Sumer is a comyn in.....

Sing loud Cuckoo... although with the decline in said bird's numbers, that seems less and less likely all the time..... and although luckily Scouting is not in decline like so many of our native and visiting songbirds, we are still struggling.... and, although this may not be the trendy thing to say, I think we'll be struggling for quite some time.... and, dare I say it, I can see at least one of the reasons why.... now, I think that most of you (or at least some of you) would agree that two of our biggest stumbling blocks are lack of adult help, and concerns over health and safety.... now this latter is one of the things that prevents us recruiting and retaining.... some see us as dangerous, some see us as a bit too wussy.... the first alienates parents, and the second disinterests the kids.... and striking a balance is always going to be a bit of a tough act.... personally, i'm of the opinion, and it is only my opinion, that as long as everyone involved knows what they're getting into, and those in cahrge are properly trained, then we should get on with it.... lets be honest, in the seventies and eighties, and long before, Scouts aged 11 and up would set off into the country on bike, buses, train, handcarts, whatever, with no adults, and approach strange farmers ith request for fields, water and food.... and gues what.... it worked..... and for any who are now shaking heads and saying, well, it was a safer world back then, you could leave your front door unlocked, etc.... I have only one thing to say... and that's Myra Hindley..... the world is no les or no more safe than it ever was.... it is only our perceptions that have changed..... and our attitude to teaching our children how to be safe.... when I was young, oh so many years ago, we were taught to be safe, taught to look out for things, but without being scared out of going out... nowadays the trend seems to be towards convincing youngsters to not take any chances, either real or imgined, by scaring them into staying in.... which is a shame.... understanble in a way, but still a shame.... as an example, my son, who is a Pl at my group (no accusations of nepotism please...) has plans for this summer holiday... including hikes, trips, and so on... now, when he asked one of his patrol to come along, he was asked which leders ere coming along, and he replied none of them, that was the end of that... the lad in question is 14, by the way.... now, isn't that sad.... but I'm getting away from the main point.... which is this.... our biggest problem is that we can't get enough adults... now if we manage to convince all these time-strapped people who can't help out because they work full time and have kids( like Scout Leaders obviously do not...) ... and I've already stated elsewhere that I don't think that will happen.... parents mainly would rather watch eastenders in peace than use time otherwise..... but in order to recruit and retain the people who are interested ( in my experience, ex scouts, outdoorsy types, and single people in their 20s and 30s.....) the most basic, major thing we can do is this.... LIGHTEN UP,STOP TALKING IN JARGON, AND FOR ALL THE GODS' SAKES, GET RID OF THAT HIGHLY IG, OFFENSIVE AND OFFPUTTING CLIQUEY INSULAR ATTITUDE!!!!! and I mean that most sincerely..... the amount of Groups I have encountered where to be in the loop you have to be one of the lads, (or gals) is astounding.... the amount of offers of help I have seen turned down.. the amount of Groups with long waiting lists who would rather let kids go without scouting than convince them to join the nearly empty group down the road.... it's an invidious, insidious cancer, and it ust be stopped..... as Scouts we should be welcoming, accepting, helpful, kind, and above all we hould have written down a list of jobs that need doing.. then when we get the offer of help, however vague, we can get out the list and say, well, actually, our spoo needs fleeming... any chance you could do it for us.....please.... but our awful internal politics, backbiting and lack of acceptance of outsiders is often far too close to Royston Vasey to be believed.... and it is incredibly discouraging.... especialy to the people we are supposed to be attracting.... now, a bit of friendly innter-group or inter-district rivalry is undoubtedly a good thing... but sometimes our love of cliques looks in danger of us going th way of the cuckoo..... so, when you've finished shaking in outrage at this attack, take long look at your leaders, your group, your district, and ask... if I was a parent, how would i feel if i could listen in on one of our meetings..... and on that note, I'll just say, enjoy the summer, have a good camp, and rememebr hat we're here for.. and thats making sure that the young people in our care get the start in life that they need...... so, until next time, keep on scouting!!!