The 44th Boys Brigade Dundee Company

Website Links

2008-01-09T11:40:00.000Z

If anyone looks on the links page of the website they will see that there is a fair number of links to other companies and organisations.
I am always looking for additional links to add, so if you want an link added then let me know. I am aware that some of the officers and boys have there own website, so if you want it added please leave details and i'll have a look.

Bowling Night

2007-11-24T18:18:00.000Z

Last night 30 boys and officers enjoyed themselves at the bowling night at the Megabowl, Stack Leisure Park.

At first glance it looked like the officers would be left with red faces after the team of NCO's upstaged them, by beating them 650 to 586!

However the officers won as they only had 5 team members so win with the higher average! (The officers always seem to find a way of winning things don't they?!)

The title of 'Kingpin' went to Keiran with a fantastic top score of 144 and a total of 7 strikes(!) during the night.

All the boys enjoyed the night, although some officers looked like they enjoyed themselves a bit too much in the arcade! Not pointing the finger anyone in particular!

Anchor Boys - Update 2007

2007-09-17T09:16:00.000+01:00

We have 33 boys this year in the Anchor Boys, also a new helper, who is going on to do her training as an officer although she has previous experience in the Girls Brigade. The officer in charge along with 5 other helpers, two of which have recently completed a section of the Duke of Edinburgh awards make up the leadership of the section.

The Anchor Boys works for achievments, which they should complete over the two year period that they are with the section.

This is a fun section, in which we play games, do craft work and have storytelling. We also enter competitions and at the moment the boys are colouring a picture of 'Joseph' (and his coat of many colours) which is being entered nationally. We also have competitions against other companies where they get a chance to meet other boys in Anchor Boy Sections. At Halloween there is always a party and at Christmas an outing to the cinema, or like is always on the cards.

In the spring we have an outing and last year we went to Scott Lodge for a picnic and joined up with our Junior Section who were staying there over the weekend.

If you would like to join our Anchor Boys you will be made very welcome and have a lot of fun.

Events

2007-09-05T17:03:00.001+01:00

Late October: Annual BB Company parade to church - Awaiting confirmation of date.

2nd-4th November: Scott Lodge Company Section weekend.

Training Dates

2007-09-05T17:01:00.000+01:00

Training Dates

20th September: Child Protection Training at 7:15-9:15pm.
Contact Rod Taylor for further details.

17th October: Captain's Training in BB HQ - 7:15-9:15pm

20th 21st October: Scottish Bands Committee Band Instructor's Workshop. Carronvale, Larbert. Cost £30.

3rd November: Officers' Youth Leader Training, 6/8th BB HQ at 10am -6pm
Contact Rod Taylor for details.

Band Class

2007-09-05T16:59:00.000+01:00

The band classes have resumed on a Monday night at 7pm in St Aidan's Halls withall members showing great enthusiasm for learning the new tunes for this year.

If you want to be part of this great band of the future email for further details.

Full details on our website.

Congratulations

2007-09-05T16:58:00.000+01:00

Our congratulations go to company section member Ross Anderson who has been playing in the Dundee Confined Tennis Tournament which finished on Sunday withhim getting runner-up spot in the under 14 group.

Ross has also been invited to play drums and percussion with Dundee Schools Senior Wind Ensemble andDundee Schools Rock Band

Well done Ross and keep it up.

