Category Archives: Rants

To debate or not to debate

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<Shuffels papers>

My first argument is ………

<drops papers all over floor due to nerves>

Last week after a chat with Nick from Nick’s Ramblings I had a brain wave.

What about having a post where two like minded people debate for and against a topic. We all have our views about things from which is the better chocolate bar to our stance on economic reform.

It is easy to sit here and type out our views but can you effectivly argue for something that you don’t believe in, it makes for some intresting and thought provoking point.

We plan to have one person as the overall editior of each debate and they will edit the arguments and put them on his blog with a link to the discussion from the other’s blog.

We have gone with a soft topic for our first discussion which can be read here but in future we may tackle the more serious items like Marmite good or bad.

Rise to the Challenge

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Hello Dear Reader

drawingThe other day I had a conversation where the phrase “that might be too hard for them to complete” was used.

It was with reference to an explorer event we are running this year. The event is a night exercise where explorers must complete 15km hike and arrive at a location for 7:00am for breakfast.
It is up to them to plan their route, decide what time to leave etc the closer to 7:00 you arrive the higher your points (that is the easy bit).
However as a further challenge while on route they must take photos, last year we gave them item e.g. A sigh with the letter Y on it, a phone box etc. this year I suggested that we should make them take photos which make up the word AvonScouts so A= Arch etc. and you are not allowed to us the same photo twice.

It was after suggesting this, I got the comment above.

My response was “well it separates the Men from the Boys” (yes  yes, I know there are girl in scouting but separate the People from the younger people does not really have the same ring.)

My point was why does everybody have to complete everything, this activity is about planning, your given the task, your given the destination, your given your time to complete. You need to

  1. Plan a route that covers the distance,
  2. Work out how long it will take you then work backwards to get your start time.
  3. Think about what you might need to complete the challenge why not bring an Addvarkk with you so you can take a photo. (there is nothing in the rules that says you can’t – remember rules should never be broken but sure as hell they can be bent)

It struck me that some people have an innate fear of letting young people fail, and I am not sure why that it. It was this persons belief that every group had to complete every part of the task.

Has Scouting and society gone so far along a politically correct route that every young person must never be allowed to fail. I have read stories of people not running competitive games because it means someone has to lose – well yes that is life.

‘Games without winners and games without losers are those games where no one can say at the end of the day: “I am the winner and you are the loser!” The best thing about games without winners or losers is that the group can simply have fun and can laugh about things together without success or failure playing a role.’

this is a quote from a website called Youthwork Practice

Quote like this depress me, we need to install the fight the hunger the need for a challenge into young people so that they go out there and grab life by the horns and live it. For god sake live it don’t sit on the couch and play it.

It is that hunger to go that one step more that inspires heroes I mean:-

  • Did Edmund Hillary say no its ok base camp is far enough lets not go on who really wants to reach the top.
  • Bear Grylls did not say mmmm I have been to the top of Everest that will do, no he said I want to powerglide 10,000ft higher than the summit.
  • Ranulph Fiennes had lost two fingers on one hand, suffered a heart attack and had a double bypass and at the age of 66 is still looking for adventure.

There is something inside these people that makes them what to go that extra mile to fight for that they want.

If everything is just given to young people, if they always think they will win. How can we possibly prepare them for things like their first job interview if they don’t understand competition, if they don’t understand that there are 10 other people who will do anything to get that job and they need to fight for it.
Ok don’t get me wrong I am not saying that every game we play should be british bulldogs (man that was a fight for your life at times) but I also shudder to think that we never give young people the change to lose the chance to fail.

Thomas Edison said when asked about failing to make the light bulb 700 times

I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.

It all sound really negative but think about it this way if you set young people a challenge, there is a chance that they will fail but there is as equal a chance that they will shine and exceed expectations. Maybe we don’t challenge the young people because it put us outside of our comfort zone and force us to rise to that challenge.

comfort_zone1

So how about in 2011 we try challenging Ourselves once in a while

TTFN

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Friday Rant – BPSA

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Hello Dear Reader

why
Why????

Ok before I get into this  Friday rant, I would like to offer a big Thank you to Ben for his post yesterday it is good to have him on board and I hope you will enjoy reading his additions as much as I do.

Now on to the Rant and I am going to ask if someone can please explain to me what the problem is with SOME (and I stress some) members of the BP Scouts on EScouts.

