Tonight, the 5th Dartford Scout Group’s GSL, Paul Boreham, dropped in on the Phillips Pack to present Megan O’Brien with her “Skilled Shot” NSRA Youth Proficiency Scheme accreditation. Megan is the group’s youngest holder of this air rifle target shooting qualification, which was gained following a 7 week course, written exam and competition and at only 9, she’s already looking forward to attending her first National competition next year. Well done Megan
BONFIRE AND FIREWORK NIGHT
The leaders of Leigh Pack hosted a bonfire night for the boys during half-term. The evening started with the lighting of the large bonfire which was then put to good use, testing the Guys that the boys had made at cubs the week previous. Sparklers were enjoyed during a brief interval of Guy burning and as the temperature dropped, food, soup and hot chocolate were served before the boys tried their hands at warming marshmallows over an open fire.
The evening finished with a firework display. The boys and parents enjoyed the evening which was planned and hosted by Tracey and John.
Tonight the Phillips-Pack Cubs dressed as phantoms, vampires, ghosts, witches and beasties from the dark side to join in with the Halloween fun. Asside from the fab fancy dress costumes, there was apple bobbing, games and yummy chocolate spider making. A fab time was had by all who dared to enter – Mwahahahaha!
The 5th Dartford Scout group is pleased to announce we have won a £5,000 award towards our New Hall Fund from the Lloyds Banking Group’s Community Fund. Pictured below Earley Troop leader Jason O’Brien recieving award on behalf of the group from Karen Hannah representing Lloyds and surrounded by members from our young sections. We would like to take this oppertunity to thank everyone who took the time to vote for us by text and email and who encouraged their friends, family and patrons to join in and support us – Thank you!
Over the past 6 weeks, we’ve been instructing 17 of our members to become proficient in the sport of air rifle target shooting with the NSRA Youth Proficiency Scheme.
The course concluded with an exam, in which a minimum of 70% must be attained before progressing to the shooting part of the test.
The “Shoot off” consisted of a practice card upon which as many “sighting” shots could be fired in a limited time period, in order for the participants to familiarise themselves with the rifle they had been allocated. Thereafter, a further 4 cards were issued where 5 pellets were shot at each.
In order to grade the participant’s capability, the NSRA created the following grade bands.
50 – 109 – Skilled Shot
110 – 149 – Marksman
150 – 174 – Expert Shot
175+ Master Shot
The level of competence from our members increases each time we run this course and this year every attendee passed with flying colours with 7 Skilled Shots, 7 Marksmen, 2 Expert Shots and 1 Master shot. A special mention to Jessica Boreham & Henry McCarron for attaining the ‘Expert shot’ and to elder brother George for attaining ‘Master Shot’ – The highest possible grade within the NSRA’s YPS scheme and only the 2nd one the 5th Dartford Scout Group has been awarded. Thankfully, all three of these Scouters and nine of the others attendees will be representing Dartford at this year’s National Scout’s Rifle Target Shooting Competition at NSRA Bisley next weekend.
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Tonight, the Phillips-Pack visited Dartford Fire Station and were given a tour of the facility and appliances by members of the Kent Fire & Rescue Service’s White Watch. To end the session 5 new members were invested in a horseshoe in front of the pumps.
Despite a lower than hoped attendance, the 40 or so who came to our Mamma Mia fundraiser had a great time watching and singing along to this iconic film and many had really pushed the boat out with their costumes to add to the party atmosphere as you’ll see in the photo’s bellow. Younger members helped raise funds, by making and selling popcorn, sweets and ice creams and handing out hot dogs, which came in the price of the ticket. Another successful social evening where we raised over £200 for the New Hall Fund.
One hundred plus members of 5th Dartford Scout Group descended to Bexon Lane Campsite for the Annual Family Camp, over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The camp was themed as “Back to Basics” with all the family experiencing a traditional Scout Camp. As with most 5th Dartford camps, family patrols were awarded points for various activities throughout the weekend, such as getting to the top of the climbing wall or getting a bulls eye in archery or shooting. These points could be used to mark points on 5th Dartford’s very own treasure map, with the closest to the “buried treasure” winning a prize!
To maximise a patrol’s chances of hitting the buried treasure, all were encouraged to participate in as many activities as possible. The weekend included the usual shooting, archery, and climbing, with the addition of a few different activities such as go-karts, a cardboard chariot race and backwoods cooking. A hike was arranged for Sunday morning with the majority taking part, fortunately only a few of these, led by Dave got lost! The evenings were spent with a wine and cheese night, and a quiz night, both of which were enjoyed by all adults, while our younger members enjoyed wide games around the campsite.
To finish the camp off, we had a successful campfire on the Sunday evening, a first time experience for many… and some excellent singing!
Judging by the feedback received, a good time was had by all, and a few “non-campers” have been converted! Thanks to all those who attended and helped to make it such a success.
Here’s to next year!
Zara & Dan
Last Saturday a small group of boys from the 5th Dartford Scout Group’s Leigh Pack took a short walk from the Scout Hut to visit the Tredegar Allotments and the Dartford Bee-Keepers.
The first part of the visit was a guided tour of the allotments including a talk on the wildlife of the area. The talk was illustrated with photographs all taken on site and the personal experiences of the guides. The boys were then led to a Discovery Table where there were a number of natural objects for them to investigate and identify. 
They then discovered the herb garden and the strawberry patch before being invited to dig up some potatoes. These were placed in a plastic colecting bucket and the plant remains were put on the compost heap.
The boys then took a break in the picnic area for lunch under the glorious clear blue sky.
The second part of the trip was to meet with the Dartford Bee-Keepers. Here the boys were given a brief history lesson of bee-keeping before being shown honeycomb and learning about bee colony structures and how bees communicate through dance. They also learned what causes bees to swarm and why swarming bees are less likely to sting. The boys were then dressed 
in white bee-keeper overalls with in-built face meshes before being led to the active hives. Here they not only watched the experts handing frames of bees but they also helped in moving a hive box. This required many of the boys to actually hold the frames that were completely covered in bees whilst the hive was re-arranged.
By the end of the visit the boys had learned a lot about their natural environment and the importance of plants and wildlife. The visit had provided them with a vast amount of information and had allowed them to learn in a fun environment.