Camp 2007 update

2007-08-09T16:49:00.000+01:00

Added on behalf of Ex Captain Rod Taylor
Another camp is past, the tents checked, packed and folded away for another year. Was it worth all that effort? For the answer you must ask the Boys who attended our 40th anniversary camp.
For my own part the event which marked the 40th anniversary visit to our usual camping ground was indeed a success. 21 members and 11 staff enjoyed 10 days under canvas in what must have been one of the driest weeks this summer. Under the direction of Colin Tennant the preparation and advance party laid the foundations of a well run camp. The catering was excellent and our new camp cooker and boiler were welcome additions to the cookhouse equipment.
Every camp has its highs and lows. On the field Blair Strachan celebrated his eighteenth birthday. Joseph McGraw became big brother to Ben and Andy Fraser became a brand new dad to Scott. Our best wishes go to mums Claire and Elaine and both families. I am assured the boys have been enrolled for camp 2018. On a sadder note Alan Mackay left early to attend his grandmother's funeral on the Friday and our condolences go to the Mackay family.
The week at camp was busy for all with an action packed programme of golf, hill-walking, mountain biking, swimming and expedition assessments plus the normal football, cricket, rounders, cross country running and dam building. I mentioned earlier this was a special anniversary year and we held an open Saturday with games and bar-be-que for all who cared to visit us. Our final Saturday night saw the company hosting a ceilidh in the village Hall courtesy of the local hall committee with dance music provided by Bert Dowds of Leuchars. Other artisites included Ruairidh Morrison, Angus Nicol, Michael Hampton and ex members Gordon Dickson on pipes and Grant Lorimer, Fraser Clark, Grant Rennie and Graham Rew giving a demonstration of duelling drums.
As I hand over the captaincy to Colin, my sincere thanks go to him and all those who have helped me over years but most especially to two quiet gentlemen who are synonymous with the 44th. To Jim Craig and Lindsay Gray both captains go my sincerest thanks for the encouragement and guidance over many years.
I dismissed the company for the last time following a stimulating service at the village Church led by the Rev David Mitchell a BB laddie and was reminded it was 35 years to the day since my own first meeting with the 44th. It was a fitting finale to a memorable 40th anniversary camp.
Roddy Taylor

Tighna 2007 update

2007-07-07T15:59:00.000+01:00

Only 2 weeks and we will already be there!
Final arrangements for camp are being made and with the kit getting pulled out from under the stage last night it really feels like we are on our way.

Below are some notes for those Boys coming to Camp and for any Old Boys, friends and families that maybe thinking of joining us for our 40th anniversary celebrations.

If you are thinking of coming through and fancy taking part in the football, coming to the BBQ or Ceilidh, then lets us know so we can cater and plan for numbers.

We will be parading to Church on the Sunday and it would be good fun for old boys to parade with us. If you were in the band feel free to bring your pipes with you and I'm sure that we may have a bugle and drum or two spare for you to relive your youth with!

Hope to see you all in a dry Tighna in a couple of weeks!

4X

Timetable
Friday 13th 7-8pm Final Camp Bank & Checking over of equipment
Thursday 19th 7pm Packing the Lorry
All Boys to bring kit down. Note: no room on minibus for luggage
Friday 20th 8am Advance Party leave
Saturday 21st 10.30am Boys meet at Church Hall, leave at 11am.
Full Uniform to be worn. Pack-lunch required
Sunday 29th 6pm Company return to Hall
8pm Rearguard return to Hall
Monday 30th 7pm Pick-up any gear & help with tidy up

Kit
Given the recent weather and the forecast for the rest of the ‘summer’ we will be prepared for rain, which to be honest, isn’t usually that far away in Argyll anyway. Please ensure that all boys have WELLINGTONS & PROPER WATERPROOFS. Living outdoors for a week is about staying as comfortable and as dry as possible and nothing compares to wellies and waterproof jackets and trousers for making this easy. There are no fashion critics in a field!

40th Anniversary
This year is the 40th anniversary of our first camp at Auchgoyle Farm, near Millhouse. To celebrate this we have organised a few events to which all family and friends are invited. Please let us know if you intend joining us, so that we can cater for numbers of people attending. Tickets are available for the BBQ & Ceilidh. We hope that you will be able to join us and enjoy celebrating this anniversary with us.

The programme is as follows:

Friday 27th Come upto the Camp and say hello and have a cup of tea
Saturday 28th 11am 44th Boys v’s Locals Football Match @ The Shinty Pitch
12noon 44th All-stars v’s Locals Football Match @ The Shinty Pitch
1pm-3.30pm BBQ & Highland Games @ The Camp
8pm onwards Ceilidh @ Millhouse Hall
Sunday 11am Church Parade at Kyles Parish Church,
All family & friends invited

After the Church Parade on the Sunday we will be returning with the boys to the field for a quick lunch and then we will be dismantling the Camp. The aim is for the Company to depart at around 2pm, with the Rearguard leaving by 5pm.

Missing Band Equipment

2007-06-27T12:26:00.000+01:00

Dear Friends of the 44th BB Coy

PLEA TO FIND MISSING BAND EQUIPMENT

This letter appears in the form of a round robin newsletter to all interested in the 44th whether you are an ex member, a parent or friend.

