We perform every other year and 2012 is the time for our biggest and best show yet!

We are looking for a musical director to help put the show together. We are looking for someone with a vast knowledge of music who is able to edit and compose music as well as put together and conduct a full band… Not to mention getting our cast of Solihull Scouts and Guides, Both young and old alike to sing in tune, in time and at the best of their ability!

If you’re interested in the role and would like to find out more please contact our chairman as soon as possible!

The Queen has requested that the beacons be used to raise money for charities. The organising commitee are busy setting fire to things and making sure they don’t set fire to things they shouldn’t. They also want everyone to have a lot of fun while raising money for charity. That’s where you come in. Entertainment stals like Coconut Shy’s and Whack-A-Mole are needed.

If you want to help out, just get in touch and let us know what you’d like to do. You can raise money for the charity of your choice – including your Scout group!

For more information contact Chris at beacon-stalls [at] yourdreamnet [dot] co [dot] uk or have a word with your GSL who has had more information. Furthermore, these stalls are not limited to Scouts. If you know someone involved in other charity work who might be interested – please pass on this information.

After a lengthy and adventurous train journey including termination of their train they arrived at event ready for the workshop. In the morning they were taught all about politics within the UK, from parties to Westminster, from Queen to the commode. They had to argue and compromise a coalition agreement just like our current government all under the strain of money and their parties priorities.

After Lunch the group were joined by MP’s of the Conservatives (Nick De Bois), Lib Dems (Linda Jack), Labour (Susan Nash) and Green Party (Darren Johnson) all representing areas in youth and the London Assembly as well as the government. Hot topics for discussion included the NHS reforms, Syria and of course, tuition fees.

Liam Clarke said ‘These events are always a good insight, they give us as the youth of this country a voice to act upon and which is being listened to.’ The explorers had a great day out and are looknig forward to more events planned all over the country. The next one is in Newcastle at the end of June. Will you be there?

This year new races where added which was designed to make the event more enjoyable for the young members, where one Cub said “that was cool, such a good feeling to win”.  This year the Beavers and Cubs awards went to 2nd Olton Scout Group, and the Scout award went to 1st Solihull Nelson who won all the Scout Events.

The overall award went to 2nd Olton Scout Group, who was followed by 1st Solihull and 4th Knowle, Michael Sarjeant DC for Cole said “the event went well, however we are going to look at ways to make it better next year after talking with the leaders”

We would like to thank the staff at Stechford Baths, the Solihull team for the planning and running the event and most of all Solihull Network who spent the whole event in the Car park helping people get cars out of the Snow.

He flew in the Battle of Britain with 616 Squadron.

Flying Officer Ken Wilkinson (92) came to tell the Beavers about his time in the RAF and showed them photos and memorabilia. I have never seen Beavers so interested in a visitor.

Our photo shows Michael wearing Mr Wilkinson’s flying jacket and Dan holding his flying boots.

Gilwell Wintercamp is an annual event held in the first weekend in January, where Scouts and Explorers from all over the United Kingdom and as far as Belgium for a mix of winter camping and over 30 adventurous activities. The young people who are invited to be as independent as possible during the weekend could choose themselves which activities to take part in. On offer for the first time was horse riding and even a 4×4 off-road adventure.

This was added by Luke McWilliam aged 11 from Dorridge Scout Group “I loved the freedom to go round with my friends and choose what activities to try out. I didn’t like the long queues that often ended in only short experiences.”

Event organiser Nick Iles was pleased too: ‘It’s great when I overhear a conversation between two young people that runs along the lines of ‘Wow, I never thought I could do that!’ However he puts much of the success down to his dedicated team: ‘One thing’s for certain: this event doesn’t happen without volunteers.’

Next year Gilwell Wintercamp will be on 11 – 13 January 2013, at Gilwell Park for more information click here which will take you to the Wintercamp home page

By now you may have heard that the Duchess of Cambridge has chosen to help out in Cub Scout Packs and Beaver Scout Colonies. What an incredible inspiration to young people and adults – showing that busy lives are not a barrier to volunteering

So what can the Duchess expect on her first day as a volunteer?  The first thing she’ll notice is the enthusiasm; when you walk into a Scout meeting place you really can feel the positive energy, I always find a smile creeps onto my face and the need to duck as a ball comes whizzing past me!   She’ll see young people helping other young people – passing on skills, working together on tasks as varied as map reading, community projects and learning about Fair Trade.  She’ll see parents and other helpers running games and activities.  The Duchess will also be joining over 106,000 girls, young woman and female volunteers in the UK Scouting.

But it’s unlikely she will see the same faces every week.  Scouting in the UK has over 100,000 adult volunteers and many of these help out on a flexible basis.  This means that they can fit Scouting around work, social and family commitments.  The Duchess is willingly helping out where she can, when she can, and we need as many other people as possible to do the same.

Young people have a natural instinct to do the right thing, and we try to encourage that.  But they need guidance and positive role models, which is very important with the development of a young person.

As someone who enjoys her home comforts, please don’t think that you need to be an outdoors expert to join Scouting; we do so much more than just camping and climbing! From arts and crafts, to drama, street sports and international expeditions, there’s a new adventure every week.

So, this week, we have a wonderful new face joining us – and it’s a brilliant boost for Scouting near her home and across the country.   Next week it could be your turn to go to your first Scout meeting and experience the great Scouting spirit for yourself.  It’s not signing your free time away – it’s about experiencing everything life has to offer and helping young people see a more positive future.  When you give, you receive.  Interested and want to find out more? Click “Join The Adventure” at the top of this article!