2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group

Leaders' Area

2011-10-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

We have added a new section to the website to hold forms, templates, spreadsheets, etc. which will be of use only to section leaders and committee members. This is a password protected area which should be available to anyone who already has a croftonscouts.org.uk e-mail account. There is a link to these new folders in the "Crofton Scout Group on the Web" section, or it can be found by following this link.

Winning raffle ticket numbers

2011-10-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

The winning raffle prizes from the recent family fun day were:
1st £15 94
2nd £11 sainsburys 12
3rd £10 Asda 4
4th £5 wilkinson 72
5th Wine 31
6th Cool bag 35

AGM and Gala

2011-08-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Diary Date: Annual General Meeting and Gala.
Saturday 10th September 2011 - 12:00 till 16:00.
Everyone is welcome to come and join the fun at Shay Lane School.

Archery
Bouncy Castle
Craft Activities
Grass Sledging
Face Painting
Tombola
Quiz
Colouring Station
Football Shoot out
Food and Drinks
Raffle
and lots more

Photo gallery updates

2011-08-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

There are four new photo albums in our Photo Gallery: Troop Night (January), Leeds Half Marathon (May), Scouts Back to Basic Camp (July) and Cawthorne maze of maize (July). Why not check our Most Popular Photos and then give the "thumbs up" to your own favourite shot.

March meeting minutes

2011-07-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

The minutes from the March Exec meeting have been published and are available to view via the Minutes section in the Public Files link to the right of this post.

Exec meeting minutes

2011-03-21T06:02:00.000-07:00

The minutes from last November's Exec meeting have been published and are available to view via the Minutes section in the Public Files link to the right of this post.

Active kids is back - Play your part!

2011-02-11T05:20:00.000-08:00

We are participating in Sainsbury's Active Kids 2011. This presents a fantastic opportunity to collect vouchers for a range of additional equipment that gives our children the opportunity to learn new skills.

We have collected Active Vouchers before and we want to take full advantage of Active Kids 2011 and hope we can count on your support!

You can collect Active Kids Vouchers from Sainsbury's between 9th February and 31st May 2011. You will recieve one voucher for every £10.00 spent at any main Sainsbury's store or £5.00 spent in Sainsbury's Locals. Vouchers can be collected at petrol stations too and when you shop for groceries on line. Nectar points can also be converted into vouchers - visit nectar.com for details.

Last year, we acquired 2 tents, water carriers, pots and pans. This year we are aiming to collect vouchers to get some more outdoor/indoor sports equipment and camping equipment.

So, please remember to collect your vouchers and donate them to us and help spread the word to friends, colleagues and neighbours that we are collecting! Every voucher is greatly appreciated, and with your help we are looking forward to a great year.

Please give any collected vouchers to your Section Leaders.

Thank you again for your support

2011 Scout Section events

2011-01-20T09:52:00.001-08:00

The Scout section's events have been added into our Calendar.

Wakefield Children and Young People’s Plan

2010-11-11T05:20:00.000-08:00

The Youth Development & Support Service would like to try and encourage as many young people as possible to get involved and say what’s important to them.

For anyone interested, there is a link on their website (Wakies World) www.wakiesworld.com home page to an online questionnaire to help shape the Children and Young People’s Plan.

The Wakefield Youth Development & Support Service currently provide approximately three quarters of the funding to cover the cost of hiring school premises for our pack meetings.

Every little helps....

2010-09-23T05:10:00.000-07:00

...but this is a huge help.

Well done to all who took part in the Tesco bag-packing session at Hemsworth last weekend. This raised a massive £600 for the Group.

AGM raises funds for Group

2010-09-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all who attended the AGM on Thursday evening. We hope you enjoyed the beetle drive, cakes and squash, the proceeds of which amounted to £52.80.

The Year End Accounts for 2009/10 as presented at the AGM are available for download here in our Public Folders section.

A cheque for £120 was also handed over to the treasurer from Bag2School, so again, many thanks to all those who have helped with this scheme.

Cubs vacancies

2010-09-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

We have vacancies in our newly formed Monday Cubs section. For details please contact Alison.

June exec meeting minutes

2010-09-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

The minutes from the exec meeting held in June have been published. Please follow the Public Files link on the right and then go to Minutes.

We're Back! Group website has a new look

2010-07-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new look Crofton Scout Group website. The old static page website has been replaced with a new blog format.

Please bear with us as we make a few adjustments to the look of this website over the next few days.

Please note that the old xxxx@croftonscouts.org.uk e-mail addresses are no longer active. If you wish to contact anyone in the Group, please feel free to use the following e-mail address and I shall forward your query to the relevant person: dbrown92@googlemail.com

GiftAid payment 2009/10

2010-06-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

We have received payment from HMRC Charities regarding our 2009/10 GiftAid claim. Including gift aid transitional relief and interest this amounts to £1,224.71, clearly demonstrating what a vital contribution to Group finances this benefit represents.