We have resurrected the band following three years of learner classes under the guidance of Dougie Rennie and Harry Dowie and the boys are showing enough proficiency to consider entering the Scottish Bands Competition next year in Troon.

Whilst attending the BB/GB 'Crossover Weekend' at Broomlee Centre last Sunday I met an old friend, George Sim from Edinburgh and Leith Battalion. Some of you will remember George as the massed pipe band drum major during the 'Beating Retreat' performances at the Castle Esplanade. He suggested we join them again to take part in the massed bands retreat either as the 44th or with the 6/8th as a Dundee Battalion band.

In the dormant years since the band was actively performing in the nineteen nineties we have unfortunately lost track of some company equipment; namely 6 Warmac plastic bagpipe chanters, 6 red and yellow bagpipes covers, 5 red pipe drone cords, one set of very old wooden mounted and nickel ferrule bagpipes, a leather Cameron Highlander’s sporran, 10 tuneable copper bugles, 8 red bugle cords, a number of white bandsmen cotton gloves and snare drum sticks.

If you can help trace any of these items which have gone missing over the intervening time or help the new band I would be most grateful as we would then be able to give the current and prospective members of the company some of the opportunities experienced by former members.

As this is almost the end of my term of office as captain I would like to leave the company well provided so whether you can help or just wish to drop a line, please contact me by telephone at home on 01334 870038 or work on 01382 433933 or alternatively by email at roderick.taylor3@btinternet.com.

Yours truly,

Roddy Taylor
Retiring Captain 44th Coy

Website Hits

2007-05-18T22:03:00.000+01:00

The total hits on the Company website hit 260 today.

Over a period of 24 hours there were 60 hits on the site.

Word is obviously spreading, so please keep telling people about the website.

Company Forums

2007-05-18T21:57:00.000+01:00

The company forums are now up and running, but still have a few remaining issues to deal with. However, they are live and can be used from now on.

For those of you who are not familiar with forums, they are basically an online discussion board where people can share ideas, events and anything else that they want to discuss.

We have developed them so that we can catch up with every member of the company, ex members, parents and friends, so please register and add your comments.

I have to thank Lee Craigie for taking on the final developing of these forums and the ongoing administration, so keep looking on the website, the blog and forums for any updates that Lee may add.

Over the next few days it should be in full flow, so enjoy.

If anyone has anyone queries, ideas or complaints about the forum then contact Lee or myself via the admin section on the forums.

Alternatively, you can send an email via the website.

Enjoy.

Junior Section Tournament a huge success

2007-05-07T21:02:00.000+01:00

A huge thanks goes to everyone involved in Saturdays 44th Invitational junior section Tournament, this day was a success and a great day was enjoyed by all.

The day began with the early morning preparation, so that everything was in place for the arrival of the teams taking part, with two 44th teams, 37th, 42nd and 2nd Forfar all present it was time to get the ball rolling, so to speak

A quick welcome and an explanation of the rules to the boys and the first 44th Invitational tournament was under way.

The opening match just had to be 44tha v 44thb, 44tha was made up of 1st and 2nd year boys with the b team 3rd years, this one was so close and looked to be heading for a goal less draw, but with the last kick of the ball 44th b got the goal that gave them 3 points.

Both 44th teams were fantastic with the younger boys drawing the remaining league games and the b team won one and lost 2.

After the group games a 3rd place play off was contested by 42nd and 2nd Forfar, this game was won by the 42nd.

Then it was time for the Final, 44th b v 37th, 37th won the game with a 5-0 win, 5 breakaways if you ask me.

A presentation took place with the runners up receiving medals and the Ewart Sturrock memorial shield presented to the eventual winners, no boy went home empty handed though as they all recieved a certificate for taking part.

It was then time for the BBQ, Blair did a great job feeding over 60 hungry kids then the parents and officers, I dont think Blair could beleive his eyes when he saw a stampede of boys running towards the grub but he coped.

A huge thanks goes to Scott Brothers, Broughty Ferry who provided us with 100 burgers, Sunblest who donated the Rolls thanks to Steve Muir, Direct Soccer for the Shield and Boyz Own as they made 44th look the best kitted company at Orchar park.

