District  Newsletter.        Sir Fynwy                             March.           issue 03.09

·         Dates for your diary,

Census   There was  an increase in the total numbers from 530 to 586, so Monmouthshire is TOP of the Pops in the percentage increase. My thanks to those who completed on line and did not have to be chased, due to those who had to be chased we were the last to have our census approved by Area.

To comply with  POR all Groups should forward their record of all members to the District secretary, to date 75 percent have not. My thanks to those who have.

Correction to the District Diary  Please delete May 17 th Evan Thomas Challenge.

Climbing Course.

Following the success of the Hill walking Course, and the request from the young at heart Leaders the District Commissioner has arranged a Climbing course at the Dolygear Old Station Pontsticill Merthyr Tydfil  for the week end of the  21 th /22 th  March, The cost around £17 plus the Hostelry   meal  again good value for money , contact Chris. On 01600 715014 to book a place.

( This course is fully  booked )

Membership Fee,s    ( Reminder ) What will the Membership cost for 2009. This was set at the Executive meeting  District  £ 5-20.  Area  £ 3-50. Welsh Scout Council £2-50. Scout Association £ 19-10. Total due  £ 30-30   less 50 p.  if  all Groups and Districts  have paid before the date set by the Association

and the District.  Accounts have been sent to All Groups by the Treasurer. Please pay promptly. 

Group Accounts,, A request from the Treasurer, Brian Adams   ..  Please would all Group Treasurers forward a copy of the Group  accounts to him, so he can comply with  the rules in POR.

District Directory.   This has been circulated anyone who has not received a copy please contact me by e-mail on don.norris@btinternet.com 

Where do I go for Support.     When we think of training our  first thoughts are , Leaders we must get them support , and encourage them to complete Modules as soon as possible . The section that is missed and little thought is given to it,  is the Group Executive,/ Trustee’s these are important roles.  Group Chairman/ Secretary/ Treasurer/ and Members has your role been explained, or were you just told , we meet once a month to check  all well,  just take notes,  if you can do the house hold account , a Scouting one is easy .keep record of the ins and outs.. Would group members in Monmouthshire like to know more regarding your  roles, if so  please contact Chris Munslow 01600 715014, or myself  Don Norris  01291 625561, if there are one or two , or with 11 groups there could thirty plus , we could arrange an informal chat, or if required  we could arrange a training session, also information is available on Scout base.

Hope to hear from you .

Dafda.      There was not a spare seat in the house, the event was well attended , and strange for Scouting, run to time , with no over runs, which shows that the organising team worked well together ,and must be congratulated . Their choice of Tilley Bailey as the speaker went down well and was an excellent and proved very popular. I am informed that the event will take place on the

20 th February 2010.  Well done to the organisers for working well together.  

Operation  Nightmare   The event that so many have asked for has been arranged at a new venue, that is suitable for all, There is a building that can be used as the HQ. and  there is plenty of room for camping for those that are under canvas or may have to take a caravan. Having read the itinerary this event is good value for money . One thing to remember this area was once the hunting domain of Royalty ,and  in the days of Oliver Cromwell battles were fought , so  often one can hear the  Howls of battle on the Chase. 

Badges.   How are you finding the new badge ordering system,?  Have you had any challenges. It would be encouraging for Richard to have your comments so that the system can be amended if you are not happy with it.  

Camping Permits.   The camping season is fast approaching. individuals who wish to obtain a permit must make arrangements with Steve Rogers. Many others who have had their permits  for five years, should have them renewed, most will run out in June as these were given to individuals who applied for exemption and signed by Jeremy White when the team reviewed all the applications. 

World Jamboree 2011  I understand that the Troop Leaders have be selected and the assistants have also been interviewed. Date of Jam  Perhaps now is the time for Groups and Districts to pass the information to the Young People so that they can start planning and raising the money to go. ( In some cases Grants could be available )

Many members of the Scout Network often say I wish I could go, so, why not. Monmouthshire very often take the lead ,so why not apply as a Network to join the service team.   ? Would this be a first.?

Cub Scout Update.  March 14 th Swimming Newport Sports village 3 to 5 pm. June 6 /7 th Evan Thomas Challenge at Tudor Cule ,age 9 ½ to 11 10 am Sat to 12 pm Sun ( Full details to follow.) July 4 th Football at Mounton House Chepstow. at 2 pm .This will include Beavers All must be under 11 on the day.  ( More details next month )

District  Newsletter.        Sir Fynwy                              Feb.    issue 02.09

·         Dates for your diary,

Climbing Course.

