Bear in the Air – Part 2

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Hello Dear Reader.

In my last post I ask the question “Is Bear in the Air a good use of Scouting Money?”

The poll had a grand total of 5 votes (whoo hoo) and 4 of those were Yes this is a good use on money and 1 said No. (correction) 8 votes, 6 of those are Yes this is a good use of money, 1 No and 1 Not Sure

incase you missed it the story got some very good media coverage below

(my thanks should go to Phil Bird for his research into the above articles)

The was also coverage on

BBC 1 North

I feel that after raising the question I should add my two pence worth to the debate.

On a pure monetary value it is probably not worth it. Think how many scout you could provide uniform for, or the activities that groups could provide with that money.

If you think about it most groups charge approximately between £30 – £60 for a weekend camp depending on activities etc. if we average that out a £45 per young person.

£10500 / £45 = 234 young people who could be taken away to scout camp, but wait a minute wat about the other 499,098.

This event was not about physical value for money and the questions we should be asking, as raised by Phil Bird in the the previous post are

What price is worth paying for a centre point for an activity weekend for thousands of young people?

What price is worth paying for an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to hundreds of adults that support Scouting?

What price is worth paying for extensive media coverage showcasing Scouting?

My wife has a great term which is “what is the Fluffy Value?” the thing you can’t measure, like image, respect, the feeling felt by a member of the movement when a figure like Bear Grylls comes to their event.

Think back to your Bank Holiday weekend, what were you doing? Probably as most people reading this blog are of a scouting background you were on camp or something scouting.

However the rest were spending it with their families, enjoying a relaxing weekend and reading the paper. So hopefully they read about Bear giving up his Bank Holiday to visit Scout and thought if he can do it, I can do it do – <CLICKY> if you were.

That Bank Holiday Weekend I was bag packing all day on the Monday in Sainsburys, raising funds for a trip to Germany to walk in the Black Forest. I would have loved for Bear to have shown up and helped pack bags for and hour. Do you think he knows to put the eggs on the top :)

So I would have to say that I would give the Bear in the Air a big thumbs up and add my Yes to the votes cast. I think a big thanks should also go the team from HQ that were behind the planning and organisation of that whole event. One thing I would ask is next time ask Bear to take off his shades makes him more accessible.

If you like to add your comments below or if you were in the North East and met Bear that weekend we would love to hear from you.

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©ChrisMeadows2012
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4 thoughts on “Bear in the Air – Part 2”

  1. Whilst I agree that it was a good idea, the benefits are really only seen in those areas where the big ‘Bear’ events are held. It seems that when this type of event happens including when Duncan did them, the events are all in the same areas. In my neck of the woods the general consensus is that it’s good but he ain’t gonna come to our neck of the woods.

    Surely this events only go to the ‘highest bidder’ or those that have the connections. Maybe if the HQ could organise him to visit some of the less fashionable parts of the country. It would help, blimey we still have people in this area who have never even heard of scouting, let alone seen a bear.

  2. I think it is great for Bear to get out and meet Scouts alover the country. It’s great publicity for the Chief Scout to be seen actually with the Scouts and when it is someone with Bear’s media status, then it cannot be a bad thing.

    However, I agree with Ben, that some areas are unlikely to see him. My County, Staffordshire, in my opinion, is never likely to get a big visit like that as we’re in an odd position, neither really in the West Midlands or the North West and we’re not very good at working as a cohesive County.

    However, the North East should be congratulated for getting him there and meeting so many kids!

  4. The area is chosen by HQ, and they’re planning on doing two a year to make it as fair as possible. Obviously he can’t get to everywhere, but the specified points are suggested by the MDMs and commissioners. Think it’s a bit cynical to say that it’s the highest bidder! Think people have got to accept that in order for Bear to stay as much of a media figure head as he is at the moment, he can’t give all his time to scouting. This means that he can’t get to every single scout group. Life’s not fair but we’ll have to get over it!