Enduring values

The week I was going away was a bit busy, rather like buses you can wait a long period and then have three turn up at once and so it was on Wednesday July 26 I was on excursion to Llandudno in North Wales.

One thing I like about that place is the excesses of garish developments are kept very much in check and another is the public buildings which haven't suffered the fate of demolition in the 1960's and 70's for ghastly concrete development.

This church on Mostyn Street which is the main shopping street is just the sort of thing that was lost due to changing attendences and over commercialization elsewhere.

Playing a full part in providing services for the townsfolk, it has a life beyond Sunday Services, remaining relevant.

Post 900

I am away for a few days and on this blog we have reached our nine hundreth post today on a blog that explores more the outdoor life, looks at scoutings past, its present and what it all has to do with who I am.

If you began to scratch the surface despite how things were in my earliest days you soon would discover a lot is connected around the values as applied of modern-day scouting, an eternal scout even radiating outward in much of what I have and continue to do.

Those values fully align, not that like any of us I'd ever claim to be perfect but in general the upholding of them is something that means a heck of a lot to me and ones Oath counts.

It has meaning.

It matters to me that others ought to have the opportunity to be exposed to and learn from those values and the programs offered by the movement which is why I'm happy to give on a regular basis what I can to ensure that is there.

People and sadly not just children have been affected by the Pandemic and we are still learning to what extent it has but this thing called scouting can be a real help on the road to recovery, something the young are discovering as indeed I discovered myself having had the misfortune to had been directly impacted by it.

The blog is personal and that has been its strength, talking about and being concerned with these matters, not just nostalgia as much as the past has every good reason to be cherished but about moving on and personal growth today and tomorrow.

Here's to the next hundred posts.

A solid basis for personal growth

 While this individual  scout shows their obvious germanic influence the learning and comradeship he experiences, the values he will express in his later life all stem from Scouting and that is true the world over.

He may not in the later course of his life formally engage with the Scout Movement, but he takes with him all of that and so remains at heart that scout regardless.

That is the strength of what in this country organizations such as GirlGuiding UK and the Scout Association offer children and young people.

In much use

 Weather not so great over the last few weeks but we've had vistitors on their barges coming down the canal network to us enjoying the countryside and that around us while others make much us of the towpaths for walking on.

Send for your laddies uniform!

 The vastness of some countries such as Canada meant that ordering via a mail order catalogue was a necessity not just for everyday items from institutions such as Eatons but Scouts Canada too for your uniform requirements.

Today many branches of the Scouts do have internet based stores as much as networks of physical shops that stock uniform and related things such as outdoor wear for hiking and so on.

Satisfaction

That look of satisfaction, nay pride that you made your way as step as it was although I do rather wonder why he's got the footwear  on and no decent hiking socks as one risk you do face is loose stones either under you feet or bouncing and hitting your legs.

Lost?

 

You can become lost in the physical sense, not knowing where you are such as taking a wrong turning on a map while hiking in which instance armed with map and compass you can work your way back.

Sometimes you may be lost because mentally and psychologically you feel alone with no one to care for and and no one caring for you which may be enhanced of those you knew appeared to have left.

Taking care of your emotional well-being matters and being alert to other peoples is something that is being encouraged more whatever the past emphasis on blind stoicism and endurance might of been.

It's not about in any way wallowing in self pity, it is understanding the emotions felt, working with them toward a way through that matters more.

Taking a break

 The allure of "vintage" in this café is telling from the 1950's radio behind the bar onwards as the scout having taken off his rucksack enjoys his ice cream as indeed many of us do in the summer months while the dog, who clearly likes the boy looks toward the photographer.

Looking up

Long grass is something I have to be a bit careful over given my reactions to things like tic bites and the like so I use roll on repellants a lot and try to have some distance between me and anything potentially as much as I love that ground up view. 

Building a kite

It's summer, if you're like me you like being out too so what can we do?

Well we could make a kite and this is a design for a simple diamond kite that everyone should be able to build.

Things you’ll need:

Thin Dowling (90cm or bigger)

Thick Plastic Bag

String

Kite Line (Cheap ones can be bought on eBay)

Extras: some coloured plastic.

The basics are on this Scouts instruction sheet for a diamond shaped kite but you can improvise.

Meadowland

Pure meadowland, excellent for the wildlife but a challenge for any humans walking or sitting upon for the number of creepy crawlies that like the idea of dining out on you to which my response was applying McMidge insect repellent all over the exposed skin.

It did work leaving me free from bites and emergency medical treatment given I go into shock and develop blood poisoning very quickly otherwise.
 

Ivinghoe

 The weekend held up as I was at Ivinghoe Beacon with friends where the famous Lion was well illuminated in the distance while a short walk can be taken along the hedges in the foreground.

The surrounding area is very nice.

Enjoying the view

 

During the weekend away in Buckinghamshire I took this picture from Ivinghoe Beacon just above the small village with its most enjoyable views across the Vale of Aylesbury and into Oxfordshire .

The Beacon is the site of an Iron Age hill-fort forming part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.