Physicality

I've always tended to believe being close to nature both mentally as well as physically is really healthy for men and especially boys where we live in age where so much can be done from the single mouse click or tap.

That's why outdoor things be they sports, hiking or camping are increasingly important because they offer so much more say e-sports and in any event we do need a break from screens.

Sensation matters too. In play we feel our own bodies, the bodies of others and the surfaces we are in  contact with such grass, the ball we may be playing with and so on and it it's the combination of all that helps us feel that much more alive.

That is why we and I know I need rougher, harder lives than the tv and computer can provide

BPSA Parade

While it is questionable I'll be out here with severe rainfall that has left major chunks of our district flooded  today, here is a lovely picture of scouts and wolf cubs on Parade from the Summer with their Standards.

I think judging by the caps an' hats these are the Baden-Powell Scouts Association as everything is is pleasingly traditional  such as the jerseys and shorts across the board.

Autumn Scouting

Although the weather has not been good, I had been out scouting this week where I spotted this lovely scene.
Autumn had been slow in coming here in Staffordshire as it had been mild for much of October compared say to Lancashire or the Lake District in Northern England but had finally arrived by weeks end and in fact is pouring down today.

Making a difference

Marching very much to the beat of your own drum in a procession.

This week it was reported a 10-year-old boy climbed more than 300ft down a ravine to save his mother who was seriously injured in a fall.

Oban Mountain Rescue in Scotland praised the boy who used his mum's phone to call the emergency services to give directions to their location.

The boy was also accompanied by his father and two sisters when the accident happened and she said to be "out of danger and comfortable" in hospital.

Details about this boy are scarce possibly for a reason but in order to do what he did he needed to have learned to climb, make a call and know how to help keep a person conscious but it seems quite possible he belong to some organization that may of taught this.

Sometimes we here so much negativity about youth and especially about boys but here is something that is very commendable and certainly worthy of an award.

Hiking

Out enjoying a days hiking through the woodland is something I love to do which is one great thing about this area as one doesn't have to go by car or bus to get out of the built up bit which is what I did this crisp autumnal morning in my shorts and long socks. 

Disembarking

Some Scouts and Cubs are in the fortunate position of having their own minibus to take youngster to various places for camp, hiking or other relevant scouting activities  while others may hire one with the driver having a appropriate license to drive one.

Here the Cubs are almost set for an adventure made possible by their bus and a trained volunteer driver.

Craftwork outdoors

Putting skills taught into practice for Camp cutting the sections of  wood and fastening together with a very strong knot to make a cross

Parading

The Parade is a big thing in Scouting and here we have a cross section of various branches of the Scouting Movement being lead by piper and drums in I assume Scotland

Boys and Girls Brigades

While we may not talk about them much on here, these are the 1980's Australian Boy's and Girl's Brigades on what looks like an official photograph standing to attention.

The Girls Brigade outfit looks both practical and suitably feminine.

At rest

Source: roverscout1love

The most joyful juxtaposition of a painted mural with Renaissance inspired characters with boarder collie dog on an external wall and boy scout sat by a table as if while resting he will be poured a glass of something too. 

Come and join us

The best things are usually the most challenging so taking yourself to be challenged like no other is a good thing, to learn new skills and make new friends too.

For me some degree of physical and mental rigour leads to the transformation in character so  many need from passivity and waiting on others to taking the lead and being in control of your own life.

Informal discussions along the way

Source: roverscout1love

Scout leader and Scouts hold a discussion on the beach about what they have seen and their plans on this expedition before moving on ensuring all know what the plans are.

It's interesting to note although they have their hiking gear on including back packs, they have taken their shoes and socks off on this part presumably to avoid any issues with and and grit getting into them and causing blistering.

Cubbing Autumn 2019 style

Rovering, exploring call it what you want, it's all a part of scouting and so this week gone I was out exploring the woodlands near where I live.

The impact of The Fall can be seen but surprisingly it seems a little late this time of year even if some foliage has gone

The lack of seasonal colour is telling in this picture although the shapes of the branches caught me.

These leave do show signs of autumn being very familiar with me as they were on the way to and from my Junior School which I walked to at the time.

Young Pioneers

Source: norlington3

One thing I do find interesting is looking at other youth organizations and movements and for many years in the Eastern Bloc/ Warsaw Pact, Scouting as we understand it was prohibited been seen as incompatible with Communism.
This left something of a void which was filled by the Young Pioneers which while having a good number of positives did purposely expose minors to political suggestion and indoctrination that I strongly disagree with.
This group of Young Pioneers from East Germany, the so-called German Democratic Republic (DDR/GDR) in 1965 shows that set plus and minus well in that they are dressed to play, undertake physical activities such as sport, go hiking which were great but all under the eyes of the Communist Party.
Sometimes their programs did result in rather more responsibility being entrusted in the young than those in West did and generally I hold with the view we wrap too many of  our youngsters in cotton wool rather than teaching and expecting  responsibility from them from the outset.
It's why for my welfare and political opposition to political control in all youth work I do feel sometimes we can learn from them.

Parading in the countryside

An official Scout parade of the sort I remember and later on in adult life even sometimes followed in other official capacities down what looks to be a country road as usually smaller lanes typically used by farmers tend not to have smooth surfaces, just stone chippings.

