Bonfire night with lanterns in aid of scout group headquarters

A BONFIRE night was held to raise funds for the Henley scout hut.

More than 100 people attended the event in Borlase Field, next to Henley Rugby Club, last Friday.

About 50 children from beavers, cubs and scouts began the evening by parading from Market Place to the field with paper lanterns under the direction of leaders.

There was barbecue food and sparklers around the bonfire while music was played from a speaker under a gazebo.

A competition to guess the number of sweets was won by Melia Drummond, who won a box of chocolates.

Vicky Heriot, whose husband, Andrew, is a scout leader, lives in Valley Road and helped to organise the event.

She said: “My kids have come through from cubs to explorers and have almost completed the whole system.

“It’s lovely that we have such a strong path and support in Henley as the leaders do such a good job to put it on every year and it’s a pleasure to attend.

Charlotte Trendall, 31, of Reading Road, attended for the second year with family, friends and children. She said: “It’s quite nice because the kids can run around with school friends and make new friends from other schools.”

The event has taken place since 2018 to raise money for 1st Henley Scouts activities.

A funding campaign was launched last year to raise £250,000 to bring the building in Greys Road up to modern standards.

Its leaking flat roof was upgraded this year but now it hopes to improve its acoustics, kitchen and toilet facilities.

Dicky Thompson, group scout leader, said: “All the funds raised are going back into the groups to complete finishing the hall.

“We completed the flat roof at the start of the year, which was leaking but now we’re looking at the internal acoustics as we’ve outgrown what we’ve got.”

Mr Thompson said the fireworks-free night could be developed to include fireworks in the future.

He said: “The fireworks used to happen on this field. We could try and go back to that as there’s a good group of us but it’s a different kettle of fish. It’s not a massive step to start doing fireworks but there is that element of neurodivergence, as it’s an easy sell to families with babies, as they can sit in front of the fire, have a barbecue and chill out.”

Will Sadler, 16, who has been part of 1st Henley Scouts since he was four years old, said the group needs more volunteers to support them.

He said: “We need more members and leaders for our new explorer group. We’ve gone from 12 to 16 this year and we’re expecting 20 by next year.” For more information, visit 1sthenleyscouts.com