CC Blog

As I write this month’s blog update its gone 8pm and still light – surely sign that summer is well and truly upon us!

Like many of you the Easter Holidays signals the formal start of the camping season for me and a great long weekend was held with my Troop and 7^th Hornchurch at Broadstone Warren. Both Troops coming together made the camp viable – without us running a joint event we may not have had enough equipment or young people to make it worthwhile. Why is it though that such joint events are unusual? Why is it that sometimes we get too caught up in Group and District ‘boundaries’ and fail to come together for the common good? We are after-all the family of Scouting and like all good families we should spend time together! Something to think about! What I always love about these sort of events particularly is the coming together aspect and the fact that the kids always get on so well and are quickly swapping phone numbers and facebook adds!

A couple of months ago we circulated our latest Vacancies Booklet with numerous key roles. We have been inundated with nominations and self-nominations and have enjoyed meeting with all those who expressed an interest! Its fair to say that with so many people to see, the County Centre became my second home for the duration of Easter week, but it was time well spent! There is such clear enthusiasm in the County at present and we are really keen to be transparent about all new appointments to the team. Watch this space – but we have some really exciting appointments looming!

The timings of Easter and the Royal Wedding left most Districts with a headache in terms of planning their St. George’s Day Services this year. As a result of the mixed range of dates chosen I have been able to drop into a few local celebrations this year. Inparticular I spent a very enjoyable afternoon with Chingford District where glorious weather and an excellent atmosphere combined to lead to a large turnout of District members, parents and community supporters. I also had the pleasure of presenting a Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award certificate and The Silver Acorn to Grace Morl. Well Done to everyone in Chingford for such a well organised and happy occasion.

Speaking of awards it was an absolute pleasure to recommend numerous individuals to the Awards Board for recognition in this year’s St George’s Day List. I have already circulated the list, but it is again worth highlighting the following;

THE SILVER WOLF

• Jim Berry         
• Joan McGovern         

BAR TO THE SILVER ACORN

• Chris Geary              
• William Hughes           
• Ted Rose               

THE SILVER ACORN

• Charles Cox
• Stephen Crawford           
• Cliff Everitt             
• Peter Final                
• Arthur Fordham           
• Peter Foster             
• Barry Manley           
• Alan Margetts                     
• Grace Morl                
• Caroline Pattendon           
• Andrew Sampson           

We’re now well and truly into AGM season. It’s probably fair to say that few of us joined Scouting because of these meetings but they do prove as a useful way of reflecting upon the last twelve months and seeing what is in store for the year ahead! Myself and my team are doing the rounds at the various District AGMs and we look forward to seeing you there and indeed at the County AGM in June. I will also have the pleasure of presenting all the awards listed upon on behalf of the Chief Scout.

Finally many of you may have watched the Royal Wedding (at least 24 million did, so the odds are that you were amongst that number!). If you looked closely however you may have seen members of the 19^th Romford mingling with the crowds and Bear Grylls on House Guards Parade or Chingford Explorer Scouts selling the official programmes to the millions lining the route.

Another good day for Scouting in London and indeed for the County as a whole!

God Save The Queen!

I feel compelled to put pen to paper (so to speak) to reflect upon another excellent week for Scouting in GLNE!
 
We begin last Sunday with the first of this year’s Training Advisers Forums at Hargreaves, which were being excellently facilitated by Julie Leeper and Tian Bersey. Although I only made the last half hour the atmosphere was brilliant and I hope all the TAs found it useful – judging by the buzz and the chatter a good time was had by all! Hopefully this fresh impetus will result in even more adults taking part in training this year!
 
Then on Monday came the Chief Scouts Awards - these events continue to grow in popularity, with the new online booking system clearly helping to boost take up. The two presentations were excellent as usual, but the second one was extra special. Despite being standing room only the buzz in the room was amazing! Never before have we had young people and adults singing along to the opening and closing presentations! The general atmosphere was outstanding and I would like to pay tribute to everyone who helped ensure that this was an extra special evening for our young people. Photos of all the recipients are now available to order online at www.pbpix.co.uk and very good they look too (despite me being in them!). In addition this was Stephen Crawford’s swansong event as our Multi-Media Adviser and what a high it was to go out on! Cheers Stephen!
 
