Firestorm Network are a part of the Bucks Scout Network, covering High Wycombe, Marlow, Naphill and Loudwater, among other areas. We are currently running a joint programme with Cerberus, in Aylesbury, and Red Squirrels, in Chesham, so we can be found all over the place!
We run a wide programme of activities, including climbing, raft building, hiking and geocaching. We also have a number of camps throughout the year, some at the local campsite in Braid Wood, Chesham, and others further afield.
For more information about our programme, please look at our Diary Page, or have a look through our Photo Gallery. If that isn’t enough, take a look at the event reports below or in the forums and hear all about us – straight from the horses’ mouth!
We meet every Wednesday evening for an activity. These are wide ranging and always up for debate – if there is something in particular that you wish to do, then we will aim to put it into our programme for you! We do not have a regular meeting place to call home, and we have different meetings all around the locality.
On the fourth weekend of every month, we crew at Braid Wood, in Chesham, with Cerberus and Red Squirrel, aiding in the running of the campsite during the day, and taking part in many sociable activities in the evening, be it a barbeque, a film night, board game night or a themed party.
We also have irregular camps or weekend events, such as trips to Wales to climb Snowdon, visits to the New Forest, or, slightly closer to home, Pub Hikes from Wycombe to Braids!
We would love to hear from you!
If you would like to find out more – maybe to find out where we are meeting next or whether Network is right for you, please contact us on enquiries@firestormnetwork.org.uk and one of us will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.
You can also register on our website and become a member by clicking here. You will then have full access to the diary and can sign up to events. If you like, you can then receive notifications by email whenever an event is updated.
Firestorm started off March in the extreme. Two of our members decided to take part in the local Endurance 80 competition. This is an annual event, taking part across 50 miles of cross country terrain, starting and ending in Great Missenden. This event is a huge test of fortitude and stamina, and has to be completed within 24 hours!
Up for the challenge? They certainly were.
Joined by Iain from Cerberus, Andy and Ian went for it. Geared and fluorescent-ed up, they began. As a serious test of mental strength and physical ability it is a big one. One by one, they fell by the wayside, mentally and physically exhausted. Pushed to their limits, they did very well, and are up for another go, maybe next year…
This was followed by a very closely fought match at the pub quiz in Bierton. Split into two teams, Firestorm and Cerberus, we were hard up against the usual winners. By the end of the second section, Firestorm was only half a point behind the champions, with Cerberus sitting in the final spot.
With ten questions to go, we were 2 ½ points ahead…
Two questions to go, we were ½ a point ahead, one question matching, and everything hanging on whether a particular painting was in the Louvre or not…
It was! And Firestorm emerged – champions! Unfortunately, we lost everything on a question asking when the M25 was built, so we won no money, but left with the satisfaction of having won.
Poker Night at Andy and Lindsay’s was, for me, all about Lindsay’s homemade Focaccia bread (glossing over me losing, not once, not twice, but three times). With an initial bid of £3, and another £3 to buy another 1500 worth of chips, a battle commenced between Andy and Steve, Steve eventually emerging as the winner, taking home the winnings and saving himself a fortune.
At the Game Show Night, while answering seemingly unrelated questions from TV Shows, we discovered that Michael was, in fact, a girl, while at the weekend, Andy discovered some wild country at his Wild Country Training, on the best weekend of the year so far! It was on the Saturday night that we also helped out at the annual District Swimming Gala, held at Handy Cross – an event we attend every year.
We finished off March with a Wine and Cheese Tasting night, held at Andy and Lindsay’s house, with a large selection of wine and cheeses and Shloer for the drivers. Among the usual fare of cheddar and brie, there was the compulsory stinky blue cheese, an interesting nutty orange one and some wensleydale and cranberries – my favourite! A selection for everyone, except for Michael, who doesn’t drink wine and doesn’t like cheese…
March for us was fun packed and well filled – onto April, where we have sausage making, backwards cooking and a trip to the New Forest. Tally ho!
February saw us take on our second pub hike after the success of the 2009 event. The premise is simple – start in High Wycombe and hike to Braid Wood near Chesham, with the small matter of drinking in all the pubs on the way.
