Wednesday, July 10, 2002
Um... so what happened? We had a hosting problem - NTL, who provided the webspace, shut the service down at the start of December 2001, so although the pages were publicly viewable we were unable to edit them. Anyway, the system has since been bought out by BoltBlue, and a quick reactivation of the account means that we're now back in business. And that we now have over 6 months of news to report on...
The Christmas Party went well, despite the fact that the food was terrible, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Though Ben and Rosie were incredibly pissed...
In February, a number of us went up to Aviemore in Scotland for a weekend of snow walking, and Easter brought with it Easter Camp and the April Fool (formerly known as the March Hare, but this time in April.. clever eh?) where our team famously took a wrong turning and got themselves lost. We've also had a night at Snowball, where we spent the night loosing at playing football and cooking vegetarian hotdogs (even though the vegetarians in the group didn't turn up that night), a night at Archbishop Holgate's swimming pool, and a night cycling, as well as a few evenings at HQ making boxes and painting the cupboard doors.
There has also been more information about September's change, which is when we stop being a Venture Unit and become an Explorer Unit - one night was spent trying to come up with a suitable name - it had to be a land feature somewhere in England. Although we came out unanymously in favour of 'Noddle End Windypits' (which is up in the Yorkshire Dales somewhere), it appears that it can only be a maximum of two syllables, so it'll probably be something boring like 'Knavesmire'.
Which brings us to tonight. Although the programme says we're doing archery, Phil was unable to get it organised so we're continuing to paint the cupboards, which are now white with coloured hand and foot prints on them.
# Posted at 14:41 by Neil Turner
Thursday, November 29, 2001
Last Night
A write-up of what we did last night is now in the Eskimo Diary, along with what we did last week.
Christmas Dinner/Subs
Most of you now need to fork out for the remaining £15 for the Christmas dinner (you should have already paid the £10 deposit) and also £15 for subs for October - December. Vicky has the list of what you owe, so if you're unsure, talk to her.
On the subject of the Christmas Dinner, we had the draw for 'who buys what' last night. Those that turned up will have the name of a person - if you weren't there, you can pick a name next week. The spending limit is £2.50, and make sure it's tacky, crude and wearable.
Programme / Exec Committee
Last night we made a start on next year's programme - you can see bits of it at the bottom of the Programme page. However, we didn't get it finished, so can all Exec members (that's Phil, Nikki, Vicky, Rosie, Dave B and myself) meet at 7:15pm next Wednesday so that we can sort it out? And the rest of you - if you have any suggestions for activities, please let any one of us know beforehand.
Elvington Christmas Piss-Up
It doesn't look like we're taking part in this - no-one who turned last night was interested. Sorry Elvington!
Next Week / 2 Weeks Time
If you're not on the Exec, meet at normal time at HQ - we're making hot-air balloons on the night. In two weeks time (12th December), a change to the programme; we're down to do a Christmas party for the cubs, however they haven't got their act together, it seems, so we're finally going to do the murder mystery that evening. The delay was down to the fact that Martin, Jude and Karen need to write one especially - we do have a murder mystery pack but it's only for 5 people (and with our average turn-out being roughly 10, we'd have to double up). Expect to have to dress up, but there will be more details next week.
# Posted at 13:44 by Neil Turner
Monday, November 26, 2001
Paper Collection
If memory serves me correctly (and judging by how much alcohol I have drunk this evening, it probably isn't) our monthly paper collection is happening this Saturday. If you want to help out, meet up in the car park behind the church at 10am on Saturday morning. And if you have paper you'd like to 'donate', drop it off in the car park at York College (the FHE site - the one just off the Tescos roundabout) in the morning.
See you all on Wednesday!
# Posted at 20:34 by Neil Turner
Thursday, November 22, 2001
Last Night
Wednesday evening went well... we started a little later because we wanted to wait for Nikki and Vicky to arrive, but they didn't so we started at 8:15pm. Everyone came down smart in uniform tops, and everyone except Dave B wore black trousers. The District Commissioner then gave a speech and presented an award from the Chief Scout to Phil B. Pete and Alan were there too, and Pete stayed on for the rest of the night. We then invested Laura D, Holly, Helen and Becki into the group (no sillyness this time...). After marvelling over Phil's certificate, we split into groups and started cooking. Nikki and Vicky finally walked in at this point, so much for being on time ;). Our challenge was to cook a vegetarian meal in just over an hour (ingredients and recipes were provided) since there are now 2 veggies in the group. Although some of the cooking didn't go quite according to plan, in the end everyone produced something edible.
The District Commissioner gave us a good report too, saying we were smart and well-turned out (we had a good attendance last night). So good on you guys!
Christmas Piss-Up/Party
Elvington V.S.U. have invited us over for a "Christmas Piss-Up" on December 20th, starting at 7:30pm and ending.... whenever. There is a sleepover on their scout hut floor, and you have to bring your own booze. If you're interested, tell Rosie by December 1st (so next week, basically) as she needs to let them know how many are coming. Remember that it's the evening after our own Crimbo party at the Moat House.
Expedition
Jude, Martin and Karen really need to know where you want to go on the Expedition ASAP, so let Karen know next week. For some reason unbeknown to me, the West Highland Way option seems to be popular....
Next Week
Jude and Martin are off to Scotland next week, so we've just got Karen to keep us company. The theme of the night is Sense Deprivation, so we'll be doing stuff where we can't use one of our senses. See you at 8pm at HQ!
# Posted at 13:53 by Neil Turner
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Okay, some news for you...
Christmas Party
After a brief discussion last night, there are a few changes to what we had planned. The venue is the same, the day is the same and the price is the same, but we're in a different room. We are now going to the Las Vegas night, which means that we have a fixed menu instead of the more flexible one on the other night, but we get drinks on arrival, a magician, caberet and a Las Vegas-style casino thingy, where you can gamble Monopoly money and win prizes. And there's the disco too. However, this is the Moat House, so you'll need to dress pretty smart (shirts and ties for the lads, dresses/skirts for the lasses). The price is still £25, but you should have already paid the £10 deposit, so you only owe £15.
Expedition 2002
Martin and Karen gave out details of what we will be doing next year - full details are now on the Expedition page. We need a response soon (preferably next week), so get thinking.
Swimming
Overall our swimming night last night was a success - you can read what I had to say in the Venture Dairy. If you personally want to add something, then email me.
Next Week
On the programme it says we're doing Ready Steady Cook next week, so be prepared to do some cooking. We also have the District Commissioner down - that means you must look smart - full uniform and black trousers. We're also investing Becki H, Laura D, Helen C and Holly D into the unit.
# Posted at 14:12 by Neil Turner
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Yup another update...
The About page has been made a bit longer, and the design for this page has been fixed - some of the links didn't work...
Good news: Laura is now out of hospital and is recovering - get well soon Laura!
# Posted at 11:08 by Neil Turner
Sunday, November 11, 2001
Welcome to the brand new DEVSU web site! It is still under construction, so there will be some bad links here and there - please bear with us while we get all the pages online!
Last week (Wednesday 7th November) saw the group trek off to Snowball Plantation for the evening - we played a wide game and then had a rather lame firework display - though at least the catherine wheels didn't fly off, eh Phil? :)
This Wednesday, we're off to Archbishop Holgate's school to do a bit of canoodling in the swimming pool - normal time at HQ but bring your swimming stuff!
Now for some sad news... on Tuesday night Laura Coggan was taken into hospital with suspected meningitis. However, she seems to be getting better, and we all wish her a speedy recovery.
# Posted at 15:45 by Neil Turner