Easyfundraising cheque

2010-06-07T05:12:00.000-07:00

We have received a cheque for £17.74 from easyfundraising. It's the funds that our supporters have raised between Jan 1st and March 31st 2010 by shopping and searching via our easyfundraising links.

Have you heard about easyfundraising yet? It’s the easiest way to help raise money for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group! If you already shop online with retailers such as Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, Comet, iTunes, eBay or HMV, then we need you to sign up for free to raise money while you shop!

So how does it work?
You shop directly with the retailer as you would normally, but if you sign up to http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/2ndwakefieldcroftonscouts for free and use the links on the easyfundraising site to take you to the retailer, then a percentage of whatever you spend comes directly to us at no extra cost to yourself.

How much can you raise?
Spend £100 with M&S online and you raise £5 for us. £100 spent with Amazon raises £2.50, £100 with WH Smith puts £2.00 in our pocket and so on. There's over 2,000 retailers on their site, and some of the donations can be as much as 15% of your purchase.

Save money too!
easyfundraising is FREE to use plus you'll get access to hundreds of exclusive discounts and voucher codes, so not only will you be helping us, you’ll be saving money yourself.

Raise money as you search!
And that’s not the only way to raise money. Are you one of the 6.4m people that use a search engine every day? If so, you can raise money for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group while you search?

http://2ndwakefieldcroftonscouts.easysearch.org.uk combines the results of several search engines such as Yahoo!, Bing and Ask to ensure you can always find what you’re looking for. But the fantastic thing is that EVERY TIME you search, half a penny is raised for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group. Search just 15 times a day and you can raise around £25 a year for us.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/2ndwakefieldcroftonscouts today and start raising money for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group simply by shopping and searching online….what could be easier?

CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA

2010-03-31T05:07:00.000-07:00

Young people from all of our Sections have this year raised over £380, half of which is being donated to the CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA charity with the remainder being used to boost Group funds. The Beavers' Mr. Men challenge raised £68.19 for the charity, whilst the Cubs and Scouts Cheeky Monkeys supplied a further £123.37.

A huge THANK YOU goes out to all the friends and relatives who have supported these schemes and given donations. Alison will distribute the certificates when they are received from the charity.

We're collecting Active Kids

2010-03-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

Once again this year we are collecting Sainsbury's Active Kids vouchers.

Webshop commission

2009-12-31T04:45:00.000-08:00

Our webshops continue to provide a welcome boost to our fundraising efforts. We have just received a cheque from BuyAt for £40.61, relating to commission from 8 transactions with Laterooms.com. This brings to £882.42 the total money received from both webshops since they were set up three years ago.

Record week for easysearch

2009-12-28T05:01:00.000-08:00

A record 913 "easysearches" were recorded from our supporters in the week 11-17 December, generating £4.59 for the Group, according to an e-mail received today.

This brings to £27.92 the total funds raised from 4,950 completed searches.

Are you one of the 6.4m people that use a search engine every day? If so then why not raise money for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group while you search?

Easysearch combines the results of several search engines such as Yahoo!, Bing and Ask to ensure you can always find what you’re looking for. But the fantastic thing is that EVERY TIME you search, half a penny is raised for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group. That’s right – you don’t even have to buy anything! Almost 17 million searches have been made using easysearch and each one has raised money for good causes.

See what people are saying about easysearch:

"easysearch is a great idea and just as good as Google for the results! I’ve recommended it to my friends and I think this site is the best around as it does something for people. Well done!"

"What a fantastic idea! I was using Google anyway but this way I get to raise money for my good cause every time I search…brilliant! I’ve made easysearch my homepage!"

So the next time you need to find something online, please use http://2ndwakefieldcroftonscouts.easysearch.org.uk and raise money for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group with every search you make.

EasyFundraising Competition

2009-11-25T05:25:00.000-08:00

The EasyFundraising on-line Christmas Advent Calendar Competition offers a chance to win a different prize every day in the run up to Christmas. Follow this link for details.

News from the exec ...