Its not uncommon for there to be no footpaths on such roads and as a pedestrian you'd move to far side  where there may be a small strip of vegetation to let road traffic pass.

Here the Scouts and Scoutmaster even are in traditional old school short sleeve shirts, knee length shorts, grey socks and garters with red sashs which is not something you see everyday.

The presentation

A Scout Troup who appear to be following rather more of what I had to say about uniforms yesterday at a formal presentation in their meeting place, some of which appear to have messanger style bags which suggest this is a fairly recent picture.

Messenger bags are fine for relatively flat items like maps, guide books and related things in although I don't think they replace a ruck sack for things like tins of food and the like.

The Young want tradition!

Recently a young follower submitted this post of them as a Scout (they're in glasses, short and blond) a few years back on a St. George's Day Parade expressing the view that they'd wished they could of been a Scout in the traditional Shorts and Long socks era.

I find it actually interesting that he feels that way because that move in Scouts to longs was one of the products of the Advanced Party Report of 1966/7 which amongst other things suggested that they saw Scouts as "Juvenile" and uncool in the form Baden-Powell set out which lead to the formation of the Baden-Powell Scouting Association because they recognized scouting for what it was and refused to change.

My own feelings are that shorts and long socks at the very least ought to be an option within the Scouting Associations Scouts rather like with the BPSA they have Khaki shorts and long socks being recognized from the outset as more practical and hygienic in the field by BP himself and mandatory in Cubs.
A few Scout Troops have reverted to shorts in the last couple of years mirroring the Grey School Shorts revival in high schools.

My suspicions are that boys like my young follower actually love chunks of traditional boyhood and of having a distinct identity rather more than some adults in positions of authority think, wanting to follow in our footsteps and that's just great.

My message for adults in such positions  like Scout Leaders is to talk and especially listen to them rather than anonymous trendy focus groups.

Pix submitted by "olderboyshortshorts"

Woodcrafts

Source: roverscout1love

Woodcrafts may seem a million miles away from out every second of the day internet connected worlds of today but did literally help build whole civilizations by being able to fashion things from what surrounded us.
It is also well worth encouraging because it does help provide a break from all of that while time after time studies show boys connect with such traditional skills and associated disciplines liking being connected to the past.

Brownsea Island Memorial

Today we are looking at scouts paying their respects on Brownsea Island which is just off Poole Harbour, Dorset where an experimental Scouts camp was held by Baden-Powell on August 1st 1907 based on the experiences he had during the Boer war with twenty tents being pitched.

This in many ways set the path Scouting as a youth organization until recent years for boys only took and is the site of a camp which is used by the Scout association although it owned by the National Trust following a settlement in 1963.

It is hugely reassuring to know these scouts are wearing the tradition Scout uniform as suggested and approved of Baden Powell himself which has made a resurgence in recent years.

Summer Scout fun

Source: properuniformboy

After yesterday's post, a return to the haylcon days of Summer with these Scouts posed in the Summer Months enjoying the sunshine and fresh air while the Standards are being held up at the rear by two boys.
That I would imagine is no mean feat bearing in the mind the weight of them having held the odd one before now.
With temperatures around 13 degrees here I needed to put my green top on with my grey shorts and socks today while out.

Challenges in Scouting today

One thing I do from time to time touch on are things connected with Scouting today as support for scouting for the young is one of third purposes of this blog.
One issue that was raised in the last few days is that there is currently a waiting list of 60,000 young people who are unable to find places within the Scouting Association due to a shortage of volunteer hours to take cubs or scouts.
Most positions within Scouting like much within the UK are done by volunteers usually adults who under training including child protection and DBS Checks and while the absolute number of volunteers is high, because the constraints on individual times with changes in working culture and other demands the hours per volunteer typically are less so like with many organizations you need to work with what people can offer rather than what would be ideal.

This has  lead for instance to a shortage of leaders for Beavers which nearby in Mobberley Cheshire, a relatively well off district, the combination of this plus a leader of some period needing to step down has lead to the (one hopes only temporary suspension of 1st Mobberley Beavers pictured after 28 years) in much the same way that in my village, a part of the Greater Stoke On Trent district, Brownies also had to close as Girl Guiding UK were not able to find a leader.
This is a great pity because Scouting and Girl Guiding have so much to offer young people not just as good use of time but also for life skills and the membership of a family-the Scouting Family- for life.

Pix credit: BBC

October is here

Seeing it is the first day in October although it's too bad here to go out, I'd go back a bit to my first love Wolf Cubs here joined by Scouts of the Baden-Powell Scouting Association on parade looking smart in their more traditional uniform.

The Baden-Powell Scouting  Association was formed in 1970 from the reaction to the Advance Party Report of 1967 that in their opinion broke from much of what Baden-Powell himself advocated as timeless in Scouting For Boys breaking away from how he saw Scouting-a Juvenile thing for Juveniles that taught life skills and good values through practical means engaging with a boys actual nature.

I personally would of preferred the Scouts here to have worn shorts which B-P strongly approved of but in 2006 when this was taken there still was a view that had crept in from the early 70's that shorts were only for 'little boys' and perhaps they felt ill at ease in anything but longs?

Photo enhanced by me.