May on the move...

On volunteering...

2011-12-21T13:42:00.002Z

I was speaking to a friend in Russia recently about youth work. “There’s something about you Westerners that puzzles me,” she said, “What is it with your fixation on volunteering? Why don’t you expect to receive proper payment for all the time you spend working with young people? ”

It’s an interesting question. I can’t imagine my life without volunteering. As a young Scout, I saw service as a necessary (if not very exciting) part of the programme. I remember a number of cold and wet afternoons clearing rubbish from the Stroudwater Navigation. At fourteen, I visited an old people’s home regularly for about six months, talking to residents and drinking tea with them, whilst I worked for my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. I’ve been a volunteer leader in Scouting since I was 17, kick-started by the service element of my DofE Gold and since then an activity that, in many ways, defines me as a person to others. I’ve been a school governor, served on boards as a trustee of several charities, spent my summer holidays working on community projects, delivered flyers for my chosen political party, have occasionally cooked lunch in a soup kitchen, raised money for good causes. I don’t see myself particularly as a “do gooder”. I know lots of people who would share a similar profile and many who give much more of their free time than I do to their volunteering activities.

But why do I volunteer? Part of the reason is because I just believe that I should. Whether that’s a result of my Judaic Christian upbringing or post Colonial guilt, I cannot say. But I would feel uncomfortable if I were not doing some kind of volunteering during a week. I recognise that part of the reason is also that I do, genuinely, want to leave the world a little better than when I entered it, and volunteering helps me to go some way towards achieving this. The major reason, though, is that I enjoy volunteering and benefit personally from it. I sometimes find it immensely frustrating, but most of the time I just love it. I have seen countries I would never otherwise have visited, met people I would never otherwise have met. I have developed self-confidence, grown in self-esteem, learned new skills, widened my horizons. Indeed, I recognise that I owe my professional career to the various experiences I have had through my volunteering.

It feels rather egocentric to admit that a major reason for doing what I do is because it does me good rather than that it benefits others, but I’m comfortable with that selfishness. Indeed, I find myself doubting the motives of those who tell me that the only reason they volunteer is ‘for the kids’ or ‘ to save the planet’. I wonder if this is a ‘generation X’ issue. Perhaps the generation before me really was more selfless. Perhaps today’s young people are more altruistic than me and my peers are or ever were.

Whatever the case, I am now in a position where I am encouraging others to volunteer. What advice should I offer? I think it would be this: Recognise your own drivers for volunteering and be honest with yourself about them. It’s OK to want to improve your cv, to develop your networks, to change the world or to challenge yourself. Choose your volunteering carefully. It needs to meet your needs, but it also needs to live up to Google’s corporate maxim of “do no evil”. Volunteering is not of worth just because it is volunteering. Volunteering is only worthy when it does real good – and is seen as positive by those it seeks to support.

Now, where’s the Skype address of my Russian friend?

Scouting for the Google generation

2011-10-01T07:33:00.003+01:00

When Baden-Powell ran his experimental camp on BrownseaIsland, he did not realise that he was starting a movement. But that’s what happened. One boy told another about the fun that couldbe had by becoming a Scout. Anothertold another. The modest concepts ofgetting together with a group of your friends, having fun, getting involved inan adventure, doing good turns, were contagious. And Scouting was born.

Messengers of Peaceis a worldwide undertaking, launched this week in Saudi Arabia, that propels that contagion into the 21^stCentury. Scouts from every nation wherethe movement is represented are being encouraged to register online theircommitment to do a good turn. That goodturn might be helping to resolve conflict in a local community; it might be asmall act of volunteering that makes the world a better place; it might becreating a dialogue between different cultures, religions or generations; itmight be a major international service project.

Through the power of the web and socialnetworking, the registration of that good turn and the subsequent report onaction and impact becomes a little red dot on a Google map... and that red dot becomes a story that can beclicked on by another Scout who is looking for inspiration and ideas. Each little red dot connects with millionsof other little red dots, creating a digital mosaic that, for the first time inour Movement’s history, will allow a Scout in one country to appreciate thegood turn of another on the other side of the world – and truly appreciate the effectof being part of an extraordinary family of over 35 million brothers andsisters, sharing common values and aspirations. Each little red dot turns a group of Scouts intoglobal Messengers of Peace.

And, thanks to the vision and kindness of HM King Abdullahof Saudi Arabia, those little red dots can multiply. Mostgood turns don’t need money; they just need the inspiration of a group of Scoutsand a steadfast commitment to making things happen. But if a good turn needs funding to turn itfrom a brilliant idea into real action, Scouts can apply over the next tenyears for a grant from a fund of $35 million that the King has generouslydonated. So, those little red dots canbecome sustainable projects, impacting on communities over the long term,genuinely changing the world one young person at a time.

It’s not so different from what happened over one hundredyears ago, really. Messengers of Peace is justScouting. As breathtakingly simple andas jaw-droppingly impactful as it has ever been. It’s just Scouting, but for the Googlegeneration.

Scouts can register for Messengers of Peace at http://tinyurl.com/5vnuua6

Are exams the be all and end all?

2011-09-20T13:24:00.000+01:00

I would not trade in my education for anything. It has formed my mind and character, enhanced my ability to enjoy the experience of living and enriched my understanding of other people.

I revere education as the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another.

But these days, as young people look at the relentless rise in the dole queues, they might be forgiven for thinking that formal education is one of the biggest scams around.

Despite so many schools boasting ever-more-impressive exam results and a growing community of universities minting degrees, the perceived value of education is, regrettably, falling on the jobs market. Once the badge of real achievement, formal education, in itself, is no longer a passport to a successful and prosperous life.

So it was with a chilly sense of recognition that I turned to the results of a poll of 1,000 businesses conducted by OnePoll for the Axa Ambition Awards, supported by Young Enterprise. The research threw up the startling finding that 80.8% of employers would forgo some A-Levels if a candidate had good work experience.

What is more, 31.19% were willing to forgo as many as two A-levels if the applicant had the right hands-on credentials.

It may seem an obvious statement, but I believe that experience counts for more than ever these days. If I am asked, I tell young people that it is not a question of ‘either’ education ‘or’ experience. You emphatically need both.

The point is this… Employers automatically expect high standards of English, maths and science. Having a good basic education under your belt is a given. It’s just that these days there are so many young people on the jobs market with excellent qualifications that academic skills are simply not enough.

I would even go as far as to say that, unless one wants to work in a highly regulated occupation like medicine or law, I am not sure that formal education can be seen as a prerequisite.

But having relevant work experience, increasingly, is. This is illustrated in the poll by the statistic showing that 58.4% of employers used work experience to ‘differentiate between candidates.’

It really is stunning that ‘character and personality’ was the most important factor for 60.2% of employers when hiring entry-level staff, followed by 54.6% who cited ‘experience in sector’ and eagerness to learn (52.1%). Formal qualifications came relatively low down the list. A-levels were important for 14.2%, a degree for 22.2 % and GCSEs for 19.1% of employers.

Another telling number is that 59.1% of employers believed that graduates are not equipped with appropriate work skills when leaving education. A hefty 62.5% said they felt relevant work experience was becoming more important.

Obviously, Young Enterprise only gets involved in commissioning such research in our never-ceasing efforts to understand what is happening in the business world and how young people relate to it. So how does the concept of ‘relevant work experience’ relate to what we do? Well, in many ways our work offers young people the chance to find something they love doing and learn as much about it as they can while still at school, college and university.

After 50 years of Young Enterprise in

Britain

, a million graduates of our Company Programme, who got the chance to run their own firms for a year, are out there. They have been christened the ‘secret saviours’ of the British economy.

The greatest success stories I have ever come across always seem to involve people who got the chance to work out exactly what they wanted to do and felt a passion for it by the time they left secondary school or university. Young Enterprise offers them the chance to find out what that is. They ‘learn by doing,’ with the help and guidance of mentors from real businesses, in a way that purely academic approaches would never succeed in doing. And when they present themselves to employers, or opt to set up their own businesses, they are much better prepared for the challenges of real life.

Before Ofsted comes knocking at my door, let me say loudly: I am not calling on our nation’s youth to abandon formal education. But in the modern age we must accept that without experience of the world of work, starting in the classroom, formal education can become at worst truly irrelevant.

Back to school

2011-09-06T15:48:00.002+01:00

My Facebook wall was littered this morning with the pictures of friends' children, dressed in pristine school uniforms, beginning term at their various new schools.    Their faces all tell similar stories of excitement and nervousness - as much for their parents as for the children.   If the books I have been reading over the summer are anything to go by, they all have a right to be nervous.   Charlie Carroll tells stories of violence, thuggery and general abuse in "ON THE EDGE - One Teacher, A Camper Van, Britain's Toughest Schools".    Katharine Birbalsingh recounts a year in the life of an 'ordinary' inner London school in her book, "To Miss with love"   Her school is also a dangerous place for both children and adults.

But the schools I know (and I do know a few) are nothing like the ones described in the books. The schools I know are in inner cities, leafy suburbs and the countryside; independent and state; hugely successful and answering to the description of 'sink school'.    So they're a diverse lot. They all have their share of difficult and demanding children (and teachers).   But for the most part, the schools I know are full of ordinary, decent young people.    They don't always work as hard as they should.   They sometimes play their teachers up a bit. But actually, they buckle down to things when reminded to do so - and they will end up as ordinary, decent adults.   Like most of us.

And, again for the most part, those children are taught by ordinary, decent teachers.   People who put in long hours, preparing lessons that will gently coax the young people in their charge along the knowledge, skills and attitudes path.   Most of the time the lessons will not be stunning.   Sometimes they'll be pretty awful; particularly on a wet and windy Wednesday afternoon - or at least that was my experience when I was a teacher.    But sometimes, a lesson will spark something off in a child's mind (or if they're lucky, the whole class's minds) and that child or children will remember the lesson and the teacher for the rest of their lives.   It really is true that no-one forgets a good teacher.

Miss Knapp.   I only found out her first name was Cynthia when I was about 12 and my mother talked about her as if she was some kind of family friend.   (Which she was, but I didn't realise it.)   South African, tall and no-nonsense.   She seemed ancient, but was probably in her early to mid twenties when she took the seven year old me under her wing.   I learned about pounds, shillings and pence - how to add, subtract, multiply and divide the British currency; all in the same year as decimalisation happened in the UK.   I have never forgotten the lessons, even if I have never since needed to work out how many shillings there are in five pounds.   (There are 100, just so you know.)

Alec Chalmers, tweed suited, five foot nothing, with a temper that boiled like Vesuvius.   He introduced me to drama. Rather precociously, at the age of 10, I played a somewhat diminutive Norfolk in A Man for all Seasons.    And then, a term later, I played Androcles in Androcles and the Lion.    I'm not sure many primary or prep schools would risk Robert Bolt or George Bernard Shaw today.   But I'm glad that Beaudesert Park did.   Mr Chalmers got me excited about language and the power of words.   And he also helped me to realise that I liked dressing up and performing in front of people.   I suppose I now do that for a living.

Michael Stevens, same school, kindly, patient, enormously enthusiastic. At the time I remember likening him to Mr Carter in the Jennings books I so loved to read.    He taught me to enjoy writing and to love books.   But actually, what I remember most was his approach to teaching French.   He used a couple of incredibly high tech pieces of kit to help us learn - a slide projector with a special attachment that allowed him to show a film strip; and a reel to reel tape recorder to provide a commentary from pre-recorded tapes of native French speakers.   The first time he showed the slides I was interested. By the tenth showing, I might have been able to repeat the words in an immaculate Parisian accent, but I was bored stiff.

Gary Jones, bespectacled, slightly overweight, balding - Head of music at Wycliffe College.      He caused outrage in an English class on one occasion, by awarding me 20 out of 20 in a composition exercise.   Big mistake.   (And I hope I wouldn't make the same one with a class of 14 year olds.)    My friends agreed that I'd written quite a good story.   Even a very good one.   But it couldn't possibly be perfect.   I think even I insisted that my marks were reduced. Gary also, unsuccessfully, introduced me to the drums.   Even he could not develop in me a sense of musical timing or co-ordination.

And finally, Mark Eagers.   Mark was probably only 23 or 24 when he taught me politics at A level.   On a number of occasions he was mistaken for a senior pupil by visiting parents.   He enthused, cajoled, argued and challenged.   He took a group of lackadaisical teenagers, happy to be spoon fed as we had been for O levels, and made us think for ourselves.    He was, in short, a complete star.   And he still is, according to the pupils who go to the school where he is headmaster.

Five ordinary, decent teachers, who, as far as I am concerned, did extraordinary things.   And today, as another generation of pupils (or learners, as the politically correct would have us call them) start their new schools, we should all stop for a moment and salute the hundreds of thousands of ordinary, decent teachers who will transform the lives of the young people in their care.   Thank you Cynthia, Alec, Michael, Gary, Mark.    Thank you for everything.

A million secret savers of the British economy

2011-09-01T14:59:00.000+01:00

This blog was written for the Ambition AXA Awards.

As the Ambition AXA Awards work on unearthing some talented treasures among our young population, it seems like a good opportunity to shine a spotlight on a hidden force at work in the British economy.
A million budding business people have passed through Young Enterprise’s Company Programme and they are out there turning the wheels of national prosperity.
Their existence is sometimes ruefully referred to as the ‘best kept secret of the UK education system’ and so I propose to use this blog to highlight these extraordinary young people and let you hear some of their voices. I confess I have an ulterior motive. I want to see enterprise education being expanded in classrooms.
Inspiration
This subject has come to mind because I know that young people across the country are currently rushing to submit their entries before the October 14 deadline for the Ambition AXA Awards. I hope the stories of the young people I am about to relate will serve as an inspiration to potential entrants to the competition as they hasten to fill out their forms.
Every year, under the Young Enterprise Company Programme and the associated Start-Up Programme in universities, more than 30,000 15 to 25-year-olds get the chance to run their own real firms for 12 months with the guidance of volunteers from 3,500 companies. Many alumni go on to outstanding entrepreneurial success and, as I hope to prove to you in this piece, they are making a striking contribution to reviving the UK’s fortunes.
Examples speak for themselves.

Adam Soliman meets some of his suppliers

Take Newcastle University student Adam Soliman. Realising the downturn would bar him from a career in high finance, he got help from Young Enterprise in 2009 to turn his hobby of tea drinking into a business. Frustrated with the ‘bland and bitter’ range of leaves on offer, he launched his own importer and blender under the brand name Charbrew, based in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire.

Today his firm supplies 400 Sainsbury’s stores with varieties such as Strawberry Cream and Tropical Rooibos, a blend of South African Redbush tea mixed with cardamom, coconut, orange peel and lemongrass. Last year he won contracts to supply Lakeland and Booths stores and he has just started selling overseas such as to US chain TJ Maxx and French grocer Casino. With turnover heading towards £500,000 this year he said: “This is a seven day a week job for me now. I am constantly on the go. It’s growing market and lots more people are interested in different types of tea these days.”

Nick Troen and Frank Yeung, who went through the Company Programme in 2002, are now heading for a turnover of £2 million after spotting the popularity of Mexican fast food while on a trip to California. They set up their first ‘Poncho 8’ outlet in the City of London in 2009 and have since added two more London restaurants in Soho and Spitalfields. Nick said: “Young Enterprise sparked off our interest in business. I’ll never forget the mad rush of the first day of trading and the thrill of selling out of stock.’’

Ayrshire-based educational book publisher, Giglets (an old Scots name meaning laughing children), first emerged in 2007 as a Young Enterprise Scotland project created by a group of teenagers in a secondary school. Among them was Craig Johnstone, now managing director, whose dream it is to be the next Richard Branson,and Multimedia Director Tom Brodie-Browne. Their books are based around the adventures of lovable character Tam O’Haggis.

Justin Tuner, Managing Director of Carrot Media, a web design agency based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, said it was ‘fantastic’ to find that the business he started as part of a Young Enterprise Start Up programme became his full time job. “I took a huge amount out of the programme. You get real life experience of what is possible. Even if you are not thinking of starting your own business your employer will understand that you have skills that just aren’t coming out of the education system.’’

Other senior Young Enterprise Alumni endorse Justin’s view.

Transatlantic rower Debra Searle

Emma Pike, now Vice President of Industry Relations at Sony, said: “The most important skill that I learned was team work.’ James Evans, publisher and founder of Firstcar Magazine, said the main tip he picked up was the ability to ‘think outside the box.” Businesswoman and solo trans-Atlantic Rower Debra Searle MBE said: “I learned more about business through taking part in Young Enterprise than I did in two years of A-level economics. I set up two limited companies while in my 20s and was not at all nervous about doing so.”
The self-styled entrepreneur, writer, geek and foodie Steve Parks said: “Because of Young Enterprise I now run five different businesses.” Duncan Andrews, who founded Aylesford-based general bathroom distributor Qualitex Supplies in 1991 said: ‘The experience was extremely beneficial in developing my own personal confidence and business awareness.”
Truly enterprising

All the young people I mentioned above are truly enterprising. They have the potential to go to the very top. In their various ways, they demonstrate the ambition, leadership ability, capacity for innovation and the dedication to provide excellent customer service that has given their businesses outstanding potential for growth.

