85th Greenock & District Scout Group
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News Archive

Gang Show 2010

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With 60 of us in the audience on Wednesday and 29 more either on, or working behind the stage, Gang Show 2010 was a busy event for the 85th. Well done to all our cast members who took part, including the Little Men, Hornpipe, Aladdin and a few of his villagers and soldiers, Prince Charming and Andy H's tremendous performance in the  "Annie's Song" duet with Johanna.

The event brought praise from a wide range of dignitaries from politicians, Councillors, National Commissioners, Gang Show teams from across Scotland as well as the Queen's Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire,.

Pictures of the event are available now at the official Gang Show facebook page. Our visit the Group Gallery to see pictures of just the 85th contingent.

Watch out for the cast events which will be arranged of the coming weeks. November 2010


 

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Wafers and caramel were baked in one area before being put together into the caramel wafers we buy in the shops. And each wrapping machine can wrap up to 600 biscuits minute. Did you know there are extra large Caramel Wafers made for selling abroad? The Scouts were delighted to sample some of the biscuits as they were made fresh from the production line. Thanks to Bonnie, Janet and all the staff at Tunnocks who made the Scouts feel so welcome and made sure they had a fantastic time.

There are some more photos in the Scout Gallery. November 2010


Tunnocks Visit

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After 2 years eagerly sitting on the waiting list, we were finally able to take a group of older Scouts on a tour of the Tunnocks Factory in Uddingston in November. The factory operates 24hrs a day producing the teacakes, caramel wafers and the other products that we all love, so it was in full production when we were taken around the shop floors. We were able to watch close-up as the teacakes were transformed from biscuits, marshmallows and chocolate into teacakes for home and abroad.

District Parade 2011

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Well done to everyone who turned out for District Parade in Greenock this year. A total of 130 members of the 85th Marched the route to church in Nelson Street where a new format of service was laid on for the first time. Our very own Group Scout Leader Shirley Cairney was appointed Depute District Commissioner on the day.
ps. Can any parents who managed to take photos please email what you can to Andy Yarr. June 2011


District Parade 2010

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Well done everybody for such a fantastic turn out at District Parade this year. You all looked extremely smart, and the Group received several comments to how well turned out you were. And thanks again to all parents who turned out your youngsters and came out to support them on the parade. It's great that we managed to beat the rain for the second year running, and we're looking forward the new snippet of news that the DC gave us during the church service. Cubs and Scouts can find a few snaps of the parade in the Group Gallery. June 2010


Glenkin Mountainbiking and Kayaking

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Heading outdoors is great any time of the year, but it’s a rare treat when the weather is mostly sunny, and 16 of our Scouts and Explorers got just that when they went for an activity weekend of Mountain Biking and Kayaking last weekend.

The group cycled from Inverkip to Glenkin near Dunoon and spent Saturday cycling around the forest tracks before squeezing in some rock climbing later in the evening. They got a chance to top up their tans on another short cycle ride to Loch Eck on Sunday morning before kayaking there in the afternoon. Well done to all those who took part, especially the younger Scouts who have earned their Adventure challenge over the weekend.

You can find all our photos and a video clip in our Scout Gallery. We do recommend that you take a look at these pictures, Joe has excelled himself and there's some stunning shots among them. Remember each time you order prints or enlargements, we are given more space for more photos. The poster size pictures are very good quality too, and great for putting up in the bedroom (and no, we don't get any commission). May 2010


New Online Payment Facility - Another first!

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We've had a look around and we think the 85th are the first Scout Group in Scotland, if not the UK to offer this as a regular facility to Parents.

Did you know many of our leaders also have kids in the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts or Explorers? We know it's a nuisance trying to find cash around the house to pay for that camp or for that trip on a weekday night.

So to make life easier, we've come up with a new online payment facility on this website. It uses PayPal so you can be confident the transaction is secure, and it uses PayPal's preferential charity rate, so the admin charge is pretty small. You child's leader will be emailed with the confirmation of your payment. For those bigger payments, we've also included a 'Spread Payments' facility so that you can spread payments like annual fees or summer camp over a number of months.

