News
* Here's a copy of the News from the DCs' desk for July 2010.
* A taster session was held on 12th July for young people interested in joining a Cub Pack at the new Group in Arborfield. More....
* The Cubs football competition took place on 27th June courtesy of 1st Swallowfield who hosted the event. The champions were 4th Wokingham, but for more, including some photographs, visit the Cubs page. Also on the Cubs page is a report with photos from the District Quidditch competition which was won by 1st Woosehill.
* A team of Scouts from 1st Finchampstead's Friday Troop won the Backwards Cooking Competition. Have a look on the Scouts page to see the full results.
* Dave Taylor of the Active Support section is organsing a walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal from Kintbury to Newbury on 31st July. Why not join them? More....
* The District's Explorer Scouts will be holding their annual cardboard canoe race on the afternoon of 18th July. Teams of two paddlers are invited and Scouts aged 13 plus are also invited to take part. In fact, last year, it was a Scout team that won! More....
* A date has been set for Jaffa Cake. What is Jaffa Cake? It's an overnight incident hike for Explorer Scouts, older Scouts and equivalent aged Guides and Rangers set in West Berkshire. It will be taking place overnight on 11th/12th September and teams as well as leaders are invited to take part or help organise the event. Are you up to it? More....
* The Wokingham 100 Wet and Dry evening for leaders and adults associated with Scouting in Wokingham District will take place at the Waterside Centre on Friday 25th June. More....
* Hazel Gambles, a Scout from 3rd Wokingham has won a place with the Berkshire contingent travelling to Sweden next year for the next World Scout Jamboree. Now all she needs to do is to raise money to be able to go! As part of her efforts, she is running a caption competition. All you have to do is make up a caption for this photograph. Each entry will cost 50p and they should be given to her in person, or put through her door (don't post them, please). If you don't know where she lives, ask the webmaster! You can have as many goes as you can afford, but the closing date is 22nd July. Don't forget to include a name, address and phone number with your entry! The prize? A BIG bar of chocolate!
* The 2010 Annual General Meeting and Review was held at 3rd Wokingham's headquarters on 9th June. Our photo shows Steph presenting the summary of events over the last 12 months and later Andy showed us how Scouting was changing and how Wokingham was adapting to those changes. Our Chairman, Roger, presented the figures showing how money was being spent within the District.
* The site statistics for May have been added to the Site Administration page. No wallpapers as there seemed little interest in these, but if you want one for June, why not email the webmaster at info@wokinghamscouts.org.uk They have already been created.
* The Centenary Camp (celebrating 100 years of Scouting in the Wokingham area) took place during the Bank Holiday weekend, so here's a fresh link to the Wokingham 100 page as well as a link to the Facebook page. If you got any good photos during the weekend, why not send them to the webmaster at info@wokinghamscouts.org.uk or put them on that Facebook page? The first photos from David Barnes, our media man, and Mark Smith (Akela at 1st Emmbrook) are up on the  Recent Events page. But do send me any good ones you have, or post them on the Facebook site. Just click on the logo. There is also a collection of photos on YouTube. Ruth has been handed a "bikehut" cycle glove of adult size after the camp - any claimers contact ADC Cubs.
* The County AGM will be on 29th June. More....
* A few Adult Training Validation evenings are being planned. 17th June at 1st Wokingham and 15th September & 9th November at locations to be notified. Child Protection Workshops are planned for 12th June at 1st Finchampstead and 20th July at 1st Woosehill. A Workshop is also planned for 20th October, but the location is yet to be announced. To book a place, click here.
* The District paraded to St Paul's church on 25th April to celebrate the patron saint of Scouting. The service was conducted by Father John Connell, the rector of St Pauls, but the sermon was given by District Manager Andy McBain. He asked "What starts green, goes into black and white and ends up white?" by way of an introduction into a chat about "change". He held up a bottle of milk to illustrate his answer. There are one or two photographs on the Recent Events page and we have added a few more since this page was first published thanks to David Barnes. During the service, Steph and Andy took the opportunity to hand out a number of awards to Leaders: Having completed their leader training, Sandra Binyon, Niall Collier, Greg Sehringer and Ann Mitchell were presented with their Wood Beads. Mark Smith of 1st Emmbrook and Peter Tanner of 3rd Wokingham were presented with The Chief Scout's  Commendation for good service and a number of long service awards were presented. Notably Martin Wilson, of 1st  Emmbrook received a certificate for thirty years' service - only thirty Martin? Our congratulations go to all who were recognised for their contributions to Scouting for young people.
* Congratulations to the team of three adults from 1st Finchampstead who won the Three Towers Hiking Competition Classic event in a time of 11 hours and 22 minutes. More....
* The annual Scouting Census take place at the beginning of each year and the 2010 figures show that, for the third year in succession, our numbers grew. We know that there is no shortage of young people who want to join and the good news is that the omens for next year are also good. The end of April saw the opening of a new Beaver Colony in Arborfield, the first stage in resurrecting the Group that used to meet there many years ago. The Leader team is already in place and its new members will start training over the Easter period. The Group Executive, who form the administrative backup to the uniformed sections has also been identified and the next stage is to start a Cub Pack there.
* There's a proposal to hold a Gang Show 0n 15th October. Want to take part? Have a look here.
* Planning a group day out? There are a few links to places that might be of interest here. Some years ago Nottingham and Leicester Scouts set up an organisation to help with group bookings which still operates. They have proved very helpful in the past and can also help get a good discount on the entrance tickets. You can find it at www.youthfundays.co.uk.
* Thinking about an activity at the Wokingham Waterside Centre? You may find this booklet useful. Tony has also produced this excellent booklet on expedition planning, but before you print it off, it is 60 pages long! You can also find copies at the Activities page.
Should you have any news stories or photographs, please forward them to the webmaster, Colin Smith at info@wokinghamscouts.org.uk. Material may be e-mailed,  or put on a CD-ROM or even in the post! There are a few ideas about taking photographs here.
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