Page 62 - Phonebox Magazine September 2016

1st Olney Scouts
All change at local Scout Group
fter over 20 years of dedicated service, our very own ‘Busy Beaver’ (Tricia Selwood) is about to retire from her role as the Beaver Leader of 1st Olney. Tricia will be handing over responsibility for the ‘Beaver Colony’ at the end of the
Autumn Term, in December, when no doubt there will be an opportunity to thank her for providing such a warm and welcoming introduction to the world of Scouting to the young girls and boys of Olney.
Her enthusiasm and dedication to the Colony and the Group has been outstanding. From arranging our annual Family Camp, to organising a biker convention for the Beavers, Tricia has been a fantastic member of the Group and an inspiration.
The Group is therefore now on the search for individuals who would be prepared to step up and take on this important role – a role that can be shared amongst several people if enough individuals volunteer. The Colony meets early on a Monday evening at the Infant Academy and has a programme of indoor and, increasingly, outdoor activities. If volunteers come forward early enough, then there will be plenty of time to learn alongside Tricia.
Having previously used the Phonebox to recruit our current Group Scout Leader – Jack Dixon – we are hoping that a number of its readers might be prepared to consider the Beaver Leader role. If you are interested, then please do contact Jack on jaccdd@googlemail.com.
And there’s more...Jack has been standing in as the Wednesday Night Cub leader since Christmas and has been enjoying it so much that he would like to take it on permanently, we are therefore back to looking for a new Group Scout Leader. This is a role that is less regular than a weekly session on a particular night, so would suit someone who is keen to get involved in Scouting, to support the other leaders in the Group, but who may need more exibility over time commitments. Again, please do contact Jack if you are interested.
Finally, we have a number of behind the scene roles that we are anxious to ll including: Quartermaster (looking after our kit that is held in our stores); Subs Co-ordinator and members for the fund-raising team (including helping run the annual Duck Race). If you would be willing to help with any of these roles, then please do contact Roger on Chairman@osg.org.uk.
Newport Pagnell WI
Olney WI
RA Letter from The Queen
ecently, the members of Olney WI sent a card to the Queen to wish her a happy 90th birthday. Below is a picture of the letter that we received back.
“The Queen wishes me to thank you all for the card you
have sent to Her Majesty on the occasion of her ninetieth birthday. The Queen has been deeply touched by the response to this special milestone, and your kind thought for Her Majesty is greatly appreciated.
“The Queen sends her good wishes to everyone in the Olney Women’s Institute and Her Majesty hopes you will understand that, because of the enormous amount of correspondence she has received in the last few months, it has not been possible to reply to you until now.”
In July several ladies from Newport Pagnell were guests at an Afternoon Tea held in Weston Underwood Village Hall, hosted by Ravenstone WI.
The Hall was crowded with ladies from local WIs, and the afternoon started with a Bingo session. Several prizes were given out (alas not to Newport Pagnell!), and this was followed by a delicious tea provided by members of Ravenstone WI. The afternoon nished with a raf e.
For our meeting in August, the guest speaker was Kevin Varty, whose talk was entitled ‘Dancing Bust to Bust’, the title of a well-
62 Phonebox Magazine | September 2016
known song by Joyce Grenfell. A niece of Nancy Astor, Joyce Grenfell married and subsequently lived at Cliveden. Although she was from an aristocratic family, she always wanted to be an actress. She began her career as a radio critic for the Observer newspaper, but was aged 39 before she made her debut performance. She started working with that well-known musical duo Flanders & Swann, joined ENSA, and made several lms, but always preferred the medium of radio. She had a beautiful singing voice and was famous for her comic monologues. Kevin played several of her recordings and it
Dancing Bust to Bust
was lovely to hear some old favourites. A very interesting talk, enjoyed by everyone present. The Competition this month was won by Evelyn Mison, Sue Gage and Teresa Jones. The raf e was won by Teresa Jones and Kathy Reay.
Newport Pagnell Women’s Institute meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm in the room at the rear of the Methodist Church. In September we hope to have a talk on moths and will be holding our Harvest Stall. For further information please call Evelyn Mison on 01908 615630 or just come along on the night.