Magazine of The Church Lads’ and Church Girls’ Brigade Spring 2010 No 52 A Company Limited by Guarantee No 1395966 Registered Charity No 276821 M ost old and large houses are home to a variety of spiders, of all shapes and sizes and their varied and intricate webs. St Martin’s House, Brigade Headquarters is no different in this respect. However, over the last year, St Martin’s House has seen periods of frenetic activity by what appear to be our own variety of web weaving creatures, who have become known as St Martin’s spiders! They have been seen at various times of the year, most usually at weekends and in greater or lesser clusters, weaving their fascinating web; the like of which has previously been unknown to any of us at Brigade NHQ. So fascinating in fact is their web that we want all Brigade members to have a look at it and have included a special feature on it inside. Could these magnificent creatures really be St Martin’s own special breed of spiders? Take a look and let us know what you think. Are these St Martin’s spiders? Brigade THE Incorporating the LINK Magazine
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Church Lads' & Church Girls' Brigade April Newsletter 2010
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Magazine of The Church Lads’ and Church Girls’ Brigade
Spring 2010 No 52
A Company Limited by Guarantee No 1395966
Registered Charity No 276821
Most old and
large houses
are home to a
variety of spiders, of all
shapes and sizes and
their varied and intricate
webs. St Martin’s
House, Brigade
Headquarters is no
different in this respect.
However, over the last
year, St Martin’s House
has seen periods of
frenetic activity by what
appear to be our own
variety of web weaving
creatures, who have
become known as St
Martin’s spiders! They
have been seen at
various times of the
year, most usually at
weekends and in greater
or lesser clusters,
weaving their fascinating
web; the like of which
has previously been
unknown to any of us at
Brigade NHQ. So
fascinating in fact is
their web that we want
all Brigade members to
have a look at it and
have included a special
feature on it inside.
Could these magnificent
creatures really be St
Martin’s own special
breed of spiders? Take
a look and let us know
what you think.
Are these St Martin’s spiders?
BrigadeTH
E
Incorporating the LINK Magazine
More young members exploring the new Brigade website on the launch date.
Beverley Seniors making masks.
‘Penguins on Parade!’ at Christchurch Canon Burrows Company, Tameside.
2
A pictorial
overview of the
Church Lads’
and Church
Girls’ Brigade
events, awards,
presentations
and community-
based activities
THE MARTINS
THE JTC
THE SENIORS
THE Y TEAM
5 - 7 YEARS
7 - 10 YEARS
10 - 13 YEARS
13 - 21 YEARS
BrigadeTH
E
Young member explores new website.
3
HERE& THERE
HRH The Prince of Wales, meeting members from Oldham Battalion.
Young Leaders from Leicester Regiment pooling ideas for the new Brigade website.
Ulster Young Leaders presenting their ideal leader. Ulster Young Leaders in discussion.
Just last December
we held our
meetings of
Brigade Council, the
Staff and Finance
Committee and the
Annual General Meeting
of the Brigade. It is the
time of year when terms
of office for
approximately one third
of the Brigade Council’s
membership comes to
an end. When Brigade
Council was established
almost six years ago
now, it was done in such
a way that its
membership could only
serve two terms at most.
So we are now seeing
longstanding members,
indeed friends, coming
to the end of their
involvement with
Brigade Council and I
thank the retiring
members on my own
and your behalf for their
dedicated and
committed service to the
Brigade, via its Council.
This last year we said
farewell to Dave
Greaves and Richard
Hall from the North-
East, Don Nuttall MBE
from Manchester, Danny
Robinson from Ulster,
Stephen Robinson from
the Midlands and we
duly welcome John
Kennedy from Ulster
and Derick Jackson
from the North East who
have been duly elected
to join Brigade Council. I
also welcome John
Smith to the ranks of the
Staff and Finance
Committee, replacing
Don Nuttall as the co-
opted member.
