Scouts Art Smart competition!
Akela also won the adult individual category for her painting of cubs canoeing at Longridge.
Akela will be inviting some of the group along to the presentation ceremony which is being held on 20th october at the Tate Modern.
Well done everyone who painted a bit.

Centenary Gateway

If you look at the Cookham pages of this week's Maidenhead Advertiser, you will see some of us with the Centenary Gateway. Unfortunately, it does not really show the Gateway itself in all its glory but here it is for those of you who weren't there!

Centenary Gateway Finished!

I thought you might all like to see how the Centenary gateway turned out. With a final push the , the project was completed today just in time to be entered into The Art of scouting Competition. I think we have done something really special and hope the judges agree. Wish us luck! If you click on the picture it can be seen in more detail.

Andrew Sutherland has written a key to the main images on the gateway. Read on!


Cookham Scout Group's One World Centenary Gateway

Cookham Scout Group have built and decorated a 2.5m by 5m self standing wooden Gateway to celebrate the Centenary, themed on One World

Scouts and Leaders built the structure

Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Guides and Leaders designed and painted the Centenary pictures

Over 100 people were involved in the construction of the Gateway. Cub Scout Leader Gail Dorrington masterminded the entire project

The Gateway has been displayed at our Centenary Camp, at the Scout Group Village Fair, at a local Arts Festival and in the local paper. It will be the centre piece of our annual report back and our next AGM. Here is a key to the design:

Left Hand Panel:
Forms the 1 of the central "100" motif
This shows the progression from Beavers through to Scouts:
- Beavers visiting the old folks' home and having a sleepover
- Cub scouts on the climbing wall and climbing caving ladders at our Centenary Camp
- The Scout Troop on Dunkery Beacon for the Centenary Sunrise celebration, part of our Summer Camp
The Cookham Guides and Ranger Guides painted the jigsaw showing how they fit in to the big picture of scouting.

Centre Wing Panels
Together with the globe panel, these form the first 0 of the "100" design.
They feature the main theme of "One World / One Promise" plus the Big Left Hand Shake Centenary Activity

Central Globe:
A map of the Scouting World, featuring the flags of key Scouting nations and a portrait of Baden Powell

Right Hand Panel:
Key images for Cookham Scout Group in our Centenary year
Three scarf designs: our group scarf, the national Centenary Scarf and the Brownsea scarf of our re-enactment participant
Our annual Bonfire and Fireworks display, run as a fund-raiser in the Village. This is the second "0" of the "100" motif
The Brownsea Island re-enactment camp, attended by one of our Scouts: Josh Dorrington
Waterfall Climbing scene from our 2005 Summer Camp
Baden Powell canoeing on the Thames at Cookham in 1906. He was staying with the Young family and picked the brains of Geoffrey Winthrop Young, the pioneering mountaineer, about Wide Games. One of the games discussed was incorporated into the Brownsea programme the following year. While canoeing with Young, he almost capsized near Cookham Weir: this is the scene captured on the Gateway

The project has taken over 6 months to complete but will remain a reminder of our Centenary Celebrations for many years to come

Sun rise ceremony Brownsea Island. 8am 1st August 2007

What a privilege to be on Brownsea Island as the sun rose on a new century of scouting. Here is where it all began with Robert Baden-Powell and a set of 20 boys. Some were public school boys and some were taken from the 1st Poole Boys Brigade with a very different social background.

This was the experiment and out of it the Scout movement as we know it today was formed. As I arrived on the ferry from Poole with the sun already rising. I couldn't help wonder whether the 21st century boys had survived their foray back into the 1900's. I found they had become celebrities amongst the international campers, being asked for their autographs and having their photos taken with visitors and holding press interviews on the spot which they were managing with consummate ease. Their training back in the winter of last year in Walesby Forest had paid off and they were even talking in last century voices! They were wearing their purpose made thick tweed jackets and cloth caps despite the suddenly warm summer weather.

Apparently they had got used to them. Of course one boy held my interest more than most that morning, my son Joshua who was there on the first replica camp and proud as punch as he showed me his brass first class scout badge. These were made for the original 20 boys from a single brass rod by BP himself during his spare time at camp. Unfortunately the story goes that the original boys were so fed up by the end of the camp with having to carry all the stuff home that they had made that it was all tossed over the side of the boat before they reached Poole Harbour. The few who took part in the replica camp know a treasure when they see it!

Of course this morning was all about looking to the future and so we did with 300 scouts, two from each scouting country in the world, shaking each other by the hand and symbolising the spirit of peace and reconciliation as only the youth of this world can do.

Akela

Akela's pictures are below. If you would like to know more about what happened on Brownsea, have a look at the website of BBC South Today and BBC Hampshire

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world scouts

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Josh Dorrington 1907

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photo call

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Akela and the stone

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saying goodbye on the quay

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joining in the chant

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chief scout sunrise 2007

Centenary Sunrise

A fine morning greeted us for the 100th anniversary of the start of Scouting and, with the Scouts at Camp on Exmoor, it fell to the Cubs and Beavers to represent 1st Cookham at the Maidenhead District Centenary Sunrise Ceremony in Kidwells Park.

We were joined by two of those who have just gone up to Scouts. If you look at the report in the Maidenhead Advertiser, there is a link to a video in which one is interviewed.

Akela was lucky enough to be on Brownsea Island but Shere Khan and Bagheera were there along with Hawkeye, Eagle and other adults from our Group