These are all qualities which will be necessary to win the enterprise category of the Ambition AXA Awards competition. Let battle commence!

Gearing up for the Jamboree

2011-07-23T21:53:00.000+01:00

Today I had the opportunity to address the amazing international team of adults who will be working to support the participants at this year's World Scout Jamboree in Sweden. They arrived at the site today, having travelled from all over the world - and have paid for the privilege of working extraordinarily hard for the next couple of weeks.

"Well, this isexciting, isn’t it? Like you, I’vebeen counting down the days. And nowwe’re here, in Rinkaby. And the 22^ndWorld Scout Jamboree will begin in just a few very short hours.

I’m excited. And I’malso a little bit nervous. I feel thatway for three reasons.

The first is because of the time. World Scout Jamborees come around onlyevery four years. But each time theydo, they change the lives of everyone involved with them. Our lives will be changed by what happenshere between now and the 8^th August. And in a world where this is still suchconflict, trouble and threat, the opportunity to bring more than 38,000 peopletogether, to demonstrate how all the nations of the world can live in peace andharmony; well, that’s a great message for humanity.

The second reason I’m excited and nervous is because of thepeople we’re all here to serve. TheScouts. We are privileged people. For the next couple of weeks, we are goingto be working to support the next generation of teachers, engineers,entrepreneurs, business leaders, scientists, entertainers, journalists,politicians – This is the generation that has the opportunity to change theworld for the better – a generation of 21^st Century leaders ofsociety – Put very simply, these Scouts are going to put right some of themistakes that our generation has made. They deserve the very best. Andit is our job to make sure that, whatever it is that we are doing as a jobhere, every participant has the time of their life. It’s our job, our responsibility, our duty,to search out ways in which we can make each person’s Jamboree experiencespecial – by doing something extra, going the extra mile, providingextraordinary service.

The third reason for me being excited and nervous is becauseof you. Excited because I know thathere, today, we have the capacity to create an experience for young people thatis truly world class. Nervous, because,having worked on a number of World Jamborees, I know that from now until the 8^thAugust, you are going to get increasingly exhausted - physically, spirituallyand emotionally. My advice to you is simple. When you are ‘on duty’ - whatever it is youare meant to be doing - do your job with a smile, a desire to deliver 150% andan expectation that you can deal with any problem that might come yourway. But when you are off duty, taketime to rest, to explore the Jamboree, to take advantage of the adultprogramme, to make friends and to have a real Jamboree experience. You will then be able to start your next dayof work with the same creativity and joy that you feel now.

The 22^nd World Scout Jamboree is going to be, isalready, an extraordinary experience. You, I, we – have the chance to make that experience unique for everysingle Scout. We’re changing the worldtoday, with a small step forward. Andtomorrow. And the next day. Because we are the staff of the 22^ndWorld Scout Jamboree."

So what should we be teaching the next generation?

2011-07-08T06:35:00.000+01:00

Last week I wrote about my friend Matt, the video games designer who, just leaving university, is preparing for a career that will include jobs that have not yet even been invented. A number of readers have asked what our schools should be teaching, if all knowledge is now just a click away on Google and what we know now is likely to be out of date in a matter of months.
As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations,my friends at HTI (Heads Teachers and Industry) have interviewed more than 50 business leaders and educationalists to produce a report that tries to answer just that question. These people include Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder and CEO of advertising company WPP; Miles Templeman, Director General of the Institute of Directors and Young Enterprise Trustee; Simon Woodroffe of Yo! Sushi; and Heather Rabbatts of Millwall FC.

Here are the top nine things that these people reckon today and tomorrow's pupils need:

Very high standards in English and maths and core knowledge of key elements of science, great literature and our nation's history.
The skills to think in different ways: collaboratively in teams as well as individually; deductively as well as inductively; creatively as well as logically.
The capacity and research skills to distinguish good evidence from bad - particularly important in this Google age.
Confidence and enthusiasm, which can be learned through the curriculum, but equally through sport, adventurous activity, drama, music, art, public speaking and debating.
Interpersonal skills and empathy; they need to understand a diverse range of viewpoints in the 21st century.
A set of values that build character and send of purpose; they need that bit extra in terms of self-discipline, good manners, smartness, punctuality, respect and that old-fashioned concept of sacrifice in achieving what you want to achieve.
Resilience: the capacity to handle failures or knock-backs and keep on going.
An inquisitive nature, critical thinking and a self-directed approach to learning
Practical as well as academic intelligence: this requires real-world opportunities and higher quality, more practical work related learning so young people can develop skills in a way that makes sense to them.

I think this is a pretty brilliant list. And it certainly plays into the agendas of the two organisations with which I am intimately involved and which, I believe, add great value to young people's preparations for adult life. I might be tempted to add a specific reference to enterprise somewhere.

But would you add anything else?

Meet my friend Matt...

2011-07-03T10:21:00.001+01:00

Meet my friend Matt. Videogame software designer and world traveller. A true Millennial individual, whose values are as different from those of Joan Armourtrading’s hit "Me, myself I", as chalk and the proverbial cheese.

What sort of a world are he, his generation and the generation we’re currently educating going to inhabit?

It’s one where he’s had to pick up the pieces left him by a generation, our generation, that has failed him. Where higher education has once again become something for the elite, as soaring university fees have made it inaccessible to most.

It’s one where more than 1.5 million people in the UK are claiming unemployment benefits, where posts for trainee solicitors are down by 95%; where John Lewis has 250 people chasing each of its graduate jobs.

It’s a world where, in India and China there are millions of young people entering the jobmarket. Where there are more gifted and talented students in those two countries than the total number of students in the UK.

It’s a world in which China will soon have the most English speakers.

It’s a world where the idea of a job for life is one that’s only read about on history websites. Matt expects to have between 10 and 14 jobs in his career. (Already in the UK, more than half of us are working in a company we’ve not been in for more than 5 years)

Matt doesn’t know what jobs he’s going to do in his life. He can’t. Already, the top 10 in-demand jobs in this year’s graduate recruitment survey, didn’t exist in 2004… We are preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that have not yet been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.

You, I and Matt live in a country that 100 years ago had the largest armed force in the world, was the centre of global business and finance, had the strongest education system on the planet, was the centre of innovation and invention, controlled a currency that was the world’s standard of value and had the highest standard of living. It ain’t like that now.

Matt’s generation has always wanted to do well at school. 98% of British twelve year olds say that they want to, but only just over a third of them actually look forward to going to school.

Matt expects technology to continue to transform his life. Even now, a new blog is being created every single second; He’s on Facebook, of course – along with 500 million others, of which half log on every day. He has the average number of Facebook friends – 130.

Matt also has his own web page. And he expects to do business from it (or something like it) for the rest of his life.

Matt uses the internet in the way that we were taught to use books. His first port of call is Google… always.

He does not expect to know everything. He expects to know where to find the answers to his questions, but not to need to remember the answer for longer than the moment that it is important.

He has just learned (and will soon forget) that 40 exabytes of unique new information will be generated worldwide this year. That is more than in the previous 5,000 years.

Matt knows that we live in exponential times. That the amount of new technical information is doubling every 72 hours.

He has just finished his degree. But for students starting a 3 year university degree, this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study may be outdated by the end of their course.

Meet my friend Matt. The new generation. And the person we have to help find his way in the world.

Feeling appreciated...

2011-07-02T19:02:00.000+01:00

I had a call from a friend last night. She was in floods of tears. She had just got home from her weeklyvolunteering commitment as a Cub Scout Leader, working with 30 inquisitive,demanding and boisterous boys and girls. Last night, a parent of one of the children had arrived forty minutes lateto pick up her daughter. When myfriend, who had stayed behind to look after the increasingly tearful child, askedthe parent if everything was OK, she received a mouthful of abuse, which endedup with a humdinger of a parting shot as mother and child sped off in thefamily 4 X 4: “I pay the fees for my child come to Cubs; I pay you to do yourjob, not ask why I’m late.”

Now, of course, neither of us had any idea why the parentwas late. There could have been anynumber of very good reasons for her being delayed, irritable and stressed. But, in the heat of the moment, sheattacked the wrong person. My friend isn’t paid to be a Cub Leader. Like countless voluntary youth workersaround the UK, she gives of her time and talent freely because she enjoys doingso. It would have been unforgiveablefor the parent to treat a paid member of staff in the way that she did. So shouting at an unpaid volunteer is reallypretty low.

I can’t speak to that parent. I can’t tell her that my friend wasincredibly upset. I can’t tell herthat, despite this, she will have been bag packing at her local supermarketthis afternoon, in order to raise money to help pay for summer camp for some ofthe Pack’s less advantaged Cubs.

So, instead, I’m encouraging you to go and thank your localvolunteer youth leaders – and to share the following with any parents you knowwho might be tempted to take out their anxieties on them. I found it on the 201st Islington Sea Scout Group's websitelate last night and I think it’s rather good.

Dear parents

Thank you for lending us your children.

We are not experts. We're your next door neighbours. We'renot perfect; we are just parents like you.

We don't have any more spare time or energy than you do; weall work full time and juggle our families and our schedules and try to keep itall together as best we can.

The only difference between us is that we believe in whatScouting has to offer. So much so, that we contribute our time, our miles, andour talents to help your children and our children grow in Scouting.

We complete authorisation forms, budgets, and registrations,and fill our homes with boxes of paperwork that you will never see.

We are required to take hours of training, as well as attendleaders’ meetings, so that we can meet our greatest challenge - providing avariety of programmes which meet the needs and interests of very individualboys and girls.

We try to involve parents who want us to understand thatthey don't have the time to drive on outings or help at meetings. We rejoice atthe generosity of others.

Sometimes we find ourselves going in too many directions; werun out of steam. We have memory lapses. Communication lines break down. Timeslips by. But that doesn't mean we don't care.

So many evenings we spend on the phone, seeking advice andsupport from other leaders when disappointments or problems occur. "How doI keep my child’s attention?" "What are your ideas for the ceremony?""How do you work with youngsters in four different sections?"

Our dining room tables are covered with bits of rope, menus, tourpermits, and merit badge cards for each and every youngster in the group. Acouple of them won't show up, and don't think to call and let us know.Sometimes we feel unappreciated.

Yet, these youngsters can fill us with pride at theirdetermination and accomplishments. Their smiles light up a room; and when theysay "Thank You" it makes it all worth it.

We help these youngsters build relationships. Some strugglemore than others. Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly... is encouraged by theScout Oath and Law. And sometimes we too must learn these lessons over and overagain with the boys and girls. But we are willing to keep learning.

Please be patient if we appear distracted or frustrated oroverwhelmed at times. Forgive us if we are not the kind of Scout Leader youwould be if you had the time. Instead, provide us with encouragement or offeryour help. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

We are, after all, only mentors...role models...leaders.Volunteers who have taken an oath to give these boys and girls, youryoungsters, the most precious gift we have to offer- the gift of time.

With best wishes

Your child's Cub Scout Leaders

PS We also get a bit upset when you turn up late after a meeting on a Friday night and shout at us…

Lessons from The Apprentice

2011-05-29T11:18:00.001+01:00

So, The Apprentice has once more taken hold of my life every Wednesday night. Just as in previous years, I am captivated by the apparent idiocy of the decisions made by the competitors, the backbiting and the lack of emotional intelligence they display. Then I watch Dara Ó Briain interview the ‘fired’ candidate immediately after the BBC1 programme and I’m left thinking, “how could someone so pleasant and well-rounded allow themselves to behave so badly during the course of the competition itself?” And each week I remind myself that The Apprentice is actually “Big Brother” in the Board Room, a game show cleverly edited for entertainment. These young business hopefuls are not idiots. They learn a great deal from the experience, even if what they learn is more about self-promotion than profit and loss. And anyway, I’m hooked.

But I am perturbed that young people watching the programme see a parade of behaviours, skills and attitudes that are a long way from what I think good business practice looks like. As one participant put it this week, “there are no friends in this house; this is business.” I hope and trust that young people see through the smoke and mirrors and recognise that The Apprentice is not business. As for the participants, I am sure that, when these aspirant Niccolò Machiavellis refind their feet in the real world, they recognise that friends are important, it’s possible to make big mistakes and survive - and that Lord Sugar is not God.

I’ve been rereading Dale Carnegie over the last few weeks. It’s nearly a century ago that he wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People and I found his writing as persuasive and relevant as ever. So, taking Carnegie’s principles as a starting point, I offer some leadership skills, behaviours and attitudes to The Apprentice wannabes as the sort of things they should be aspiring to, once the cameras have stopped rolling. These were first outlined by David Hakala, writing in HR World in 2008. I might add, for what it’s worth, that I too continue to aspire to these – and find myself, all too often, falling short. What follows are mainly Hakala's words, occasionally altered for for a British audience.

Hakala suggests that you should start with clear communication of a vision. Whether you know already what it is you want to achieve, or whether you need to get a team around you to think it through, without a clear understanding of your desire, you won’t be able to attain it. Without bragging, (because bragging gets people’s backs ups and is anyway very unBritish and therefore, obviously, not a good thing), communicate your vision to others. Make your vision one that belongs not just to you, but to others and you are well on the way to making it a reality.

Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. A leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity.

Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions, and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. A leader who is centred in integrity will be more approachable by followers.

Dedication means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. A leader inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the vision. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only opportunities to achieve something great.

Magnanimity means giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout their organisation. Conversely, a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of effective leadership.

Leaders with humility recognise that they are no better or worse than other members of the team. A humble leader is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders, and he pursued a “follower-centric” leadership role.

Openness means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Good leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others’ ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision.

Creativity is the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solutions. Creativity gives leaders the ability to see things that others have not seen and so lead followers in new directions. The most important question that a leader can ask is, “What if … ?” Possibly the worst thing a leader can say is, “I know this is a stupid question ... ”

Fairness means dealing with others consistently and justly. A leader must check all the facts and hear everyone out before passing judgment. He or she must avoid leaping to conclusions based on incomplete evidence. When people feel they that are being treated fairly, they reward a leader with loyalty and dedication.

Assertiveness is not the same as aggressiveness. Rather, it is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. A leader must be assertive to get the desired results. Along with assertiveness comes the responsibility to clearly understand what followers expect from their leader.

Many leaders have difficulty striking the right amount of assertiveness, according to a study in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the APA (American Psychological Association). It seems that being underassertive or overassertive may be the most common weakness among aspiring leaders.

A sense of humour is vital to relieve tension and boredom, as well as to defuse hostility. Effective leaders know how to use humour to energize followers. Humour is a form of power that provides some control over the work environment. And simply put, humour fosters good camaraderie.

Intrinsic traits such as intelligence, good looks, height and so on are not necessary to become a leader. And it also isn’t necessary to be able to survive two months under the constant supervision of television crews, Karren Brady and Nick Hewer.

Making things happen

2011-05-07T13:20:00.001+01:00

This blog entry was written to support the Ambition AXA Awards 2011...

I’m often asked what makes a successful entrepreneur. I recently posed that question to some of Young Enterprise's most successful alumnae – people who have taken part in our programmes at school and then gone on to start their own companies or become successful business leaders in large corporations. They all seem to agree on the same set of characteristics. To a great extent these are straightforward ‘BGOs’ – blinding glimpses of the obvious – but I think they’re worth sharing.

It all comes down to belief… Belief in yourself, belief in your ideas, belief in other people and belief in taking action.

Believe in yourself
This is something the British really aren’t very good at. We have a bit of a phobia about success, whether it’s in ourselves or others. From a very early age, we’re reminded that ‘pride comes before a fall’. But if you look at the most successful people around, all of them have something in common. They’re positive – about themselves, about the challenges they face and about the people around them. This positivity doesn’t have to be brash. It can be understated in an appropriately British way, but to make things happen and be successful, you do need to believe in yourself and what you want to do.

If you have a belief in yourself, then you will communicate that self-belief to others.

Believe in your ideas
In 1937, George and Ira Gershwin wrote, “They all laughed at Christopher Columbus
When he said the world was round
They all laughed when Edison recorded sound
They all laughed at Wilbur and his brother
When they said that man could fly… Who’s got the last laugh now?”

Have a listen to the song. The lyrics alone are worth a listen.

Your idea may be about the creation of something new; or it might be applying something well-known in a new and innovative way. It might be about spotting a niche in the market or creating an entirely new one. It really doesn’t matter. The important thing is to believe in it and to hold on to that belief.

It is worth checking out your idea with others. Does it excite them? Do they see a need for it? Do they share your enthusiasm? But recognise that new ideas often have to be put into practice before people properly appreciate them. Too often, ideas stay in the test phase for ever and people fail to take the leap of faith to move from ideas to action. True entrepreneurs follow their hunches.

Successful entrepreneurs, however, also do reality checks along the way. There is no point in creating a brilliant idea that has no financial viability. You can’t change the world without balancing the books. So, keep your belief in the idea, follow your hunch, but develop a sensible business plan for it – make sure that you can actually make money out of it.

