Today, Monday 8th February 2010, marks the 100th birthday of the world’s second largest national Scouting organisation, the BSA. So, a big Happy Birthday to the whole organisation and to its many members! I’m sure that there will be a lot to hear and read about from my friends in the USA whose blogs and podcasts are in my links. Please take a minute to check them out – they’re all rather good!
However, it’s not just the BSA who are celebrating the impressive achievement of being 100 years old this year. I know of at least 3 other parts of the Scouting family celebrating their Centenaries this year. Of course there are oodles more, but these are just the ones I know of!
First of all the Guides are 100 this year. They were created by BP and his sister to cater for the growing number of girls who wanted to be Scouts, but Edwardian sensibilities wouldn’t allow them to do so. Check out their centenary website here.
Then there are the Scouts in Falkenberg Sweden who are 100 this year. They have already started their celebrations and you can read about them here (this is the link to the Google translation from Swedish into English. I hope it does them justice).
The first part of the UK Scout Law states that ‘A Scout is to be Trusted’. This law applies to both young people and Leaders alike, no exception. SM Jerry has posed something similar recently when he talks about honesty and setting a good example.
So it is quite sad to read in our local newspaper that an ex Scout Leader from a local Troop has been convicted of benefit fraud and sentenced to pay back over £3000 and do 60 days community service.
The account in the paper has all the usual scouting clichés that are used when reporting something to do with Scouts.
Now I do not know him, nor to my knowledge have I ever met him, but there do seem to be a couple of points of interest here. First of all he was claiming incapacity benefit for a damaged back and was unable to walk without a stick, but was ‘caught’ doing Scouting activities like hiking. Secondly on the comments section of the online reports I’ve read, a couple of his ex Scouts have written to say what a good Leader he was and how much he taught them.
So it seems that, possibly, he mad some silly decisions regarding his claims, but was a good Leader. However he and to some degree his Group are now tarred with a bad name. Which is a shame as someone with a previously good name and has done good work in the community is now a criminal
I found this site the other day which allows people to create their own videos by using old archive ones. So I had a look and came up with some that showed local Scouts in years gone by.
There are, in fact, four videos here that I have stitched together.
The first is the visit by King George V and Queen Mary to Stoke-on-Trent in 1925. Although no Scouts are shown, it would be highly improbable that they wouldn’t be there for such an important visitor.
The second shows Scouts parading with their band in Dresden in 1941. There is a shot of some Guides at the end as well.
The next shows the VE Day celebrations on 8th May 1945, in, and I’m guessing here, Hanley. Some Brownies and Guides can be seen before the Scouts are shown throwing an effigy of Lord Haw Haw on a bonfire!
Finally, there is clip of the Scout Rally held at Port Vale’s football ground in 1951.
When I get chance, I’ll have a look at some of the old documents I am looking after to see if there is any mention of King George’s visit and the Rally. I’m quite sure that some of my Group’s Scouts and Cubs would have attended the Rally, so it will be interesting to see what I can find out about it. Watch this space!
It’s that time of year, where after the annual Census has been completed, it’s now time to pay up! For each Scout (& Beaver etc.) and Leader, the Group has to pay an amount to the District, which is then passed onto the County and finally the Scout Association at Gilwell. Each level takes there own ‘cut’, with the majority going to Gilwell and this money is what helps run Scouting at these levels. The total payable per member tends to vary between Districts as, although the amount charged by Gilwell is the same for everyone, Districts and Counties can charge what they want. This year we have to pay £25 per person.
This year my Group has recorded 74 members (up by 10 on last year!) which means we’ve had to pay £1850! Now we always pay as soon as possible as it means it’s then paid and out of the way.
We get our money back by getting the parents to pay in February / March after we have paid out our money. This means we are playing catch up with receiving the money and we always end up somewhat out of pocket (the Group pays for the Leaders, which is a contributing factor).
Getting money out of the people normally isn’t too much of a problem, but at times it can be. And this situation is not just specific to UK Groups. A forum post on the PTC Media forums was discussing the fact that some people seem very reluctant to pay.
