Centenary Year Moments

(Image created using www.elfyourself.com)

Crofton Scout Group would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us throughout the year, and to wish everybody all the very best for Christmas and the New Year.


The Leaders are now taking a well-earned break, but you can be sure they'll be back in January with fun-filled programmes of activities. Plans have already been circulated for an activity camp for the Spring Bank Holiday for the Cubs and Scouts.

As the Scouting Centenary year draws to a close, please share with us your favourite scouting moments from the past twelve months.

To start this off, I'd like to nominate the trips through Wakefield's waterways on the Jubilee Venture. It was refreshing to see the city from a different angle and to pass though it at a relaxing pace.

To add your comments, just click on the "0 COMMENTS" link below.

Live 07 photo

Here's a photo of our cubs at LIVE 07.

CROFTON CUBS PERFORM AT LONDON'S O2 ARENA

LIVE 07 - Festival of Scouting

Three of Crofton Cubs performed as part of the central Yorkshire cub cast in the Live 07 festival of scouting. A lot of hard work was put in by our cubs from the first rehearsal right to the last show and the grand finale. This has been a fantastic event to be part off and one we will all remember for many years. Scouts gathered from all over the UK to put together two 3hour shows to an audience of around 30,000 people.

The cubs day started at 10.00am at the 02 Arena in London, and they finally got to go home at 10.30pm. It was a long day but well worth it. The cubs performance was excellent, not only on stage but also backstage when there was a lot of waiting for their moment of fame. WELL DONE CUBS !!!!

More details on the Live07 day, including a picture of the cubs parachute performance, can be seen at the following link (on Scouts official website):
http://www.scouts.org.uk/news/archive/2007/November/261107.html

Official LIVE 07 phoots can be seen at:

http://www.amazingphotostore.co.uk/washbrooke/gallerymodule.php?gl=7440&pg=1&THESESSION_WASHBROOKE=093a30106d5ac516656594a99eabe971

GiftAid payment received

Thanks to all those parents who have filled in a Gift Aid Declaration for us. Our recently submitted second claim, relating to subs payments made between April 2006 and March 2007, has been accepted by HM Revenue & Customs and has resulted in a payment direct to Crofton Scout Group funds of a whopping £353.30. This includes £9.77 in interest.

Second cheque from EasyFundRaising webshop

We are delighted to report that we've received our second cheque, for £220.26, from our EasyFundraising webshop. Many thanks to all who have contributed towards this by using the shop. You may recall that this shop pays commission quarterly, posting a cheque a month or so after the end of each quarter. This cheque represents purchases made between July and September.

LIVE 07 - 24th November

Three Crofton Cubs have been chosen to perform in this exciting event, details of which were announced here:

2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group News: LIVE 07

See a video clip taken at the Rehearsals here.

Christmas shopping - the easy way!

With December just around the corner, now’s the time to log onto easyfundraising and get cracking with your Christmas shopping.

easyfundraising features a wide range of retailers, offering something for everyone this Christmas – from the latest toys and electronic gifts to all the food and wine you’ll need for Christmas day. You’ll earn a donation for us with every purchase you make, at absolutely no additional cost to you.

If you haven’t already registered with easyfundraising, do it today at www.easyfundraising.org.uk/2ndwakefieldcroftonscouts and help us to raise funds.

Cubs footie pics

We have a few photos taken at the Cubs District 5-a-side football competition which took place at the end of September.

Sainsburys Active Kids goodies

Here is a picture showing the goodies we received in exchange for the hundreds of Sainsburys Active Kids vouchers which we collected earlier this year. Once again, many thanks to all who contributed.

Second GiftAid claim

I have today posted off to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs the claim for GiftAid relating to our 2006/07 tax year, which ended on 31st March. The claim is for £343.53 and is calculated as follows. Of the £1867 received in subs for the year we have GiftAid declarations covering £1218. This number is multiplied by 22, then divided by 78!

This is all thanks to the support of parents and relatives who have filled in and returned the yellow (sometimes!) GiftAid declaration forms, so give yourselves a pat on the back!

Regular readers may recall that we applied for GiftAid status almost a year ago when we learned how much the scheme could give back to Crofton Scouts. Our first claim, which was backdated as far back as 2001, relating to some of the young people who have been members of Crofton Scouts during that time, resulted in a payment of £200.85.

