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This photo documentary was created for Grassroots Grants, managed by the North West London Community Foundation, which sponsored funding for getting our Crossfire project off the ground. It is a useful guide to the work inevitably involved when doing something worthwhile ;-)

To them, and to all the volunteers involved, a great big 'Thank You'

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A Youth United UK winter volunteer group painted every single pallet to match the woodland; before testing their efficacy in an almighty shootout the next day :-)

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New structures from which to advance or defend; to make our co-op games much more strategic, and encourage better team-based activity, including covering fire from teammates

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Having picked up a metal storage shed, and loads of wooden doors and pallets, from Freecycle; these hardy volunteers helped to erect it, and carry all the pallets to our paintball wood. We then had a blast of paintball shooting, while deciding on the best positions for these new defensive/offensive structures ;-)

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Once again, Youth United UK provided paintball facilities for UK HARP. On this occasion; Kenta and Kenneth, the HARP organisers, created the rules, strategies and gameplay for the players

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For UK HARP's summer workshop, Youth United UK provided paintball facilities for three groups of teenagers, catering for nearly 70 players

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After a series of challenging 'scary games' for the juniors in the afternoon; the seniors took over, and organised a full blown Halloween event in the evening :-)

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Always popular, an end of term get-together :-)

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Youth United UK members discuss what events the club should be hosting in the future

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Once again, masterchef Anthony McGuigan passes on his skills to the next generation

This photo shows Miwa Shaw, along with many other upstanding young local citizens, giving their time to represent the voice of young people in Harrow

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This session was less well-attended than usual, due to the half term holidays; but this did not deter our youngest member from getting stuck into our latest asset, a huge Quadro construction kit obtained from a school

The pictures show the scope of this kit; which we will definitely be using in future sessions

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During the half term, Jonathan, Masa, Robert, Takao and Yoshi went out on another bike trip, and successfully completed their first one-day expedition

55 miles from London to Windsor, via the Grand Union canal and back; taking in Great Windsor Park along the way

They started at 10am, and returned home around 8pm, and other than the usual punctures and axle problems, it went smoothly

Like all adventures, it was challenging (if it’s not challenging, it’s not an adventure…); but immensely fulfilling after it was over

They still intend to cycle the entire Ridgeway, London to Cleeve House, and back; but want to do a few more of these shorter(!) ones before they go for the big one ;-)

Thanks to Yoshi for the report and pics

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“A fulfilling adventure of challenge and self-discovery" - Victor Stout

"It was hard, but challenging. At first, I did not think it would be at the level of toughness that it was, but it was worth doing to the end. I'd do it time and time again because it brought good memories; and I strongly recommend others to come. It will test you, and push you for the better" - Kaz Sato

"Difficult, but I liked the challenge. Strongly suggest people come to the next one. Not a workshop to miss" - David Stout

"Outstanding fun-packed three days to challenge the most adventurous" - Anthony McGuigan

This was the first leadership workshop held at Cleeve House, by Mike Stout and Carlo Zaccarelli. Starting with a dark game in the woods, moving on to an interactive public speaking seminar in which all the participants ran the show, and finishing with a bushcraft movie - this was just the opening evening…

The next day was paintball games, which teach excellent lessons for life, for the whole day until it got dark; after which was further public speaking experience, and another bushcraft movie. By this time, the participants were already spotting useful mosses in the woods where they’d played...

A gruelling 12 mile hike to Beacon Hill and back took up most of the third day, with a major challenge at the halfway point

On their return, everyone was treated to a survival movie on attitude; and why people die in the wilderness (what do you have, to live for?)

On the last day, lessons in axe work were taught by Uncle Carlo; cutting logs for Cleeve House' welcoming open fireplace Other than staying at the stately 150 year old Cleeve House, no luxuries were provided; and all meals were cooked by the participants - outdoors and indoors

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Youth United UK once again provided paintball activities for 62 participants of the UK HARP Winter Workshop 09-10, which had a moral values theme of ‘DNA – Divine, Natural and Absolute’; and three two-hour sessions were held on their very popular Challenge Day

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‘Professor’ Colin Turfus (Uncle Colin) led the knockout heats of University Challenge; which spared no punches, and contained many questions that stumped most of the grown-ups present. I.e.

