Centenary Camp - Gorge Walking

We have now received the photos and a video of the Gorge Walking we did on day 2:

Centenary Camp - final report

Well what can I say except that that was the best UK camp to date!!! Yes I know it was also the first UK camp for 1st Laxey but, apart from the weather at times, it couldn’t have worked any better. Thanks must go to Nick and especially Ali for all the planning beforehand as it would have been impossible without it. I could list all the activities but there were so many the main ones being Gorge Walking, Kayaking and Rock Climbing. Special mention must go to Max and Ben for overcoming their fear of the Zipwire, well done boys that took real nerve but you did it. Everyone also seemed to really enjoy the shooting and top marks to Luke on that one. Harry and Thomas couldn’t get enough of the slide at the swimming pool and Emma , Will and Ross were natural rock climbers. Everyone also learnt how useful ferns in the wild could be, some undergoing more practical training in this area!!! There was so much going on and the time went so quickly I’m sure everyone will be recalling various events for weeks to come. We tried to keep time sat in the mini bus to a minimum, but sometimes the map reading did go a bit wonky……which can only possibly be due to bad sign posts. I hope everyone has good memories and we’ll let the photo’s tell the story so I’ll stop now and wish you all a good summer. The tents are finally dry and safely tucked away for next year and I’m sure I speak for everyone by wishing Kaa all the best in his new job and to thank him for all the work he’s put into 1st Laxey over the years.

Rikki

Photos are slowly being upload to the Cub Event Reports for Summer 2010. We also took 2 short videos, avaliable on YouTube below:

1) Charles climbing and Rikki instructing on the use of ferns.

2) The Final Flag Break

Well everyone's on their way back now. Apologies for the lack of updates since Thursday - photos, etc will follow over the next day or so.

So much to do so little time. Today has been shooting, kayaking and swimming and now we are gathered round the camp fire. Everyone is well and happy and STILL full of energy!!! Whatever does it take to wear out a 1st Laxey Cub!!!

Walter - it has been alright but I really enjoyed the gorge walking.

Jimbo - gorge walking was fun, wet and freezíng!

Charles - its been good so far.

Herbert - gorge walking was good and it can only get better.

Grizzly - cubs camp is fun. Really enjoyed gorge walking.

Richard - I have really enjoyed this camp so far and the gorge walking was really fun.

Little Joe - its a good camp and I really enjoyed gorge scrambling.

Wolf - it was bad weather at the start but its getting better and better every day.

All is well at Bowley camp, only one missed turn per vehicle en route and so far NO RAIN. Mess tent up and running well, having just eaten our first camp meal. Camp fire on hold tonight in favour of creating a smoke screen to ward off the midges. Everyone well and happy and further update tomorrow.

Firstly I apologise for the fact that I am not able to chair today's meeting but I have been called away to London with work at short notice. I have therefore prepared a short report to be read out in my absence.

At 1st Laxey we have again had a good year both in Beavers and Cubs which are as popular as ever. As you will be aware both groups have helped children enjoy a range of practical activities that have taught them new skills and given them much enjoyment. As usual, the highlights have been the camps and the barbeque on the beach amongst a host of other activities.

At the centre of this has been the hard work of the leaders who have made all this possible. You will know who they are but what you may not know is the hours of thought and preparation they put in to each week. None of them get paid - they literally do this out of the goodness of their hearts and their reward is the positive response they get from the children. The formula works very well with cubs and beavers continuing to be popular in the village. I would like to thank them for their hard work.

This evening you will hear from the leaders who will tell you about the packs' achievements throughout the year. Parents, thank you for your support throughout the year - we are conscious that the year has been challenging in an economic sense and appreciate that it costs money to send the children to cubs and beavers. On that note, we have been trying to keep the cost of cubs and beavers down and so far we have done quite well, supported by the committees fund raising. It is likely however, that at some point in the future we may be forced to re-visit the subs due to rising costs although for the present, we will and are committed to maintaining the current level of subs.

This brings me on to fund raising. Again we have been quite fortunate that we have no heavy overheads and so we have been able to keep reasonable balances on our accounts enabling investment in new kit as required, assisting with some of the activities and, to some extent, subsidising day to day costs of running the packs. This has made life on the committee relatively easy. Fundraising activities have taken place with good results and my thanks go out to the committee members and others who have given up their time to help out with this.

As you may have heard, I am stepping down as Chairman of the committee today and, after quite a few years, I hope I leave the new Chairperson a good platform to build on. I am sure that he or she will have lots of new ideas and energy and I hope they will receive the support and friendship that I have enjoyed during my time as Chairman. I have really enjoyed being involved with 1st Laxey and I would like to thank everyone for making it a pleasure and an honour to be part of the group.

Finally, I am aware that Nick Kinrade is leaving the Island and so can no longer continue as cub leader. I just want to say a special thank you to Nick for all he has done. He has worked tirelessly for the group and has made it the success it is. He has also been responsible for the website and has attended all the committee meetings. 1st Laxey owes its continued existence to Nick who has been a driving force throughout his many years with the group. Last week we embarrassed him with a gift and a few words followed by much cheering and shouting of encouragement by the cubs. We will miss him and we hope to see him around when he visits the Island. Please give him a round of applause to say thanks for all he has done. Stuart Watson now takes over the mantle and I wish Stuart well and know he will be a popular cub leader. Ali too is stepping down and I wish her well and I am sure you will join me in thanking her for being an excellent secretary and keeping us all on the straight and narrow.

So almost as usual, I need to ask you all to support 1st Laxey by stepping in to some of the vacant roles and supporting the leaders with your time. This is a great village resource and we need to think constantly about succession planning so please, please take the plunge and join in . I know that working lives create many demands but I cannot emphasise enough the fact that the rewards are there and being part of an organisation like this gives pleasure, friendships and is the perfect antidote to a hard day’s work.

Thank you to everyone who has given up their time to make 1st Laxey a success and thank you all for listening - once again please accept my apologies for not being able to be there this evening.