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And so as we looked to the good people of olde Rumford town to give generously to our cause, it was important that our explorers were not left to their own devices! Fortunately, they were ably supervised by three cub scouts (Daniel, Lilly and Shay) from 1st South Hornchurch whose fearless approach to customers, oodles and oodles of energy and shameless begging ability was an example to us all! A big thanks for all their help.
A full 5 hours of carefully handling eggs, separating that meat and those veg and running to and fro from the car park managed to raise an impressive £487.26.
A special Centurion hug must go to store managers Glen and Kevin for entertaining the idea in the first place, the girlie whirlies on Customer Services for their cheery dispositions, endless assistance and timely tannoy announcements, all of the checkout gang for beeping those barcodes, the canteen staff for keeping us going with delicious delights and of course the upstanding citizens of Romford for making our buckets jingle. Merry Christmas to them all!
Add to this success a further £90.21 raised at the crack of dawn on Sunday at a car boot sale and we’ve had our most successful weekend yet taking our total Russia fund to over £2,500!
Dec 2008
Returning to Hoe Mill Lock, scene of the County Canoe Competition just two months previous, our newly qualified kayakists donned buoyancy aids and stepped aboard their vessels (some rather more expertly than others!) and were soon off upstream. Their aim was simple – to cover the distance of the River Neva – the main river that runs through St. Petersburg, our destination in Russia.
Of course, the challenge was made all the more difficult given the Russia-like winter conditions we were faced with! Bravely, our explorers pitted themselves against the cold and the current and made good early headway. In an attempt to speed things up, none other than Bill Bailey decided a bit of front crawl was what was called for and so, like the gentleman he is, allowed Carrie to have a go first – nudging her into the water as they returned from their two mile paddle!
With daylight threatening to disappear, our final relay broke the finish line, but had it been enough? The Neva winds its way from Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland over a distance of 46 miles. Our grand total came in at 54.5 miles, smashing the distance required! Well done to all the explorers, it was a great effort!
As always, we are indebted to the help of others, firstly many thanks to Trevor Jones for his guidance on the water and for his boats (and to his housemate for transporting them), to the twelfth hour assistance of Clive Constable and Roger Mitchell and their roof racks, and to the chaps at the lock that permitted us to use the water.
Get collecting in the cash gang!
Nov 2008
As a warm up to Sunday’s Rally there was the small matter of Saturday’s competitions and, with a mighty footballing team assembled around our twinkle toed wonder – Tish, we dared to dream of triumph. Three back to back wins left us smelling victory, but a flair for attacking football left its share of defensive frailties. In the fourth match this exposed goalie Calum to a well drilled outfit that put pay to our hopes. After an awe inspiring win, we were somehow bypassed in the volleyball, and so it was left to the tug-of-war to give us some cheer. And grateful we are to Mummy Mortons puddings, as some fine heaving and Voov’s rather bizarre hoeing, earned us an impressive second place!
So to Sunday, and even a night of interrupted hedonism at the disco couldn’t dampen down the spirits of the teams as they took to their starting blocks – the rain did that. Then at the drop of the starter’s flag, they were off, dodging cannon balls and heading off at an alarming speed; by the first check-point Team Medics were up amongst the players. The early pace was sustained through the Sudoku and up to the water challenge, where Morton elegantly leapt through hoops and swam with seal like agility to power the team to the finish line in a breath taking 3rd place! Meanwhile, Team Woody were somewhere in the middle of the pack but going strong, and with Looney taking on the lake-based assault course, surely they were hot to trot…
Of course, it’s not just about how quick you get our chair round the course and once all the points had been added together, and bribe money had been counted, our final standings were out – “The Medics” a hearty 20th and “Woody’s Toy House and the Credit Crunch” just behind in 25th. Perhaps most importantly of all though, we managed to stave off competition for another year from our salubrious Swindon chums, Phoenix Archer, who landed 28th place. Good effort guys!
Oct 2008
This year’s questions were penned by the men who had led Centurion to victory in the previous four competitions – Kevin Cooper and Russell Winston, as well as a 1st Souths Kilmuir veteran – Mr P, and so we went in knowing it was never going to be one for the lily livered. Throughout the weekend a cracking High School Musical performance in front of the London Eye, a fabulous Lego model of City Hall, a delightfully wobbly jelly chessboard complete with marzipan chess pieces, hours of ardent question answering in London and some of our chaps looking delightful in drag all made victory seem possible. But alas, the distinct lack of a Porsche logbook, no food with a sell by date prior to 2000, a complete inability to comprehend the nature of a Googlewhack and fear of getting closer than 10m to the Canada Memorial were all factors that led to our eventual downfall.
And so on the brink of breaking the record with a 5th consecutive victory, we were denied by Chingford who pipped us to the post with a mahoosive half a point lead. A close fought fight so hats off to them!