Q. What does the acronym TLA stand for?

Q. What is generic name given to numbers like the square root of minus one?

Q. How many hexagons make up a football?

He also went to prove that, while it is relatively easy to know all the answers while sitting in the audience; it is a darn sight harder to come up with them on stage, while under millisecond pressure…

Finally, and needless to say, despite several parents playing; it was the girls’ team that won :-)

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During the half term, Youth United UK’s Reamonn Batemann organised a day of ‘heartwash’; where kids could have a get-together in Central London, with a turnout of around 15. I thought it was a good opportunity for younger members to interact with the older ones

The schedule consisted of ice breakers from Uncle Mike’s (Mike Stout) legendary games, and a comic video about relationship in marriage. We had a delicious meal made by Michael Franklin (and vegetable chopping from Erena Shaw) to give us enough energy for the day. Then followed a short talk by Matthew Huish, who talked about important need-to know facts about purity in relationships, with valuable points we could relate to, and I am sure everyone found motivating. In the afternoon we had another session of sports in Hyde Park, both mentally and physically challenging (this time only a few scratches and bruises harhar…)

In the evening we had another beautiful meal from Michael Franklin, and we ended the day with a film, ‘Lady in the Water’ by M. Night Shyamalan - better known for ‘The Sixth Sense’. To be totally honest, I didn’t understand the film at all, but it was no doubt interesting to see Shyamalan drowning in a bog of his own creative juices

Overall, the day was pretty awesome; and it was good to be in the company of these incredible people. The only downside was the attendance, so hopefully if another opportunity comes along, people should take it!

Credit to Reamonn B, Michael F, Erena S, Jonathan B, Matthew H and Uncle Mike for the day!

Report by Lisa Hayashi

In a ‘round table’ discussion, around 20 Youth United UK members were asked what they'd like to do at future sessions. Questions were asked of the group collectively, with some of more vociferous ones responding instantly

We then went around the group again, eliciting comment one by one, with most offering suggestions, and a few remaining reticent; with all replies being noted

However, by the time we got to the third round of individual responses, everyone was contributing at a frenzied pace, with nobody abstaining :-)

Here is the complete (!) list of ideas submitted. Many have already been staged. Others are in the process of being acted upon. The remainder are simply awaiting organisation and volunteers

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES: Fishing, Fantasy Island, Theme park (Chessington?), Bouncy castles (on days out), Go Ape! treetop adventure course, Cycling Day, Bike Maintenance Day, Air Rifle shooting, Barbecue, London Zoo (bugs/mammals), Science Day, Outdoor Games Day, Construction poles challenges, Assault courses, Water games, Basketball, Volleyball, Bowling

INDOOR ACTIVITIES: Themed parties, Monthly birthday party, Jumble Sale (summer & winter), Prank Day, Public speaking training, University Challenge, Weakest Link, Brain Gym, Challenge Day, Toy Day, Disco/Rave party, Cool & Crazy Clothing Day, Drama Training, Police Demonstration, First Aid training, Talent Show, Indoor Games Day, Martial Arts training, Self Defence, Physical Challenges (weightlifting, flexibility, endurance), Singalong (Musical Day) including training, ‘12 Times Tables’ again, Dancing training, Halloween party, LAN (computer games) party, Circus acts and tricks training, Face Painting, Secret Santa, Dodgeball, 'Duck, duck, goose' game, Musical Chairs

EQUIPMENT: PS3 or Wii system for four players, Video projector for Wii, Headphone distribution unit for Wii, Inflatable boxing gloves/helmets/sumo suit, Footballs, Trampoline, Air hockey table, Mats for training, Air cannons, Water guns, Nerf guns, Laser Challenge

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Alex, Jonathan, Masa, Robert and Yoshi cycle 60 miles across the Chilterns part of the Ridgeway in a day; in preparation and planning for a forthcoming group bike ride across the entire Ridgeway; from London, to Cleeve House in Wiltshire

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Youth United UK was honoured to provide outdoor activities, including paintballing, to the 72 participants of the UK HARP Summer Workshop; the theme of which was ‘Rebels With A Cause’

Working alongside established HARP and STF coordinators, the most devious and advanced tasks were created for an unforgettable Challenge Day; which included six 90 minute paintball sessions, running consecutively!

