The things we do...

 

One thought you might have is "What's this doing here?"

Organizing any event takes a lot of people and a fair number of groups and providers and that's where our Scouts come in as they don't just have fun, earn their badges they do things for real that show their abilities.

And what we do is marshall the car parking collecting fees, seeing people are parked properly in lines and can actually get out without much faff so just think of all the skill sets they are using and developing while also showing we're very much a part of the community.

In a week where lack of skills in being able to get and hold down a job have been talked about here in the media and people in business and politics we are actually doing something that will help.

On the hike

 

On the hike can mean different things but a hike through a wood or forest is very different than through a field and requires a bit more preporation  as they may be insects whose bites may cause issues and some vegetation can cause at least irritation of not stinging or infection so you need to have tablets with you and definately a working mobile phone in case further assistance is needed.

An intrusion?

 

A modern sight on a scouts outing, checking websites, especially social media while away and before anyone says it no you can't remove access to a phone for safeguarding reasons as children have a right to report anything they feel isn't right to bodies such as Childine free from being overseen or intimidation.

I do feel a plain 4g phone would meet these needs but reduce the intrusion of social media when we are trying to get away from things and enjoy being out in country, focussed very much on making our adventure.

The uniform debate

Things are different in 2026 compared with 1986 or 1970 when it comes to both what's available to wear for more casual out of doors activities when back then ofte it was cast offs from our sunday best or school uniform unless it involved winter hikes that might of had some bought especially kit like boots, thick wollen socks and the like.

What you wore in Scouts while away did differ, there werre many among the leaders who having served in the service were more for Uniform at all times, believing it a desirable discipline in its own right  and today where only the  more formal activities might require it (and things like caps aren't a thing anymore in the Scout Association).

While I'm pragmatically minded not least for some of us who know how dressing can be difficult, somehow modern pictures of such occassions just don't have the same sense of smartness or even purpose when jeans or track suit bottoms are in (and there's nothing like wet denim for feeling cold).

Sometimes I feel we ought not to feel akward about wishing to stand out and be recognized in the community dressed in a practical rather than "cool" way with review after review.
 

World Password Day

There can be little denying that unlike previous generations of girlguides and scouts, computer and smartphone use is front and centre in their social lives whoever future usage may be shaped by 16 and under social media polices being considered by the U.K. Government and others in Europe.

From that it's entirely understandable that both wings of Scouting in the U.K. do talk about and have in their programs for children sections covering the Internet and Computer usage looking at bothe opportunities the internet provides and awareness of the risks we all face.

May 7th was World Password Day which was used by some to discuss and practise setting strong passwords in Scouts.

In the earlier days of the internet which I dare say some of us recall keeping our accounts such as email accounts and that of any sites we used was focussed on a single strong password that had upper and lower case characters, numbers and punctuation not just "password" or "123456".

Modern thinking around online security has changed as computer programs used by people who want access to accounts to exploit for fraud and such like automatically run though thousands of combinations to the belief that a a specific pass though you have created is harder to break provided it has at least several words in it.

The choice of suitably hard to crack ones is the kind of thing that would be discussed and how frequent we should change them.

Getting about

 
 That dash across the ground can cause me the odd cramp or two if I'm out which I have been between the odd shower or two this week where grass has been mowed which does nothing for my hay fever but still you do it for the buzz you get from a sense of achieving something.

When you spent part your early life  in a wheelchair and struggled when upright, setting yourself a target and going the distance really means something even if I may need to rest for a short while afterwards.

Rest

 

Despite what the weather forecast said, actually it was quite pleasant to be out yesterday so after a few chores I was out taking a gentle stroll in our local green spaces taking in the fresh air and sun watching the hedge sparrows, pigeons, butterlies and odd bee about.