With Grateful Thanks For Your Support...

4th Offaly Scout Group - Edenderry thanks everybody who has supported us during our first year of being open. We especially want to thank the adults who have offered us support by giving up their time either to help run weekly meetings, to run the scout group at committee level and especially to the parents of our youth members for their help with fund raising and keeping the group open!

Our first year has been an exciting year and an active year. For a new scout group we've been lucky regarding tentage, thanks to the efforts of our friends over at Scouter's Motorcyle Club who worked tirelessly collecting tents at music festivals, sanitizing them and either donating them or selling them to raise funds for the group. They've also helped a few other scout groups with gear along the way. 

At the very beginning, back in January 2012 Scouter's MC made a huge donation which allowed the group to purchase programme materials for use by our very first cubs and scouts, and of course the adult scouters!

Not forgetting our intrepid bunch of adult scouters, this donation also paid for 9 scouters to complete Stage 1 & 2 training, 2 scouters progressed to Stage 3 training, 1 to Stage 4, one scouter to complete the Group Leader Training Course, and two scouters to complete Stage 6 training. 

In addition to this first aid courses have been undertaken and there is more training waiting in the wings - we hope to train 1 scouter to Stage 4 and 2 scouters to Stage 5 later this Spring.

Training is an ongoing commitment for the group. All our scouters have agreed to progress through the Scouting Ireland training system which leads to an internationally recognized qualification. Even our support scouters, our committee members and our parents and friends group undertake the first two stages of scouter training and are garda vetted. All in all, scouting is a safe environment for anyone joining, we make sure of that!

 We'd also like to thank two of our cub parents who have recently volunteered to get a bit more involved. Soon we'll be putting their names down for Stage 1 (Welcome To Scouting) and Stage 2 (Child Protection Act Awareness) training while they await the results of their Garda vetting, and so, as you can see the cycle begins again...


Without your ongoing support 4th Offaly Scout Group - Edenderry wouldn't be able to continue delivering a child friendly programme that delivers fun and adventures for kids aged 9 - 18 years old.
 So, we'd like to say Thank You! in the biggest letters this page will allow and look forward to another great year working with the youth from Edenderry!

How To Write Up Your Log Books...

Hi Guys! Log books, log books, log books! I hate them, truly I do. For the past five years or so I seem to have been nagging scouts about writing up their log books and all to no avail. Is it any wonder I hate the damned things?

Actually, that's not strictly true! If I hate log books so much I wouldn't be typing this post right here, right now. This blog is a log book. The word blog is an abbreviation for - guess what? Web-log. That's right this blog is a log book...

While searching for some Scouting Ireland forms yesterday I discovered a nice little guide on how and why log books should be written up. Simply put a log book should be your best friend during your journey through scouts, it's a record of what you get up to, where, when and with whom, this, guys, is your memory! It's something that you can pull out when you're older and reminisce with your own kids or even grandkids.

More importantly it is a vital part of securing that illustrious Adventure Skills Badge that you've been hankering after for ages. Each of the AS badges ranges from level 1 - 9. They cover the whole of a scout's journey through the sections from Beavers through to Rangers and beyond. Recently there has been an argument raging that level 9 badges are too hard for your average scout to get. The argument against this train of thought is that level 9 is something for scouts to aspire to...

Imagine, at 9 years of age all you want to do is have mad adventures - well, I did at anyrate! I wanted to jump out of an airplane and free fall to earth without a parachute just for the sheer fun of it. Funnily enough I still rather fancy the idea of it despite the fact that I'm not as fit or healthy as I used to be, suffer from asthma and have chronic back and joint problems. Yes, I still want to do crazy things and since I joined Scouting Ireland as an adult scouter I've done plenty...