To use the payment facility, click here. We hope you find it easy and handy to use. April 2010

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We are delighted to announce that no less than 4 members of the 85th - 2 scouts and 2 of our Explorers - have been selected to join the West Region contingent for the World Jamboree in Sweden in 2011. It is a big honour for so many members from our Group to be selected given the tight competition for places, and a reflection on the caliber of the boys involved. Well done to each of Callum, Lloyd, Andrew and Niall who we are told by the selectors have been a credit to the 85th.

Callum and Lloyd were part of our Scottish National Explorer Competition winning team this year and have both had a strong personal influence in the success of our Explorer unit in its early years. Andrew and Niall are Patrol Leaders in our Wemyss Bay and Inverkip

troops and rarely miss a chance to get in on the action. Andrew not only helps in our Cub sections, but also helps at Cubs in Rothesay as well.


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Glenkin 2009

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Now that the Glenkin farmhouse and barn in Dunoon are open once more, we were delighted to be able to return with the Scouts and Explorers for their Christmas camp this year.

The Scouts worked on the Navigator badge as well as their Outdoor and Outdoor Plus badges over the weekend, learning mapping symbols and navigating around the area before returning to cook their own evening meals on stoves.

Well done to everyone who survived the quiz (pictured left) and it's penalties. Congratulations to the winners of the Chicken Shoot.

 

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Unfortunately the Red Bull Race had to be canceled at short notice due

to the racing plane involved flying away over the treetops into the forests of Dunoon. We'll see if we can bring that activity back for a future camp after a bit more pilot practice.

Thanks to our new up and coming leaders Jordan, Mark, Alan and Graeme who helped run the camp. We hope to see more of them in the future.

Pictures of the camp can be found here, and a short video can be found here.

Note. We have noticed we are getting visitors to the website who are actually searching for Glenkin with a view to making a booking. To help those visitors we can confirm that, as of March 2009, Glenkin has been open for business again under a new partnership agreement, and bookings can be made as before via Scott Bryson at BrysonSM@aol.com


Mark Muir Challenge

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Congratulations to all Explorers who took part in - and completed - this years first Mark Muir Challenge.This challenge badge and competition has been organised by the 85th and leaders from the 32nd in tribute to our friend Mark Muir who would have been thoroughly embarrassed to see his name on a badge

 

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This competition weekend was without a doubt one of the most demanding challenges to be laid down to the Explorers of Greenock & District in recent years. You can be sure that anyone you see wearing the badge has earned the right to be proud of it. Those who earned it climbed 4 mountains in the Arrochar Alps on the Saturday and camped out on those mountains before returning to complete a series of rafting challenges in the D aff Dam on the Sunday. Thanks to Karen, and the rest of Mark's family and friends who joined us during the weekend and presented the first badges and trophy. Photos are available here.


Wow! 3 in a Row!

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No pressure on the Scout section, but the Explorers have just put the icing on the cake by completing the hat trick of trophies, After a fantastic effort of timed hiking and competing in challenges in Inverkip and the surrounding area, they have won this year's Scottish National Explorer Competition! This follows both the Beavers and the Cub sections each winning their District competitions the previous weekend.The Explorer patrol fought off stiff competition from Units from as near as Greenock, to as far afield as Hawick, Edinburgh, Inverness, and Banff and Buchan to secure the trophy. They have been congratulated by staff at the event on their determination and their exceptionally strong teamwork. This is the first time the National competition has been based at Everton and the success of the event should put the District in good stead for hosting similar events in the future. Congratulations to all involved, and we hope the sleeping bags you each got along with your trophy keep you warm in the years to come. Photos are now available here.


Annual District Parade 2009

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Well done to everyone who turned out so smartly for the sunniest Parade this District has seen for many a year. This year not only saw our new Wemyss Bay Scout Section take part for the first time, but it also saw our Cubs wearing their new kilts for the first time, and our Explorers show off their new ceremonial flag as well. This year's parade was held in Gourock to join in the 6th G&D (1st Gourock's) centenary celebrations. Congratulations to everyone at Col Darroch's Own - thriving as strong as ever at 100 years young.
Shirley our Group Scout Leader would like to thank every Beaver, Cub, Scout, Explorer and Leader for joining the parade on such a glorious afternoon, and not forgetting every parent, brother, sister, cousin, auntie, uncle and grandparent for lining the streets as we marched past.
We've posted some photos on the usual site here


Group Camp 2009

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Phew! What a weekend! Did anyone spot the rain let up once on Saturday? It's a real shame we had to call off events for the younger sections, the weather was just too persistent. Even so, we did manage to get some great photos of the older sections as they persevered against the weather. It's great what you can do with a torch and a slow exposure camera. Well done to all who managed to survive a tough camp. You can look forward to the Itchy Midgie camp and hopefully a much drier weekend.