Little did we know in
December that, come
March, we would be
attending Dave
Greaves’ funeral. Whilst
Dave had had to have
regular platelet
transfusions for some
years, he was always
bright and as energetic
as his illness allowed
him to be, never
complaining and
constantly positive and
philosophical. Often to
be seen wearing shorts,
whatever the time of
year, he liked nothing
better than to be active,
cycling, walking, boating
and the like. When last
seen, Dave was saying
how well he was feeling
and he certainly looked
it. Just about a year
ago, Dave’s Brigade
Company was placed
into temporary
dormancy, as Dave and
his fellow Leader battled
their individual health
problems and Dave, as
Church Warden, was
guiding and supporting
the Church through an
extended interregnum
but he was looking
forward to being well
enough to restart the
Company and with a
new Vicar in place.
Dave’s funeral was a
real testimony to how
much Dave was loved
and how many lives his
own life and example
had touched, indeed
shaped. There was
standing room only. The
altar was draped with
the St Mary’s Wombwell
Brigade Company’s flag
and Brigade uniforms
were in abundance.
Fitting hymns and
tributes were included in
the Service and from
young and not so young
alike. I had the honour,
along with our
Treasurer, current and
former Brigade
Secretaries, to represent
the wider family of the
Brigade. It was truly a
Brigade emphasised
Service and a joyful
celebration of Dave’s life
and work. We will strive
to see that his Company
is restarted.
It is great news that our
Development Project
has been funded for a
further year. We are
blessed by our small
team of truly
enthusiastic and
dedicated Development
Workers, Audrey, Tracey
and Sister Anne and our
two supporting
volunteers, Maynard
Scott and John
Corbishley. When we
set out to recruit the
team, just over a year
ago, we didn’t know who
would apply for these
very part-time roles, at
least in employed (paid)
terms, but we have
been delighted with the
outcome and their
individual and collective
application to the task.
Their enthusiasm for the
Brigade is infectious and
that is just what we
need. (I am advised that
they too have been
nurturing and
encouraging St Martin’s
spiders in their web
weaving!)
Best wishes to you all.
Good luck and every
success and enjoyment
to you all for your spring
and early summer
Brigade activities.
Pamela Corbishley,
Governor.
Governor's Message
4
And the sun is
shining…….
Not unusually, this
item for the
magazine was
written in snatches, as
time and location in my
schedule permitted.
As I start to write this
article, I can see out of my
office window at Brigade
NHQ that the sun is
shining and that the crocus
and snowdrops around the
garden are in flower. What
a contrast to the dark days
that have been the norm
as of late. It reminds me
of the ‘dark days of Lent’
as we approach the
dramas of Holy Week and
the brightness that is
Easter Sunday.
I have arrived at NHQ to
find excited voices and a
bit of a commotion. Our
cleaner, Carol, has
discovered activity behind
one of our boarded in fire
grates. A woodpigeon has,
as often happens, made
its way down one of our
chimneys and is to be
heard in our meeting room
fireplace. Zoe, fully
committed bird feeder, is
‘elected’ to free the bird!
The woodpigeon is duly
clasped and released
outside. It seeks to fly
away but, after its
unknown period of ordeal,
attempts to fly to the top of
our boundary wall but fails
to reach the top. Smack!
Ouch! But it survives and
will probably live at least
another day and possibly
longer.
Another bright day at NHQ
and I am contacted by the
mother of a Brigade
Leader, apologising for
mithering me but asking if I
would support the
nomination of her son for a
community award, for his
Brigade work. I reply to the
effect that I am delighted
and honoured that she has
contacted me in this way.
He is a bright, enthusiastic
and energetic young man
and greatly innovative in
his Brigade work. I am all
for our young leaders
having real opportunities
for responsibility and
scope to develop our
Brigade. Once again I am
reminded of the fact that
the average age of the
pilots in the Battle of
Britain was 22 years and
average life expectancy in
their role was 3 weeks. So
if our young leaders are to
be our future, they must
have their opportunity,
sooner rather than later,
lest we lose them through
a lack of opportunities to
lead and shoulder
responsibility.
