1st Liss Scout Group

This year we took part in our second Damboree at Stedham with 7 Liss Beavers staying overnight and a couple of day visitors on Saturday. We joined in with Partersfield, Sheet and Harting Beaver Colonies and had 50 Beavers staying overnight and another 15 visiting during the day.

We were fortunate with the weather again, warm during the day and not too cold at night and were able to try out lots of scouting skills and work towards challenge badges.

Hopefully, some of these photos will give you an idea of …

Its only 11.30 and all the Beavers are almost asleep.It seems like ages since we arrived and we have put up tents, played wide games, sand round the camp fire and been stay gazing. Not bad for 5 hours.The weather has been fantastic but the night is starting to cool now.

This years Funday was no less fun than any of the previous ones, we managed to fit is grass sledging, archery, drone flying, smore making, axe throwing, high ropes and a trip to the circus. Here are some photos to jog some memories.

1st Liss Scout Group completed its inaugural Earth Hour walk last night. Approx 30 of us including Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Leaders and parents ventured into the woods for an hour long ramble down Riverside Walk in Liss.
In doing so, not only did we all have our lights off, but we had some fun and got some healthy exercise and fresh air into the bargain. Massive thank you to everyone who came along.

It does not seem like 6 hours since the Beavers were dropped off. We have finished the communicator badge, been for a hike, played a wide game and roasted marshmallows round the fire.
The Beavers are now all settled down with a movie a little early as we got rained off at the of the camp fire.

The track is down, cars are checked in. There is still time to register between 0900 and 1000 on Saturday.
Doors open for racing at 1200.

The map shows all the places where we have spoken to members of the Scouting movement from all over the world.

11pm am they are all in bed and asleep.
Beavers have had plenty to eat, hot dogs as the sun set, smores and hot chocolate.
We have been out finding bats, had a camp fire and a movie.

Our next fundraiser is the barbecue stall at the Liss Forest Fun Day.  The Fun Day takes place 2-5pm at Liss Forest Recreation Ground Monday 27th August.  Volunteers to help please sign up on the Fundraising page (link in menu bar above).

The weather on the last night of camping with the Cubs was so warm that we decided to let them sleep under the stars with the sides of their tents tolled up.
This evening, the camp site is much quieter place as we said goodbye to the Cubs at lunch time. The Scouts are staying on for an extra day for a final camp fire, break down the camp and a last visit to the camp tuck shop.1
The wall of Irn Bru (aka Leaders Fuel) tins in the kitchen was completed …

The Cubs joined forces with the scouts to build fires and cook pizzas on the embers. In the afternoon the Cubs earned more crystals with archery and wooden badge making. This was followed by joint campfire with many Cubs and Scouts contributing a verse or two of the songs.

Despite the massive clap of thundet at 5am this morning, no one was in the least scared.
The scouts have been working on their knife and and skills, they have also started cooking their own food.
The Cubs have been busy with their Crystal Maze Activities and soap carving.
This evening we joined to Woodcraft Folk for a campfire.

The scouts are really getting into the swing of camp now. Still a bit of rain this morning, but by this afternoon it was warm enough to break out the ice pops.
The Scouts have been making camp gadgets and set up their field kitchen, tonight was their first self cooked meal.
The cubs did there first Crystal Maze challenges and then went on a hike in the afternoon.
Mean while the leaders are barricading themselves in the kitchen with tins of empty Irn Bru.

Today the Cubs arrived. Unfortunately no-one has taken any pictures today due to the weather.
The Scouts have been a bit of a busier day learning knife skills this morning and setting up their kitchen in the afternoon.
This evening as the weather improved, we played a wide game which involved the Cubs and Scouts chasing the Young Leaders.
The Scouts are off on a night hike tonight.
Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow and we will feel like taking photos.

The scouts have been working hard all afternoon getting there own camp site set up and also setting up the tents for the Cubs who will be arriving tomorrow. Despite the rain we had in Liss last night, none fell here so the ground is rock hard.
Reasonably early night tonight, 9:45 and we are enjoying the first camp fire.

All the Beavers too part in our #skillsforlife activities this morning provided a the skills require a good knowledge of marshmallow burning.
This afternoon the Beavers did a 4 mile walk to Welbedding Common which was a real challenge as they had to walk 4 miles in quite hot conditions.
This evening we have been chilling out with a double 99 for desert followed by a camp fire. Most Beavers were happy when we let them go to bed at 10.30.

We got through the night without any dramas and the Beavers were in bed by 11 and asleep not long after.
This morning the beavers ate almost all the bacon and egg bread to set themselves up for the day.

All the Beavers have settled into the camp. They have put up their own tents, enjoyed a couple wide games, eaten hot dogs. We are settling in for a camp fire and when it gets dark a bit of star gazing before bed.

