A letter sent by our older Scouts to our friends in Dartford twinned town Gravelines “EEDF Pêcheurs d’Islande GRAVELINES” came to fulfilment this weekend with a visit of 21 of them travelling to Dartford for Remembrance weekend.
With them departing Gravelines early Saturday morning via minibus and travelling by the channel tunnel they arrived at Dartford Scout House by lunch time, with a warm welcome and a quick turnaround they joined the 5th Dartford Scouts and Explorers for an activity afternoon comprising of archery and target shooting along with tea and biscuits.
That evening we held a fireworks extravaganza with hot chocolate and hamburgers being served, along with the Gravelines Scouts, there were also 130 parents, friends and siblings partake in the fundraising event with monies raised going towards the new hall fund.
Sunday morning we all converged at Dartford War Memorial for the act of remembrance, with three poppy reefs being laid: Gravelines Town, Pêcheurs d’Islande Scouts along with Dartford Districts. All of us joined the parade around town, paying our respects, with the Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, Mayor and leader of the council taking the salute.
After tea and biscuits at the church hall, the English and French Scouts were combined into teams and took part in a Historical Treasure Hunt which span from St Edmunds Pleasance to West Hill, Lock-Up with questions relating from Henry’s V funeral, Henry VIII divorce settlement, to medieval leper hospital.
With everyone back to 5th Dartford Scouts Hall, were we shared some traditional food, with the hosts providing: Roast beef, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding accompanied by gravy, horseradish and English mustard, followed by Jam Rolly Polly and custard. With the Guest providing speciality cheese, biscuits and sweet treats, all of which was shared and enjoyed by all. The Scouts joined in with games which both groups knew until the end of the afternoon.
Monday morning the Mayor welcomed the Gravelines Scouts to the Civic Centre, showing them around the council chamber and Mayors Parlour, explaining about the role and responsibilities being the King’s representative and 1st citizen of the town, followed by tea and biscuits. It was then time to say goodbye along with discussion about a returnvisit for English Scouts to travel to Gravelines.
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On October 5th, 6 of our young people were presented with their Chief Scout Gold Awards frm District Lead Volunteer, Neil Gearing. Congratulations to Tristan, Olivia, Leo, Evie, Olliver & Alex. Congratulations also to Maisie & Meigan who were unable to attend on the day.
Back in June, 13 Scouts and Explorers from the 5th signed up to the National Small-Bore Rifle Association – Youth Proficiency Scheme (NSRA-YPS) course, 10 first timers and 3 retaking to improve their skill level. Starting in July, the young people attended weekly sessions to learn everything from setting up a range, equipment, the law, safety, eye dominance, stance, & breathing to the follow through, sighting, sight adjustment and scoring; concluding with a multiple choice exam and a shooting competition. In order to qualify for the competition a quiz of 10 randomly selected true/false statements was taken, where a minimum of seven must be answered correctly; these points are also added to the 4 scoring cards for the total score. Each card has the potential score of 50 points with 5 shots at each, making the maximum possible score of 210, including the quize score.
For the third consecutive year we participated in Thriftwood #InTents# having great memories of the previous camps. With six leaders and 10 Scouts and 15 Explorers fully prepared and ready to go with new chariots and flags.
With the incredibly wet weather we have had, it was unfortunate that a number of accommodation huts were decommissioned, however working with the camp site we were able to accommodate the Explorers in the serviceable village huts with alternative accommodation being provided for the Scouts in the Barcwood building by the fishing lake. 
This year we celebrated our 107th anniversary with our Birthday Parade on Sunday 3rd December. We converged at the hall at 10am where we formed up, and sorted out our colours to be presented, parading with our flags from the hall to the URC Church in Spitall Street, were we where warmly welcomed by the congregation. 
The advance party arrived at our pitch @14:30 and despite earlier rain our allocation was favourable and the weather was kind to us for setting up camp even if squelchy underfoot. More leaders and 15 young people, 6 of whom were first timers at Bisley, arrived after dark and stowed their kit before a team briefing where everyone was given a lanyard, map and an aid-memoir to help them to be in the right place at the right time for their events.
With ourselves enjoying at last year’s #InTents# at Thriftwood so much we rebooked again for this year. Having great memories of last year’s hot summer, we were over optimistic investing in an inflatable pool and new BBQs in preparation, which now seems a good future investment for the group’s events. With six leaders and 24 Scouts and Explorers fully prepared and roaring to go with our new site #4 which has an electrical hook up and adjacent to the archery field, close to the action.