Troop Log 2000/2001
Troop Night Hike - 7th - 8th July 2001
After the success of last years night navigation in the Coumtay valley we decided this year to head to Coumshingaun and that this time we would bivvy out at the lake. Bivvying out in Ireland is not for the fainthearted but we picked a good night and after the long and midgety ascent to the lake we found a sheltered spot on north side. After some romantic text messaging back to a female member of another troop in Waterford from some of the PL's, there was some sleep got.
Above: The lads get ready to head to Coumshingaun and Below: Billy Collins SL with Kenneth Rouse ASL and Eric Whelan from the DLS Venturers.
Colm and Eric departed for work at about 6.00am the next morning leaving Kenneth free to lead Billy and the lads up a dubious gully on the north facing cliff of Coumshingaun. It was not quite as exciting as their even more dubious descent down the left hand side of Mahon Falls which featured some impressive acrobatics by the young Ian Grant. Next year's venue - the top of Knockanafrinn.
Above: Barry Kelly, Maurice Kavanagh and Ian Grant at the Bivvy site at Coumshingaun.
Louis Murphy Competition - 15th-17th June 2001
The 2001 Louis Murphy Competition was held from the 15th to the 17th of June 2001 at the Kilmacow Sports Centre. The competition included lots of campcraft, scout skills, a testmeal, first aid, a campfire sketch and a fun fair on the Sunday. After the effort we put into the training we were delighted to come fourth overall out of the 11 teams in the event and we are sure that our Michael Kavanagh inspired Beef Wellington a la Billy was key to the troop's strong performance. Ian Grant and Barry Kelly also put in inspired performances as aliens in the campfire sketch. A full account of the weekend is available on our Scouting page.
Above (L-R):
Kenneth Rouse ASL, Brian Kelly APL, Billy Collins SL, Maurice
Kavanagh PL, Cormac Kavanagh, Colm Ennis ASL, Glen Reid O'Hanlon,
Michael Kavanagh and Ian Grant.
Below: Maurice and Barry look on as Michael has
a go at some compass work.
Troop Weekend - 11th-13th May 2001
With the forecast for the weekend being fantastic and the inside of the den in Faithlegg having being ripped apart, we were glad to be staying in tents for the weekend. Despite the midgets in the field on Friday night, the tents were pitched well (all the guys were even facing the right way) with the exception of the dome tent of one Assistant Scoutleader (those poles are a different colour for a reason Ken). As soon as it was dark enough we headed for the forest for what began as a fairly standard midnightish hike. Colm's attempts at getting the troop to appreciate the silence of the river at night failed although he succeeded in leading them through some fairly dense undergrowth. During the crawl, Billy Collins wasn't entirely amused although he like the scouts was concerned with the sudden disappearance of his two assistants and their being claimed by the spirits of the undead. After the ASL's were almost recaptured at the campfire circle, the grotto and finally the old toilets, one was recaptured in Billy's trailer where he insisted he had been dumped an hour ago while another was forced down from the roof of the den.
Above: Billy Collins SL with Colm Ennis, Gavin Cooke, the three Kavanaghs (Maurice, Michael and Cormac), Ian Grant 1 (Flanders), Ian Grant 2 and Jamie Flynn.
On Saturday morning, the sun decided to really shine but it failed to deter the building of a fairly impressive monkey bridge. Indeed any monkey bridge which doesn't fall down is generally impressive and this one survived the crossing of even the heaviest members of the troop. After some 20 litres of coke were consumed, Maurice Kavanagh got stuck into some burger frying which he later denied to the Food Safety Authority as being the cause of a minor food poisoning outbreak. After lunch, the troop headed to the Minaun for a hike spurred on by promises of there being a shop at the end of it. Close to the summit (well there is a trig point), there was a brief encounter with members of the 31st Faithlegg Scout Troop. When a shop was eventually reached it was discovered that (a) Magnum's are a rip off but somebody has to pay for HB's marketing budget, (b) at 10p Mr. Freeze's are still 'the coolest drink in the universe' and (c) Ian Grant should be the next Milkybar kid.
Above: Ian Grant is the first Scout to brave the Monkey Bridge Crossing.