Funday 2018 was no less exciting than all the previous ones that we have attended. With 16 Beavers and 2 Cubs, this was one of the largest groups we have taken.
These pictures are in chronological order of events which is why they jump around a bit when we were in 2 groups.
Our Beavers were fearless again and climbing to new heights, the photos just do not do justice to quite how high up some of the Beavers climbed.

So we made it through the camp with a mix of subzero temperatures and frozen ground followed by drizzly rain and a rise in the temperature and finished with wind and glorious sunshine. Can’t beat the English weather for variation!
Saturday continued our outdoor activities with some pioneering, building an entrance gate to our site, some axe and saw instruction for our oldest Scouts and then a nice soggy hike through the woods in the afternoon.
Our evening campfire plans were scuppered by the weather but we recovered by having a fun …

Well, we survived the first night! Subzero temperatures, frozen ground and ice on the tents all added to the experience.
Everyone said they were warm and toasty in bed last night and were quite reluctant to get up this morning.

Cooked breakfast and a bit of warmth have eased the cold and everyone is ready for the day. Pioneering and a geocaching hike on the program for today.

Rain and warmer temperatures forecast for later and a campfire this evening unless it is raining too much.

We spent the night away with our good friends from 1st Petersfield at the Gilbert White Field Study Centre at Selborne. We love going there, not only is there a fantastic wildlife themed programme but the Beavers get to sleep in a 500 year old barn, with underfloor heating, great when the outside temperature is only 1C.
Here are photos of some of the activities that we got up to in our time at the barn.

The map shows all the places where we have spoken to members of the Scouting movement from all over the world.

Scouts and Explorers kicked off Jamboree on the Internet this evening with 8 machines running webchat. Many conversations with each other followed by at least a few with people in other countries.
You can follow our progress at http://www.1stlissscouts.org.uk/jotimap and see where we have spoken to our Scouting family from around the world.
You can keep an eye on us by watching our live feed at http://www.1stlissscouts.org.uk/joticam. Sometimes the camera gets a bit whimsical and points at the ceiling – apologies if you get a nice close up view of some textured …

20th October sees the start of the annual Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) / Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) event, a three day event enabling all members of the Scout movement across the world to safely communicate and share experiences.
1st Liss have been involved in this event for a number of years and through JOTI we have been able to speak to Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders from all over the world. We are running the event over two nights this year, with the first as a set up …

Nicer weather allowed us, our clothes and the site to recovery after the rain yesterday.
The Cubs had another action packed day starting the morning with crate stacking then making T-Shirts, cooking pizzas on fires under guidance from the two Scouts on camp and then lots of fun games this evening. We even found some time to eat!

The day finished with a noisy sing song around the campfire and hot chocolate. All tucked up quietly in bed ready for another full day tomorrow.

Just a quick update to let you know that in spite of the weather, everyone had a dry night. 
Currently dealing with the aftermath of canoeing in the rain then hiking back in it yesterday. Rain eventually stopped about 10.30pm and we estimate between 50-70mm fell on site.

Cubs are off crate stacking at the moment.

Long hard day for everyone today with some challenging weather, but the Cubs coped very well.
Hathi’s (my) birthday today so clearly a big celebration with lots of impolite comments about my age!
Cubs had quiet morning after a very good nights sleep, weather was pleasant and calm. We headed off site (about a 40 minute hike) for canoeing where the Cubs shared open canoes and spent their time either in the canoe or in the water.

The weather the closed in and we had to walk back to site in heavy rain. …

Early start thanks to girl chatter at 5am was followed by a cooked breakfast and on to Archery.
Returning to our camp site we had lunch and sang Happy Birthday to Olivia and ate chocolate cake.

Early afternoon kicked off with hunting for materials for broomsticks and wands! This was followed by some hard work whittling for the Scouts and Young Leaders while the Cubs built broom sticks and played for a while. 
On to low ropes where the pack was divided into groups of three where they worked together to get around …

Early start thanks to girl chatter at 5am was followed by a cooked breakfast and on to Archery.
Returning to our camp site we had lunch and sang Happy Birthday to Olivia and ate chocolate cake.

Early afternoon kicked off with hunting for materials for broomsticks and wands! This was followed by some hard work whittling for the Scouts and Young Leaders while the Cubs built broom sticks and played for a while. 
On to low ropes where the pack was divided into groups of three where they worked together to get around …

Everyone arrived safely, all tents up and gear safely put away. Everyone has eaten a dinner of pasta bolognese and cake, most people then had a hot drink.
The Cubs went to bed noisily but settled down and we had a fairly quiet night overall. First full day so they should be nice and tired tonight allowing us a quieter bedtime!

7.15 Arrival after delays at Stonehenge

Due back at site approx 6.45 – 7.00. Its been a long day! Quicker we can unpack, sooner Scouts can get home. Thanks!

12:10: We are all just leaving site, it is likely to be at least 30 minute to get off site and then 5-6 hours home. I will provide an update later this afternoon

Kernopoly day where we have rover tickets for trains and buses and a Monopoly challenge based around Cornwall. Left site at 7.00 this morning on a bus to St Austell. We headed to Newquay on the train finding locations and picking up bonus points for other tasks and activities. Lots of tweets showing some of our antics.