It seem like whenever a post goes up  saying “we are having this issue” they comment saying “that is the problem with the TSA that is why I left.” The most recent one I saw was complaining about the paid staff at Gillwell park. I felt like saying “you do realise that no-one knows who the hell you are and all those paid staff are allowing you and your organisation to ride on our coattails” You think that is an unfair statement, maybe but you ask Mr/Mrs person in the street who the BP Scouts they will probably mention “Gilwell Park, Jamboree, Bear Grylls” all those things that the TSA have put into the media via their hard-working staff.

The second point that bugs me is, they say they Scout in accordance with BP’s traditions Ok  but then answer these questions why do you have Beavers? and why do you accept girls? That is not how BP did it (a comment I have heard them used when talking about the our Scouting Programme.)

The BPSA is 40 years old and was created following the 1966 Advanced Party Report which looked to modernise the old Boy Scout Association and create the Scout Association. Although the Report was adopted by The Scout Association, it was not welcomed by all members and a rival report, “The Black Report”, was produced in 1970 by “The Scout Action Group”. This provided some alternative proposals for the development of the Movement and asked for Groups that wished to continue to follow Baden-Powell’s original scheme to be allowed to do so. This content of this Report was not accepted by The Scout Association, resulting in a split developing in the Movement and the formation of the Baden-Powell Scouts’ Association. Their membership in the UK, is very difficult to establish as their annual report does not seem to be published on their website, from what I have found they have about 40 groups in the UK.

So it seems to me that in 1970 some people decided they did not like the changes that came out of the advanced party report and decided to go it alone, so disassociated themselves from the Scout Association and set up on their own and now call themselves great and pick holes at anything the Scout Association does to look and move forward.

It would be like Chelsea saying hmm we don’t like the rules in the premier league so we are going to create a league with just us in it and then we can have as many overseas players we like in it and it is better that yours because we say so.

All that being said I am still a little fuzzy – so the BPSA members tell us we are not Scouting and not doing it the way BP did but…. if we really were doing something wrong I think the 500,000 young members would have looked else where would that not have??

A final thought – Do you know why Robert Baden Powell called it a Scout Movement? – He did so because it was not to be a stationary organisation but one that continued to move forward with the times.

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Bristol Cycling City

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Hello Dear Reader

nobikeIt is monday so it is time for a good old moan, Todays toping of attack is Cyclist

in 2008 Bristol was named Britain’s First Cycling City – to quote the council website

Cycling City is a source of great pride for Bristol and South Gloucestershire Councils. It represents clear recognition of our solid commitment to promote and encourage cycling through better infrastructure, training and promotion. Cycling City status is not just an award – it is an opportunity. The total funding of £22.8 million brings the potential for unprecedented levels of innovation, involvement and creativity.

“Our aim is to double the number of regular cyclists in Greater Bristol.

To do this we need to deliver information and infrastructure which links people, where they live, to work, school, shopping and leisure activities as well as providing them with the skills to confidently undertake such journeys.

I read the above and I think great, I use to be a very keen cyclist and as part of getting fitter I aim to get back on my bike and things like the Better by Bike Campagne are a great way to promote the use of bike as a sustainable and environmentally friendly form of transport. Also if you use tools like the Cycle Route Planner on Transport Direct.info then getting there by bike is great way to travel.

Where is your problem Kiff? I here you ask.

Well my problem is with Cyclists and their apparent inability to understand that a Red traffic light mean stop it even says it in the Highway code

69

You MUST obey all traffic signs and traffic light signals.

[Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD reg 10(1)]

71

You MUST NOT cross the stop line when the traffic lights are red. Some junctions have an advanced stop line to enable you to wait and position yourself ahead of other traffic (see Rule 178).

[Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 36(1)]

Yet for some reason cyclists seem to think they are above the highway code and it does not apply to them. I would like to say that this is a small minority of people who do this however I think it is the majority but even the Prime Minister does it

Does it really cause a problem Kiff? you ask

Yes it does, I mean if you stupid to cycle through a red light and get mowed down by the car coming the other way well then that is just natural selection in process isn’t it.

However my problems is not about the protection of the cyclist but of the idea to get people on their bikes. When people campaign about the need for cycle lanes to protect cyclists and how road users never respect cyclists or when schools teach young children about cycle and road safety. The argument is fundamentally flawed when the car driver comes back and says well they don’t obey the laws of the road so why should they be on the road.