 

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As usual we have posted lots of photos and made them available here. You can order prints, etc. from this site. We can recommend the poster size photos for your bedroom - these turn out quite sharp. If you try to order an enlarged print but the original isn't high enough resolution, the site will warn you. The Scout Group don't make any money out of this, but every time someone places an order we are given more storage space to upload more photos. There's some videos here as well!

IT Badge

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On the 18th of April 2009, 6 scouts took part in a 6 hour course to complete and gain stage 3 of their IT Badge.The course took place at The Inverkip Pavilion. During the course, they covered photo editing, photo optimisation effects, how to become administrators of the troop website and lots lots more.Website editing included making sure that absolutely every single article looked pretty much the same with the same layout.They all did exceptionally well in completing their course.  Well done to all of the scouts that took part as they all gained their IT badge. 


Car Stickers

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Over the next week everyone should receive one of our new 85th Car Stickers. This is your chance to WIN one of special prizes. Over the next few weeks our trained spotters will be recording the registration numbers of cars displaying the stickers in their rear windows. If we identify your car's registration plate you could win one of the prizes of the week. You can ask for a sticker for your 2nd family car if you like. There's a bonus prize if you're the first person to name 7 of the people you can see in the sticker. Hint: The answer's closer than you might think.

Winners:

Congratulations to the below car registrations. You have been spotted. Please claim your prize from your leader. This list is updated weekly.

KY55 XNE
SC53 RNO
KV04 KMA
GN51 WWA
SE07 SPU
NV05 WMU
SH54 MSZ
KL53 DZG
SH52 YMR
SA05 UNL
SO54 AEJ
SF05 GAX


Winter Wonderland

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We usually expect the weather in this country to be unpredictable and foul, but our recent trip hillwalking showed Scotland at it's spectacular best!

Two hillwalking parties - one of Scouts and the other of Explorers set off up The Cobbler and Ben Narnain with the promise of a fine day ahead of them and that's exactly what they got. The snow line was low following the recent snowy weather we have had and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Those clouds they did see were lingering as a mist filling the glens below. Off the footpath, the snow was knee deep powder - another rarity. The Scouts got to practice wearing crampons although the snow wasn't suitable for practising ice axes yet.

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There'll be plenty of time for that over the coming winter if the snow keeps up. To see some of the photos (you don't want to miss these!) visit our photobox album. Feel free to order prints - or even poster-size prints which cost around £10 and are good quality. We are allocated more photo space whenever someone makes a purchase.
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Fundraiser for Mark's Challenge

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The Explorer's spent the weekend early in October distributing programmes at Kip Marina's annual Boat Show to raise unit funds and to set up a new fund in support of an annual event in tribute to Mark Muir, our friend and young leader who died recently. Ideas for the event are being discussed, but given that Mark was a 'Double Everest' holder - meaning he climbed twice the height of Everest on Scottish mountains within the course of a year - front runners include a hillwalking challenge. October 2008

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New Wemyss Bay Troop

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If you've come to find out about the new Wemyss Bay Scout Troop, then welcome!On this site you will find information about our other sections in Wemyss Bay and Inverkip. We already have Beavers and Cubs in Wemyss Bay, and Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts in Inverkip. Have a browse around the Group History, each sections' own areas, the archives and the various photo galleries. Or visit the New Scouts section within the Scouts area for more detailed detailed info.

If you're interested in our other sections, visit the About Us page where you're find information on the age ranges, or our Contact Us page where your very welcome to contact out leaders with questions. September 2008


Austria 2008

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Four of our Explorers have just returned from the Greenock District trip to Austria. Over 50 Scouts and Explorers from around the District traveled by coach to Austria at the start of July to stay in the idyllic Alpine village of Stanzach in the Lecht Valley. They enjoyed Hillwalking, White Water Rafting, Canyoning, Castles and much more. 