Following the success of the Hill walking Course, and the request from the young at heart Leaders the District Commissioner has arranged a Climbing course at the Dolygear Old Station Pontsticill Merthyr Tydfil  for the week end of the  21 th /22 th  March, The cost around £17 plus the Hostelry   meal  again good value for money , contact Chris. On 01600 715014 to book a place.

Membership Fee,s    What will the Membership cost for 2009. This was set at the Executive meeting  District  £ 5-20.  Area  £ 3-50. Welsh Scout Council £2-50. Scout Association £ 19-10. Total due  £ 30-30   less 50 p.  if  all Groups and Districts  have paid before the date set by the Association

and the District. Which will be the 31st March 2009. To District.

That Winter Camp 

When I took up the role of ADC (Scouts) I thought lets do something different and go to Gilwell Winter Camp.   6 Leaders and 21 Scouts from Shirenewton, Usk, Gilwern and Raglan attended the camp 9/11 January.  We faced extreme weather conditions the night temperatures were well into the minus centigrade.  The temperature rose to -3.5 on Saturday!  We kept a fire going to keep warm and to cook on when the gas froze. There were plenty of activities for the scouts to do 3G swing, shooting, archery, climbing and ropes, dodgems, zip wire and numerous more.  In the evening there was a wide game, campfire, disco and 2 cinemas.  Despite the weather it was an enjoyable camp and one I would certainly like to do again!!!    Chris Davy Thanks Chris. ( PS What about a story on the chance meeting with the Chief Scout, or was it a cardboard cut out.?)

District Directory.   This has been circulated anyone who has not received a copy please contact me by e-mail on don.norris@btinternet.com  Allen has sent a copy of names and details to all  Please give him the updated details.

Funding.   Reported by the FREE PRESS. Cash  is waiting for you.

A grant scheme run by Monmouthshire County Council  , aimed at assisting  projects within the community, is open to organisations or groups to apply for funding.

The Community Economic Development Scheme has helped local community groups in achieving their projects that address a varity of local needs and issues. The grants provide assistance to the public sector and not for profit organisations serving Monmouthshire, and are available for capital and revenue projects.  Funding is available from APRIL 2009 to MARCH 2010.

Applicants should contact the County Council Rural Community Action or the Gwent Association  of Voluntary Organisations, if they are seeking support for projects, prior to making an application.

A surgery day will be held on Wednesday, February 11 2009 at the Sessions House in Usk where individuals groups can discuss their projects – they need to book and appointment by contacting either  Liz Thomas on 01633 644875 or Bethan  Gibbens on 01633 644840

AGM’s    The Bulwark Group always takes the lead on being the first Group to hold their AGM, and inform the District Teams for Scouting, and the Executive for management, so then they can arrange their diary’s thus giving them an opportunity to attend . Could I have the dates of Group AGM’s to enter in the District Diary .

Children and Young People  - Funding     The Gwent Shrievalty  Trust activity  A section that could apply to Scouting  “ Promoting good citizenship and providing a springboard for employment ( Explorer scout and Net work. ) Down load an application form or contact the trust administrator on 01495 745492 or joanne.everson@gwent.pnn.police.uk for more ionformation.

UnLtd Sport Relief, Supports Young people who want to create a positive change in their communities,( again   Explorer Scouts and Net work ) For Information  UnLtd  Spots Relief. Development Mangers for Wales Mandi Everson 02920 484811 (M) 0787 2178921. amandaeverson@unltd.org.uk

Action Camp for Young people.                                Information from Action Camp, Unit 12 , Western Industrial Estate Caerphilly. This can be for three days action packed fun and games.

Where do I go for Support.     How many of our members use the internet, ??  ( I must admit that I rarely look at web sites ) for I would rather read POR or ask the Information centre, but there is a lot of information on Scout base, and on the special events offered b y Scouting . Training support  is there for the asking,also ask the Local Training manager and the training advisors.

Dafta.   The details are out, and much hard work has gone into arranging this event so please give it your support.,  Requests for tickets and your choice of menu should be with the District Commissioner no later than the 31 st Jan 2009, cost per head of £ 15, must accompany your request..  Smart dress code is required for the evening and I suspect that many will wear black tie.  For those who like to trip the light fantastic there will be dancing from about  9-30 to 11-30 pm.

Badges.  Our Badge Secretary  Richard Quick is doing a fine job  and must be congratulated for he deals with all requests that come by e-mail , telephone or on the new setup , which in turn gives all Leaders a quick response. But there is still a fault, Yes it is the Leaders, many settle their account before they have the badges, other on receipt of invoice, but there are many that fail to send in a cheque to cover their account. Yes some accounts were 12 months overdue, others 6 months.

Richard has to complete his accounts so those who have accounts to settle please do so NOW... Next issue. About 10 th  March  with comments on the census, up or down ?