Thanks to all parents who helped us out, and Robbie Thompson and Steven Downie for Refereeing the games, Blair Strachan for the BBQ, the judges and everyone else who did their bit, It couldnt have been done without you all.

Niall Nicolson

A New Era - From Our Captain

2007-05-01T10:20:00.000+01:00

This year marks the end of my five-year appointment as company captain and it is fitting to acknowledge the support and encouragement I have received over this period. To the officers and instructors who have run classes, organised activities, run teams to competitions and training courses across the whole BB area, I give my sincerest thanks for without them the company could not operate as it does. Over the last few years the company has returned to annual summer camp on its old field and the band under P/Maj Rennie and Mr Dowie is playing again.

To one individual I am truly indebted; this is Colin Tennant. Colin took over the Juniors for a three-year term and is now to assume command of the Company as captain, only the fifth person to hold this appointment. I commend him to you and ask you give him the same support shown to me in what can often be a difficult but highly rewarding appointment. He in his turn is passing on his current duties of O-I-C Junior Section to Mr Niall Nicolson and I wish Niall the same level of support and every success in his new appointment. For my own part I remain a 44th company officer and a national Brigade training officer.

This year marks a new beginning for the 44th’ in the knowledge that we will be moving our HQ in the not too distant future to accommodate the changes taking place within the New Kirk. I commend the work being executed by the members of the Company and extend a very warm welcome to any interested in the BB and the young church.

Roderick J I Taylor,

Company History

2007-05-01T10:19:00.000+01:00

Company History

Initially planned for the Juniors’ 50th anniversary in 2000 the company history has become a task of Hellenic proportions. Promising delivery each of the last two years I can report that it is almost at the printer’s copying stage. I had hoped to have a fair copy on display for your inspection but that proved impracticable. It has never been high on the list of active officers’ list of things to do suffering from months of neglect at a time.

Hopefully, we will have printed copies for our 40th anniversary camp or during the enrolment three weeks later. There are still some gaps in our knowledge of the company and if you find stories or photographs of the company we would be most interested in viewing them to fill in these gaps.

Future Band Champions

2007-05-01T10:17:00.000+01:00

Pipe Band

Our congratulations and best wishes go to our Pipe major, Dougie Rennie and his wife on the birth of their son. The band is a very visible part of our company with practices on a Monday evening. Under the guidance of no less than 8 instructors our members have increased their skills and recently participated in the Battalion band competition gaining a number of individual prizes. In the chanter class Duncan Toohey won first prize with Calum Thomson winning 2nd equal and Matthew Muir 3rd equal. Pte Ruairidh Morrison won outright the Junior Opening Piping competition. Well done, boys. In October, our pipe band led the 2nd Forfar Coy to church on the occasion of their diamond jubilee. The boys performed well despite it being one of the wettest Sunday mornings I can ever remember.

New instruments and kilts in the Hunting Smith tartan are to be purchased soon. The tartan selected was to be very different from the red kilts of three other local BB bands and the Hunting Smith was chosen in honour of our founder Sir William Smith. This new chapter in the band’s history will hopefully give it an added boost to strive for greater things in the future.

Company Section

2007-05-01T10:15:00.000+01:00

Company Section

Section strength currently stands at 25 boys, with our junior recruits integrating well to the Section. A relative factor here is the Brigade rules which allow 3rd year juniors to attend annual summer camp with the bigger boys. I can vouch for usefulness of the system having attended my first camp as a junior in the early sixties. A number of formal classes were offered, allowing boys to progress through the badge award system towards the Queen's badge (the highest award in the BB). It is always a great pleasure when a boy gains these higher awards and this year we have one president’s badge winner and three new Queen’s Men. The classes offered this session included Drill, Christian Faith, Physical Recreation, Model Making, First Aid, Expeditions, Drumming, Piping and Bugling.
Guy Fawkes weekend saw us back at Scott Lodge. Our seniors and older boys under the leadership of Iain Harper reached the top of the munro, Broad Cairn having failed in bad weather in 2005. The rest of the party walked over the Kilbo path reaching the top in misty very cool conditions.