 

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Thanks to David Storey, Mark Sinnamon and team for organising the trip. Check the District website here for a gallery of photos or here for Callum's photos. ps. 3 of them got dropped off at our own summer camp at Great Tower on the journey back. Now that's dedication! pps. Good luck to Darren Percival who will complete the Hat Trick by joining the International Jamborette at Blair Atholl next week. September 2008

Parachuting

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Three Explorer’s from our Ardgowan Explorer Unit have successfully completed parachute jumps last week. Jordan, Graeme and Mark each jumped tandem from 10’000ft and enjoyed a 30 second free fall before their chutes were deployed. The boys had pitched their tents and camped out on the airfield and waited all weekend for a break in the weather before finally completing their jumps between 5pm and 6pm on Sunday evening. They’re now planning a return trip in August which may even see them earning their Parachutist badges. Anyone who would like to join them (including parents or other family over 16yrs and under 14st) should contact Andy Yarr using the details in Contact Us. More pictures and videos are available in the Explorer Gallery.

Auchengillan

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Well done to the 25 Scouts and Explorers who braved the weather in our weekend Orienteering camp at Auchengillan. The camp doubled as a Patrol Training Camp and boys have learned some new camping skills in preparation for Summer Camp in Great Tower as well as completing the 2nd of 3 Orienteering events towards the Orienteers badge. Look out for more camps and orienteering events in the coming weeks. There are a few pictures in the Scout Gallery.

Halloween

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What can you say about Halloween? Nothing much that you don't already know. But we can post a scary picture instead. Hope you enjoy it.

Leader Hillwalking Authorisations

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We are delighted to announce that Alan Fielding, Carrie Gibson and Andy Yarr have all renewed and upgraded their Hillwalking Authorisations for the next 5 years. Each is now able to lead a party of Scouts on any hill in the UK in either Summer or in Winter conditions within reasonable safety conditions. In addition to that, each is now qualified as a 'Hill Supervisor' and is able to coordinate multiple parties on the same hill. We understand we are now probably among the most highly qualified scout hillwalking leaders in the country. Supported by the arrival of the new District Minibus, we are now looking forward to arranging many hillwalking trips in the future.

Orienteering

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Congratulations to all boys who took part in the Orienteering day at Mugdock Country Park on Saturday. We divided the groups into mixed older and younger Scouts to give the younger boys a taste of the Medium level course. For those who are interested we now need to take part in 2 more organised events to earn the Orienteering Badge. Watch out for details of the next trip coming soon. See some pictures in the Scout Gallery.

Great Tower Summer Camp 2008

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All Scouts and Explorers look out this week for your registration form for this year's Summer Camp at Great Tower campsite in the Lake District. An advance party has just visited the site and planned our programme for the week. The site and surrounding area has new activities including high ropes and low ropes as well as Kayaking, Caving, Climbing, Mountain Biking and some hillwalking.

Summer camp is a great chance for new and younger scouts to learn how to look after themselves from getting themselves ready for action every morning to preparing and cooking their own meals. Older scouts develop their leadership skills as they run their patrol site with help from Leaders and Explorers. No-one ever forgets their Scout Summer Camps.

The date has unfortunately had to change from our original planned date due to a new partnership agreement Great Towers has with an activity company. This camp will now take place from Sat 5th - Sat 12th July.

A few of the photos taken from the advance trip can be see at the Scout Gallery.


Burns Supper

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The Scouts and Explorers are holding our annual Burns Supper in the Church Hall on Friday February 15th. The evening will be a traditional supper cooked by our professional chefs (really) followed by entertainment. To book, you tickets contact any Scout leader Details are in the Contact Us page. BYOB.

Bag Packing

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Well done to all Scouts and Explorer Scouts who helped raise funds on Saturday by packing bags at Morrison's Supermarket in Greenock. Morrison's have kindly allowed us to provide this service again this year following our success with the venture in the past. The shop was busier than ever before and after an exhausting two shifts for all involved there was a whopping £1685.73 raised on the day for our funds. We are now looking forward to our follow up event on Saturday 22nd March.