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This summer, seven volunteers joined me for a week at the Alunelul orphanage in Moldova; with the intention of giving a hundred children a fun, memorable and exciting experience. We had no idea, at the time, that they would do the same for us

We were invited by the charity IRFF-Moldova, which is coordinated by Nicolae Carpala in the capital of Chisinau (Kishinev). From the poorest country in Europe, Nicolae works with a near-zero budget, an aging computer, an Eastern European resourcefulness, and an endless passion for helping the children of his country

The orphanage, which looks after children up to the age of 16, is well-run by the mainly female (and thus low paid) staff, who do an excellent job with the meagre resources they have. Children and staff share the same facilities - bedrooms and showers are communal, though segregated; toilets are basic 'squat holes'; outdoor showers are bracingly cold; and water comes out of the taps smelling of sewers (although when boiled, it's potable)

On arrival, we were immediately adopted by many of the children; and a few chose to escort each of us everywhere, wanting to assist as much as possible. For the entire week, a 12 year old girl, Catia, came over whenever she spotted me, without saying a word; to help me carry things, to hold my hand, and for hugs. She really misses her parents

Each day, we organised a two hour games session for under-12's in the morning, and another for over-12's in the afternoon. We took care to ensure that no game was repeated; to leave the youngsters, and the volunteers, with plenty of ideas after we’d gone

I have to admit that communicating through several translators at the same time was not easy; and my most constant frustrations were being unable to gauge the general feeling amongst the children, and misunderstanding what an occasional argument was about, which sometimes led me to react inappropriately or unfairly

Despite ten years’ experience of organising games and activities for young people, it was a challenge for me under the circumstances. However, I know that kids are the same the world over, and I had to adapt my games for language, culture (war games were out!), social concepts (many nouns from the Pictionary game had to be removed, as the children had no concept of then), ease of understanding, and the regular combination of multiple age groups when the timetable suddenly changed

On one day, before a games session, I discovered that my travel bag, containing my laptop, phone, diary, sat-nav, bank cards, plane tickets, and passport, had been stolen by one of the orphans, who had then run away to the city. The games session went on nonetheless; while the older children all piled into a minivan with the orphanage director, to scour the capital for him. Later that evening he, and my belongings, were returned, after visits to several ‘brokers’. It seems that my passport, with six years left on it, was the most valuable item. The boy received an extremely severe warning from the police, and the event caused a major stir amongst this close-knit, and generally well-behaved community

We also found that, for the whole of this week, there was virtually no room, nor time, for privacy and reflection. Most of the children lacked adult friendship; and the older teenagers, who were already parental figures to the younger ones, were desperately seeking guidance and example; so demands on our time and presence, by the children, was constant wherever we went

However, these inconveniences were outweighed by the sheer wealth of tangible and positive appreciation we received from the children and staff. Despite the exhaustion of our experience, it became one of the highlights of the volunteers’ lives, including my own; and watching the video of this week brings back so many wonderful memories, in which names that I’d forgotten come flooding back to me instantly

At the end of the video, you’ll see Mikhail (aka ‘Teddy Bear’) who, when no pump was available, single-handedly blew up the ‘fragball’ using lung power alone! At the end of the week, it was presented to him as a gift, to play this popular game after we’d gone

Gifts were also given to each of the children; and even though we’d brought nothing for the occasion, a single balloon or water bomb was gratefully accepted by each

Many of the children are multi-lingual, some are extremely talented, and all are hard-working and well-behaved. Most were the product of poor families, who simply could not afford to look after them; and I would have loved to have brought several of them back with me; to give them a chance in a country which did not require a large sum of money to ‘pass’ an exam, and the opportunity to share the same standard of living that I take for granted in the UK

