Himalayan Balsam pulling at the Cadnam River, Ower

On Thursday 10^th July the Cubs & Scouts of 3^rd Romsey Scout Group teamed up with Catherine Chatters the New Forest Non-Native Plants Officer of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to help her remove Himalayan Balsam along the Cadnam River at Ower.

This is the second year that the Cubs & Scouts have joined with Catherine to help local landowners by pulling the invasive non-native Himalayan balsam from local watercourses.

The Cubs started in the fields along the river and were not deterred by the stinging nettles in the meadow they were clearing, their enthusiasm was amazing as they cleared the field – and all their hard work made a big difference ready for the Scouts to take over.

The Scouts moved to another field and the island in the stream. The Scouts were

faced by the Balsam before even climbing over the gate and were quickly pulling and stomping to make room for the whole Troop to get through. It was amazing how dense the Balsam was and how high it grew, some was even taller than our Leader Simon!

We were all very grateful that we were working in the shade as it was a very hot evening and regular water breaks were needed. However, after a couple of hours of pulling we were able to look at the results with pride - we had made a massive difference and cleared well over half of the area. The pulled up plants can be left in heaps to rot down or, on a hot sunny day, they dry out quickly and are soon killed. Some of the piles of Balsam pulled by the Troop were as tall as our Scouts.

After being rewarded with snacks at the end of the evening the Scouts headed off home for a well-deserved sleep.

Thanks to Catherine for orgainising the evening, if you would like to volunteer or you would like some help with controlling Himalayan Balsam on your land please get in touch with her at Catherine.Chatters@hiwwt.org.uk

Basingstoke Canal Challenge

 
The Basingstoke Canal challenge is to paddle 2, 6 or 8 miles in a canoe or kayak on the Basingstoke canal. In addition to this, there is the opportunity to gain sponsors in order to provide funds for our chosen charity Accessible Boating, and since 1998 we have raised a total of £10,026.41.
Last year we raised a total of £860.59, and the Accessible Boating trophy was won by Cub Scout Alfie from the 3rd Bramshill Scouts, who raised a magnificent total of £178.50.
Accessible boating is a Charity, which provides boating opportunities for people with access difficulties.
They operate 2 boats for self steer hiring. Dawn is also available with a skipper, Madam Butterfly is self-steer only, and both craft have been especially designed to provide facilities for disabled passengers.
Dawn is a day boat offering covered accommodation for up to 6 wheelchairs and their carers. Central heating for those cooler days, a beverage heating stove, electro - hydraulic lift to carry passengers from deck to saloon and a flushing toilet.
Madam Butterfly is a holiday boat having berths for up to 7 persons. Comfortable accommodation is provided with a full sized hospital type bed for a severely handicapped person and many special features to assist the party for an enjoyable holiday. Accessible Boating website www.accessibleboating.org.uk 
This year’s canal challenge is on Sunday 28th September 2014, and full details are available here

3rd Romsey Scouts - New Beaver Section

Prospective parents and Beavers gathered with the 3rd Romsey Scout Group leadership team in the Jubilee Hall, Timsbury for the official launch of the new Beaver section. They were welcomed as they arrived by Bertie the Beaver, the mascot for Romsey’s Beaver section.

Vanessa Slawson (County Development Officer for Hampshire) then set the scene with an introduction to Scouting, emphasising the fun and activities that Scouting offers young people would not be possible without the volunteers. Tony Moles (Assistant District Commissioner for Beavers, Romsey) then introduced Mat as the new Beaver Scout Leader, along with Kathryn who will be assisting as an Explorer Young Leader. There was also a slideshow of the Group’s activities over the past year to give a taster of activities the Beavers can look forward to in the future.

After the presentation Mat took the restless youngsters to the back of the hall for a taste of things to come... 'mini pioneers' using spaghetti and loom bands: the idea being to assemble a small structure using the bands to hold them together. Not as easy as it sounded – so time for the backup plan: some helicopters kits for each Beaver (and Scout helpers) to make which kept the prospective Beavers and their helpers busy whilst parents asked questions. 

 

The Beaver Colony will be opening in September with 12 Beavers and unsurprisingly, given the popularity of Scouting in Romsey and across Hampshire, the Beaver waiting list already has names on it.