But as we sit and stare at the clean, circular patch on the wall where the trophy has hung for so many years, we must look for the positives. First and foremost, this year the explorers took a much more active role in running the event and on the whole done a grand job, so top work chaps! Add to that the chance to start off a brand new run of consecutive wins next year and hey ho, things don’t look so bad!
Of course we couldn’t have come so tantalisingly close to victory of it wasn’t for all the support from parents, friends, supporters and acquaintances of the unit! A big thank you to all those that lent a hand, with extra gratefulness being wafted in the direction of the Finches for their fervent question answering, the Littlewoods for providing an internet connection and printouts, Lindsey Cooper for her usual creative flair and finally the Mortons for housing the internet hub of the operation and stepping in with some last minute transport.
And finally, to all those who are still mulling over the weekend’s events remember that if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all be very fat!
Oct 2008
As I type this, perched over my keyboard in one of the few positions that doesn't seem to ache, I begin to cast my mind back to the cause of my pain...the GLNE County Canoe Race 2008!
Sunday 28th September saw Centurion ESU, explorers and leaders alike, make their debut at this gruelling 7 mile event on the River Chelmer. After stylishly spladooshing into the water at Hoe Mill Lock we were under starter's orders and ready to show the rest of the county the skills we'd picked up on summer camp. And much to our utter amazement, we didn't do too bad!
After a tortoise-like start due to photographic urges, our very own Dr Suggs came nail bitingly close to being hailed as the overall winner, romping home in a time of 1 hour and 52 minutes. He was however pipped to the post by
one agile explorer from Ilford East - top paddling sir! In celebration of this near memorable feat, Mike decided to tip himself, and all of his most precious electrical items (including that camera I mentioned earlier), out of the kayak and into the murky depths of the lock...smooth moves I think you'll agree. Hot on his tail were the likes of Jarvis, Morton and Izzy (all finishing in times of a little over two hours) and then finally the pleasure cruisers of Calum, Andrew and Glenn who returned to port in just under two and a half hours.
A big thank you to Trevor for craft borrowage and a big well done to all Centurion bods for completing the race in good time, good style and, most importantly of all, good spirit!
Sep 2008
"Excuse me, would you like any help with your bag packing today?"
Yes, those words will haunt our dedicated explorer scouts for days to come following a marathon bag pack at Tesco, Airfield Way, Hornchurch.
The tills rung, the bags rustled and the collection pot grew steadily heavier over the 5 hour stint as, with a little help from friendly staff, our explorers turned from bag pack beginners to bag pack pro's. With the buckets emptied, we coined in a grand total of...
533.95 Great British Pounds, 2 Australian Cents, 4 Euro Cents and one lovely lady's treasured lucky £2 coin!
A big thanks must go to Imran Barber (pictured below - not Mike's new found cheery friend, although hello to him too!), the security team and the chirpy checkout chicks and chaps. Nice one. And of course, we would still have come home with empty pockets if it wasn't for the generosity of the general public, so a mahoosive ta muchly to them too!
Our fundraising total now stands at £1,595.25, bring on the sponsored kayak!
Sep 2008
Christmas came early once again this year at Centurion, courtesy of Sainsbury's Active Kids. With bats and balls a plenty from last year's scheme, we set our sights on a lovely new lightweight Vango tent, a humungous storage box for packing up those pesky explorers and yet more compasses!
A big thank you to all our fervent collectors, located both at home and in Oxford!
Sep 2008
To see these big beauties click here, scroll down to the Organisation section and select our name from the list. Make sure you have a good gander round the rest of the site whilst you’re there too. And finally, if you think you’ve spotted any huge huggers, why not email us and let us know!
Aug 2008
“Wow, as an ex-presenter of the show, this knocks spots off the Blue Peter badge, I’m getting on the blower to Konnie and Mable right now…”
We’re chuffed with such (potentially fictitious) high praise from the upper echelons! Cheers Pete, and if you need a hand stitching it onto your camp blanket then just give us a shout…
Aug 2008
*Thanks a lot to Rich’s mum (Mrs. Moore) who also gave a storming performance in the play, and who stopped Peter in the wings to get our signed badge!
All told, entry fees, bets and horse auctions raised a much appreciated £283.75 which gone straight into the coffers reserved for Russia. A huge thank you to all that attended for your support!
Aug 2008
Wednesday dawned and up rolled the leaders along with a few more merry men to join in the frivolities. Whilst merging onto one site, the explorers continued to make a sterling effort to keep themselves alive. Some relied solely on Pot Noodles for that much needed nutrition whilst others were more adventurous; braving Super Noodles marinated in Ginger Beer. Meanwhile, the leaders were making it their business to make, bake and eat as many pies as possible as well as streamlining their tea making experience with a much appreciated, strictly dedicated, slightly topsy turvey, tea table.
