Group Council

		This years Bonfire took place on Bonfire & Firework Display - Saturday 7 November 2009 Tickets on sale from any Leader or Member of the group Tickets are also on sale at the HQ between 10am and 4.30pn on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 Nov Family: (2 Adults 2 Children) £12.00, Adult: £4.00, Child: £3.00 Gate Admission from 6.00pm: Family: (2 Adults 2 Children) £15.00, Adult: £5.00, Child: £4.00 Bonfire lit at 7.00pm Firework display from approx 7.30pm Refreshments tent:- selling Burgers, Hot Dogs, Soup, Soft Drinks, Sweets Glowsticks tent: selling the latest glowing items Please do not bring any sparklers as these will be confiscated on the gate.
		Next years Bonfire will take place on:- Saturday 6 November 2010
Have you ever wondered what it takes to run a successful bonfire and how much effort goes in to it. At Stockton Brook the event is put on by volunteers who are Leaders, ex Scout and Guide Members, Parents and Supporters of the Group whose effort every year is greatly appreciated. It takes between 50 and 60 volunteers to fully staff the evening, If ALL of our Leaders at Stockton Brook turn up we are still 30 people short! so we could not run the event without the help of ex Scout and Guides, Parents and supporters. If you want to offer your help telephone Rob Poole on 07803 008 162 or put your name down on the Leaders notice board list prior to the bonfire.
Below are a few photos which show you what a lot of work goes into putting together the event:- Moving the Timber - week minus 1

During the two week period preceding the bonfire a pile of pallets starts appearing on the car park. We get all our timber from local manufacturers who supply us with broken and damaged pallets and packing crates	On the Sunday prior to the Bonfire, Helpers - there is usually about TEN of us (this year 9 men and a Female!) including a local farmer who brings his tractor and trailer. We need to move the timber from the car park to the bonfire location on the field - it rained on us this year !!!! so we had to work in wet weather gear		Ahh a well earned tea break

Here we are unloading the wood into an arranged pile around where we will build the fire.	This year we had a nice long trailer so it only took 7 trips up the field	But its a lot of man handling to get all that timber on to the truck and stacked safely for its journey up the field .
	This is a shot of one of the piles of timber - thrown over our wall. Please don't deliver any timber to us in this way. It does not help, as we have to carry this by hand, most of it is useless to us as we are not allowed to burn any timber that is coated or treated in any way. And if its useless to us we still have to get rid of it - which makes work.	All of the above takes 3 to 4 hours, depending on the amount of timber, amount of help, the equipment we have to move the timber and ......the weather. Then its off for a quick pint ....or two.....at the pub - as a medicinal reward ! and then off home for lunch.
Building The Bonfire - day minus 1

On Friday 10-12 of us take the day off work. A few of us are Leaders, a few are parents, and some are ex Scouts and Ventures who come along every year for the '''joy'' of it.	We build the Bonfire in the morning, no lifting equipment - except our bear hands and a lot of group force. Its a bit like building a pyramid except out of packing crates and pallets. Paddy comes along to act as foreman - he's the black fluffy one in the foreground. this all takes about 3 hours.		And off course we all have to relax over a pint and game of Darts at lunchtime. And after lunch we build the frame of the refreshment tent, and start all the security fencing.
Saturday Preparation

The Guides inspecting the finished Bonfire	We have to build a First Aid Tent, Very Large Refreshment Tent, A Glowstick's Tent, and a Tent over the Entrance Gate		A close up of the finished Bonfire - note the park bench on the top - Our Explorers had a sleepover on Friday night and made several Guys, which were then seated on the bench.
Saturday is a mammoth day of activity, along come lots of Leaders, Parent helper volunteers, all to help in a hive of activity. Some of our Scouts and Guides come along to help on Saturday morning, they do this as part of their Community challenges Our Explorers slept over on Friday night and again on the Saturday night, so they are on hand to help out with lots of prepatory tasks, fetching and carrying, putting tents up, and assisting the Leaders to set up. Then at 6pm we have a safety briefing and the gates are open.
The Bonfire
			2,500 people come to our Bonfire every year, as many people as we can get on the field. Its a great night. Its a lot of hard work to organise, plan and run. But the goal is enjoyment of the community, and the profit which we donate back to our Scout and Guide Group which is just about half the Headquarters running costs for the year. So a big big THANK YOU goes out to all of our helpers and Leaders who give their time freely every year. And a big Thank You to the Public who come along and support us every year.
Views from inside the Refreshment Tent - the glow is the Fire - now lit	We don't have too many pictures here as we are so so busy we barely get chance to stop and rest... and rarely get chance to actually see the Firework display ourselves, as people still want food.
The Firework Display

A few pictures of the fireworks, we were so busy we did not get chance to see many, but what we did see were awesome.