New Headquarters: Shell almost complete

Back of the building; plenty of room for tents and games

Second Hall

See the latest photos: The new headquarters for 1st Consett and 1st Blackhill is coming along at a very fast rate.
The work started in March, and now the shell of the building is almost complete. It just needs the doors to make it watertight, and external drainage to be put in.
However, it is still along way from being finished, and work may have to be put on hold as we hope for further grant funding to come in. £100,000 is still needed to be found to completely finish the building, as it still has no electrics, gas, heating or plumbing, and the landscaping still needs to be done.

Inside the corridor, looking towards the main hall

It was, though, very nice to be able to go inside and have a look around. The main hall is very impressive, and light and airy thanks to the roof windows, extra high ceiling and large rear windows. The second hall is slightly smaller, but also has roof windows and a large window overlooking what will be the grassed area. The toilets have Sun pipes to enable daylight in to them.
We are almost there! Lets just hope some of the grant giving trusts look favourably on us in the near future, and our fundraising events continue to be well supported.

The main hall, looking back towards kitchen

Scouts win District Camping Competition

A team of Scouts from 1st Consett has won the Teasdale Trophy, Derwentside District Scouts' camping competition.
The team of six competed against teams from across the district, in what is a real test of Scouting skills over two days. Each team is completely self sufficient for the weekend, without leaders helping, and had to plan their own menus for the weekend camp and a programme of activities that demonstrated their skills.
Scout Leader Marc Reeves said "The Teasdale Trophy is probably the toughest Scout competition. It is a real test of teamwork and leadership by the patrol leader. Our team should be extremely proud, especially as some of the younger team members had never been camping before this year".

A Beaver Leader's first camp

Seventeen 6 to 8 year olds from Consett and Leadgate Beaver colonies staying overnight at the Minsteracres retreat. It was our first night away as Beaver Leaders and I can honestly say I don’t know who was more nervous; the parents, the Beaver scouts or me and Neal! 

The parents had a good look round at the dorm where all our Beavers slept, before leaving them in the capable hands of a mix of experienced Scout Leaders and newly appointed leaders such as ourselves. 

The children were excited and jumped into every challenge. In twenty four hours we managed to fit in a range of activities, including following a trail, tent building, boat building and much more. We had a traditional camp fire where Ruby from Leadgate Beavers led the children in some funny songs.

The food was great but I was amazed to see how many fussy eaters we had, I mean how many kids don’t like cake and custard?

Some of the leaders and Beavers enjoying the dens they made

 We had an amazing time and the kids have some awesome memories. Back for more fun in September.

Gavin Heckles, Consett Beaver Leader.

£4,350 Grant for Nights Away activities

1st Consett are celebrating after receiving a grant of £4,350 from Durham County Foundation. The grant is to help reduce the cost Nights Away for all members of the group and to go towards leader training.
1st Consett has a policy that all young people should be able to take part in Nights Away experiences regardless of background and ability to pay. However, with all the group's fund raising efforts going towards the new headquarters, the group was unable to subsidise its camps making them out of reach of some.
This grant will ensure that all of our members will be able to experience the Adventure of Scouting by taking part in nights away activities, such as summer camps for Scouts, Cuboree for Cub Scouts and indoor weekends for Beaver Scouts.

Award from Royal British Legion

1st Consett Scout Group have received an award recognising their contribution selling poppies in the Consett area.
Three Cub Scouts and two leaders were invited to the Royal British Legion Youth Poppy Awards which was held at Gateshead Civic Centre. 1st Consett Scout Group had been nominated to receive an award by Mrs Vera Parnaby for the amount raised by the Group. 
The certificate was presented by the Lord Lieutenant for County Durham Mrs Sue Snowden.

Scouts Recipe for Adventure

Consett Scouts have recently created their own recipe for adventure. On Saturday 23rd February the Scout Troop took part in a day of activities at Whickham Thorns Centre, including orienteering, climbing and skiing.

After the skiing, the Scouts cooked a four course meal for their parents for their Chef badge. The meal included home made vegetable soup, chicken stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon and home made apple pie.

Another Giant Leap Forward towards our New Headquarters

It has been an absolutely amazing week for 1st Consett and 1st Blackhill Scout Groups, with two grants totalling £50,000 received this week.
We received £20,000 from the Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation at the beginning of the week, which was followed with £30,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation on Wednesday. Although there is still a way to go, we are now approaching the final straight, and our goal of completing the new headquarters by September is now looking very likely.
The groups are continuing to apply for grants, and we hope with a last push from parents and supporters at fund raising events we can achieve our goal.