Just the other day I was walking across a pedestrian crossing at a 4 -way junction and two cyclists came through the red lights and in front (very close) of me. Ok if a cyclist hit me on his bike I am guessing he  and his bike would probably come of worse however what it is was my daughter or another child or and old person walking across the road and they plowed through them on their bike.

Cyclists say well we have to protect ourselves, I say it is a selfish ignorance of those around them.

Well that is my rant over for now. If you are a cyclist next time you come up to a red light, think about the hard work that had been done to promote cycling and how much damage you are doing to their work by cycling through the red light.

Or if you cycle and think I am way of mark, please comment below and tell me why you think you should cycle through a red light

TTFN

K

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Positive Discrimination

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The Scout Association
Image via Wikipedia

Hello Dear Reader

The term Positive Discrimination or Affirmative Action as it is sometime called refers to policies that take “race, colour, religion, sex or national origin” into consideration.

The focus of such policies ranges from employment and education to public contracting and health programs. “Positive Discrimination” is action taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded.

We have probably all come across this in one form or another however I never though I would come across it in Scouting until now.

Now there is a little voice in the back of my head saying tread carefully here Kiff you are walking on very thin ice.

Let me get the easy things out the way first, Girl in Scouting is a good thing it provides balance diversity competition and some really good laughs.

I am also very aware that even now some 17 years[i] after girls was able to join all sections of Scouting, that there are still people who talk about the boys do this and the boys did that. I am also aware that some scout leaders will offer every option available to a girl wishing to join before saying they can join the waiting list for their group.

However there seem now to also be a rise of the people who are adamant that we must have girls in every scout group and we should be going out and actively recruiting girls into scouting almost to the point of leaflet bombing the local guide company or giving girls preferential treatment on waiting lists.

Before we get to this state of Positive Discrimination, lets look at the options. If you happen to be in a scout group that shares a building with a strong guide company, or live in an area where parents want the boys to build fires and play with axes and the girls to makes sandwiches and braid hair (I am not sure what they do in Guides but that sounds about right[ii]) then instead of stressing about how you get guides to switch codes why not run a monthly joint activity, or a joint camp every other year.

I feel strongly that the opportunity for girls should be there to join which ever scout group she would like to however we should be actively recruiting YOUNG PEOPLE and we should be looking to provide the best scouting opportunities for those young people.

Guiding 2010 Centenary
Image via Wikipedia

My daughter is now about 15months old and with my wife being a guide leader and my involvement in Scouting, there is a long road ahead for me to teach my daughter about the Dark Side and to help her see the light. However I see it as her choice Rainbows starts at a younger age than beavers so she will probably do both and will remain doing both where possible until she gets to Guide/Scout age then it will be for her to make the decision about where she wants to go be it Scouts or Guides

[i] It should be noted that they were allowed to join Ventures in 1976
[ii] This is a JOKE for all those guidey people out there

Would Love to hear your thoughts on this, or if you have come across it.

TTFN

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I LOST THE GAME – Thanks John Green

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Hello Dear Reader

Lost the Game

I LOST THE GAME

I have to make an announcement this morning, I have to let you all know that thanks to John Green of the Vlog Brothers

I LOST THE GAME

I am also sorry to say that if you know what I am talking about you have just lost the game to.

If  you have no idea what I am talking about, The Game is a mind game where the objective is to avoid thinking about The Game itself.  If you think about the The Game you lose

There are three rules to the game

Rule 1) You are Playing the Game.

This rule bugs people because, whether you like it or not you are playing the game there is no escape, what will bug you more is the fact that the only way to win the game, temporally, is to no know you playing the game, so I am afraid if you new to this you going to lose.

Rule 2) Every time you think of the Game you Lose

Which mean that by telling some one about the Game you lose because you have to think about the game so even reading the rule means you lose. It is also because of that rule if you try to think about a way to win the game you Lose.

Rule 3 ) Loss of the Game must be Announced.

Which is why I am writing this post to tell you all that I have lost.  The annoying thing is that it has probably been about 8 month since I first found out I was playing the game and it would seem that I was doing really well but thank to Mr John Green I lost.

If you want to know more information about the game John explains it much better in the vlog I linked to at the top of the page or you can go to Lose The Game

TTFN

Kiff

©ChrisMeadows2012
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