2009-11-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

It was a productive exec meeting that was held recently – the committee continues to support the scout group in many different ways but our priority last week was fundraising.
The family fun night has been postponed, so don’t forget to put 13th March 2010 in your new diary and be ready to buy tickets for a great family night out (complete with hot supper) when they go on sale in the New Year. It really will be a night that children from 1-100 years can enjoy and it not only supports Crofton scouts, it helps to support Crofton Community Centre also. Any unwanted gifts (including that scarf you never wanted!) will be gratefully received as raffle prizes for the big night.
We are holding a charity stand in the Ridings Centre on Sunday 6th December, where we are hoping to raise awareness of both the group and the fledgling district-wide explorers section and raise some invaluable funds. We hope to promote some Christmas cheer also and remind Wakefield that scouts is a place for children (and adults) of different ages to experience activities that they may never have had a chance to try (often in weather that they’d never imagine!), build supportive friendships and have fun :-). This activity will be followed on 21st December by bag packing at Morrison’s, on Dewsbury Road. Older cubs and scouts will be braving the Christmas crowds (with adult supervision and support), learn a life skill ;-) and help busy shoppers be a little less stressed in the run-up to Christmas ...
So lots to support as you can see and don’t forget to have a good ol’ clearout, fill up your charity bags and leave a bit of room in the house ready for the arrival of a special person, on Christmas Eve who I am sure would join with me in saying, “Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas explorers, scouts, cubs, beavers and helpers” ...
…and even Santa needs his helpers and so do we – in adult form and in uniform or not! (Reindeers and fluffy beards welcome – it’s amazing how creative a scout can be!) Until next time/next year, have a happy and peaceful December and if you want to help at any of our fundraising events or join us as an adult helper, don’t hesitate to speak to one of the leaders or email via the links on this webpage ...
Crofton Scout Group Secretary

Cub Calendar 2010

2009-11-16T05:28:00.000-08:00

Details of Cub (and some Group) Events though until December 2010 have been added into our Calendar. Please check with Akela for further details.

News from the exec...

2009-10-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

The exec is still working hard, supporting and managing the fundraising activities for the group. A recent virgin vie night raised a small amount of funds that will support the forthcoming 'pig race night' on 20th November. This will be a family fun night with racing between fluffy pink pigs, a hot supper, a raffle and rather a lot of oink-oinks!
Everyone should also have come home from Beavers, Cubs, Scouts or Explorers with envelopes for recycling jewellery...however old or broken your items are it doesn't matter to us so please ask around at home, work or with friends and neighbours for any donations. If you don't have an envelope please speak to one of the leaders...
...speaking of which we are always in need of uniformed leaders or volunteers. It doesn't matter whether you can donate your time, your skills or your enthusiasm once a year or on a regular basis, it will help to support the group and give you a sense of personal satisfaction (I can vouch for that, having suddenly gone from being a scout and soon-to-be beaver mum, to exec member to group secretary in a very short space of time!!). Again, if you are interested but are a little shy of what your contribution may involve, please speak with one of the leaders or email via the contacts page.
Next exec meeting 11th November...hope to see you there! :-)

Tesco stuff

2009-10-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Our Beaver Leaders have redeemed Tesco Vouchers for the following items:

2 sports/feelings balls

8 sports mats

72 coloured pencils

750 sheets of craft paper

24 fabric crayons

50 pipe cleaners

Many thanks to all who collected vouchers for us.

Weekly easysearch report

2009-09-19T03:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the easysearch report for Week 37 2009

Week range: 04-Sep-2009 - 10-Sep-2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Total number of searches by all easysearch organisations...........196678

Searches by 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group...........85
Amount raised for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group..........£0.43 GBP

Explorer Scout Unit

2009-09-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that we have been given the go ahead from Wakefield district to open an Explorer Scout Unit for Young people aged 14- 18 years. This is to be run by Matt who has been helping us with our scout section for quite a while now.

If you require any more information on this section or know of any young people who would be interested in joining this section please contact explorerleaders AT croftonscouts.org.uk (i.e. same format as our other e-mail addresses)

BuyAt webshop cheque received

2009-09-07T05:23:00.000-07:00

Hot on the heels of the recent EasyFundraising commission, we have received a cheque for £20.92 from our other webshop: BuyAt.

FundRaising made Easy

2009-08-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

We have received a cheque for £24.58 from easyfundraising.org.uk for Quarter 2 2009.

The Escouts Community

2009-08-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

One scouting resources website that I find I visit above all else is the excellent escouts.org.uk which is a Scouting forum & Community that also offers free website hosting to Scout sites. The site itself thrives with one thousand unique visitors a day and over ten thousand visitors in total but a little promotion wouldn’t hurt to a receptive audience.

So what’s in it for you, the Scouter? Do you need free hosting for your Scout website or are you just looking for help building the website? Do you want to chew the Scouting fat on a forum as opposed to a newsgroup or do you have a question for the Chief Commissioner?

You may answer yes to some of the above, but Escouts answers yes to all of them! Such a fine site must be part of the Scout Association’s set up surely? Nope, the independence of Escouts means people can talk freely from the heart about scouting.

Members of the Escouts team described the site as a‘living thing’ and talked about the fact that it is always being developed. The latest addition to the site is the social group function. There’s everything from Bushcraft to Blackberry mobile user groups and it allows chatter to kindred spirits in a fill your boots kind of way!