Believe in others
You may be one of those extraordinary individuals who gets out of bed in the morning with a thousand new ideas, has a real flair with numbers, can make things out of nothing and has the gift of the gab. Most people aren’t like that. They may be the ideas generators, or the numbers wizard, or the manufacturer, or the marketeer, but usually not all four at once.

At school, we tend to focus on individual success in class. Using other people’s expertise and experience is often called ‘cheating’. But successful entrepreneurs - and they are often the ideas generators - are really good at gathering teams of people around them who are better at the other stuff. It is the well led team that succeeds. So work out what you do need help with – and go out and find that help.

And, to support your team, find yourself someone who’s already been successful, to mentor you through the process. You will be surprised how willing people will be to offer their expertise to help you succeed.

Believe in action
So, believe in what you’re doing; believe in yourself and that you can persuade others about your idea too. Work out what it’s going to cost to make things happen – and how you will meet those costs. Get a great team around you to ensure that you have all the skills you’ll need to make things happen.

But then, do it. Don’t put it off. Start something.

Most ideas never make it off the drawing board. Not because they’re not great ideas. Not because they don’t have a strong likelihood of business success. Just because no-one ever actually turns the idea into reality.

Positive action has to go along with positive thinking. It is the true cornerstone of success. Positive thinking is like looking at homework and saying ‘homework done, homework done, homework done.’ What does that do to the homework? Nothing. It’s the actions that you take that make the difference.

So, move to production or implementation of your idea fast. Some ideas won’t catch on and they will fail. But some will succeed. And by moving swiftly towards action, having taken a calculated risk, you get to market and success, whilst others are still dreaming.

Hoorah for the royal wedding

2011-04-30T20:29:00.001+01:00

Yesterday's royal wedding brought back some memories, though not, perhaps, as many as it should have done.   When we were both 17, my schoolfriend Richard Morris and I camped overnight on the Mall, in order to watch Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer make their wedding journey.   I remember the fireworks party in Hyde Park and the fact that the crush of people made it rather difficult to leave at the end (and a bit frightening, if the truth be told).   I remember collecting a first edition of the day's newspaper from Victoria Station at around Midnight, though I don't remember which one; I have an awful fear that it almost certainly would have been the Daily Mail.   I remember the night itself being surprisingly cold and not so surprisingly uncomfortable.   I remember going in search of a mug of tea and a bacon sandwich at around 5 in the morning - and finding an Italian cafe open between Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden.   I vaguely remember being given (or did I have to buy) a cardboard periscope, so that we could look over the heads of those in front of us.   It was, I'm pretty sure, absolutely useless.

I remember absolutely nothing about the procession.   I'm not sure that we even saw Diana's coach.   Whether or not we watched the couple come out on to the balcony of Buckingham Palace, I'm unsure.   I'd like to think we did, but I have an awful fear that we were both so exhausted we might have retired to my father's flat in Kensington and watched the rest of the proceedings on TV.

Yesterday, I stayed at home, sat on the sofa and watched the BBC.   I'm not sure what the lasting memories of the day will be, but I did find the whole event surprisingly moving.   It was evident that the bride and groom have real affection for each other and that, nerves apart, they were genuinely enjoying the occasion.   The hymns were well chosen.   There was, perhaps, a little too much Rutter, but I thought most of the music was splendid.   And the moment when William and Catherine made their vows was wonderful.   I had a sense that I was truly watching history in the making.

For the morning, I joined much of the rest of the viewing millions in becoming a self-styled fashion expert.   I tutted when I saw that Samantha Cameron was not wearing a hat.   I marvelled at the cappuccino octopus that Princess Beatrice was wearing on her head.   And I did actually shed a tear when I saw Catherine's dress; sad, sad man that I am.

The people spotting was fun.   I was slightly perturbed to see Mohamed Al-Fayed walking down the aisle of Westminster Abbey.   This, it seemed to me, was taking royal forgiveness rather to an extreme.   Discovering that it was actually the King of Tonga that I had spotted was a relief.   It was good to see my old friend and mentor, Garth Morrison, belting out Jerusalem in the "Knights' enclosure".    Elton John looked tired, whilst David Furnish looked wide-awake, suggesting that it's currently Elton's turn to do the night feeds.   And, as the procession made its way back to the palace, it was wonderful to see the large number of Scouts who had been selected to line the route.

I hope that what I will remember, however, will be the overriding feeling of pride that I had in Britain.   Crowds of happy people, who had turned out specially to watch their future monarch get wed. A superbly choreographed event.   And what seemed like a whole nation (apart from those who chose to go to Ikea instead) joining as one to wish two people well on a very special day.   I'm really not sure that this could happen anywhere else in the world.

Internships, internships, internships

2011-04-24T11:47:00.002+01:00

Ten years ago, a group of City business leaders, convened by Sir Win Bischoff of Citigroup, created Career Academies in the UK, taking their inspiration from a well-established programme in the United States.   The idea was that young people from non traditional backgrounds should get a taste of big business during their six form studies.   Each would be offered a six-week paid internship in a supporting company.   Many of that first cohort of young people went on to find real jobs in the City and Canary Wharf.   Career Academies UK now serves thousands of young people, helping them to get a taste of the world of work, its demands and the oportuntities it brings to those who apply themsleves.   I am proud to have been the organisation's founding CEO - and I am delighted when alumni find me on Facebook and tell me what they're up to.

The question of who should be given internships has been debated in the news over the last few days as the media force Clegg and Cameron to do battle over anything they can find about which the two politicians might disagree.   Clegg is said to think it outrageous that internships should be made available to the middle classes on the basis of parents' professional networks.   Cameron apparently disagrees vehemently and is ready to support any mum or dad who uses his or her contacts to find their child a bit of useful work experience.

The media is missing the point.   Sensible parents will always do their best to support their children and get them a head start in life, whether that's introducing Jim or Jemima to a firend at the golf club who happens to be a partner in an international law firm, or whether it's finding a summer placement with an uncle at Billingsgate fish market.   Giving someone a leg-up is absolutely appropriate - and I don't believe anyone should stop doing so.   The point is that there are many young people who have no-one to give them that leg-up.   And even if they do, they have no experience of the world that leg-up might lead them to and what might be expected of them.

A good internship gives someone real work to do and helps them to develop the skills, behaviours and attitudes that are needed to succeed in that workplace.   It helps a teenager learn about the importance of showing up, suited and booted, on time, day after day.   It gets that young person to see what might be possible. It gives real-world context to their studies. It raises aspirations.   And, in the process, it allows those who are hosting the intern to develop their coaching skills, see the world from the viewpoint of a teenager and maybe inject a bit of youthful energy into the workplace.   As one employer said to Win Bischoff, "it's a win, win, Win!"

So the argument should not be about who gets internships.   It should be about how we incentivise employers so that all young people get the opportunity to contribute to the world of work before they enter it for real.    Not by spending a fortnight at 15 getting bored doing a fortnight of photocopying and tea making (although everyone has to do that in the workplace at some point); but at 16 or 17, taking one's coursework and applying it for real - whether in a bank, bakery or barrister's chambers.    Maybe those in government might like to think about tax breaks for firms that offer paid internships to young people.

And maybe they might like to think again about the need for brokers to ensure that internships are well organised, safe and truly inspirational.    If internships do make a difference and do matter, then they need to be carefully organised so that they are safe, engaging and truly inspirational for everyone involved.   And that brokerage costs money.   It wouldn't be such a bad idea to invest some money in the future workforce, would it?

Girls in Scouting

2011-04-15T07:15:00.000+01:00

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 boys. Gosh. Or as the BBC have commented, "Ging, gang, golly!"

I am not surprised. Scouting in the UK is transforming itself into one of the most relevant providers of youth work in the country today. Good Scout Groups, and there are many of them, offer intellectual, social, physical and spiritual adventure to a generation that is starved of such stimulation elsewhere. In a world where kids are wrapped in cotton wool by parents and teachers, Scouting still allows young people to take risks. Girls need this as much as boys. And whilst Girl Guiding still offers a "boy free" space for this, I suspect that Scouting's co-educational offer feels more natural to a society that has, for the most part, eschewed single sex education.

But with this growth in mixed membership comes responsibility. I remember that when the Scouts first admitted girls to all sections, there was a feeling that only girls who were "surrogate boys" would want to join. This was soon proved to be nonsense. But I am not convinced that all Scout Groups offer a range of activities that can genuinely serve the needs of all the youngsters that would benefit from Scouting. There's still, in some quarters, an attitude of "we'll let the girls in, but only on our terms..."

The best co-educatIonal youth work recognises that boys amd girls, particularly in adolescence, do sometimes need single sex activity. I am still proud of the activities I ran for Venture Scouts (now, that dates me) when we ran two parallel three week courses in motorcycle maintenance and cooking. We split the boys and girls up. Beveryone did both courses, but in single sex groups - and mastered basic skills without being intimidated by those who, stereotypically, would have felt a need to impose their 'expertise' on others.

In the Netherlands, where Scouting merged with Guiding in the 1970s, many Scout Groups still keep single sex patrols (and even Troops) for 11 a 14 year olds. Otherwise, as I have been told by many leaders there, the girls would win everything.

I'm delighted that more girls are joining the Scouts. But let's now work even harder to ensure that the range if activities provided suits the whole range of young people that Scouting seeks to serve. And let's look forward to seeing the first UK female Chief Scout. Could Bear's successor be a Tammy or an Ellen?

Flexible volunteering...

2011-04-14T12:49:00.001+01:00

A few months ago, a friend of mine tried to volunteer to become a Leader in his local Scout Group. His son was a Beaver Scout in the Colony and his enthusiasm for Scouting had quickly rubbed off on his dad.

However, the Group didn’t want him. My friend wanted to work with the Scout Section, but was told that the Group needed a Cub Leader. If he wanted to help, then he’d have to work with that age range, so my friend didn’t end up working with his local Scout Group.

Instead, he phoned me and told me that he was surprised the Scout Group didn’t want him. So was I; after all, he is a keen hill walker and mountaineer and the governor at his son’s primary school, whilst professionally, he’s the marketing director of a small business. But despite all of these facets, his local Scout Group didn’t want him.

I put him in touch with another Scout Group, whose Group Scout Leader I vaguely know. Three days later, the phone rang and it was the Group Scout Leader on the other end of the line. It turned out that there was a problem. Apparently, my friend had explained that, because of his job, he wouldn’t be able to come to every Scout meeting as he often had to work late, or be in another part of the country at short notice. ‘How can we expect the kids to turn up regularly,’ she asked, ‘if their Leaders can’t be bothered to make the same commitment?’

Amazingly, my friend was still not put off. I think he had begun to see the whole situation as a bit of a game and was determined to find a Group that would accept him. I explained the problem to the local District Commissioner, who was as surprised by the whole situation as I was. He found a third Group and this time the leadership team couldn’t have been more welcoming. They recognised that my friend had a wide range of skills to offer and everyone in the Group worked hard to welcome him. Most importantly, they made sure that he didn’t feel guilty when work kept him away. He’s just done his first camp, absolutely loved it and is now looking forward to getting his mountaineering qualifications up-to-date, ready for next year.

I have learned some useful lessons from this episode. Too often in Scouting we look for people to fit roles rather than creating roles to fit people and we can be poor at accepting people for the contribution that they can give. Instead, we prefer to squeeze people into what we typically see as the way that people volunteer in Scouting – once a week, filling the traditional Section Leader role.

We need to be smarter, because people volunteer for a whole host of different reasons, but they all benefit when their volunteering allows them to follow what’s often known as the FLEXIVOL approach:

• Flexibility

• Legitimacy

• Ease of access

• Xperience

• Incentives

• Variety

• Organisation

• Laughs

• Flexibility needs to be a top priority, particularly regarding working times for volunteering. We should recognise that people today have numerous demands on them and find it hard to make the time and commitment to volunteer.

• Legitimacy is needed throughout Scouting. We must be vocal about the benefits of Scouting so that people don’t feel embarrassed about volunteering to work with us. Both our Chief Scout and the ‘adventure’ brand are working hard to challenge the antiquated notions of woggles and Scoutmasters, but there’s still much work to be done.

• Ease of access is still a barrier to joining Scouting. Many simply don’t know how to go about it. When was the last time someone in your Group actually spoke to your local head teachers, librarians and councillors about what you need and how to get in touch

• Experience is high on people’s wish list for volunteering. They want relevant and interesting experiences which will stand them in good stead in their personal and career development.

• Incentives are about making people feel good about their volunteering. In Scouting, this is usually just a case of remembering to say ‘thank you’ – and doing so sincerely and often.

• Variety is an obvious and widely recognised requirement. Too often, new recruits are given just one job to do and then asked to do it over and over again. Variation should be offered in the amount of commitment, the level of responsibility and the type of activity that we ask everyone to undertake.

• Organisation of volunteers needs to be efficient, but it also needs to be informal, providing a relaxed environment in which people feel welcome and valued. We are often at risk in Scouting of using the same management jargon that we use at work – and so our Scouting becomes too much like the day job.

• Laughs for me, keep me in Scouting. Volunteering should be enjoyable, satisfying and, above all, fun. Let’s avoid cliques and organise activities that will be of interest to everyone. And if we can do all that, then people like my friend will be attracted to join Scouting as a volunteer and, more importantly, stay.

2011-03-28T12:13:00.004+01:00

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced today that it will support every school in developing and running its own business through the Enterprise Champions Programme.

I welcome the announcement which supports my belief (and that of Young Enterprise) that young people of all ages deserve the opportunity to develop the enterprise and entrepreneurial skills necessary to stand out in a competitive employment market, as well as develop the confidence to start their own businesses and successfully drive economic growth.

I am pleased that the government has learned from Young Enterprise's experience and intend to roll out a similar programme for every student across the country. I’ll be interested to see how they intend to coordinate this project, whether it will become part of the national curriculum, and how it will be funded. Young Enterprise is ready to work with the government on behalf of British business and the nation's young people to turn words into reality. I am delighted to be working together with the Education and Employers Taskforce as we look at how the Enterprise Champions Programme can be coordinated and supported across the country.

At the moment, 25,000 students from schools, colleges and universities across the country take part in Young Enterprise's Company Programme where they work with local business professionals to set up and run their own businesses. Learning about business in this practical, challenging and fun way has proven to have exceptional results with Young Enterprise Company Programme alumni being twice as likely to start their own business as their peers.

Getting fit for the future

2011-03-02T08:30:00.000Z

The last nine months have been extraordinarily busy for Young Enterprise.   Last summer, we recognised a need to bring the various regional charities in England and Wales closer together.   Last night, at midnight, a merger took place, meaning that there is now one Young Enterprise for England and Wales, rather than a collection of autonomous charities.   Scotland and Northern Ireland continue as independent entities, licensed to the UK organisation.

This change will allow us to offer services consistently across England and Wales, will enable us to run under a more streamlined management structure than before and should ensure that we will be able to serve our schools and busineses more efficiently.

I have discovered that co-ordinating a merger of 11 different charities, even those in the smae family, is a challenging task.   It has been important (and will continue to be important) to spend a considerable amount of time with volunteer and staff colleagues, explaining the impending changes and preparing for the creation of what is, to all intents and purposes, a new charity.   We have a new management team and a new Trustee board to appoint.

We will end up with a very strong organisation, well placed to lead British business in its support for the education of young people. I am excited about the future.

Opening Ceremony

2010-07-28T22:45:00.001+01:00

The opening ceremony had been billed as starting at 9:00am. Everyone had got up really early, had packed their tents and put all their luggage on army lorries, ready to transport them to their various expedition centres. The Europeans, at least, were seated in the main arena at 8:30am as requested.

I began to realise that 9:00am was not going to be the true starting time. Nothing was ready. There wasn't even a flagpole set up for the Kenyan national flag. But very quickly, things began to happen that suggested that a plan was in place and getting the Europeans out of the way was really just part of it. A whole host of people appeared and began laying gravel on all the paths around the campsite. A new flagpole was erected. Someone painted the rocks around the main dais. Someone else dressed the dais with purple fabric. A large truck drew up with a carved wooden chair, which was moved with care on to the dais. A team of people were painting the front of the Kenya Scouts Headquarters within the campground. Another team were cleaning and polishing the windows. Someone distributed programmes for the opening ceremony. I opened one up. The event was actually due to start at 11:00am. And we were expecting His Excellency the Hon. Mwai Kibaki, the President of the Republic of Kenya.

At 10:40, a very large convoy of limos drove up accompanied by armed guards. The organising committee, the Secretary General of the World Scout Movement, the two of us from the World Scout Committee and other hangers on were lined up into a receiving line and we greeted the President. On Monday I had stroked a giraffe's nose for the first time. Today, I shook hands with the President of Kenya and briefed him on the programme for the World Scout Moot.

The ceremony was long. It was entirely run by the State PR machine and there were clearly concerns about the President's security. "I thought we had agreed that there would be no dancing," said the Master of Ceremonies at one point to the participants, slightly perturbed, I suspect, by the ebullience of 1,500 energetic and possibly uncontrollable young men and women.

