Scouting is celebrating it's
100th birthday throughout 2007
As a result
there are a number of national events taking place, such as the World
Jamboree, and the Festival of Scouting but there will also be a number of events taking place in Oldham.
This page
attempts to summarise these events and keep leaders up to date with the plans
which have been made, and later to report on how successful the event was. There are also a number of links to various HQ sites
concerned with the 2007 celebrations.
So what is happening in Oldham:
Centenary Year Launch Event (20th January) -
Report
What a good start we have
had to our Centenary year.
Despite many anxious
moments prior to the event it turned out to a great success. Everyone I spoke
to as they were leaving Gallery Oldham was buzzing and saying what a good time
they'd had. Many parents who had simply stood around for a couple of hours were
also saying how they had enjoyed it.
The Mayor and Mayoress
joined in the spirit of they day and must have had their photograph taken and
signed the Scout challenge sheet over 25 times.
The County Commissioner
came in the morning and then returned in the afternoon to see how the event
had changed for the Cub section. He too was full of praise.
The Souvenir stall was
quickly selling out of stock and Dave had to make a quick dash up to the BP
Centre to collect additional items.
Even members of the public,
some of whom were visiting the Saddleworth Art Exhibition, came and said how
interesting it had been.
None of this however would
have been possible if it was not for all the effort put in by a small number
of people prior to the event and by numerous helpers on the day.
Well done everyone and thank you very
much.
Just for your information,
according to the “signing in sheets” we had a total of 59 Beavers, 61 Cubs,
and numerous adults taking part from the three Scout districts within Oldham
Metropolitan Borough, of those 13 Beavers and 26 Cubs came from 12
Groups in Oldham. In addition 62 Scouts from around the 3 districts also signed up
for their Challenge. I therefore estimate a grand total of well over 300 people visited
the event.
St George's Day Centenary Celebrations
(22nd April) - Report
What a fantastic day this was.
With 1250 people in the parade, this amounted to nearly every member of the
Scout Movement from Chadderton, Crompton & Royton and Oldham Scout Districts
taking part together with some members of Girlguiding UK.
If you were not there then you missed one of the best events there has been
for Scouts in many years.
Standing at the front of the parade and looking back there were flags and
members of the movement as far as the eye could see.
The celebration in Boundary Park Football Stadium was brilliant, the
atmosphere electric, the spontaneous applause from everyone throughout the
celebration inspiring, the Mexican wave was fantastic, what more can I say.
Then in the afternoon archery, climbing, mini assault course, go-karts,
wobbly bike, a hot air balloon which couldn't quite get of the ground, numerous
craft stalls, enough burgers and hot dogs to sink a ship, souvenir shop
and a tent displaying historical scouting items of interest to everyone.
This event will definitely be one of my lasting memories of the Centenary
year and I hope yours as well.
Thank you to everyone who took part, thank you to everyone who helped to make
it possible and thank you to the parents who gave it their support.
District Centenary Camp (29th June - 1 July)
- Report
Despite lots of rain over the weekend just over 270 people from 11 Groups enjoyed the camp
and had a thoroughly good time.
The theme followed HQ's 2:007 theme using the 007 and James Bond to fire the
imagination of the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.
In
addition a special badge was commissioned using the 2:007 and James Bond theme
which was given as a souvenir to everyone. (See sample ) Spare badges are
available for £1. Please contact your ADC if you want one.
During the weekend there were a number of activities for them to try and
complete ranging from an inflatable assault course to face painting and from
riding the go karts to climbing the bouldering wall. The local Fire
Brigade came to demonstrate the dangers of playing with matches and showed how
quickly a tent caught fire.
Each night there was a camp fire followed by a movie, karaoke and disco,
Casino Royale, and maggot racing.
Throughout the camp each person was given a Passport style ID card which was
stamped after completing each activity. The stamps were in the form of a
punched hole in various shapes (i.e. a moon, knife & fork, spade etc) and each
child compared their stamps with those their friend had collected.
Over 400 photographs were taken during the weekend and a CD has been sent to
section leaders who took part.
Click here to see a small sample of these.
Sunrise Ceremony (31st July - 1st August)
- Report
Baden-Powell's first Scout Camp was set up on Brownsea Island on the 1st
August 1907. To mark this special occasion a special ceremony was held right
across the world to mark the start of the next 100 years of Scouting. The
first Scouts to celebrate were in New Zealand, then the celebrations moved
across different continents as the sun came up until here in the UK everyone
joined together at 8.00am to celebrate this unique occasion.
In Oldham we had a "Stay Awake" based at Helen
Taylor's Llama farm and the Village Hall, both in Denshaw. The farm has lots of animals including
owls, chickens, rabbits, sheep, ducks, pigs and the Llama's which Helen uses when she takes people trekking in the Saddleworth countryside. The evening started at
7.30pm on the 31st
July and lasted until 8.30am on the 1st August. Everyone met at the Village Hall
at 7:30pm and walked up to the farm where there was a number of activities to
keep everyone occupied until 10:00pm when we had a camp fire. The
Beavers then made their way back to the Village Hall to have their supper and
play some games. Meanwhile the Cubs, Scouts and Explorers were taken on a
torch light walk finishing at the Village Hall for their supper. For those
who wanted to stay awake there were movies to watch, craft bases and other
activities to complete. At 5:45am everyone asleep was woken up, given
breakfast, then they walked or were taken by car back up to the farm to play a wide game until shortly
before 8:00am when they renewed their Promise. The event finished with
everyone making their way back to the Village Hall for collection by their
parents.