85th Hits the News Again

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Have you read the latest issue of Scottish Scout News? Two of our Explorers have made the front page after their photos have been used on the new SHQ Display Trailer to promote Scouting at major outdoor events. We can't name them here but you know who they are. The trailer made its debut at the National Conference last month. Look out for it at a major event soon, and see what you can aspire to. Check out the full story on the Scottish Scout Headquarters site here.

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Group BBQ

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Congratulations to all who took part in the Group BBQ at Lunderston Bay. Hopefully you left well fed and tired out. Visit the Group Gallery to see some snaps of the evening.

Christmas Panto 2007

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Christmas is getting closer and we are delighted to announce our Group Night Out will be to our own local Arts Guild’s Christmas Panto – Cinderella!

The Greenock Players show is a big hit every year and is sure to be great fun for everyone from the youngest Beaver to the oldest Explorer and Leaders.

We have booked no less than 110 seats for the show on Thursday 6th December – so let’s get every single one filled!

Boys should meet in uniform (waist-up) at the theatre at 7pm prompt. The cost is just £5. You can print your own permission slip here.

Double Bronze

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Congratulations to the Explorers and Scouts who each won 3rd place in their own category during the Hardie Webster camping competition in September. Ten scouts and four explorers took part in the weekend and showed just how well they can camp and cook (parents take note - let the boys cook for you for a change). The 2 Scout patrols are pictured here - for more details visit the Scouts News section. 


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Fordell Firs Winter Weekend

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Twenty Scouts, Explorers and Leaders braved the winter cold for a weekend at Fordell Firs in December. This is the first time the troop have been to Fordell, which houses the National Scout Activity Centre as well as the SHQ offices, in almost 10 years. Although the Explorers visited it earlier this year.

 

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For the weekend the centre was coated in a blanket of untouched snow over 1 foot deep and we were the first troop to get to run through it throwing snowballs.

Activities included caving, pioneering, igloo building, archery, crate climbing and a grand snowball fight helped by slingshots as well as the catapults we built as pioneering projects. Everyone also worked towards missing parts of their Outdoor and Outdoor Plus challenges including cooking their meals outside on stoves. Four of the group deserve a special mention as they pulled off a first for the 85th by staying overnight in one of the igloos.

Thanks to Bob and the staff at Fordell who manned some of the bases and made sure the Scouts had a great time! Photos are available in the Scout Gallery.  December 2010


Group Camp 2010

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The sun shone over Everton at the end of May as the 85th held a record breaking Group Fun Camp with more campers than we have ever had before, all in the same place at one time. The new activities at Everton helped make a fantastic weekend for no less than 157 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders.

Every age group had a go at Crate Climbing, Zip Wire, Slimy Slide, Car Pulling, Pillow Fighting, Human Table Football and even a dazzling glo-stick fueled night-game in the forest. In amongst the fun, we managed to assemble 5 mountain bikes which we have donated to  a very worthy community project.

 

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Thanks to Boston Scientific who kindly donated £100 to help make that project possible.

We are now looking forward to some more camps within our individual sections before we come together again in a few weeks for the Annual Group Barbeque. Here's hoping that's another fantastic day out.

As usual you can find a couple of videos and all the photo's in the Group Gallery. Once again we recommend that you take a look, there's some keepers in there that will make a great bedroom poster for some of you. May 2010



Archive Video


May 2010

Blair Atholl 2010

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Following on from our 4 Scouts and Explorers who have been selected for the Sweden Jamboree in 2011, we are delighted to announce that 4 of our Group have been selected for the Blair Atholl Jamborette in 2010. This event has attracted Scouts from more than 50 countries to Scotland every 2 years since 1946. Congratulations to Lloyd, Niall, Jack and Ewan on being selected for the event. Lloyd and Niall are also going to the the larger Swedish Jamboree next year. January 2010

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Scouts Global Challenge - Russia

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As our Scouts in both Inverkip and Wemyss Bay know, we have been linking up with some Scout troops in Chelyabinsk in Russia for our Global Challenge badge. So far we have compiled a list of questions for the Russians to answer, and we have also submitted a list of questions about the UK which we want them to find out about. Ultimately we plan to present to each other what we have learned about one another.