Scouts narrowboat weekend pictures

Our growing Scout section have taken part in some exciting weekend activities recently. In September they stayed overnight on Wakefield District's very own narrowboat - The Jubilee Venture. Pictures from this weekend are now available in our Gallery (click on the image above).

Then last weekend they had the opportunity to go caving at Great Douk & Little Douk Pot Holes in Cumbria, with an overnight camp at Great Tower Camp Site followed by a low level walk around Lake Windermere.

AGM - Wednesday 10th October 7:30pm

You are cordially invited to Crofton Scout Group's Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 10th October at 7:30 p.m. - Venue: upstairs at The Royal Oak on Crofton High Street.

A full account of the financial year's income and expenditure will be presented, along with reports of the activities of each of the Sections.

So, set your video for Coronation Street and come and see us instead!

Paying in

It's always a pleasure to see the nice ladies in the HSBC branch near to my workplace, not least because it usually means I am paying money into the Scouts account!

Today it was a cheque for £24.37 resulting from recent sales from our first webshop. As usual, our thanks to all who have visited either of our webshops. (I shall update the News message there when I can remember the password for the account!)

We must also thank the kind mum who donated her time and materials to make the wonderful camp blankets which many of the youngsters have bought.

Don't forget, you can now raise funds for Crofton Scouts without lifting a finger (well, almost!) by using the Yahoo-based EasySearch search engine. So far I'm told our searches have contributed £0.11 to our account! Hopefully this figure will rise as word spreads about this feature.

Webb Ivory orders are also keeping Squirrel busy with goods being delivered well in time for Christmas this year. We'll let you know the commission raised in due course.

Finally thanks to all who attended the Virgin Vie party at the Royal Oak - this raised just over £100 for scout funds.

Subs payments - a thank you

Just a quick note of thanks to all parents who have already paid this half-term's subs. This method will help considerably on the admin side and I'm sure allow the pack meetings to start more promptly.

Gmail

Gmail is Google's free webmail service. It comes with built-in Google search technology and over 2,600 megabytes of storage (and growing every day). You can keep all your important messages, files and pictures forever, use search to quickly and easily find anything you're looking for, and make sense of it all with a new way of viewing messages as part of conversations.

There are no pop-ups or untargeted banner ads in Gmail, only small text ads. Ads and related information are relevant to your messages, so instead of being obtrusive, they may even be useful for once.

Gmail also integrates instant messaging right into the email experience, so you can stay in even better touch with your friends when you're online. Easy, efficient and maybe even fun to use. It's a whole new way to think about email. It's Google's approach to email.

Click here for more information.

Some of our leaders have been experiencing problems with their e-mail accounts recently and have switched to GoogleMail as a result.

Virgin Vie party

There will be a Virgin Vie party on 26th September, 8pm in Royal Oak. All monies raised will go to Group Funds.

Ladies night really but blokes welcome too!!

Notice of Changes to Sub Payments

For those who missed it, here is an announcement from our Group Scout Leader, Chris Stead:


Crofton Scout Group is introducing a change to the way subs (membership fees) are collected.


Currently members pay £2 in coin each week of the school terms, amounting to £78 over 39 weeks. This way of collecting subs is very time consuming.

We would like to start to collect the SAME AMOUNT in total, but spread out in installments over the year. This would equate to £13 to be paid at the start of each half term (6 payments per school year).


This should bring about a number of benefits, including:

The scouting sessions will be able to start more promptly, without
the leaders having to chase coins around the school hall floor!
Save time changing money
Getting the subs into the bank will be more efficient
Section leaders will have less administration to worry about at the
end of their busy sessions
Less time chasing overdue Subs, for section Leaders
No need for parents to search for that £2.00 change every week
Less stress for Leaders during a busy session


We will implement theses changes after the Summer School Holiday i.e. when we resume in September. We apologise for the short notice. Preferred method of payment by CHEQUE made payable to "2ND WAKEFIELD CROFTON SCOUT GROUP" with your child's / children's name on the back. Alternatively CASH in a SEALED ENVELOPE, again CLEARLY MARKED WITH YOUR CHILD'S NAME. The first payment is due week commencing 3rd September, so start saving your £2.00 through August!

Raise funds when you search the web!

by following this link


From the people who brought us the EasyFundraising webshop....

