People often say to me that I must have one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. They’re right. Today I began work by explaining how young people around the world are helping to deliver the UN’s sustainable development goals through the support of organisations like my own. This was in a breakfast meeting…
Tonight I was chuffed to bits to have been able to welcome the latest intake of young international Scout volunteers to their staff induction training, being held in beautiful, but very chilly, Oxfordshire. They’ve funded their own travel and expensive visa applications; they’re putting their normal lives on hold for between nine months and a…
Looking at the news, I think it could safely be said that 2017 has been a troubled year globally. Trump. Terrorist attacks. The global refugee crisis. Plans (or lack of them) for Brexit. The growth of violent extremism. The threat of the use of nuclear weapons. Yet, my Facebook feed throughout the year has been…
A humbling experience, meeting young people at Wiltja Anangu Secondary College in Adelaide, South Australia, many of whom are Award participants. The Wiltja Secondary College is an initiative of the Anangu (Pitkantjatjara word for “people”) whose country is the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands in the far north-west of South Australia. In the 1970s, a group of…
Day 5 – Gilsland to Brampton A very gentle walk today to finish the week. The landscape became more and more gentle as I walked into Cumbria – farmland that has been cultivated for generations, rather than the barren moorland of the previous days. I hadn’t planned on visiting the ruined Lanercost Priory, but I’m…
Day 4 – Twice Brewed to Gilsland Today was the day when, 33 years ago, one of the wheels fell off the cart. One of the team, Shep, had to drop out because he was “wimping about looking unfit”. (I clearly wasn’t quite as caring as I should have been.) I continued in my log…
Humshaugh to Twice Brewed I started the day with a bit of a detour, thanks to my longstanding friend and co-mischief maker, Gwyn Mckenzie. Gwyn is the ADC General Duties for Hadrian District (though I can’t think of her as anything other than National Akela to the UK’s Cub Scouts back in the nineties.). She…
Day 2. A gentle amble from Corbridge to Humshaugh with a visit to Chesters camp. The road out of Corbridge up to Port Gate follows the old Roman road that led to Scotland – it is straight, but undulating as it works its way up the hill, providing false brows and the opportunity to be…
33 years ago, five teenage Scouts did their DofE Gold expedition following Hadrian’s Wall and then heading into the Cheviots. I’ve just been rereading the log book I wrote at the time. This week, walking alone, I will be retracing our steps along the wall (though I’ll be sleeping in comfortable B&Bs rather than in…
Opening speech at the 10th Conference of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Regional Conference for Europe, the Mediterranean and Arab States – 11th September 2017, Hotel Pestana, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Your Royal Highnesses, Your Excellencies, members of the regional government of Madeira, distinguished guests, It is an absolute delight for us all to be…