Following the success of previous groups and the interest voiced by possible participants, a new Introductory Level 1 session of Living the Questions has been arranged as follows:

August 22nd & 29th

September 5th, 12th & 19th

For those interested please contact the Minister or the church office as soon as possible. Spaces are limited and on a first come first served  basis.

The BB session is nearly done and we can now look back on another fantastic year. In all Sections our focus has been on the programme we offer rather than wider competitive activities. As a result we have not won as many trophies but the Boys seemed to be
getting more enjoyment.

Anchor Boys

The Anchors have 17 Boys registered and most weeks we have a full turnout. This year we have been looking at several different things – the Emergency Services at the start of the year, we had an “unfair” night and our look at the story of Moses included the “Slaves” workout, making Passover Bread and finally having our own BB Commandments which ranged from not talking when someone else is talking, going to the toilet before getting to
Anchor Boys and most importantly – having fun.

We have 10 Boys being promoted to the Junior Section.

Prize Winners in Anchor Boys:

Best Group – the Blue Group Matthew Stanton, Finlay Barclay, Euan Ferguson, Mac Porter, Aaron McIntosh, Calen Reid

Best Anchor Boy – Matthew Stanton

Junior Section
This year, we made a conscious decision at the beginning of the session to focus more on improving our programme and making Junior Section more enjoyable for our Boys. Junior Section numbers have gone from 19 boys at the beginning of the year, to a whopping 25 boys coming along every Friday. We took part in the general knowledge quiz, the board games competition, the Bible competition and the Figure Marching competition where we achieved 2^nd place. Our boys have also enjoyed a couple of trips during the course of the year. We attended the Pantomime at Hamilton Town House just before Christmas which is always a firm favourite with our Boys. The highlight of our year though was the Junior Section Fun Weekend in January. For the first time in 15 years, we took our Boys away to the Boys’ Brigade Scottish National Headquarters and Training Centre at Carronvale House in Larbert. Plans are already in place for the next Junior Section Fun Weekend which will take place again at Carronvale on the 3rd/4th May 2013. Hopefully May will be a bit warmer than January and we can do a few more outdoor activities!

Carronvale on the 3rd/4th May 2013. Hopefully May will be a bit warmer than January and we can do a few more outdoor activities!

We have 7 Boys being promoted to the Company Section.

Prize winners in Junior Section :

Bible – Ian Page
Empire Trophy (Smartest) – Reece Charlton
Best Group – Group 1:  Jamie Conroy Adam Kennedy, Scott Dearie, Ben McQuaid, Ross Thomson, Nairn Archer, Brandon Alexander

Best Boy Runner up  – Adam Kennedy

Junior Section Quaich for  Best Boy – Ian Page

Company Section

Company Section numbers are down on recent years but that has not stopped us having another good year. We have once again taken a clean sweep of the Battalion Drill trophies and have taken part in various competitions with varying levels of success. We got to the semi-finals of the national Master Team Quiz, Calum Trim and Iain Scott took part in our battalion swimming gala and won various junior events. Friday nights have included lots of activities from making bruschetta, to movie nights and nights where the NCOs prepared the programme and ran the night with minor assistance from the staff. We have also had the pleasure of welcoming Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, who came along and took us for fire safety.

The seniors have to be commended for their efforts in the Challenge Plus award this year. Their chosen project was cooking where they learnt that art of chapatti making to a full on chicken bhuna and Captain McLean showed no side effects from the taste test. I am sure we will put their new talents to the test at our up and coming camp.

We are all looking forward to our third camp on the 1^st of June. We have  decided to be a bit more adventurous this this year and are heading further afield to Aviemore where we have lots of activities arranged from hill walking to kayaking and mountain biking.

Company Section Prize Winners –

Best Recruit – Harry Childs

Best NCO – Jack Hamilton

Best Squad – Squad 2: Malachi Nkere, Josh Hashem, Ian Bannister, Andrew Wilson.

