Firestorm in 2011

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.