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Youth to Everest – Days 3 & 4
It’s known as the Namche Bump. A climb of about 600 meters elevation. It starts with a mind-numbingly terrifying (for me anyway) crossing of a wire bridge, suspended high above a gorge and then a street, steep climb that takes in countless sharp hairpin bends in the path. The journey took us…
A Night with Oxfordshire Scouts
This evening, I had the enormous pleasure of joining Oxfordshire Scouts for their annual Adult Awards Dinner, held at the beautifully appointed Bicester Hotel and Spa. Nestled just outside Chesterton, it’s a rather lovely setting – part country retreat, part hive of activity – and it proved the perfect venue for a night of celebration,…
It is time…
Last year, I sat down for a coffee and a chat with an old friend who is a senior Scouting volunteer in a country in Africa. We talked about the state of youth work in a country that has seen more than its share of civil conflicts, poverty and health pandemics, but is now becoming…
VJ Day
A little over a week ago, I wrote a blog post on the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I wrote of the victims and survivors of the bombs. I wrote of peace. At the time, I was in southern Japan, spending my holiday working with…
Back to Primary School – and Straight on to the Benches
There are few things guaranteed to keep one grounded in public life, and a primary school assembly is right up there. On Friday afternoon, Mark and I joined Windale School for their end-of-week celebration assembly – a school very much at the heart of its community, with a strong emphasis on inclusion, encouragement and helping…
