Welcome to our Summer Newsletter

As this year’s busy session comes to a close, we would like to say a big thank you our leaders, trustees, and parent helpers for their time and efforts that they’ve given to Scouting and Young People.

We hope you find this new-look newsletter useful, and enjoy the updates from each of our sections.

We need a few extra pairs of hands for the next session (both helping run games and activities on weekday evenings or behind the scenes). Have a look at the details here, and let us know if you (or someone you know) are able to help make Scouting possible.

We wish all our families a fun, relaxing Summer holiday and look forward to seeing everyone back at the hall in August.


Registration for 2022/23

Registration for the new session will take place during week commencing 22 August (on your child’s normal meeting night). Please mark the relevant date in your diary now.


Family Fun Event

Our annual scavenger hunt and BBQ will return on Saturday, 3rd September. Booking details will be sent out at the start of the next session.
More info here…

Add to Calendar

Jumble Sale

We’re glad to announce that our biggest fundraising event of the year will make a return on Saturday, 1st October after a 2 year hiatus.
We rely on all of our families to make our Jumble Sale a success, and will be sharing more about this in the registration packs for next session.
More info here…

Add to Calendar

Share the adventure

We know our young people are eager to get outdoors, spend nights away on camp, and learn new skills, but we need your help to make this possible.

We rely on people like you playing their part to give young people opportunities to dream big, give it a go, and build skills for life.

If you can help us – either by working with young people or occasionally behind the scenes – please let us know.


Raise funds… for free!

Did you know you can raise fund for the 28th while doing your everyday online shopping?
If you haven’t already, please sign up to easyfundraising and amazon smile today.

Thank you to everyone who’s already signed up, we’ve nearly raised £200!


Peter Ritchie, Group Chair
Andy Loudon, Explorer Scout Section Leader
Thank you, Peter and Andy

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our Group Chairman, Peter Ritchie, and Explorer Scout Section Leader, Andy Loudon, who will be standing down from these roles over Summer. Both have dedicated extraordinary amounts of time and effort to the 28th, and have made a big impact to their local community, and the lives of young people. We’re grateful that Peter and Andy will continue to volunteer with us in their additional roles as Group Quartermaster and Archivist (Peter), and Deputy Group Scout Leader and Training Advisor (Andy).

Peter has given over 40 years of dedicated service and unswerving loyalty to the 28th. In the last 10 of these years, Peter has gone above and beyond in his role as Group Chairman. It’s hard to put on paper everything that Peter does for our Scout Group. He’s the go-to person for all things 28th, and the Group would not be the success it is today without his wealth of knowledge and particular skill set that has seen countless young people benefit from Scouting in Giffnock.
Many will know Peter from fundraising events, most notably the annual Jumble Sale which is the Group’s largest source of income thanks to Peter’s impeccable logistical and organisational skills. Sorting and categorising every single book donated to the Jumble Sale is a prime example of the attention to detail and care that Peter puts into his work, and it’s this same approach that means the Group must have the best organised Scout storeroom and archive in the country!
Thank you, Peter, for your exemplary commitment and leadership as our Group Chairperson.

Under Andy Loudon’s 6 years as Section Leader (and many more before that as an assistant), the Explorers team have provided hundreds of young people aged 14 – 17 with incredible opportunities through a high quality programme. Explorers have taken part in countless camps and expeditions (including mystery trips abroad!), adventurous activities from fencing to motocross, as well as plenty of challenges and exam stress-busting evenings too. Volunteers like Andy prepare young people with skills and confidence that last a life time, and we’re very grateful for all the time and energy that he’s given to Explorers. Thank you, Andy.

The Explorers will be in safe hands as Andy Lawson takes on the leadership after Summer, but we’re looking for help to grow the team. You don’t need to be Bear Grylls, and whether you want to work directly with young people, or help plan adventures from the sidelines, we would love to have you onboard. Volunteering with us is good for young people, and it’s good for you too. To find out more, or to come and taste what volunteering at Scout is like, please get in touch.


