Well, it certainly rained yesterday. The site changed from being a pleasant country park to near Glastonbury-like muddy slush. It got colder and colder and we began to worry about whether we’d be able to get things ready in time. Late at night, 77 Saudi Arabians arrived without tents or sleeping bags. The wind was…
I arrived this morning and, despite the rain in other parts of the country, am now a delightful shade of lobster red. The Jamboree site is truly enormous. It takes about an hour to walk from one side to the other. The staff restaurant, designed to feed 8,000, is the largest structure of its kind…
So, I’ve set the ‘out of office’ email, found the tent, mown the lawn and bought a new sleeping bag. No, not to prepare myself for the Harry Potter queue, but because from Sunday I’ll be helping to run the 21st World Scout Jamboree. But on the Harry Potter question. I’m working on the premise…
This weekend was spent at the Youth Hostel in Cheshunt, working with my team on our plans for the World Scout Jamboree. We now know that our immediate staff team will number about 120; we have some idea of who’ll be doing what and when; and we think we know how we’re going to support…
New York last week, Great Yarmouth today. I’ve never been to Yarmouth before. It’s a really lovely town. I tend to think of British seaside resorts as being rather sad, diliapidated places. The one I know best, Weston-super-Mare, certainly is. But Yarmouth was very busy with holidaymakers, making the most of a beautiful day. I…
Amongst my meetings today was with someone whose office has to have the best view in New York. Dick Parsons is the Chairman and CEO of Time Warner and he’s interested in supporting the Career Academy movement in the UK. This morning, immediately before my meeting, I read in the New York Times that he…
Your chance to close the skills gap – an article for Computer Weekly
A terrific article about the Career Academy movement in today’s Sunday Times. My comments about the personal hygiene and argumentative nature of teenagers lend real credibility to the education debate! The article can be viewed on line at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article1719273.ece
…of London, that is. To Uxbridge, home of Brunel university, Fighter Command, the Chimes shopping centre, the world’s first electronic calculator and Greater London Middlesex West’s annual dinner for Queen’s Scouts. It took me a ridiculously long time to get there. Friday afternoon is never a good time to travel around the M25, but by…
To the House of Lords and to a reception, hosted by Reed Elsevier. One of their titles, Computer Weekly, is beginning a campaign to get its more influential readers to support education and has chosen the UK Career Academy Foundation as its way of working with 16 – 19 year olds. The reception was aimed…