Later in the day a display was set up in Spindles Shopping Centre and proved
to be a wonderful opportunity to let
everyone know that was Scouting is 100 years old today and that there are a number of
Scout Groups in the area just waiting for boys and girls to join them.
People showed a lot of interest and several older people reminisced about their
time in the Scouts.
Day Visit to World Jamboree (4th August) -
Report
The heavy rain which has been such a feature of this summer stopped shortly
before the opening ceremony at the 21st World Jamboree and the sun came out not
only for the opening ceremony but for the rest of the jamboree. On our
visit we had clear blue sky and hot sun with temperatures reaching almost 30
degrees.
Despite 10,000 people each day being taken from the check-in site at North
Weald to the jamboree site the arrangements went like clockwork and we were soon
on our way. Our coach was just one of some 400 that had been hired and as
we travelled along the road to Chelmsford we passed many coaches making their
way back to North Weald. Soon we were able to see the tents being used by those
lucky enough to be camping and the large marquees being used for a variety of
purposes.
On our arrival the flags of every county taking part in the jamboree were
flying on either side of the walkway leading into the jamboree site and the
Plaza area. Members of the International Service Team wearing their own national
costumes were there to greet us and make us feel very welcome.
Although the area's we were allowed to visit were restricted to the Plaza,
the World Scout Centre, the Global Development Boulevard, the Main Arena, the
One World Garden and the Day Visitor Village there was plenty for everyone to
see and do in the time we had.
Meeting and talking to Scouts from around the world, along with just being a
part of the atmosphere made the visit truly memorable. Although photographs
taken during our visit bring back the memories they cannot do it justice. The
sheer scale of the jamboree site and some of the facts and figures quoted in the
Souvenir Guide are mind boggling.
I consider myself very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit the
Jamboree and I know many of the others feel the same. I now look forward
to talking to the five Explorer Scouts from Oldham who took part in the Jamboree
and listening to their stories.
End of Centenary Year Party for Oldham
Metropolitan Districts
As the three Oldham Metropolitan Scout Districts have successfully joined
together to celebrate the Scouting Centenary Year, at a Launch Event in January,
the St George's Day Parade and Service in April, and for the Sunrise Ceremony in
August, it was felt that we should hold a party for all the children to bring
the year to a close.
This took place on the 15th December at the Pennine Lounge in Oldham. 118
Beavers, Cubs and Scouts from 4 groups in Compton and Royton, and from 8 groups
in Oldham came together for an afternoon of fun and games.
We started with a host of activity bases around the room. These included a
bouncy castle, a horse racing game, face painting, roll a penny, trying to get
table tennis balls into jars, dominoes, casino games, karaoke and others.
Everyone was free to choose which activity they wanted to do and go go back as
many times as they liked. This was followed by some party games including pass
the parcel with five parcels on the go at the same time and musical chairs.
We then had a visit from Father Christmas who brought everyone a small
present and a selection box of chocolate. He also had his photograph taken with
every child as they came for their present. These photo's were made up into a
Christmas Greeting Card and given to the children.
Finally they had a hot dog, some crisps, a bar of chocolate and a drink
before going home.
This made a fitting end to what has been a wonderful year and will give
everyone at least one happy memory of the time they helped to celebrate the
Centenary of Scouting .
Click here to see some pictures taken during the party.
What is happening within Greater Manchester North County.
County Trip to Camelot (25th March 2007) -
Report
Although only 1 group from Oldham took part the day was a great success and
everyone who went had a great day out.
County Centenary Camp (25th - 28th May)
This is being held at
Bibby's Farm Scout Camp over the weekend 25 - 28 May 2007.
Their will be a full programme of activities both on-site and off-site
ranging from Rafting and Climbing to Leather work and Branding.
The cost of the 3 night camp, including all activities will be £30.
Booking forms are now available.
Celebrate the centenary by contacting as many people as you
can from other parts of the world the County JOTA / JOTI base station.
What is happening Nationally
21st World Scout Jamboree (27th July - 8th August)
On Tuesday, 24th July, Greater Manchester North Scout County played host to
Scouts from Denmark and Switzerland at a barbeque in the grounds of our County
HQ. Everyone was very friendly and the atmosphere created got our own
contingent members ready to take part in the Jamboree experience. It also made
other members of the Scout Movement who would only be visiting the Jamboree site
as a day visitor really look forward to their visit.
The 5 Explorer Scouts from Oldham left for the 21st World Scout Jamboree on
Thursday 26th July and from the reports I have received from friends and parents
they are thoroughly enjoying themselves. We look forward to hearing about their
experiences.
A unique Scouting festival to be held at the O2 Arena (formerly known as
the Millennium Dome) on 24 November 2007.
LIVE 07 is our Festival of Scouting, an extravaganza to celebrate the best of
Scouting in 2007. It'll be the perfect opportunity to reflect on our
Scouting history, remember the fun times in 2007 and look towards the next 100
years and beyond. Two epic events will be held in The O2 arean in
London, with a capacity of 15,000 per show, to bring together all the elements
of Scouting 2007 in one day, in one place.
The aims and objectives are to:
Create a prestigious, inclusive and participative celebration.
Feature thought-provoking elements to trigger ‘help change the world’
thinking.
Extend the national events through the period after the World Scout
Jamboree.
Bring the best of 2007 together so more people can enjoy it.
Instil a huge sense of pride in the minds of UK performers and visitors.
Celebrate the successes of 2007and provide a big ‘thank you’ to those
who supported.
Each show will last approximately 3 hours and booking forms are now
available at
www.scouts.org/live07
In
addition a special badge was commissioned using the 2:007 and James Bond theme
which was given as a souvenir to everyone. (See sample ) Spare badges are
available for £1. Please contact your ADC if you want one.