Nevertheless, the experience has supplied many ideas about how our youth club members can keep in communication with IRFF-Moldova; share what we have with the children there; and truly become youth united to help others

Finally, my thanks to Nicolae for making this experience possible; to the volunteers who funded their own fare to Moldova for this occasion; and to the friend of Youth United UK who sponsored my flight; allowing me to fulfil their own desire to help these children by proxy; and for helping to get this international youth project off to a wonderful start

Report by Michael Stout

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Over 50 children from as far distant as Slovenia and Ireland, as well as the length and breadth of England, joined us for this year’s junior Summer Camp (for 8 to 11 year olds), at Cleeve House from 28 July to 03 August

From the outset, we wondered how it would be with the two new and unique aspects of this year’s camp: simultaneous translation for the Slovenian children, and canoeing on the canal on the outing day. However, when we started, the main challenge for us to deal with was the rain…

We had to quickly prepare a “Plan B” for a number of outdoor activities, which all worked well, but we couldn’t find a realistic alternative for the outing day. The weather angels clearly heard our desperation, and kept the outing day rain-free, which was quite remarkable considering the days before and after were both very wet indeed

We sent up a further plea for the last day, to give the children at least one chance to use the swimming pool that had taken so much time and effort to set up – and our prayers were answered again with a sunny Sunday, despite weather forecasts to the contrary

The canoeing was a wonderful activity, and everyone earned a “blue mile” along the canal. Two girls got a dunking, but stood up in the shallow canal smiling with glee, righted their capsized boat and getting back in!

Our Slovenian group were able to build friendships across the language barrier, and brought a special flavour to the week. They contributed to the family night sketch with wordless parts seamlessly integrated into their “company’s” performance. We also enjoyed some beautiful Slovenian songs

All in all, it was an “Amazing Voyage”, as depicted in our theme and final craft project; bringing us through the course of our journey from “Travelling in the Mist” to “Finding Company”, “Setting the Direction”, “Helping Each Other Through Storms” and finally “Defeating the Sea Monster”

Many thanks to all the staff, teenage team leaders, and Cleeve House staff, as well as to all the parents who entrusted us with their children and supported us with their prayers

Report by Chris Le Bas

In Youth United UK's version of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?', all the participants were teamed up for a rapid-fire succession of impromptu games, where they had to use their imagination, skill and wit to quickly think their way through implausible situations, while points were deducted for hesitation or repetition. The scenarios included:

'Word Disassociation' - Like table tennis doubles, except with words; where each word given had to have nothing whatsoever to do with the previous one. Anybody was free to challenge, if they could spot a connection :-)

'Question Time' - One person on each team kept a conversation going, but had to answer every question with another question. As soon as one of them actually made a statement, they were replaced by another team member

'Lopsided Limericks' - One team had to create each line of limerick, player by player, bringing it through to a logical and humorous conclusion

'Multifunctional Disorder'- Each team, player by player, had to alternately come up with, describe, and demonstrate, a different use for an item like a snooker ball, or a musical triangle. We stopped at 40 expositions per team...

'Alphabet Soap' - A member of each team enacted a scene from a movie, but each line of script had to start with A, then B, then C, etc

'Thrown Punchline' - Each team were given the punchline to a story ("Oh jeepers, cried the frog, as the accountant fell off the roof" vs "That's all well and good, but can I have my pyjamas back?"), and took it in turns to continue the story, each time the whistle blew. The team to get to their punchline first were the winners, but it wasn't easy...