Use easysearch every time you search online and they'll give 50% of the fees paid by their advertising sponsors to your chosen cause.


easysearch is powered by Yahoo!, the world's 2nd largest search engine. It works just like Google, bringing you fast, accurate results every time, but unlike Google, easysearch gives you something back!When you search the web with easysearch you could generate about a penny for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group with every search you make. It doesn't sound like much, but the pennies soon mount up and you can raise £25.00 a year - or more - just by switching your normal searching to easysearch!

Make sure you are supporting:

2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group

----

If you prefer you may type http://2ndwakefieldcroftonscouts.easysearch.org.uk/ into your Address Bar to go to our EasySearch page.


Think you've seen this item before? Yes, you have! After a false start a couple of months ago, it seems that this service has now been officially launched.


P.S. If you want you can even set EasySearch as the default search engine on your PC by clicking here.

Back to school

[Advertisement] Find all your Back to School essentials at John Lewis. Their range includes lots of easy-care features to save you time, from stain-defying Teflon HT ® coating on blazers, trousers and skirts, to shirts that don’t need ironing and sportswear that stays fresher for longer. Click here for the latest BuyAt newsletter.

Sunrise Camp - new pictures

New pictures recently added to our Gallery:

Jubilee Venture narrowboat experience - new album:



Sunrise Camp - new album:

Sunrise 1st Aug 07

Exploring Nature - extra pictures added:



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Also, on a different note, the Christmas 2007 Webb Ivory catalogues are now available.

First cheque from EasyFundRaising webshop

We are delighted to report that we've received our first cheque, for £89.78, from our EasyFundraising webshop. Many thanks to all who have contributed towards this by using the shop. You may recall that this shop pays commission quarterly, posting a cheque a month after the end of each quarter. So this cheque represents purchases made between March and June.

The Scouting Centenary celebrations have prompted a higher than average number of camps this year, and this in turn this has led to an increase in the cost to the Group of badges! We hope that the income we receive from our fundraising ventures (including Webb Ivory, and our BuyAt and EasyFundraising webshops) will enable us to continue to provide badges without having to make a charge.

Buy sports equipment and support 2nd Wakefield (Crofton) Scout Group

Newitts are proud to support 2nd Wakefield (Crofton) Scout Group and are giving a donation for every purchase made through our BuyAt webshop. Click here for further details.

JUBILEE VENTURE

All Aboard the Jubilee Venture

On Thursday 26th July our CUBS spent the evening on board the Jubilee Venture, a 41FT Canal Narrow Boat owned by the Wakefield District Scout Council. Our journey lead us from Wakefield to Stanley Ferry Marina and along the river Calder. The Cubs were given the experience of steering the boat and opening locks. We all had a great time and even the rainy weather didn't dampen our spirits. This was a fantastic way to end our Cub Pack meetings before the School Summer Holidays.

We are planning on making this a yearly activity and would love to hear some feedback from the kids and parents, i.e. did they enjoy it? Please send your comments to cubleaders@croftonscouts.org.uk or click on the comment box.

BuyAt webshop commission

We have received a BuyAt webshop commission cheque for £22.35. This brings our total raised from this shop since last September to £198.09. Please tell your friends, relatives and work colleagues about our shop and encourage them to use it too - the shop is open to all!

Some of the recent promotions include:

• Subscribe to LOVEFiLM,Europe's leading online DVD rental company, for a free 21 day trial and 2nd Wakefield (Crofton) Scout Group will receive £7.50.
• £45 for 2nd Wakefield (Crofton) Scout Group with every mobile phone
• Subscribe to Sky and 2nd Wakefield (Crofton) Scout Group will receive up to £250

News page makeover

Regular visitors to this page may have noticed a few changes over the last week or so. These changes have been made in an effort to make the page more useful, to have more content and to fit in with the overall look of the rest of our website.

Here's a quick guide to the new format to help you to get the most out of it.

The left hand side of the screen now starts with a list of "Labels" which are links to certain categories of blog postings. Hopefully this will help you to find a posting which has fallen off the main page but is still relevant.

Underneath this are the most recent postings, some of which have comments. Click on the COMMENTS link at the end of a posting to see the existing comments or to SEND YOUR OWN COMMENT (which may be sent anonymously).