Anyway, the point is that Stage 9 Adventure Skills badges aren't necessarily for everyone, but they do serve to inspire young people to get up and get going in terms of making adventures happen. So what if you want to pilot a helicopter when you're 9 years old, maybe by the time you're 29 you might actually get do do it, earlier if you're lucky! There are very few people in this world who do things like that, mainly because they don't know how to do things like that, after all things like that are very much outside of most people's reach aren't they?

Scouting is a lifestyle, including all sorts of skills and pleasures. For adults one of those pleasures is seeing young people realise their dreams, achieve what other people might consider to be unrealistic or simply mad!

We sometimes use outside experts in doing this, but imagine the joy of being able to take a more active part in making this happen? Being able to teach hands on in scouting is a joy, just imagine teaching someone to do this...

Scouters are encouraged to go for gold, whether it be level 6 AS badges or level 9, it's great to be able to assess young people and help them get those precious badges. To do this we've to be two levels above those we're assessing...

Looking at the photos in this post reminds me of the first time I tried rock climbing and abseiling. These are things I've always wanted to do, but didn't know how or where to go until I became a scouter. Admittedly my cliff wasn't as big as the large climbing wall above, but to me it was huge! I doubt if I personally will ever get very far in terms of rock climbing as my upper body strength isn't what it could be, but I know plenty of scouters who've got to the high levels in terms of this particular skill and who are only too willing to share their knowledge and skills in this area with young people.

I also know scouters who go climbing actual rock faces in the Scottish mountains during winter time, just because they can! So, the moral of the story is write up those log books, do it on line or on paper, take photo's, draw sketches, learn how to understand route cards, plot your coordinates, etc and make a record of each and every adventure you take part in. Sooner or later you'll be able to present your log book to your scouters in the full knowledge that it, and it alone will secure you that coveted adventure skills badge.

Without your logbook this is going to be more difficult than you might imagine. Remember, we have a natural tendency to forget even the most exciting and best of things simply because we're human! To help you with writing up your log books Scouting Ireland have published this guide, click on the link and be magically transported to a place where log books are no longer a mystery...

AND finally, get writing up those Log Books!

Thank You!

Dear Fundraisers,

As Group Leader, I would personally like to thank each and every one of our intrepid fundraisers for stepping up to the mark on the two days of our bag packing extravaganza, I'd also like to thank the staff and management of Dunne's Stores and the people of Edenderry who contributed so generously.

Last Friday 12th and Saturday 13th October was quite some day(s)!From 10am til closing time on both days our fundraisers worked their socks off packing people's groceries into bags for them, smiling, being nice and generally raising the profile of the 4th Edenderry Scout Group.

As is usual policy for Dunne's Stores, one checkout was unattended, thus giving shoppers the opportunity to avoid having their groceries packed if they wished. Remarkably, even the shoppers on the unattended tills contributed generously to the cause.In the past, I've always gone to the trouble of pointing out to people that shoppers have the right not to have their bags packed and what's more, it's essential that we be gracious in allowing them to do so! It can be difficult explaining this to young people, as they tend to take a rebuff of this type rather personally...

Thank you to all the Scouts, Cubs, parents, grandparents, adult scouters, indeed everybody that turned out for the event. Some of them had to be persuaded to go home at the end of their shifts and others point blank refused to do so! No doubt everybody who helped out with the bag packing had sore feet, crampy cheeks (from smiling too much) and dry throats from making conversation and explaining to people about the business of scouting!

A special thank you must go to Scout leader Barry Hearns as he saw most of the two days on his feet at the end of a checkout and he organised the rota's and recruited helpers. He must still be shattered!

Two of our scouters, who must remain anonymous for security purposes were especially helpful in terms of counting the proceeds. All I can tell you is that at the present time, we still do not have an exact tally as they counted wore their fingers to the bone over the weekend and as yet have been unable to handle the telephone to let us know the good news. I think we can wait, as they deserve a break after all that hard work!!!