By popular demand, we shall very likely have more fun like this, this Saturday 20 June. If you want to be on a team, then just turn up. Then we might surprise you and do something completely different, but just as challenging :-)

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Master chef Anthony McGuigan guided 14 young cooks through the 'course' of the afternoon, ensuring they all got their (clean) hands dirty; first making fairy cakes; and then, while they were cooking, moved on to pizzas, using only fresh ingredients

Each cook created their own masterpiece, and was able to taste it freshly out of the oven

Once the cakes had cooled, they were decorated with various combinations of melted hazelnut spread, lemon icing, vanilla cream and a panoply of toppings

Our original plan had been to sell them at Sunday Schools next day, but it proved so difficult to separate the creators from their creations, that this idea had to be abandoned... :-)

All the best

Mike (Club Leader and Chairman)

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On this, the last youth club event of the spring term, we held our Entertainment Day; in which everyone in the audience was invited to present some form of entertainment for the benefit of everybody else.

Like our public speaking training, it was held in front of a very supportive audience; and for several children, it was their first time on stage.

For others, like Cara, who has performed on TV, it was another opportunity to fine-tune their skills, and she did not disappoint us with an exquisitely and intricately performed Irish dance.

Gianni held an interactive session with each member of the audience creating spontaneous music and percussion, with the aid of a miniature synthesiser.

Aunties Cathy, Helena, and Keiko rendered songs from their native Ireland, Scotland and Japan; and Uncle Mike regaled us with the tale of his unfortunate relative, and friendly neighbourhood bringer of destruction, Leopold Alcox.

Brother and sister team Kaz and Il Shim performed on vocals and guitar; and sisters Diana and Gloria harmonised in a vocal duet.

This was before it all devolved into everyone overcoming their stage fright, and coming up on stage to tell jokes. Mission accomplished...

We meet again in the summer term, on 25 April. In the meantime, all our games equipment will be serviced; and we'll have an additional table soccer that will be a lot more realistic, owing to the unevenness of the playing area :-)

All the best

Mike (Club Leader and Chairman)

Although Réamonn, our regular photographer, was away at a media conference today; we were fortunate to have Anthony McGuigan, former president of Harrovian's speakers' club, running a seminar on Evaluation

This is in line with our regular public speaking training, which is based upon the well-established worldwide 'Toastmasters' format

Starting with a talk and demonstration on the art of sharpening knives, he then asked each member of the audience to return the favour; and give him, not a criticism of his talk, but an evaluation

This consisted of a 'sandwich' made up of 1. Something that they liked about what he did, followed by 2. What they thought could be improved, and concluding with 3. Something they loved about his presentation

Next, everyone partnered up and, using techniques they'd previously learned about thinking on the spot, each gave a 1 minute talk on a subject chosen spontaneously by a Topics Master

This was then evaluated, using the same 'sandwich' technique as before, by their partner; until everyone had had a turn at both speaking and evaluating

Because most adults would rather die than speak in public, we classify it as an extreme sport; making sure that we get in regular practice, before many layers of avoidance create a protective barrier against any chance of doing so when we're older ;-)

Mike (Club Leader and Chairman)

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This Saturday, we had Breakdance training, led by Jude Greaves of WAIT UK; who led 19 participants (at first) through a series of basic breakdance and popping 'katas' :-)

This is extreme stuff, as you can tell from the photos of the more advanced masters of the art; and only the bravest nine were left to continue as the session neared the end, while the others practised the more basic movements, or dropped out altogether (ahem...)

I was fascinated by the energy in the air, that was captured by the camera in the last pic!

All the best

Mike (Club Leader and Chairman)

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This Saturday saw the start of the first EMP youth club, for Youth United UK's over-12's, at our new hall

All the best

Mike (Club Leader and Chairman)

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This Saturday we held a film making seminar, run by one of our media trainers Réamonn Bateman; learning how to emulate multi-million pound epics on no budget whatsoever, using whatever is lying around (Sweding :-)

The results will soon be uploaded

We finally have access to the snooker table, the table tennis table, and the table soccer, er, table. However, we are looking for our own equipment for these, so if anyone has a table tennis net, bats and balls; or a set of snooker balls and cues they don't need, please let me know.

The over-13's disco was organised and run totally by the teenagers involved. This included all the music, PA system, lighting, food, and advertising. A great time was had by all, and we hope to hold another within a few months.

