This week in normal times would of been Scout Job Week, a week of activities where Cubs, scouts and Explorer Scouts undertake activities to help booth raise funds for and awareness of Scouting.
This was one activity undertaken, shoe shining by Cubs in Sheffield, Yorkshire where they cleaned and shine football (soccer) boots for Sheffield United FC.
Participants get the opportunity to gain a badge for their contibutions.
Sadly as with much of the traditional face to face scouting activity this years Scout Job Week has had to be postponed due to the Coronavirus/Covid-19 emergency but on here we will pay our respects for what would of been, marking it.
Hopefully by 2021 we may be in position to bring it back even with some social distancing restrictions.
Source: norlington3
Cub Scouts from Manchester who made a guest appearance in the british TV soap Coronation Street during “Bob-a-Job Week” in 1969.
Two things to add to Norlington's original post, the first being as the norm then the boys wore lined shorts with green garters on socks as they did in school as with the leather sandals too.
The other is by showing them on tv, it raised the awareness of scouting, the sort of things a cub or scout could offer to do to raise funds for scouting.
The above poster shows the nature of the work a boy could do for Bob a Job week was not restricted to traditional roles but was anything that would of of help which might include sweeping a yard, cleaning for somebody.
The main point was you offered a service you did just for the satisfaction of doing it, helping to raise funds for scouting that benefited you rather than expecting others to do it helping to raise awareness of scouting in the wider community.
By the mid 1970's it was formally retitled Scout Job Week not least with the "Bob" a pre-decimal unit of currency that was one shilling (1/) which was converted to 5 New Pence in 1971 which was a small sum being discontinued although the old term remained in informal usage.
An enduring childhood memory with me connected with all of this is "Bob a Job week" which is something I remember happened every year around this time in May when my older brother would come back with some bits of paper that were in his room that then explained to me was to help raise funds for Scouts.
Being pretty well organized, there was official stationary and this was the most important one, which is the proof and authority for that Scout to offer his services in connection with his troup or pack.
This was the very design he had.
The design had changed over the years and below is an example from 1959 that belonged to a scout just in the adjacent County of Cheshire.
You will note on the rear of it there information for the person who offers a job on what to do making plain the money is for the benefit of scouting and not for the individual boy.
It also has instructions for the scout concerning what jobs he should taken on (he needs to think and only do those he can well) and to check first someone else hasn't already done a Job.
He is to wear his uniform or at the very least show his badge.
This is from the gatefolded bit and the scout has to enter the job he did on it and the amount he was given for each. It would be totalized and signed off for him.
Different cubs or scouts did different things, my brother did things like cleaning cars and windows, the boy below worked outdoors and used a ladder and no doubt 2019 heath and safety would of insisted he had a hard hat on.
These stickers are written into my memory as my brother had loads of them and he was required to offer and peel one off for each person he did a job for.
The person who had the job done if he or she didn't require another job needed to display it so the cub or scout passing could see it by for instance putting it on or in their window.
Bob a Job week was discontinued for a long period from the 1990's due to concerns around child safety although I will add this was the era where children went around strangers playing trick or treat at night with bigger risks but bought back in a different form today.
Here Sea Scouts offer to clean this Rose Royce car all over for Bob a Job week leaving everything shiny from the wheel trim upwards.