Before I leave you, I would also like to offer a word of apology. It may have been noted that I was particularly noticeable in my absence from this event. I had been rosta'd to work both days, and would have done so willingly had I not injured my back on Wednesday afternoon. As a result, I've been supporting our fundraisers from my sick bed feeling very sorry for myself!

On that final note, thanks again to everybody that gave so generously of their time to make our first bag packing event in Edenderry such a resounding success...

Pauline Price

Group Leader

4th Offaly Scout Group

Edenderry

Co Offaly

Fundraising Post...

Hi there! This is just a quick post to let you know that the 4th Offaly Scout Group - Edenderry will be bag packing in Dunne's Stores this coming Friday 12 & Saturday13 October. We'd be grateful for any help that you could offer us for this fundraising enterprise.

We are also selling our annual 12 Days of Christmas Draw tickets at the moment. While each ticket is only €2.00 the prizes are quite amazing, with the First Prize being a Family Holiday to Disney World in Florida to the value of €6,500.

Lashing Spars With Sissal Rope

The BEST thing about this draw is that any money made through selling tickets will stay with your local group. In our case we hope to be able to make enough money to be able to buy group camping gear. At the moment we are quite well off for tents, but that folks is pretty much about it! No, I exaggerate, we do own a cylinder of gas, a camping cooker, 2 balls of sissal, polypropylene rope, an axe & 2 bow saws, a lantern and cylinder, a frying pan, 3 pan cook set and a camping cooker!

Everything and anything else used by both the cubs and the scouts is either begged, borrowed or acquired. While our friends have been generous, this arrangement will have to come to an end eventually. The use of personal camping equipment by the scout group is fine at the beginning, however, it will lead to premature damage and deterioration which is both unnecessary and costly to the owners of the items concerned.

At the moment we are using kitchen utensils, pots & pans, a second cooker, second gas canister (from the scout leaders own kitchen), cool boxes x 3, lanterns x 5 and fuel, trangia stoves x 2 & methylated spirits fuel, tables x 3, portapotty & tent, etc. I'm sure you will agree that this list is quite long enough.

The End Result

If we are to deliver the One Programme to our youth members, it's essential that we have equipment, both for training and for camping. It is especially important that we are in a position to acquire the above items and more if we are to run section activities at the same time. Obviously personal gear is personal gear and it must remain as such, rather than have it assumed that it will always be available for use by the scout group. Essentially where the gear goes, so does the leader to whom it belongs!

Should you be reading this as a scout or cub parent, please don't think that this is just a general moaning session. It isn't. This truly is an appeal to your better nature to help us out with fundraising activities, now and into the future.

You may ask what happens to the annual registration fee that you've just paid. Well, €45.00 of that is sent to our National Headquarters to ensure your child's membership of Scouting Ireland, which also guarantees their being insured for all scouting activities. The remaining €5.00 goes towards the cost of purchasing badges, etc. While badges can be purchased at the scout shop by yourselves, we think that it's nicer for the youth members to be presented with their badges by the group - you know, a bit more special!

Building Altar Fires

The cost of weekly subs is just €3.00. This goes towards the cost of renting the hall, including heating and light. Anything left over is added back to cover the cost of items purchased to support the delivery of the One Programme. This said, there is very little left over!

Another cost to be borne by the group is the training of leaders to an acceptable standard. You may be aware that all our leaders or Programme Scouters are Garda Vetted. They also have to attend the Child Protection Course and several others to ensure that they and their skills are up to date. Unfortunately none of this is free leading to hefty training bills...

As you can see, this is just some food for thought, regarding the need for fund raising. If you are in a position to help us with this, we'd love to welcome you onto our parents and friends committee, or as a pair of hands in the right place at the right time. Please don't be shy about helping you child's dreams of adventure come true, get involved, lend a hand and who knows? The sky's the limit...

Edenderry Scouting In June...

One of the problems of keeping a blog, is keeping it current. Sadly the old grey matter seems to be dying back a little as I am struggling to remember what the sections have been up to for the month of June!

