A small crowd of ASU members assembled at Longcraig at the end of December, just like we did on 1st January, this time to close off the anniversary celebrations and reflect on how busy but fulfilling a year it has been.
Our final cake for the year was kindly baked and supplied by Zoe Harrower, home for a few days of the Christmas/New Year break, and the obligatory candle was lit this time by Steve Bordwell, one of the latest and newest recruits to the Longcraig team. We shared with everyone the short presentation prepared to convey the aims, aspirations, and outputs of the Anniversary Year which was well received.
We would like thank everyone who helped in any way to make our anniversary year a success, from all of the ASU members who went the extra mile to all our sponsors who helped fund all the extra activities, so we did not impact on the fees we have to charge for Scouts and Guides to use the Centre, to all the folks behind the scenes and to the team at Bonaly for their contributions as well. Together we made a great event through the year, and we are so grateful to everyone for making this happen.
LONGCRAIG – Planning into 2020 and beyond
Our focus for 2020 is one of recruitment – we seek to expand our ASU team in several directions – covering water based folks with appropriate qualifications; others who have some skills but need a step up the appropriate ladder; folks who can provide support on land for some of our land based activities and to support the rest of the team – in a wide range of ways; and importantly, folks of all ages from Explorers through to Network members through adults younger and older alike.
If you have a desire to help pass on your skills to others, please get in touch. If you don’t have so many skills, please get in touch. We can utilise your help just as it comes, or we can help to upskill you. If you can support the many jobs that we have behind the scenes, get in touch!!
We can also come out and meet up with you individually or even as a small or large group of people, talk through what we do, explain the roles you can fill, and suggest or offer a development plan or route to a plan that you can work to. Just let us know and we will help fulfil any arrangements.
For all of these – getinvolved@longcraig.info
2020 – Scotland’s Year of Waters and Coasts
VisitScotland has declared 2020 as its Year of Waters and Coasts. We at Longcraig are well placed to help support this and provide guidance into some of the events that are planned, and indeed to help you, within Scouting, your own opportunity to ‘get involved’. Alongside our wealth of wonderful attractions, scenery and wildlife, Scotland hosts an exciting array of events that put our coasts and waters in the spotlight. Here is just a sample of some of the things that are planned across Scotland in 2020; more details for all of these can be found on the VisitScotland website:
Annual gems such as the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival at Portsoy and Crail Food Festival will be joined by The Fife Regatta, an expanded Clydebuilt Festival, and Edinburgh International Film Festival will present Scotland’s Shores, featuring classic film screenings and a special outdoor coastal experience.
The RSPB will celebrate Aberdeen’s status as one of the few cities in Europe where dolphins can regularly be seen from the shore at DolphinFest 2020. Scotland’s Boat Show and Kip Marina will make a splash with a brand-new special event ‘River of Light’ and The National Theatre of Scotland will deliver Ferry Tales, an exciting new production, celebrating Scotland’s surrounding waters and the journeys over them made by thousands of residents and tourists.