Mat said “We're looking forward to starting in earnest next term; planning for the programme has already begun and will probably include: more mini pioneers (using something stronger than spaghetti), navigation, knots, plant pressing, fencing; and away from the hall we will be climbing, learning about astronomy, visiting Domino's Pizza... and lots of fun games!”. So watch out Romsey – 3^rd Romsey Obuasi Beavers are on their way!

1st Romsey & 1st Bishop Waltham (Diamond) Space & Alien Cub Camp

After all the beautiful sunshine we decided to go to camp at the same time as Wimbledon so the weather was always going to be interesting. We stayed at Deorfrith Lodge in Lyndhurst which we would recommend as a venue. Saturday morning began with UFO flying (frisbees) just as the rain fell, so back inside to complete a space construction kit (lego) and making our own version of a flying saucer. The sunshine did break through in the afternoon allowing us to launch balloon rockets outside and we confess that a couple flew off the straws onto the roof. For the astronomers badge we made models of the solar system and strung them across the hall. The evening wide game became indoor moon walking and searching for alien supplies before settling to watch a space related film. The Ninja Nanna was a source of hilarity for all. Anita was a great story teller about stinky Colin and his travelling space dustbin.

Sunday started with inspection and a Scouts Own where the moral of the story was be prepared. The prayer was written by an astronaut who recited it from space to Congress. Out came the messy junk to create a lunar landscape for all the bits we had made. There was wide game hunting for aliens before a pizza lunch. The final activity was the water rockets which were launched with foot pumps. We all had a certificate and NASA badge to take home. Great fun was had by all and thanks to everyone for making it a splendid weekend.

So who is the Alien?!

 Stephen & Donna Shorter

1st Romsey Camp

The weekend of the 5th/6th of June saw Scouts from 1st Romsey camping again, though this time with an added edge of not actually sleeping in conventional tents.
Having harvested many kilos of bracken during the week and transported in readiness it up to the Cricket campsite near the river Itchen, Scouts (and some Leaders too for that matter) spent the night in either Bivvy shelters (improvised constructions of natural materials ) or Basha shelters (man made materials, like sheeting and tent pegs) as overnight accommodation.

No one got significantly wet or had to return to a tent in the night,  although in some cases some areas for design improvement were noted

Also we were able to have a very education bush-craft session which  included each making a tent-peg from a hazel stem picked from the woodland (owners permissions etc.),  and learning the essential techniques of safe knife work and also what to look for in a knife for different uses.  (do you know how big a blood bubble (danger zone) to leave clear when whittling, for example, or where your femoral arteries are and how big they are?)

We also had a go at Tomohawk throwing, and later, after dinner,  enjoyed a evening campfire, partly in conjunction with a cub pack from Hamble.

Food was cooked on alter fires or  the remains of the camp fire throughout , and we also had a lamb stew for Sunday Lunch, which slow-cooked in the modern day equivalent of a   hay box - using a large cardboard box and newspaper balls to keep it warm without using firewood after an initial cooking phase on the fire in the morning. After flag down at 2pm,  Scouts were collected and central kit driven back to the HQ.

Many thanks to Cricket Campsite and all those who made this possible, which includes all those Scouts who came along and made it worthwhile too.

Many thanks are also due to all parents who came back to help unload - it may not seem like much, but it really is appreciated.


Mike Page-Jones
1st Romsey.
 

Record numbers take part in kayaking in Romsey

12 Scouts recently completed their Scout Paddlesport Badge by gaining the BCU Paddlepower Passport Award.  5 more went one step further and completed the BCU Paddlepower Discover Award. And a further 2 have been progressing further.

Today (Sunday 6th) we had the largest turnout ever for a river trip with 20 members paddling (in two groups) from Swanwick to Botley on the River Hamble 

We have also provided canoeing sessions for Tomahawk Explorer Unit ; 21st Romsey Scouts; 3rd Romsey Scouts and Romsey Pirates Network

 

One of the parents commented on how wonderful a time the Scouts had and how grateful they are to the instructors, Ann, Mark, Brevan and Robin and Ann’s husband Pete who organises everything, for giving up so much of their time to share their enthusiasm for kayaking with the next generation.

Glastonbury!!!

Spot any familiar flags at Metallica's Glastonbury set?