I could go on but I’ll finish with how the site has been summed up by members in one word. ‘Useful’ and‘Community’ were some good answers but be sure to log in and decide for yourself at http://www.escouts.org.uk/.

GiftAid nets over £1000 for the Group

2009-07-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Our recent GiftAid claim, relating to subs payments made in the year ending 31st March 2009, has been accepted by HM Revenue & Customs. This has resulted in a payment direct to Group funds of a massive £1,073.08.

This highlights just how important it is that the Group maintains an up to date register of GiftAid Declarations. If eligible, a parent will normally need only complete a declaration form once, as it may remain valid for six years.

Year End Accounts

2009-07-16T05:09:00.000-07:00

The Year End Accounts for our financial year ending 31 March 2009, as presented at the A.G.M. last Thursday, are available here. (You may need Adobe Reader to view this file.)

Active Kids

2009-06-30T05:21:00.000-07:00

Sainsbury's have stopped issuing Active Kids vouchers for this year, and we now have until 24 July to redeem our collection. If you still have any vouchers lying around looking sorry for themselves, please pass them in either to Chris Stead or to any Leader.

Leeds Half Marathon

2009-06-29T05:19:00.000-07:00

We have received a letter of thanks from the Event Coordinator of the Leeds Half Marathon which took place on May 10th. Crofton Scout Group provided marshals and manned drinks stations for the event and in turn we have received a donation of £210.

Many thanks to all who gave of their time to help on the day.

Photographs from the day can be seen in our gallery here.

Leadership changes

2009-04-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

Chris Stead has been asked to move into a District appointment, managing our existing and new facilities at this exciting time for Wakefield District Scouts. This is a tremendous opportunity for Chris which he has accepted, and a reflection of his excellent managment skills and scouting knowledge.

Chris has done a fantastic job within Crofton in supporting the leadership team over the past four years as Group Scout Leader (GSL), and helping to turn the Group round from the brink of closure to the success it is now. Chris has promised that he will still be a regular face within the group and will continue to support us in whatever way he can.

Karen Hodgkinson has been appointed by Wakefield District to take on the role of Group Scout Leader. Karen will be known to many within the Group, having been a Beaver Leader for several years before becoming Assistant Group Scout Leader in 2008.

The continuing support of all the enthusiastic leaders, helpers, parents and friends will ensure that Crofton remains such a great success and one of the best groups in the District.

Gift Aid Declaration call.

2009-03-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

With our financial year end approaching we are preparing our records in anticipation of submitting this year's claim for Gift Aid from HMRC. Last year's claim netted us £800 and with your help we hope to recoup a similar figure this year. As you can imagine, this sum makes a huge difference to our finances.

Could all parents please check that you have filled in a Gift Aid Declaration if this is applicable to your circumstances. If you are not sure whether you have filled in a form, please contact me (David Brown) via e-mail and I will be able to check whether or not you are on our register. If you have more than one child in the Group then a single form may be used to cover all children, and the Declaration may remain valid for six years.

Please note, if you stop paying tax or have paid insufficient tax to cover the amount the Group will be claiming back (up to £78 per child per year) you must let us know, as we cannot make a claim for your payments.

Further information on GiftAid may be found on our Finances page, along with a link to download a blank copy of the Declaration form.

Weekly easysearch report

2009-03-07T03:02:00.000-08:00

Here is this week's easysearch report.

Welcome to your easysearch report for Week 09 2009

Week range: 20-Feb-2009 - 26-Feb-2009

Total number of searches by all easysearch organisations...........203502

Searches by 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group.................................106

Amount raised for 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group..........£0.54 GBP

Well done! Keep searching....

easyfundraising cheque received

2009-02-28T01:57:00.000-08:00

We have received a payment of £33.74 from our fundraising webshop with easyfundraising - follow this link for details of this facility. This payment relates to transactions made between October and December 2008, either from commission on sales or from easysearch web searches.

Did you know that if you use easysearch instead of Google or any other search engine and you can make a real difference to 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group? By making just 10 searches a day with easysearch, you can raise around £20 a year. Why not encourage your friends, work colleagues, schools and family members to do the same. Click here to try it out. Better still, you can even easysearch directly from your browser.

Where did all that mud come from?

2009-02-10T05:21:00.000-08:00

The No-Nonsense Parents' Guide to Scouting.

Whether your child is already in Scouting or is considering joining, the Scout Association has put together some useful resources for parents which can be seen here. Some of the sections included are:

Parents’ frequently asked questions about Scouting
Parents’ family information form
Case studies relating some different experiences of parents who have enjoyed helping out
Adventure News - an offer to subscribe to a monthly e-mail newsletter giving you the best of Scouting stories and information.

Beaver programe

2009-02-03T02:16:00.000-08:00

hi everyone, we seem to be going from strength to strength within our beaver colony, and we would like to let you all know what exciting things will be happening in our programme until the end of March, so here we go,

9th Feb,
we are working towards our air activities badge-making paper airoplanes and para shoots.

