This morning, I was privileged to join more than 2,000 people at an extraordinary service of thanksgiving, held at a Westminster Abbey, to celebrate 60 years of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. We were joined by HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex. In…
I learned a new word recently: “Waithood”; the bewildering time in which increasingly large numbers of young people are spending their best years waiting. They’ve completed school, but haven’t been able to find a job; they feel like they should have moved out of their parents’ house, but they’re still stuck in their childhood bedrooms;…
I know that I can sometimes (no, often) bore for Britain when talking about the differences between formal, non-formal and informal education. Pixar have just released a beautiful short film that portrays perfectly what I understand informal education to be. Required viewing, I think. Lasting just six minutes, the feature tells the tale…
Dear organisers of Cheltenham’s Half Marathon, Hundreds of us acted in good faith, followed your race briefing, but were unable to run this morning because the traffic confounded our attempts to reach the event at Cheltenham Racecourse, with its “ample free parking”. My story is probably typical of those of many other frustrated, disappointed and…
As a child, I wasn’t much of a sportsman. Asthmatic, lacking in co-ordination, a bit scared of team games. But, in the last couple of years of secondary school, I did discover cross country running. And, when I was searching for a sport to do for my Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, I…
Wayne Bulpitt completes his term as the UK Scout Association’s Chief Commissioner in September. Tonight, a large group of his friends and colleagues gathered at Baden-Powell House for a dinner to celebrate his contribution to the Movement. I was asked to make a short valedictory speech in honour of my friend. Here’s what…
I got a call last night from a friend who’s about to go to the USA for business, asking me what “bits and pieces” I take with me on my travels. Here’s a list of things I take with me wherever I go: My iPad I no longer travel with a laptop. My…
I’ve owned my Brompton folding bike for about three years now and can’t imagine life without it. I am still surprised and a little embarrassed by how much I love it. I bought it originally because I was fed up with the last part of my daily commute, which involved using the London tube at…
“There is more in you than you think” Over the last 60 years the Award has inspired millions of young people to transform their lives. In 2014 more than 1.1 million young people around the world took part in the Award, in 141 countries and territories, equipping them with skills for life. To celebrate this…
I wrote this article for the May issue of World Student Magazine Have you ever pushed yourself to your absolute limit? So far outside your comfort zone that you wondered if you’d ever be the same again? If you have, you’ll know how scary, exhilarating, rewarding, and, quite frankly, mind-blowing it can be. Exactly…