Back to site for the fun and mud packed closing ceremony, disco and fireworks before heading back to site for a quiet hot chocolate, quick review of the camp and off to bed. 

Home tomorrow 

Kernopoly starts with a bang as everyone falls asleep on the platform at St Austell 

When they woke up they surrounded the Station Manager

Busy day with a lot of activities today. Morning started with the Polar sub camp flag break (different sub camp each day). At the ceremony Ollie Frost was presented with his Chief Scout Gold Award by the County Commissioner for Cornwall. A fantastic achievement making his dad very proud!

On to the day’s activities: Adventure Zone today with a huge number of things to do over 6 hours on site. Archery, shooting, quad biking, BMX, laser quest, climbing and abseiling to name just a few.

All the Scouts had an amazing action …

Weather played a big part today. Local Cubs and Brownies were due on site, but with a lot of rain forecast and very muddy ground conditions, the organisers cancelled their activities. 
There were some changes to our program due to weather restrictions and we enjoyed a lay in and a quiet morning of sausages, bacon, rain and games before heading off to the beach for an afternoon of water based fun.
Heading to the beach at Porthpean the Scouts enjoyed their most adventurous activities yet with 2 person sea kayaks and 6 …

We had an early start with the 110 Anniversary of Scout Promise Renewal Service at 7am. 

Then a full day of activities including  Zorbing, making pizza on a fire and 4×4 experience.

Some of the Scouts now have new nicknames, all of them ended up either soaking wet or covered in mud, most of them had a shower (in the shower block rather than the rain).
This was followed by an evening of mixed activities included a live band, more badge swapping and trying to eat three cream crackers in a minute – …

First activities today, Global Development Village including circus skills, learning about Scouting in Africa, earthquakes and and disaster awareness. 

Scouts made a commitment to the Million Hands movement and then moved on to activities around performance arts, Karenza Award and Duke of Cornwall badge which the Scouts can earn.

The Scouts have embraced badge swapping so most will have a lot of new badges for blankets. 
Chicken and Chorizo Paella went down well with everyone partaking! This was followed by large scale consumption of ‘s’mores.
Evening activities included space themed disco, leaders playing Top …

Weather much improved today although the site still very muddy. Sub camp day today with the Scouts out exploring the site, meeting new people and swapping badges.
Everyone still dry and well fed and we are in the spirit of our sub camp with our penguins, snowman and snowflake fairy lights! 
We had the postponed opening ceremony this evening with a live band and fireworks.  Yes, they are sitting in a muddy field!

Tomorrow the activities start with Global Development Village and Creative activities.

We have been invaded by small floating aliens. 

Our inflatable penguins are looking a bit creepy from inside the mess tent.

Site set up and kitchen working – hot meal last night followed by bed at 10 due to heavy and consistent rain. Everyone had a dry night and all slept well.

Weather much improved this morning, few showers but the sun is out and we are currently drying out our waterproofs.
Scouts are out and about exploring the site now, leaders are having a rest.

The Beavers had an outdoor adventure den building. For such small children the dens were huge.

The best unpaid job in the world
This is a quick guide to how to become a scout leader in our group. But essentially the process is the same for all groups in the UK.
Working with Scouts in all the sections is hugely rewarding and you will be joining a well established and managed team at 1st Liss.
Step 1 – Is scouting for you?
Decide on your motivations. Why do you want to be involved Scouting? How much free time do you have to give to Scouting (don’t worry if you don’t …

Sunday was Funday for Liss Beavers who visited National Scout HQ at Gilwell Park. We could not have had a better day for the activities, the weather was great and the queues were short so no waiting around.
Most of our Beavers had a go at abseiling and climbing and there is at least one picture of your child in this collection.

Our Review of the Year and AGM will now take place at 7pm Friday 30th June at Liss Scout HQ (please note this is a week later than originally scheduled)

Last weekend, Liss Beavers joined up with Petersfield Beavers for a sleepover in Chichester. This was the first time we have tried an outside sleepover in tents so it was new experience for Beavers and Leaders alike.
In the space of 24 hours we managed to pack in an amazing mount at our space camp and all the Beavers graduated as Beaver Astronauts. We had an astronaut agility test, walked to the Chichester Planetarium, chilled out in tent, cooked marshmallows around the camp fire and fired water bottle rockets.
 

Like all sleepovers we have packed in an amazing amount since 11 this morning. I am glad to say that all the Liss Beaver have decided to sleep in tents outside.
I would like to say they are all fast asleep at 10:30, but at least they are in their tents. 
After a route march through Chichester we had a great visit to the planetarium. Lots of good questions from the Beavers.

