Welcome to Ripon and District Scouts

Once again, the home of Steve and Liz Hall in Asenby became the venue for the latest venture for 27 (largest number ever acheived) of the members, partners and friends of the Ripon & District Scout Active Support Unit.

It was the Unit's Annual Barbeque, one of the rare occasions that the Unit get together when they are not working on behalf of others.

When the food was cooked and eaten, the conversation ranged from 'Tennis' (being Wimbledon Week) to 'past scouting events'  to stories from 'past camps and trips'.

The only 'negative' thing about the afternoon was the amount of pudding everyone HAD to consume (the calories, they found out later, were NOT 'negative'!!)

Liz and Steve were thanked for hosting another super afternoon in their beautiful garden, and the Unit were treated, towards the end of the afternoon, with a blue sky and outbreaks of sun.

Just to hear the chatter and laughter proved it was, once again, a most enjoyable and convivial social event which would undoubtedly help to 'bind' the unit even closer together.

I'm sure the Ripon & District DAS Unit have now re-charged their batteries and are, once again, raring to help at the next District (or maybe County) event!

Well done to the Unit - long may you help and support Scouting in the District and in the County!

What to do in the event of an incident.

The Scout Association has updated the 'Purple Card' to make it easier for leaders to know who to contact for support. If you want a copy or two (which are FREE from Scout Shops) then click HERE

There is also a good factsheet (FS320012) called 'Safety – Practical Tips'. This guidance is to help clarify some of the administrative needs surrounding your provision of 'Safer Scouting.' For a copy click HERE

Additional resources and information can be found at www.scouts.org.uk/safety.

'Safety in Scouting' should ALWAYS be in the fore-front of your mind!!

A recent Three-night run of BUGSY MALONE at Coronation Hall, Boroughbridge, starring ABI HODGES, an Explorer Scout from White Horse Unit, as Bugsy Malone and FINN SOWRAY, a Boroughbridge Scout, as Dandy Dan!

This two-hour production enabled them to show off their acting abilities and American accents. Bugsy was on the stage for most of the show and was outstanding. The character was in a gangland feud with Dandy Dan and they played off each other becoming partners in crime at the end after many actors disappeared under a spray of sticky string from their splurge guns. Finn has gained his Entertainer Badge and Abi her Performing Arts Badge.

ABI & FINN - they tell me you were both BRILLIANT!! Well Done.

An Evening with  "Nidderdale Moorland Group" by Edward Dobbs (aged 12) - 6th RIPON SCOUTS

"I was excited to be going on this outdoor event with 6th Ripon Scouts. We drove past Masham and up on to the edge of Jervaulx Moor, arriving on a fine evening at 6.30pm. We met up at the Moor Gate, and the gamekeepers come to the gate to let us in. We drove up a rough track behind their vehicle to the stone shooting lodge about half a mile from the road. Here we were split into groups based on height and went round four different activity bases.

Our first base was pigeon. We were shown how to de-feather them over a bag and cut the breast meat out on a table - this was known as de-breasting. It was quite messy, but it was fun at the same time. The breasts were cooked for us while we moved on to other activities. 

Moving on to base two, we had an opportunity to blast balloons with water from a pump that they would use to extinguish fires when burning back the heather. They need to burn heather to encourage new shoots and prevent bracken and other invasive plants from growing. The young shoots are what moorland animals graze on, and well managed moorland gives perfect nesting sites for grouse.

Our next base was all about vermin. The keepers explained how stoat, crows, weasels and rats are controlled to stop them stealing bird’s eggs and killing chicks. Foxes are also a problem. The keeps set humane traps where possible, but many vermin are also shot. We were allowed to try out some infrared binoculars which let you see the heat from animals even in the dark, and when they are a long way away.

From here our next base taught us all about the role of the beaters. On shooting days these are people who carry flags and move in a line to drive the grouse towards the guns which are positioned in special structures called butts. Shooting days bring in much needed income to allow the work on the moor to continue. The gun positions change so everyone gets a chance to stand in the best positions, but even people who work with numbers in their business sometimes need help to stand in the right place. If you are interested in becoming a gamekeeper you start by being a beater, and you can start when you are aged 14.

The next base showed trapping. A variety of cages are used which lure birds and animals in where they spring a door and are caught humanely. They can then be removed from the moor.
When we had visited all our bases, we met up back at the lodge for some hot food and a drink. We had burgers and sausage and tried the pigeon meat we had prepared earlier along with some pheasant. 

The keepers were all very nice and friendly and taught us a lot, they had been very interesting to talk to. After a team photo we headed home as it was getting dark, feeling tired but full of exciting memories of the evening."

Thanks Edward for sharing this experience with us ALL!