As well as a camp full of gut wrenchingly good cuisine, the week saw 12 of our members take to the water in kayaks (some more fragrant than others) to try and gain their BCU 1 Star Award. We were left brimming with pride with all of them passing in the Girl Guide infested waters of Blackland Farm. Add to this hugging and swinging on the now legendary Biggest Beech in Britain and surely there can be no more to report! Well my friend, that’s where you’re mistaken, for the Broadstone Warren Campfire of Saturday 26th July saw a very important milestone for Centurion.
Yes, with 10 years since the creation of Baby Shark by Pinto and Sugs, it was time to unleash another mould breaking campfire song – The Hammer is a Tool! Inspired by our travels in Luxembourg, this song is the product of a unit wide effort and has been perfected over the last year or so. Whilst overjoyed at the audience’s and crew’s reactions, its release into the wider scouting domain comes with great danger. I speak of course of the risk that it will suffer the same level of debauchery that has befallen Baby Shark in recent times. And so, for the sake of the history books, we will publish the undeniably original lyrics to this creation right here on this very page…brace yourself for campfire gold…
The scene is set with the introduction of two craftspeople (one from a non-descript European country, the other from good old Blighty) sitting in their workshop discussing their tools.
The European chap begins by explaining that the hammer is a tool…
“Ohhh, the hammer is a tool, oh the hammer
is a tool,
You hit the nail because the hammer is a tool” (hammering action)
The Brit then agrees and goes onto say that the saw is also a tool…
“Ohhh, the saw is a tool, oh the saw is a tool,
You cut the wood because the saw is a tool” (sawing action)
(repeat hammer verse)
And so on it goes with:
“The lathe is a tool…you pump the pedal
because…” (pedal pumping action)
“The router is a tool…you carve the wood because…”
(router action)
“The axe is a tool…you chop the wood because…”
(chopping action)
repeating all the previous verses and actions each time.
The narrator then explains that the two men continued to discuss the issue over lunch until they decided that…
“The workmen is a tool, oh the workman is a
tool,
He does his work because the workman is a tool” (combine all actions
into neck breaking body flailing)
(repeat again)
All that remains to say is top job to all the explorers for not contracting salmonella, hats off to Pinto and Alan for their pre-camp kayaking tuition and boo-ya to you for reading this article…
Jul 2008
Three hand-picked teams set off into the Cumbrian darkness some time after midnight and began creeping their way under the watchful shadows of Skiddaw to the west and Helvellyn to the east. A pleasant night saw all three teams make some excellent progress. Setting a relentless early pace, Jarvis, Izzy, Calum and Freddy stormed to within a few miles of the finish with a plentiful 12 hours still to go, but at a cost - they had been caught twice and were down to one life! Meanwhile, with two lives remaining Voov, Mike, Richard and Looney appeared to be taking a more stealth like approach, or maybe just enjoying the beauty of the Lakes! Elsewhere, slowed down by the constant stopping at bakeries, delicatessens and pubs, our third team of Al, Glenn, Hanson and the Finchmeister General were clearly taking a more laid back approach to things.
But just when things were looking rosy from the leader’s overnight location at Dove Crag and it was nearly time to blow out the candles in our dimly lit cave, the bad news filtered in! Voov’s team had called it day (“still with two lives left though…surely that means we beat the other teams with one life?” Not quite Mike!). Then even worse, their fondness for roads was their downfall as team Jarvis had its last life taken within spitting distance of the finish! One hope left!
The masses gathered at the run in, eager to see all the teams trying to make it as close to 11am as possible. And then they came. Like a herd of galloping gazelles having barely survived a savage attack by lions, our boys threw themselves over the line in a time of 11:05:05, still grasping 2 lives! Top Gunning! Sadly though it wasn’t quite enough to bring the trophy home! A truly Olympic effort, taking the bronze medal and, even better, an official Operation Dragnet pin badge! A savage 8 man attack was all that denied them a clean sheet – a fete that was achieved by the winning Network team who finished a mere 21 seconds after 11am, taking the trophy back to it’s Cumbrian birthplace. Hats off to them.
And one last thing – a big thank you must go to Roger Mitchell for organizing a minibus for us just in the nick of time!
Jul 2008
Centurion ESU's quest to ensure Chief Scout Awards are worn with pride continued this month with two groups undertaking their practice expeditions in the lurvely Ashdown Forest. From the Platinum Award hopefuls - Jo, Izzy and Calum, ably assisted by Tommy Mc, ventured forth, whilst Jarvis, Hanson and Mike flew the flag for the Diamond Award gang. After getting over the intial bewilderment of not hiking for a competition both teams yomped over yonder. Many miles later, complete with a knackered knee, here's what Mr Morton had to say about the weekend...