The Scout Group will be supporting the Liss Village Day at Newman Collard playing field 12 – 4.30pm on Saturday May 20th, the Greatham Festival 3.30pm – 9pm Saturday 1st July and the Liss Forest Fun Day 2 – 5pm Monday 28 August.
Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and parents, please visit the Fundraising section of the website to sign up for as many sessions as you can to lend a hand with setting up, cooking, serving and clearing away.

At the 2016 Petersfield District Carol Concert, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts from 1st Liss provided the acting skills to bring the Christmas story alive.

As part of the World Challenge badge our Beavers have to learn about traditions from 3 parts of the UK. This week we had a visit from Alton Morris who taught our Beavers about some of the different styles of Morris Dancing, this is how it turned out.

If you are interested in Morris Dancing or supporting Alton Morris have a look at their website.

Good morning! It is 00:10am Sunday 16th and myself and 3 other scouts are here on the scout link web chat server!
So far we have had people from all over: we have had Japan to Uruguay and lots of places in between!
For that past 1:13:00 mattew has been skypeing with some people from sweeden nonstop. He has shared some excellent singing and explained some games and is currently discussing hobbies.
A tent has been put up outside for any scouts that may be feeling a bit tired but, fingers crossed, we won’t have …

Sorry for the very late posting of the pictures from the sleepover, the leaders at the sleepover had difficulty getting the access to the site.
The Beavers started off collecting sticks and leaves and brought them back to the barn and using natural clay they made animals. Then they went outside on a bat hunt. Next was sorting out tents and around the campfire, toasting marshmallows and making dampers. Then we went for a night hike and we saw deer. Then lastly they settled down to watch the owl who was …

Liss Forest Fun Day takes place on Bank Holiday Monday 29 August, 2pm – 5pm at Liss Forest recreation ground.   There will be lots of stalls, and fun and games for all the family.
The Scout Group has been invited to provide the barbecue, which should be a good fundraising opportunity for us.  Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and parents please sign up for a slot or two to help with setting up, cooking, serving and clearing away, so we can support the Fun Day organisers making the event a success.  The sign …

Today the Cubs have been right to the top of the climbing tower and crate stacking the record of 18 crates Hallam and Jack.
After dinner the Cubs went to Hathi’s ‘Special’ tuck shop.
Please remember to pick your Cubs at 2pm.
 

Today the weather has finally broken and we have had little rain today.  The Scouts have been on a 10K walk while the Cubs swung like monkeys round the adventure trail and then had some target practice with Baggy. 
After a quick water stop they then diScovered the campsite.
The scouts demonstrated how to gut fish and the Cubs tried a lucky dip in the guts. 

The rain stayed off almost all of the day. Everyone clocked up well over their 10,000 steps circumnavigating Brownsea Island.
The Cubs were harassed by hungry peacocks and visited the site of the first scout camp in 1907.
On return to shore the shipmates visited an iconic restaurant chain on the way back to camp.
 

The life jackets were not needed last night and everyone survived through the night of torrential rain without a problem. Although there is some damp gear it’s nothing we can’t cope with.
Today we have set sail for Brownsea island.

The ship mates have been issued with life jackets as they sertle down for the night and a south westernly storm lashes the ship.
Everyone took to their bunks early.with minimal sea sickness. 
Having eaten a hearty breakfast, the ship mates have been out on building bridges and low ropes today. Tomorrow we set sail for Brownsea island.
As it was Baden Powell’s birthday.it is world scalf day. Akela had 4 on.

Arrrrrr it be a good day at Pirate Camp with the shipmates setting in to a life of conscription. Donations of victuals were gladley accepted.
The Cubs have been on a tour of the camp and had dinner and will soon be settling down to coco around the camp fire.
Tomorrow storms be forecast so we will be batternine down the hatches in the morning.

The Beavers ended the summer term with the traditional water fight against the Scouts, no one knows who won but the  football pitch was well watered and everyone got a hot dog at the end of the day.

The 2016 Beaver Funday at Gilwell Park will go down as one of the more muddier ones we been to, just preparing the Beavers for 4 years time when they will go to Winter Camp with the Scouts.
Although Gilwell was packing with 4,500 Beavers, Cubs, Rainbows and Brownies we still managed to fit is quite a but with all the Beavers going abseiling, examining animals, eating camp food and building Rolls Royce rockets. The thrill seeking Beavers decided to try their hand at the zip wire, (unfortunately the giant death slide …

Sorry, since opening the list on 8 Jun all the places for 2017 have now been taken, we will re-open the waiting list in Jun 2017 for Beavers wanting to join in 2018. If you have applied for a place you will have received an acknowledgement from the Beaver Leader. Provisional joining date will be sent in the next few days. If you would like to be contacted when the waiting list re-opens in summer 2017, please contact the Beaver Leader.
Places are allocated using our waiting list policy.
Places in the …

We now have our own correspondent within Scouts reporting back what we actually do.  Archie has volunteered to put up the occasional post as part of his Digital Maker badge.  This is a staged activity badge which sits very comfortably with his knowledge of all things computers!  The badge is staged from very basic to mindblowing, and as leaders we can’t be expected to be experts in everything.  In fact for most things we have enough knowledge to ‘get by’ which is why it’s incredibly important we use the experts …

After 24 hours the door of the cyber cafe finally had to close and the scouts went home after the night shift. We have made many new friends across the scouting world and are still totting up the country’s we talked to.