23rd Feb,
we are celebrating lord Baden-Powell's birthday along with otters, kits and badgers, so we are having a party (yay) with games and party food.

2nd March,
we are having a visit from our very own (Mr akala) who is a police officer, to have a chat with our beavers about anything they would like to talk about.

9th March,
we are working towards our Hobbies badge, so beavers will be talking about what hobbies or other activities they take part in other than scouting.

16th March,
we are making mothers day gifts and cards

22rd March,
we will be attending Crofton church for the mothers day service which was a real hit last year with the children and parents.

23rd March,
pond dipping at Winterset, details to be arranged

30th March,
Easter celebrations, making Easter goodies, and games

Also this year we are going to arrange a beaver sleep over, there will be beaver craft day, the beaver ball and a beaver fun day plus lots lots more to be added to our programme.

we would like to thank all leaders and parents who make all our activities run with great success so THANK YOU EVERYONE,

from badger, kit and otter

Photo Gallery upgrade

2009-01-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

Our photo gallery has been migrated to a new service, provided for free by SmugMug. Follow this link to see the new layout.

BuyAt commission

We have received a cheque for £32.31 as commission on purchases made in our BuyAt webshop.

Happy New Year to all

2009-01-10T10:02:00.001-08:00

Please remember (as I didn't!) to check the calendar on the Events page regularly as items are being added for the coming year. Alela has provided dates for many Cubs activities, details for other sections will be added in due course.

Set it and forget it!

Thank you to all parents who have set up a standing order to pay subs. We hope that this method will prove popular as it should simplify our accounting process as well as giving parents one less item to worry about at the start of each half-term. Once set up, the bank instruction may remain in place throughout your child's time with Crofton Scout Group with no changes being necessary when they move up through the sections.

Youth Group Games

2008-12-14T05:44:00.000-08:00

I received the following e-mail this week:

We have created a very comprehensive public interest website: www.youthgroupgames.co.uk/home.htm focused on comprehensive advice on games and activities for youth groups, which I thought may be of interest to your visitors. I was wondering if you might consider linking to us so that your readers could benefit from our extensive information on this subject?
A particularly relevant/useful page that you might like is: www.youthgroupgames.co.uk/games-for-different-ages-category.htm
We don't make profit from the site but we'd like to spread the word and get the information out to as many people as possible. A link from your site will help us do this and would be really appreciated.

I have had a quick look around the site and there are all sorts of interesting articles on there including Pen and Paper Games, Card Games, Word Games, and even general writing tips for overcoming writer's block!

Photo gallery refurbishment

2008-12-12T05:07:00.000-08:00

We are making a few changes to the management of our photo gallery. Please bear with us whilst these changes are taking place and check back frequently to see new pictures!

Christmas is really coming

2008-12-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

From Christingle 2008

Dear Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Parents

Well, what a lovely way to truly feel that Christmas is coming. The attendance at todays Christingle was lovely to see. So many of our group, smartly presented and in fine singing voice. Thank you to Crofton Church for making us feel so welcome again.
A big thank you to the scouts who even managed to attend after having walked into the early hours of the morning during the district night hike. I know many of you had managed only a few hours sleep. Well done for being first group home!!

We look forward to seeing you at the Christmas party on Thursday. Get ready for some festive fun and games.

Ho ho hopefully will be having a special visitor!!!

Squirrel

Be the first to know

2008-12-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

Do you want to keep up with the latest News from Crofton Scouts without having to visit the site every day? Now you can! How? By becoming a "Follower".

Click on the "FOLLOW THIS BLOG" link (you'll find it over on the right hand side of this page, about half way down) to find out more.

Cubs have Xscaped!

2008-12-02T12:03:00.000-08:00

Crofton Cubs recently enjoyed an exhilarating trip to Xscape at Castleford where they enjoyed tobogganing and a game of laser quest. The trip was subsidised by the donation from the Crofton Children's Play Area Association which we were delighted to receive earlier this year.

Christmas Party

2008-11-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Beavers, Cubs and Scouts
Christmas is coming and we're all getting very excited.
Otter is arranging the groups Christmas Party for Thursday 11th December.

After the success of last years beach party theme, this year we thought we would have a pyjama party, so come kitted out in your best bedtime gear, teddies allowed!

We hope to have a fun night of games and festivity, someone special may also make an appearance.

HoHoHoHope to see you there!
Squirrel

Ladies Night

2008-11-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

Dear mums, nans, aunts and friends

Otter has very kindly organised another evening for our girls night out.
She has booked a body shop party to be held in the Royal Oak, Crofton on Tuesday 25th November from 7.30.
Everyone welcome.
What a great excuse for some super Christmas shopping and all monies raised will go into the groups funds.
We hope to see you there and feel free to bring a friend.
Squirrel.