Have you found the "Find your Group here" words on the front page of this website? You can click it to go to the map. You can also access the Map via the District Information Tab.

This Map shows where ALL NINE of our Scout Groups and BOTH of our Explorer Scout Units meet.

Click on one of the blue Icons and find the address of the meeting place and on which days they meet.

It also gives a 'contact' number for members and non-members to be able to find out more about the Groups!

Forty members of the 6th Ripon Scout Group collected in Allhallowgate Methodist Church Hall recently for a Nest Box Making Event.

The boxes were brought to Ripon in kit form by volunteers from Nidderdale Birdwatchers and the Nidderdale Conservation Group.

The volunteers briefed all the young people and then they set to work. They were split into pairs who worked together to make two boxes beteen them.

All the young people showed a real aptitude for the work and at the end of the evening everyone had a high quality box to take home, together with an information sheet giving advice on siting, lack of disturbance, and cleaning out.

Nidderdale Birdwatchers should be thanked for providing the materials and help and advice - AND - the 6th Ripon Leaders should be thanked for organising and supervising the event.

Well done to ALL who made a nesting box!

PLEASE NOTE THIS NEW DATE - The Ripon & District AGM will be held at Thrsk Town Hall on WEDNESDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 2019 at 7pm.

Please let everyone know so that we can have a GOOD TURN OUT and find out what the future holds for the District at that time.

This from Anne Collins at 1st Boroughbridge Scouts;

"The DASQUEST activity this year is for the Scout and Explorer Scout sections of Ripon & District, a hike with clues to spot, which has been set by two members of the District Active Support Unit, Eric and Shirley Fell.

Six intrepid Scouts from 1st Boroughbridge Troop set off on a beautiful bright Sunday morning to take on the challenge. Having discovered that there was to be a special service in Ripon Cathedral for members of the locally based Army regiments that day, a slight adaptation of the route was necessary but all the clues could still be found.

Off they set from Borrage Lane, over Rustic Bridge, via Hell Wath towards Studley Roger. Equipped with maps as well as a route card and clues to find, the route was ideal for younger Scouts to be helped by the older Patrol Leaders who have already gained their Expedition Challenge Award and proved their map reading skill, with natural points en-route for Leaders to be able to make checkpoint rendezvous meetings.

After spotting the deer in Studley Park, lunch by the lake in glorious sunshine was a welcome break, with opportunity to hone their skills in wildlife and tree recognition as they ate.

Onward and upward – or at least round the lake and along the walk of the Seven Bridges, familiar to some and a new experience to others, back to Studley Roger and then towards Ripon from the west, finishing in the Market Square for ice cream to celebrate.

The route covered just over 7 miles (about 21,000 steps for those with Trackers), enabling all the participants to be awarded the Dasquest badge and another Hike on their cumulative Hikes Away Staged Activity record and a most enjoyable day’s walking experience."

If any other Scouts or Explorers in the District would like to complete the same 7 Mile QUEST this year, then please contact the DAS Manager, Anne Collins, for details.

The Boy Scouts, as it was called in the beginning, was started by Lord Robert Baden-Powell in 1908 after a successful 'test camp' on Brownsea Island in 1907.

Some 5 years later, Scouting tentatively started in the wider North-Western District of Yorkshire West Riding in 1912. Captain Boyd Carpenter, was the, then, District Commissioner and covered the huge Parliamentary area of Skipton, Keighley, Otley and Ripon. Later it became District No 4 Yorkshire West Riding. 

In 1919 it was decided that a Ripon Local Association should be officially formed in 'Yorkshire North Riding' and was called 'District No 5 - Ripon, Masham and District'. Captain Coates J.P, of Holmfield House, Ripon, was the, then, District Commissioner.

The local Associated was formed on 21st August 1919 by an Inaugural Meeting at which the Bye-Laws were adopted and submitted to Scout Headquarters in London. These facts have been checked out by Peter Ford, a Heritage Research Officer with the Scout Association in our UK Scout HQ at Gilwell Park.

This officially means that 2019 is the 100th Year of Scouting in the present District which is now called 'Ripon & District'. So, for 100 years, Ripon & District has created a strong foundation of leadership, service, and community for thousands of the local young people, both boys and, more latterly, girls. Through a century of "Making a Difference" we can now celebrate the incredible impact of what a 100 years of living the Scout Law has done for our local and wider communities.

As Scouts we are constantly guided by our values, which are:
Integrity - We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal.
Respect - We have self-respect and respect for others.
Care - We support others and take care of the world in which we live.
Belief - We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes.
Co-operation - We make a positive difference; we co-operate with others and make friends.

This is what we do - let's keep doing it, and let's keep on celebrating it!