Pint

not very often this happens - some possitive stuff about Scouting in the media The Gaurdian ( UK national newspaper )"How Scouts became cool again " http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/19/scout-association The Express (UK national newspaper ) "TEENAGERS RUSH TO JOIN SCOUTS " http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/170056/Teenagers-rush-to-join-Scouts The Daily mail ( UK national newspaper ) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1267093/Scouts-biggest-membership-surge-decade.html?ITO=1490 BBC "Scout level rise biggest in 38 years" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1

Scouting is a global movement, and it is based on three core principles, that re reflected in the Promise (oath) and Scout Law that exists in every National Scouting Body, even those that arent aligned/ members of WOSM Duty to God Duty to others Duty to self the Purpose of Scouting is: "The purpose of the Scout Movement is to contribute to the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual potentials as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities."

What happens in the BSA if a youth member decides that he/she doesn't believe in (a) God? the only stuff i can find out about atheists in Scouting in the UK is this line: "Note: With reference to religious belief, the avowed absence of religious belief is a bar to appointment to a Leadership position." All youth members in the UK have to make the Scout promise (oath), and from Scout age upwards the Scout law as well. the UK Scout promise, contains the line "duty to God" but from what i know ( dont quote this as fact ) if a youth member states that they dont believe in (a) God then

In the UK we have done a few bag packing sessions at a local supermarket ( US equivalent Wal-mart) The Scouts are at the end of the checkout and help pack customers bags in exchange for an optional tip, usually paced in a bucket at the end of the checkout with the who they are and what the fund-raising is for placed on the bucket such as 123rd Loughbourough Scout troop fund-raising for Morocco 2010, or just fund raising for the troop. The last time we did this we made over 1,000 in under four hours ( US $1,500)

Scouting is a world wide movement, a vast majority of Scouts in any country belong to the same Scouting body, in the case of the USA its the Boy Scouts of America, in the UK its The Scout Association of the UK, Canada Scouts Canada, Scouts Australia and so on. All these national Scouting body's are also members of the World organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM), Despite the fact the we follow varying Scouting programmes, wear slightly different uniforms we are all members of the World organisation of Scouting. Scouting is based on some key fundamentals, no matter where you are in

Statement from the UK Scout Association on this subject: taken directly from http://www.scouts.org.uk/noticeboard/168/statement-on-ugandan-private-members-bill ******************************************************* Statement on Ugandan Private Members Bill 23/02/2010 In mid-January, Headquarters became aware of a Private Members Bill being tabled in the Ugandan Parliament by David Bahati MP, who is also the National Chairman of The Ugandan Scout Association. We noted that the legislation being proposed appeared incompatible with our understanding of Scoutings values an

Quote from BadenP: "Let me say no one has a greater respect for female scouters than myself. It is just in my judgement and experience young boys 11-14 really need that male role model image. In spite of what BP may have said and an early female scoutmaster that for boys in this age group really need that male bonding time. Women are more than capable of being excellent scoutmasters, IMHO, a boy 11-14 is at that stage of development where a male role model, and male bonding is critical to that development, it has NOTHING to do with whether or not a female can be a competent leader. " I

Quote from BadenP... "Female scoutmasters IMHO has always been a bad idea. Not that they are incapable of leading but putting all the PC crap aside it just goes contrary to what boy scouts is supposed to be about" Quote from le Voyageur "BP was a 19th century Brit of the Victorian era, and a member of the military gentry who's attitude toward women are not what they are today. " If the above were true then why on earth would Scouting and Robert Baden-Powell aprove of female Scout masters in 1913 at the 1st Herrington Scout group ( and probably a few others), see this website for

"I'd really like to see some data or hear from scouters outside the U.S. as to whether this is a hot button topic in their scouting arenas? I know from what little interaciton I've had with multinational gatherings (we get a good amount of scouts up here from Mexico), that the gay, atheist, and co-ed issues presented by current BSA policy are a thorny subject in the greater World Scout Organization. BSA is viewed by the WSO as somewhat of a black sheep in the international scouting family because of these policy stances." From my point of view, in the UK the homosexual issue is a non issu

Theres lots of information on What Scouting in Haiti is doing to help here http://www.scout.org/en/blogs

On the subject of tennis ball cannons, this is a video of some UK Explorer Scouts ( 14-18 years old) firing some shoulder mounted tennis ball cannons. I was at one time thinking of running that as an activity, although after watching the video ive changed my mind somewhat. No one ( appears to ) get hurt or injured on the video below: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=9442330

THeres some information on the world organisation of the Scout movement website here http://scout.org/solidarite-haiti'>http://scout.org/solidarite-haiti of which the text below is an extract: *************************************************************************** Solidarity with Haiti : Call for international donations Geneva, January 14th 2010 After the violent quake which struck Haiti, World Scouting is mobilising in order to help the 30'000 Scouts of Hati so that they can come to the aid of the stricken population. In the name of World Scouting, a message of solida

""rom OGE.... "So your District, composed of volunteers, "fired" another volunteer because they didnt think he was good enough to be a volunteer, or at least to fill the position he was in?" In simple terms, yes. Obviously it's a bit more complex than that, but I believe it's something that voluntary organizations have to be able to do. I've seen Scout Groups go to the wall because someone inappropriate was at the helm. Remembering that it's "for the kids", we have to take charge at times and get rid of the adults who aren't helping. " Weve got a simalar, if not the same set up in th

