Skip’s Corner – January 2026
Founders’ Day
Founders’ Day is celebrated worldwide annually on February 22nd, marking the joint birthday of Scouting’s founder Robert Baden-Powell (born 1857) and his wife Olave (World Chief Guide, born 1889), and is a day all Scouts and Guides renew their promises and reflect on their Scouting’s values.
When I attended Christ Church way back in the 1960’s we were given permission to wear our Wolf Cub uniforms on Founders’ Day, where a special assembly would be held to celebrate scouting, with speeches from our leaders, former members and our headmaster. I am pleased that this tradition is being revised by the school, and all members of the XRE are invited on Friday 29th of February in to wear their Squirrel, Beaver, Cub or Scout uniforms to school for just this one day.
Plumcroft School will also be celebrating the day on Friday 13th February, so again watch this space for more info.
St George’s Superhero Day
This year’s District St George’s Day event will be held at the Avery Hill Activity Centre from 10.00 – 15.00 on Saturday 25th April. This year’s theme is ‘Superheroes’ with the Army, the Navy, the Royal Airforce plus our emergency services all in attendance with live displays and exhibitions. All members are encouraged to join us for a great day to renew their promises with our fellow local scouts. More info to follow.
JOTT (Jamboree On The Trail)
JOTT, is a global scouting event which involves Scout Groups walking together visiting other local scout groups
meeting places whilst welcoming local scout groups their own meeting places. Each of our scout sections can decide to visit all 28 Scout Groups in the Royal Greenwich District or just those located close to us. All sections are invited to take part in the event to walk and spread the friendship of scouting locally.
The Big Help Out 2026
The Big Help Out is a national event where Scout Groups volunteer to work on projects to improve the local environment. We are inviting all our members from Squirrels to Explorers to join us for a morning’s community service. If anyone has any ideas of worthy local environmental projects that we might be able to get involved in, be it litter picking, wildflower planting or ditch clearing, do get in touch/ The event will take place on the morning of Saturday 6th June and culminate in a picnic for all members and families in Eaglesfield Park from 13.00. To find out more visit https://www.thebighelpout.org.uk/
AGM & Awards Night
Join us for a glass of wine and nibbles to celebrate our Scout Group’s achievements throughout the last year, elect new members to our Board of Trustees, present Scouting’s top awards to our members and leaders, and invest into the movement our newest members. Lots to do and a busy night starting at 18.45 on Friday 19th June at Christ Church School Hall.
Special Announcement
25 years ago in the summer of 2000, Louis Pinto and myself packed 15 of our then Venture Scouts onto our minibus and travelled to Sweden to a Scout Camp on an island in the Baltic Sea called Vassaro.
We had an unforgettable time, canoeing, sailing, meeting scouts from all over Scandinavia, went trekking in the mountains and spent a few days visiting Stockholm. We promised ourselves that we would return some day, but somehow, we never did.
After recent discussions with our Troop Leaders Martina and Marc, we decided that it might be an idea to take the Scout Troop and the Explorer Unit once again back to Vassaro in the Summer of 2027, if we have adequate interest from our members to make the trip financially viable.
Within the next two weeks we will be forwarding to you a Letter of Interest which will give you an estimated cost of the trip, the proposed dates, travel info, fund raising commitments, plus all the activities we hope to take part in whilst away. We will also be asking for a small deposit to be paid in advance to confirm your interest in the trip. Take a look at this in the meantime: https://vassaro.se
Be Prepared,
Skip