I delivered a speech of welcome. This was politely applauded, but it was one of many speeches that all really said the same things: First World Scout Youth Event on African soil; 1,500 young people from 65 countries; Kenya, the last home of Baden-Powell; great honour to be here; great honour to have his Excellency the President here; a great event to look forward to. Eventually, the ceremony was over and the participants moved off to the buses that would take them to their expedition centres, between 3 and 5 hours drive from Nairobi.

As I write, all have now arrived at their centres, though some were greatly delayed by roadworks and breakdowns of coaches. The Moot has now properly begun.

Moving on to site

2010-07-27T23:00:00.000+01:00

I spent the morning wandering around Nairobi, visited the bank, found a Java Coffee house for an excellent breakfast and chatted to Ross and his team.   Very relaxed.

In the afternoon we moved on to Rowallen Camp Site, the main camping ground for the Moot. Everything looked as though it was running smoothly by the time we arrived.   Registration was going well, the camp was being set up and everyone was in high spirits.   There were a few grumbles from international service staff, who had arrived a couple of days earlier, that there wasn't enough work for them.   There soon would be, I assured them.

Now, an admission.   I am not camping.   Those who know me well will not be surprised.   I really am too old to sleep on the ground and not have easy access to a lavatory in the middle of the night.   So instead I am sharing a 'guest house' (really a dormitory) with three friends who also feel the same way and have reached the peak of their mid-life crises: John Naismith, a fellow member of the World Scout Committee, Damien O'Sullivan from Scouting Irealnd who is helping to support the infrastructure of the camp and Victor Ortega, the World Scout Bureau's photographer and media guru.   Victor's excuse for taking the soft option is that he has a bad back.   I hope he doesn't snore as I we are sharing a bunk bed. I am on top.

All went well until about 7.00pm.   It then became clear that the centralised catering for the 1,500 participants, organised for tonight so they didn't have to cook as they're all off to expedition centres in the morning, hadn't really been thought through properly.   There was one line to feed everyone, the serving point was way understaffed and, quite quickly (whether through underordering or early diners coming back for seconds and thirds) the food ran out.    Our Kenyan hosts moved swiftly to cook more chicken and even prepared to send out for pizzas, but the latter wasn't necessary. By 9:30 everyone had been fed. (Or at least the line had disappeared.

Sightseeing

2010-07-26T20:53:00.001+01:00

I arrived in Kenya this morning, fairly bleary eyed from a long but not uncomfortable journey.   Immigration, for once, was a cinch.   A big smile from the immigration officer (something I've never received before), electronic fingerprinting (also new) and a complete inability to find any records of previous visits in the system (some things never change).    He gave up the task of tracing me very swiftly and with a "Karibu Kenya, Mr May, enjoy the Scout camp!", I was back in Africa.

The journey to the hotel was the usual mixture of Nairobi juxtapositions.   Men in black suits and shiny shoes on their way to work, walking at the side of road. The car swerving from lane to lane to avoid the potholes.   "Volunteers" at the side of the carriageway, breaking up stone occasionally to fill the said potholes, but really waiting for a handout from the drivers.   Fumes.   Enormous billboards advertising Tusker beer, Nakumatt supermarkets, Safaricom mobile phones.   What was missing was any sign at all of the streetchildren I remember from previous visits.   No-one hassled us.   Perhaps it was too early in the morning.

At the hotel, the 680 in central Nairobi, I met up with Anne Whiteford, John Naismith of the World Scout Bureau and World Scout Committee and Ross Maloney, leader of the British Contingent.   They were attending a press conference.   I showered, joined the end of the conference and then spent the day with the Brits, sightseeing. Three places I had never visited before:   Karen Blixon's house (now a museum, with a particularly quirky guided tour...   "Here is a clock, original; here is a table, reproduction; here is the kitchen sink, original..."); A bead making factory, providing employment for single mums (and selling on at inflated prices to western tourists); The Giraffe Centre (where I was able to feed a giraffe and scratch its nose.)

The whole UK contingent spent the evening at the famous Carnivore restaurant.   This provided several of the young people the opportunity to drink outrageous cocktails and to eat far too much food.   I didn't like to say to them that I felt this would be the most meat they'd see for at least ten days...

To Kenya

2010-07-26T14:53:00.001+01:00

Every four years or so, the World Scout Movement holds an event for young adults aged between 18 and 25. This year, for the first time, the event will be held on African soil. So I am travelling to Nairobi in Kenya to join the 1500 young people from around the globe who will be taking part in the 13th World Scout Moot.

This will be my second Moot. In 1993, I was the deputy contingent leader of the Moot that was held in Kandersteg, Switzerland. This time, I attend as a member of the World Scout Committee. I'm expecting to work hard in support of our Kenyan hosts - and to enjoy being back in Africa. I will try to write regularly to keep people updated about the event's progress.

London, 7/7.

2010-07-07T17:58:00.003+01:00

This morning, just after rush hour, I was on the tube, heading for a meeting in central London. As luck would have it, I was heading south from Kings Cross to Holborn. As we passed through Russell Square station, I glanced at a small group if people on the platform. They were standing still, oblivious to the train - clearly there for a reason other than travel. And then I remembered the date.

Five years ago, at the same time in the morning, I was in Canary Wharf, on my way to a Skills UK event in Newham. News filtered through to us that the tube system was shutting down, due to an incident close to Russell Square.

That day, the day of the London bombings, I experienced the worst and best of what living in one of the world's greatest capitals can mean. The worst, because so many people had their lives tragically changed that morning. One was a Career Academy student, on his way to his internship placement. He was caught on the tube that was bombed. Luckily, he was not in the carriage where the bomber created his deadly havoc. But he did inhale the smoke and was evacuated with the other surviving victims of terrorism.

That same day, London pulled together. Our students were walked home by volunteers from out various supporting companies. They were put on boats and escorted up to Canary Wharf , from where we put them on buses. Some actually joined the teams in their host companies who were coordinating the mass exodus through a city with little public transport. They and their colleagues demonstrated selflessness and courage in the face of terrorism.

That evening , I joined the Scout Group in Coram Fields, close to Russell Square. They were meeting as usual, undaunted, because the kids needed Scouting and normality that evening. And they have an amazing Group Scout Leader who recognised their needs.

London felt no different today, of course, from other days. Why should it? But five years ago it did feel different. It felt strong and unified in a commitment to get on with things, despite the atrocities that had been committed against it.

The best of London is the ability it has to "keep calm and carry on". Which is what I did for the rest of today, as it happens, along with everyone else.

The Conservatives' proposals for a National Citizen Service

2010-04-08T13:38:00.001+01:00

You may have picked up today’s campaign announcement by David Cameron of a proposed National Citizen Service, a two month summer programme for 16-year olds, involving both residential and at-home components. If the Conservative Party were to form the next government, the programme would be delivered by independent charities, social enterprises and businesses.

The programme has been piloted already. Last summer David Cameron announced the launch of ‘The Challenge’, run by the Challenge Network. The Challenge Network is an independent charity. Its aim is to work with independent providers to develop and run larger-scale pilots, and roll out a national programme over time. Last year, The Challenge launched large scale pilots with young people from in Southwark and Hammersmith & Fulham. Over the course of these pilots, 158 young people were taken to an outbound centre in Wales and to the Lake District, as well as carrying out projects in their local communities.

The pilots continue this year – and will, for the first time, include an option for young people to take part in enterprise related activity. Young Enterprise has been asked by The Challenge to provide much of the input and is doing so in London and Birmingham, where this summer’s pilots are being based. I am providing strategic advice to The Challenge Network as one of five people from the youth and education sector that form their advisory board.

Based on the development work completed so far, and on the experience of running pilot programmes, the Conservatives estimate that the cost of national NCS pilots will be £13m in 2011 and £37m in 2012. These costs will in part be met by sponsorship. The Conservatives have promised that the bulk of the costs, however, will be borne by government. They suggest that over two years, funding of £50 million will be redirected from the Department of Communities and Local Government’s contribution to the multi-departmental ‘Prevent’ programme.

Young Enterprise's engagement in the piloting process means that we will be well placed to bid for further funding, should the election return a Conservative Government.

You can read more about the work of the Challenge by clicking here and download a copy of the Conservative’s materials on the National Citizen Service by clicking here

The FT bigs me up a bit...

2010-02-27T18:02:00.002Z

Rather surprised this morning to wake and find myself being likened to Kingsley Amis and being described as an educational reformer. Stuart Rose and I have penned an article for a forthcoming book on education, which also include contributions by AC Grayling and Niall Ferguson. Andrew Roberts predicts that the book will "set the education debate alight in a manner reminscent of the Black Papers, a series of polemical pamphlets on progressive education, first published in 1969 by a group of notable contributors including Kingsley Amis... When Gove is seen entering No 10 for the first cabinet meeting of the new Tory ministry with the book tucked firmly under his arm, remember you read about it here first." Crikey.

A week in Malaysia

2009-11-01T06:07:00.004Z

I have been visiting Kuala Lumpur over the last few days, attending the Asia Pacific Scout Conference as a member of the World Scout Committee. It's been a fascinating week. The hospitality of our Malaysian hosts, led by the extraordinary Eric Khoo, has been exceptional. Nothing has been too much trouble. Every coffee break has produced more wonderful food and the various dinners and receptions have also helped me add to my waistline. I am, as my African friends would say, feeling 'prosperous' after a week of solid dining.

The conference has been held at the Hilton, just above KL Central Station. It towers above the city and, as my room was on the 30th floor, I had a brilliant view. I was able to choose from looking at the world from my bed or my bath - there were floor to ceiling windows in both rooms. And the largest plasma TV I have ever seen. And free laundry. And a ridiculous array of Malaysian and Western food laid out in the executive lounge for breakfast. Wonderful.

The conference mixed a whole range of governance type activities - elections, reports on the last two years, resolutions - with discussions about projects being undertaken by individual national Scout organisations. There is an interesting tension between 'school-based' Scouting, in those nations where Scouting is the country's official youth activity and undertaken by all young people; and 'community-based' Scouting, which is what we're more used to in Europe. School-based Scouting has extraordinary reach and penetration; there are over 15 million Scouts in Indonesia alone; but activities are not always funded properly by government and teachers often find themselves given the job of Scout Leader with little training or support. Community-based Scouting is often creative, dynamic and reliant on passionate volunteers; yet it has to compete with the myriad of other activities from which kids today can choose. Both sorts of Scouting envy the other, whilst defending their own advantages. Fascinating.

Some of the individual projects being undertaken are really very exciting. New Zealand has recently relaunched its brand with a strong emphasis on extreme adventure. Indonesia has worked with relief agencies to support life-saving activity in disaster areas. Street children in India have received education via the Scouts. (Actually, according to friends from Pakistan, we shouldn't use the term 'street children' any more as it is seen as being too pejorative in some cultures.) This is a region with a rich mix of cultures and Scouting heritage. So discussions are always exciting and fascinating, particularly for a European.

One thing the Asia Pacific Scout Region does really well is entertaining. Amazing dances. Great food. (I think I may have mentioned this already!) And a bizarre (at least to European sensitivities) enthusiasm for badges, medals and certificates. I was a little taken aback, if extremely honoured, to be awarded Malaysian Scouting's highest honour by the Minister for Education and Sport. I have also been inducted into ATAS - an Association of 'Top Achieving Scouts'. Business card swapping is an important habit and I am coming home loaded with the details of many new contacts, as well as the updated email addresses and mobile phone numbers of a host of old friends.

Kuala Lumpur itself has been a tremendous city to visit. I last spent time here immediately after the Tsunami of 2003. Even then it was clearly modernising swiftly, but it is now a city that screams 21st Century at you. Its shopping malls are full of electronic goods. Wireless Internet access is everywhere (and usually free). The streets are clean and tidy, the public transport efficient, the shop owners helpful and very, very speedy in their service. But there are still touches of the 'old' Malaysia available if you know where to look. I was able to have my first taste of durian (the world's smelliest fruit) from a street hawker and had a brilliant meal one night, sitting at a plastic table in a street, with the food being cooked on a brazier next to me. (I also managed to completely mess up my ordering of food and ended up with the most bizarre frozen salad when I thought I'd ordered a fruit juice.) The Petronas towers are as gob smackingly beautiful as ever. As are the women who try to get you to buy 'genuine copies' of Rolex watches and Gucci bags.

It's been a great week. As I write this, I am waiting for my flight back to the UK, sitting in a lounge in KL's equivalent of Gatwick airport. I am flying Air Asia, 'the world's most popular low-cost airline', direct to Stansted. 14 hours. It'll be strange to be back in England. And I'm going to miss KL, its heat and humidity. But the great thing about Scouting is there's no need to miss my friends. The Internet means we will continue to talk regularly - and we'll all meet up again in just a few short months when the World Conference takes place in Brazil.

There is much that the rest of the Scouting world can learn from the Asia Pacific Region. However, perhaps because it has half the world's Scouts in membership, it risks being rather insular in its outlook. We need to ensure that we tell the story of what is going on in the region and get its leaders to visit other National Scout Organisations around the world to tell their stories and share their good practice.

Street theatre in Covent Garden

2009-10-10T17:49:00.000+01:00

Sometimes it's fascinating to spend the day immersed in someone else's world. Joe was performing in Covent Garden, so I went along to provide child care for my nephew, whilst Trish was videoing the act. He's really rather talented, my brother.

One month after surgery

2009-09-29T22:03:00.002+01:00

Thank you for the extraordinary number of emails I've received following my recent blogs concerning my eye surgery - many from people I've never met who seem to have found my via Google and Yahoo.

So, an update on progress. I went for my one month check up this week and was delighted to find that my vision had improved considerably. Actually, I knew this already as I have been wandering around with my eyes open and have been able to see the differences on a daily basis. What was great to discover was that I am now easily at 20:20 vision and am moving towards a potential 20:40 acuity, which is truly amazing.

My sight is not, however, the same as it used to be with glasses. Things are not as sharp as they appeared before - although it's difficult to pinpoint quite what I mean by this. It's sort of like comparing pictures on two different televisions. Both are good, but they have different qualities. It'll be interesting to see how the sight continues to settle over the coming few months.

One thing that is causing some trouble is dry eye syndrome, which I was warned that many people encounter. The nerves in my eyes are becoming sensitive again and this means that by the end of the day, my eyes begin to sting a bit. This is alleviated by synthetic tears, which I'm using every couple of hours throughout the day and by the use of an ointment that I'm using at night. When my eyes are dry, sight gets quite fuzzy, but when they're wet it's much better.

I am not using reading glasses at all at the moment, which is great, but I think I may be straining the eyes a bit, so I need to be careful. Night driving is OK, although there's a bit of a halo effect around oncoming lights.

All in all though, things are going pretty well. And I am now allowed to rub my eyes and to go swimming. Joy abounding! (I now need to buy myself some swimming goggles with no prescription!)

New eyes - one week on

2009-08-28T20:17:00.003+01:00

Went back to the clinic for a one week check-up today. The good news is that the vision is improving all the time. I was able to read the bottom line of the sight chart after blinking. However, at the moment I have developed long sightedness. This is likely to settle over the coming weeks and months, but at the moment is quite frustrating... I can see extremely well in the far distance, but I cannot see advertisements clearly above my head on the tube. And I do have to wear reading glasses (most of the time) for computer and book work.

My eyes are very dry and, a little bit worryingly, I have some inflammation in my left eye. The optician who checked me out got one of her colleagues in to take a look at it, which slightly perturbed me. She told me that she'd seen this only a couple of times before. This perturbed me even more!

I have to up the dosage of the steroid eye drops to once every two hours in a bid to ward off the possible infection and report back next Tuesday for another check up.

New eyes; one day on...

2009-08-23T18:29:00.003+01:00

It's now just over thirty hours since I had my eye surgery. The results are extraordinary.

I went to bed last night feeling pretty content. I put on the special eye shades (taped in place with micropore) that would stop me from rubbing my eyes in my sleep. When I woke this morning, I reached for my glasses, as I have done every day for more than thirty five years - and realised that I didn't need to do so.

No shower this morning. I am not allowed to wash my hair for three days, in case I get any contamination in my eyes, so I had to make do with a bath and an attack with the face flannel. My eyes felt very tired this morning, just like I remember them feeling when I had slept with contact lenses in. This is, of course, exactly what I had done as the bandage lenses were still in place. My eyes were quite red and sore. However, once I had put in the first of the day's eye drops, they got better very quickly.

I then put on my new and very fashionable Oakley sunglasses (to be worn whenever I go outside for the next week, rain or shine) and set off for the clinic at Finchley Road. My sight felt slightly strange. At times it seemed better than ever, but it also became apparent that middle and near distance sight was a bit dodgy, though this was improved by blinking.

Time again for a coffee and a pastry for breakfast before my appointment. By ten past ten, I was sitting again in the reception area of Optimax, waiting for the optician to give me my 24 hour check up.

The check up was quick but thorough. The optician checked how the flap was healing, put some dye in my eye to check for any problems and removed the bandage contact lenses. My sight was then checked. Yesterday I couldn't read the top line of the test card. Today, I could read down to second line from the bottom. Not yet 20:20 vision - that's the bottom line; but well on my way towards it. And, certainly within legal driving limits.

