News
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Congratulations to Karen and Morris Glen who are stepping down after 43 years of outstanding
Christian leadership at 1st Greenock Company . Well done to Rev Jonathan Fleming , Captain David
Baillie and everyone at Lyle Kirk and 1st Greenock for such a wonderful service and send off for Karen
& Morris. Jonathan is seen presenting a Holding Cross, and they also received lots of presents from
the BB and the Sunday School.
Everyone then moved through to the MacPherson Hall where the boys treated us to tea, coffee,
sausage rolls and lovely cakes!
“We have an anchor”
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Huge well done to these boys who turned out for the Company to take part in the Cross Country
this morning in dreadful conditions. We are proud of every one of you who helped 1st Greenock
win many medals and the overall trophy!
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Guy Fawkes themed night at Anchors and Juniors culminating in glow sticks;in the new
Lyle Gateway garden at Lyle Kirk
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Our boys from 1st Greenock Boys Brigade looking very smart at church on Sunday 10th November
2019 before heading to the Cenotaph at Wellpark to pay their respects.
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March 24th Inverclyde BB Marching past Lyle Kirk Union Street campus following Sunday service
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1st Greenock Company recently held a ‘BIG BB Brunch’ on Saturday 27th October in Lyle Kirk. The Halloween themed event was run in conjunction with Messy Church.
The event was one of over 80 BB community brunch events happening across Scotland as part of the organisation’s
‘Year of Young People’ (YoYP) initiatives. YoYP, introduced by the Scottish Government, is a themed year to celebrate
the achievements and contributions of young people in Scotland. All the youth organisations attached to Lyle Kirk including, Messy Church, Rainbows, Brownies, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and of course Anchor Boys and Junior Section were invited. The event had a Halloween theme and children were invited to dress up if they wanted. Adults were invited
along too and were able to enjoy coffee and cake and watch the young people having fun.
On the day around 45 young people came along to enjoy the fun, and some brought their parents too.
There were games, crafts, quizzes and songs all reinforcing the message that light conquers darkness, even at Halloween!
Breakfast rolls were provided by Captain Baillie and his team of senior boys and even although they managed to set off the smoke alarms it didn’t spoil the fun.
On the day, after costs, a small amount of money was made which was split between Messy Church and BB funds
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The Company is extremely proud of two of our senior boys, Cameron Purves and Nathan Phelan who have gained their Queen’s Badge, the highest award possible within the Boys’ Brigade. They were presented with their badge and certificate at a special presentation evening in Greenock Town Hall and are pictured here with Mr Brooks, who guided them through the process and encouraged them on to achieve this. Cameron has now been discharged from the Company and has started a new job in Glasgow and Nathan will be returning as a young leader and we look forward to welcoming him back as a member of staff.
The Junior Section spent a lively weekend at a PGL activity centre in Dalguise recently. There were 15 boys in total who enjoyed a varied programme including canoeing, climbing, giant swing, quad biking and lots more. As usual there was not much sleep over the weekend so it was just as well the boys had no school on Monday so they could recover.
All sections of the Company start back on Friday 7th September and new recruits will be made very welcome
Times as follows:
5.30-6.30pm Anchor Boys primary 1 to primary 3
6.30-8.00pm Junior Section primary 4 to primary 6
7.00-10.00pm Company Section primary 7 to secondary 6
Further information on any section is available from Karen Glen 728954.
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-NATIONAL COMPETITIONS
Following success at the local competition, the following Company Section boys were selected to represent Inverclyde & District Battalion at the National Cross Country finals on March 19th in Alloa, Jamie Strachan, Dylan Weir , Nathan Phelan, Jack Currie, Caleb Dunning, Iain Sweeney, Jack Mcdaid and Cameron Purves. On the day only a few of the boys travelled to Alloa but congratulations to Caleb Dunning and Jack McDaid for performing well in the junior group, Nathan Phelan and Dylan Weir in the intermediate group, Dylan taking the silver medal.
The Junior 5 a side football team progressed to the National Finals which took place in Greenock on 5th March. The boys finished runners up to the 2nd Gourock Company and qualify for the British finals which
will take place on Saturday 30th April at Grangemouth. This is a tremendous achievement. Well done to
the team which consisted of Jack Neilson, Jake Rae, Dylan Weir, Lewis Docherty, Ben Knox, Jack McDaid and Jamie Strachan.
SENIORS OUTING
On Sunday 28th February 12 boys and 3 staff enjoyed a trip to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. After a shaky start everyone mastered the bikes and the banks and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thanks to Mr Wooler for organizing the outing.
JUNIORS OUTING
On Saturday 27th February, boys from the Anchor Boys and Junior Section attended the Waterfront Cinema to see “Alvin and the Chipmunks”. The boys all enjoyed the movie and are already asking if they can go again. Thanks to the staff who gave up their Saturday morning to supervise.