Most of the recent changes have been additions to the items available down the right hand side. Please take a few moments to try some of them out:

Searches. You can perform a Google search for anything on our website, or on the internet as a whole, using our Google Custom Search. There's also a link to the new EasySearch facility which will help raise funds for us when the system is launched in a few weeks' time.

Shared Items. These are links to items on other websites which may be of interest. The list of items will be altered from time to time to keep it interesting!

Likewise with the Scout Association - Scouting Plus links.

Underneath this is a link to the Crofton Community section of the Wakefield Express website which is likely to be updated weekly.

That's about it - for now ;)

Woolley Edge Cub Camp April 07 - photos

Sorry for the delay, but we've only just got these pictures back from the developer's laboratory!

Tree Stomp and Carnival photos

We have added some more photos of recent events to our Photo Gallery. Click on the slideshow above to go to the Gallery.

Tree Stomp Camp.

36 beavers, cubs, scouts and leaders from Crofton attended Bramham Park, Wetherby during the Spring Bank holiday weekend for the Central Yorkshire Scouts 100th anniversary camp. Despite the weather being a little inclement at times, everybody enjoyed activities such as caving, fell walking, abseiling, rock climbing and crafts. A total of around 3000 people attended the camp from all parts of Yorkshire.

Nature Activity.

Crofton Cubs and Beavers spent a Monday evening in June with ranger David Mee at the Heronry Centre, Winterset. They took part in several activities including pond-dipping which was enjoyed by all. A BIG THANK YOU to David for the fun experience.

Carnival.

Crofton scouts ran the well-known tea tent at this year's Carnival event. All sections took part in the parade through the village to the Carnival field.
As well as raising in excess of £150 for funds they also gained 2nd prize in the procession. Thank you to those who supported us and thanks to the Carnival Committee for the tea tent. See you next year!

Look, Mum, I'm on the telly!

The Great British Village Show BBC1
Sun 8 Jul, 6:50 pm - 7:35 pm 45mins

Alan Titchmarsh, James Martin and Angellica Bell are at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire, where they continue the search to find Britain's number one in 15 village show categories. Eight of the top vegetable, cake and craft judges in the country will decide who deserves to win a place in the grand final at Highgrove, where HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will hand out the awards.

Will you hear Akela selling countries for Spin The Wheel while James Martin discusses the prize raspberries?

Active Kids 07

Many thanks to all who have given us their Sainsburys Active Kids vouchers. The promotion has now finished but if you still have some vouchers knocking about in your handbag, wallet or purse, please hand them to a Leader as soon as possible.

At latest count we have collected 1886 vouchers - fantastic!

The Leaders are currently perusing the catalogue to see what equipment we can get for the Group. We will keep you posted on this.

It's Carnival Time!

Don't forget Saturday 23rd June is the date for Crofton's 7th Annual Carnival, organised by Crofton Carnival Committee.

Crofton Scout Group will be running the Refreshment Stand and Plate Smashing at the Carnival. In addition to the request for any old crockery (or even ceramic wall tiles etc.), we also need cakes & buns donating for the refreshment stand.

Click on the following link for full details on the Crofton Carnival Online website.

We hope to see you there!

Cubs upcoming events dates

For the upcoming cubs event dates for your diaries, click here

Recycling Appeal

Another gentle reminder....

The Scout Association has joined the Recycling Appeal to bring Scout Groups throughout the UK The Scouts Recycling Appeal, an innovative recycling programme.

The programme leads to the Scout Community badge, which is achieved through an improved understanding of the community. Another benefit is that Scout Groups can raise funds through the programme. All we have to do is collect used printer cartridges and old mobile phones, things that many homes and offices throw in the bin.

Millions of cartridges were thrown away last year alone - perhaps you discarded some yourself. The 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group could benefit enormously if these cartridges, plus unwanted mobiles, came our way instead. The environment would benefit too, because dumped materials cause landfill pollution, and recycling saves raw materials and energy.

Why not ask your employers to support us by registering for the Scouts Recycling Appeal programme on its website www.scoutsappeal.com ? By registering their support, your workplace can pledge their empty cartridges to our group. There is no cost involved in participating, as the Recycling Appeal provide free collection boxes which they uplift free of charge! Interested companies should register online or call 08451 30 20 10, simply mention that you would like to support our group and quote our account number 55209.