Special thanks to Barbara & Pete Seddon for coordinating the whole event and to everyone who helped with presenting awards, with carparking, with manning reception and with all the other jobs that make it such a special evening.
 
Then came the County Swimming Gala - a change of venue due to works at Fulwell Cross led to additional last minute headaches, but feedback overall was outstanding! For the first time ever the Beaver Scout events were fully included in the gala and as one mum said to me on the way out “How lovely to see the Beavers being part of the full Gala”, so a real mark of success there! Doing the presentations in the foyer also made them more personal and meant that every parent had the chance to see their child be recognised. There was a large staff team present from the County and everyone worked so hard, despite the sweltering heat poolside! There are some tweaks to make for next year (as ever!) but given the late change of venue I think we all did exceptionally well! Huge thanks go to everyone who helped, but particularly to Paul Fix our Gala Manager, who as always was exceptional.

Plus as the same time another one of our Multi-Module Weekends was being held in Ilford. Various people involved with the Gala were also acting as Trainers and Tutors on this two day course at the 11th Ilford North’s HQ. I had the pleasure of leading the last module on the Sunday and the buzz and enthusiasm from all the participants (and the trainers!) was clear to see – combined with some really motivational stories about how everyone joined in the first place! Special thanks to Jackie Geary for running the whole course and to all the trainers, tutors and caterers!
 
Before heading off to deliver my part of the course I dropped into a meeting of the Thriftwood Management Committee on the premis of presenting two long service awards. I was struck as ever by the good nature of these meetings and by all the developments at the site. Next time your are passing go at look at the new Oak Lodge Dormitories and the new Rifle Range! It was a pleasure to present two awards – including one for 30yrs service. Having looked at their service record I was also able to announce that the adult in question began Scouting two days after I was born – I think that helped put his service into context! I also had the pleasure of serving on the interviews for the new Wardens at Hargreaves Activity Centre last weekend and had a really inspiring day. I know also that a large number of adults turned up this weekend to help dismantle the old Dormitory Block so that work can being on the new Barnes Centre. A good time is clearly in store for two of our excellent activity centres!
 
And the final good news … look out for the April Scouting Magazine which will be hitting your doormats this week and check out all the GLNE recipients of St. George’s Day Awards. Another bumper crop reflecting our huge number of amazing adults!
 
I end the week as a very happy and proud County Commissioner

Happy Founder’s Day (assuming you’re reading this on the 22nd February as I’m writing it!). For those of you who don’t know the 22nd February is the joint birthday of Robert & Olave Baden-Powell, founders of World Scouting and Guiding. Good planning on BP’s part there – at least that way he’d never forget his wife’s birthday!

Around this time of year Westminster Abbey hold a service to commemorate the lives of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell and this year was no exception! However this year marks a slight change, with the service now taking place on the day itself as part of the Abbey’s normal Evensong Service. Each year a different Scout County are chosen to provide the young people who act as the guard of honour, and this year was GLNEs turn!

The young people from Barking & Dagenham, Hornchurch and Ilford East were a credit to the County and to the movement as a whole – special mention to the Beavers and Cubs whose behaviour during the service was exceptional! Following the renewal of promises I came across Wayne Bulpitt, UK Chief Commissioner being ‘handbagged’ in the corner by a member of the congregation. Suddenly I realised that this spritely lady was infact Phyllis Manning from the 14th Hackney, so I felt compelled to jump in to intervene!

A great afternoon and if I do say so myself our young people were brilliant, so a big thanks to; Charlie, Kier, Billy, Aaron, Caitlin, Rosie, Joe and Sam. You did us all proud!

Continuing my positive news, the census results are in – and I’m pleased to announce that we’ve grown by another 3% to a total membership of exactly 8,300 members! That means that since 2007 we’ve increased our membership by nearly a thousand extra people! What an amazing achievement – and clearly lots of stories lie behind these figures which explain why young people in North East London are queueing up in some areas to join the adventure!

