Our 3 Senior boys who received their Queen’s Badge this session were presented with their certificates at the Glasgow Battalion ceremony in the City Chambers on Thursday 20th June. Vincent from the 5th also took part in the parade, as part of the Colour Party. A great night was had by all and it was a fantastic event - celebrating all that is good about the BB!
Our Weekend Camp was held at the 1st Glasgow's campsite, near Tighnabruaich, from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th June 2022. 12 boys & 6 staff attended the action packed weekend! Leaving the church at 6pm on the Friday in the minibus we took the ferry from Gourock to McInroy's Point and arrived at Camp around 8.30pm. After organising the tents & rules for the weekend we ventured out into the countryside for a few widegames. Following the twilight games everyone settled down to supper before lights out at 11.45pm.
After rising at 8am on the Saturday and a hearty breakfast the boys had a quick tent inspection before the day's activities commenced. With the boys split into 3 groups of 4. The first group took to the water with Morna, a qualified instructor from Sea Kayak Argyll, the second group took part in the 19 1/2 steps, a widegame that invlolved them solving clues using a map of the local area. The final group undertook some Team-Building Challenges near the campsite, including 'Snow Escape' (pictured). After lunch the groups swapped round but unfortunately the high winds meant the sea kayaking was not possible in the afternoon. The Cowal Open Quoit Golf competition and a hotly contested game of football took place before dinner. After dinner we had a game of rounders, a quiz to rest our weary legs and tax our brains, then as the light faded it was time for more widegames. After a full days-worth of activities the boys were keen to get to bed after supper at 11pm for a well-earned sleep.
Sunday morning saw a few of the boys unwilling to leave the comfort of their sleeping bags but after some gentle persuasion they managed to make breakfast at 8.30am before duties & tent inspection. The morning was taken up with another widegame, 'Contraband', which saw two teams trying to smuggle coloured 'moonshine' past a team of guards (i.e. the staff) who were armed with water pistols. After lunch there was just time for another game of football before tidying & packing up camp then climbing into the minibus for the trip home after a very enjoyable weekend.
We spent the last 2 Friday nights of the 2023-24 session outside at 'sun kissed' Jordanhill for loads of fun & games. The newly promoted Junior Section boys joined us too for games including Pursuits, Colour Clash, Ultimate Frisbee, Scatterball, & Kabaddi.
We held our 'Open Evening' on Friday 10th May 2024, where the boys showcased some of the activities and skills they had learned during the 2023-2024 session. After a short opening, we did a spot of 'Disco' Drill, some vaulting and then an Olympic Themed game. We closed the evening with the Presentation of Awards where we were delighted to present Alexander, Cameron & Thrinei with their Queens Badges.
We visited Ashfield stadium on Friday 12th April for a trip to Glasgow Tigers speedway. The home team were leading the tie against Edinburgh Monarchs before the good old Glasgow weather struck and the tie was abandoned due to the rain! Hopefully we will return early next session for a full evening of competition.
Our former member PC McIntyre visited Company Section on Friday 22nd March with his Police dogs Vader, Eddie, & Rudi to tell us about about their work with Police Scotland. Eddie even searched the hall and found a special hidden item - 'good boy'!
Our annual Coffee Morning returned on Saturday 2nd March 2024. As well as the usual bottle stall, groceries, raffle, hot rolls & silent auction the senior boys were kept hard at work washing cars outside. After a very busy morning we raised over 1,700 pounds for company funds. A big thank you to all family & friends who came along and supported the 5th or who donated items (or their time) for the morning's great effort!
Our famous Quiz Night made a welcome reappearance on Saturday 20th January 2024. Friends, Family & Boys of the 5th gathered in the Large Hall for an evening of questions covering topics such as scottish cuisine, cats & dogs and a music round of funky covers! 12 teams took part in a relaxed, but competitive evening. Thanks to all for taking part.
The boys & staff from the Company Section took a trip to The Loading Bay on Friday 15th December 2023 for their Christmas Night Out. The boys took part in Parkour and Skateboarding taster sessions during the evening under the watchful eyes of the Loading Bay's expert coaches. Great fun was has by all and everyone returned home in one piece!
Our Seniors prepared and led our Friday parade night on Friday 17th November 2023. The challenge was to deliver an entertaining & full evening for the rest of the boys. Christopher, Cameron, Alexander, Thrinei, Iniyan, Hamish, Vincent, Charlie & Bradley did really well with plenty of games (including Hide & Seek, football, Gaga ball & dodgeball) - they even fed everyone too!