It seems that some people think that because we are Scouts and a volunteer organisation (yep, my salary as Group Scout Leader is a whopping £0!!!) paying up on time isn’t as important than, say to the kid’s football team or paying for piano lessons.
If a family has some issues paying, if they talk to the Group then arrangements can be made. We all want their kids to benefit from Scouting and not have to remove them from the Group, but if parents refuse to pay up of ‘forget’ then hard decisions have to be made. It is not fair that the Group ends up out of pocket because of a refusal to pay.
I’ve recently been bombarded with spam emails on my Scout Group’s email account. Some of these have been particularly devious as they pretend to contain new settings for my email account. And one of these nearly caught me out! Now I’d like to think that I’m fairly savvy about these kind of things, but I had look twice at this and check with my hosting company (I set up and pay for the Group’s web space) to make sure I wasn’t about to make a hideous mistake. I did take a look at the site it wanted me to go to and the file it asked me to download was a virus! Nice.
A lot of Scout Groups etc. have their own web sites and use their own domains and could get these kind of nasty emails, and someone could click on the link thinking it was genuine, run the file and get a nasty virus.
The most annoying thing is that I’ve been very careful not to put this email address on any websites so it can be lifted by spammers. What is likely to have happened is that someone who has my address has themselves got a virus which then emails out more spam etc etc.
Of course spam isn’t likely to go away as it is big ‘business’ and makes up around a staggering 45% of all emails. However, some of the evil people who send out this junk are getting caught and fined!
If you want to reduce the chances of getting this junk take a look here for some ideas.
As for me, I think it’s time for some Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and Spam.
The other day I got a comment on the post I made in February last year about International Scouting.
As those of you who come by here often are aware, I am fascinated by the fact we’re a worldwide movement and there are Scouts in virtually every country in the world. However, this comment is a little out out of the ordinary its writer, Sanda, is from Madagascar.
Now I’m the first to admit that I knew nothing of Scouting in that country and therefore, I’m really pleased that Sanda left a link to the Madagascan Scouting website.
I’ve had a good look around the site and now I know a bit more about Scouting in that particular bit of Africa.
In the UK, camping in snowy weather is somewhat unusual these days and we don’t get the same opportunities to do so as, for example, SM Jerry’s Troop. However, the Scouts from my Troop are currently at a weekend camp and are surrounded by snow. As should be expected, they have gone fully prepared for the weather and from what I hear they are all having a great time. I’m just rather disappointed that I wasn’t able to join them this time! I’m looking forward to the photos though.
As well as my Troop camping this weekend, another camp has gone ahead and has been reported in the national media. The country is having problems with the current weather situation with much transport disrupted and many schools being closed. However, the Winter Camp at Gilwell has gone ahead! The BBC sent a reporter there and it would appear that he had to be helped by a Scout when the batteries in his recording equipment ran out!
All this proves that if you are prepared for the adverse conditions, a fun and, most importantly, safe time can be had!
If you want to read more about being prepared for cold weather camping (albeit with a backpacking slant), I cannot recommend SM Jerry’s blog highly enough.
Every year, each Scout Group has to complete a census. This is information that the Scout Association asks for each year to find out the numbers of young people and leader in each Group.
Once the Group has filled in their details, the District then collates the information from each Group in the District and submits their information and the County does the same and so on. This then gives the SA an accurate indication of how many people in the Movement.
This year I’ve recorded 77 young people (Beavers, Cubs and Scouts) and adults in the Group. Now, this is the highest number of people in the Group we have recorded since the modern records we have began in 1971. We also have an increase of 14 people on the previous year which is quite impressive.
Some people may think that 77 people is a lot for a Group and some may think it is not many, but for us its about right. We can take a few more young people in each section and more adults (we never say no to adult helpers!), but for us there isn’t much more physical space in the hall, so many more would be difficult.
But another year on year increase in numbers is a good sign that our Group is doing well!
I was looking in my bookcase the other day and came across a book by a hero of mine that I’d forgotten I had.
‘Great Contemporaries’ by Winston S. Churchill is a series of essays he wrote in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s about famous people (Douglas Haig, Adolph Hitler, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George V etc.) with a further four written in 1939. One of the four written in 1939 was about Baden-Powell. The last two paragraphs are very interesting:
The Great War swept across the world. Boy Scouts played their part. Their keen eyes were added to the watchers along the coasts; and in the air raids we saw the spectacle of children of twelve and fourteen performing with perfect coolness and composure the useful functions assigned them in the streets and public offices.