As Deputy Chairman of the
National Council for
Voluntary Youth Services
(NCVYS), I have asked
that Chief Officers of
Voluntary Organisations
and Trustees of NCVYS be
permitted and encouraged,
where appropriate, to bring
with them a young Trustee
to NCVYS meetings. I
pointed out that CLCGB’s
young Trustees (members
of Brigade Council) are its
future, I am not.
This morning started off
darkly enough, as I drove
to the secondary school
where I recently became
Chairman of the governing
body. I arrived at 7.30am
in order to be in place to
meet with the Lead
Inspector on a 48 hours’
notice monitoring visit. It is
an Academy, placed in
‘Special Measures’ last
summer after an
Inspection. It is a bright
new school and, as one
representative of the
Department for Children,
Schools and Families’
(DCSF) said during his
visit, “it doesn’t feel like a
school in Special
Measures”. People are
smiling and there is a
great sense of purpose
around the place but we
didn’t do too well on the
last monitoring visit in
December 2009. So with
lots of determination, staff
endeavour, some new staff
members and additional
governors, we hope that
we have done enough to
be moving the school
forward on its journey out
of Special Measures.
I left the Academy
following a helpful and
encouraging interview by
the Lead HMI, who
reported on a good first
day of inspections and
greater confidence and
satisfaction, at that stage
at least, in what was being
witnessed by her and her
colleagues but there was
still the best part of the day
to go. As I left the
Academy (to return at the
end of the school day, for
the end of inspection
feedback from the
inspectors, followed by a
meeting of the governors)
the sun was shining and it
was a good start to the
day.
My return to the Academy
found feedback from the
inspection team to be
greatly encouraging for
both staff and governors.
The last twelve weeks had
seen good progress since
Christmas, so we were
judged to be at the stage
that we should be at, if we
were making ‘Satisfactory’
progress towards coming
out of Special Measures,
and, guess what, the sun
was still shining!
Another bright and mild
day as I continue this item
at NHQ. It is 23rd March
2010 and we have just
received confirmation from
DCSF that we are to
receive the second (final)
year of funding for our
Development Project.
Subsequent years of
funding are never
guaranteed under DCSF
funding rounds. They are
subject to satisfactory
activity in the previous
year and the availability of
funding, not a foregone
conclusion. Given the
recession and prospects of
budget cuts, we are
heaving a tremendous sigh
of relief that our
secondyear of funding is in
place. (You will probably
5
The Brigade Secretary's Message
appreciate the precarious
nature of our situation with
three Development Officer
employees in post, entitled
to adequate notice of non-
continuance of
employment, when we
only receive notice on 23rd
March 2010 that funding of
their project from 1st April
2010 is now confirmed.
There is much goodwill to
be found amongst
employees in the voluntary
and charity sectors!)
I am also given the
opportunity to look for the
first-time at the spectacular
results of web weaving by
St Martin’s spiders. He
should be and I am proud
of their achievement.
Those who know me,
know that I am technically
challenged and will not be
surprised that I will treat it
as a rather fragile spider’s
web but I am assured that
our Brigade members will
find its silken filaments to
be as strong as steel and
as versatile as the
atmosphere. I am in awe
and ever grateful to our
‘spiders’. This is a vital
component in the
reinvigoration of the
Brigade and supporting the
work of our Development
Project, its Officers and
volunteers’ work.
I am now on the train from
Manchester to London, for
one of my regular visits for
meetings. (Whilst Brigade
NHQ and my office are in
South Yorkshire, as I live
in Lancashire, Manchester
is my nearest station to
commute from to London.)