It does look as though I am now long sighted - as I had been warned that I might be. However, my near sight has improved throughout the day, so I will see tomorrow whether or not I will need to go and buy some reading glasses.

I have spent the rest of the day relaxing. My sight seems to have settled down and things are certainly clearer. The haze I wrote about yesterday has now cleared completely. It'll be interesting to see how the next few days go. I have been warned that there may be some fluctuations and that I should expect to see improvements for the next month or so, before we know how well the surgery has really gone. I am stunned by how painless and simple the whole experience has been so far. And I can see.

A life changing experience...

2009-08-22T17:46:00.001+01:00

Well, after years of prevaricating, I have finally gone and had it done. Today, at about 10:30 am, I went under the knife (or more accurately laser) and had my eyes operated upon.

I used Optimax, and they were pretty good. A few weeks ago I went through an initial consultation, which was much more thorough than one I had received at one of their biggest high street competitors. I haggled over price and agreed a cost that I felt was fair and competitive. We set a date for surgery and that was that.

Today I travelled to Finchley Road, to their London clinic, which is based in what looks like a converted Victorian school building opposite the tube station. I had managed to organise the journey on a day when London Transport had shut the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines, but luckily it was early in the day, the replacement bus was running and I was able to arrive in time to get a coffee and croissant in a cafe across the road, before my appointment.

The process started with a repeat of some of the tests I had experienced at the initial consultation. I was then sent upstairs to a waiting room before meeting my surgeon. Whilst I was waiting, I had the slightly unnerving experience of listening to a young woman refusing to have treatment, having met the surgeon in question. She said that he seemed disinterested and had made no effort to make her feel at ease. She didn't trust him. Her husband was a surgeon, she said, and he was distinctly unimpressed too. Not a good start.

However, when I was called in to meet the great man, I found him to be fairly engaging, sensible and thoroughly straight forward in his approach. His greeting was simple and to the point... "Ah, Mr May, the 45 year old with the extremely high prescription and appalling astigmatism? Good morning!" He asked me various questions, double checked that I understood the risks of surgery, that I realised that I would probably end up a bit long sighted (on account of my great age), and sent me to be retested on a couple more items. I then answered a detailed questionnaire to show that I understood the consent form... (hint; the answer to all the questions is YES), signed the form itself and then sat reading Homes and Garden magazine for a few minutes.

Before I knew it, a young Polish nurse (all the support staff seemed to be Polish), called my name and I was taken through to the operating theatre's prep room. Prep involved my putting on a hairnet, sitting in a chair to have my eyes cleaned and anaesthetic drops administered. I sat for a few minutes, waiting for these to take effect and then I followed her through to the theatre, leaving my glasses behind...

The operating theatre was manned by the surgeon and a couple of support staff, who didn't introduce themselves. I lay down on what looked like a fully reclined dentist's chair. The first thing the surgeon did was to swing me under a laser machine which had a suction cap attached. This was plugged on to my eye and made a slight hum. Before I knew it, the surgeon then informed me that he had made the first flap and would now be doing the next eye. This part of the process was completely painless.

I was then swung under the laser machine that would actually do the surgery. I was asked to look at a green light and I think the surgeon lifted the flap that he had made, but I can't be sure - as obviously everything was out of focus... The green light turned to red and then into a set of dissipated red lights. There was a very slight smell of burning, which I understand was my eye being lasered, but no pain at all. Again, before I knew it, the surgeon informed me that the first eye was done and that he was now going to start on the second one. "Just another four minutes and it'll be done", he explained. I asked him if there were any surprises. "No," he said, "very boring and routine, but I think you'd prefer it that way." He then inserted 'bandage' contact lenses into both eyes. These are completely clear and just protect the flap from dust for the first few hours. They will be removed tomorrow.

"That's it," he said, a moment later. I walked with the nurse back to the reception area, removing my hair net and picking up my bag from the prep room. I could already see better than I have seen since I was about eight - certainly well enough to recognise Shelley, Marc and Kye, who were waiting for me in the reception room. I said hi and was then taken into a recovery room, which was dark, and asked to shut my eyes for ten minutes or so. Shelley came into the room to have a chat.

I was then taken downstairs to see an optician who checked the state of my sight. Whilst I could now see, it was a bit like looking at the world through a haze. I wasn't able to read the top line of the test card properly, even though the world certainly seemed more distinct that it does normally without glasses. She explained that this was perfectly normal and that I shouldn't be concerned. She provided me with a range of eye drops that I have to use for the next few weeks - one set to be used every half hour for the next two hours; one to be used four times a day for the next week; another to be used six times a day for the next week and then less for the following week; others which can be used all the time; others that will provide pain relief if I need it but shouldn't be used unless necessary. Jolly complicated.

And that was it. Out into the bustle of a warm Saturday morning, with Shelly guiding me down steps and across the road to the car park. (Actually, the guidance wasn't really necessary, though it was very welcome. I could see pretty well.) I then sat in the front of the car, shut my eyes and chatted to Marc and Shell as I was driven home. Once or twice I opened my eyes, managed to put in my first set of eye drops - and realised that I could read road signs, see details and generally recognise things that I have never been able to do before without glasses. Extraordinary.

Shelley, Marc and Kye left me to rest. How lucky I am to have great friends to look after me.

I have spent most of the afternoon with my eyes shut, listening to the radio. The anesthetic has worn off, but there is absolutely no pain. The bandage contact lenses are slightly irritating, but much, much less bad than contact lenses I have worn before. Sight is pretty good. I can see very well long distance, though I am unable to focus well close up. Middle distance seems to be fluctuating a bit, depending on how dry my eyes are. (I have been carefully putting in eye drops according to the detailed schedule all afternoon.)

I will post again tomorrow...

Social Mobility

2009-07-21T20:06:00.002+01:00

Today, Alan Milburn published his independent report on the state of entry to the professions by young people from backgrounds other than the most wealthy. It has been a slow news day, so the report has stayed as a major headline all day - giving me the opportunity to play media tart for a few hours.

I started the morning at Westminster, in the BBC studios at Millbank, being interviewed for the BBC News Channel. I then went down to the basement to record an interview for the Channel 4 lunchtime news. Thinking that was it (and feeling quite excited), I headed back to Canary Wharf, only to discover that my BBC interview had been picked up and was being broadcast hourly on the Radio 2 news. This led to me doing an extended piece, back at Millbank, with Richard Bacon, on his show in the afternoon. (http://tiny.cc/MiK4b)

Finally, a call came through mid afternoon from the BBC News Channel, asking if I'd go to White City to do a further live interview, accompanying one of our Career Academy students. So I found myself in Television Centre, for the first time since I was a teenager and had visited Top of the Pops to see it recorded. Volkan was brilliant. The topic of social mobility was explored sensitively and I was pleased to have been able to make some important points about the responsibilities of employers. People have commented on the brightness of my tie.

All in all, a very jolly day.

Good old EasyJet

2009-07-05T21:49:00.003+01:00

I'm writing this sitting in the departure satellite at Geneva airport. It's nearly quarter to eleven at night and my flight back home was meant to leave at seven. The executive lounge kicked us out half an hour ago and those of us bound for London are now the only passengers left in the airport.

We are all being very British. There is a certain amount of tutting going on. A family with small children is playing "I spy". (But I can't see anything, Daddy, it's dark out there and anyway, there aren't any planes".) Luckily, no-one has yet started any community singing. But it's only a matter of time.

Those of us who used our Priority Pass cards to gain access to the lounge are fairly sozzled (apart from me, the boring teetotaler). We have discussed the merits of iPhones, helped each other to complete the Sunday Telegraph crossword and eaten more paprika flavour crisps than is healthy.

"Daddy, are we still in Switzerland?", our little I Spyer has just asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," a number of us have replied in unison.

I hear the faint sound of humming...

The National Cafe

2009-06-23T22:36:00.003+01:00

Most of the London based team at Career Academies (those without other commitments such as babies or small dogs to look after) went out to dinner this evening. We chose The National Cafe on St Martin's Lane.

I think it was the V&A's restaurant, about twenty years ago, that coined the phrase "a great caff with a museum attached". Well, the National Cafe goes one better. It not only has a museum, in the form of the National Gallery, but an iconic landmark as well. Trafalgar Square is right outside the door.

The company was great, though at some point this year, I woke up to discover that I have become middle aged and tonight didn't do anything to dispel this. Service was friendly, if a little haphazard. I was slightly surprised by the Waiters' (and there were two of them for our table of 9) need to lay extra cutlery, then remove it again. Main courses were adequate.. In my case, great moules, rubbish frites.

Pudding, however, was sublime. The National Catastrophe is their signature pud. "Our Famous Ice Cream Sundae. Made from freshly churned vanilla ice cream, marshmallow, hazelnuts, caramel, meringue, cookie crumbs, fresh raspberry sauce, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Does it get any more dangerous?"

Nope. It doesn't. And, as we were taking advantage of a 'half price on food' deal (apparently a mistype on an advertisement which they are now honouring through gritted teeth), the meal was not only dangerous, but great value. £15 a head.

So, plenty of cash left over to spend in the gallery's shop...

Bluewater 10k

2009-06-14T18:39:00.002+01:00

1 hour to do 10k. Not my most brilliant performance, but the first piece of real exercise since the Edinburgh Marathon, so not altogether disappointing either. It was very, very hot, even at 8:30 in the morning and the course was an undulating one with a particularly nasty climb about half way round.

Great medal and goodie bag. And loads and loads of water, in bottles, with the caps already removed! An excellent piece of organisation.

And look at the new socks... mmmmm.

TES Schools Awards

2009-06-09T18:30:00.001+01:00

A chance today to catch up with a few old friends at the first ever TES Schools Awards. One of the finalists was Chadsmead Primary in Lichfield, where I started my teaching career. Lester Davies is still headteacher and he had travelled down to London with two of his staff to attend the ceremony. He was fairly surprised to see me when I accosted him during the drinks reception, but then even more surprised when he discovered that I was one of the judges. He was, however, kind enough to tell his colleagues that he always knew I'd go far...

Another friend at the event was John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. He was delighted to have been asked to lend his glasses to Johnny Ball, who was making a speech on behalf of the charuty Jeans for Genes.

Anyway, a great lunch and a brilliant, speedy ceremony hosted by Rory Bremner. Vernon Croaker, the new Minister for Schools spoke briefly - saying that he was looking forward to meeting us all over the 'coming period of time'. Good to be unspecific in the current political climate, Vernon.

Chadsmead didn't win their category. We had chosen a rather brilliant school in Swindon instead. Disappointing for Lester and his team, but at least the TES Awards avoid any sniff of cronyism.

A visit to the farm

2009-06-07T18:49:00.002+01:00

Jack-Patrick, his mum, dad, grandmother and proud uncle, all visited the Cotswold Farm Park this afternoon.

Difficult to know what excited Jack most. Meeting real pigs, stamping in puddles or riding on a mini tractor.

For me, the piglets win every time.

BBC report on the Edinburgh Marathon

2009-06-01T20:13:00.001+01:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8077741.stm

Edinburgh Marathon

2009-05-31T22:12:00.002+01:00

What should have been an excellent day was marred by two major issues. It was ridiculously hot. And the organisers mucked up the provision of water. So, I finished the race in 5hrs 5 mins rather than the 4:30 I had hoped for.

I have written the following note to the race director:

"Dear Neil

I'm not sure what happened today. My guess is that someone failed to order enough water, forgetting that on a hot day runners do tend to pick up double the number of bottles they should - one for the throat and one for the head... but I was very, very disappointed and slightly scared by the lack of provision, not just for fun runners, but for those of us who are the mainstays of club running - the veteran plodders.

The forecasters have been saying today was going to be scorcher for days. Running from the red pen, I was faced by an empty water station at the very first hydration point. From there on, whether there would be water or not became a lottery.

This is not a cheap race. Supplying enough water is an absolute must - and, frankly, pert of a race organiser's duty of care to their participants. I had to walk once I reached 15 miles and realised I couldn't count on there being any water available.

Suggestions for next year... Double the order of water if the weather even threatens to be as hot. Improve signage and organisation of water stations. Little things like 250m warning signs (rather than half mile ones); a consistent layout of tables with water first and then sports drinks, clearly labelled; marshalls briefed to remove caps from bottles; etc. If in doubt, refer to the brilliant organisers of larger evenst such as London, Paris or Berlin , where they've got this nailed.

That said, really friendly marshalls, who tried their very best in trying circumstances. I was particularly impressed by the Scout Group who were all so enthusiastic and helpful. The finish at the racetrack was great.

Lovely tee shirt. Smashing medal.

I know that you welcome honest and constructive feedback. I hope this will be useful.

With best wishes

John May"

Bupa London 10k

2009-05-25T15:17:00.000+01:00

Much less wet than last year, this was a really wonderful run - even if I did only manage a time of 56 minutes. The route took us past the Palace of Westminster, along the embankment, into the City, through Leadenhall Market, past St Paul's Cathedral and then back to Horseguards, Trafalgar Square and the Mall. No other run in the world can pass so many iconic sights in such a short time. And the medal wasn't bad either.

Getting down with the kids...

2009-05-24T10:20:00.000+01:00

I wouldn't normally choose to attend a 'Girls Aloud' concert, but I was invited by colleagues at Olswang, the media lawyers, to join them in their corporate box last night and I wasn't going to turn down the invitation. Actually, the truth of the matter is that a few weeks ago I heard that Rhiannon and Ayesha had both been invited and blagged a place too. The Olswang team had, more importantly, invited a number of their Career Academy mentees to the evening.

I'm really, really glad I went. I recognised most of the tunes, loved the show, marvelled at the lights and pyrotechnics - and thoroughly enjoyed watching the excitement being shown by the thirteen year old boys on the front row of our box - It's not often you get to witness pre-adolescent nirvana being reached, but Cheryl and her mates seemed to be able to help these young people achieve it.

Ayesha and Rhiannon clearly had an excellent time. So did I.

Dinner out

2009-05-18T08:36:00.002+01:00

A delightful dinner last night with a Scout friend who had worked in my team at the Jamboree. Carine is Belgian and is teaching French in a school outside Göteborg. We went to Soho, a restaurant my guide book told me was the hip place to be. The food was excellent and it was lovely to see Carine and hear her news.

And then, back to the hotel for the excitements of the Eurovision Song Contest. With, of course, Swedish commentary. Very serious sounding. Not ironic at all.

This morning I'm off to explore the town a bit more before heading back to the airport. It really has been a very jolly weekend.

The Göteborg Half-Marathon

2009-05-17T18:24:00.000+01:00

This was a truly brilliant race. Not an easy course. Up hills, over bridges, up and down streets. But wonderfully fun and not at all boring. Lots of music - though perhaps there are too many accordian bands in Göteborg for my personal taste. Lots of crowds clapping, though not cheering. Cheering would be impolite and not at all Swedish. No, polite clapping is what you do in Sweden. Unless you are Irish, in which case you shout loudly, "Come on Beano Man, move your ass" Thank you, Ireland.

Hot, sunny for most of the time, but plenty of water and Gatorade (or whatever its Swedish equivalent is... Göteaid, presumably.) Actually, that joke doesn't work, because the G in Göteborg is soft, so you actually pronounce the name of the town 'yer-te-bory'.

2hrs 8 mins. Not bad. And a very, very nice medal.

A day in Göteborg

2009-05-16T18:11:00.002+01:00

Stansted airport at 6:30am on a Friday morning is not the Stansted airport I know and love. I'm used to relative quiet, a sensible queue at Starbucks and a sea of people dressed pretty much the same way as me in dark suits, carrying laptopc ases and reading The Times (or if they're very, very racy, The Guardian)

This morning was Redtop morning. Everyone was buying copies of the Mirror and the Sun. And they were all dressed in uniforms of tour shirts or fairy wings or cowboy hats (and one group sported all three). Friday morning at Stansted is, apparently, hen and stag morning. I took refuge in the cafe at the satellite terminal and prayed that none of them was on their way to Sweden. They weren't.

I haven't flown Ryanair for some time. There is little to say. They are very cheap. They play advertisements to you on the PA system during the flight. Their seats are blue and yellow. They arrived on time. They are not the spawn of the Devil, as some people would have you believe. But they are not the epitome of charm and good customer service either.

There is very little that is not to like about Göteborg. It is strikingly beautiful, with wide streets and loads of parks. It has a great transport system. (The bus from the airport dropped me opposite my hotel; the tram to the Marathon Race HQ went from the same place...) The people are friendly and speak English better than many of my friends in London.

I have just picked up my race number for tomorrow's race. I'm then going to explore more of this lovely city. And probably eat more salt licorice than I should.

The Times features Career Academies UK

2009-05-08T07:46:00.001+01:00

A tremendous article today in The Times about Career Academies. I am delighted.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/public_sector/article6244285.ece

Nearly 500 young people graduate from Career Academies

2009-05-06T22:39:00.000+01:00

I felt incredibly proud this afternoon when nearly 500 students from Career Academies all over the country came together at Westminster Central Hall for their graduation ceremony. The Career Academies UK staff team, led by Martyn and Yvonne, had put together a terrific event. Great set. Superb opening video. Faultless and efficient certificate presentations. And a really excellent keynote speech from Evan Davis of BBC Radio 4 and "The Dragons' Den".