Our website was visited by quite a few of the people we talked so they could see the picture feed from the Cyber Cafe as you can see from the picture on the right.
We did have some help getting the Internet into the hut from our neighbours via a …

Before I explain what Jamboree on the Internet is, welcome to all our overseas visitors!
Bienvenue, bienvenida, bem-vindo, welkom, selamat datang
However you say it we are in for a busy weekend.  With Friday being ‘set up and test’ night for Beavers and Scouts, before shutting down until 0900 Saturday morning.  We then have all day with Beavers and Cubs visiting for hour long slots before handing over to the Scouts for the overnight shift into Sunday morning.
Jamboree on the Internet
It’s a weekend where 1.3 million Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Joeys, Tigers, …

After only 4 hours since being dropped off the Beaver have fitted alot in. So far we have made space ships, gone star gazing, played in the woods in the dark, sung round a campfire, eaten hotdogs and birthday cake. The Beavers are now all watching a movie in their onesies. Midnight snacks still to go.
You will be glad to know no-one has mentioned missing home.
The next morning
Quite a few Beavers dropped off during the film and all were at least in their rooms by 11, after the last one …

Continuing on with our Geocaching badge we started on Easter Camp tonight we placed the ‘1stLiss Scouts 2015’ Geocache.
If you’ve never heard of it before then Geocaching is like a world wide treasure hunt using clues and GPS to find hidden boxes.  Each box is called a Geocache, and contains a log book and some small items that can be used as ‘swaps’.
Geocaching is a free activity, once a GPS receiver has been obtained, that can be enjoyed by everyone.  With GPS now on most Smart phones it’s within the …

Another successful Beaver Funday with 8 Beavers and 2 Cubs coming with us this year.
As usual we had a packed day managing to fit in circus skills, abseiling, grass sledging, death slide, mega bouncy castles, massive inflatable slides all before lunch. After lunch we visited Rolls Royce for some science, the indoor climbing wall (Colony Spider award goes to Hannah who picked the largest climbing wall and went up so fast she was given a second go), Hot Wheels, rope making, archery, go carting, face painting, some more large inflatables …

For Eight Beaver Scouts, a recent visit to Tesco in Petersfield was no ordinary shopping trip when they were presented with the Chief Scout’s Bronze Award by Assistant District Commissioner for Beavers Mary Coyte. To gain the award all the young people had to completed all 6 of the Beaver challenge badges during a two year period. While having alot of fun along the way, the programme has been varied and seen them finding out about other cultures, climbing and abseiling, being creative and in this final stage the farm to Fork …

The Liss Beavers visited Tesco in Petersfield to learn about where their food comes from and how choosing the right food helps with a balanced diet as part of their Fitness Challenge.

Here are some of the photos from Family Camp. If you have anymore please use our photo upload page.

The Beavers, Cubs and Scouts took to the hills to celebrate St George’s Day with a hike up Butser Hill where they renewed their Scout promise and flew the kites they made last week.
The Group Scout Leader was also awarded his Wood Beads which marks completing the Adult Leader training.

The Beavers have loads of imagination when they set about junk modelling.

The Beavers have been working for their global challenge badge, having learnt about the environment and world scouting, the final evening to make a dragon and learn about another culture.
With Chinese new year only a couple of weeks away we thought we would make a dragon and walk across firecrackers. With the help of Maple who made the head, the results were amazing.

Last night 24 very excited Beavers went on a night hike from the hall to the riverside walk as part of our outdoor challenge. It was really dark but fortunately Specsavers had come to the rescue and donated hi vis vests for all the Beavers and some larger ones for Cubs and Scouts. These will be put to good use throughout the year to keep our youth members safe when they are out and about.
The vests were immediately tested on the night hike making all of our Beavers easy to spot in …

Liss Beavers, Cubs and Scouts were on parade on Remembrance Sunday.

As with every year, the Beaver Christmas kicks off early in November with the annual trip to Paultons Park.
It many be Super Dry in Japan, but it was Super Wet Wet Wet at Paultons yesterday when 16 Beavers took their family out for a great day, meeting Chip the Hampshire Beaver Mascot, Pudsey from BBC Children in Need, Peppa Pig and  of course Santa.
I had been hoping for a dry visit but this was the 7th consecutive year that the heavens have opened. Fingers crossed for next year.
Although everyone was off with …

It’s now 1am and we’re still going.
The Scouts have discovered….. girls, Swedish, Australian, and Alaska seem to be the favourites, in the mean time the Leaders are doing YMCA by skype…  Welcome to our world, literally, the whole world has passed through this room today with many friendships being made.
We are receiving validation cards as well as the now very familiar JID codes so that makes a welcome change!  The code 5GB21E will be etched on my brain forever.
More codes, more cards and more Scouts…. It’s never ending a constant …

Scout Jamboree on the Internet at Liss!
1st Liss Beavers, Cubs and Scouts will be taking part in the 23rd Jamboree on the Internet over the 18/19th October.  This is a real Jamboree of over 1 million Scouts worldwide in a specially set up, and monitored chat room online over the internet.  We have been very fortunate to be able to have some PC’s on loan and with the help of two dads have set up our very own internet café in the hut.
The Beavers and Cubs will be attending over the …

We did some of the Air Activity Badge with a bit of a twist. Beaver Airways could be a new, very low cost, airline.