My thanks go out to every adult volunteer who makes this possible – through your actions we are changing young people’s lives for the better – and even more young people are signing up for this programme of activities because they are voting with their feet and joining in their droves!

Tomorrow I’m off to a gathering at BP House to discuss Leadership & Management in Scouting – something which is key if we want to keep the growth mentioned above being sustained and built upon. On that note has your Group nominated someone to attend the GSLs Conference on the 12th March? Ideally this would be the GSL, but if they can’t make it or if you don’t have one then we need someone else to attend – every Scout Group needs to be represented at this conference as the outcomes will have far-reaching consequences for us all in the weeks and years ahead. Miss it – Miss out!

Finally thought for you linked to my themes here of celebration and growth – the census results are great, but if every Beaver Colony, Cub Pack, Scout Troop and Explorer Unit had 20 youth members our total County Membership would shoot up to 11,000 members. Now that would really be something to celebrate …

Happy Founders Day!

A new Scouting year has dawned, offering us lots of opportunity to provide even more adventure and excitement for the young people in our care. We also need to ensure our adults have come back refreshed and revitalised! The County Team holds an annual social evening in early January and this year was no exception!

Around 60 members of the Team and their partners joined together in The White House Bar at Gilwell Park to celebrate the successes of 2010 and to look forward to the challenges of the year ahead. It was a fantastic evening and a pleasure to socialise with such hard working and dedicated individuals – plus their partners who let them out to play the game of Scouting!

The evening was well summed up by our County President Col. Hall who emailed me to say “Many thanks for inviting me last evening. I found the gathering to be most inspirational and such a good way to say thank you to the senior Scout management of the County – they do give such a huge amount of time and effort to their hobby / pastime / 1.5 hours per week!”

Speaking of the County Team we are about to publish Volume 2 of our Vacancies Booklet, advertising gaps in our support structure. Worth highlighting is the fact that we have four District Commissioners to replace (Barking & Dagenham, Chingford, Ilford East and Squirrels Heath). The role of DC is a busy and demanding one, but also hugely fulfilling and rewarding. If you fancy a chat about what the role entails please contact me direct – and please help the process by nominating potential candidates!

The first weekend in January now sees a flurry of activity across south east England, with Winter Camp at Gilwell, Fire & Ice at Tolmers and the Pedal Car Olympics at Thriftwood. I know that hundreds of Scouts and Explorers from across GLNE were taking part in these events (and others) and had a great time! Hornchurch District run the ‘Pit Stop Café’ at the Pedal Car Olympics and I spent a few hours helping them on the Friday night serving up fish and chips to the masses! Clearly a good time was being had by all and there were smiles all round (even amongst the caterers!)

One of my proudest successes during my time as CC has been how we have re-launched Adult Training across the County. Numbers signing up for courses and achieving their Wood Badges continue to grow and grow. I spent the weekend before last in Chigwell as we formulated the key objectives for training over the next twelve months. Paul Fix and his core team of Jackie Geary, Julie Leeper and Amanda Harrison have already achieved so much in terms of revolutionising training, but just wait until you see the developments throughout 2011!

Groups have begun registering their total membership on the census website at www.scouts.org.uk/census and GSLs should all have their log-in passwords via their Districts. We know from our regularly quarterly census figures that the County grew by about 3% when the latest data was collected in November. We also know that traditionally little changes between November and January, so I’m looking forward to the figures being largely the same when declared officially. It is however perhaps worth highlighting the first Scout Law (A Scout is to be Trusted for those unsure!) and reminding everyone of the consequences for the minority who fraudulently undercount to save money.

The census is our most important quality check – it serves as proof that we are offering the adventure to more young people and adults and it is therefore key that it is as accurate as possible. We know that kids vote with their feet and that there is much that encourages them through the door, so lets celebrate that and ensure the data is comprehensive and true!

I’m off to Snaresbrook tomorrow to join GSLs and ADCs in Epping Forest South for one of their regular meetings – always a pleasure to spend time networking with such key post-holders. Now where did I put the SatNav?