Evan apologised to the young people for the mistakes of our generation - and urged them to help put the world back on its feet. In the audience were a number of people who have been more intimately involved with the causes of the current recession than most of us. I know that those former masters of the universe felt fairly chastened by Evan's words. Several of them told me so afterwards.

http://www.careeracademies.org.uk/Foundation/NewsDetail.aspx?lNewsID=79

Africa Regional Scout Summit

2009-04-21T18:56:00.004+01:00

It was real honour for me to travel to Nairobi last weekend to attend the 2nd Africa Regional Scout Summit. Almost every nation in sub Saharan Africa was represented and we were able to discuss the training and programme needs of Scout Organisations.

There is some truly tremendous work going on in the region. I was privileged to have sight of some superb new programme material that will help young people understand malaria and how to prevent it; the really excellent materials being produced for the Scouts of Zimbabwe (which now needs funding to get it printed); the preparations for the World Scout Moot to be hosted in Kenya in 2010; a desire to work in co-operation across the region to help the development of young people; and, of course, the ways in which the region can contribute to Scouting's mission worldwide.

On the day after the summit, before travelling home and to a busy week at work, I was able to make a visit to Nyeri and to visit the grave of Baden-Powell. I also visited Paxtu, at the Treetops Hotel, where he retired and spent the last few years of his life. I had not realised that Paxtu was, in fact, just a couple of guest rooms in an annexe of the hotel, donated to him by the man who built the complex.

A tremendous opportunity... even if I wish I had been able to spend longer than just four days in Kenya.

New York, Scotland Homecoming 10k

2009-04-11T19:16:00.001+01:00

Pouring rain. But what a brilliant race. Thousands of competitors in Central Park, new York City. The course followed the main road round the perimeter of the park, clockwise. It was great fun to meet Andrew, CEO of ACCA Scotland, and his wife before the race, though he certainly finished a long way ahead of me!

No medal for this one, but a very, very nice tee short with a picture of Burns on the front.

A board meeting in the Big Apple

2009-04-09T19:23:00.003+01:00

Today I finally managed to attend a board meeting of the National Academy Foundation in New York. It was held in the board room of Sandy Weill's office on a very high floor of the General Motors building, on the South East corner of Central Park. An extraordinary view from the windows - which nearly made me lose concentration in the meeting...

I was, however, able to present Sandy with his honorary alumnus award from Career Academies UK. As the man who, many years ago, founded Career Academies in the US, we have a great deal to thank him for.

White Horse Half Marathon

2009-04-05T22:39:00.002+01:00

Beautiful weather. A fairly flat course. Excellent, enthusiastic stewarding. And, to cap it all, my mum at the finish to greet me, armed with plenty of water and smoked salmon sandwiches!

2 hours and 4 minutes. Not a bad time either.

Touching the hem of celebrity

2009-04-04T17:47:00.002+01:00

The last few days have brought me just yards away from the UK's headline making news stories. I am pleased to report that I have not been too affected by this and, as yet, will not be asking my friends at Colman Getty to secure publicity on the back of these experiences.

On Wednesday evening, the dinner I was due to attend at London's Mansion House was moved to Lincoln's Inn, as a result of the G20 related scuffles happening in the City. How lucky I am that Bank tube station was closed, that I therefore didn't alight there and that I didn't then get herded with a large number of other innocent bystanders into the ever shrinking security cordon set up by the Metropolitan Police.

On Friday morning, I sat in a plane on the tarmac at Stansted airport, waiting to take off. Our flight was delayed for an hour whilst we and 29 other planes waited for Airforce One to start its engines and leave for the President's next destination. As the pilot told us, on this occasion, letters of complaint needed to be addressed to the White House rather than Eastjet. And I bet Mr Obama doesn't have to pay for his coffee when he flies.

Finally, today, after picking up the cats' flea medication from the local vet, I joined a traffic jam as everything on and around the Green Man roundabout ground to a halt. The reason for the delay was quickly apparent as possibly the largest funeral cortège I have ever witnessed passed by. Several vintage hearses, piled high with floral tributes accompanied the one carrying the coffin. Jade Goody was on her way to Buckhurst Hill.

So, a fracas, a flight and a funeral. Each bringing me tantalizingly close to celebrity. And each resulting in transport problems for ordinary people. Roll on the commute to work through Stratford, then, in 2012...

Nepal Day 4

2009-03-04T20:05:00.002Z

A chance today to get away from the business of the meeting and to see something of Kathmandu. We visited the main city and a number of temples. A truly wonderful place. I must return before too long.

Nepal - Day 2

2009-03-01T22:56:00.001Z

I woke at 2, 4 and then at 9:30; grabbed a quick breakfast and then joined the morning's committee meeting - the cultures may be different, but the issues are the same - how to get better youth participation in decision making; how to reinvigorate training and support of adults; how to tell the story of what Scouting is achieving more effectively.

More delegates for the conference were arriving and there was quite a crowd by lunchtime. Lunch was held by the swimming pool (still too cold for swimming, so it looks a bit slimy) in beautiful sunshine. Plenty of different curries to try and those amazing sweet dumplings for pudding... I forget their name, but they were excellent.

I went for a brief walk after lunch around the area immediately outside the hotel. First impressions - clearly a tourist friendly area; very clean (I saw almost no litter); very smart shops; the usual chaotic driving that one expects in this part of the world; some street hawking, but mainly limited to sales of small toiletries and shoe shiners. The latter don't see to operate the scam I experienced in Delhi of one of their mates firing sh*t at your shoes as you pass. Everyone - and I mean everyone - smiled at me.

I looked in on a seminar being held for Leaders responsible for marketing and PR in their associations. This included a series of prepared role plays of press conferences dealing with issues perceived to be 'tricky stories' to deal with. One example will give you a taste... One group had to face a press team who were asking how an uploaded video to YouTube had appeared of two Scouts at a fictional Jamboree, re-enacting one of the more intimate scenes from Breakback Mountain. The group included an Indian, a Bangladeshi and a Malaysian. Fascinating. (And very funny.)

Dinner was held with the Association of Top Scout Award Achievers - an informal group of people who have managed (when young people) to achieve the highest award of their Association. Lots of speeches (including one from me). An auction of Scouting memorabilia. And a great many photographs.

And, finally, I slipped off for a drink with the Australian and New Zealand delegations. (Well, the Australian gang and George, who is the sole NZ rep). Subjects for debate: The correct fillings for a Cornish Pastie; Clotted cream; the drunken antics of the officer class in the Australian army - including a game called Flight deck, which involves sliding a bewildered junior officer down a polished table in a first floor mess - and straight out of the window. Not something, of course, we'd do in the Scouts (initiation games having been long since banned) - but it would probably not be a good idea to let the Network in Islington hear about this in case they got some inappropriate inspiration...

Nepal - Day 1

2009-02-28T18:38:00.001Z

Flying into Kathmandu was absolutely amazing. I watched dawn break over Pakistan as we flew through a perfectly clear sky. Far below, I could see small villages. Gradually, the scenery changed and in the distance, right on the horizon, snow covered mountains appeared. They got closer and closer, but we didn't actually fly over them. Instead we headed further south, but in the last twenty minutes of the flight, did cross the foothills of the Himalayas, close enough to the ground to be able to see people waving at the plane, before dropping down into the valley of Kathmandu.

The airport was busy, but far from the mad crushing mess that some guide books and web sites had led me to expect. I passed straight through passport control in seconds (compared with the hour it can sometimes take to enter the US) In the baggage reclaim hall were two Rover Scouts, looking for me to welcome me to their country. In front of the rest of the passengers from Doha (and with plenty of amusement), I was presented with a garland of marigolds to wear round my neck whilst I was waiting for my luggage. It was a long time coming - The ground staff also had to unload half the electrical products from the middle east which had been bought by the Nepalese workers who were returning home from the building sites of Qatar.

I think I had expected Kathmandu airport to be a bit like Delhi - with crowds of hawkers and taxi drivers outside the terminal building, competing for business. To be honest, it was more like Bristol. The car park was right outside and we walked across to a minbus which was to take us to the Nepalese Scout Head Office and then to our hotel. Everyone was very calm and very laid back. No one hassled us at all - although the drive through Kathmandu to the office was more familiarly Asian. Lots of horn honking, a relaxed attitude to which side of the road was the correct one - and a casual disregard for other road users.

Coffee at the Scout Headquarters was followed by a tour of the building and a visit to the Scout museum. By now, I was beginning to feel a bit sleepy, but tried not to show it. Then it was off to the hotel (on another perilous bus journey). My room is lovely. I seem to have been upgraded to a deluxe one, due to my celebrity status as a member of the World Scout Committee.

As I write this, I have just finished attending a meeting of the Asia Pacific Scout Committee... many familiar faces, including those of some old friends. I am now truly exhausted, so I will be going to bed early.

I think I'm in for an excellent week.

Off to Nepal

2009-02-28T00:31:00.000Z

The journey to Kathmandu, where I am going to attend the Asia Pacific Scout Summit Conference, is a long one. I am currently in Doha airport in Qatar. It's midnight local time and I could really be anywhere. I've enjoyed an excellent journey so far, courtesy of Qatar Airways, with the best economy class meal I've ever had (a lamb curry). I've watched Quantum of Solace (not bad, but not as good as Casino Royale - I find, finally, that I'm able to agree with the critics). But now, I'm sitting in an airport lounge and I might just as well be in Luton than the Middle East. And I have another four hours of flying ahead of me, once I've sat here for another three.

I am looking forward to the week ahead, though. It will be good to see old friends and to learn more about how Scouting happens in a region of the world I know little about. It will also be good to visit Kathmandu itself, though I doubt that I will be able to get out of the city.

Winslow 10k

2009-02-22T18:20:00.000Z

A really nice race, this one, with just a little sting in the tail! The last km was pretty much all uphill, which came as a bit of a surprise to those of us who didn't know this part of Buckinghamshire. Excellently organised - and a very nice bacon bap at the end.

New Year's Day 10k - Hyde Park

2009-01-01T14:25:00.001Z

It was jolly cold this morning, but I soon warmed up and managed to get round a quite jolly course in well under an hour. The route took us round the edge of Hyde Park and then twice round Kensington Gardens before returning back to the Boathouse on the Serpentine.

Now all I need to do is lose about a stone and I might get my time down some more!

An evening with Elton

2009-01-01T01:21:00.002Z

It was fun. But I'm glad I didn't pay the full price of my ticket - which says it was worth over £100. Elton John's New Year's Eve concert at the O2 was good - and he himself was excellent - but the support acts were fairly poor and the much vaunted Alex from X Factor sang only one song, as did Will Young. I did, however, get to meet Kate Thornton, which was fairly exciting, though failed to get a photo of the two of us together. Instead, we have to be happy with one taken from my seat of her getting her make up applied, just before she did a piece to camera.

A glass gong

2008-12-19T18:42:00.000Z

I was delighted (and rather honoured) to be joined by about 50 friends and colleagues at our offices today. They came for coffee and mince pies (rather good ones) and to celebrate the presentation of the Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion to me by Sir David Brewer, Lord Lieutenant of Greater London, on behalf of Her Majesty. I missed the opportunity to have the award presented to me by the Queen during the summer, because I was in Korea at the World Scout Conference.

I was particularly pleased that my Mum could be with me. Sadly, Joe, Trish and Jack-Patrick are back in Australia, but Joe called me last night to wish me well.

I am now the proud owner of a very smart piece of glass (which I think will hold jelly beans for moments of office based sugar craving) and a warrant of appointment, signed by HM the Queen and the Prime Minister.

The party was really super (and tremendously organised by Mona and Martyn). It's a day I will certainly remember for the rest of my life.

Oh yes, after the party a number of us went skating on the ice rink outside our offices. That was rather fun too!

Bedford Half-Marathon

2008-12-14T20:32:00.000Z

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Beanoman, on his last half-marathon of the year in Bedford. 2 hours 6 minutes. The course was quite hilly, but the weather was perfect. A really fun morning.

A Christmas Card for you

2008-12-09T08:19:00.001Z

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

It's snowing...

2008-11-23T23:27:00.000Z

I see that there has been a 'severe weather warning' in Britain over the weekend, because it has snowed and there has been as much as two inches of the white and powdery stuff in places. Ha! That's nothing, compared with the Haute Savoie on the border between France and Switzerland just outside Geneva.

I spent the weekend with friends, Dominique and Clara, at their beautiful mountain chalet, high in the hills. Dom used to be the Deputy Secretary General of the World Scout Movement. The snow began to fall on Friday evening and by Sunday morning, the ground was properly covered. It will, probably, stay that way until May.

I wasn't in the area just to renew old friendships and to stamp in the snow, although it was wonderful to do both. I spent Saturday with staff colleagues at the World Scout Bureau, planning our work for the next three years and agreeing our priorities. It was an extremely productive day; we got to know each other better and began to understand our various strengths, areas of expertise and experience. This is going to sound a bit patronising, but I think they are an exceptionally talented bunch of people. I am really going to enjoy working with them.

The Today Programme features Career Academies UK

2008-11-20T11:47:00.002Z

I have just spent a fascinating morning with Evan Davis of the BBC Today programme and Sir Win Bischoff, recording an item to be broadcast over the Christmas holidays.

Win and Evan interviewed a number of Career Academy students at Sir George Monoux College about their experiences of the programme.

The young people were superb amabassadors for their college and for the Career Academy programme.

I can't wait to hear the finished 'package' (as I now understand it's known in the business!)

Year of Planning training begins

2008-11-12T22:24:00.000Z

Another milestone for Career Academies UK, as we held our first residential training course for teachers. 40 schools and colleges were represented, making this our biggest Year of Planning group ever.

They're going to be a great group too. Lots of enthusiasm to push the employer engagement agenda forward. A strong commitment to raising young people's aspirations. And the ability, of some at least, to stay up to 4:00am putting the world to rights.

The World Scout Committee meets...

2008-11-10T18:04:00.002Z

The new World Scout Committee held its first meeting over the weekend, (my first, of course) and it was also the first of its kind under the new Committee structure that was established at the recent 38th World Scout Conference in Korea. There are still twelve elected members with voting rights, of which I am one, but the status of the Secretary General of the World Organization and the Treasurer has changed to 'ex-officio non-voting members'. We were also joined by the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of each duly elected Regional Scout Committee and a the Chairperson of the Board of the World Scout Foundation as non-voting members. And participating in their first meeting were the six Youth Advisors to the World Scout Committee who were elected at the 10th World Scout Youth Forum in July 2008

I really enjoyed the meeting. My fellow committee members are tremendous company, as you would expect - and we all share a real passion for World Scouting. We debated firmly, but cordially - and it was very clear that, under the chairmanship of Rick Cronk, (pictured here), we all share a commitment to support World Regions and National Scout Organisations in having a real impact on the lives and aspirations of young people.

Among the many subjects on the Committee's agenda were: follow-up to World Scout Conference resolutions and the recommendations from the World Scout Youth Forum; the process to be followed for the appointment of the Secretary General and the feasibility study on the location of the World Scout Bureau; the Triennial Plan for 2008-2011 and the annual operational plan and budget for the current fiscal year; constitutional, relationships and financial matters; and future World Scout Events.

The sub-committees were also finalised as was the list of who would be the Chairperson for each. They are:
Strategy Coordination Group: Mario Diaz
Regional Support Coordination Group: Simon Rhee
Audit Committee: Martin Burbridge (Ireland)
Budget Committee: Erik Khoo
Constitutions Committee: Derek Pollard (U.K.)
Honours & Awards Committee: Jørgen Rasmussen (Denmark)
Educational Methods Committee: Me.
Scouting's Profile Committee: Thérèse Bermingham

We've got a short two years before the next World Scout Conference in Brazil - and lots to achieve in that time. It's going to be a challenging, but I think highly rewarding time.

Stroud Half-Marathon

2008-10-26T17:10:00.004Z

Running today's race was very different from usual. Firstly, it was on roads I know very well, having travelled on them almost daily when I was a schoolboy. Secondly, Mum, Joe Trish and Jack-Patrick turned out in the foul weather to support me.

The course was mainly flat, except for a rather tedious climb up the A38. Had the weather been more kind, it would have been a lovely run. The autumn colours would have looked great in dappled sunlight. As luck would have it, however, the skies were grey and, for much of the time, leaking wet stuff all over us.

My 'Beano' running shirt attracted plenty of attention and I was cheered on by a number of spectators. At the end of the race, I was even cheered on by the commentator over the PA system. "And here comes Beano Man, John May, over forty years old, from East London Runners." 2hrs 5mins is a fine time - and it was lovely to have the family around to watch me take part in a my rather masochistic hobby.

The Scout Academy

2008-10-24T21:23:00.000+01:00

I have just returned from the European Scout Region's first Scout Academy, an event held for leaders from all over Europe in Mollina, near Malaga in Spain. It was a resounding success and I was delighted to be able to attend. Sessions were held throughout the week on a whole range of different topics; for instance, I attended ones on Spiritual Development, Self-recognition, E-learning and developing an advocacy strategy for one's National Scout Organisation.

