The Beacon April 2011 - Beacon Parish of Ditchling, Streat ...

1 st Ditchling Scout GroupBeavers – This month the Beavers completed their requirements for the FaithBadge with a visit to St Margaret’s Church. Another badge that the boys areeager to complete is for Pet Care and we had a visit from a Vet to tell everyoneabout how to look after their pets and to identify symptoms of commonailments.Very much enjoyed was a Treasure Hunt in the Village finishing up with a searchfor chocolate eggs in the Headquarters.Cubs – This is a time of year for gaining badges indoors so the Cubs have beenbusy with map and compass for their Map Reader’s Badge. On another eveninga circular hike was held starting at Streat Church. We congratulate FreddieStuart on gaining his Chief Scout’s Silver Award.Scouts – Taking part in the Mid Sussex District Ten-pin Bowling Competition,we are pleased to announce that our Troop gained first place again in the face ofa greater number of competitors than before now that the District has increasedin size.Other evenings were devoted to problem-solving activities and rifle shooting. Atthe beginning of the month our annual Masterspy Incident Hike was held withtwo patrols taking part. It followed a similar theme to previous years but with adifferent storyline and fresh incidents. Starting at Streat Church, the teams hadto deal with avoiding a “police patrol” by hiding in ditches, disarming a“minefield”, decoding a message hidden under a bridge, digging up a buried“gold bar” in a field using only a compass bearing to locate it, gift wrapping thesaid “gold bar” and after ordering eats and drinks at the “Le Chateau Rouge”(using their best French only), presenting the “gold bar” to the “President ofNeuf Briesac”, saving him once again from disgrace among his own citizens afterhe had been accused of putting it in his own Safe Deposit. All this was done inthe dark using map references to find friendly contacts. Without following thecorrect route it was impossible to find where the hike would finish. Unusuallythe weather was fine and both teams successfully completed their assignments.Our thanks to all the parents and leaders who were involved in the evening’sactivities and members of the District Team who also entered into the spirit ofthe night. Special thanks to Dick and Jean Morley who enabled us to use theirhome as the “Le Chateau Rouge” and added colour to the storyline.Alec Gaskin, Group Chairman22