Smeeth and Brabourne Football Club started in 2006, in the form of one under 9s team in a local seven-a-side league. Following a great first season, interest in expanding the club grew. In September 2007, the club was officially created, with a formal committee and taking on extra coaches. We currently have over 30 members (boys and girls) aged 6-12 and are looking to increase in number and age range. We train every weekend and are involved in local league and cup competitions. We welcome youngsters of all abilities from Smeeth, Brabourne and all other local areas. We are looking to achieve FA Charter Standard and have vetted management and coaching staff. We also have First Aiders and a Child Welfare Officer. To date we have received funding from The Football Foundation and Barclays, Ashford Borough Council and Brabourne and Smeeth Parish Councils. In addition to this, we have received kit and equipment sponsorship from local partners including Andrews Garage, Tanner and Sons, Holiday Extras and other local figures. We also have a close partnership with our local schools and are involved in other local community projects. We would love to hear from anybody interested in playing football with us, joining our coaching and volunteer staff or assisting in sponsoring our club.Details of the club can be found at sabfc.net or call Richard on 01303 814620 for any further information.

 1ST BRABOURNE & SMEETH SCOUTS & GUIDES 

SCOUTS COLLECT 7 TONNES OF PAPER.

THANK YOU PARISHIONERS OF BRABOURNE & SMEETH and BEYOND!

A special, “Thank you!” to those parishioners who contributed to the grand February paper collection, having stored their waste paper from January! Our Scouts, leaders and parents turned out in force and we managed to fill one and a quarter skips, approximately 7 tonnes, in two hours.   We wish to record our thanks to local companies for their support in the loan of transport to assist collection. In addition National Grid at the Converter Station, have donated some sectional walling, which will be installed in the attic store to create the explorer den, at our headquarters. This week a claim has been sent to Ashford Borough Council for re-cycle payments of almost £500, in respect of the November & December collections. 

WASTE PAPER COLLECTIONS.  The next collection by our village Scouts and Guides of used newspapers, magazines, junk mail (please, no cardboard or directories!) will take place on Saturday, 13th March from 9.00 am onwards. Please leave papers in time, by your front gate to ease the collection process.  For those in outlying parts, who bring paper to our skip in the playing field car park, please do so BEFORE 10.30 a.m. After which the skip is locked.  ON NO ACCOUNT must paper be left beside our skip after that time. Thank you.

BEAVERS HAVE FUN.

The Beavers had a fun evening on a variety of challenges during an assault course activity, set up in the headquarters. The rope swing across the chasm, containing ‘sharks’, was the favourite, so Beavers queued patiently for second goes!

CUBS LEARN ABOUT SHROVE TUESDAY LINKED TO LENT. Cubs are given tuition on how to ‘flip’ a pancake by Akela Jodie Smythe, while the remainder of the pack, enjoy a team game ‘jumping over legs and first back to your place’, as others decorated Frisbees.  

In Scouting, Cubs are good sports and know that it is the taking part and not always the winning that is important. At the District 5-a-side competition our Cubs demonstrated the importance of taking part, by supporting other stronger teams from the bottom up! Better luck next time. Thanks are due to team manager Gavin Wood.

SCOUTS, HOWEVER WENT IN TO WIN - THIS TIME! The Ashford & District Scout Night Hike postponed from November, gave all twenty teams more time to practice for the event re-scheduled for February.  Set in the Shadoxhurst area over a course of 4-5 miles with six staged incidents to challenge the ingenuity; our two teams did rather well. Brabourne & Smeeth team ‘SPIDERPIGS’, comprising Michael Parsons, Harry Unsworth-Brown, Sophie Norcott, Joseph Browning & Bill Brown, were the winners with 90.4 points. Our second team ‘TEAM ED’ with Emma Unsworth-Brown, Georgia Franklin, Mikey Parrett & Ed Raeside came 14th out of 20 with 48.2 points.  Sorry no photo – after all it was a night hike!

SCOUTS and GUIDES ACTIVELY HELP IN THE COMMUNITY. The revised date of the night hike clashed with the village pantomime ‘Snow White and the Curse of the Ice Queen’ staged by Brabourne Players, which meant many of our leaders and Explorers were unable to be at the night hike. Of the printed list in the panto’ programme, 16 members (almost half) of the cast and backstage crew are either leaders, members, adult helpers past and present of 1st Brabourne & Smeeth Scouts and Guides Group. It is really pleasing to see the group involved in this production which raised over £2000 for Demelza House.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE – SECRETARY.  Following appeals in the Parish News and finally direct appeals to parents, we are pleased to announce we have found a secretary for the management committee! A parent of one of our Beavers’ has volunteered to take on this role.   We are still hoping to see the Rainbow unit re-opened, when volunteers are found or come forward!

ASSISTANT CUB LEADER - ED MAPLEY’S TRAVELS,  We look forward to welcoming Ed home to Scouting with B&S in May. In the meantime here are extracts from his latest news: “In Wanaka, New Zealand, I became a gardener!   I say gardener, but really I just weeded a lot and I’m not sure that counts! I also did loads of rock climbing and have been well and truly bitten by the climbing bug. After working, I headed back to Christchurch (NZ) for a day and then headed off to Sydney. Between Christmas and New Year I decided to go to the Blue Mountains for a few days. Sydney is the place to be at New Year and I can see why! 1.5 million people descend on the Sydney harbour area, on New Years Eve. 20 thousand of which were crammed on to ‘Mrs. Macquaries Point’ with me! The fireworks were spectacular. See you all in about three months.”

BRABOURNE & SMEETH SCOUT & GUIDE'S QUIZ EVENING on Saturday 20th March, at the headquarters on the playing field, Smeeth. Doors open: 7 p.m. for 7. 30 p.m. start. This event is for all members of our Scouts and Guides, leaders’ friends and supporters to have a get together. This will be a fund raiser for Scout & Guide funds. Further entry and booking details will be circulated soon. In the meantime all you “QUIZZERS “out there please make a note to be there. By all means contact Ian Ruck on 01303 813743 or by e-mail if you wish to be notified personally.