How things change. May’s General Election seems ages ago now. Yet when I started doing the round of District AGMs it was all so topical. But I would like to start by talking about another election – the US Presidential election of 2008 – when Barak Obama first ran for President and as part of […]
The sun is shining, the breeze is “fresh”, the temperature is just about warm enough to go outdoors without a coat – so it must be St George’s Day or at least the Sunday closest to it, when Scouts around the world renew their Promises and spend a few minutes reflecting why they continue to […]
The BBC is currently running a series of Panorama documentaries based on an observation by Norman Kirk, a former New Zealand Prime Minister. People, he said, don’t want much. They want: “Someone to love, somewhere to live, somewhere to work and something to hope for.” The same observation could be applied to young people in […]
It’s 22nd February, Founder’s Day, and the Scouting year is getting off to a busy start. Yesterday we welcomed Hannah Kentish, UK Youth Commissioner, to Cranham to meet some Explorers and Network Members to discuss how all young members can get their ideas across and shape the future of Scouting in Gloucestershire. And, today we […]
The following is the text of my speech to the County AGM this year which may be of interest to members who did not manage to attend the meeting. Mr President, honoured guests, brother & sister Scouts. Once again, I hope you will have read the annual report or if not you will take the […]
I am concerned that a significant number of section leaders appear not to have heard about the special Poppy Badge that Gloucestershire has arranged in conjunction with the Royal British Legion for young people (and adults) to work towards in time for the Remembrance season in November. Details were circulated back in May but some […]
I have been asked a number of questions by some people concerning the process we have decided to adopt to select participants from Gloucestershire for the 2015 World Scout Jamboree. The following are a selection of the questions raised and the answers given. I hope this will help everyone understand our thinking […]
The following is the text of my speech to District AGMs this year which some people have suggested may be worth sharing with members who did not manage to attend the meetings. Last November four of us from the County attended the National Conference of the Scout Association in Leicestershire and I would like to […]
The following is the text of my speech to the County AGM this year which some people have suggested may be worth sharing with members who did not manage to attend the meeting. Mr President, honoured guests, brother & sister Scouts. I hope you will have read the annual report or if not you will […]
On Thursday of last week I was kindly invited by the Gloucestershire Masonic Society to attend a lecture given by a Scouter from Derbyshire on the similarities and differences between Scouting and Freemasonry. I knew very little about Freemasonry before Thursday and was pleased to learn a little more. There are many similarities, for example […]