A few things from Christmas and some thoughts

 Today is the first post Christmas edition on this blog so in with the everyday things of value such as a diary for next year were a couple of what today people would see as "vintage" publications not that in my mind they are more than a few minutes away.

 

The 1980's were an interesting decade although it took a while for things to really change and they show a bit within each.

Around the late 1980's we saw the development of commercial activity centres and holidays such as PGL as incomes for some at least did rise and there was interest in the mass media around Challenges of endurance.

That made its way into scouting as did the increased awareness of the need to assess risks and concerns around safeguarding which still reverberate around anything in young people were being addressed.

We're all for adventure but can do without cavalier make it up as we go along attitudes that can easily lead to dangerous situations developing.

Increasingly more use of specialist centres with instructors crept in.

The early 80's were in lots of ways a run on from the 70's with the only thing that would of appealed to a cub then was the advent of affordable personal computing from either having access to a parents TRS 80 to perhaps getting a Sinclair ZX81 which at the time was the cheapest personal computer going to the BBC Micros that were for a long time the standard in UK education.

This was reflected in scouting by Information Technology awards and badges scouting offered around this time.

Cubs uniform didn't change much before the changes around 2000's that saw the old style clothe cap go for a branded baseball cap and more widespread long trouser wearing.

As we got into the second decade of this century, the annual stopped presumably for financial reasons although many children's publications especially at under elevens in the UK still have annuals so children are used to and expect them from parents and grand parents.