End of term!

It's our end of term event - you have all finished exams by now so we should all be free to celebrate the end of term and start of hols!
Please sign up to let me know if you are coming or if you cant make it as I need to pay in advance... I will confirm times when I book but I expect it will be a slightly earlier start on Thurs at AMF Harlescott

A festive opportunity!

It's nearly Christmas and time to do festive things, make new starts for the new year and seize opportunities that present themselves gift wrapped for your delight! And what could be more delightful than the opportunity to be a Boreatton Explorer leader, and eat mince pies too!🎅

This week we will try and tempt your parents into joining us and being the next Explorer leader. We can meet at Leaton Hall and make (alcohol free) mulled wine and mince pies for all the parents prepared to come along and meet you and see what it's all about 😀
It a bit earlier and I've scheduled it for 7:30-8:30 but will take as long as we need if there is a parent keen to sign up with us!

As it involves catering I am putting an Eventbrite ticket thing so we know how many to expect - book tickets for any parents that come too!



Please also bring your subs (only had subs from half of you!) so you can sign up for our end of term bowling/laserquest 👍

Big Sleepout

OK - we are not actually part of the Big Sleepout but its the same w/e and we are supporting the same charities locally... See what everyone else is doing on their Big Sleepout website!

We will sleep in our box houses at Leaton Hall (inside the barn if its rainy and our box leaks, outside in a field if its dry or our box is properly waterproof).

We meet later than usual at 9pm on Friday 6 December at Leaton Hall in time for a BBQ supper and then we will join Leaton Church's dawn Forest Walk and Advent celebration after breakfast from 8:00-10:00 before being collected from Leaton Hall at 10:00am on Saturday 7 December

Bring Box and (very) warm sleep bag, Knife fork spoon plate and drink container for supper and breakfast, and usual stuff for a forest walk, and of course your sponsorship money and this consent form! (subs would be nice too... most of you have not paid this terms subs which were due last Sept)

Should be more photogenic than our nighthike! (Although I always enjoy photography in the dark....) so bring a phone/camera and capture the dawn!

Please book a ticket so I know how many are coming!

In search of weather

Its the next hike already! (Get some prexercise in for the xmas puds to come) - I'm hoping the leg will be back up and walking...

Click the pic!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-search-of-fun-sunday-8-december-2019-tickets-83069865203?fbclid=IwAR3spGRG8GBvtmYduq8bF9Z943aA2fXsQRshJ_BKApJ_-phfR9_zfbhYGRc

Cliffe edge

It's our night hike! We will meet at the Cliffe trig point  (SJ393205) at 8:00 and so long as you don't get lost/kidnapped/muck about we will finish at the hut at the usual time. Bring waterproofs, warm layer, head torch, compass, whistle, hat that covers the ears, walking boots, emergency rations, hot drink, survival blanket, ice ax, crampons, signal flare, satellite phone... etc - the usual hiking stuff :)

Finally, dont forget to be collecting your sponsorship for our sleep in a box

Christmas Fair

Please come and join us to raise funds for the Group.

There are still a few tables left to rent so take this opportunity to de-clutter before Christmas.  Please call Joycelin on the number above to book.

Any donations of cake, flapjacks etc to sell would be greatly appreciated.  Please leave at Explorers on Thursday.

Archery!

We'll do this!
Meet at Leaton Hall (because it might not be pugglable) at usual time 8:00 - 9:30

Damaged!

Hmmm... last time I went for a run after a decade or so off it was fine so I dont know what went wrong when I did park run last weekend! Anyway - I'm sorry I could not join you at the remembrance parade last Sunday - I was pleased to see that there was an excellent turn out! Thank you.

I am nearly mended, but our next meetings were cross-bow archery and night hike both of which promise to be hard on torn muscle so I am afraid I will have to cancel our next meeting to avoid more protracted injury... :( I hope to be mended soon and may even be up for the easy walk at the w/e. So...

No meeting 14 November


SBSMG Hike on 17 November - book here

Thank you

A huge thank you to all Explorers who came to the Remembrance Sunday Parade.

You were all immaculately turned out and hugely respectful!

Thank you.

Phil

Remember

At this time every year Boreatton Explorer Unit joins Boreatton Scout Group to take part in a solemn parade to All Saints Church in Baschurch.  We then go into Church for a service of remembrance to commemorate all those who fell in war and conflict.