Section Updates

Monday Beavers Skip >

This term has been a busy one for Monday Beavers. As well as the usual fun and games we have also been learning some valuable skills. We put our imagination and teamwork to the test by working in lodges to build a device to carry an egg around an obstacle course. We also learnt how to read a map and put our new skills to good use on a (really rather wet) walk around the local area, passing places we had found on the map including the compulsory stop at Valentini’s for some much needed refreshments. But perhaps the most exciting day was when we were visited by Toby and Josie, the orphaned lambs, and not only did the Beavers get to learn about sheep and how they make wool to keep us warm, they also got to give the greedy pair their dinner! 

As the session began to draw to a close we tidied up the side of hall where our planters sit, changing the now past their best daffodils for some bright bedding plants, and doing a little bit of weeding.

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Friday Beavers Skip >

Since our last update we’ve welcomed new Beavers into the colony, as well as seeing our older Beavers progress up to Cubs.
Beavers has been busy since our return after Easter with our activities this session geared towards earning badges. We’ve been in Huntly Park putting up tents, finishing our planters, icing cakes for the Jubilee celebrations, and cooking muffins!
I’d like to take this opportunity to thanks the Beaver Leaders without whom we couldn’t deliver the weekly activities – Ann, Crystal, James, James, & Lisa.
Our last section night will be Friday 17th June, and we’ll return for the new session after the Summer on Friday 2nd September.

The Friday Beavers team are looking for parents to join the fun. If you, or someone you know, would be great at organising an obstacle course, is patient and caring, and has plenty of energy for a game of chaos tig, please let the team know. The best adventures happen when a lot of us give a little.

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Tuesday Cubs Skip >

Since starting back after the Easter holidays, Tuesday Cubs have enjoyed being outside most weeks, completing various badges.
We started off with a fun night of team water challenges, and a few soakings.
We were again outside the following week continuing our team skills, with giant noughts and crosses, walking the planks and passing the staves (which is harder than it sounds!)
An evening of sports arranged by our Young Leader Matthew kept us all fit one evening.
For the entertainer badge the cubs made harmonicas from paper and lollipop sticks, and had great fun making lots of noise.
Code breakers and silent charades completed the Communicators Badge, and Cubs had a go at creating their own codes.
The Jubilee week saw us icing homemade biscuits and cakes, which were enjoyed by all, and decorating bunting, which helped brighten up the hall. They all received a special Jubilee Badge to commemorate this.
We finished Cubs on the 7th June lighting their own fires, and toasting marshmallows, and finished the evening with an award and badge presentation.
Tuesday Cub leaders wish you all a good summer ( hopefully we will see some more sunshine) and are looking forward to seeing you after the school holidays.

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Wednesday Cubs Skip >

At the time of writing the Wednesday Cub Pack currently has a healthy complement of 31 Cubs with a very good attendance record.
At the beginning of the session we helped our feathered friends by making bird feeders from old plastic bottles. This involved using the Jug Knot, an easy one for us all to learn and great for hanging plants, candles etc. in the garden – give it a go and show us the results.
As the nights have grown lighter this has enabled us to get up to Huntly Park for team games and a bit of space to complete our Athletics badge.
We always take the litter pickers to these events and fill a few badges – the Cubs love it so we cleaned up the Halls car park and surrounding streets (on behest of the Cubs).
We have honed our outdoor skills with tent pitching, fire lighting, learning the compass points and prepped for our forthcoming camp by practising getting the sleeping bag back into its bag.
Celebrations are a great way of learning and experiencing new things. This session our Cubs told us all about Eid and other religious events.
We then feasted on dates and other traditional sweet treats. I now have a thing for dates as I had never tried them in all my years.
A key part of Scouting is to get the Cubs working together as a team – so at all of our meetings we have some sort of game or activity based around this notion –  building spaghetti towers, pioneering activities, relays, quizzes etc. and individually we have shown off our talents – a night for the musicians as an example.
I am delighted to have so many coming along to our summer camp at Auchengillan – this will be a great experience for the Cubs, many of whom will never have been away “on their own”.
It will be a time to build memories and friendships that have been sorely missing these past few years.
As always we will be saying farewell and good luck to our Cubs who will be progressing up to our Scout Section.
It is always sad to see them go but we take great delight at seeing how they have all grown and developed during their time in Cubs and we look forward to hearing how they are getting along in Scouts.
As always do not hesitate to get in touch (derek.ritchie@giffnockscouts.org.uk) be it an issue, a suggestion, getting involved or whatever.
Wishing you and yours all the very best over the summer holidays – Derek and all the Wednesday Leaders.