As with the Juniors, the Section participated in a number of competitions and were in the prize winners list. Their sense of enjoyment was again noted by judges and other teams.
The traditional company Christmas dinner on 23rd December served by officers in the Kirk hall proved a great start to the school holidays with roast turkey and trimmings. This was followed by a film show of some classic vintage football between Dundee and Dundee United. Our thanks goes to our projectionist and impresario for the evening, lain Harper and Niall Nicolson whose joint effort provided the best cinema entertainment in the Ferry.

Three members, Alan MacKay, Steven Downie and Jack Dye completed their leadership course at Dundee and are working towards both the Presidents' badge and the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s award. Demands on young men’s time is always onerous and it is especially good to report three members S/Sgt Lorimer, and Sgts Brown and Milne completed the Queen’s badge course on 1st April and are now officially Queen’s Men. Look out for their gold crowns on the left arm.

Junior Section Update

2007-05-01T10:14:00.000+01:00

Having completed two years as O-I-C junior Section, Mr Tennant with his team of officers and senior boys have completed an extensive programme of activities and badgework. One visible sign of the section’s success are the number of royal blue jerseys on parade, around 40 most Thursday evenings. They continue to play games on a Thursday and work through the bronze silver and gold badge achievements of the national programme.

Our boys have participated in Battalion-organised competitions for various events including football, swimming, cross country running and the marching. After last year’s blank our boys were back in the prize winners lists This only tells half the story because our boys have entered competitions with a sense of fun and obvious enjoyment which has been noted by the various judges that encountered the 44th ‘in action’.

Annual highlights were once again the Scott Lodge weekend in May and the Halloween fancy dress party. Scott Lodge whilst not as wet as the 2005 visit still had its share of showers. This did not stop our intrepid boat builders’ carry out a river race with their new created crafts and most boats did make it to the finishing line. Scott Lodge this year is on the weekend of 11/13 May. At Christmas the section maintained an old tradition by singing carols at Orchar House.

Under the leadership of Niall Nicolson and Lee Craigie a battalion wide invitation mini football tournament has been planned for Saturday 5th May in Orchar Park, if you are free that morning between 10am and 1pm come down and support the teams.

Anchor Boys

2007-05-01T10:12:00.000+01:00

Anchor Boys Section

Central to the Anchor Boy programme is playing games, but the boys, 28 strong this year, have settled into the badgework programme initiated in 2005, We are once again indebted to our young helpers Maggie and Nicola and to our senior boys for assisting in this fun filled section

Two outings must be recorded here. The first was the Christmas cinema with the Junior Section Boys and the second still to come is the annual outing on 5th May. For the first time ever the Anchor Boys are going to hold their picnic at Scott Lodge during the weekend when our Juniors are in residence. I am sure our boys will enjoy and remember this experience for a very long time. The officers are in for a very hectic day so lets keep our fingers crossed for a sunny weekend. This is an energetic and fun filled section and we are looking for new helpers to join this happy band and hopefully train as BB officers.

Company Update

2007-05-01T10:11:00.000+01:00

The Company

At the start of the session our enrolled members numbered over 90 consisting of 28 Anchor Boys, 43 Junior Section and 25 Coy section members including 6 seniors. Staff numbers remained at 20 with two new instructors Mr W Grant RO, and Lieut. Bryan Knight of 1st Carnoustie joining us on Monday night for drumming classes. The success of any company is dependant on the staff and in this respect the 44th and the church are very fortunate in have such a dedicated group of people willing to give so freely of their time and talents.
All sections have completed a successful year and details of their individual reports are listed later in this blog.

A Look Back At Our Summer Camp 2006

2007-05-01T10:08:00.000+01:00

Summer Camp 2006

This seems a good place to start a report on the state of the Coy. and record our achievements over the last year. Around 30 attended a very happy and sunny camp which was once again held during July in Argyll. Our thanks also extend to Torith Ltd for supplying a lorry and mini bus for our sole use during the week. Two events are worth recording here; the first, on parading to the local Church where we found the minister knew all about the BB having been captain of the 4th Glasgow. The second notable event took place during our activity day spent mountain biking and Canadian canoeing when not one but two non swimmers decided this was not as difficult as it looked and proved it later by swimming in Loch Fyne after the cross country hill walk. This year sees us marking the 40th anniversary of our first camp and a number of events are scheduled to mark this happy anniversary.