This is the one activity each year that we expect all Scouts and Explorers to turn out for - put aside football and rugby matches, having a lie in or just can't be bothered - we expect you there if at all possible.  We will meet in the Doctors surgery car park at 10.00 this Sunday 10th November in full Scout uniform, to include school trousers or skirt and polished shoes.  Please bring some money for the collection as well as a poppy.

We will march through Baschurch to the Remembrance service at the church and after the service march back to Millington Close for dismissal. We usually finished by around 12.20.

There is very limited parking at the Doctors so maybe car share?

Bonfire night

We will join the scouts and cubs and beavers in our annual Group Bonfire for our meeting this Thursday 7th November at Leaton Hall, Leaton near Bomere Heath, SY4 3AP

All the family welcome! 
6.30pm to 8pm - Car Parking in Holy Trinity Church on the Berwick Road just after Leaton Hall heading towards Shrewsbury- please slow as you approach the turning and drive even slower in the car park as it is unlit. Marshalls will be at the gate. 

Hot Food on sale to raise funds for Boreatton Scout Group - please bring cash, and cake for us to sell would be most welcome.

Bring gloves for the sparklers, a torch and dress warmly.

Fare well to Jack

Tonight is Jacks last Explorer night at PGL (he'll still come to the bonfire we hope though)
We will celebrate with a BBQ and wish him well for his migration south (all puggles fly south for the winter...). Usual time and place... Come hungry :)

Razer sharp

Oops - this is late - but still time to book! Follow the link before midnight!
The next Mountain Group hike is to Snowdon - late in the year so we'll take the short scrambley route along Crib Goch... dont look down!

I want to go!

Saving the planet...

...one piece of ferro-trash at a time...

The Severn is in spate 

       so we will have to check out the magnet fishing on the Perry or a pond... Meet at the hut as normal but bring head torch and waders (if you like...)
The magnets are expensively strong - NO PIERCINGS!!!

Community service

We are not just a youth club and so our programme involves an element of community service too. It's time for our regular citizens advice work to survey the towns chip shops, recognise the best, and advise the community on where they can get their chips... (see the tab at the top of the blog!)

We will meet in Shrewsbury Market Square early at 7:30 and judge the towns chip resources. Wear some identification as a Boreatton explorer and (if you want to be bribed...) a Chipadvisor Judge badge! Finish and pick up from the square at 9:00.

Skills for life

With global changes and challenges it seems worth considering how many of us around the globe have to live - a significant percentage of the world has to live on less than £1 a day! As a global trading nation in the G7 we dont need to worry about that (most of us anyway) but if Boris has his way rather more of us might need those skills...

My daughter is off to uni and these days society chooses not to help students as much as it used, so I thought we could see how we might fare on £1 for one day. We will provide a shop and see what you can cook up for a (notional) £1 - no cheating! Do not stuff yourselves with Maccy D's before our meeting - come hungry and we will see if we can survive!

Bring mess kit.

Winter is coming...

… just not quite yet! 

As is traditional we will start on the second Thursday of term ('cos I cannot keep control on the first Thursday as you are all still too excited to be back at school).

See you next week! I will post some camp activity stuff here soon as some things need to be booked very early in term.

Camp forms

Ta dah! Here they are! Note that it is the end of term but the start of camp - no meeting at the hut - we are camping instead!

DO Canoe again

It's been a while since we canoed on the Severn! We meet at Frankwell Car Park (near the footbridge) at 6:55pm and will Canoe with DO 'til 9pm. You may want to bring a change of clothes, and it would be nice if those that have not done so yet brought their subs (due at the beginning of term! grrr…!), and in any event you must bring this consent form!

Back to Bickley

We are booking the camp for 18-21 July, so right after Corbet end-of-term... If you are from somewhere else and cant do the first day, then come a day late - book a ticket below but let me know you plan to be late!

No beavers to worry the leaders into cancelling it this time!

Consent to bronze

Here's the consent form for those expeditioning this w/e! The camp will be at Brow Farm campsite at Ratlinghope - https://browfarmcampsite.co.uk/contact/

Go halves

Yo Ho!
Its (more or less) half Christmas this week so we will celebrate by having half a BBQ! Come dressed half festively and only half fed so you can enjoy half a burger :) 

OK its set to be nice so I'm half looking for an excuse for my first BBQ of the year...