I am taken by an article in
The Independent
newspaper (24th March
2010 page 8). It reports on
research from the Charity
Commission that illustrates
that one in four charities
could find themselves at a
“financial cliff edge” when
public sector spending cuts
begin to bite. Whilst it
illustrates the impact on
many charities, some of
them quite large, often
quite dependent on public
sector contracts for the
delivery of services, it
shows that 59% of
charities have been
affected by the economic
downturn and that many
are likely to ‘go bust’
because of their reliance
on public funding. The
Brigade continues to be
financially challenged but,
our Development Project
apart, we are not in receipt
of public funding to support
us. We just continue to
struggle financially
anyway! But the sun is
shining through as I write.
(I am reminded that
Monday evening in
Barnsley saw heavy hail
showers and yesterday
morning saw a heavy
frost!)
Yesterday afternoon at
NHQ, I was engaged in
negotiations with our
insurers and their loss
adjusters to try to move
progress on recompense
to the Brigade for the fire
damage to our
outbuildings after the
arson attack in October
last. There was a general
consensus that the
insurers’ agents could
have acted more speedily
and engaged with us more
since the fire.
Unfortunately, I do not
have any news to share
with you at this stage
about NHQ and our ability
to let or sell it in order to
improve the Brigade’s
financial situation.
However, and as St
Martin’s spiders have
brought to mind, Robert
the Bruce is reported as
having been galvanised to
action when he witnessed
a spider making attempt
after attempt to weave its
web and overcome
adversity. “If at first you
don’t succeed, try, try and
try again”. And my
keyboard is awash with the
sun’s rays as I type these
words.
I hope you all had a good
Easter and: May the
Peace of the Risen Christ
be with you now and
always.
Alan Millward.
Ps. Hon Archivist Rob
Bolton and Historical
Society member Johnny
Conn have recently
published new books
featuring the Brigade.
6
7
New Website
Adozen Brigade
members and
officers have
been working on an all
singing, all dancing
website to make
communication online a
more interactive and
exciting experience than
it has ever been before.
The new look site will
replace the current
pages on Thursday,
April 8th.
The working party
comprised a mixture of
our best young whizz
kids together with a
handful of experienced
Brigaders offering a few
insights, but largely on a
steep learning curve
provided by their
younger counterparts.
The new site will be
accessible on mobiles
as well as computers
and will contain many
features which will
enable officers and
members to ‘own’ the
website as never
before.
Amongst the features
under development are
members’ pages for
each of the sections, a
forum for raising issues
and discussions, an
online Stores service, a
chance to view CLCGB
videos via You Tube as
well as links to
Facebook and many
useful sites for
resources.
The site will be
managed by a small
team of administrators
who will update the site
on a daily basis,
ensuring the latest news
is posted asap and that
comments and
suggestions for further
development are
responded to
immediately.
The website will
become a major tool in
presenting the Brigade
to the world, marketing
what we have to offer to
churches and
communities, and
sharing news and views
across the whole
Brigade family – or at
least those who can
navigate the internet!
If you haven’t visited
www.clcgb.org.uk
recently – what are you
waiting for?
Martin Lambourne.
A selection of St. Martin’s spiders.
8
Are we offering our
young leaders
enough opportunity
to flex their muscles and
lead the Brigade into a
brighter future? That’s the
question I ask myself
when I meet with many of
the bright young adults
attending our young leader
training events around the
country. It’s so
encouraging to have a rich
wealth of youthful potential
in our Brigade family, but
we need to be investing in
that wealth far more than
seems to be happening in
reality.
Training days in the Ulster
and Leicester Regiments
have indicated that there
are young adults amongst
us who are willing to give
time and talent to work in
the Companies they
belong to and even in the
wider Brigade at Formation
and national levels. It is
also evident at camps
such as the North East
Camp and the Manchester
Regimental camps, that
there are young adults
capable of taking on
responsibility for activities
and groups.