Our last meeting of this Scouting Year was at the Hall, just before camp on Wednesday 15th June.

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Scouts Skip >

The scouts have been really busy this session. There have been lots of activities all towards earning badges. This session nearly 200 badges will be awarded to the troop who have worked really hard with all the badge criteria!

The scouts took part in a Burns supper where they made their own haggis burger and entertained the rest of the troop with music and jokes and some Burns poem recitals.

The scouts continued with their cooking making pancakes a few weeks later. On another evening the patrols had to shop and prepare a meal they would eat at camp after setting up and using their own gas stoves. Noodles and baked beans is a new combo!

There was some knot work this session which ended in a catapult competition and then a few weeks later a chariot race round the hall.

We had a visit from Go Connect who provide games and activities all using Lego and this helped the scouts earn their Creativity Challenge Badge.

As the weather improved we had an evening at Whitelees Wind Farm run by the ranger who taught us all about the different types of orienteering. The scouts then had to complete an orienteering course round the wind farm.

We had our first camp at Auchengillen where the scouts either slept in the hobbit huts or under canvas. There was a packed schedule of activities including canoeing, axe throwing, zorbing, mega balling, pedal cars, grass sledges, orienteering, night line, a wide game and a camp fire with songs! I think there were some very tired scouts and leaders by the Sunday.

A big thank you to Andy Loudon who supported us on the Friday evening to put up the tents. Iain Campbell who prepared lunch and dinner on the Saturday and Sunday and to Stefan Cent from the ASU who supported us on the Saturday evening with the wide game and camp fire. Not to mention Ellie Campbell from the ASU and Peter McAuley who with myself were at camp form start to finish!

For our last evening in the hall we had a BBQ and invited the cubs who will be joining the troop after the summer. We also said goodbye to the scouts who will be moving on to the Explorer Unit after the summer.

The Scouts took part in tubing and skiing taster sessions at the Glasgow Ski centre to mark the end of scouts for the summer break.

It’s been a busy session and thank you to Karen Boyd and Robyn Paxton who have joined us as sectional assistants. Without volunteers scouts would not be able to run and would welcome anyone wanting to discuss joining us so we can continue to run a fun packed programme for the scouts #skillsforlife

Our last troop evening will be at the end of session activity on Thursday 16th June.

We will return after the summer break on Thursday 1st September 7-9pm.

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Explorers

In recent weeks, the Explorers have been enjoying the lighter nights and better weather. We took full advantage of that last Monday night and headed to Roukenglen Park for a wide game – a much requested and anticipated item on our list of “must do” activities each session. 

At the time of writing this, we have just two more meetings this year before we stop for the summer holidays. Hard to believe we’re at that point in the year already! Fingers crossed we get a good night for our end of year BBQ.

Looking back at the activities we’ve done this year, the Explorers (and leaders!) have taken part in a wide variety of activities and challenges. Early on in the session, we had a visit from Laura from Braveheart Fencing. Laura put the Explorers through their paces and soon the hall was filled with shouts of “en garde” as everyone learned the basic attack and defensive moves. A tournament rounded off the night and everyone was thoroughly exhausted!

As part of an effort to work through the Creative badge, we did some light painting and made paracord keyring. As part of our Global Challenge, we designed and built prototype hand washing stations, demonstrating their engineering and problem solving skills. 

We squeezed in a visit to Whitelee Windfarm while the nights were dark in order to practise and improve our navigation skills. Nothing quite like a pitch dark moorland to test your map and compass skills. We’re keeping the traditional scouting skills of knots and pioneering alive too, and built a range of structures including swing sets, climbing frames, flagpoles and more – all using some rope and wooden poles. We also spent some time playing games. The old favourites are always popular (ultimate frisbee, or four corner hockey anyone?) but we also learned some new games – including one from Korea! Ask your Explorer how to play “Yut Nori” for a fun game.

We’re looking forward to meeting the new Explorers that are moving up from Scouts after the summer holidays too. In the coming year, we hope to be able to get back to our camping again too, as well as doing some of the activities that Covid has prevented over the past two years or so. I hope everyone enjoys the summer holidays!

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Get in touch

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments about anything above or the work of the Scout Group, please do not hesitate to contact the Group Chair, Peter Ritchie, or Group Scout Leader, Iain Campbell.