Young people and the adult volunteers at 2nd Cove Sea Scout Group in Blunden Hall Farnborough came together to celebrate the 60th birthday of the group in September at a special birthday camp.
The whole group was based in the Army camp at Southwood up until about 1981 when the land was sold and the Southwood housing estate was started.
At this point the Cubs moved to Cove Manor infant school and the Scouts moved to St John’s Hall. In the mid 80’s the Scouts moved out of St John’s and moved to Fernhill School. The cubs and by then the Beavers continued to meet at Cove Manor.
Having the group in separate spaces was difficult and the opportunity arose to all meet at the Old Blunden Hall.
Blunden Hall was rebuilt in 1997/8 and finally we had a place to meet which was our own.
August rolled around and camping was allowed so they decided to make a weekend of it. There was a great response from parents to help with food and BBQ planning, BBQ’ing Dads and a team to get camping kit ready. For some of the young people this was their first time camping and away from home. It was great to be back in person part of the scouting family again.
The 60 young people from across the sections had an amazing time and said "When can we go again?"
Parents of the young adventures said that "The night was fantastic lots of good food, fun activities a really good family experience. Well done to you all! It was lovely to see all the beavers, cubs and scouts together. Being able to spend time in the outdoors and the campfire is always fun"
The Lead volunteer for the group mentioned how "It was lovely after 18 months of covid to be able to come together as a group to celebrate our birthday, be outside and have fun."
Group camps are now on the yearly calendar.
They have been blessed over the 60 years with the adult volunteers that make the group run. It isn’t just those who volunteer weekly but those behind the scenes on the exec team. Those who over the years found us a permanent building to be part of the community.
The adventure of scouting isn’t just for young people, its for adults too. Where else do you get to go climbing, canoeing, camping to name a few? We just ask for peoples time and enthusiasm to carry on making our group a success for another 60 years.
To keep up to date, you can find them on Facebook!
Article by Michael Doncom