The Scouts Recycling Appeal programme will raise awareness in young people that recycling makes money and sense. Your support will provide greatly needed resources for our groups. To offer help and assistance to our group please call Chris Stead on 07814 010231 for further information on how you can help us.

We welcome your questions, support, cartridges and mobile phones. Thank you in advance for your participation.

GiftAid update

Just a gentle reminder for any parent who hasn't yet submitted a Gift Aid Declaration that it's not too late to do so.

We recently received £200.85 in GiftAid from HMRC for our first claim relating to subs going back to 2001.

A year's subscription to Crofton Scout Group is currently £78 (assuming a 39 week year). Gift Aid can potentially turn that amount into £100!

We are currently preparing the necessary data for the 2006-07 Tax Year Gift Aid claim. With the declarations we have already we can claim back approx £240. Please help us to increase this amount if you are able to make a Gift Aid Declaration.

To find out more about Gift Aid, and to download a Declaration form, please visit:
http://www.croftonscouts.org.uk/finances.htm

What do you think.....?

....about scouting in Crofton?

Is there something missing from this website?

Should there be a Parents Only password-protected area?

If you have any thoughts or comments please let us know by clicking on the comments link below.

Centenary Celebrations pictures...

Centenary Celebration

.... are now available in the Gallery.

Money Matters

A few financial updates for you. Firstly, thanks to all those parents who have filled in a Gift Aid Declaration for us. Our first claim, which relates only to subs payments made up until April 2006, has been accepted by HM Revenue & Customs and has resulted in a payment direct to Crofton Scout Group funds of £200.85.

Also, we have received a BuyAt webshop commission cheque for £38.58. This brings our total raised from this shop since last September to £175.74. Please tell your friends, relatives and work colleagues about our shop and encourage them to use it too - the shop is open to all!

Sainsbury's Active Kids vouchers are still being issued until the end of May. If you're not already passing yours in to a local school, please remember that Crofton Scouts are collecting these too. At latest count we have 545 vouchers.

We have also applied for a grant from the UKVillages Community Kitty in the hope that we may be able to purchase a new Burco boiler for use on camps and at events.

LIVE 07

LIVE 07

2nd Wakefield Cubs have been given a once in a life time chance for up to three lucky Cubs to take an active part in Live 07 at the O2 Arena (previously know as the Millennium Dome) in London towards the end of the year.

LIVE 07 is the festival of scouting to be held on Saturday 24th November 2007. It promises to be a fantastic showcase of everything which has made our centenary year special. Part of the programme will see 300 Cub Scouts taking part in special item to celebrate the fun and adventure which Cub Scouting represents. The Cub Scouts will be taken from Central, South and West Yorkshire.

More information can be found at: http://www.scouts.org.uk/2007/events/festival.html

The production team for the event is based here in Yorkshire and they are looking for up to three Cubs from each pack in the three counties to get involved.

What Skills do the Cub Scouts need?
The most important thing is that they are confident youngsters who can listen to and act on instructions. They will be taught to sing a song in the item but they do not need to be strong singers. They are particularly interested in youngsters who can confidently roller blade or do gymnastics. The chosen young people will need to be still in the Cub section in November.

What will taking part in the event involve?
There will be a small number of rehearsals for the event , which the Cubs will need to attend. The first one will be on the 15th May 6.30 – 8.00pm.
The evening will be used to give the Cub an idea of what is involved and also give the parents information about the project.

For the event itself, it is planned to provide coach transport down to the Arena for the cast of 300 along with supporting adult volunteers. The funding for this to happen has to be raised, and therefore a small amount of fundraising might be required.

What happens next?
If you’re Cub (from 2nd Wakefield Crofton) would like the chance to be in the cast, please e-mail your interest to cubleaders@croftonscouts.org.uk or phone your section Leader by the 20th April, and asked they are put forward for consideration. At this date the Cub Leaders will then select three Cubs from the list, and this decision will be final. We wish we could select all of our Cubs, but unfortunately we can’t. Parents wishing to attend or any member who hasn't been selected will be able to purchase tickets very soon, see the above link for details.

Centenary Celebration

Millennium Square, Leeds

A Centenary Celebration will be held to bring together scout members from the whole of the Central Yorkshire County on Sunday 22 April 2007.

We are parading from Woodhouse Moor into Millennium Square, Leeds; where the event will be held. Wakefield District have been asked to lead the parade, this is a great opportunity for us to, yet again, show the other members of Central Yorkshire County how great Wakefield District is. As this is a celebration young people are encouraged to bring along whistles, etc. for the parade.