Junior Section Strips and Tournament

2007-04-10T23:28:00.000+01:00

The junior section will be kitted out in a new football strip next session.

Thanks to the kind offer to sponsor the section, local business Boyzown barber, Gray Street, Broughty Ferry.

New owner Sharon was delighted to support a local youth organisation, and also thought it would be a great opportunity to boost her own business.

She has funded the whole kit with the agreement that

we wear the business name on the strips.

Acknowlege her sponsorship of the team on all our own publicity material, including company newsletters and website

Provide boys for publicity photographs to mark strip handover

So guys if you need a haircut you know where to go now.

Whilst on the Football note, Myself and Lee have been arranging a tournament for the section, to be held on Saturday May 5th at Orchar park from 1000 - 13.30

It has not yet been confirmed of the total amount of companys attending, although a great response has been received already,

This is a great chance for boys and officers from different companys to come together and make new friends and a great opportunity to parade our new kits.

This event will run from 1000-1330 with the football ending around 12.30.

There will be a BBQ once the football ends.

If you are free that day and fancy coming along to help or support the boys, pop on down

Oh and nearly forgot.... Officers Crossbar challenge will be held before the final of the tournament, so if you fancy having a bash... you had better get down there

cheers Niall

Tighna 2007

2007-04-10T20:00:00.000+01:00

Hello All,
I've never blogged before and I'm not sure if this will work but here goes.
For anyone that doesn't know me, I'm Colin Tennant, currently OIC of the Junior Section but known as 4X when an actual boy in the company.

At the moment we are in the midst of preparing for the end of session, making sure that all the boys have the right badges, getting certificates etc for the Display. Hopefully, once that's out of the way we can have a wee easy run of Games nights until JS Scott Lodge in the middle of May and then its all steam ahead for Camp 2007!

Numbers for this year are good with about 18 boys going. As it is the 40th anniversary since the first camp at Tighna we are planning a few special events like a ceilidh and an open afternoon and BBQ. We would like as many ex-members as possible to come through for the second weekend, which is the last weekend in July, to join and celebrate this great milestone for our company. There is also a plan to have an old boys v's locals football match on the Saturday, so bring your boots and relive your youth on the Shinty pitch!

Once we get a bit more organised further details will be posted on the website.

Cheers for now

44TH Dundee BB Coy Spring Church Parade

2007-04-09T18:04:00.000+01:00

The next two weeks will be a busy time for the Company.

This Saturday 14th April (NOT 21st as advetised in Battalion notes) sees our bandsmen competing in individual and pipe band competitions based at the 6/8th headquarters in Bright Street, Lochee.

Following the annual display and prize giving on 27th April, the Coy led by our pipe band will parade to the East Church building for its spring church service led by our chaplain, Mrs C E E Collins. All are welcome. Meet at Broughty Ferry pier at 10;40am for start time of 10:45pm.

Rod Taylor captain

New Website up and running

2007-04-05T14:53:00.000+01:00

Please take time to look at our new website. It has been down for a few weeks due to hardware failure at BBHQ, but everything should now be working again.

The guestbook will be up and running shortly, so please take time to leave your details.

The Webmaster

BB Display

2007-03-22T17:12:00.000Z

The BB display for the Anchor Boys, Junior Section and Company Section will be held on the following date

Friday 27th April 2007.

Watch this space and the website for more information.

Website Update

2007-03-22T17:10:00.000Z

Just to keep everyone informed regarding our website.

The main BB server crashed a few weeks back due to a hardware failure and they are working hard to get it back up an running.

It should hopefully be back in the next few days, so keep checking.

The Webmaster

Welcome to our blog - The online diary for the 44th Boys Brigade Dundee Company

2007-03-19T10:46:00.000Z

Welcome to the 44th Boys Brigade Dundee company blog.

This has been added as an addition to our website, which has now been up and running for about 6 months.

A blog is an online diary where posts can be added which will inform the boys, parents, friends or family of any up and coming events, results from competions or anything relating to the world of the 44th Dundee Boys Brigade.

If this is your first visit to our blog, please check back on a regular basis to ensure that you keep fully up to date with the news about the company.

All the very best and we hope you enjoy our website.

Please remember to leave an entry in our website guestbook if you have not already done so.

The Webmaster.