No, no, no, no, no

Don't do that bad mental health addictive stuff... its pontoons on Thursday, but the collapsing into the lake soggy sort that will get you wet and submersed... Bring a change of clothes and a towel and you will be fine... Normal time, normal place, wetter than normal (even than abnormal recent climate conditions...)

NSRC 2019

It's time to sign up for the National Rifle Champs at Bisley in October already! If you want to enter please book a ticket below so I know who to register. I have to pay now so this is a commitment to take part even though it is a long way off. If you find you are unable to attend I will try and help you find a replacement but you need to pay the camp fees now-ish as I have to pay for the entry which is most of the cost...
For Boreatton Explorers the price will be £60 as I can subsidise you a bit by us all paying the same (I get a very cheap entry as I am useful, so that subsidises you and we traditionally dont allow for transport costs as I am going anyway). I have advertised this to other members of the Shropshire Rifle squad and I will have to charge anyone outside Boreatton the cost of the event which will likely be a bit more (but not much!). I will liaise with everyone booking a ticket and agree your entry before you are committed! 
We will all camp together as a Shropshire contingent so we should be a nice big camp and all Shropshire entrants will be able to purchase a Shropshire Rifles Squad Hoodie.

 

Whether we are in or out...

We meet at the hut as usual...

It's rather soggy... so good, as we planned to do an indoors thing with Jack and puggles, but bad as all the puggles have changed their mind about doing outdoorsy puggle things and all want to squash into our barn... Oh well... we are likely to be doing the great outdoors! Come prepared! (no such thing as bad weather - just bad choice of gear)

Fit for DofE

Well - for any expedition really, but especially for our new bronze DofE group, we need to cover the training element and expedition planning, what to take etc.

Too much kit! You must have let your mum pack!

Those planning to start their DofE please come knowing which weekends you are available for an expedition!
Those that have already done their expedition, please come prepared to share your experiences (particularly if you have yet to make your presentation to finish your expedition section!)
We will aim to have an outline route and talk about expedition first aid and the importance of good diet and fitness and think about what could possibly go wrong (!)

Free camp details for SBSMG skills weekend

Here is some information about the event sent to the leaders coming for training - we will be able to do much the same but will not do the full day hiking on Sunday so the hut is ready to leave before the SBSMG leaders get back off the mountains. Of course we can just chill if the weather is vile and simply wave to the leaders as they set off to enjoy their training-in-a-storm... :)

Venue:  Yr Hafod, Nant Ffrancon, Bangor, LL57 3LZ.

Grid Ref SH 644 604 (Maps: OS Explorer OL17, OS Landranger 115 or Harvey/BMC Snowdonia North)

Turn left off the A5 a Idwal Cottage and continue past the car park and Youth Hostel, over cattle grid - the centre is about 500 metres down the road.

In case of difficulty, telephone number is 01248 601641.

Arrival: Please arrive at the centre in time to settle in and start activity at 9.30pm on Friday 7th June.  We will be there from 8.00pm.  Light snacks, but no main meal will be available on arrival.

Departure: The weekend will finish at 5.00pm on Sunday.

Equipment: You will need to bring a sleeping bag - accommodation is in bunk rooms.  All cutlery and crockery is provided.

Please be personally equipped for full mountain days in all weather conditions.

All food is provided.  If you wish to bring alcoholic drinks, please feel free to do so.

Travel: Please make your own travel arrangements.  I have listed below a list of participants so that you can arrange to share transport.  If anybody has any difficulty with transport, please contact me asap.

List of participants:

2nd Longmynd - 2

Bridgnorth - 3

1st Dawley - 4

2nd Whitchurch - 4

Boreatton - 1

1st Monkmoor - 1

1st Shifnal - 1

plus the usual mountain group leaders and me!

Personal: Please let us know as soon as possible if you have any medical condition which may affect the weekend, or if you have any dietery requirements (eg vegetarian).

If you have any Scouts or Explorers who would like to join us for the Sunday walk only, please contact Richard Parkes (see details on attached letter).  We can arrange transport for these from the Shrewsbury area.

Please see attached proposed itinerary and menu.  If you have any other particular requirements, we can discuss this on Friday evening.