 

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The next stage for us is to research the questions we are to find out about Russia. These questions can be found here. Each scout who wants to earn their Global Challenge should choose 3 questions (or more if you like) at random and mail in their answer (send to andy.yarr@virgin.net). Provide pictures if you can for the presentation. We'll pick the best answers. All answers should be submitted by Friday 8th January. Some of the questions may not be perfect grammar, but the meaning is clear enough. Remember our Russian friends speak English a lot better than you can speak Russian.

IT  Badge Stage 3

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On Sunday the 15th of November, 4 scouts from the 85th Scout Group did some work for their IT badge. This Scout is working very hard on making an article about his experience doing the IT badge. The badge work included editing photos that were taken on the hill Beinn Dhubcraig, and finding out how to edit this web site and some of the rules and standards used in it.

More courses have been arranged over the next 2 weeks to give more Scouts the chance to take part.


Remembrance Day Parade 2009

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This year's Armistice day parade was held on Sunday the 8th of November. A total of 100 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers came to this event. Everyone met at the church hall along with the Guides and councillors before parading into Inverkip Church. The parade went into the church for one hour where they took part in the service, sang hymns, heard bible readings and heard about people that had died during the two world wars. They then marched to the Cenotaph at Inverkip beach where another short service was held and the wreaths were laid.

Thanks to all Group members and their parents for such a smart and well behaved turnout once again.


Minibus Expedition 2009

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We are delighted to make available all the photos and a few videos from this year's Scout and Explorer Scout Minibus Expedition. 22 Scouts and Leaders traveled around the country from Arrochar to Aviemore camping wild and playing hard for a week. We camped at Butterbridge, Victoria Bridge, Glen Etive, Steall Falls, Ben Nevis and the Badaguish centre in Aviemore. We walked up The Cobbler, Buchaille Etive Mor and Ben Nevis. We kayaked on Loch Lomond and went boating there too. We saw the wallabies there. We golfed in Fort William and took a swim as well. We visited the Landmark Centre and tried out clay pigeon shooting. Well done to everyone for managing to complete a full week of scouting at its toughest!!!


Cubs Secure the Gordon Kerr Trophy

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We are delighted to announce that the Cubs have won the Gordon Kerr Trophy this year. The Cubs had a great time with activities including a Battle Bar, a bouncy castle and Sumo Wrestling. The trophy has special significance to the 85th as Gordon Kerr was a life long Scout with the 85th, being responsible for keeping our history safe by writing many of our Troop's diaries through the late 40's before becoming Cub Scout Master in the 50's and growing the cubs for more years than most of us can remember. His wife Mary will be especially pleased we have won the trophy. More photos can be found at the District web site here.


Beavers Win District Beaver Day 2009

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Congratulations to our Beavers who have won Greenock & District's Jean King Trophy this year. The Beavers had a great day competing with 300 Beavers from around the District. They tried their hand at climbing on Jacob's ladder, Sumo Wrestling, Skittles, Snakes and Ladders, crate climbing, parachute games, fishing, and lots lots more. 

 

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They even found time to learn some new songs at a fun campfire. The winning team is pictured showing off their trophy. You can find more photos of the event at the District web site here. Thanks to all parents and Beavers who took part in a great day out.



Kayaking

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A group of our Explorers tried out kayaking for the first time last weekend off Inverkip beach. The boys braved the cold wind to practise their strokes as they paddled around the bay. They even found time to spend learning how to capsize and trying out rescue techniques on each other. If you're in the Scouts and you want a go yourself, watch out out for more chances to try it out including a session during this year's Minibus Expedition.

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Burns Supper Camp

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Want to see the pictures and videos from the Burns Supper camp? You can find them right here for the photos and here for the videos. Well done to everyone who took part. Hopefully you've dried out from the river run, your nerves have settled from Jacob's ladder, your ego's recovered from being water-ballooned, your appetite's come back after your feast and you've had a sound night's sleep after your bivvying. As always parents can order prints of the photo's from photobox. We don't get any payment for this, but we do get increased storage space for more photos every time someone places an order.

 

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Want some more camps? The next large scale camp is Group Camp at Everton on 9th May. Watch this space for details! 

ps. Apologies to the faint hearted for the 'Alan Woops'  photo in the photobox album. I can only assure you that it's not how it looks. We hope.