"We arrived at a drizzly Broadstone Warren campsite where our hike began on the Friday evening. In the first 10km we endured bulls, wild dogs and falafels, but despite it all we made it to Little Cansiron Farm that night and, don't worry, we didn't wake the fishes. We continued our hike early on Saturday morning, and walked through until about 4pm, when we camped approximately 5km away from our destination - Broadstone Warren. We met up with the other team (Calum, Izzy and Jo) before heading to bed and sleeping through the night, even with wild badgers and dogs roaming around the tents. We arrived at Broadstone Warren on Sunday afternoon, battered and bruised, but still in one piece!"
Both teams did extremely well in organising their hikes which involved producing route cards, organising places to camp, sorting out their food, budgeting and arranging transport. So top job chaps! Here's to August / September when they'll be completing their final expeditions, taking on board everything they learnt from this weekend.
Jun 2008
Pounding the paths of Chelmsford for the first time, Carrie and Tish, led by Rachel, managed a highly respectable 5th place taking in an overnight stay at Benedict Otes. Just ahead of the girls were debutants Bailey and Chris who, with Hanson at the helm, achieved a none to shabby 4th place. However a clerical error resulted in them taking the glory of 3rd place at the awards ceremony, a position that was in fact held by our Hiking Marathon old timers Jo, Izzy and Looney, who had made it to the furthest point from Skreen’s – Matching Green to camp it up for the night.
With all these results announced, there was one team still in the running for the hallowed top spot. We all knew the trophy was heading back to Hornchurch, but where??? Step forward Mike, Jarvis and Calum to receive the winning Cheeseboard and top the overall points ranking of all entrants to boot! From what we can gather, they spent the night in a novelty sized dog kennel somewhere so three cheers heading your way guys (that’s one each).
Hats off to all who took part, next stop, the Lakes…
Jun 2008
May 2008
It was a close fought contest at both ends of the Leader table, but congratulations must go to our eventual winners Eight Attack and commiserations to the wielders of the wooden spoon The Adams Family.
A big thanks to all those that took part and to Mummy Glenda for providing some much needed brain food on the night. Ticket sales and a raffle with the highest quality prizes we could find managed to raise a none to shabby £264.60 to start off the Russia kitty.
We’ll see you all again at our next event – watch this space for details…
Apr 2008
So think fast, dig deep and we’ll see you at our Quiz Night on Saturday 29th March! For more information email us now!
Feb 2008
Feb 2008
Sometimes when I go to bed I have a dream. It's a dream where I receive a brown parcel. I open it, hurriedly, to examine the contents. As I do, my heart rate increases. Once inside, I marvel at the contents. I hold one in my hand. I gaze at it, transfixed as if for all eternity. The sunlight that is streaming through a gap in my curtains is fired back at me; enriched with the shining colours from out of my palm. I stroke it. It's smooth velvet. I clench my fist, then open it again - it's still there - unfettered and unashamedly amazing. I look back into the box and a thousand eyes are looking back at me. I smile. A long smile.
Well my friends, this is no longer a dream.
Jan 2008
*Exceptions: participants of Gilwell Winter Camp, Thriftwood Pedal Car Olympics (won by Hornchurch District’s very own Gladiator ESU) and naughty little stay-ups!
Jan 2008
Salaam Alaykum to any readers joining us from the Arabic Scout Network and to our new Omani friends (plus a friendly hats off welcome to any other strays passing their eyes yonder)! In search of a bit of winter sunshine (and to see his parents), Sugs ventured out to Oman for a spot of wadi bashing and dune surfing; and of course to make new friends! Here he is with the Oman Chief Kashaf and Muscat Regional Kashaf along with shots from inside and outside the Omani Scout Headquarters. The heading is the Oman Scout motto, ”Be Prepared” pronounced "Kun Musta'idan".
Jan 2008
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As a New Year dawns, members of Centurion can wave 2007 goodbye safe in the knowledge that they have left the world a little better than they found it 12 months ago...
Yes, the end of 2007 saw the Innocent Drinks "Buy One, Get One Tree" campaign, which, being the fervent smoothie drinkers that we are, we quickly signed up to. The scheme aimed to plant 100,000 trees to aid rural communities in India and Africa.
The Unit can put its name to a none to shabby total of 31 of the 164,020 trees that were planted in Innocent's Virtual Forest. For every tree planted, Innocent are donating money to establish tree planting schemes in rural Africa and India. Local communities choose what species to plant and receive quarterly payments for looking after each tree for 10 years. Once mature, the trees will provide crops, food, medicine and much needed shade for the local people.
We'd like to thank all of the explorers and parents that took part in the scheme and look forward to our little acorns becoming mighty oaks...
Jan 2008
