A late update on this very successful event run by Somerset County Scouts. 230 Scouts attended and the challenges were many and various all made more fun by the dreadful weather.

Amazing commitment and attitude by each and every Barton Scout is to be applauded. They were nothing short of magnificent. Many thanks to their Leaders for preparing for these challenges so that they emerged smiling and victorious with Felicity winning first place and Laurie second (yes out of 230 Scouts).

Here are a couple of some of the many comments and thank you notes from our parents:

“Absolutely amazing event. Thank you so much to Richard for leading and the team for looking after G and E who both had a fab time. Great photos. Don’t think I have ever seen so much mud to wash off, and that’s an achievement after decades of outdoor activities 😂”

“Thank you so much to the leaders for taking the kids on this amazing adventure. I have never seen A so chuffed with her achievements but equally so tired. Thank you”

And a thank you from us to Somerset Scouts for putting on such an astoundingly good event!

Each year that our Scout Group attends Remembrance I am overcome with pride by their turn out, their respect and their impeccable behaviour on such a solemn and important local occasion. This year was no exception and all of the youngsters, their Leaders and their parents should feel proud of the way that they paid their respects. Thanks also to the Rev Jane Durham who engaged everyone with a thought provoking address that was easily understood by our youngsters. It’s a skill!

And the sun shone on us as well which was an extra bonus.

We are currently undertaking some marketing to attract youngsters into Beavers and the rest of the Group. In order to do this we have applied to a few funders for support and I’m delighted to report that the Charities at Christmas (Big Breakfast) committee have given us a donation that is so much appreciated. We thank them so much.

If you have never been to a Big Breakfast then you should. It’s an amazing event, run like clockwork where you can get a full breakfast for next to nothing or a cream tea later in the day. Proceeds go to four main charities: Bloodwise, Motor neurone Disease Association, Dementia UK and Save the Children and a few local good causes (of which we were one). It is usually around the 3rd Saturday in October so a date for all our diaries.

Once again, many thanks to the committee.

Please give some thought as to whether you could help us out? At our AGM we did not manage to find a Secretary.  This is one of those roles that we have to have in order to be legally set up.  To be frank it is a role where the time required is very close to zero as we take minutes as we go these days and send everything out electronically. You would be a trustee of the committee (which meets for the AGM and maybe another formal meeting along with virtual meetings via email) but you could choose to make it a bigger role such as leading fundraising or applications for grants etc. We do need the basic role filled so please contact Vega Sturgess (GSL) if you are interested and I can let you know a little more about what it means.

Update: Thank you to Ruth. We are now sorted again.

Last year we celebrated the end of term with a picnic on the field at Barton St David Village Hall.  We also held a very short AGM at the start of the evening and we were delighted to see more parents and friends attending than has ever happened before.  Following this success we are repeating the event.

Please arrive at 6pm with your family and a picnic and then get yourself a drink if you would like one.  At 6.15pm we will start the AGM while children play games outside (weather permitting of course!).  Like last year, we are sending all the agenda documents out in advance which means that the AGM is unlikely to even take the 30 mins we estimate.  The AGM is open to all. We will have the Deputy District Commissioner with us who can answer any of your questions on wider Scouting issues after the meeting.

Following the AGM we will all take our picnics onto the field and chat / play games and generally celebrate the end of another brilliant Scouting year.

Looking forward to seeing as many of you that can attend but if you cannot make it you can still send in your comments on any of the agenda items up until midday on Tuesday and we can feed them back at the meeting.

Vega

Group Scout Leader

This is a delayed report of the 4 Church (Benefice) Walk. Considering how cold and wet it has been recently the weather was perfect. Warm but not too hot and so well organised.

We started just after our breakfasts at Keinton Church. Full of food and energy we walked all the way down to Lydford. There was a lot of chatter and much to look at.

We arrived at Lydford Church and were delighted to find that coffee and cakes were laid on. Things were looking up! Refreshed we continued to Barton. All went well along the idyllic section by the river and millstream. We managed to take the right turning (well we are Scouts of course) and continued across Combe Hill. Things got a little difficult on this stretch for dog owning leaders who had to lift their dogs over the stiles! But the Scouts forged on. At this stage it became clear that each of us got something different out of the walk – some looked at the flowers and others were much more interested in old farm machinery!

Arriving at Barton Church with our picnics we were amazed to see that lunch was also provided by the wonderful volunteers there. I am ashamed to say that we ate both! One of the Scouts said that he much preferred the Barton lunch to the one in his rucksack!

From here we walked up to Kingsweston Church. No refreshments here so we set off quickly back to Keinton. The last section saw some Scouts picking up more random bits of old farm machinery until we reached Keinton Church. It had taken a little longer than we expected (probably because of all the eating en-route).

Finally, after the Scouts were collected the Leaders enjoyed a wonderful cream tea in the sunshine.

A perfect day and thanks to those who spent a lot of time organising the event and looking after us on the way.

Vega. Group Scout Leader Barton St David.

Monday 10th June was one of those days when your GSL was asked to make up the volunteer numbers at one of the sessions. Always something I love to do as being with the youngsters is what it’s all about.

But this was a bit of a special day. I was part of a group of Beavers going to visit Gilbert and Swayne – handmade chocolate makers. http://www.gilbertandswayne.co.uk

As we walked in the aroma of top quality chocolate was amazing. Jane welcomed us warmly and the session was fun, interesting and educational and in the most lovely building. The youngsters made beautiful chocolate lollipops and learnt about the adverse impact of non Fair Trade producers. Jane kept the adults quiet by providing us with some tasters!

It was a brilliant session and the Beavers behaved really well. Parents can see photographs on the Beaver Facebook page.

Vega. Group Scout Leader

We have a lot to be happy about at the moment. The sun is shining and
I have been overcome by the generosity of our community recently.  Out of the blue I got an email from an ex-Leader living in Barton who offered us a tent that they no longer needed.  It’s in excellent condition and will be much used over the coming years.  We are so fortunate that people think of us as of course we don’t have huge reserves of finance.  

But why are we Bee Happy?

A few days ago we put a call out to those that might know anyone with bees as we want to help our Scouts learn to look after bees as they are so important to our environment.  One of our parents put us in touch with Juliet in Weston Super Mare and she has donated three hives and bees to the group.  We are so incredibly grateful to her and Neil for his generosity in providing a space for these bees.  The youngsters won’t just learn how to look after them, they will also cover woodwork in making hives etc and of course there may be some honey tasting to look forward to!  There will bee plenty of updates to look forward to. We will really get a buzz out of letting you know what’s happening.

When a bee is in your hand, what’s in your eye? Beauty. Because beauty is in the eye of the bee-holder.

Vega. Group Scout Leader. May 2019