Remembrance Sunday

2008-11-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

To all our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Leaders and Parents.
A big thank you to each of you for attending the service at Crofton Church and Memorial this morning.
We have had some lovely comments about the well behaved, smartly presented youngsters representing the Scout Group in marking such an important day.
As life becomes increasingly busy, a moment of reflection and remembrance for the sacrifices made for our futures seems even more relevant.
Thank you again
Squirrel.

Beavers Visit Build a Bear Workshop

2008-10-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well what an exciting half term adventure for our beavers!
16 Beavers, leaders and some willing parent volunteers (thank you by the way!!) ventured into South Yorkshire to visit the Build a Bear Workshop.
What a night with a difference, we got to choose our bear, fill a heart with love and stuff to go inside our bear.....stuff him with soft fluffy stuff making him soft and cuddly or big and strong, and dress him our her in a fantastic outfit. We also named each of our bears and were given a birth certificate.....and best of all we got to bring our new best friend home, squirrels new friend is Florence Fudge the cuddly nurse bear. I hope you all have fun with your new friend.
Thank you to all the beavers who were brilliantly behaved and so polite....a credit to the group.
A big thank you to Kit and Badger for organising such a fun night out.....can we go again?

Subs payment arrangements

2008-10-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to welcome our new Assistant Treasurer, Hilary, who will be looking after the collection of subs from now on. Hilary will aim to attend Beaver, Cub and Scout pack meetings in the early part of each half term to collect subs directly from parents, thus giving the Leaders more time to get started with the evening's activities.

It would be helpful if parents could remember to send subs in with their child to the first meeting of each half term. Just a reminder that the preferred method of payment is 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.

Camp fees will continue to be paid via the Section Leaders.

In the new year we shall be looking to introduce an electronic payment option, possibly spreading the annual subs across twelve equal monthly payments (of £6.50). Details to follow.

Holland Camp photos and more

2008-10-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

From 2008 August Holland Camp

Skip has sent me a large number of photos which can now be seen in the following Albums in our Gallery:

2007 Night Hike

2008 Narrowboat

2008 August Holland Camp

2008 September - Aldwark

2008 September - Climbing

2008 October - Survival camp

2008 06 District Camp (new photos added)

What's been happening this term?

2008-10-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

Its been a busy and fun start to the Autumn term and we now look forward to Winter term.
The Beavers had a creative time at the District craft event making lots of sticky mess and are soon off to Meadowhall to visit the Build a Bear Factory with each Beaver hoping to come home with a new furry pal.
Three of our Cubs who took part in the Live 07 event at the O2 arena last year enjoyed a fun day out & BBQ organised by the County team to thank them for all their hard work and commitment last year.
The Cubs have also been busy with the wardens from Anglers Country Park building bird houses.
Thanks to the team at Wakefield fire station for showing our Beavers and Cubs around this term. Fun night had by all.
The Scouts have been learning essential Emergency Aid skills and will complete their learning with the final session concentrating on CPR, completing their Emergency Aid Badge. Thanks to Helen from the St Johns Ambulance. A few of the older scouts braved the autumnal nights on the district survival camp. Well done Guys!! Rather you than Squirrel who likes her warm cosy bed!!!
New members, young or old, are always welcome to join the group. Please direct enquiries via our section leaders or Group Scout Leader who can be contacted using the information from our ‘contact us’ page.

GiftAid generates £800 for scout funds

2008-09-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

We received confirmation today that our most recent GiftAid claim, relating to subs payments made in the year ending 31st March 2008, has been accepted by HM Revenue & Customs. This has resulted in a payment direct to Group funds of a massive £800.27.

This highlights just how important it is that the Group maintains an up to date register of Gift Aid Declarations. If eligible, a parent will normally need only complete a declaration form once, as it may remain valid for six years.

If you are a parent of one of our beavers, cubs or scouts and can't remember whether you have filled in a Gift Aid form, please get in touch with David Brown, our treasurer, who will be able to check for you.

AGM - Thursday 25th September 7:30pm

2008-09-22T13:06:00.000-07:00

You are cordially invited to Crofton Scout Group's Annual General Meeting to be held on Thursday 25th September at 7:30 p.m. - Venue: Shay Lane school.

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.

Leeds Half Marathon feedback

2008-09-20T04:09:00.000-07:00

We have received a letter from Sean Kachmarski, Event Coordinator for the 2008 Gaz de France Leeds Half Marathon, thanking us for our support at this event. He says he has received a number of positive letters and emails from runners commenting on the quality of marshalls and drinks stations as well as the support and encouragement they received from the volunteers.

Crofton provided a team of 21 willing volunteers, including young people, parents and leaders, for which the Group will be rewarded with a payment of £150 for Group Funds.