We have just returned from our annual District Sleepover with Beavers from Liphook and returned some very tied Beavers to their parents. In 19 hours we managed to fit in a huge amount of activities, including lantern making, a game in light house in the very dark wood, a camp-fire, hot dogs, a movie, a scavenger hunt, games and even a little sleep (for some). Room 7 wins the prize for the latest to bed, none of the leaders knew what was so important to discuss at 2am but evidently …

The Beavers sent an evening with the scouts learning about putting up patrol tents, they also had a chance to show off their camp blankets.

Another successful Funday 🙂
If you sent a Beaver to Funday they can explain all the photos. If you didn’t this is what we do when parents allow us to borrow their Beavers for a day.

The Beavers visited QE Country Park to find out about the wild life that lived in the pond as park of their experiment badge. Fortunately only two Beavers joined the wild life in the pond.

Scouts, Cubs and Beavers a long with some brave parents looked like they had been dragged through a ditch backwards on Saturday morning.
After sleeping out on on the West Liss Playing field overnight the group embarked on the community week project of clearing the ditch along the north side of the playing field. Despite the torrential rain the job was completed in just under 3 hours.

The Beavers visited the Fire Station as part of their Emergency Aid badge to learn about the importance of fire safety and what the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service do. As well as getting to see all of the Equipment close up all the the Beavers and leaders had a go at putting out an imaginary fire with a hose. The most important message of the evening was make sure that the smoke alarm at home is working and tested regularly using the test button, and not as one Beaver said, “whenever …

With almost 140 people at camp this weekend, this is one of the biggest we have ever attempted.
Hopefully everyone had a good time at the camp. Here are some photos to remind you of the weekend.

The preparations for family camp are almost finished, the trailer is filled to full and the all the dry food is loaded in Mike’s van. Just hope the marshmallows survive.

The amount of lost property that is left in the scout  hut is starting to accumulate again.
Please check out the rouges gallery and pick up any items that belong to you before Friday 14 March otherwise it is off to the charity shop.

We have a thriving colony of 24 Beavers and are looking for a 3rd adult leader to join our team as an assistant leader.
Full training will be provided.
Can you help, use our contact page to get in touch.
 

 
 We are asking for some help from all parents, friends (old and new) and anyone else who knows us!  Due to a long term illness we are a Cub Leader ‘down’.  With a thriving Cub pack and experianced leaders already in place we are recruiting an extra pair of eyes, either as a parent helper or a uniformed leader, the choice is yours!
‘The best part of Scouting is definitely the camps. I love every activity we do apart from swimming. They told us the pool was 24 degrees centigrade. Minus …

With close to a 100% turn out for the Liss Remembrance Day Parade on Sunday there were more Scout, Cub and Beaver uniforms in the village than have been seen for several years and the fine weather on Sunday added to the event.
The previous day 14 of the Beavers had been to Paultons Park with their families, along with a few hundred more Beavers from around the county, for the annual visit to Santa. As is traditional, the weather was appalling and all the families experienced a Met office Yellow …

 
Five members of 1st Liss Scout Group were awarded the highest award that they can achieve in their section. Beaver Scouts Charlie, Adam and Robbie were all awarded the Chief Scouts Bronze Award. To gain this award they have had to complete all 6 challenge badges which have taken them almost 2 years to finish. Along the way they have also worked for numerous Activity badges, attended a Beaver Scout sleepover and of course had lots of fun!
 
 Scouts Matt and Marcus were presented with the Chief Scouts Gold Award. This …

The Beavers, Cubs and Scouts from 1st Liss Scout Group gained some valuable hints and tips preparing for this years Pinewood Derby when they visited William Medcalf Vintage Bentley Garage at Hill Brow.
Each of the sections spent about an hour at the garage learning about the history of Bentley cars and had a close look at the vehicles on display. They were all also given a behind the scenes tour of the garage and a chance to see many of the vehicle is various stages of renovation. By way of …

Merry Christmas !!!!
Yes, it’s that time of year again, and no…it isn’t too early!
When
On the 9th November Hampshire Beaver Scouts will be making their annual trip to Paulton’s Park.
Who is it for
The trip is open to the whole family, not just Beaver Scouts. However, unlike in previous years this year, app Beavers must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. The group will not be providing transport and the leaders will not be responsible for any Beavers during the trip/day.
Families will be free to roam the park at their leisure throughout …

