Memories Cafe

We’re delighted to update our readers on our new initiative, the Memories Cafe.  The planning is done and we’re up and running.

Our SECOND CAFE was on Sunday, 5 April 2026, when we had all our flags and pennants on display.  Our pennants were collected by Rover Scouts on their travels, along with some unusual ones they picked up over the years – one to commemorate the coronation of King George VI, another for a Rover Scout Moot in 1939; there were also some lovely handsewn ones.

Our flags were our Troop colours, other Group related flags, two from our past camps in Denmark, and the highlight being the commemorative flag which was commissioned for our 50th anniversary year.

We think it’s safe to say that everyone who visited the Cafe had a favourite pennant and flag – be it the colours, date, or the imagery on it.  Add to that we had a short quiz on the flags and pennants along with a challenge on which way is the right way to fly a Union flag, so there was lots to see and do.   We’re delighted everyone enjoyed their afternoon and thank them for supporting us.

Our next Cafe is on Sunday, 3 May 2026, when the theme is maps and compass.  We guarantee we will be two very unique maps of Renfrew, and one related to Paisley on display, so we look forward to seeing you.

You don’t need to have a connection to the Scouts to come along as we’re part of local history, so please do come along for a cuppa and a natter, along with the chance to see items from our archive, which link to local and Scouting history.

Here’s a little bit of background as to why we think the Cafe is important and will become an integral part of our Scout Group:

When we realised how large and varied our archive is, we thought we should use it for community support.  To progress this we spoke to Alzheimer Scotland with a view to us setting up a monthly coffee afternoon for everyone in our area, including Scouts/former Scouts, and anyone who has a Scout connection, especially those who have dementia and their carers (equally the carer could have been a Scout), using the archive as a talking point to bring back memories.  If you have no Scout connection, you’ll also be welcome to visit us to see our archive, have a cuppa and a chat.

We’re delighted that Alzheimer Scotland are happy to support us and assisted by providing Dementia Awareness Sessions.  The Sessions were very interesting and informative in helping us prepare for our Memories Cafe, so our sincere thanks to Carolyn Irvine, the Renfrewshire Dementia Adviser for giving up her evenings to lead the Sessions.