|
REST OF IRELAND |
 |
|
REST OF IRELAND |
|
Reports of camps held at venues outside Ireland
30th Pack Summer Camp, County Limerick 2002
This year, 30th Pack travelled to Southwest Ireland for summer camp, with 20 Cubs and 6 Leaders spending a week in August in the Limerick/Clare region. The camp gave us the opportunity to continue work on the Scoutlink project and we were very grateful to Joan Reid for helping us to make contact with Cubs from 5th/22nd Clare CSI and their Leaders, Paul and Brian and to Scoutlink who contributed towards the cost of the visit.
We spent a very enjoyable day with the Clare Cubs at a Water Activity Centre on the shores of Lough Derg, taking part in canoeing and kayaking, as well as windsurfing and a ropes course, before rounding off the day with a visit to the Group’s HQ and a chance to fish from the jetties nearby. Many friendships were forged amongst the Cubs and Leaders of the two Packs and we hope to invite 5th/22nd Clare up North in 2003, perhaps to spend a long weekend at Crawfordsburn.
Other highlights of the week included visits to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and Tarbert Jail; after much hard bargaining all of the Cubs were eventually released! Tralee Aquadome, complete with bubble slides, flumes, helter skelter, wave maker and falling rapids was another major hit with the Cubs, while the weary Leaders were delighted to read the following: ‘adults can unwind in the health suite where there are steam rooms, saunas, sun-beds and a cool water pool to re-vitalise the body and soothe the mind.’
Leaders and Cubs alike were also impressed with our afternoon tour of the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, the latter being particularly interested in the fact that Foynes Airport was where Irish Coffee was first invented in 1940’s to cheer weary trans-Atlantic passengers arriving in Ireland on cold winter nights!
We also ventured down a cold and damp Crag Cave in County Kerry, to view an impressive collection of stalagmites and stalactites deep underground. We ended the week with a trip to Curragh Chase Country Park before travelling on to Adare on a spying mission/treasure hunt, during which the Cubs raided the local shops for presents which were deposited with Leaders for safekeeping. Looking at the assorted collection, the Leaders whiled away the afternoon with a new game: match the parent to the present. Just which Mum was destined to become the proud owner of a leather pension book wallet, a ceramic sheep, a half-eaten box of toffees, a plastic chicken, a woollie Leprauchan, or a penny whistle we wondered?
Well done to the Cubs who gained camper and explorer badges during the camp. We also made a start on the new Water Activities and Air Activities badges from the new programme and hope to complete these in the autumn. Congratulations to Stuart McGilton who was awarded the Cub of the Camp Shield. Special thanks to Ian McGilton and David Thompson who both joined us for part of the week and to Donna’s nephew Adam, a Venture Scout from Newtownards; Adam’s help was invaluable not least for his ability to converse in fluent French with our fellow campers, but also in providing valuable backup when Donna and Karen decided to ambush Akela and launch a water and angel delight ambush in the middle of the night!!
David, CSL 30th
73rd Troop Summer Camp, County Wicklow
Friday 9th - Monday 12th August saw the Troop enjoy a long weekend camp at the Powerscourt Estate in Co Wicklow. 7 scouts and 6 leaders/adults left the church at 12 noon on the Friday and eventually, after a few wrong turns, arrived at the picturesque village of Enniskerry, later than expected!
After entering the Estate, we found our campsite beside the banks of the river Dargle, and tents were quickly erected and fires lit. Various activities took place on Saturday morning round the campsite, after which the afternoon was spent exploring Dublin city centre. On Sunday morning we attended morning service at St Patrick's Church in the village of Enniskerry (the congregation included a famous Irish pop star!). On Sunday afternoon we hiked through the Deer Park to the waterfall - the highest in Ireland, and indeed one of the highest in the British Isles. Other activities included erecting a rope bridge over the river; however, not many scouts could remain on it, getting rather wet in the process!
The excellent weather and the scenic surroundings (some of the trees are well over 9ft in diameter, 200 ft high and over 200 yrs old), added to the enjoyment of the camp.The Troop has visited Powerscourt 6 times in the last 23 years and is looking forward to returning soon.
Stephen Anderson, GSL 73rd
|
The 4th’s First Melvin |
 |
‘This is Queenstown’ said William!
