Welcome to my blog.  I’m glad you could join me.  I hope you’ll keep coming back.  Let’s develop a conversation about how best we can grow and develop Scouting, sharing our ideas, experiences and achievements. If only we shared with each other (in all ways) a bit more often, I think Scouting could be tons better.

I promise to listen to you

As County Commissioner, my role is to lead and manage the overall development of Scouting across Avon. It is crucial that you, our volunteers and young people, get the support and encouragement that you need and that we together work towards a shared vision.  I promise that I will be listening carefully and acting on what you tell me.  I will also update this blog regularly as one way for us to ‘talk’ and keep in touch.

Outstanding Scouting

I would like to end my first blog entry by recognising some extraordinary achievements.  Despite their significance, they’re actually the bread and butter of Scouting.  They’re what we do best.  They comprise volunteers who set young imaginations alight week after week and young people who thirst for adventure and, as a result, achieve great things.

Brentry Scouts go from strength to strength

169^th Bristol (Brentry Scouts) recently celebrated the 50^th year of their Scout Headquarters.  It was renovated thanks to the enormous efforts of an outstanding team who secured considerable grant funding from a number of Trusts and Foundations.  I would really like to thank Phil, Mike and Keith who invited me to join in with their celebrations and to all the others who made me feel very welcome – especially little Owen, who so impressed me with his pride in all his badges.  Be ambitious in the next stages of your plans to develop.  I know you will go from strength to strength in the coming months and years.  To read more, see the Bristol Evening Post article.  It was also great to catch up with Roy Watts (Group President), who used to lead the Gang Show and whom I met as a somewhat terrified ten year old about to walk onto the Bristol Hippodrome stage over twenty years ago.

Ten out of ten for our Ten Tors record-breakers

I also visited Kingswood District for their Ten Tors awards evening.  A very talented team of volunteers supported tens of Explorer Scouts for over six months in preparing for the adventure of a lifetime.  Impressively, our Scouts took part alongside 2,500 other individuals and completed the challenge in record-breaking time.  Their prize?  Nick, their leader no longer sports his locks – and you should have seen what they were going to cut them with!  Apparently next time one of them will have an even closer shave.  What an incentive.  On a serious note, what you do every year for Ten Tours is exceptional.  The friendships, the skills and characters built, the ‘can-do’ attitudes forged are all exceptional.  They remind me why Explorer Scouts represent the very best in young people.  I think you’re all amazing.

Avon Jamboree

It was great to see so many of you at the fantastic Avon Jamboree .  I remember many Jamborees as a young Scout, at home and abroad.  All of them quickly develop their own ‘character’ and atmosphere.  This one was no different.  What a buzz!  All of them bring people together to make new friends and to try new things.  Today, they still reflect their founding purpose of making the world a little better, bit by bit. They often bring out the best in Scouting.  Don't forget to complete the evaluation so that we can be even better next time.