There will be no youth club during the half term holiday, so we'll meet again on 28 Feb; when Jude Greaves, WAIT's front man, will be teaching break-dancing to all ages. Since we now have a wooden floor, please wear old and loose clothes for this ;-)

All the best

Mike (Club Leader and Chairman)

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Today's activity was called 'Twelve Times Tables', because that's how many we used; each with a different set of activities; including Lego, metal Meccano, plastic (Junior) Meccano, Warhammer 40K, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Chess, Risk, Scrabble, Dominoes, Guitar Hero, Biscuit Art, Masque Making, and a Bring and Buy Sale

Everyone there asked us to stage the activity again, since it gave them so many things to do, with friends, in an afternoon; with bags of space to do it, and plenty of munchies :-)

Our next meeting is on the 7th Feb, when the main event will be 'Movie "Sweeding" Techniques' for making your own short films.

We'll also have access to the hall's table tennis, snooker, and table soccer facilities.

On the same day, from 19:00 to 22:00, in the same hall, will be an 'over-12's only' event, a rockout organised by Diana and Il Shim. This will be by invitation and confirmation only; so if you're interested, please contact either by phone, email or FaceBook.

All the best

Mike (Club Leader and Chairman)

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Five teams of two young participants made their way around two sets of five 10 minute challenges, with a short break in between the sets

1. 'Buzzwire' was a challenge of focus, with a half point awarded for each time the circuit was successfully completed, without completing the circuit :-)

2. 'Guitar Hero' was about coordination, matching up finger actions on the fretboard with the notes coming up on the screen. It's not as easy as those guys up on the stage make it look...

3. 'Push-Ups' - starting out from a fully stretched out position, a point was awarded for every ten full boys' push-ups, from the toes; and a half point for every ten full girls' push-ups, from the knees. Congratulations to Alicia and Elizabeth, who wiped the floor with the others by doing boys' push-ups for the entire period!

4. 'Survival' was about the right actions to take in emergency situations, with a point for each correct response

5. 'Sidekicks' was a journey of imagination, with each team enacting out characters from a variety of scenarios. Uncle Colin awarded points for drama, dialogue and communication

6. 'A Matter of Taste' rewarded the ability to discern combinations of ingredients while blindfolded, with half a point for each correctly identified combo. Butter and mayonnaise was generally declared to be the most vomit-inducing, with coffee and orange the yummiest :-P

7. 'Mission Impossible' was the most physically challenging and disorientating, with players suspended upside down, and six wooden batons arranged hexagonally on the floor around them; receiving half a point for each baton retrieved. Narumi literally wiped the floor, using her hair, during this one; successfully clearing it of ketchup, onions, crisps, chewing gum and boiled sweets; and our youngest player Paulo (6) insisted on doing it twice, since he said he was too young to answer the Mensa questions...

8. 'Mensa Quiz' awarded half a point for each advanced general knowledge question answered correctly

9. 'Lateral Thinking' involved questions with very un-obvious answers; unless you're trained to think so far outside the box, that the box no longer exists for you any more... ;-)

10. In 'Split Words', teams were shown a different word every two minutes. During this time they had to come up with as many other words as possible that could be made from it. One point was awarded for every ten letters used in the new words

A big thank you to Victoria, who agreed to team up with little Paulo; and ran the first set of challenges herself because Paulo was at a birthday party for the first half...

Thanks to our teenage members - David, Diana, Gloria, Il Shim. and Kaz - who staffed the challenges for the younger ones

Thanks, also, to our staff who regularly give up their Saturdays - Auntie Cathy for running Crafts, Uncle Colin for running the Drama Group, and Auntie Keiko for running the kitchen and Tuck shop

Our next meeting will be on Saturday 24 Jan, when we'll be taking advantage of the extra space we now have by setting up a large variety of activities around the room. These will include various Crafts, Meccano, Lego, Warhammer, Chess, Risk, Yu-Gi-Oh, Bring and Buy, Guitar Hero, Food Fun, Puzzles, Charades, Potato Painting, and others

If you have any more ideas of what you'd like to do in our new place, please let me know

All the best

Mike (Club Leader and Chairman)

More photos here