One of the problems our
Development Officers are
experiencing is translating
the desire of ‘new’
parishes to have a Brigade
Company into the reality of
establishing one on the
ground. The major
stumbling block is the lack
of local leadership – or at
least any leadership with
experience of the Brigade
to head up a team of
willing volunteers. One of
the ways forward where
there are existing
Companies in the
neighbourhood is to
second Officers from those
Companies to help bed in
new leadership teams in
‘new’ parishes nearby – or
to leave the younger
leaders in charge at the
existing Company while
the senior Officer(s) helps
out with the new Company.
Leicester Regiment has
provided that kind of
support between
Companies with excellent
results. But whether it is
supporting new
Companies or leading
existing ones, we all need
to be thinking about
spreading the
responsibilities across our
leadership teams and
giving our younger Officers
a chance to prove
themselves. Our new
website would not
materialise if it were not for
the skill and enthusiasm of
our younger Officers.
Onwards and upwards!
Investing in our Future by Martin Lambourne
Scouting for
Church Scouts has
been written to
mark the 100th
Anniversary of the
founding of three
Scouting
organisations in
1909, namely the
Incorporated
Church Scout
Patrols, (organised
by the Church
Lads’ Brigade) the
1st Notts Battalion
Boy Scouts, and
the London
Diocese Boy Scout
Corps. isbn:- 1-905546-
56-4
Also, see page 6, Rob
Bolton’s new book,
Wilder than Panthers and
as ignorant as the
Heathens isbn:095213814X
This last two years
has seen
mammoth
changes in the way the
Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award is being run,
especially relating to
expedition training,
supervision and
assessment.
The internet is
changing the way
many of us work and
eDofE is one major
example of how that
affects our Companies
working with the Award.
Out have gone the old
logbooks – except for
those who use them at
present. In comes an
online way to compile
your experience in the
Award and your
assessors’ comments
and section
completions. Each
participant now receives
a User Name and
Password from NHQ in
order to log-in through
the Award website and
compile and update
information as they
progress through the
Bronze, Silver and Gold
Awards. Company DofE
leaders, together with
sectional assessors can
also contribute
information to each
participant as well as
communicating online
between meetings.
Participants have control
of their own records and
the system is
maintained in a secure
environment. This new
system will help the
Award keep track of
data as well as letting
participants and leaders
get on with the Award at
their own pace in their
own time.
Expeditions have seen
the greatest number of
changes. EX2 is a
training programme
which can be
downloaded from the
website for Expedition
Supervisors to use in
the training programme
for participants. It
contains PowerPoint
and other resources to
help with map reading
etc. NHQ has licenses
for Companies wishing
to use this valuable
resource.
Last year we began the
process of accrediting
Expedition Assessors,
mainly in the North of
England. That process
is continuing and we
hope to offer the
Assessor training in the
rest of the constituency
in the next few months.
Although Expedition
Supervisors do not have
to be accredited with
DofE, there is now a
brand new training
programme for
Supervisors which we
are also offering to
leaders this year which
will enable us to
establish a register of
our own qualified
Expedition Supervisors.
The Award continues to
be one of the most
worthwhile programmes
any young adult can
engage in. It also
provides Seniors in the
Brigade with the
opportunity to pursue
our own Achievement
Awards leading to the
Archbishop’s Award in
parallel with the DofE
Award. Watch out for
dates for leader training
on our new website.
Give Martin
Lambourne a bell if you
want someone to run
something in your
Formation.
9
Keeping up with DofE
10
In Memoriam
We have been saddened to hear of the following loss within our Brigade fellowship and
send to Dave’s family our heartfelt condolences. “May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace and rise again in glory.”
Dave Greaves: George Horner writes “It was a great shock to hear on Monday, 22nd February that
David had suddenly died. Only on Saturday, at the induction of the new Rector of Darfield, he had said
he was feeling better than he had felt in a long time.
I have known David for over 52 years from when he was a junior in the Brigade. There is a picture of him
in his best suit on the Whit Monday Sunday School walk. I was in my uniform as C.S.M. but not in the
band and we were walking along Blythe Street, Wombwell. It’s probably the time that I was taller than
him!