The church held their annual fundraiser, 'The Bonanza' on Saturday 4th November 2023, as always the boys from the 5th were on hand on the Thursday & Friday evenings to assist people with carrying in any donations from their cars to the stalls inside as well as washing cars on the day itself. Well done to all who helped.
We held our final trip of the session, our Summer Day Out, on Saturday 10th June 2023 to Castle Semple, Lochwinnoch. The boys and staff enjoyed a day of mountain biking & kayaking - overseen by fantastic instructors from Clyde Muirshiel Park. The weather was excellent so some boys decided to test the water temperature by taking a dip in the bay when they returned their kayaks!
BB Glasgow arranged another excellent afternoon of watersports at Pinkston during July 2021. This time the boys were tubing down the man-made whitewater course. There were plenty of thrills & spills as the boys were swept downstream. Hold on tight!
Friday 20th December 2019 saw the boys and staff packing shoppers' bags at Morrisons Anniesland from 5.30pm - 8.30pm. All the boys worked really hard and avoided packing the eggs at the bottom! Once all the money in the collecting buckets had been counted up a total of over 400 pounds was raised for company funds. A big well done to all the boys who attended.
The boys & staff headed to Seil, near Oban on Friday 1st June 2018 for an overnight stay in Seil Village Hall in the village of Ellenabeich. Arriving at 9pm the boys managed a game of football before dark, followed by supper, (hot dogs), and an World Cup-themed quiz. Saturday morning brought warm but foggy weather, not great for our early morning trip with Seafari, a 2-hour powerboat tour around the islands of Scarba & Jura taking in the wildlife and Corryvreckan whirlpools along the way. After our tour and a belated breakfast the boys managed a bracing hike up the hill overlooking the island of Easdale and the other nearby islands and also a treasure hunt around the village. Despite the foggy weather all the boys & staff thoroughly enjoyed the trip and returned home tired but happy on the Saturday evening.
(l to r): The boys & staff outside Seil Village Hall, preparing for Seafari and out on the water in 'Celtic Nomad'
On a rather wet and windy Saturday 28th October 2017 the boys & staff travelled down to Largs and hopped on the ferry to the Isle of Cumbrae for a days cycling. After picking up our bikes from Bremner's we donned our waterproofs & gloves and cycled anti-clockwise around the island. The weather remained 'dreich' for the whole cycle and in many parts it became a test of the boys' strength & determination to battle headlong into the wind to reach Millport. All the boys reached the minibus and huddled inside to change, warm-up & tuck into their packed lunches. After post-lunch hot-chocolates at Fintry Bay tearoom we ventured back over on the ferry to Largs, a little earlier than planned, and spent some free time in Largs before heading back to Glasgow to warm-up!
As part of our 2017 Annual Display Ewan, one of our NCOs, created a short film called 'The Road To BB' showing what we get up to at the 5th. You can view it via Facebook here:
As many of our Senior boys were leaving us at the end of this session we planned an extra day out for them on Saturday 21st June 2014! 5 seniors & 3 staff hopped in the minibus and took a trip to Dunbar. After a detour for some donuts at Krispy Kreme we arrive in Dunbar at 11am and headed for Belhaven Beach for a game of beach volleyball. Once we were suitably sandy we headed along to Foxlake Adventures for a session on their Foxfall obstacle course. Wearing wetsuits and helmets all the boys & staff tackled the obstacle course, without safety ropes, perched above a man-made pond!
Once dried we grabbed some lunch and travelled back to Belhaven Beach to pull on another wetsuit for a couple of hours of surfing. All the seniors thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, most even managing to stand up on their boards by the end of the lesson! After fighting our way out our wetsuits we headed into Dunbar for dinner, a chippy, then back to the beach for a game of football before returning home after a long, action-packed day!
Friday 24th February saw Ian Hislop and a camera crew attend our normal parade night to film what we do. The crew filmed the opening parade, drill & trampolining for a forthcoming BBC2 television series about Britain through the centuries and the role the Boys' Brigade played in the moral and physical character building of young men. As well as filming the activities Ian interviewed a few of the boys, asking them what they enjoy about the BB and how it plays a part in the building of their character. The programme called "Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip" is due to be shown on Tuesday 9th October from 9-10pm on BBC2.
The boys & staff with Ian Hislop
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