Christmas Hillwalking Weekend

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Congratulations to everyone who took part in our Christmas Hillwalking trip this year. 3 parties spent 2 days on the hills around Crianlarich Youth Hostel including Ben Vorlich, Beinn Odhar and Stob Choire an Odhair. Here's a couple of the first photos to arrive (anyone with any more please mail them to Andy Yarr for uploading). You can visit the full gallery of photos here. There's some video clips of playing on the ice here.

 

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For those who prefer their activities a little less cold and not so hilly, remember we have the pioneering weekend at Everton on 10th Jan. This is a camp which the Explorers are organising for the Scouts. We have Everton Lodge booked for the night. The camp will count towards your Nights Away badge, your Zodiac Challenge and your pioneering badge. Details are below.

Gang Show Success 2008

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Congratulations to everyone who took part in or helped at this year's Gang Show. The show was a complete sellout for every performance from Tuesday through to the two performances on Saturday and dignitaries ranging from the Queen's Lord Lieutenant in Scotland to the Lord Provost and the Chief Commissioner for Scottish Scouts visited back stage to heap praise on the cast. The picture shows the 22 older members of the 85th who took part either in the cast or back stage. Thanks also to our 4 cub cast members who aren't pictured here because they were dragged off to their beds before we got the camera out.


Kayaking

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We are delighted to announce that Andy and Alan have now renewed their Kayaking authorisations. This means we will be able to take parties kayaking again on lochs around Scotland as the warmer weather returns next spring. Look out for our new kayaking badge courses when the time comes.

Hillwalking in Loch Lomond

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The Scouts have arranged another hillwalking trip on Sunday 30th November. We will leave early on the Saturday morning (7am) and return mid-late evening on the Sunday depending on weather. The trip is designed to let Scouts of all ages try out hillwalking and allow us to look forward to more hillwalking in the New Year. Please make sure Scouts have good boots and waterproofs. Print out a permission form here.

Ps. Don't worry, you won't be climbing as high as Carrie - it just seemed like a good excuse to post the picture again.

Hillwalking

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We've started our programme of hillwalking for the next year with a couple of training walks around the Arrochar Alps. We're aiming towards giving scouts of all ages a taste of winter hillwalking by visiting a lower snow slope during the winter, and a full mountain for older Scouts. This means we need to practise now as the wet and windy weather is a great taster.

Summer Camp Great Tower 2008

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What a week. Well done to all 15 Scouts and 5 Explorers who took part in this year's Summer Camp to Great Tower on Lake Windermere in the Lake District. Not one complained about the rain as they cooked their meals on their own fires for the week and took part in activities ranging from Caving and Climbing to Mountain Biking and Hillwalking. With an average age of less than 11½, all campers performed fantastically well throughout. Photos are available here for you to download or order prints.

Parachuting Again?

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Here we go again! Not content with jumping out of an aeroplane from 10,000ft strapped to an instructor (March), the explorers have decided to return to try a solo jump or 2. The new visit will be on the weekend of 13th/14th September. Any explorer aged 16 or over and under 14st should return their form by end June.

Laser Station

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Scouts and Explorers are ending the session with a zap at Laser Station in Xscape Braehead on 25th June. Boys should return their permission form on Wednesday 18th.The places are limited so they'll be allocated on a first-come first served basis.

Fishing

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7th June 2008 - the Unit has spent a great weekend at Portencross beach and Pier near Seamill demonstrating their fishing skills to the local wildlife. At the end of the weekend a total of 4 mackerel had been caught and barbequed. Some photos can be found here using the password fishing.

Caving

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We are delighted to announce that Scout Leader Alan Fielding has gained his Caving Instructor certification after an assessment with a national coach in Lancashire last week. Alan and caving and climbing partner Gary were able to apply their day jobs as rope access technicians and their years of experience leading in Britain's toughest caving systems to gain the certification. Caving has always been a big hit with 85th scouts in the past and we look forward to opening the experience to more of today's Scouts and Explorers.


Alton Towers Trip - Permission Forms

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Great News! We will be joining the Greenock & District trip to Alton Towers on Saturday 20th June. The plan is to leave on the coaches late on Friday night, traveling over night and arrive at the theme park around opening time for a day's fun. We'll return on Saturday night. The cost is £40. Permission forms are available in the Forms section.