A typically frantic morning saw us meet at pub no. 1, the Falcon in High Wycombe, for our first pint of the day. Cally was kitted out in brand spanking new hike boots while Steve had been left with an absolutely empty stomach following all the chaos – ideal preparation I’m sure you’ll agree! This situation was not improved by Ian and Martin tucking into large fried breakfasts!
Leaving the falcon we headed through Wycombe onto pubs 2 and 3, the Bootlegger and the Beach Tree respectively. So 3 pints down, we finally ventured off road as navigator Andy led us to the White Lion in Cryer’s Hill to a gentle chorus of abuse from Steve and special guest, Chris, that he may not have chosen the most direct route.
At the White Lion we were joined by Abi, and made ready for the long drag to the Full Moon in Little Kingshill. By the time we arrived the light had gone and to make things more exciting, snow had started to fall; much to the delight of Lindsay in the support car. Chris suddenly decided he had something on the next day so bailed at this point.
After a brief stop at the Nags Head, Missenden, the brave hikers battled through the on-coming blizzard up Frith hill to the blessed relief of pub no. 7, Annie Baileys and some welcome fish and chips.
The intrepid 8 of Andy, Alex, Courtney, Iain, Ian, Marianne, Martin and Steve then headed along the longest stretch of the hike all the way to Chartridge with only hills, snow and the whisky coming from a ‘fake pub’ at Pednor for company. Meanwhile Lindsay and Cally had traded reduced safety for comfort to drive to the hikers at pub 9, the Bell at Chartridge.
All this left only the Blue Ball at Asheridge, close enough to our target for the weary hikers to rest their feet and the inebriated to be sent to think about what they’d done – if they could get through the gate!
And when we woke? A glistening white panorama and only a few hangovers!
As the only ones on the site, we had unbridled access to the snow and, looking over a smooth, white, untouched, virgin field, there was only one thing we could do – build an eight foot snowman!
And a six foot snowball.
And half an igloo.
So, throwing off our hangovers, we set to work, successfully completing the first two tasks, but the snow proved too loose to complete the igloo, although it did hold together for just long enough to allow us to get a picture inside the half-finished article.
So how was 2011 for us?
This year has seen a lot of change for the unit, with set up, meetings and leadership all undergoing alteration. We have moved from having bi-weekly meetings to weekly ones, and put together a regular programme with local hubs Red Squirrels and Cerberus, meaning we could do bigger and better activities with the increased numbers. Andy and Lindsay have taken a step back from running the day-to-day activities and are now concentrating on things at County level, as well as supporting Cally, who has stepped up to become the new Chairperson.
Our activities for the first six months included the hugely popular “Boobie Night” in February, run by Alex, with lots of facts and games increasing knowledge and awareness of the humble booby – and not just for the female members. We learnt all about Geocaching from Michael, finding items hidden in our local town using our smartphones, and we had a night hike – complete with cake to celebrate Ani’s birthday. We learnt about food and culture in Croatia in April, cooking and tasting some yummy food before learning some Croatian words – maybe a trip there could be in our future? Our friend Chris ran a rock climbing session for us. We helped to run a struggling local scout troop so they could get back on their feet – our good deed for the year complete! Towards the end of May we went camping in Snowdonia – climbing Snowdon, visiting Anglesey and flying kites.
In June, things changed completely. It was suggested that we meet up with local hubs Red Squirrels, based in Chesham, and Cerberus, based in Aylesbury, so that we could do bigger and better activities. Well, things were certainly ramped up a bit! We moved to weekly meetings, giving us more time for activities, which included a Canal Boat evening organised by Lindsay, we went raft building at Longridge, we did a high ropes course at Phasel’s, and we learnt a new game called majority rules (yes, Chris really is a national Park!) We tried a new activity – crate stacking – which becomes terrifying as you climb higher and higher on a wobbly stack. We also had a fantastic evening of fire games organised by Michael, where we got the chance to play with fire poi, fire staffs and fire juggling balls, as well as toast marshmallows on the bonfire, before rounding off the year with our annual Christmas meal, and a New Year’s Eve party up at Braids.
And what does 2012 hold?
Archery, an Olympics night and a pub hike are in our immediate future, and we are looking forward to a canoeing weekend organised by Alex at Easter and the prospect of a County Network event in the summer. New events such as sausage making and a Rebellion Brewery Tour are also in our future. Whatever comes flying our way, we are sure to take it face on, with lots of fun, laughter, and occasionally a drop of alcohol.
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