He was one of a group of teenagers who had grown up whilst I and others of my age group, had been
doing National Service. Dave stood out as the tallest of them and has always been known as “Big Dave”.
This name is not just about his height but also says much about the man - big hearted and always willing
to take on another job.
Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, he was my right hand man in the Church Lads’ and Church Girls’
Brigade, at St. Mary’s, Wombwell. He later took over the Company when I was Sheffield Diocesan
Commander. We have spent many hours together with lightweight camps and also the annual
Regimental camps at the Isle of White. He played the bass drum in the Band, because at the time, he
was the only one capable of carrying it and playing it at the same time!!
Dave always had an “idea” such as “Can we climb Snowdon?” this we did during the new Spring Bank
holiday in 1971; another was “What do you think about taking the JTC camping to Edale?” This was the
very cold Easter of 1972, it felt like sleeping on a block of ice. My hip was welded to the ground.
Consequently after that we always went when it was warmer. The one we never managed was “what
about swimming the English Channel as a relay team”
He became known to the wider Brigade as the Sheffield Sports Officer and later as a member of the
Brigade Council and Trustee of the Organisation, a role he held up until December 2009.
It is not just the Brigade work that he will be remembered for but his work as Church Warden, looking
after the fabric of St. Mary’s Church and also using his experience as an electrician, as a former member
used to say about him; “he’s got the papers for it”.
He was also good at getting people involved or volunteering them to do things. His latest, only last week,
was to say that he was reforming the ‘Hall Committee’ and that I was still on it.
He and Joan have made a fantastic team working within the community in Wombwell; Joan has supported
him in whatever he wished to do. They have also brought up two fine sons, Michael and Andrew, of
whom any parent would be proud.
We have known his health has not been good over the last few years and he has faced the uncertainty
over his future stoically and without giving in and tried to carry out his duties without using his health as
an excuse for not turning up or doing his best.
We have all lost a good friend; ‘Big Dave’ cast a big shadow, but brought light into many people’s lives.
The Brigade has lost a member of the ‘A’ Team who cannot be replaced; we haven’t even got a
substitute.”
11
I heard the sadness and I sat and I thought,
I thought about all the kindness you brought,
Just look at the lives you managed to
change,
To know you're no longer here makes me feel
strange,
The Great Lord decided that now was your
time,
You've sadly finished life's incredible climb,
And I know that you'll be sat on that cloud,
Watching over us, feeling so proud,
Because everything that everyone is here,
Is probably due to your immaculate cheer,
You saw no bad when you looked into a
man's eyes,
Obviously because you were an angel in
disguise,
But now you can wear your halo and your
wings,
And help the Lord look after all living things,
Memories of you will never ever fade,
I'll always remember the good times in the
brigade,
With you at the sidelines, cheering us on,
When we won Cheltenham, your face shone,
Shorts in all weather was your style,
That managed to make everyone smile,
Everyone loves you for the great person you
are,
You are a legend, a twinkling star,
Everytime I look into the night's sky,
I will think of you and know that this isn't
goodbye,
Because you will always be in my heart,
Even if we are worlds apart,
And I know that you will guide me through
life,
And make your presence known when I'm in
strife,
So I guess today is my time to say:
Thankyou Dave Greaves, we'll meet again
someday!
Charissa Leigh-Taylor
Investment and Return
There’s not much return on savings these days. Makes you wonder if it is worth saving money and
what it is worth investing it in.
Dave Greaves invested much more than money in the youngsters he nurtured through the Brigade
at Wombwell for so many years. You cannot put a price on the hours, the effort, the care and
concern, the total commitment to ensuring the members had a safe and secure environment in
which to enjoy growing up together.
And for what? Was it worth it? The only response to those questions is to listen to the heartfelt
words spoken bravely at Dave’s funeral service by one of his young members – now a teenager.