The 14th Southgate Scout Group travelled down to Watcome district scout camp on the outskirts of Torquay for this year’s summer camp, accompanied by a couple of scouts and leaders from the 4th Southgate. We were granted a wet welcome to Torquay, with rain dampening our tents but not our spirits over the first few days. Construction of a gateway, trips to the beach and Babbacombe model village were our activities for the first three days before the main activities of week which were coasteering at Anstey’s Cove and a days hiking on Dartmoor. The last part of the week brightened up, and the scouts took part in rifle shooting, a patrol cooking competition and kayaking on Broadsands. One of the most beautiful campsites we’ve visited, we can now look forward to next year’s summer camp, which shall be held in Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

Over the last two weekends, we’ve been blessed with glorious weather and two fantastic camps for our young people.
Our Beavers and Cubs spent the weekend at Tolmers where they carved spoons, made pizzas, fired arrows, sang songs and explored the forest.

The Scouts visited the Peak District the weekend after, staying at a Scout Hut in Hathersage. From there, they hiked up Kinder Scout, Hollins Cross and Stanedge Edge across the weekend, getting some well deserved respite from the sun in Blue John’s Cave. The Scouts also found Robin Hood’s Cave, where Robin Hood and his merry men are rumored to have hidden from the law, and the final resting place of Little John.

Come and join us at the Vin Fleming Scout Centre, Green Road, N14 4AU from 1pm-5pm on Monday 8^th May where we shall be hosting a garden party for the community to celebrate the King’s coronation!

We will have:
Pizza Oven – Cake Decorating – Bouncy Castle – Archery – Campfire – Music & More!

Free Entry

We shall be doing a litter pick at 1pm followed by coronation activities. There shall be a prize for the best King and Queen costume at 3pm.

With great sadness, we share the sudden passing of John Cordran, Rover Scout and volunteer leader in the 1950s and 1960s at 162nd North London / 14th Southgate Scouts.  John made many lasting memories and life-long connections in Scouts, including friends Colin Peskett, Peter Millem, Jim Thomas, Terry Barnes, the Vinall brothers, and Pam and Vin Fleming.  John played bass drum in the Group band and later met his wife Alison (then a Cub leader) at a Scout Camp at Kessingland.  Together they went on to introduce Colin to his own wife-to-be, Angela.  John is survived by Alison, his three children and 4 grandchildren.

The Beavers, Cubs & Scouts enjoyed a weekend at Lees Wood campsite for a backwoods themed group camp, joined by a couple of Scouts from the 4th Southgate. Despite the weather being atrocious on Friday evening, it cleared up for the rest of the weekend. 
The Beavers and Cubs focused on completing their Outdoor Challenge, while also learning how to butcher a chicken and taking part in laser tag. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy to do any stargazing for their Astronomy Badge.
The Scouts spent their Saturday cooking over fires and building shelters to sleep in for their Survival Badge, a tough task as for many Scouts, this was their first camp, however, after a chilly night, they survived through to Sunday.

It will not be long till the Scouts are camping again (the end of the month!), with further camps for the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in June and July as well.

The Beavers, Cubs & Scouts have had a busy start to the year, with all 3 sections cooking, lighting fires, playing games and taking part in scavenger hunts at regular meetings so far this term. The Cubs and Scouts have had success in the district events as well, winning the District Chess and Bowling competitions respectively. In addition, we’ve been helping the Friends of Enfield Chase with tree planting at Rectory Farm, a cause we hope to support more in the future.

With our Beaver and Cubs section being at max capacity for the last year, our Scouts have now started to grow as well, doubling in number since the Summer. A few weeks ago we invested 7 new Scouts. If you are interested in registering your child with us, contact us via the website. Most families have not had to wait more than a few months on our waiting list.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Vin Fleming at the age of 94 on the 15th February 2023. Vin has been a supporter of the 14th Southgate and Scouting since 1949 and was instrumental in having the Scout Hut on Green Road built. Receiving a very rare 70 Years in Scouting Award only last year, he has held various roles within the group and wider scouting community including Senior Scout Leader, Venture Scout Leader, Group Scout Leader, Southgate District Commissioner, Greater London North County Commissioner, County Chairman and most recently as District Badge Secretary. He was a man of great vision and generosity, whose service has benefited thousands of young people across Southgate and North London.

His funeral shall be held at St Thomas’ Church on the 30th March.

It has been a busy end to 2022 at the 14th Southgate. The Beavers & Cubs got some experience in tents at the hut at the end of October and visited the National Gallery. Following that, the group held a large bonfire to celebrate the 5th November and raise funds for the group. The Beavers and Cubs also took part in their District Dominos and Quiz competition where they came 2nd and 1st respectively. Well done!

The Scouts section has been steadily growing, doubling in size since December and have taken part in a variety of activities, including basket weaving, DIY and electronics.

To cap off the year, our resident DJ, Brian organised discos for the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and Explorers.

Over the past half term, the Beavers, Cubs & Scouts have had lots of activities to take part in, from map reading, hikes and wide games to cooking both inside and out.

The Beavers have been practicing their fire lighting, completing scavenger hunts, playing lots of games and will be looking forward to their trip into London and Dominos competition.

The Cubs have been busy practicing for the Cub Trek, which they came 3rd in! They also came 3rd in the 5-a-side football and have been cooking meals over fire.

The Scouts have had a few guests in, to teach them self-defence and to run JOTA (Jamboree on the Air). Thank you Enfield Choi Kwang Do and Southgate Amateur Radio for facilitating this. They’ve been doing a lot of cooking and games.

Over the past 8 weeks, lucky Beavers, Cubs & Scouts had the opportunity to attend not 1 but 3 different camps. In mid-July, the 14th Southgate had a group camp at Phasels Wood. Most of the attendees (plus a few more) also came to the Summer Camp at Gilwell Park at the end of August. Both camps were blessed with hot weather with little to no rain and water activities to cool off. Each full day of the Summer camp provided something different with the first day concentrating on traditional scouting activities, the second day sampling Gilwell’s onsite activities, and the third day offsite at Fairlop Waters Country Park where the summer campers went bouldering and completed a water assault course.
One Scout (and leader) also joined the 4th Southgate on their cross-country road trip to Austria as well, which can be read about here: http://4thsouthgate.scoutsites.org.uk/2022/08/scouts-trip-to-austria/