Another off topic weather related post: Were curretnly in the midst of a 'big freeze' in the UK, and in my location its -2C or 28F nad theres a weather warning out for severe snow and ice and we could see just over an inch of snow ( 2.5 cm )

But is UK, or any other national Scouting organisation better than the other? Im pretty sure, if not convinced that if Eamonn came to Scouting in the UK he would find plenty of issues and things that he didnt agree on, didnt like or both. 1) The cost of scouting in the UK is better (lower cost and more value) 2) Summer camps are better in the UK 3) Chartering /Scouting organization relationship are better in the UK 4) Commissioners structure is better in the UK 5) The UK scout oath is better. added 6) Advancement is better too Is the cost fo Scouting in the UK lower

Most of the 'staff' you will see at international camps in the UK are recruited from the Scout Network section ( aged 18-25) As for leaders at the grass roots level running Beaver/Cub/Scout/Explorer Scout meetings theres a wide variety of ages. At my local Scout group we have a Beaver Leader in her late 60's, and two in there 40's, The Cub leaders are in their 30's, 40's and 60's, Scouts we have a mixture of 30 year olds and 50/60 somehtings, and the Explorer Scout leaders are 50 something and 20 something. The old upper age limit on Scout leaders in the UK was scrapped a few years ag

The term 'Advancement' is something that i am un familiar with, and will also sound strange to many Scouters in the UK. In UK Scouting ( Scout association ) Scouts can work towards various badges and awards, with the top award being the Quens Scout award, although these awards and acheivements are not the be all and end all of Scouting in the UK, especialy since the old style progressive training scheme - Scout award , pathfinder award, etc etc for Scouts was replaced with the more modular Challenge awards sometime around 2003. There are a few other ( non aligned to WOSM, and not part o

looks like a nice coin design, although it seems a pity the US ones are not going to go into mainstream circulation. In the UK in 2007, to mark 100 years since the 1907 Brownsea island camp, a special 50p ( 0.50) coin was minted, as per usual some were just for collectors in various packs, although some were minted for general circulation, and its only recently that ive statrted seeing them in general circulation. coin has on its back, the Scout arrowhead over the world ( globe) with "fifty pence" at the top, "Be prepared" at the base and the years 1907 and 2007 at the side. If your i

Hope you all have a good Christmas. Scouting in my local area has mostly stopped for the christmas/new years period, although weve got a District Scout new years day family walk coming up ( it finishes in a pub ) Looking ahead to 2010 weve got the usual mix of camps etc coming up,including an international camp ( in the UK) peak 2010. Ive just got back from the pub, and its been surprising how many former Scouts ive bumped into,as well as parents, and current Scouts out and about in the local pubs.

Its been two years now since we had the first few girls join the Cubs, in the UK Cubs are aged 8-10 or upto 10 1/2 The first few Girls are now Scout age, and weve just had the first ever girl in the Scout troop taking part in activities etc. its now 2009, ( almost 2010) nearly three years since UK Scouting went compulsory co-ed at all levels, some groups also have more girls than boys, some groups have about the normal amount ( if you can call it that) so why has it taken us three years ( or more) ? First of all were not activly recruiting any one specific gender, why should we disc

If your interested in the history side of Scouting, the BBC made a documentary about a year ago, as a part of BBC4s Rdwardian season, called Ian Hislops Scouting for boys, with interviews and input from the current Lord Baden-powell ( B-Ps grandson ) amongst others, as well as the origins of the patrol system, seige of mafeking, Brownsea island, etc etc, its in six parts on youtube, part one below:

"So did UK Scouting increase or decrease due to dropping of the ban? " I honestly dont think lifting the ban made any difference what so ever. "I guess we could ask our brethern across the Atlantic how they handle camping with gays. Fellas, do your campouts turn into Roman orgies?" Gays are very much in the minority in the UK, and if there was any inapropiate behaviour on any camp that i was running/organising or helping to run it would be dealt with accordingly, especialy if it was unwanted harrasment of a sexual nature. "More to the point - how does UK Scouting handle

Ive never heard of the term Jap as being offensive in any way. there are many companies opperating in the UK that deal with Japanese car parts and importcars ( as the Japanese drive on the left, the same side of the road as the UK) often using the word Jap prominently in their company name ie Japarts Jap World and so on.

"So Pint, did the dropping of the gay ban help or hurt scouting in England?" from my point of view, it made no difference what so ever, if anything it just removed something for the media and various presure groups to attack Scouting with. From what ive read about the 'issues' and the BSA most issues seem to centre round the three G's Gays,Girls and God. The first two have been dealt with, and the God issue ( in my opinion) is a bit of a fudge, dealt with by this line from the UK Scout associations equal opportunities policy "Note: With reference to religious belief, the avowed a

When Scouting in the UK first started going co-ed at all levels, it was up to each individual SCout group to decide weather or not to allow girls to join, some groups said yes, and openly recruited girls to join in with the boys. Some groups said no, and remained a boys only single sex Scout group ( upto 2007 when UK Scout HQ said everyone must acept girls) some groups sat on the fence and said nothing, and did nothing to openly recruit girls. Maybe a solution for the BSA would be to let each group, or chartering organisation decide.