Network News

• Reports of previous visits to and from Russia
• Camp staff programme updated

September 2007

Congratulations to Mike Stanley

Congratulations to Mike Stanley. Mike was awarded the M.B.E. in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List this year. Mike was a founder member of NetworkRussia. In the early days he worked very much alone with Vladimir Neseyerev who was a member of FSR and a Sea Scout Leader from Khimky in Moscow.  Together they produced a handbook for Russian Scout Leaders, the first in Russia. Mike worked in publishing for the Milk Marketing Board and had access to printing facilities and sponsorship. In September 1992, 18,000 copies of ‘This is Scouting’ were produced for Russian Scouts. Mike also encouraged young Russian Leaders from Moscow area, through Vladimir, to partake in the Camp Staff programme at the Youlbury Activity Centre just outside Oxford. Mike has been very active with Scouts in Oxfordshire being involved with their Gang Shows and he was also associated with 10th Marston Scouts for many years in Leadership roles.

Treasurer Retires

In March this year, Eric Chapman retired from the post as treasurer of Network Russia Scout Fellowship. Eric has been involved with the Network since inception and has taken part in many of it’s visits to Russia, and has certainly acted as banker for almost all of them. Not being content with being Treasurer, Eric has also run and managed the ‘Network Shop’ and is responsible for many of the items that are available for sale to Network members and and Scouters. Eric is continuing to be a member of Network Russia and will also manage the production and sale of items in ‘The Shop’. In 2005, Eric led the Network Russia Scout Fellowship visit to Kolichev Orphanage, which has resulted in close ties with Multi-International Aid. Eric says there is no problem in contacting him during the transition period. Eric is currently District Commissioner for Bradford (South) District. We thank Eric for all his hard work looking after our accounts and are pleased to know that he will continue with the Network.

... and the new Treasurer begins From 1st July, Dennis Spruce has agreed to take over as treasurer of Network Russia Scout Fellowship. Dennis has quite a considerable knowledge of the Network even though he has not been a member up to this point. We have been indebted to Dennis on many occasions for his very willing assistance on the Camp Staff Programme. Several times over, Dennis has been able to resolve travel difficulties that we have experienced with young Russian Leaders visiting the UK. You can contact Dennis in any of the following ways, although he says email is preferred due to the fact that it’s cheap and he doesn’t like spending money unnecessarily! A warm welcome to Dennis who will, I’m sure, turn out to be an excellent treasurer.

January 2007

Congratulations to Bill Turnbull

Bill Turnbull, President of Network Russia Scout Fellowship, has been awarded the MBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours. Citation is for services to International Scouting through Network Russia Scout Fellowship. Bill was a founder member of the Network and much of the credit for establishing and developing Network Russia can be attributed to Bill.

August 2006

An English-Russian Winter

First of all we want to say many thanks to the members of Network Russia Scout Fellowship who helped us to organize our Christmas Holidays in UK Howard & Tania Hicks, Bill & Janet Turnbull, Graham Hall and Beccy Grundy, Philip & Elaine Barlow. It was the first Christmas holiday in our life and it was great.

From Russian history: In Soviet Russia nobody celebrated Christmas. After 1991, Russians started to do it and in 2005, the Russian Government gave us ten days for the Christmas holidays from January 1st till January 10th (Russian Orthodox Christmas is January 7th).

This winter, from the statistics issued, many Russians went abroad for this winter’s holiday, but not many could spend them in UK. We were very lucky and happy. Now we can understand the English winter. Plus five degrees, green grass and bushes with pink flours on Parliament Square. But we had a surprise – snowfall after Christmas. On routes we saw the warnings: “Slow down. Snowfall”. My mind came back to Russia. It will be interesting to see same kind of warnings on the Russian roads.

Winter in St. Petersburg is quite different, but this year was warm (+2 -2) and not much snow. Still we can ski outside the city. The Russian winter is much more dangerous than the English and for the Christ’s Baptism (January 19th ) we had a surprise from the weather. During one day the temperature came down to -25 C. Firstly there was a little panic, but after everyone took from their cupboard their fur coats and fur caps, they continued to move and to work.

Welcome to Russia to see a real winter, but don’t forget to take warm clothes with you.

Natalia and Eduard
(Skorokhodovs)

January 2006

Get Well Soon

Many of you will know that David McKee was taken seriously ill some time ago. David Bull tells us - ‘I'm pleased to say that he is continuing to do well and is looking after himself better. I think he is now in Northern Ireland with his family for the holiday and I'm sure that will do him good also. Otherwise, he is fully back to work with some impact of his condition still being dealt with but I think with a very good prognosis’

I’m sure that the whole Fellowship wishes David a fast and complete recovery—get well soon, David.

Birthday Greetings

One of our Russian local Scout organizations, namely Egoryevsk Scout Organization, lead by Pavel ZEMSKOV will celebrate 10th anniversary of creation of the first local scout troop in the town of Egoryevsk. The anniversary is very positive fact of Russian Scouting, because we know how many local scout troops, created in 1990 had only 2-3 years activity time and then were closed for different reasons.

Egoryevsk is a small town in Moscow Region, about 90km south-east from Moscow. I hope the town is very known  for you and your colleagues from the Network Russia. During the several Russian visits of Network Russia in 1998-2003 some of NR members (incl. David Bull) visited Egoryevsk and meet to local Scouts for mutual interests.

All these 10 years Egoryevsk Scouts were very involved in lot of ARNSO international projects,visited several scout events (camps & jamborees) in UK, as well as in Belarus, Germany, Poland, UAE and Ukraine. They have lot of scout friends abroad and are very proud of the friendship and numerous international contacts.

For these reasons it looks to me that it would be very friendly of you to send some greetings words for the remarkable anniversary to Pavel and Egoryevsk Scouts to their eMail address: osyegor@yandex.ru

Sergey SIROTKIN
ARNSO Int.Commissioner
Sergey.Sirotkin@online.ru

August 2005

Visit to Russian Orphanage

A group of 21 Scouts and Scout Leaders from York, Ripon, Doncaster, Sheffield, Bradford and North Wales have just returned from a working visit to a children’s orphanage in Kolumna, south east of Moscow. Many of the younger members of the party came from York.

During the time at the orphanage, they were involved in numerous service projects to try and make life a little brighter for the children. Apart from taking all sorts of craft materials with them for the children, they were also involved in some renovation work to the interior of the accommodation and also some upgrading of electrical services.

After working at the orphanage for a week, they travelled on to Saint Petersburg for a few days rest and sightseeing.

The visit was arranged through the Network Russia Scout Fellowship, a network of UK Scout members who foster partnerships with Russian Scouts and also promote the development of Scouting in the Russian Federation and adjoining countries.

Read a full report (PDF 230kb)

Graham Hall

networkrussia.org.ukwww

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