The District has agreed to pay for the cost of transport to and from the event. Buses/coaches will leave from, and return to a selected location in Wakefield. Please ensure you have contact your section leader to confirm your Childs attendance ASAP, as the coaches have to be booked. More information i.e. meeting arrangements will be released at the section meetings before the event.

It is very likely 2nd Wakefield will be at the front of the parade, so let’s have a good attendance for this 100 year celebration event, and let’s shout about who we are.

We want your e-mail !!!!!!

2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group would like to become more efficient in the way we keep in touch and communicate events to our members. We would like to (were possible) send the majority of communication via E-mail or through this web site. This will provide many benefits to us all:
· Keep up to date with events
· Save Time
· Reduce waste paper
· Help the Environment
· Save on phone calls
· Faster communication

Please help us by forwarding your e-mail address to the relevant section Leaders.
See Contacts page.


We will not pass your details on to any third party companies, and it will only be used within the Scout Group for Scouting purposes.

Scouting and Camping

Ask a Scout member what they do in Scouts and one answer you will probably get is we go camping. Scout members from Young to old, Cubs through to Adult Leaders love Scout camps and the fun and exciting experiences they can bring. Through out the UK we have many scout camp sites available for scouting purposes only, where kids and adults can enjoy the great outdoors in a safe environment. The follow is a useful link to the Scout Campsite directory:

http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/cgi-bin/camping/db.cgi?db=camping&uid=default

AKELA'S Top Tip: One item I can strongly recommend anyone to invest in for their camping trip is a Camping Sleep Mat. Feeling cold on a night, whilst trying to sleep, is not an enjoyable experience and can leave you feeling negative towards camping. A lot of cold is felt through the floor when camping, and sleeping on the ground. A camping mat will insulate the sleeper from the cold and can make camping a total different experience. When I was a young Scout my Mum and Dad kindly bought me my first Camp Mat, and almost 20(ish!) years later I still have and use the same mat, money well spent, thanks Mum & Dad.

Happy Camping

EasyFundRaising - an alternative webshop

Raise Funds For 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group When You Shop Online

If you shop online there’s now another simple, easy and free way for you to support 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group. Best of all you can even save money.

easyfundraising is a shopping directory listing some of your favourite online stores. Over 350 popular retailers are participating including AMAZON, PLAY.com, Toys‘R’Us, DELL, Woolworths, John Lewis, Comet, HMV and Vodafone.

All you need to do is use the links provided on the easyfundraising site whenever you shop online, and at no extra cost we’ll receive up to 15% of every purchase you make – it’s that simple!

It doesn’t cost a penny extra to shop and raise funds in this way, and you can even SAVE MONEY as many retailers give exclusive discounts and savings when you shop using the easyfundraising site.

If you shop online ANYWAY why not raise extra funds for us by using this completely FREE service. And if you register before 30 April 2007 and you could even win £200 AMAZON VOUCHERS in their FREE PRIZE DRAW.

Visit http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/2ndwakefieldcroftonscouts

Great British Village Show

From Great British...

I'd hate to miss this program which is due to be screened on BBC1 in "Spring 2007".

The following is from the BBC's Press Office:

The village show is a national institution and members of the British public take huge pride in growing their own vegetables, decorating sumptuous cakes and creating handicrafts.



For many people, being a champion of their local village show is the highlight of their year – but in this new series, entrants now have the chance to be "Britain's No.1".



Presenters Alan Titchmarsh, James Martin and Angellica Bell visit six regional heats in some of the most beautiful stately homes of Great Britain.



Each show consists of 15 categories, from tallest sunflower to longest carrot, and the winner from each class goes through to the grand final. Well-known guests also chat with Alan about their life in a rural area.



The stories of the contributors as they plant their seeds, bake their cakes and make their miniature gardens show just how competitive the village show can be.

Please leave a comment below if you find out when this program is to be broadcast.

UPDATE: This news was sent from the television production company "12 Yard":

"I am very happy to inform that we have a transmission date for The Great British Village Show. It will be shown from Jun 3rd on BBC1. As yet we don’t have a time for it but please check your TV listings."