We hope to be able to organize a trip to Funworld on Saturday 30th April (am) as a treat for all the hard work the boys have put in preparing for the Inspection. Details to follow.
JUNIOR SECTION
The Junior Section Cross Country competition took place on Saturday 19th March around the Murdieston Dams. Well done to all who took part. The boys who ran on the day did us proud and ensured we were runners up in the Battalion team trophy thanks to every boy who played a part in that success: William
Isles in P4, Harvey Naga, Struan Robertson and Fraser Buchan in P5, Kyle McDonald and Ross Leitch in P6.
BIBLE CHALLENGE
This competition took place on 21st February within St Andrew’s Church in Port Glasgow and our team of Harvey Naga, Sean Carroll, Kyle McDonald and William Isles did really well on the day, answering
questions on the bible story about the wise man and the foolish man. Well done boys!
EASTER HOLIDAYS
As it is only a few weeks now until the Inspection it is vital that the boys attend every Friday night until
then to put the finishing touches to their display items. If you are not going on holiday please urge your
son to come along as usual. I know it is difficult when the schools are off and the nights are getting lighter but please stress the importance of their continued attendance.
PRIZE GIVING
Boys in all sections will be presented with their badges and attendance awards during the Company
evening, the week before the Inspection. This will help to cut down the length of time at the presentation part of the Inspection. Company Section boys have been asked to return their badges for year 1 to 3. This enables us to swap them for the awards they have achieved this year which will be presented on 22nd April. Only one set of badges can be worn on the armband at any time. Badges should be worn as shown below on the RH armband. The Discovery Badge, President’s Badge and Queen’s Badge are worn on a LH armband. Please make sure your son wears his badges correctly. If any are missing a replacement can be purchased for £1 each.
Compass blue green purple
anchor blue service no junior gold
FOOTBALL NIGHTS
When the Company finishes after the Inspection, it is traditional for the boys in the Company Section to continue meeting informally on a Friday night at the Battery Park for a fun game of football. This is also open to boys moving up from the Junior Section (ie primary 6). Any boy who is interested should meet Mr Baillie there at 6.00pm on Friday 6th May. Finish around 8.00pm. We will run this for a couple of weeks initially and only continue if there is enough interest.
BATTALION PARADE
The annual Founder’s Day Parade took place on Sunday 13th March to Port Glasgow Community Campus,
home of 4th Port Glasgow Company. Their minister, Rev Stuart Stevenson, conducted a very energetic service (involving balloons) which the boys thoroughly enjoyed. Well done to those who attended and represented the Company.
PARENTS & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION
This very small group of dedicated parents (and friends) not only provide tea and coffee at Company
events but they endeavor to organize fundraising events throughout the year so that major events can be subsidized and the boys get the opportunity to do things that they may not otherwise get the chance to. Their number reduces every year as boys leave the Company and move on. It is not a huge time
commitment but does require some enthusiasm. If you would like to find out more about the Association please speak with Karen Glen at any time.
TROPHIES
Any boy who received a trophy last year should return it, polished, to the relevant officer in charge immediately.
UNIFORM
If anyone needs any part of their uniform replaced, please see Mr or Mrs Glen in good time so that it can
be ordered for the night of the Inspection.
COMMUNICATION
The Facebook and Twitter sites have worked well this year to assist with communication, thanks to all
those who have “signed up”. The Company website has become outdated and it is our hope that we can find someone over the summer recess to revamp it. If there is anything you would like to see included on the website please speak to any member of staff, or send a wee note along on a Friday night with your son.
STAFF TRAINING
Our staff are required to undergo refresher training every few years to keep up to date with Brigade policies and procedures. In between times, there is often training available for individual aspects like
first aid and food hygiene. Three of our staff recently attended “Autism Awareness Training” which was offered through Inverclyde & District Battalion. This was very useful and although they don’t profess to
be experts in the field it did give them a better understanding of how to deal with boys who may have additional needs.
MARQUEE HIRE
Looking forward to spring (and hopefully some warmer weather), remember to publicise the fact that the Company has two marquees available for hire to local community groups. Although this involves a huge amount of work erecting, dismantling, drying etc it is a good source of income. Once again we will be asking boys (and even their parents) to help with any hires and if everyone takes a turn then it won’t be a difficult task. This is a good way for boys in S3 and S4 to accrue hours of Company service which is required for President’s and Queen’s Badges.
If you know of anyone who may wish to hire either of the marquees please speak to any member of staff.
Large marquee 40ft X 20ft overnight hire £150
Small marquee 20ft X 12ft overnight hire £75