While the lads got stuck into building a fairly impressive shelter in the woods, Billy got stuck into cooking the Spaghetti Bolognese, but with the round mince having been just £1.99 a lb at Caulfield's SuperValu, Colm wasn't too amused that all the other ingredients came from Superquinn, Tesco and Londis. After the late dinner, it was decided to burn all the trees which Roddy had cut down up the lane. The fire started well (holly leaves make a great flame) but the old maxim of live wood not burning well was proved true. Ian Grant's recital of complicated Gorrilaz lyrics was easily the highlight of the evening. Despite no ghost stories being told, there was at least 6 jibbers who failed to sleep in the shelter that night. Sunday was a relaxed affair and included a late breakfast, an early lunch and a good laugh at how slowly Venturers, paint/do anything. Flanders also made a good attempt at keeping his mouth around a compressed air pump. All in all a successful weekend.
Above: Members of the 7th Scout Troop on their Monkey Bridge at Faithlegg.
Ted Ryan Challenge - 20th - 22nd April 2001
The Waterford and South Kilkenny Region Ted Ryan Challenge was held from the 20th to the 22nd of April in and around Waterford City. The event consisted of a series of bases including first aid, rescue base, factory visit, wheel rotation, cap handy tent pitching and the mapping of a building. There was also a testmeal, a seanachai competition at the campfire, a volleyball tournament and the three pole challenge. The troop thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and were disappointed that the 3rd De La Salle just missed out on the top spot to St. Pauls.
Above: (L-R) Michael Kavanagh, Alan Moran, Billy Collins SL, Ian Grant, Barry Kelly, Ronan Power, Maurice Kavanagh and Colin Power on the 2001 Ted Ryan Challenge. Below: Ian Grant breathes fire during the three pole challenge.
Troop Weekend/Christmas Party - 30th November - 1st December 2000
It was the first Christmas party of the year and it started on Saturday evening at our Faithlegg den. Billy had trusted Ken and Colm to drag the lads through plenty of trees, nettles and ditches on a midnight hike and they certainly delivered on that as nothing less than crawling on your stomach with your head in the soil would allow progress. After that plenty of junk was consumed while some videos were watched. After some people got to sleep at about 6.00am they were very fresh for the hike the next day which included a hairy river crossing via a fallen down tree, a close encounter with some barbed wire and the usual mucky entrance to the flooded field. We also paused for the operators of the cranes at Belview Port to wave for the photo below. When Billy caught up with us after the hike, he took great amusement in those scouts who had worn white runners and even greater amusement in the one scout who had worn new white tracksuit ends for the hike.
Troop Hike - 22nd October 2000
Billy did ask Colm on the phone whether he had heard the weather forecast to which the said ASL replied he had but that we would probably get away with it as the weather forecasters had been wrong all summer. Actually it was just windy when we left the upper car park at Mahon Falls for the Coumtay lakes. Everyone took a turn at navigating and were warned about using sheep as fixed points. Lunch at the lakes is where the weather took a turn for the worse and while we sheltered in the Unit's new kisu, we decided to descend to Ned Curran's cottage for some shelter. From there we battled the rain, wind and mud back through the forest in the direction of Daymore before getting back to the car park. At least it was a realistic introduction to the Irish mountains for our new members.
Above: David
Roche, Ian Grant (Flanders), Barry Kelly, Jack Mahon, Brian
Meehan and Jamie Flynn in the kisu at Mahon Falls.
Below: Jamie Flynn gives his verdict on the
weather.
Inter Troop Weekend - 13th-15th October 2000
Twelve members of the troop joined scouts from the 3rd and the 13th for a classic troop weekend in Mellary. As usual the bunks (and matresses on the floor) were very comfortable and the building was very warm. It was certainly a relaxing weekend with soccer in the half acre and a haphazd game of infiltration kicking off the weekend. Some leaders didn't rise until 10am on Saturday for the hike which included getting to the top of Dyrick for some, getting to the top of Knockmealdown for others and getting to the col beneath Knockmealdown and then jibbing out for a few more (it's just as well they're going into the Venturers. The weather for the hike was fantastic and dinner when we got back was well deserved. The campfire had it's surreal moments and we also discovered that bangers from the shop down the road from Mellary can still keep people entertained for hours. Sunday contained all sorts of dismal cleaning mixed with more bangers and more football, all in all though it was an enjoyable weekend.
Above: On the summit of Knockmealdown during the Inter Troop Weekend.
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