Many thanks to all those who gave up their Sunday morning to help at this event.

Play Area Association

2008-09-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

We are sorry to learn that Crofton Children's Play Area Association has dissolved through lack of support. However we are grateful for their kind donations of £75 to Crofton Beavers and an equal amount for our Cubs section. A condition of these donations is that they be used to directly benefit these two sections of our Group.

The Beaver Leaders are planning to use their money to provide a trip for our Beaver colony during the half-term break in October.

The Cub Leaders have yet to decide how best to use their donation.

Help wanted this Sunday morning

2008-09-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Message from Chris, our Group Scout Leader (GSL):

I have volunteered the group to run 2 feed stations and a few marshall points on the Leeds marathon this Sunday the 7th September, the group will be paid between £110 and £150 for doing this so it is a good fund raiser.

I have done this for many years and have had a lot of fun as well as raising money.

The feed stations are near Lawnswood school and in Horsforth they need to be manned from 8 45 am until midday so I think we will meet at the Weavers Green pub car park between 8am and 8.10am

If you could send a reply if you are able to help to gsl AT croftonscouts.org.uk (e-mail address on Contact page) that would be great.

We need about 20 people for this and it is a good opportunity to help the group fundraise as well as have some fun

easyfundraising Quarter 2 2008

2008-08-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

We have recently banked a cheque for £22.65 from easyfundraising for Quarter 2 2008. This total has been built up from commission on webshop purchases including £12.50 from mobile phones bought from e2save, £4.22 from P&O ferries [Holland camp], £2.00 from Purple Parking at Leeds Bradford airport, and web searches made via easysearch.

Holland Update

2008-08-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

HOLLAND UPDATE - DAY 7

What are the three most popular scouting activities ?????????????

1) Exploring the local area

2) Cooking & Eating with friends.

3) How many Scouts you can fit in a Smart Car.

Crofton Scouts Land in Holland

2008-08-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

This message just in from Skip:

Our scouts have arrived safely in Holland. Thought I would share this first picture from Holland with you all. The report back so far is it rained heavily yesterday, although the sun has started to shine this afternoon (in preparation for me joining them!).

Even more camps, even more photos!

2008-08-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

New photos are now available in our gallery from the Nostell District Camp and also from the Cubs Narrowboat experience.

Camps and photos update

2008-06-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

New pictures are available to view in our Photo Gallery from the Drum Hill Camp which took place over the Spring bank holiday weekend. Also Crofton Cubs recently spent an evening pond dipping.

Active Kids. This Sainsbury's promotion has now finished for this year. Thank you for all your vouchers. We have enough for two three-man tents and will be placing our order this week.

Many of our youngsters are on camp at Nostell this weekend which means that unfortunately we cannot attend the Crofton Carnival.

Active Kids 08 - get 'em in!

2008-06-06T05:15:00.000-07:00

Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers have now finished, as of Wednedsay 4th June. May I on behalf of the Group thank all those people who have donated their vouchers, the current total stands at over 2700 vouchers. Last year's goodies can be seen here and this year we are hoping to have enough vouchers for a 5-man tent, so if you have any vouchers hiding in your wallets/purses that you wish to donate please get them in via the Leaders as soon as you can.

buy.at webshop pays out £29.31

2008-05-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

We have just received a cheque for £29.31 as commission from 12 purchases made through our buy.at webshop over the past few months.

Cubs: Tracking Signs & NCM photos

2008-05-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Two new albums of photos are now available in our Photo Gallery of recent Cubs events: the Tracking Signs pack night and the day trip to the National Coal Mining Museum.

easyfundraising - cheque received

2008-05-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

We are now in receipt of our fourth cheque, for £26.60, from our EasyFundraising webshop. As some of you will remember, this shop pays commission quarterly, posting a cheque a month or so after the end of each quarter. This payment results from purchases and EasySearch web searches made between January and March 2008.

Some interesting statistics, we now have 16 Registered Members in our EasyFundraising shop, and there have been 1,299 Completed Searches, generating £9.51 for Crofton Scout Group funds, through use of EasySearch.

CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA - final total

2008-05-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

All monies are now in following the recent charity events in which our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts took part. Many thanks to Kaa, who not only had the idea but has also handled the administration and collection of sponsor money. The Beavers raised £174 and beween them the Cubs and Scouts collected £483.65, making a magnificent total of £657.65.

Resulting from this we are delighted to pass on cheques to the CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA charity for £335, with the remaining £322.65 being retained for Group Funds.

Some of this money has been used to purchase a new events shelter, which all sections will benefit from.

The young people who took part in these events are looking forward to receiving their key rings, baseball caps and other goodies which are being given as rewards by the charity organisers.

CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA fundraising

2008-04-27T06:44:00.001-07:00

Crofton Beavers recently took part in a sponsored A-to-Z word game where they had to think of as many words as possible to do with scouting. Our Cubs and Scouts also completed a sponsored walk. Over £525 has been collected so far, the proceeds of which are to be shared between the Crofton Scout Group funds and the CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA charity.

Many thanks to all the generous sponsors.

Archery

2008-03-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 10th February the Wakefield District ran an archery session at the 23rd Scout HQ. This was an indoor session over a reasonably short range, suitable for Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders.

The County Activities Team are going to be holding a County Archery Competition in June, so this was a good chance to get some practice in.

See the pictures in our Gallery.

Virgin Vie success

2008-03-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

Squirrel reports that the recent Virgin Vie night made £73 for group funds, so many thanks to all who attended and also to the Slipper pub for hosting the event.

Events Calendar 2008

2008-03-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

As more and more events are being added to the scouting calendar we have incorporated a Google Calendar into our Events page. By default this will display the current month but there are several different ways to navigate to different dates. Some events have further details which can be seen by clicking on the particular Event. If you wish you can even print selected pages from the calendar using the inbuilt print option.

Cubs' Christmas Party

2008-02-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken at the Cubs' Christmas Party.

the easy way to earn £79

2008-02-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

We are now in receipt of our third cheque, for £79.92, from our EasyFundraising webshop. As some of you will remember, this shop pays commission quarterly, posting a cheque a month or so after the end of each quarter. This payment results from purchases made between October and December 2007. Many thanks to all who have contributed towards this by using the shop in the run up to Christmas.

AK08

2008-02-18T14:49:00.001-08:00

Sainsbury's Active Kids vouchers are back!

From 14 February 2008 to 4 June 2008, every £10 you spend with Sainsbury’s will earn 1 AK08 voucher. In Sainsbury’s Local stores you’ll get 1 voucher for every £5 spent instore. You can earn vouchers at Sainsbury’s supermarkets, Locals, Centrals and petrol stations and when you shop online at Sainsbury's.

Once again 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.

Last year we exchanged your vouchers for play and sports equipment mostly for use by the Beavers and Cubs. This year's catalogue has some interesting looking tents which could be a useful addition to our inventory!

Webb Ivory nets group over £200

2008-02-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

Our 2007 Webb Ivory campaign raised a total of £209.86 for Group Funds, so many thanks to you if you ordered something from the catalogue.

A special thank you also to Squirrel for all her hard work processing the orders and distributing the goods.

Easysearch tally almost £5

2008-02-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

Here are the results of the first 19 weeks of use of the EasySearch web search engine by Crofton Scout Group supporters. So far the total monies raised for the Group in this way has reached £4.93.

Come on, help us make it to £5.00 !!

If you're not already with us, check out Easysearch here.

For further information, see the post announcing the launch here.

Cubs news

2008-02-09T01:23:00.000-08:00

This term's Cubs Newsletter has been published with a few dates for your diaries and an update on what the cubs are up to this term.

You can read the new Cubs Newsletter here or follow the link from the top of the Cubs page.

If you are new to the area and want to see what you missed last year, our 2007 Cubs Calendar has now been moved into the Newsletter Archive.

Scouts take 1st & 2nd Place

2008-02-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

Crofton Scouts take 1st & 2nd Place in MetroRun

On Saturday 19th January Crofton Scouts entered two teams in the Scout MetroRun held by Pontefract & Castleford Scout District. The Metro Run is a simple idea, visit and pass as many train stations within the Metroline area (West Yorkshire). A total of 11 Scout teams took part and 4 Explorer Scout teams.

Scouts - Metro Run January 2008

With a total of 38 stations visited by one team and 37 stations by the other, Crofton Scouts took victory in 1st and 2nd place. A lot of planning went into the event by our scouts, they had to study the timetable to allow them to call at as many station as possible between the hours of 9.00am and 4.00pm. Their planning and hard work paid off as they had a great day out, jumping on and off trains, and they had the added bonus of a great victory.

Well done Scouts.

BuyAt webshop pays out

2008-01-31T05:25:00.000-08:00

We have received a cheque for £39.28 as commission on purchases made in our BuyAt webshop.

Girls' Night Out!

2008-01-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

VIRGIN VIE PARTY

PLEASE COME AND JOIN US ON:

WEDNESDAY 20TH FEBRUARY 2008

THE SLIPPER, CROFTON

8PM ONWARDS.

All money raised donating to 2nd Wakefield (Crofton) Scout Group.

Centenary Year Moments

2007-12-22T03:40:00.001-08:00

(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

2007-12-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-28T13:30:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-24T05:23:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-10T04:26:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-07T13:35:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-31T15:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-13T03:12:00.001-07:00

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

2007-10-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-04T05:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-04T05:16:00.000-07:00

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.