Belchamps

[An Old Codger]

Received over the course of the weekend:-

Press Release

Belchamps Celebrate

Local Scout-owned camp site, Belchamps Scout Activity Centre, is celebrating
after being awarded two prestigious awards.

The Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality badge and Adventuremark
Badge provide national accreditation combining the essential elements of
provision - learning and safety - into two easily recognisable awards.



LOtC badges will enable schools and other organisations to use the services
of a 'badge provider' with confidence and, crucially, without any other
checks.



The second award, the Adventuremark, lets users know that Belchamps’
arrangements for managing the potential risks of adventure activities have
been inspected and found to meet the highest standards of good practice in
the adventure activity industry.



Centre Manager Nigel Ruse said, “We were awarded the highest score in each
category on the actual on site assessment, a perfect assessment. I’m
absolutely delighted and cannot thank enough everyone who has worked so hard
in allowing us to achieve these awards.”



Belchamps is looking forward to its 75th Anniversary next year and the site
has seen much development lately with new and exciting activity provision
for users whether from Scouting or other youth organisations and schools.



Chief Scout Bear Grylls, who over the years has tried out loads of
adventurous activities at home and abroad said, “The Scout Movement is a
world-wide force for good and at heart it says that young people have the
right to an adventure. And I for one am so proud to be part of that.”







ENDS

[bill]

Post by An Old Codger
Received over the course of the weekend:-
Press Release
Belchamps Celebrate
Local Scout-owned camp site, Belchamps Scout Activity Centre, is celebrating
after being awarded two prestigious awards.
The Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality badge and Adventuremark
Badge provide national accreditation combining the essential elements of
provision - learning and safety - into two easily recognisable awards.
LOtC badges will enable schools and other organisations to use the services
of a 'badge provider' with confidence and, crucially, without any other
checks.
The second award, the Adventuremark, lets users know that Belchamps’
arrangements for managing the potential risks of adventure activities have
been inspected and found to meet the highest standards of good practice in
the adventure activity industry.
Centre Manager Nigel Ruse said, “We were awarded the highest score in each
category on the actual on site assessment, a perfect assessment. I’m
absolutely delighted and cannot thank enough everyone who has worked so hard
in allowing us to achieve these awards.”
Belchamps is looking forward to its 75th Anniversary next year and the site
has seen much development lately with new and exciting activity provision
for users whether from Scouting or other youth organisations and schools.
Chief Scout Bear Grylls, who over the years has tried out loads of
adventurous activities at home and abroad said, “The Scout Movement is a
world-wide force for good and at heart it says that young people have the
right to an adventure. And I for one am so proud to be part of that.”
ENDS

Belchamps is now used quite often for non-scout activities. There is a
growth in this in general and in a commerical world it makes some
sense.
It does, however, affect the atmosphere of the places concerned, and
there is a tendency for some places to become more commerical and less
scout-y.
I recall a popular site where patrol camps were always welcomed and
where the SL could be confident that the warden would keep an eye on
the little so and sos. Both to see they were OK, and to se they
weren't interfering with other campers. (Yes, I know, Tarquin, that's
up to the SL who issues the passport to be sure of that.) And if
anyone was making a row after -say- 11, they were asked to keep it
down. Once.

Now that site - actually that "Centre"- has a manager, this has all
stopped. Allegedly on Child Protection grounds.

I read last week something written by an ancient Greek saying how
things never get any better, and how he wished things were as good as
when he was a kid. I know it's part of the human condition, but I DO
think by becoming commercial we risk throwing babies out with the
bathwater; at least we should include the absence of the baby in our
assessment of whether the bathwater was properly dealt with.

[Shaun Joynson]

Sorry, poking me nose in again.

Bill, you are absolutely right.

We don't want another Longridge do we? That was the SA's only national
water centre, but then a few years ago it became a 'trust'. Most of
the volunteers I knew there were totally frozen out and you go there
now (as I do as a teacher), and you don't dare mention it is a Scout
Camp. And of course, thats so that the dosh can be brought in from the
corporates.

As a former crew member and someone who actually lived on a campsite,
I think you have to get the balance right.

Its a bit like renting your HQ out to a nursery. You have to be very
careful that the nursery don't take over and start frightening you
into doing things for them that make it impossible for you to carry on
using the place for Scouting.

I saw the potential of using Scout premises for business purposes
(I.E. School and corporate work) back in 1992. Indeed, I still use
Scout premises now - even though I am no longer in the movement. IF I
need to run a training seminar or a team building day for a client
then they are my first choice because they have all the facilities. I
was at Gilwell just a couple of weeks ago in fact.

But those running these places must understand their primary purpose.
Lose that idea and we might as well shut them all down.

[SBR]

Post by Shaun Joynson
Sorry, poking me nose in again.
Its a bit like renting your HQ out to a nursery. You have to be very
careful that the nursery don't take over and start frightening you
into doing things for them that make it impossible for you to carry on
using the place for Scouting.

I hated them, always a right pain in the arse. No matter what we did they
"culdn't have it" and spoke to us like we were amateur morons who knew
nothing and were a danger to our kids.

The money they paid would not have covered the constant changes they wanted
so we told them to piss off. They did. They moaned. We cheered.

[Shaun Joynson]

Well the money our nursery paid would not have got them a newspaper
stand outside the nearby tube station, but they still kept trying to
take over.

Got there one afternoon to run my weekly Beaver meeting and they said
'can we use the office because we are interviewing new parents?'
Sure, I said, provided you don't mind 40 Beavers running in an out.

Post by SBR
--
Stephen Rainsbury
DESC Gillingham, Kentwww.gillinghamscouts.org.uk

[SBR]

Post by Shaun Joynson
Got there one afternoon to run my weekly Beaver meeting and they said
'can we use the office because we are interviewing new parents?'
Sure, I said, provided you don't mind 40 Beavers running in an out.

Ican't reember the whoel story but ours were abloody nightmare too. Change
this, paint that, buy this, it would have cost more then their rent too.
They were a buisness and took us to be complete mugs who would just keep
forking out.