The venue was a terrific youth exhange centre in the hills between Malaga and Seville. The company was terrific and the food superb. I look forward to the next one.

Plenty to eat in Hungary

2008-10-21T07:40:00.005+01:00

Terry Leahy must love Hungary. Wherever I looked this weekend, I could see either an enormous Tesco or a billboard telling me where the nearest enormous Tesco could be found. I was in Sümeg, in the westernmost county of the country, about an hour north of lake Balaton, for the annual gathering of the Friends of Scouting Europe.

It probably would have been faster to have flown to Vienna and to hire a car, but instead I travelled to Budapest, where I was met by a Hungarian Scouter who drove me to Sümeg, via a restaurant where I met up with the rest of the guests. Our evening meal on Friday set the scene for the whole weekend - far too much to eat (and if you wanted it, to drink), great conversation and slightly quirky entertainment; on this occasion, Hungarian Gypsy musicians, playing everything from folk tunes to hits from the shows on the violin and dulcimer. (Menu: ghoulash in a bread bowl, half a roast duck, two sorts of strudel)

The hotel, when we finally reached it, was wonderful. Towering above it was the medieval castle of Sümeg. The hotel itself is one of a growing number of spas in the country. It was quite full, so tourism seems to be alive and well in the country.

Saturday took us on a tour of Festetics Palace in the nearby town of Keszthely. The palace is stunning, with an extraordinary library, stocked with an exclectic selection of books from all over Europe - including, I noted, a study of Merino sheep and a guide to the railways of northern Britain. As a friend commented, this was the eighteenth century version of Wikipedia.

More food and a wine tasting at lunchtime, followed by a demonstration of horsemanship and whip cracking. There was the usual humiliation of audience participation. I was chosen to attempt to crack the whip (and failed dismally).

A gala dinner followed the main business on the weekend - the annual meeting of the Friends. We heard how our donations were supporting small projects in central and eastern Europe, such as buying canoes for Scout Troops in Slovenia. I made a short speech, which seemed to be well received.

On the Sunday, we enjoyed a cruise (with brunch; more food) on Lake Balaton, before returning to Budapest by coach. A tremendous weekend - and a real chance to relax. Just what I needed after a couple of weeks of economic doom and gloom in London.

Run to the Beat - the aftermath...

2008-10-06T18:48:00.001+01:00

I am not alone in thinking yesterday's organisation was a bit chaotic...

http://runtomybeat.co.uk/forums/t/225.aspx

London Half-Marathon - Sony Ericsson Run to the Beat

2008-10-05T17:28:00.005+01:00

An overhyped and very poorly managed event.

The day didn't start well, although no-one can blame the event organisers for the vagaries of London's tube system. Just at the critical moment when thousands of people were trying to get to the O2, London Transport suspended the service on the Jubilee line, stranding us all on the other side of the Thames. No extra buses. No announcements. Aren't we meant to be getting ready for a few big races in less than four years' time?

Having heard the tube was down, the organisers sensibly put back the start for 45 minutes. By the time I did arrive at the O2, it was clear that the logistics were creaking. Very poor signage. Fewer lavatories than needed. No loo paper. And, of course, it was pouring down with rain.

The grouping of runners prior to the start was chaotic. No signs, just one man and a megaphone, explaining that we should take no notice of our colour coded bibs as they had been printed wrongly. The pens were exposed to the wind (but where isn't on the Greenwich Penisular?) and by now the rain was coming down really hard.

Once we got started, the race itself wasn't bad at all; though the organisers' assertion that it was 'fairly flat - an ideal opportunity to record a personal best' was a little disingenuous. As anyone who has run the London Marathon will know, the first few miles from Blackheath to Greenwich are downhill... And we, of course, were climbing to Blackheath, before coping with what could have been a treachorous steep autumn leaf strewn hill down through Greewich Park. Hills are fine if organisers warn runners about them... Lucky I'm relatively local.

The promised bands to keep us 'running to the beat' had not materialised, perhaps due to the dreadful weather, perhaps because of the delayed start. So, no 'inspiring 39 piece Royal Artillery Band' - or at least not by the time the middle of the field had reached Woolwich.

Marshalling round the course was lacking in humour or encouragement, but, to be fair, these poor people had had to stand in the rain for forty five minutes longer than they'd be told. There was plenty of water and lashings of Gatorade. It might have made more sense, however, to dish out water in bottles and Gatorade in cups (instead of 500ml bottles). But I do appreciate that some may think that a rather petty criticism.

The finish was well orchestrated. A quite nice medal - though no date or mention that this was a half marathon on it.

Where the organisers really came unstuck was with getting kit back to tired, wet and cold runners. I queued for 20 minutes while one man tried to find and hand over kit bags from his part of a waggon. The system was slow, inefficient and woefully understaffed.

Then, just to add insult to injury, a ridiculous walk ensued round the edge of the O2 site, down a narrow walkway, with bottlenecks to the side of the arena - with no system for reuniting runners with family.

This was not a cheap event. And it wasn't organised by volunteer, unpaid, running club memnbers, but by an organisation called IMG Mass Participation Sport. I will be writing to Nick Rusling to give him my feedback.

Oh, one last thing, the promised text message with my time and position has just arrived. Time correct, (2 hours and 5 minutes) but apparently I came 0th! What's that about a brewery?

I note that I'm not the only person to be moaning. The Runners' World website has a few comments...

Overheard tonight in a Plymouth restaurant

2008-10-02T20:58:00.002+01:00

"When Cash in the Attic came on, I just had to stop everything."

"Is there is an Ikea in Bucharest?"

"I do like Chinese food usually. It's just that Frank doesn't like stuff that's too exotic."

"You just need trumpets."

42.2k in Berlin

2008-09-28T16:47:00.003+01:00

Berlin is a beautiful, chilled city. Its Marathon appears to be run by the friendliest people ever - efficient, but human. Lots of smiling marshalls, excellent provision of water and the German equivalent of Gatorade. Thousands of bananas, ready peeled and thrust at runners as if we were performing chimps. And lots of very, very cheesy music.

The weather couldn't have been better. Blue skies, but not too hot. I managed to run pretty much the whole way, walking only at the water stops. The difficult kilometres between 22 and 32 weren't nearly as bad as they have been in the past. The crowds for the last 10k meant you couldn't possibly stop!

And a personal best at 4 hours, 39 minutes. Very satisfactory.

Northumberland, the cradle of Scouting

2008-09-26T13:31:00.003+01:00

Everyone thinks that the first Scout camp was held on Brownsea Island. (Well, those that think about Scouting at all, I guess, think that.) But the first uniformed Scout Camp was actually held in Humshaugh in Northumberland a year later - and the Scout County is understandably very proud of the fact.

It was a real pleasure therefore to be able to join a full house last night at their County AGM, celebrating 100 years of Scouting in the area. Although I was guest speaker, and I think went down fairly well, the really interesting part of the evening was a presentation by a group of Explorer Scouts who had spent their summer in Uganda, mixing community work with expeditions and adventurous pursuits. The young people had clearly had the most brilliant time and were superb ambassadors for their County and Scouting in general. And, of course, their photographs took me back to my travels in that wonderful country.

My old friend, Gwyn, is the new County Commissioner. If last night's event is anything to go by, she has inherited an exceptional County to lead through the next few years of Scouting history.

Somewhere different to stay

2008-09-25T20:19:00.000+01:00

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 adventure too.

Last night's hotel was a great mixture of superb and frustrating. They had lost my booking at the 'Raj' in Edinburgh, but managed to offer me a room nevertheless. And what a great room. The whole hotel is 'themed' with each room decorated in the style of a region of India. Mine was the Jaipur.

Breakfast was a bit strange. Not the contents, which were standard fare, but the fact that the dining room had only armchairs and coffee tables available - so all the guests ate their meals balancing bowls of cereal on their laps.

But it was all great fun. And everyone was very jolly, guests and staff alike...

A day on the river

2008-09-09T19:25:00.002+01:00

Today the Career Academy staff team (or at least those who could travel, due to the appalling weather) decamped to Cambridge for a day out. We went punting on theriver, enjoyed a wonderful picnic and I was able to have a blistering argument witha tea shop proprietor who wouldn't let us sit together...

All in all, a very enjoyable day.

Photos from a week in Finland (and a day in Sweden)

2008-09-06T20:14:00.002+01:00

Back to school (and a brewery!)

2008-09-02T08:48:00.002+01:00

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 to improve educational achievement in the UK.

Firstly, it felt so much more relaxed than schools I normally visit - more like a junior university environment than a school. The children were in their own choice of clothes (though this was, of course, the teenage uniform of jeans, tee shirt and hoodies for both sexes.). At recess, they sat in the corridors, chatting, logging on to the web on their laptops and even strumming guitars.

Classes are small. Interestingly they are smaller for pre 16s than high schoolers. The children joked with and questioned their teachers as equals.

I was shown round the school by a young mathematician who had been in the UK last summer for the World Scout Jamboree, so we had plenty to talk about - He is proud of his school, has very high aspirations and loves learning, as well as being a keen Scout. His English was faultless, learned mainly, he said, from the TV - Finnish TV does not dub foreign language programmes as a matter of policy, ensuring that youngsters hear English all the time (and learn to speak in a mid-atlantic accent).

I left the school feeling very impressed - and frustrated that so few of our educational institutions feel the same.

We went on to visit Hartwall, Finland's biggest brewer and bottler of soft drinks. Good CSR policies, helping to safeguard the reputation of a company that puts Pepsi branded vending machines into schools.

We finished the day at the National Science Centre for schools - a brilliant hands-on museum. A great place to meet fellow delegates and to pose for a photo sitting at an oversized kitchen table. My colleagues at work might think I behave like a big kid - today I could see the world from the perspective of one too.

Finland, Finland, Finland

2008-08-31T19:48:00.001+01:00

There was a Monty Python song once that went something like, "Finland, Finland, Finland, the country where I want to be...". I don't remember the rest, though I have shared the sentiment since I was a teenager. And now, at last I'm here - and I have a week of conferencing ahead of me with the International Partnership Network. I do have to present a paper on Career Academies, but that's a small price to pay.

Helsinki so far seems to be a mixture of wide streets, pseudo Soviet architecture and lots of water. Our hotel and conference centre are by the water's edge.

It's all rather nice.

20 miles is a long way

2008-08-24T16:38:00.003+01:00

After last week's debacle, I was a bit worried about today's long run - one of two I need to complete before the Berlin Marathon at the end of September. But I need not have worried. It was hard work, but actually quite fun.

I ran the same route as a couple of weeks ago, leaving Wanstead, running through Lea Valley Park past Hackney Marshes, then following the Regent's Canal past Victoria Park to Islington, down Pentonville Road, along Euston Road and heading towards Hyde Park. Instead of finishing in the park, I turned right along Brompton Road, down Kensington Church Street, pausing briefly to see what Dad's old shop at number 40 looks like. (It is still an antique shop, but no longer painted in purple gloss paint.) Then I ran up Kensington High Street, past the Albert Hall, turned down Sloane Street, skirted Buckingham Palace gardens, up Victoria Street to Westminster.

As I turned up Horseguards Parade I could hear that Trafalgar Square was busy with crowds celebrating the end of the Beijing Olympics and the handover to London. Finally, I headed along the Strand and Fleet Street to end at St Paul's Cathedral. 20 miles in 3hrs 40 mins.

The secret to today's successful run: A relaxed slow run, stopping at newsagents to refuel with Gatorade and Mars Bars. Smiling at tourists, even in Kinightsbridge Putting one leg in front of the other.

Kenwood - a great mix

2008-08-23T23:45:00.001+01:00

Despite living in London on and off for all my life, I have never visited Kenwood House. I still haven't actually, but I did join a group of friends in its grounds tonight for a wonderful 'Last Night of the Proms' concert and picnic.

The weather was kind. The food was delicious. The PA announcements before the show were amusing - (There is only so much humour you can wring out of telling people that the show is being sponsored by a cider company, but the announcer managed pretty well) The music was sublime. I didn't think I'd like Kathryn Jenkins, but she was absolutely superb.

All in all, a tremendous evening. Thank you, David for organising it! And, despite press warnings that they weren't going to be allowed because local residents had refused permission, we did have fireworks at the end. Wonderful.

Oh yes, if you look very closely at the photo taken from my camera, you can just make out the flashing bunny ears of the two ladies sitting in front of our party. They added just that extra bit of fun to what was already a splendid evening's entertainment.

I'm running away (part two)

2008-08-17T23:09:00.000+01:00

And then, on my birthday, I ran away again, this time on the Standish Woodland Chase, a multi-terrain race of nearly ten miles through woods on the Cotswolds escarpment above Stroud and Stonehouse.

It was hell. The first mile and a half was uphill. Not just uphill, but up a very steep hill. I never really got into my stride and found myself jogging and walking round the two circuits at the top of the hill feeling pretty unimpressed with myself and the event. But I did finish. Just. (I came 112th out of 122 finishers!)

The picture shows the top of the hill. There are no other runners to be seen. This is not, as you might think, because they're all miles ahead of me. It's actually because this photo was taken on a completely different day, when it wasn't raining, I wasn't out of breath and I wasn't stupid enough to be running a ten mile race. Enough said on the matter I think.

I'm running away (part one)

2008-08-16T22:00:00.001+01:00

"So what are you doing for your birthday weekend then, John?", I was asked by someone at work earlier this week.

Well, on the Saturday evening, oh reader, I ran away to the circus. I try to do this every year. It is not, of course, just any old circus. It is the magnificent and wonderful Giffords Circus, which cmaps on Minchinhampton Common, just yards away from my mum's front door, every summer.

The story of Giffords is well known to the people of Gloucestershire, readers of the Tatler, Country Life and very few other people. Nell Gifford and her husband Toti built their collection of wagons from scratch and went off on the roads around the West Country. She is an Oxford graduate who always wanted to run a circus. He is a devoted if slightly eccentric husband. Both are living their dreams, accompanied by an extraordinarly talented company of performers, including strongmen, slackrope walkers, clowns, acrobats, musicians, horses and a goose.

Saturday's show as as good as ever. If not better. Seldom have I been so excited by the appearance of a person dressed up in a bear costume, dancing like an overweight and very shaggy John Travolta. Extraordinary.

Edinburgh Fringe

2008-08-14T16:58:00.004+01:00

It is always good to see Joe and Trish in Edinburgh, but this year it was especially nice, because, of course, I could see my nephew too. I was able to see Joe performing on the High Street and in the Grassmarket. His show really is excellent now and was very well received by the crowds he managed to pull together to watch him. A very clever ruse at the end of his set was to introduce Jack and explain that the crowd's donations fed Joe, Trish and a small baby. Just as long as he doesn't start juggling his son, everything will be fine.

Oh, and of course, dear reader, the fringe to which I refer belongs to Jack... I did see some shows (as well as visiting a number of corporate supporters for work), but they weren't as entertaining as my nephew.

Sturminster Half Marathon

2008-08-03T20:28:00.004+01:00

Three weeks of running in humid conditions meant that I was both well and ill prepared for today's race. Well prepared because running in light drizzle was actually rather pleasurable. Ill prepared because I simply haven't racked up enough miles recently to get round a half marathon easily.

I reached the halfway point of a really quite gentle course at 1 hour 3 minutes, but slowed down quite a bit in the second half of the course. I still finished at well under 2 hours 15, so am happy with the result, but it is nowhere near as good as my performance in Brighton earlier this year. There were very few 'fun runners' on this country lanes course. Almost everyone was with a running club. And, because it was a country lanes course, there were no crowds to gee you up when you were feeling tired. The goody bag at the end was excellent (as was the marshaling all the way round.) A milkshake, cakes and a tee shirt. And there were hot showers at the nearby leisure centre available for free. A real bonus!

On the way home, I visited Stonehenge. So, today, instead of sharing a picture of me grinning inanely with a medal round my neck, here's one of me grinning inanely in my finisher's tee shirt, with some old stones behind me...

Home run

2008-07-25T23:21:00.001+01:00

Having done Disney, it was now time to do another great American export that Japan loves: Baseball. Tokyo's 'dome' is enormous and it was pretty full for a very exciting match between the Giants and the Swallows. I managed to find myself sitting next to a group of students learning to speak Japanese - from Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore. I was the only one who understood the rules of Baseball, apart from the Korean, but he wasn't able to explain them to anyone else. So we had a fascinating evening.

I leave for the UK tomorrow. It's been a tremendous holiday. I shall certainly want to return to this part of the world, preferably with a local friend to help me get underneath the veneer and see what the real country is like.

A guilty pleasure

2008-07-24T19:26:00.001+01:00

OK, I admit it. I am a fan of the mouse. So, today, instead of doing what all sensible tourists would do and going in search of culture, I went instead to join a large (very large) number of Japanese families in a pilgrimage to Disneyland Tokyo.

There is something very strange about visiting somewhere you know really well, but experiencing it transported to a different culture. So much was familiar. Big Thunder Mountain was as fun as ever; the Pirates of the Caribbean failed to frighten me; It's a small world terrified. But watching an animatronic bear impersonate Elvis and singing in Japanese was an almost spiritual experience...

