Kestrels Company Quarterly Report Term 4 – 2024

Yet another term has passed by the Kestrels Company, and it was an incredibly profitable final quarter. During this term, many of our employees were preoccupied with writing exams, so we naturally saw extremely high attendance, involvement and motivation within scouting in an effort to do anything but study.

Throughout the term, many of our employees participated in community service, such as a venture to Franschhoek led by APL (and soon to be CEO and PL) Laura. One of our newer employees Ov completed a tasty Cooks Meal, leading to a respectable rise in share prices. 

Crisis Department Manager Simon swears he has done a flag ceremony before. The CEO believes otherwise. We also welcome Layla into our business, with high hopes for her keen and eager-to-end-the-day-on-a-profit attitude. 

To the end off the term, we finished second overall in MOSCIP, so very well done to all in our patrol. Many employees also completed the National Challenge, getting us on the good side of TS and Executive Struggle Manager Daniel. Colleagues, your paychecks will reflect a nice Christmas holiday bonus. 

Unfortunately, this was my last term of employment here. Thank you all for an incredibly memorable time, I will never forget this company. 

Signing off,

CEO and Big Boss James

Oliver VzS cooks meal

The cooks meal started nice and late at 1:45, most of the scouts forgot, and I had to remind them. There was first a brief introduction to the food which was to be prepared. The cooking went moderately smoothly with a few bumps, the the cooks who were finding ingenious ways to cut chicken, with scissors. We made quiche for the starter, scrumptious butter chicken curry and naan for mains. lemon meringue pie with ice cream, and soet cookies for dessert. The day was really fun and chill and the food was absolutely incredible with Chris judging the meal, we finished by 8.

Oliver van Zyl-Smit

Discoverer Community Service

On the 19th of October we finally went to SANCCOB to complete my Discoverer comserv. It was a truly amazing time, seeing their rescue birds and learning more about the facility. Our help with weeding was greatly appreciated. We also helped replace the pen dividing, that the birds peck away at. While we were there, we were fortunate enough to witness a new arrival come in. Thankfully the bird wasn’t badly injured and by now has probably made a full recovery and been released back into the wild. While weeding Jenny spotted a beautiful adult Cape Dwarf Chameleon crossing the road from one garden to another. It was a really lovely experience, and I think everyone should visit SANCCOB at least once.

Discoverer Hike

A small hiking party would set out on the 24th Of November, ready to do my Discoverer hike. We started by the Silvermine dam and walked up to Noordehoek peak, catching beautiful views over Noordehoek. We were even able to see the Kakapo, stranded on Noordehoek beach. From just next to the peak, we took a path down towards Chapman’s Peak Saddle. We then walked across toward Alta’s Pool. It was a lot more like Alta’s Pond, the photo’s I saw made it look a lot bigger! But it was beautiful and a perfectly shaded spot for a much needed relaxed lunch. Before we set off back towards Chapman’s Peak and then down towards the road. The whole hike had stunning views over Cape Town that we don’t normally get.

Emily Gilham

On the 26th of October, first Claremont and other scout troops set out to paint a purple line on Lion’s Head. It was a beautiful evening and luckily not too windy. There were many scouts, a group of Girl Scouts, and some curious hikers. With first Claremont mostly made up of juniors, we started at two different times, but we all got to appreciate the amazing view. As we reached the last stretch, I said to my sister, “Look, we’re almost there.” And of course Daniel mutters, “More lies.” This is unsurprising because during the hike, whenever we heard someone say encouragingly, “It’s just around the corner!” Daniel would murmur, “Lies.” After a big group photo and a short break with an amazing view of the city, we started our descent in semi darkness. Soon we had to switch on our torches. The line on Lion’s Head changed from purple to a string of lights dotting down the mountain. What a sight for the people looking up at Lions Head.

Saskia Berry

One weekend in October, with the help of several scouts, I carried out my First Class Community Service project. My aim was to make and donate soup to the local U-Turn center, which supports the homeless in our community.

The project consisted of two main parts: fundraising and soup making. For the fundraising, we held a pancake sale on a Saturday along Sunnybrae Road. This spot was ideal because it attracted pedestrians from the cricket games nearby, and it adhered to regulations that prevented us from cooking in the park itself. The morning started slow, but business gradually picked up, peaking in a lunchtime rush that kept us on our toes. At one point, we sold so many pancakes that we had to make extra batter on the fly! By the end of the day, we had raised more than enough money to fund the soup.

For the soup making, we worked in the scout hall, where three large aluminum pots were needed to cook 30 liters of beef and vegetable soup. It took about four hours to prepare everything, with each of us contributing to the effort. Thanks to some careful budgeting, we had funds left over, which were donated directly to U-Turn. Additionally, the Le Roux family, who kindly allowed us to sell pancakes in front of their house, generously donated 30kg of rice to further support U-Turn’s work.

Despite the challenges of planning, I’m proud to say the project was a resounding success. It wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my fellow scouts, the Le Roux family, and everyone who contributed their time and effort. Thank you all for making this experience so rewarding!

Oliver Hewson

Smoke Signals is our quarterly newsletter at 1st Claremont Scout Group, prepared by our members and filled with updates from our Meerkats, Cubs, Scouts and adult leaders.

You can read Smoke Signals October 2024 – PDF edition, or you can follow the links to the individual articles here:

The Group:

• Group updates and some goodbyes
• Rugby fundraiser

The Meerkat Den:

• Meerkats report

The Cub Pack:

• Cub Pack Updates
• Chapman’s Peak and Rooikat Ravine day Hikes
• Hasta luego amigos

The Scout Troop:

• Farewell Junior Kathe
• James Springbok
• Oliver H 1st Class
• Gordons 2024
• Regional Orienteering Competition
• Doc Trophy
• Patrol reports:
  • Bats patrol report
  • Boks report
  • Eagles Term Report
  • The Goshawks Bush
  • Kestrels Company Quarterly Report
  • Swifts Patrol Report
• Emily’s Cooks Badge Meal
• Malaika’s Discoverer Hike
• Winter Cederberg Senior Expedition
• Winter Cederberg Junior Expedition
• Table Mountain winter overnight hike