Frith Grange news
Hi everyone
As you start planning/finalising plans for the next Scouting year I hope that your Groups and Units will be returning to Frith also. The site is open, the buildings are open and camping under the current level of readiness (yellow) is also permitted in tents and indoors.
COVID news and changes
Please take a little time to refresh yourself with the current rules and restrictions as per the Scout Association’s website:
The restriction on numbers inside any building or in one outside space at Frith has been lifted, and this is now for you and your leaders to risk assess to ensure you’re running safe Scouting within the current framework of bringing everyone back to Scouting safely as published by HQ.
When thinking about the capacities of the buildings do think about the amount of ventilation, how much space there is for distancing and using face coverings etc as per information within the above link. The Cyril Allen, you may suggest is rather well ventilated with 4 external doors, 6+ fan light windows and another door by the WC which could all be opened. The Crew Hut offers considerably less ventilation in comparison.
When staying at Frith we are very fortunate by design not to have any bedrooms that exceed the maximum capacity. You may feel they’re too small and cosy however and when risk assessing this should be reflected. These are all things you and your leaders need to think about and not an exclusive list, they’re just a couple of pointers I have been thinking about with my own planning for returning to Scouting in a couple of weeks.
From 1st September the washrooms will revert to being split by gender and under or over 18. The specific zones are no longer marked out but we do expect everyone to share the site and book either the woodland space, 1 half of the field or 1 half of the Spinney. Hand sanitiser is still in dispensers around the site and we strongly encourage you to make use of it.
Good housekeeping at Frith
Parking will continue to be as tricky as it always was. The car park is too small and 99% of us go to Frith using a car. Be sensible, actively monitor the car park as best you can and encourage leaders to park behind the Cyril Allen by the containers to keep spaces free for dropping off young people.
Please respect the kitchens at Frith. The maintenance crew and I spend a lot of time checking that they’re suitably equipped, clean and fit for their purpose. Kettles are descaled and replaced if needed, frying pans are checked to be in good order not scratched to within a millimetre of wearing through and utensils are in the drawers. When you book Frith we do not provide any utensils or cooking equipment to use on a fire, ever. We do not provide dish cloths or tea towels or sharp knives including scissors. I am, of course, slightly biased but I think the standards of cleanliness and quality of what is on offer is considerably better than average. Please use the facilities but don’t abuse them.
Leave Frith tidy and as you would like to find it. The District pays for contract cleaners so we do not expect anyone to ever need to scrub toilets and wet-mop floors in the normal use of the site. It is reasonable however to ask you to sweep the floor, if there is a spillage, mop it up, empty the bins if in a building and put things away washed and dry in the places that you found them in each kitchen.
Please don’t bring wood to the woodpile without having a chat with me directly first. Our woodpile became a bit of a dumping ground for almost anything and some really nasty stuff that isn’t suitable for burning. Whilst we try to be a little light with rules we have had to implement a ban on bringing wood to Frith unless it’s agreed please as clearly some were being a bit naughty in the “wood” they were donating.
Activities at Frith
New and coming soon:
- Fencing is coming to Frith! We are working out logistics now and the course to train instructors is booked and taking place on 2nd October. If you or anyone in your team would like to become an instructor please get in touch.
- Tomahawk throwing is without a date for any training course yet but we already have some qualified instructors in Barnet and we are actively sourcing the kit to have a throwing range built. I hope both of these will be happening by October half term.
Things we already have at Frith:
- Archery is temporarily closed. Please don’t try to make a booking as it won’t be permitted until further notice.
- Rifle shooting is open for booking as normal.
- The rotating Climbing Wall is due to reopen later this term. It is undergoing some much needed maintenance, and I’m quietly confident that when it reopens it’s going to be a friendly easy to use interface controlling the wall for leaders and a reliable piece of kit.
- Computer access – this is our best kept secret! We own 10 Raspberry Pis and they’re kept at Frith ready for you to book and use in the Cyril Allen and run the Digital Citizens badge etc. Where else can you get so many young people access to a machine simultaneously, provide a fun activity and achieve a badge? This might be a perfect winter weather programme idea.
- Team building games: A numbers challenge with giant numbers and symbols you lay out on the ground to solve sums. Two different colour jumbo tangrams which are perfect for two different teams to race at making a design set by the leader using the info sheets provided.
Other ideas being looked at:
Pioneering equipment to be available for users pending suitable storage, funding for the kit and a responsible person to maintain and manage this equipment ensuring that it’s safe, fit for its purpose and stored properly.
Dates for your diary
Saturday 28th August Work party @ Frith from 09:30 for the day. This is the Bank Holiday weekend and many of you will have for more exciting lives than I but it is a good weekend for a few of us to be on the site and there is some work to do in advance of the Future Frith Project going live. This is mainly moving dead wood and tidying along the boundary of the site behind The Lodge. If you have gardening gloves please bring them; lunch and refreshments will be provided. It would be lovely to see a few faces there.
Sunday 12th September Crew induction day for new people wanting to help us start a weekend crew at Frith 10:00 – 15:30. We really want Frith to be “staffed” at weekends more like other sites and it’s a brilliant way to offer new crew members the chance to learn new skills, help the campsite and help loads of young people coming to Frith directly with activity and indirectly helping us with projects and doing work at Frith. Info was posted out a few weeks ago and anyone aged 16 and over is welcome. Just drop me a message so I know how many people to expect on the day.
Saturday 2nd October Fencing Instructor Course. This is a one day course, times are tbc but this is a whole day and you need to bring a packed lunch. If interested please message me and book your place as numbers are limited.
Thanks for taking the time to read to the end. Long emails are less popular I know but when there is lots happening and lots of info to share about our brilliant little campsite the mail grows in length!
Keep safe and well and enjoy the last bit of the summer break.
Thanks.
Mike Proctor
DDC