The parade was great. The characters were great. The food was great (and much cheaper than Disneylands elsewhere). The merchandising was relentless, but I managed to resist. Not even I need a Disneyland Tokyo fan and squirty bottle.

An evening in Shibuya

2008-07-23T23:18:00.001+01:00

I was told by the concierge at my hotel that Shibuya is 'young and exciting'. She was right on both counts. The district almost pulsed with a dizzying tide of human movement... I wish I'd videod the crowds crossing the road. It made Piccadilly Circus look calm.

I wandered through a number of department stores, including Shibuya 109 (no men's floor and a lot of excited teenage girls), Marui City (with scary prices) and Shibuya Mark City (with a Harrods outlet, so even more scary).

I dodged into a very busy restaurant and someone helped me to choose some ramen. Very different from anything I've eaten in London's Japanese restaurants and certainly a world away from Wagamama. The soup part was very salty and the noodles were softer than I expected. Anyway, delicious!

Two sides (or more) of Tokyo

2008-07-23T17:43:00.001+01:00

Suddenly, "Lost in Translation" makes sense. This is a very, very strange city. (But then, I guess London could appear pretty bizarre to a foreigner who dropped in for three days as well.)

I started the day with a 5k run and was delighted to discover that many local people do the same thing. Several joggers chose to use the opportunity to practise their English. I puffed and spluttered my replies. I am not sure that they completely understood me.

Breakfast was meant to be vegetable juice and coffee, bought at a local 7 - 11. The vegetable juice, however, turned out to be alcoholic. There's nothing like starting the day with the local equivalent of a Bloody Mary - particularly is you're teetotal.

A bus tour of the city took me up the Tokyo Tower, past the Royal Palace and to the Temple at Asakusa. Then a walk back to Ueno, through the park and then to Akihabara for a late lunch. What a bizarre place. Shop after shop of electronic goods, like Tottenham Court Road only fifty times bigger, mixed up with stores selling Manga comics, costumes and dolls. And then there were the Maid cafes - places where you can be served a drink by a beautiful young woman dressed as a maid, Alice in Wonderland or a schoolgirl. Very, very strange.

Back to the hotel for a rest and then out to Shibuya. More later

To Tokyo

2008-07-22T23:25:00.001+01:00

An early start found me heading back on the subway to the airport and from there on to Japan. Korea is a great place. The people are so polite. What other country would have a visitor's last memory be the ground crew at the airport all bowing and then waving as the plane taxis away? Imagine that at Heathrow Terminal 5.

My first impressions of Tokyo are that the place is very, very big and very, very confusing. I managed to find the train to Shinagawa, where my hotel is located, without too much difficulty, but I think that this was more luck than judgment. Certainly, the subway map is no help. It is the most complicated train map I've ever seen. What makes things even more complicated is the fact that the train lines are independently owned and operated, so one can find oneself paying separate fares to transfer from one line to another. There may be a "one fare deal" available, but I haven't yet found it. No integrated transport policy here, I fear.

The hotel itself, is a haven of calm in a very busy city. My room looks out on a Japaneze garden and, whilst I had been warned that rooms here would rival London or NYC for compactness, is actually the largest I've stayed in on this trip. No coffee making facilities though - well, the facilities are there in the form of a complicated water boiler which then keeps water hot all day, but there's no coffee, only green tea. I am a Phillistine. I have been out to the 7-11 and bought instant coffee granules.

I braved the train at rush hour to go into Ginza - Tokyo's equivalent of Bond Street and Knightsbridge. Plenty of high end brands. Very little Japanese atmosphere. I managed to find a bookstore where I purchased a bilingual guide book, which I think will prove useful. After a long bit of window shopping I returned back to the hotel exhausted. The temperature is over 30 degrees and very humid. Even the locals are complaining.

Dinner was in the hotel. But I decided to splash out on Tempura, which is very good here, I was informed by a Kiwi businessman who had chosen to bring his Japanese customers to dinner to close a deal. He was right. It was excellent. Even if his long and rambling discussions about golf with his colleagues on a neighbouring table were perhaps not the best accompaniment to the subtle flavours of my first meal in Japan

Nanta

2008-07-21T23:28:00.001+01:00

The show was not high quality drama, but it was enormous fun. There was a full house, made up mainly of Koreans but with a smattering of foreigners, including a party of Russian teenagers. The lights went down and we were treated to two hours of music making using kitchen implements, a large amount of slapstick comedy and a lot of twirling with sharp knives.

The plot: We're in the kitchen of a large hotel. Three chefs are preparing a wedding feast against a 6'o clock deadline. The manager of the hotel displays an interesting pice of nepotism by introducing his rookie nephew as a fourth chef. Chaos and hilarity ensues. Er, that's it really. The six year old sitting next to me was in stitches from the moment that lights went down. I could be cynical and write that the whole thing was rather beneath me, but I won't. I laughed as much as my neighbour. We both particularly enjoyed the fart gags.

Sightseeing on foot

2008-07-21T18:20:00.001+01:00

Monday is the day off for the tour companies in Seoul, so I decided to see the city by foot. I now have sore feet.

I started the day by deciding that I couldn't possibly leave the city without having a run. The park where the Seoul Tower is situated is close to the hotel, so what better route could there be than to climb the hill to the tower itself? My Garmin log will duly show that the 2.5km up the hill was walked rather than ran... but I did run down afterwards! The view from the top of the hill was tremendous, but as I failed to take my camera, you will have to make do with a stock shot instead.

I then went back to the hotel to shower and attacked one of the major shopping streets in search of a tailor. (I need new shirts.) As usual, I succombed to sales pressure and bought a new suit as well (for which I have just had a second fitting in my hotel room). It and the shirts will be mailed to me by the weekend. Incredible.

The rest of the day I spent walking the length of a beautiful stretch of water in the centre of the twon - about 5km long. It used to be the place where locals went to wash clothes - and there are photos of them doing so on the walls by the side of the perfectly edged stream. Now it's a wonderful park, set in a cutting beside busy streets. I walked in one direction at water level, occasionally using stepping stones to cross the stream. I walked back at street level, past busy busineses, each apparently 'zoned' so that similar enterprises were grouped together - tee shirt sellers, hat sellers, motorbikes, sign printers, tee shirt embroiderers, towels and blankets, electric lights, jeans, cameras - and finally, pets. A whole street of puppies. (But, I am delighted to report, no sign of a restaurant in Seoul selling dog... or perhaps I never found the dog restaurant zone.)

Hungry and thirsty I stopped at a cafe for a Kiwi fruit juice and a hamburger (more salad than meat, with KimChi pickled cabbage included). I was tickled to see that the business proudly shouts that it was established in 2008.

I am off this evening to a show - "Cooking" is billed as a mixture of music, dance and martial arts. I will share the review tomorrow.

Looking forward and backward

2008-07-20T23:57:00.001+01:00

I visited the Non Militarised Zone on the border with North Korea this morning, on an organised tour. (Note to self: Don't strike up a conversation with any American lady on a tour bus, in case she wants to spend the rest of the morning telling you her life story). The Zone was fascinating. We were able to visit a 'ghost station', created by South Korea as a piece of very expensive propoganda, ready for the first train to run after reunification; an obervatory point where we could see the border clearly - and two enormous flags, competing with each other to be the highest; and a tunnel, ostensibly one of over 40, dug by the North Koreans in readiness for invasion. And we also saw a whole load of South Korean propoganda material, telling us that the DMZ is a nature reserve and place of peace, just waiting for reunification. Fascinating. I thought that I had escaped the conference, but on other tour buses throughout the morning I ran across members of other delegations making similar visits to my own. The Kiwis kept popping up as well as the USA (who had, of course, chartered their own bus...)

In the afternoon, the heavens opened and I experienced a real monsoon. Seoul was very, very wet. I just managed to get in a visit to the royal palace and a brief wander around that area of the city before it started raining. Then, later on, I dodged the raindrops to go out to dinner, where I enjoyed a typical Korean meal, followed by a very untypical ice cream.

Finally, back to my hotel room, to watch American Forces Broadcasting, showing CSI, The Simpsons and a whole range of infomercials about American military values, avoiding credit card fraud in foreign countries and planning for retirement.

All in all, an interesting day.

Seoul - the soul of Asia

2008-07-19T23:51:00.001+01:00

I left Jeju with a bit of a heavy heart. It's a beautiful island and everyone has been so kind. Simon and his team really did organise a superb conference. Even at the airport we were carefully looked after and shepherded through formalities... In fact, it was all considerably easier than any early morning flight I've had to take in the UK.

Arrival at Seoul was easy too. I was expecting to find my own way into the city, but a Scout met me in the arrivals hall, disappeared to find the location of my hotel, marked it on a map and was then pointed me towards the (extremely efficient) subway system.

I arrived in Seoul city to discover torrential rain. The last 200 from the subway station to my hotel left me sopping wet. The rain continued all afternoon, but that didn't stop me going out to sightsee - the trouble was that the rain was so hard that visibility was pretty much nil, so not a lot of sights got seen.

What I did realise, however, is that Koreans like to shop. The hotel is on the edge of a major shopping district and I have never seen so many people dodging in and out of expensive stores. I returned to the hotel for a brief rest and then went out again to look a little further afield. I glimpsed my first sight of the Seoul Tower (It had been hidden by cloud when I arrived.) It really is impressive and I hope to go to the top of it if the weather improves.

In the evening I returned to the shopping area (this time in the dry) and discovered that people like to wander out after dark. I spent a brilliant couple of hours window shopping, ate a large amount of street food and have returned to the hotel fairly exhausted. Tomorrow I am off to the DMZ on the border of North Korea. I have a feeling tomorrow's blog will be a little more pensive in tone.

A day of new resolutions

2008-07-18T23:53:00.001+01:00

The last day of any Scout World Conference is always spent dealing with the very many resolutions that are created over the course of the week and today was no exception. I sat at the back of the conference hall and listened to our various delegations from around the world set the priorities for World Scouting for the next three years... It looks like we'll be spending a lot of time focusing on growing the Movement, supporting adult volunteers and helping to spread good practice amongst national Scout organisations and their regions - as well as appointing a new Secretary General and considering whether or not we should move the office of the World Scout Bureau away from Geneva. We're going to have a busy three years.

I am going to be in the thick of it, as I accepted my colleagues' offer to chair the Educational Methods Committee. I look forward to adding some real value to World Scouting through the work of the committee.

We finished conference with a tremendous closing ceremony, banquet and entertainment. Our new Chairman, Rick Cronk, from the USA, gave a superb introductory speech, pledging to support member organisations through the work of the World Scout Committee. I'm going to enjoy working with him.

I am now off to bed. The European Region is throwing its customary end of conference party in a nightclub a few miles ago, but I really am too whacked to go. I have an early start in the morning as I head off for a couple of days in Seoul. Torrential rain is forecast!

Jeju Fantasia

2008-07-17T22:46:00.001+01:00

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. I lost my UK scarf to an Aussie Cub Scout, but gained an Australian Centenary of Scouting woggle and pin in return. A fair exchange!

Great food, spectacular entertainment (including a superb orchestra, demonstrations of martial arts and even a Scout uniform fashion show). The evening ended with tremendous fireworks display.

We also had our first proper committee meeting. It is going to be a fun six years, I think. Lots of hard work to do, but a smashing bunch of people to do it with.

Thanks to everyone who has emailed me to congratulate me on my election. In answer to your questions, yes I will be blogging here regularly to keep you in touch with what I've been up to - both in and outwith Scouting; and yes, I will put some photos up here as soon as I get home and can download them from my camera!

Elected... (!)

2008-07-16T22:31:00.001+01:00

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 members of my campaign team, both here in Jeju and in the UK, who worked so hard to secure the successul result.

A last day of campaigning

2008-07-15T22:35:00.001+01:00

Aidan and I spent the day campaigning for my election to the World Scout Committee, ably supported by the rest of the UK delegation. This evening I made my 3 minute election speech to the conference. 1,000 delegates heard me say the following:

"I can still remember my first hike as a Scout. I was eleven years old. In boots that my mother had bought for me (and were a little too big), I went with my Patrol into the hills outside the village where I grew up. I was given the map and invited to navigate. We got lost. But eventually, with the help of my Patrol Leader, we found our way home. I learned a lot of things that day. Reliance on others; working in a team; doing my best. And I remember those lessons, even today.

I mention this to remind myself, and us all, that above all else, Scouting is an educational movement that changes the lives of boys and girls in their communities, wherever they are in the world. Conferences and committees have their place. But it is local Scouting, in local communities, that actually develops a better world. It is my view that the role of WOSM is to support National Scout Organisations in their task of developing better Scouting for more young people. In this room we share common values, but how we do our Scouting differs from country to country. Good Scouting looks different wherever you find it. There is strength in our diversity.

As we enter Scouting's second century, our challenge now is to agree, NOT what good Scouting looks like - we know that already. Our task is to agree what the role of WOSM really is and should be. If you choose to elect me to the World Committee, I promise to work with my fellow committee members to do three important things:
1 To identify the role of WOSM in supporting World Scouting
2 To draw up an ambitious, but achievable, action plan
3 To work in partnership with all our stakeholders to realise a new vision for Scouting

If we can reach clarity about how we can bring value to National Scout Organisations, then we will have a much happier World Movement. Let's not spend the next three years arguing about structures, memoranda of understanding and constitutions. Let's invest time and effort in planning for and achieving impact - through properly supporting NSO's in their work with young people. So millions more boys and girls can get lost on their first hike - and can begin the task of finding the right route for their journey through life."

We have to wait until tomorrow for the ballot - and tomorrow lunchtime for the result - but there is little more that we can do now to let people know what I stand for and why they should vote for me.

A busy day

2008-07-14T23:40:00.001+01:00

I have spent most of the day talking to people about what I would hope to do if elected to the World Scout Committee. This included a hustings session held in an area of the conference centre where the air conditioning was less than efficient. My shirt ended up sticking to me in a rather disgusting way. But I was told by one delegate that at least that showed that I am a real man whose passion for Scouting was obvious to all to see... Reassuring, I guess, if a little damp.

Earlier today we welcomed new member countries into the World Movement. It was genuinely a moving part of the day; particularly when Cambodia received their membership certificate.

An excellent opening ceremony this evening. Superb dancing and drumming from local performers. And the masters of ceremony were the local equivalent of Richard and Judy - reading thier autocues perfectly. Which was nice.

The evening finished with a walk back along the beach from the conference centre with Nigel and two of our younger delegates, followed by a swim and a drink in the bar. It's a tough life.

The world begins to arrive

2008-07-12T23:40:00.001+01:00

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 early to go out for a run. 5km. Very humid. Quite unlike any running I've ever done before. The route is hilly and quite testing, with a bit of running through sand on the beach - good for the muscles, but not necessarily a way to get a fast time! Derek is also running. He chose to go the opposite way round to me, so we met en route.

Everything here is very efficient. The shuttle buses run perfectly to time. The display boards were ready for delegations to put their exhibitions up at midday precisely - exactly as promised. The conference hall is decorated with enormous banners that at the time I visited were being stapled into precise positions. It is clear that this part of Asia means business.

I have just returned from a really pleasant evening spent with the rest of the delegation. The second wave arrived this afternoon and we are now just waiting for the two young delegates who are enjoying a special programme to fill the time between last week's youth forum and the conference.

Tomorrow, campaigning begins in earnest.

First night in Jeju

2008-07-11T15:21:00.004+01:00

I left Shanghai this morning at about 10, meeting Paulo at the airport and spent a really pleasant couple of hours talking to him about a whole range of different issues. The flight to Jeju took a little over an hour and we were met off the plane by a reception committee of local Scouts.

The road from the airport to the south of the island, where the conference is being held, has banners all along it with the conference logo emblazoned on it. No-one on Jeju could possibly not know that the World Scout Conference is taking place here over the coming week.

I met up with those on the delegation who have already arrived and we went through some papers during the afternoon. Then, after a break and a swim in the excellent hotel pool, we went out to a local restaurant for dinner. The restaurant specialised in horse meet, so three of us chose their gourmet menu. Raw horse steak, horse sushi, horse burgers, horse stew, horse bone soup, horse black pudding... You name it, I've eaten it this evening. As well, of course as Kim chi, the ubiquitous pickled cabbage that Koreans like to eat with every meal. Delicious.

A day in Shanghai

2008-07-10T15:11:00.003+01:00

I am currently on my way to the World Scout Conference, being held in Jeju, South Korea and have stopped off in Shanghai for the day. What an amazing city - full of unfamiliar smells and tastes; though the main shopping street, Nanjing Road, feels surprisingly familiar. This could have something to do with the proliferation of Western brands. I managed to avoid Starbucks, KFC and the golden arches, choosing to eat street food instead.

I have just got back to my hotel, the Astor House, after spending the evening at an amazing acrobatics show. Absolutely brilliant.

Tomorrow, it's back to the airport, via the 400 kmh maglev. The fastest I have ever travelled on land. Not a bad way to start a holiday.