Cubs ADC Andy Papka would like you to know his email is; apapka1@blueyonder.co.uk
and not as shown in the Don District Directory.

WOW! 13 teams contested this years Indoor Cooking Competition, the most in modern history proving Scouting in Don District is very much alive and kicking. 3 teams from the 33rd and 231st, 2 from 32nd, 82nd and 105th and 1 from 61st cooked an authentic curry with complimentary starter or dessert. It was mainly to India we traveled for our culinary delights, but 2 teams ventured further with Thai cuisine. First Judges discussed whether Balti was from India or Birmingham but then marking for hygiene, preparation, team work, cleanliness, authenticity and of course taste and presentation. Dishes varied from a vegetarian egg curry, Balti, green curries, tikka massala, chilli hot phal, using various ingredients and spices, chicken,  prawns etc. More points were awarded for use pestle & mortar than a Kenwood Master Chef blender. At one point the judges scratched their heads wondering what part of India strawberry cheesecake came from.  More authentic starters of Thai fishcakes, kebabs and bhaji's could be tasted and thai bananas seemed the most authentic sweet, more so than the block of Walls Ice Cream with sweets stuck in it, altho' the presentation of this dish was 1st class as was the taste of the cheesecake! One other surprise 'authentic' ingredient was tomato ketchup, thankfully not in the sweets!

All the dishes were edible, some could have been served in a restuaraunt and a couple of dishes would have even pleased Chef Ramsey, so it was no surprise when having smelt the delicious aromas all morning and tasted their perfect dishes and witnessed their authentic preparation that the 231st C regained the trophy (Jill can clean it again now) with their Thai Fishcake starter and Thai Prawn Green Curry main course prepared authentically with pestle and mortar.

The winners scored 63 and the 13th team scored 51.3 so a very close competition. Well done everyone for taking part in our largest and best Indoor Cooking Competition yet.

Check out the photos below & further photos can be found on the 82nd Website

Results;

1st - 231st C
2nd - 32nd A
3rd - 32nd B
4th - 33rd C
5th - 33rd A
6th - 231st A
7th - 82nd A
8th = 105th A
          231st B
10th - 82nd B
11th - 33rd B
12th - 105th B
13th - 61st

If you're wondering how much your camp will cost at Hesley this year, then click HERE for a price list. For some reason, you can't get the info from their website!!
Just remember that these are prices for South Yorkshire Scouts only - anyone else will be paying more...
The Fellowship Chalet is a favourite with some Don District Groups, as you can deduct 12 campers off the price if you have people camping there - ot works out at just £57.50 per night.

The Expedition Planning Training will now take place at Hesley starting on 23rd February, 9th & 23rd March,  27th April, 25th May & 1st June. To go on this training contact Mike Firth for confirmation of details & booking.

The District Meeting at Trippet Lane tonight has been canceled!

An early decision was taken to save people traveling or being unsure as to whether to set off or not.

No decision has been take as to a new date.

Enjoy your sledging instead

Stewart Butler has also postponed Saturdays Validation for Training - new dates to follow

County Training & Development Manager Richard Wade would like to tailor the Counties training to suit your needs and requests, to those ends click here to download Training Request Form.

Please note that the Expedition Training is over 6 sessions every other Monday starting Monday 9th Feb. See below for further details.


It is the County Teams wish that every Leader in the County has a copy of ROSYS the County Newsletter. Please click here to download the current copy of ROSYS and email rosys@sy-activities.org.uk to be included in future ROSYS emailing lists.


Click here to download Freezer Camp Booking Form
Click here to download hot water bottle!

 Crew Working Weekends click to download dates

Click to download early booking form for Crewboree 2009

Young Leader Training

We are planning to hold a new set of Young Leader training this spring; the training will consist of a half day; Sunday 29^th March 2009 (10:00 – 14:00) at Grenoside Scout HQ, and a full weekend; Friday 3^rd – Sunday 5^th April at the Fellowship Chalet at Hesley Wood.

We have had difficulty finding a suitable (affordable!) venue that’s available when the course instructors are, so have plumped for the Fellowship Chalet. But… as the Chalet only sleeps 12 this means the Young Leaders will be in tents, so need to bring along appropriate camping gear.

The cost of the weekend will be £10 per person.

The training is open to all Young Leaders / Explorer Scouts in the District, but we are restricted to 18 places. Places will be allocated first to YL’s who have not finished their training, then to any YL’s who have completed it but want to do a ‘refresher’ course.

 If you have any members in your group who are working as Young Leaders, and have not yet completed their training then they should make every effort to attend. Please inform them of the training dates and get them to send me a health form and a cheque for £10, made payable to ‘Don District Explorer Scouts’.

Although the weekend is hard work the Young Leaders have always enjoyed the training weekends we run.

Closing date for enrolment: 14^th March 2009.

Forms can be downloaded by clicking here:

New Age Range

Hello Don District Leaders
 
There has been a change in POR for the core age range of Scouts. As of last weekend, a young person may only remain in the Scout Troop until they are 141/2, not 15 as was previously allowed (under the DC’s discretion).
 
There are several reasons for this, and whether you agree with them or not is now beside the point!
(Although personally I had no problem with a Scout remaining with the Troop until their 15th Birthday!)
 
Points made by HQ:
a. The core age range for the Scout Section is from 101/2-14 and the Scout Section
programme is designed to be delivered to this age group, not to those over 14.
b. The core age range for the Explorer Scout Section is 14-18 years and young people
entering at 15 are missing out on a year of programme specifically designed for their age
range.
c. The Chief Scout’s Platinum Award and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award both have
a starting age of 14, and a young person joining at 15 potentially loses a year of possible
progress towards these awards.
d. A young person can choose to become a Young Leader at the age of 14. There is
therefore the potential for a Troop to have both Scouts and Explorer Scout Young
Leaders of the same age at the same time. This is bound to cause problems (and we
have a good deal of anecdotal evidence that it does).
e. The most commonly quoted reason why Scout Leaders choose to retain Scouts to 15 as
Patrol Leaders is to maintain the traditional Patrol structure (as per the pre 2002
programme). This appears to reflect a reluctance to embrace the current (no longer new)
101/2-14 programme wholeheartedly. We believe this is counterproductive for both
Sections.
 
So if you have members of your troop who are older than, or coming up to 14∏, can you let me know so they can become members of one of the District Units:

Chapeltown – Monday 19:30 – 21:30
Grenoside – Thursday 20:30 – 22:00
Or a member of the Young Leaders Unit, working with a section of your Group.

If you have any doubts or questions please feel free to contact me.
 
Regards
 
Kit