Boys Brigade

The object of the BB is “The advancement of Christ’s Kingdom amongst boys and the promotion of habits of obedience, reverence, discipline and self-respect, and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness.”

Meeting Times

The Boys Brigade meets Fridays approx Sept thru March

• Anchor boys (P2-3)   6 - 7pm
• Juniors  (P4 - 6)    6.30 - 7.45pm
• Company Section (P7 - 18yrs)  7.00 - 10.00pm

Events

• On Thursday evening, two of our Company boys, Peter Farquhar and Craig Robertson were presented with their Queen’s Badge Award at a ceremony at St. Paul’s Church. This was attended by some forty boys from as far away as Edinburgh and Kilsyth. As well as the Queen’s Badge, a number of boys were presented with Duke of Edinburgh Silver and Gold Awards.
  Presentations were made by Gregor Townsend MBE, himself a Galashiels Queen’s Man.
  Peter and Craig have put a large amount of work into their Queen’s Badge and both boys are to be congratulated for their efforts.
  
  Last weekend saw the Company section’s annual camp at Earlston. Thirteen boys and three officers attended. After a late night on Friday, Saturday saw glorious weather and a range of activities from water slides and fights, to capture the flag and manhunt in the evening. Sunday’s wet weather failed to dampen spirits. The boys attended the morning service at Earlston Church and a good number of parents came to visit in the afternoon.
  Our sincere thanks to the many people who contributed in numerous ways to making this such a successful camp. Thanks also to Adam and Danny for their support and to Jane for visiting us on Saturday

About our Boys Brigade

The Boys’ Brigade continues to meet every Friday between September and March.  Our membership currently stands at over 60 boys and we have 9 officers and helpers.

The Anchor Boys is the smallest Section at present.  The boys in this section work towards their Anchor Achievement badge.  The weekly programme consists of a varied programme of games, crafts and Bible stories.  The boys competed in the Battalion painting competition and enjoyed an evening at the pantomime.  Anchors is open to boys in Primary 2 and 3.

In the Junior Section the boys continue with badge work each week.  They aim to achieve their Gold in Primary 7, but we have had a number of boys staying on for a further year in order to get this before moving up to the Company Section.  The Juniors have visited Radio Borders, the Fire Station and the pantomime this year.  Every evening starts off with a half hour Bible study.

The theme of the Bible study continues in the Company Section.  Each week we pick a topic from the Bible and relate this back to our daily experiences.  The boys enjoy this new approach to reading and discussing the Bible.  We have been lucky enough to have another two boys gain the Queen’s Badge this session.  This is the ultimate award in the Boys’ Brigade and it means a lot of hard work for the boys.  The Company have competed in the Battalion Football, Quiz, Table Tennis and Scripture Knowledge competitions.

We are beginning to get a reputation that we are willing to accept boys of all abilities in the Company.  We have had boys coming along because members of the community have recommended us. 

Both the Juniors and Company will be returning to Grantshouse in June for our annual camp, and next year we are aiming to resurrect the Burns’ Supper.  The annual quiz night in April continues to be a very enjoyable night, and our display night in March proves to be extremely entertaining.

Neil Kimber (Captain)

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Last Friday the Company Section had a visit from Kenny Houston of Lothian & Borders Police to talk about drugs and alcohol. The talk was very informative and we hope that the Boys took on board what was said.