The patrol consisted of William Gowdy, Michael Kennedy, Christopher Sherlock, Andy McKeown, Chris Mills and Stuart Chisholm. Sinclair Trotter was the leader who took us, another leader called Ciaran McIlroy came with us. On Thursday 18th of August at 7.30pm, we met at the church, packed the minibus and trailer and then we set off on our journey. The camp was in Co.Cork so we went to Port Laois and stayed there for the night in a scout hall. The next day, we arose early and had some breakfast. Before we set off on the second part of our journey to Co.Cork we went to the shop. We set off and soon arrived at the camp site; we checked in and were inspected. Now it was time to set up our site so we pitched the tent, the kitchen shelter and the fire shelter. When that was all finished, Mike and I built a rope-bridge gateway. We prepared and cooked the test meal and stayed at the site for the rest of the night. Stuart and I packed our rucksacks for the hike which was the next day and had them inspected. On 21st August, William, Stuart and I got up early and went on the hike,which was very long and hard, we arrived at the waterfall where we had a bite to eat and stayed for the night in a Force Ten. Whilst the three of us were away, Mike, Chris Mills and Andy stayed at the campsite and did some pioneering. On the 22nd August, the three hikers were woken up very early by a bad bag pipe player playing Teletubbies. We had breakfast, took down the tent, got packed and hiked to the bus from where we were taken back to the campsite. When we got back, the others had just left to go to Castlemartyr for the day. We went back to the campsite and after about five minutes we were taken off again (luckily the others had made us a packed lunch). William and I went to Cork City, whilst Stuart went to Cobh. William and I did some inner city orienteering and then swapped with Stuart so that we went to Cobh and Stuart went to Cork City. When William and I were in Cobh we went on a boat trip and then we went about finding answers to questions about the Titanic. The whole time William kept saying "This is Queenstown, not Cobh." The buses to take us back to the campsite were delayed by two hours, when we were waiting for the buses we got very hungry and hoped that when we got back Mike would have dinner ready for us, but no, when we got back they had just arrived as well. Eventually, we were fed and stood about the campsite talking to our mates until the campfire started. The campfire was brilliant with over 800 people shouting, screaming and having fun!
On 23rd August, our patrol organised a Scouts’ Own service, which William led. Then there was mass for all CBSI patrols, after that there was trek-kart racing in which we came second. We took down our site and then attended the closing ceremony in which all the trophies were handed out (we came second beaten by 77th Belfast by 11 points). Then we journeyed back to Port Laois and had a football fight all night with 77th, and on 24th August we journeyed back to Belfast.
Over all it was a great camp at which we made many new friends and I was asked to swap my scarf by one person, my belt by another and by another I was even asked to swap my whole uniform!
Christopher Sherlock, 4th Troop
‘4th Troop Report on CSI Melvin Competition'99
This was the 4th Belfast's second ever Melvin and since this year the CSI are celebrating 50 years of Melvin competitions we are still mere amateurs. Even so we did really well and as the P.L., I was extremely proud of the whole patrol for giving 120% for the whole 4 days. I also have to thank our G.S.L. Malcom Kerry for taking us down, our S.L. Ricky Harvey for helping us get ready, our Troop quartermaster William Gowdy for helping us with our gear, Sinclair Trotter and finally the Belfast County and N.Ireland Scout Council for covering the camp fees and travel costs. All we had to pay for was our food and a few pieces of necessary bits of equipment for the competition. This proved extremely good value for a four day, well-run camp.
To get to the Melvin this year we had to win our Belfast County Flag, which was a real triumph for us since the last time we had won it was 1982. At this competition we had also won the Semaphore Trophy and the Camp Craft inspection award, so we were keen to add to our winning streak and indeed we did. We ended up coming 19th out of 64 teams, which were made up of some of the best Troops in the whole of Ireland. There was also the Mike Loder trophy to be awarded to the best non-CSI team and that was what we had set our sights on at the start of the competition and to win it was the icing on the cake for this year's camping season.
The Melvin is marked by combining the results, of the patrol, from lots of different scout related tests. There are bases, which have set activities, which test scouting knowledge or leadership or organisation etc. At this year’s Melvin these bases took place at the Land of Vanda, where the patrol had to bivvy out and although the back wood skills weren't marked it was still a challenge and that is what scouting for me is all about. At these bases we did really, really well and in the end we scored better than I had felt we had. The bases that we did best in were the First Aid and the Crystal Maze type one. The First Aid base examined both our knowledge of First Aid and our teamwork at carrying a person on a stretcher around an obstacle course. In the crystal maze we had to solve puzzles which were completed by only one member of the team but which every one in the patrol could give suggestions as to how to do it.
There were also events that the team had to have prepared for before the competition. These included a public speaking competition on a set topic, a campfire sketch and a trek-cart race. There was also a pre-Melvin log, which was compiled from accounts of all the camps and competitions that the 4th had went on throughout the year. Out of the other three main activities the most memorable for the whole patrol I would say would have to be the campfire sketch. This competition was held in two stages, the first was on the second night at the land of Vanda where the patrols had to compete against all the others in their sub-camp. Everyone was really pleased to win that heat especially considering the quality of some of the other sketches. All the hard practising had been rewarded and on that note we should apologise to Malcolm for putting up with our singing all the way down to Dublin. After winning this heat we went on to the final against the winners of the other three sub-camps. This meant we had to perform in front of around 550 people but we stood up well to the challenge coming second out of the 4 finalists meaning second out 64 patrols in that part of the competition.