The Big One - Comic Relief photos

Comic Relief 2007

Regular visitors to this site will notice that our Photo Gallery has been revamped. Unfortunately we've lost the Food Night photos in the transition, but gained a few others! Why not let us know what you think of the new format by leaving a comment below.

Comic Relief 2007

COMIC RELIEF – 3 Challenges In 30 Minutes

We are pleased to advise on Thursday 15th March, at our Cub pack meeting, we will be having a sponsored event for Comic relief. Please read below on the important aspects of this event and what we will be doing.

Comic Relief's Red Nose Day will be The Big One, and a big year for Scouting too as we celebrate our Centenary. Since its launch in 1985, Comic Relief's Red Nose Day has been hugely popular with Scouts of all ages. So popular in fact that The Scout Association has teamed up with Comic Relief to encourage all Scout Groups to take part, and help make Red Nose Day 2007 even bigger and better than ever!

Not only will we be raising money for a fantastic cause, which helps thousands of poor and disadvantaged people across the UK and Africa, the event will also form part Join-in-Centenary Programme, an important part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations.

The Join-in-Centenary Badge, which is part of the special year-long Join-In-Centenary Programme, encourages Scouts to explore adventure, international friendship, community and the environment among other themes. Taking part in Red Nose Day 2007 is therefore a great way for young people to think about people in need around the world, and show their friendship by fundraising. Part of the Cub Scout promise is ‘to thing of others before themselves’.

What will 2nd Wakefield Cubs be doing?

3 challenges in 30 minutes (whilst wearing a big red nose)

All Cubs taking part will receive a Comic Relief Big Red Nose

1) Centenary Ball Bounce: In pairs Cubs will bouncing, catching and throwing a ball 100 times.

2) Jelly Eating with a difference: using a knife & fork and whilst wearing large gardening gloves

3) Comic Relief Word search: to be completed in the time scale

Please support Comic Relief by sponsoring a Cub, and help them get sponsored by others.

Last call for Gift Aid Declarations

I am in the process of drawing up Gift Aid claims for the period 1st April 2001 to 31 March 2006.

If you had a child in our scout group at any time between these dates then you may be able to help us to claim tax back from HMRC (formerly Inland Revenue) by filling in a Gift Aid Declaration. The form does not require a signature so it may even be submitted via email. For more information, and to download a form please see the Finances page on our website.

If you have any questions please leave a comment here or contact a leader.

Many thanks to all those who have already completed a form.

Scouts section Food Night photos!

New photos of the recent Scouts Section Food Night have just been added to our Gallery. Mmmmm! I wish I'd been there!

Sainsburys Active Kids - voucher appeal

From 7 February to 29 May 2007 Sainsburys will be issuing Active Kids vouchers. With a huge variety of kit, equipment and experiences available, Active Kids is a great way to boost the range of activities Scouts can enjoy.

You can earn one Active Kids voucher for every £10 spent at any Sainsbury's store, including groceries online or at Sainsbury's petrol stations. As an added bonus, you’ll earn an extra Active Kids voucher for every £10 spent on fresh fruit and vegetables and/or products featuring the healthy apple symbol.

Crofton Scout Group shall be pleased to collect Sainsburys Active Kids vouchers should you wish to donate them to us - please pass your vouchers onto a Leader.

Follow the link for more information on Sainsburys Active Kids.

Tesco joins www.buy.at/croftonscouts

This arrived in my Inbox today so I thought I'd mention it here rather than forward it via e-mail:

This is a great opportunity for 2nd Wakefield (Crofton) Scout Group to raise much needed funds through an outlet which offers everything you need through one website. Find great offers now at www.tesco.com.

2nd Wakefield (Crofton) Scout Group will receive ?5 for every new customer who makes a grocery transaction. There?s also a minimum of 2% commission on all other non-grocery products purchased.

Tesco.com includes:

* Groceries
* Books
* Wines
* Flowers
* Tesco Direct
* Entertainment

Newsletter Archive

Previous NEWSLETTERS are in the Crofton Scout Group Public Document Archive.

(Edit) There is now a link into this archive from the Sitemap page on the main website...

Webshop pays out £70.50

We've just received our third cheque in respect of commission from our webshop. After a slightly disappointing December when no payment was received, January sees the shop's success bounce back with our largest commission to date: £70.50. Many thanks to all who have contributed to this success!

Click here to see a breakdown of how this commission was achieved.