Emergency Aid 2008

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Congratulations to the 11 Scouts from both Inverkip and Wemyss Bay troops who have earned their Emergency Aid Stage 4 badge after sitting an 8 hour course last weekend. It was a hard day's work and all performed very well.

Group Camp 2008

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The leaders would like to say thankyou to all 100 campers from the 85th who contributed to such a fantastic Group Camp at Everton for making the weekend such great fun. This was the first ever of what we will make an annual event. Everyone showed great enthusiasm for all the games and activities including the slimy slide, the sumo wresting, the boxing, the earthball, Jacob's Ladder, bivouac building and lots more. We had the biggest and grandest water balloon fight ever seen at Everton, and managed to cook all sorts of concoctions in our backwoods cooking. And for once the weather smiled on us all. It really was a great weekend.

 

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There are loads fo photos available - too many to load onto this website, so as an experiment, we are publishing all the photos on a specialist site. You can browse the photos fairly easily here, (when asked for a password give groupcamp)and hopefully find a photo or 2 with your child in it. Try out the slide show as an easy way to run through the photos, but give it some time to get started. You can even order some prints from the site providers.

Communicator Badge

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A big thanks to the 10th R&I who very kindly hosted a few of our scouts for an evening of Amateur Radio in January. 3 scouts have gained their Communicator badge after the event and the others are hoping for a return visit to allow them to complete the remaining work.

Meanwhile, Blair, Stefan and Lloyd have signed up for a full Amateur Radio License course with the 10th which is being run over the next few months. Good luck to all, and more thanks to the 10th.


Climbing Wall

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Well done to all 24 Scouts and Explorers who spent an evening at the Ibrox Climbing Wall over the last 2 weeks. Together you climbed a total height of .. well .... a lot! And more importantly, you learned to trust your rope and your climbing partner. Look out for similar events outdoors as we come into summer. The Climber badge requires you to have a good understanding of ropework and to have taken part in several climbing seesions indoors and out.

Thanks also to the parents who helped out with transport for these evenings, we can't do it without you.


Holiday Snaps

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29th Dec. While most of you were playing your xbox's or feasting on too much Christmas Pudding, Jordan and Mark were deep below the ground in Yorkshire rolling in mud and climbing into and out of the odd abyss. Here's a few of their holiday snaps. Do you have any to add?


Remembrance Parade 2007

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The leaders would like to thank the 100 Wemyss Bay and Inverkip Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and of course the parents behind the scenes for turning out so smartly and in such great numbers on Sunday for the village’s Armistice parade. They were all a credit to the Group. Along with the Guides’ sections, we managed to fill Inverkip Church to capacity before marching to the Cenotaph to pay our respects.

West Highland Way 2007

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3rd-4th November: A strange time of year for it, but when badges are on offer it brings out the strangest qualities in our Scouts. 8 Scouts and 4 Explorers took to the hills last weekend to complete the stretch of the West Highland Way heading South from the King's House Hotel in Glencoe to Crianlarich - around 26 miles in all. This was a 2 day expedition camping near a burn in Bridge of Orchy and has earned the boys their Expedition Challenge badge and also counts towards part of their Chief Scout Gold award. For more pictures check the Group Gallery.

First Aid Certifications

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14th Oct. Congratulations to Liz, Carrie, Alan and Andy who have all renewed their First Aid certifications in the last 2 weeks. Carrie's course included specialist mountaineering techniques and was delivered by the British Ski Patrol, the others earned their's from the Health & Safety Executive with an outdoor activities bias. Leaders are required to renew their certifications every 3 years.

Dougie Vipond Playing Second Fiddle?

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It's not every day Dougie Vipond, former scout, TV presenter and former Deacon Blue Guitarist has to play second fiddle to someone else on the radio - especially not on Radio Scotland's Prime Time show Good Morning Scotland. So who's he providing the support act for today - scouting's 100th anniversary??! Find out in the Scouts News section.

Carrie Awarded Silver Acorn

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Carrie has been awarded the Silver Acorn following her Everest Climb. See the Scout News section for more details.
June 2007


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