Last night when I popped in to see the Cubs, I made the mistake of mentioning that I was off to Hanley today to get a load of badges. I’m investing five or six (I really ought to know how many I’m doing, shouldn’t I?) Scouts on Tuesday, so needed the relevant badges. I’ve also been trawling through the record cards to pick up if we’ve missed any badges that need to be awarded.
As soon as I mentioned that I was getting badges, both the Beaver Leader and Cub Leader pounced on me as they wanted some as well!
So off I went this morning to the shop which sells badges. Now this isn’t a Scout Shop, but it’s the only place which sells badges locally. it is getting noticeable how they are getting less interested in selling Scout uniforms, badges and the associated paperwork etc. Of the badges I asked for, they did not have any World Scout badges or County badges. When I asked when they would be in, I was told ‘at least 2 – 3 weeks’. Hmm, now I can understand not having the full range of badges and not stocking the more obscure ones, but these are the ones that EVERYONE has.
I have to say that considering I spent £54 and had around £20 worth on order, they didn’t seem too bothered. Not very good really 
I’ll now have to borrow some badges from the Cubs so I can do the investitures.