Welcome to 2011 and to the re-start of my CC’s Blog – designed to keep you upto date with what’s going on in Scouting in North East London and as a vehicle for me to share my thoughts about life in general!

When I started as County Commissioner back in 2007 I started a blog and as a result all kinds of others followed suit – including Wayne Bulpitt, our UK Chief Commissioner. However the early days were so busy that I forgot to keep updating the blog and it died a death!

Well a new year gives us the opportunity to have some new year resolutions and the first of mine is to re-invent this blog! So buckle up because here we go …

As I sit here writing this it is still 2010 and I am staring out of the window at the last of the snow (for now anyway!). I have been lucky enough to join a number of festive celebrations including the Thriftwood Campfire & Carol Service, the Hornchurch Leaders Meal and the launch of a new Scout Troop at Corbets Tey Special School (an emotional moment for me as I was part of the team who launched the Beavers at what was then a brand new Group some 4 years ago). It’s been an excellent end to a fantastic year!

As many of you know in my spare time I’m a teacher and the usual end of term events have included various musical events, assemblies and the now customary staff christmas panto (“Oh yes it was!”) where I treaded the boards as ‘Vince Charming’ in a modern take on Cinderalla! We also marked the retirement of a member of the PE Staff who is hanging up his shorts after 38 years in the job. A fitting series of retirement events were laid on and this got me thinking. At one retirement function a number of ex-pupils (now in their 30s and 40s) talked about the legacy that this particularly teacher had made to their lives. It was quite moving and very inspiring. It brings me to my first theme for 2011 which I want everyone to think about, and that is Recognition. 

Scouting of course has many individuals who tirelessly motivate our young people each week and we need to do more to recognise and reward these adults, whilst also inspiring the next generation to pick up the baton and to take things on from where we all leave them. We have recently nominated another bumper batch of adults for recognition in the annual St. Georges Day List to be announced in April, but my challenge to you all is to think outside the box to ensure that all the adults in your Group are thanked and rewarded for all their efforts during the past month. Check out www.scouts.org.uk/thanks for some ideas if you’re stuck!

Another key area for 2011 is Support. The whole purpose of the County (and indeed the Districts) are to support Scout Groups and the adults therein. Last year we provided a conference for all those who directly support the Youth Programme (ADCs, etc) and this year we will be providing a similar opportunity for GSLs & Group Contacts to engage with us in the hope of better supporting this pivotal role in Scouting. You also can’t have failed to notice how Adult Training has changed enormously for the better during the last 2-3 years. However there is still much more we hope to do in 2011. Why not make this the year therefore where you complete all your training (if relvant) or why not offer your services as a TA or Trainer to help support the next generation of volunteers?

My final thought for 2011 is Quality. We all know that everyone is busy (and getting busier by the year!), but we also need to remember that young people are joining Scouting because they have been enticed by the strapline “Join the Adventure” and therefore every meeting, residential event and trip has to offer that adventure or the young people will vote with their feet and leave. To help enhance programme quality each section in the County is about to be provided with a copy of The CC’s Challenge- a book of programme ideas to help offer adults some suggestions for their weekly meetings. Each section which completes a challenge per month will be entitled to wear a special badge throughout 2012. Your DC will soon have details and copies of the booklet will be distributed via GSLs so please chase them if yours doesn’t arrive during January! 

I’ll leave you with an annecdote which reminds me of the purpose of Scouting … I was in my local pub a few months ago when a really tall young guy came over to me (bearing in mind my height everyone is ‘really tall’!). He looked me up and down and then after a couple of minutes said “Didn’t you used to run the Cubs at The Paddock?”

I’m very good with names, so looked back at him carefully for a few moments, before replying “Yes – and you’re Dean Grey aren’t you!” The last time I had seen Dean was when we was a Cub aged 10 and here he was some 10 or so years later! He then shook my hand and said “I really loved Cubs – it was the best part of my life” and with that he was gone.

A brief meeting, but a reminder (if we need it) that there are thousands of Dean Greys all around North East London and we are changing their lives every week. They may never cross your path again, but if they don’t can I say a huge thanks on their behalf to all of our amazing volunteers.  

Happy New Year!

Dean