Now that the section leaders are starting to get to grips with Online Scout Manager, it is possible to see the programme for the term on line.
The next 2 meetings are shown on the front page of the website. The rest of the terms programme can be found under the section tabs:
Beaver Programme
Cub Programme
Scout Programme

Greetings from the Big Beaver Sleepover House.
Day 1 : 10:30pm
Its 10:30 pm and the Logemates moved into the Big Beaver Sleepover House only 4 hours ago, though it already seems much longer for the leaders. We would like to say that all the Beavers are tucked up in bed and fast asleep, sadly for the leaders they have only just got back from the camp fire and are tucking into hot dogs and hot chocolate. In the short time the Beavers have been in the house they have settled into their …

Over the next few days you should all be getting a e-mail through about our new badge, and record holding system.  This is called ‘Online Scout Manager’.  It replaces the boxes, bags and bits of paper approach all sections used up until late May 2013.  We appreciate it’s a new way of going about our business but is used by a huge majority of Groups nationally with very few problems.
To find out more you can go to our [On Line Scout Manager] page or visit the [Online Scout Manager] website or please just …

May was a great month for the group with three of our members receiving their Chief Scout’s  Awards signed by Bear Grylls.
Nicola was presented with the Chief Scout’s Gold Award by Stephen Peck,  Scouting Association Director of Programme and Development. The Chief Scout’s Gold Award is the highest award in the Scout Section requiring the recipient to  complete 8 Challenge Badges.
Thomas & Joshua were awarded the Chief Scout’s Bronze award which is the highest award for Beaver Scouts having completed all 6 of the Beaver Challenge Badges.
All three scouts have put …

The Parent Reps play a vital role in maintaining contact between Parents and the Leaders. All our Parents Reps have a good understanding of the sections they represent and are your representatives on the Executive Committee.
To contact the Parents Rep for your child’s section please select them on the [contact page].

Can you spot a former 1st Liss scout in this edition?

On 20/21st April a small team of Dads made a huge difference to the Jamboree. Over the two day period they worked to fit two staircases and clad the aerial runway tower for part of the Adventure zone at Nine Ashes Campsite.
Despite being fed enormous pasties, and in no particular order Brian Walsh, Malcolm Angell, Roger Synge, and Mike Green doubled the size of the Big Build team getting things ready for the Jamboree and beyond. All of the Jamboree staff who visited were very grateful of the team, particularly …

The plans for the new West Liss Pavilion have now been approved by South Downs National Park Planning Authority.  This will allow the Parish Council to move ahead with securing the remainder of the funding for the project and we can hopefully see work starting on a replacement building in a few months time.
Details about the plan can be found [here]

We love to see our Beavers earning their badges, sometime they bring in the things that they have made.
As part of his Faith Badge Thomas made a video of what he had been up to so we thought we would share it with you.

Finally the Winter Camp photos.  Many Thanks to Tim for being our trip photographer.
 
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The revised planning application for the new building is now available in the South Downs National Park Planning Portal.
Comments on the plan can be submitted on the portal until 21 Feb 2013. Supporting comments may be useful.
To see the plan click here [SDNP Planing Portal].

Dec Hampshire Scout News

This video by the Scout Association celebrating the last 10 years of Scouting.
 

As a group we have decided to change the way subscriptions are paid.  Currently subscriptions of £35 are paid termly by either cash or cheque.   From the 1st January 2013 we would prefer that all subscriptions are paid by monthly Standing Order into our main bank account.  This will save the Leaders a considerable amount of administration burden each term.  We also hope that you as parents will appreciate paying the fees in instalments throughout the year.  The cost will be £8.50 per month which will in fact be a small saving compared …

On Sunday 11 Nov, over 60 members of the Group joined with the rest of Liss to mark Remembrance Sunday. The group followed on behind Liss Band in the parade from the Royal British Legion to St Mary’s Church and then back to the village war memorial at the Triangle to lay a wreath.
As ever, the day was eventful with the Beavers having to lead the second half of the parade over the railway bridge after the level crossing gate closed just before they crossed the line.
Many thanks for …

Open publication

After the mega clear-out during the summer it was time to take a first look at the tents we had.  Most of the small 2-3 person tents were inadequate for the needs of the Scouts so the committee generously approved the buying of new.  After some months of searching a suitable replacement (Vango Banshee 300) was identified which will last for many years.
The first of three new hike tents was put through it’s paces at the Scouts survival camp by the Scout Leader.  Being small and light in weight it …

Sixteen of the Beaver Colony headed off on a 3 mile hike organised by Petersfield Active Support Unit. Along the way they had to answer questions as they found their way round the course.
There was quite a bit of going up and down and hardly a word of complaint from any of them. At the end of the hike each Beaver was awarded a certificate and a badge (which goes on the right shoulder).

