For the second time in a week, the UK Scouts have made the news. Last week, they announced the publication of new (and excellent, in my opinion) sexual health materials. Today, they have let the world know that, for the first time in the Movement’s history, more girls have joined in the last year than…
Unaccustomed as I am… – Mrs Moneypenny mentions me in the Financial Times “Representing: standing or acting for another, especially through delegated authority. I don’t often represent anyone else and I have never represented my country. Recently, however, I did represent the chairman of a large international bank. No, I was not standing in for…
Increasingly, I am staying in B&Bs as I travel round the UK, rather than booking into predictable and boring international hotels. With the help of a quirky directory, Mona has found me some brilliant places to spend the night. And if, occasionally, the house doesn’t live up to its hype, well, that can be an…
Olari Secondary School has 250 pre 16 pupils and 350 sixth form students. It’s in Espoo and was the school that had been chosen by the conference organisers for a group of us to visit. If it is typical of schools in Finland, then it has much to teach those of us who are trying…
That’s what it was called – an evening celebration, put on by the organisers of the World Scout Conference, to help us all enjoy the culture of the island and South Korea generally. What a wonderful evening. I sat at a table with many of the Australian delegation, some of whom are very old friends….
The beginning of the day was fairly nerve racking, but the result of the vote, announced just before lunch, was tremendous. I am to serve on the World Scout Committee for a period of six years. Thanks to everyone who has written over the past few months in support of my candidature – and to…
The nations of the world (or at least the Scout representatives of those nations!) are beginning to arrive on Jeju. I went up to the International Conference Centre with the rest of the UK team that had already arrived to register and saw a fair number of old friends. Before that, however, I got up…
The week of travelling all over the north of India is now over and we’re now working on our fifteen minute presentation which we give either tomorrow or the day after to the Princess Royal and the rest of the conference. Our group has seen a lot. Reforestation of mining areas, the installation of electricity…
