Abbeyside Scout Unit Notes, 11th February 2006

4th Waterford Unit
St Joseph's

Abbeyside Scout Group
Scouting Ireland

11th February Scout Notes

First Aid course, Cub and Scout meeting, S.E.M.R.A., Orienteering, Cabin in the glen, Trip to Dublin and Anniversary Social. These are just some of the items, topics and events that kept us all occupied last weekend in what as you can see was quite a busy one for all concerned! On Friday night Leaders Muller, Eammon and Brendan attended a First Aid Course run by the local Girl Guides and attended by Leaders from the Southern Region. The course itself was a refresher course and covered the basics like bandaging, treating sprains, burns etc. This was in fact a two part course and Friday night was the second leg. A lot was learned from the course, even for those who had previous first aid experience it was a very useful event. Thanks to the Guides for allowing us to attend and to brush up on our skills it was appreciated.

Cubs and Scouts held their usual Saturday night meetings and some preparation was put into getting ready for the trip to Dublin which takes place this coming Saturday the 18th of February. A note concerning times etc was handed out to all going on the trip. Important points to remember are, everyone must be in the den by 7.45 a.m. on the morning in full uniform and outstanding fees must then be paid. As we are on a time schedule for visiting places in Dublin the bus will leave on time (8 A.M.) so if you are late you will not be going! The cabin in the glen was visited over the weekend where work has now progressed on to getting the various electrical wiring into position in order that lights, plugs and showers can be installed next. Orienteering was on the agenda on Sunday afternoon as a few scouts along with the leaders travelled to Melleray scout centre to check out a new course that has recently been laid out in the area. The 75th anniversary social is progressing well as this point with the main organisers John O’Donnell and Paddy Murphy reporting that ticket sales are going well for the event on the 10th of March. As with any well organised event, tickets are getting harder to come getting closer to the event, so if you do not want to miss a great night out get in touch. Tickets are priced at €25 each.

S.E.M.R.A. What’s that I hear you cry? This is the organisation that will get you down from the mountain tops should you get yourself lost or injured at any time day or night 24/7 twelve months of the year. The South East Mountain Rescue Association is made up entirely of volunteers who give of their time and skills to help those lost or injured on the mountains. Two members Michael Power and Ray Bradfield visited the scout den Saturday night and showed the scouts the rescue vehicles and equipment at their disposal should they get a call out to their team of people who go under the call sign of “Sierra”. Michael and Ray explained that even for the simplest rescue operation it may still take perhaps five hours to get someone off a mountain. The greatest cause of them being called out they explained is that people simply are not prepared for hiking over mountains in that they wear the wrong footwear or clothing, often get separated from their group or have failed to simply listen to a weather forecast before heading out. Their members Michael explained operate what he called the safety pyramid. When operating on the mountains it means the rescue team put their own personal safety first, then the safety of their team and then the safety of the casualty. The scouts present certainly got a great understanding of how this dedicated team operate and the gear required. They were amazed to learn that as a volunteer body S.E.M.R.A. are largely self funded and require in the region of €40,000 per annum to keep going. At the end of the show and tell session Michael on behalf of his group presented the scout group leader with a certificate acknowledging scoutings seventy five years in the village. In reply the leader explained that once our cabin in the Glen is fully functional if S.E.M.R.A. requires a training base they are welcome to use this facility.