Due to lack of staff, and the Captain being on the other side of the Atlantic, please note that all three sections won’t be meeting this week (Tuesday 21st March).
The Anchor, Junior and Company sections will hopefully resume for their final meeting of term before we break up for the Easter Holidays on 28th March.
We were proud to see two of our members representing the company for an act of remembrance at St Paul’s Catholic School on 11th November.
You can view the act of remembrance and the contributions our members made on St Paul’s Facebook page.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Extract from ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon
This Tuesday, members of the Company Section engaged in some DIY, which was sorely needed in order to update some of the tired equipment around the church. This included replacing the old 1st Bletchley Company noticeboard in the church (feel free to take a look next time you walk past) and taking apart the BB storage unit.
Thanks to Mark for supplying the equipment and showing members the ropes.
This Tuesday evening, it was the turn of the Juniors to do some cooking! This time they made some sausage rolls. The pastry was rolled out, the sausage meat placed inside and then sealed up with more pastry. It tasted delicious and there was enough to go around for the whole Junior section, Company section and staff!
Thanks once again to Shaun for providing the ingredients and guiding the Juniors through the whole process.
This Tuesday, the Company Section made macaroni and cheese from scratch. Everyone had a job to do, from grating the cheese, to stirring the milk and boiling the pasta.
The end result was well-received by all, with one member who previously didn’t like macaroni cheese even expressing his approval for the recipe. We were all enjoying the macaroni cheese so much that we only remembered to take a picture once most of the tray had been consumed!
Many thanks to Shaun for providing the ingredients and guiding Company members through the whole process!
With today being the day of the Queen’s funeral, BB HQ shared a prayer from our Brigade Chaplain, Rev Stewart Cutler, as we say a final farewell to HM The Queen, our Patron.
In our first session back after the summer holidays, we set aside some time to reflect on the Queen’s extraordinary life through several different activities.
Our ‘Thank you Ma’am’ activity (below) provided an opportunity for the Juniors to draw or write their own tribute to our Patron.
Through our interactive timeline, we also thought about Her Majesty’s life and what events she had experienced and witnessed.
You can read the Company’s statement on the death of HM The Queen here.
It is with immense sadness that the 1st Bletchley Company learnt of the death of our Patron, Her Majesty the Queen, on Thursday. The Company joins together with the Boys Brigade nationally and worldwide in mourning her loss.
The Queen was Patron of the Boys’ Brigade for the entire duration of her reign (from 1952), meaning that she was Patron for 70 out of the 96 year history of the 1st Bletchley Company (which began in 1926).
The Company always valued the Queen’s support for the Boys’ Brigade. It was only recently that we celebrated her Platinum Jubilee with members and their families at our afternoon tea. Back in 2011, members of the Company saw the Queen in London as part of the royal wedding between the now- Prince and Princess of Wales and over the last century many members have received the Queen’s Badge, the highest award that can be gained in the BB.
The main Boys’ Brigade website contains an obituary and further information on the shared history between the Boys’ Brigade and The Queen throughout her long reign, which was marked by a strong faith and Christ-like service.
“She will be remembered as a Patron who cared about our work and the stories told to her by members, and as a supporter of our Object and values.”
The Boys’ Brigade UK and RoI
We’re pleased to be able to say that we’ll be back for the Autumn term on Tuesday 13th September!
We’re looking forward to welcoming back our existing members and some new recruits. If you haven’t already contacted us and you know someone that wants to join, then please reach out by contacting us or DM’ing us on Facebook. We accept school years 1 through 13.
We look forward to welcoming you all soon!
There was a slight worry that moving the end-of-year BBQ from Tuesday to Thursday due to Tuesday’s extreme heat would result in rain showers and a BBQ indoors, which was far from the desired outcome. Luckily, this proved not to be the case, as weather conditions were optimal for a BBQ and playing games outside in the Galilee Gardens.
Over 40 children and their families attended the BBQ and with only 60 burgers to go round, this unfortunately meant that not everyone could have a second burger – at least we didn’t have any food left over! Everyone seemed to enjoy the burgers and each other’s company, as the Anchors and Juniors played games and parents chatted to one another around the tables.
Meanwhile, members of the Company section assisted the staff in ensuring that everything ran smoothly, from frying the onions to making sure that everyone had drinks. Thanks go out to them for making the lives of the staff easier!
After the BBQ, everyone headed inside for the Awards’ Presentation, where all the members were awarded badges and recognised for all the work they have achieved this year. Although Covid did scupper some of our sessions for a few weeks, it’s been a real blessing that we’ve more or less been able to get back to normal this year.
Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Association will resume once again after the summer holidays on Tuesday 13th September. If your child would like to join us in September for the new school year, do get in touch with us.
For now, we hope and pray that you have a good Summer – see you in September!