Here is the parental consent YOU NEED TO BRING

Free camp in Snowdonia

The mountain group are having a leaders weekend in Snowdonia 7-9 June hiking, and said we could have a free camp with them so long as we help cooking, keeping it all tidy and looking after the place. 

It would mean not hiking whilst the leaders disappear into the rain and mist and basically chilling in Yr Hafod. All food, transport etc covered.

Sign up here if you want a free camp!

Shropshire Rifles

We will be part of Shropshire when we go to Bisley this year, and it is time to book our places in the Shropshire Rifles company (well it must be more than a squad now we have marksmen from across the county).

We will have a practice at my ranges at Leaton Hall (not the hut) from 8:00 to 9:30 (as usual) on Thursday May 23 (now that I have finally figured out when half term is!). I need your parents confirmation that you have permission and are legally entitled to use firearms - do not forget the form below! 

If there are issues printing your parents can handwrite a note confirming they give consent, not are not legally prohibited from using firearms, and giving an emergency contact.

My bad!

Ooops! Got half term date wrong! (I thought it seemed a short first half term but thought exams... Anyway - corrected timetable has swapped the rifle training and half term to their proper places - version on the blog below is now correct!

A Wild PROGRAMME Appeared!

Greetings!

As promised we have a Provisional Programme written for you to plan around. If you know you're unable to attend any meetings please let us know sooner rather than later so that if any nights are looking particularly empty we can consider rearrrangeing activities to suit those here .

16th May - Lazerquest
We'll be blogging about this in the next few days but please be prepared to be away from the hut and arrive at potentially different times.

23 May - Rifles
We'll be popping down to AL's house to get some practice in the run up to bisley
30 May Half Term - no meeting

6 Jun - DoE Training
An opportunity to pass on / learn from some of the skills and stories of hikes past, we'll be learning to pack light and effective and to cook some tasty lightweight meals, definitely one you won't want to miss.

8 -10 Jun - Snowdon Camp
You'll be trusted to take care of a scout hut by yourselves, cleaning up after the mountain group in exchange for a free camp.

13 Jun - Dodgeball / Trenches (Pending Authorisation)
If you can dodge (all of the things you throw at each other on a normal night) you can dodge a ball!
If dodgeball doesn't last the night we'll play trenches - a stealthy game involving disco lights and capture the flag.

20 Jun - Bridge Build / Splash Around (Pending Authorisation)
Get ready to get wet on this post exam pioneering challenge. You'll be using your knot tying skills, a lot of barrels, and logs to build a continuous pontoon as far across Lake Clive as you can. Get to the other side for a prize or, if you don't make it across, do some cool tricks into the lake on what we hope will be a warm last evening of spring.

27 Jun - Summer Christmas BBQ
We'd like to introduce you to a PGL staff tradition, we celebrate anything that happens during our shutdown (Mid Nov - Late Jan) exactly half a year out. Therefore we're going to have a Half Christmas get together. Please don your best Jumpers, deck yourself in tinsel or just wear some Christmas tree earrings to our BBQ / Party.

5-7 July - Bickley Camp (TBC)

11 July - Paddling the Shrewsbury Loop (Pending)

18 July - Skills Evening

25 July - Bounce Below
This will be our season finale, a trip across the border to the land of sheep on trampolines. Pretty self explanatory really, checkout

Light fantastic

As you planned we will kick off term with a laser battle at Rednal - its close to exams so we want you to get a good nights sleep so we will meet at Rednal Laser HQ at 6:45 for a 7pm start. We finish at 8pm. (OK that was as close as they could do to our normal times!)

Please bring consent form and dress rugged!

(Oo! A shiny new form with the new logo!)

Back at the hut

We're back! At the hut at the usual time... but it might be wet out so come waterproofed :)

Here comes the sun!

Well, here comes the summer anyway...

But it is still only the first week back at school so you are all busy planning your revision plans and much too distracted for explorers I guess... So our first meeting back will not be until next week, on Thursday 9 May.

Meanwhile, for those keen to get into the hills and also get a JOTT badge (if Richard gives them out when he gets them!) we have a new booking approach for SBSMG - designed by us so we cannot complain!

Follow this link to book your trip for Saturday the 11 May and it will auto-be your consent form! Simples!