Many venerable, famous institutions and systems long honoured by men perished in the storm; but the Boy Scout Movement survived. It survived not only the War, but the numbing reactions of the aftermath. While so many elements in life and spirit of the victorious nations seemed to be lost in stupor, it flourished and grew increasingly. Its motto gathers new national significance as the years unfold upon our island. It speaks to every heart its message of duty and honour: ‘Be Prepared’ to stand up faithfully for Right and Truth, however winds may blow.
This was written in 1939 when the Scouting movement was ‘only’ 32 years old and BP was still alive and the Chief Scout of the World. I suspect BP was at the time still surprised at the movement’s growth and longevity.
Since then, the Movement has carried on growing and has past its centenary and is a healthy 102 years old. It has seen off many other organisations, just as Churchill suggested 70 years ago. Indeed, other parts of movement are also celebrating their centenaries in the next 12 months – the Guides, the BSA and many Scout groups in the UK and in other countries (Falkenberg Sweden for example).
Be Prepared is still a motto that is perfect for a worldwide movement and one for the 21st Century.
So something written over 70 years ago by someone who was one of the greatest leaders of all time is still as relevant today!
My Group’s Assistant Scout Leader popped round to see me last night to drop off some Christmas cards and let me know how the Troop was getting on in my absence (I’m taking a break from day to day Scouting for the next month or so for obvious reasons).
As well as cards he had a small Christmas present for me from one of the Scouts. Now to get a Christmas gift from one of the Scouts is quite unusual and unexpected, but what makes it more so is who it was from.
When we restarted the Troop in March 2007, he was one of one of the original intake and after not very long, we had him sized up as a bit of a troublemaker. Not naughty or bad as such, but always in the middle of something and not able to listen or shut his mouth! We didn’t think he’d last too long.
Next month the District Commissioner is coming to one of our Troop meetings to present this young man with his Chief Scout’s Gold Award, the highest award a Scout can get! He’s also helping out at Beavers and is a very enthusiastic Scout! He still has a bit of a gob on him, but I think he’ll go far and even achieve his Queen’s Scout Award!
At some point on Monday, I recorded my 10,000th hit on my blog! This figure is based on the Wordpress stats that have been recorded since January 2008, although my Feedproxy stats give a totally different figure!
So to everyone who has stopped by and read or listened to what I have to say – a huge thank you! I’m always impressed that anyone is interested in what I may have to say.
Again, thank you for all the comments and emails and all the new friends I’ve made through my little corner of the internet!
Those fine folks at PTC Media have done it again and created a new podcast! The new one is ‘Moms In Scouting Service’ and is a podcast ‘from the perspective of volunteering mothers’. Obviously, it has an American slant (odd that, as they are all Americans!), but it is still an interesting listen and puts across some good points – we’re all Scouts after all, no matter which county!
I’ve said this before, but I think the PTC stuff is always very interesting and very professionally produced. They are also a very friendly bunch who are welcoming to ‘us foreigners’!
BUT, they are American and not British, like wot I am! This is no disrespect to them, but I’d quite like to listen to something a bit more local to me as well. The only one I can find is Scouting Radio based in Dublin.
So I thought ‘Google to the rescue’ – not quite. Searching for ‘Scouting Podcasts’ brings up these results which shows up a lot of BSA stuff and a lot of Cubmaster Chris’s earlier efforts which he posted in various places (interesting to listen to). Doing the same search with the UK filter on gives these results which has my own very modest efforts at the top
It’s a shame more UK Scouters don’t do podcasts, or blogs for that matter, as I’m sure we all have a lot to offer each other.
Today, Monday 8th February 2010, marks the 100th birthday of the world’s second largest national Scouting organisation, the BSA. So, a big Happy Birthday to the whole organisation and to its many members! I’m sure that there will be a lot to hear and read about from my friends in the USA whose blogs and podcasts are in my links. Please take a minute to check them out – they’re all rather good!
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