Keen to keep in contact in all possible ways, we now have a presence on Twitter.
So if you tweet why not follow us by clicking this button  [followbutton username=’1stlissscouts’]
All new postings will now be tweeted automatically to let you know they are there.

Next time you have a bit of DIY to do, or need to find something in B&Q, ask a Beaver.
This week the whole colony descended on B&Q in Havant for an evening learning about DIY. During the hour were were there, all the Beavers made a magazine rack, tested the show kitchens (almost to destruction) and went on a store tour.
After they got home, most of the Beavers decorated their handy work ready for use.
Many thanks to all the B&Q staff who organised the evening, we really did have a …

Shrouded in secrecy, I’m getting details through for this years District Scout Challenge.  The event takes place on 19th November.  It involves a hike around the local area carrying out activities such as First Aid, Pioneering, Navigation, Observation.  The event will be run by Petersfield Scout Active Support Group and promises to be a great day out.
More details to follow soon!

Last week Acorn took 3 of the Beavers to who had built the Meccano Spinnaker Tower for the Build Britain in Meccano competition down to the real Spinnaker Tower.
The Beavers were amazed at how realistic their model was to the real thing, as were the people who work at the Tower and had asked if the could borrow it for their Friends in  High Places exhibition which is on between 17 – 28 Sep. After we had handed over our Tower the Beavers had a great time plucking up their courage …

You may have spent the summer wondering what the Leaders have been up to, Lee whittling away at tent pages, Birch thinking up new things to do with glitter and Kath planning the terms programme.
All of the Leaders and the Exec Committee members have actually spent most weekends down at the hut de-cluttering, tidying out the store and cleaning. This has been partly in preparation for the move to temporary accommodation while the new West Liss Pavilion is built, hopefully be some time in the next year, and so that …

Closing date 30 Sep
A photographic competition based on the word ‘adventure’ for all age groups with all prizes worth at least £100.
There will be a prize for each age group of entrants:

Beavers or Cubs
Scouts or Explorers
Network or Adults

Visit the Hampshire Scout website for entry forms and more information.

Jul Hampshire Scout News

Open publication – Free publishing – More hampshire

The planning application for the new building is now available in the South Downs National Park Planning Portal.
Comments on the plan can be submitted on the portal until 23 Aug 2012. Supporting comments may be useful.
To see the plan search for “SDNP/12/01037/FUL” here [SDNP Planing Portal].

Ever wondered what was going on in the County?
Look at Page 15 for photo competition there is a £100 prize.
 

Open publication – Free publishing – More hsn

To mark the Jubilee, Petersfield District Scouts climbed Butser Hill to light the Beacon as part of the national chain.
After spending weeks at the chemists, the photos are back 🙂
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The Build Britain in Meccano competition challenged Beavers and Cubs to try and build a local landmark out of Meccano and take it along to the annual Beaver and Cub Funday at the Gilwell  Park, the Headquarters of scouting. Five of the 1st Liss Beavers, and Tegan  spent 2 evenings building a model of the Spinnaker Tower, with the loan of some pieces and a design by local Meccano enthusiast, Jim from Holy Trinity Meccano Club; we also had some dads along to help interpret the instructions. Over the 2 evenings, the Beavers set about …

Have you ever wondered what your Beaver gets up to on a day out? You may be surprised by just how much we can fit in.
In one quite long day a Gilwell Park we managed, putting up a tent, handling snakes, launching water powered rockets, going down a zip line, grass sledging, wire walking, a roller coaster ride in a simulator and that was all before lunch.
After lunch we made pin hole cameras with Rolls Royce, had an archery lesson,  put out a real fire with a fire extinguisher, slide down the inflatable …

All section the Group have been  this week getting ready for the Liss Flower Festival Extravaganza in St Mary’s Church, The church is open daily 10am – 4:30pm between  Friday 22 June to Sunday 24 June. There will be a Parish Fete in the Rectory Garden in Sat 23 Jun at 2:30pm and a village songs of Praise in the Church at 6:30pm on Sunday 24th Jun. If anyone has a picture of the Beavers and Scouts arrangement please send them in.

The last weekend in May was the Liss May Fayre.
Many thanks to the parents and supporters for your help with setting up, serving and packing away at the barbecue – and please pass on my thanks to your beavers, cubs and scouts for their excellent work too. The takings from the day will go towards much needs new equipment for the Group and we already have our eyes on some new tents and ropes.
While the burger flippers were flipping burgers, Lee and the scouts built a demonstration pioneering project.
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The Beavers where our discovering what goes on in ponds this week on a visit to QE Country Park. Judy, one of the Park Rangers, took all the Beavers over the barrier and down to the waters edge where everyone had a go at fishing out the pond life.  In the 45 minutes of fishing we caught neuts, dragon fly larvae, a fish, a leach, some water snails and hundreds of tadpoles.
At the of the evening, Birch invested 2 new Beavers, Isla and Ezri into the colony and we said good-bye …