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!!!

good lord.. look at the time...

and poor old me has not been on this blog for far too long.. unfortunately personal circumstances and a bit of anti technological jiggery pokery all ganged up on me, but suffice to say, i'm sort of back.. with morre of the jolly japery you've all come to know and ignore.... so, first and foremost a fond farewell to our esteemed DC, Richard "Nev" Nevin, promoted through no fault of his own to the heights of the county, and we all wish him good fortune.... definitely one of the best DCs we have seen, and we will all miss him... I know who we would like to succeed him, here at Thringstone, but time will tell.. in the meantime, good luck to young Mrs Chris Beeby who will be filling in until a new DC arrives.... and welcome to our new Chief Scout, whom I believe is actually the first in living memory who was known to our young uns before he got the job.... so, Bear, lets have some adventure..... and welcome as well to the oftimes neglected and ignored Mr Bullpit, our Chief Commissioner....hopefully this new team will be able to solve the tricky problem of how to get adults involved..... now, getting the older ones involved is certainly a problem, and has been for a while.... and remembering that these are not the views of scouting as a whole, but merely my controversial two pennorth, look at the state of the Network.... originally, as i was led to believe, the basis of this section was that all members over the age of 18 and under 25 were to automatically be members... but is this the case.... young Joe Smith is making considerable headway in our district, but I refuse to believe that we have only 30 or so members in that age group.... and this could be a great way of increasing our adults..... one thing that was posited, that doesn't seem to happen, was that every 18 year old was to recieve a birthday card or some such extolling the virtue of membership.... which is good.. but i think a better solution would be to send every 17 yera old a Network Membership card.... complete with a list of events in the coming year.... tell every member of a student scout and guide thingy that they are automatically in the local network.... and make sure they are invited personally to events.... and to really get the ball rolling, why not act like most junk mail firms, get access to the electoral roll etc, and send cards to everyone who is going to be 18.... but communication is always a weak point.... and it is something we as an organisation really need to work on.... to be honest, the idea of targeting parents is not working.. most of them have no interest in Scouting other than that it gives them a few jhours off..... and fair play to them.. its not everyones cup of tea.... obviously, some of them are interested, and its usually fairly obvious which ones.... but to be perfectly honest, we don't Shout for Scouting as much as we should.... as an example, in the last big review, it was pointed out that most employers, while having heard of the Dof E awards, had no idea about the existence of the QSA, never mind what it entailed.. the main solution posited was, scrap the QSA, and lets concentrate on the D of E.. the answer should have been, lets bombard employers with stuff about the QSA.. invite the bosses to local and national events to showcase what scouting can do..... and when it comes to attracting adult help, lets appeal to selfishness, at least to some extent... tell people that through Scouting they can achieve nationally recognised qualifications, all sorts of contacts, great training, and all at a very low cost.... i mean, how many people out there know that Scout training can, in some cases, qualify you for membership of (iirc) the Institute of Managers and Leaders.... which in turn opens all sorts of doors.... lets really ram these things down peoples throats, and who knows what could happen... but lets all plug the Network, plug the benefits of Scouting for Adults, and lets see if we can't get what we want... which is good Scouting for every young person who wants it.... but its late, I'm forgetting to use apostrophes, and I can't even remember who I'm supposed to be... but for my alter ego's take on Bear Grylls, go to www.wisebeard.blogspot.com.... I'm now off to beddy byes.... but until we all Gryll Bears, keep on Scouting.....

Pancakes.....

Pancakes... pancakes... pancakes..... hundreds of pancakes.... and me with a milk intolerance..... cooking pancakes.. tossing pancakes..... cooking more pancakes..... pancakes..... and the beavers made better ones than the Scouts..... which has to be symbolic of something... pancakes.....

So here we all are....

for some its a new year, for some still the old one, and for someof us we're a few months in already.... but does it really matter..... i spent the evning of Dec 31 babysitting, which was possibly more rewarding than the usual (which for me involves a few dvds, a hoover and the Scout Hut.... don't ask...) but I spent some time on a sofa reflecting on activities that we just don't seem to do anymore.. now, I'm aware that we live in a less enlightened time than was true when i was a scout, but some of these things should not have fallen by the wayside..... I remember with affection the old Scout Mystery Tour that some experienced.. it involved being bundled into the back of a van, and taken somewhere two days walk away.. the victims were then given maps, told to locate themselves, and then plot a route back to the Scout Hut, stopping over at some pre arranged site.... lots of fun.. and I remember way back when Patrol Camps involved biking to Matlock or Great Yarmouth, or other such places, and approaching farmers etc for accomodation.. its amazing how often we weren't turned away..... now i can see why some would be worried about that today, but to be honest, a bunch of six outdoorsy type lads with a bit of savvy (and lets be honest, if they didn't have that, they wouldn't have bben allowed to go...) probably have little to fear.. with the mobile telephone revolution, possibly less so than we did..... and Patrols actully acting as "gangs," but in a nice way, at weekends.... but that's by the by.. the past is the past.... but the one that i was really thinking of was the New Year sleepover or Xmas camp (and if anyone objects to the abbreviation.. if its good enough for the Pope and the Easter Annals, its good enough for me...) .... now I remember once, back in the long ago, going camping on Christmas eve, having a bit of a party, going to bed, getting up, opening a present, then being taken home in time for Christmas dinner.... and what a fantastic christmas that was.... and as a leader long ago, i organised a sleepover on new years eve.... now, how many of you, if you're honest with yourselves, found NYE to be just like a saturday night but with more people, fewer taxis and less money at the ned of it.. cos I'm betting its quite a few.... well, next year, try this.... invite the Scouts, cubs, Explorers, whoever to your HQ if possible, or a hut on a campsite if not, and see the new year in with them... once you explain to the parents that of course little bruv or big sis can come too (think of it as PR and recruitment) and that its only going to cost maybe a fiver or a tenner at most, you'll find that it becomes your best attended sleepover yet... think of the saving they'll make on babysitters.. and think of thsoe poor people who otherwise would be stuck at home.... its a public service, and lets be honest, its got to be better than watching yet another nodding aquaintance throw up in a gutter.... and if thats not enough, you'll probably turn a bit of a profit.... New Year with the people who matter.... it might be the tonic you all need... so until next time, Keep Scouting!!