The Track-cart race was an extremely gruelling event and involved an acid test of both body and cart. Although we did not get our final placing (the race was in the form of a time trial) I think we still did all right. Our camp-site was also inspected by the camp-craft inspection team throughout the four days and we did extremely well considering the CSI take a entirely different view to the camp site than NISC Troops. For a start, they take pioneering in an entirely different context than we do. They bring literally 70-80 poles to make entrances and gadgets that we would only make for a week's camp. This was where the fact that some of the patrol had been to the Melvin in 1998 had helped us. It meant that we knew what to expect. All the work that we had done throughout the year at weekend camps had proved a real help as the whole team knew how to make the different gadgets etc that we had seen at last year’s Melvin. In the end it proved to be a hard camp and the team all felt pleased with how we had done, but in the end the best thing was that we had a great time with Scouts from both North and South of the border.
The Team:- Mike Kennedy, Owen Watson, Chris Sherlock, Niall Martin, Robert Malcolm, Chris Mills, Johnny Kelso, David Gowdy
Michael Kennedy (PL, 4th Troop)
The Troop’s summer camp went ahead as planned at Larch Hill, an 80 acre national campsite situated at the foot of the Dublin/Wicklow mountains and 11 km away from Dublin’s city centre. 11 scouts and 4 leaders attended the camp which spanned eight days from 11th-19th July. Activities included swimming, pitch and putt golf, bowling, archery, laser tag, an assault course, a hike, a campfire and some on-site games. As well as this the Troop went to the cinema to see Godzilla and organised a shopping trip to Dublin.
Robert McKissack (SL, 10th)
The Unit spent a week in sunny Galway Bay, where it rained all week! We stayed in student accommodation in Corrib Village and took great advantage in having our minibus with us. We visited places such as Ailwee Caves, The Cliffs of Moher and the Fields of Athenry! Considering it was our first camp alone under the new regime of Walter, Trev and Dak, Galway was very successful and a good time was had by all. AVSL Trev was constantly using the phone however to call his girlfriend (when are we going to meet this woman, Trev?)
Aimie Stevenson, M VSU
30th and 59th Packs at Carlingford 1998
‘A tragedy of ****!!! Mistakes’
(I’m not paying 20p to Paula’s swear box!)
5th June was enjoyable-sleep in, hangover from a formal the night before, bright sunshine, and noisy cubs (what more could a sober 4th year medical student want?). Friday evening heralded the arrival of lots of cubs but not so many cars. How could we get all these cubs to Carlingford? Then Divine Intervention occurred-or as close as- the Rector of St.Mark’s offered to take luggage (but not cubs!!) and Dougie ran the excess cubs down (ie. drove them to Carlingford!) Things seemed to be looking up. Dundalk was nice. Dundalk was on the wrong road. Maybe I should never have gained my Navigator badge at all. Even so, I arrived at Tain Holiday Village before anyone else. Then David arrived (that’s someone else who should never have gained his Navigator badge). Dougie was lost- if it hadn’t been for the fact that it is cruel to leave cubs in Dougie’s company for extended periods of time, no one would have cared. Tain Holiday village itself looked nice. The accommodation was.. well let’s say no one would be stealing from the dorms.. we couldn’t get into them they were so secure- after fighting with the doors and getting them opened, it was decided by the leaders to keep them open, the cubs however decided to compete to see how often they could lock them!.
Things could have been worse.. Paula could have been prowling like a tiger with toothache because she had lost her bags, we could have shared the ‘exclusive’ kitchen with the guides, laser quest could have been double-booked and there could have been a loud disco next door- Hold on! That’s exactly what did happen! Saturday morning dawned wet, cold and looked like World War I. An inter-pack incident exploded as a caring David cooked French Toast (the guide leaders had pinched the only toaster) on the ‘wrong’ morning- Paula growled! If only things could get better. We thought about loosing ourselves during the orienteering to avoid the wrath of Paula. unfortunately, without trying, we did! Lunch passed. Paula’s mood got worse.
The afternoon was more peaceful. Jan and Alyn ‘supervised’ the cubs playing in Indianaland (what big kids, I bet the two of you have been barred from Dundonald Ice Bowl at home!), and Paula and David were nowhere to be found..and there wasn’t even any screaming! Then on to the watersports for canoeing and banana boating… Ian and I returned in time to see Paula and David capsize violently from a banana boat as mist descended over Carlingford harbour (how much did you pay that jet-ski rider, Jan?).. while all the cubs, Alyn and several of the instructors began jumping off the harbour wall into the water.. obviously suicidal at the thought of returning to the Holiday Village from Hell! Back at camp, we gave the cubs the chance to order out for chips-a high uptake on this followed: one cub said ‘Yes, Yes, Yes!’ another on signing up added ‘does Paula even have a certificate to prove she can cook?’ The leaders had no such worries- sustained on Chinese, they didn’t go hungry. Certain leaders had no intention of going thirsty either- pint after pint of weak tea passed through Ian..the sad part of the story is that he used the tea bags until all they produced was water! What a sad home life he must have (used? tea bag donations will be passed on..Ed!).
Sunday-the most awaited day. HOME!! But first a swim..have you ever seen cubs in silly swimming hats..for that alone it was worth it!!! Anyway, on a serious note, thanks to Dougie, Betty and Billy Robb and the Rector for helping with transport and to all at Carlingford Adventure Centre for giving the cubs a super watersports session on Saturday evening. (and I do like you Paula..honestly!)
Andrew (ACSL, 30th)