The cub pack took a hike up Croghan Hill, a local extinct volcano with two of their programme scouters and a guest visit from the Group Leader. It was a lovely day, warm and dry, just right for a hike. Rather than scale the merry heights by the direct route, we went around the back of the hill passing St Patrick's Well.
While we stopped for a short break and a few moments examination of the trinkets left at the well, a local lady walking with her dog stopped to cool off, splashing the water onto her face. She told us that this water will not boil, suggesting that we take some home to try for our selves!

Having used this opportunity to replenish our energies it was onwards and upwards, through fields filled with nosey cattle who decided to accompany us on our way. Some of the cubs found this somewhat alarming, as our new bovine friends became quite insistent at times! Eventually the top of the hill was scaled and a picnic taken on the very top. This provided an opportunity to pull out OS Map 48 and survey the surrounding area, identifying the relevent features as visibility was simply amazing.

Orientation proved a little more difficult than expected, due to what appears to be large iron deposits within the hill itself, which played havoc with the magnetic needle of the compass. This gives some credence to the theory that Croghan Hill is in fact a neolithic burial site...

The Scout Troop were also out and about in June, camping in Rahin Woods near Edenderry thanks to Coilté. This was a one night standing camp that took place on one of the wettest, windiest Saturdays known to mankind! Unlike our poor comrades who were camping out at Ardgillan Castle, Co Dublin  we had the advantage of the tree canopy to protect us, they unfortunately were at the mercy of the elements resulting in conditions so dangerous that the camp was more or less desserted on the Sunday.

The scouts learned a thing or two that weekend, including how to prepare for bad weather! This involved pitching the tents in a semi-circle and erecting a shelter over their doors to provide protection from the teeming rain expected. Luckily this didn't really effect us until well after dark, when it finally broke through the canopy while we finished our washing up after dinner!

June has been a cold month and the Bank Holiday weekend really gave us good reason to light our fires. We're lucky that we have a wet weather shelter available to us, so we spent time enjoying one another's company, telling yarns and generally having fun despite the appalling weather conditions experienced by the rest of the country! Ordinarily we'd take a night hike around the forest, which provides a whole new experience of familiar territory, but not this time. We took a short hike during the day, thus avoiding  the worst of the rain. This is why keeping an eye on the weather forecast is so very important...

One of the funniest things that happened was on the Sunday when the Group Leader lost her footing and slipped down a mud bank at great speed on her back, all the while holding the blue camping gas cooker safely above the ground. A sight for sore eyes!

Scouting In April...

Edenderry Scouts (4th Offaly) have been busy this month…

The Cub Pack have been busy working on their badges and learning about their lands of adventure and have increased their numbers up to 18. They've also been for a hike down the Royal Canal and had a day out in the woods learning about track & trail and making shelters and bivvys (bivouac)

Meanwhile the Scout Troup have been in training for the Cil Dara Scout County Shield, which took place at the Lough Keel Scout Campsite near Boyle, Co Roscommon from 13th - 15th April. As a result of all their hard work they were placed 14th in a competition that they were invited to attend as guests!

This is a magnificent achievement considering that they are a very new group. They had no expectations of being placed, considering their guest status and were placed above four other more experienced patrols.

Now that's a result!!!!

Ps To the delight of our scouters the guys from Cil Dara were facilitating the Darkness Into Light walk. Organised by Pieta House, the walk started at 3.30am stretching over 5km through Lough Kee Forest Park.

Aptly named, the proceeds go towards the provision of counselling support services for people wrestling with suicidal or self harm intent. The service which is free of charge relies on charitable donations.

Needless to say we got involved! With a little under one hours sleep we rose at 3.00am & took ourselves down to the visitor centre for registration.

We served refreshments to the walkers. Two & a half hours, a kilo of sugar, 2 liters of milk and numerous teas & coffees later it was time to head back to camp & start the day!