Bible (Junior) – Josh Hashem

Bible (Senior) – Jack Hamilton

Best Drilled Boy – Cameron Crowe

Best Boy  – Joshua Hashem

Captain’s Summary

This has been another good year for the Company, and while our trophy count is down on previous years, I am really pleased with the wide range of activities we offer. There have been many highlights for me over the course of this year but if pushed I would say that the
following were my personal favourites.

The Junior Section “CAMP”. I have been to Carronvale on many occasions but the sheer excitement of Junior Section Boys (and Officers) made this one of the most enjoyable visits. My next highlight was definitely the chicken bhuna. I usually don’t get fed till after we finish on a Friday. What a difference the cooking classes have made – mostly to my waistline. But far and away the moment that sticks in my mind was the night that one of the Anchor Boys came up to me just after we had finished and said – “you know what Robin – that was really good tonight. I really enjoyed myself”.  Moments like this really make doing this job so worthwhile.

I am absolutely delighted to be presenting 3 young men -  Graeme Blake, Josh Hashem and Aaron Nkere with their Presidents Badge. This is the second highest award in the Boys’ Brigade and the work required to earn these can be daunting. The recipients of these awards have demonstrated great dedication and have worked extremely hard to earn their badges.

I thank all of the Company Staff for their dedication and work over the past year – it really is a team effort and they have all pulled together to help the Company continue to Advance Christ’s Kingdom.  On behalf of the Company I thank all the members of the
congregation for their continued support of our Boys.

Robin McLean, Captain
1^st Bothwell Company

3rd                       Hazel Gilmour                 Jaynie Craig

10th                     Pat Maxwell                     Gillian Ormiston

17th                     Elspeth Hamilton              Aileen Hepburn

24th                     Elizabeth French              Elaine Gibson

JULY:

1st                        Holiday

8th                       Holiday

15th                     Holiday

22nd                    Holiday

29th                     Holiday

AUGUST:

5th                       Holiday

12th                     Eleanor Barr                     Shirley Frew

19th                     Suzanne Smith                Jean Moyes

26th                    Eleanor Terrace               Nan Carson

JUNE:

3rd         Mrs Ann Watt                                Mrs Betty Watson

10th       Mrs Marette McIntyre                  Mrs Averil Grimmond

17th       Mrs Maureen Watt                        Mrs Arlene Thomson

24th       Miss Hazel McWhinnie                Mrs Joan Henry
JULY:

1st          Mrs Ellen Buttery                         Mrs Elizabeth French

8th         Miss Marilyn Jack                        Mrs Margaret Mitchell

15th       Mrs Lynda Horn                           Mrs Margaret McArthur

22nd     Mrs Margaret Chalmers              Mrs Una Morris

29th      Mrs Heather Duddy                     Mrs Joan Marsh
AUGUST:

5th        Mrs Nancy Robertson                  Mrs Lynn Stirrat

12th      Mrs Christine Jack                       Mrs Sandra Greenshields

19th      Mrs Isabel Greenhalgh                Mrs Phillipa Brown

26th      Mrs Lillias Leckie                        Mrs Mary Cunningham

JUNE:
3rd        Mrs N Carson
10th      Mrs J Hamilton
17th      The Parsons & The Wilsons
24th      The Brysons

JULY:
1st         The Ormistons
8th        Mrs A Thomson
15th      Mrs M Cumming
22nd     Mrs E Buttery
29th      Mrs H Gilmour

AUGUST:
5th        Mrs E Dempsey
12th      Mrs C Cahill
19th      Mrs J Craig
26th      The Frews & The Hepburns

JULY
1st        K Simpson              E Terrace                      E Somerville                Dr Thomson
8th       A Watt                    G Whitton                     E Buttery                      J Carson
15th     M Clark                   S Cook                           D Craig                         J Cumming
22nd    J Crichton              J Dalziel                        E Dempsey                  B Gillespie
29th     J Gilmour              T Goodsir                      S Greenshields           K Hamilton

AUGUST
5th      J Hart                     I Henderson                  J Henry                         L Horn
12th   M Hutchison         M Jack                            D Lee                              G Moore
19th   H Marsh                 J Marsh                          L McLean                      C McMurdo
26th   C McQueen           Dr Ritch                         R Robertson                  B Sharp

All welcome.