0.00 - The Interviewer welcomed the Respondent to the project and began by asking where he was born and grew up.
He explained that he was born in Perth, where his father worked on the railways. Because of his father’s job, the family moved around Scotland before eventually settling in Cramond, where he has lived ever since.
The conversation then turned to his involvement with the 30th and the years in which he took part.
“Before that, I was in Inverleith District and was Scout Leader at Muirhouse – 99th Edinburgh, no longer in existence. So, I was there for a long time, and I just fancied a change, you know, sometimes you know it's just time to go somewhere else.”
1.11 - He went on to explain that he had been looking for a change from his previous Scout post, which had become difficult as numbers were dwindling, and he felt ready for something new.
After speaking with Laurie Peacock, then Group Scout Leader of the 30th, he learned there was a vacancy with the Monday Night Scouts. He agreed to take it on and became leader of that Troop, known at the time as the Swift Troop in 1982. He was then asked whether this post had been formally advertised.
“No, it was just through the District, when it was Inverleith, it was smaller obviously before it merged with Haymarket. It was quite a family, so the groups all new each other – we all knew Cramond and Davidson’s Mains and the 23rd at Blackhall, all that kind of stuff. So I knew Laurie through Gang Show, still am involved with that, and at the time we would all know what was going on in each other’s groups.”
2.25 - The Interviewer goes on to ask what he recalled about a typical Scout evening.
“Rough and tumble comes to mind. They were wilder than I expected. It's not, it's not an insult or anything. They were older, I can't remember the timeline, at that time there were Venture Scouts, so it would be 12 – 16 – they were wild. They were keen Scouts though, keen competition with the Friday Scouts. The Mondays were always the poor relation, I suspect, because it started up because the Fridays were full, and I suspect they were always just an addition. So, it was never the biggest Scout Troop – they liked very rugby-based games – Murderball, etc., and there were a few injuries over the period. Far less supervision and no risk assessments and things like that at the time, but they did Scout work as well, they were good Scouts, and they did lots of camps and ski trips jointly with Fridays.”
3.43 - The Respondent explained that the biggest challenge at the time was the shortage of leaders, with only three leaders responsible for around twenty Scouts on Monday nights.
He then went on to talk about the number of Scouts who took part in camps during that period.
“From ’82 to ’89, we did have a summer camp every year, and they were quite big events. I mean, the first one which we ran, I think it was ’83, jointly with the Fridays, I'm sure there were 60 or 70 Scouts there. I mean, they all went, and the big lorry took all the equipment, it was heavy-duty stuff right up to... maybe not so busy towards the end...the last one I ran in ‘88 I'm guessing was at, which was in Northumberland and maybe 15 scouts from the Mondays. The numbers had gone down definitely, but still a pleasure to run.”
5.12 - The Interviewer asks if there was a difference in ages between the Monday and the Friday Troops, to which he said there wasn’t. He went on to say that the Friday Troop was very strong and had a very passionate leader in Ken Deans. He explained that at this time, Cubs came up to the Scouts at about 11 and a half and seemed to stay on over the years. He recalled that almost all the Scouts went to the Royal High as he remembered many wearing their school rugby tops for games. He
then goes on to talk about traditions at Scouts.
“Lots of traditions, again same as the Fridays. You had Patrol Leaders Dinner, going to carol singing on Christmas Eve at Church and, oh yeah, the Pentland Hills challenge that they hiked. It was great, it's probably not easy to get a permit to do all the peaks in one day or something. That’s my memory of it anyway, yeah, but a happy time, and I think seven years was fine.”
6.49 - The Respondent went on to explain that he eventually stepped back from being a leader to focus on starting a youth theatre and producing Fringe shows. However, he continued his involvement in Scouting for a time as ADC Training Leader for Inverleith before leaving the movement altogether. He added that his own sons were Cubs and Scouts with the 30th during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Gordon Drysdale was leader. The Interviewer then brought the conversation back to Scout nights and asked how those evenings were planned.
“I think we did our own thing except for camps and ski trips and weekend camps and stuff, it was usually a joint event.”
8.10 - The Respondent goes on to talk about moving over to the Friday Scouts and his Scout Leader Assistant being Ron Jack around 1986, as Ken Deans had gone off to work in teaching at this time. The Interviewer asks if he remembers any of the community activities that took place in Scouting.
“I remember the Gala Parade, yes. I don’t think we did a Remembrance Parade, but we did, and I’m not sure if it still is, but at the time, the 30th weren’t sponsored by the Church (D’Mains Parish Church), so it was an independent group. So, they used to invite us to the Youth Service, but they were a Boys Brigade Church, so [laughs] it was quite amusing really. I remember the Gala Parade, which was a big thing and still is.”
10.48 - He talks briefly about a photograph he thinks he found in an old box of the 30th Cubs in the 1950s marching in the Gala Parade, and then goes on to recall more about the Gala.
“In the 80s, it was in the public park for the Gala, not away up at Lauriston Castle. That was the big one, and the Scouts did hot dogs and did a water slide. You’d never get a risk assessment and permission for the public to slide down a big sheet of plastic with Fairy Liquid on it [laughs], but it made a lot of money on it. So, I think the Gala was the big one as I can’t think of any other time the group got together.”
11.42 - The Interviewer was then asked about Scout Inspections and if they were strict.
“Yes, very strict, not something you may be able to do as strictly now. It was all for patrol points. I can't find it, I'm still sure I've got a patrol competition trophy somewhere, I'll have to have another look, but yeah, definitely. It's very, very keenly fought for, in fact. [The Troop] always started with flag, prayer, inspection and then change for games and then rough and wild game and then Scouting skills. Pretty traditional and ending with flag down. Again, just a standard Scout meeting, and I don't think that’s really changed much over the years.”
12.35 - The conversation moves on to Scout Uniform and what he recalls of them, and then goes on to talk about competitions.
“Smarter than today. Things like Scout trousers, Scout activity trousers, obviously kilts for big events.
Reminded me to get something. I can't think what it was. I think I'm just thinking of Scouts helping at the Tattoo or something.
Much smarter – neckerchiefs were worn straight; badges were checked to make sure they were...almost like military style.
Far more parade ground type. I know as a Scout, I wasn't a Scout here, I was a Scout at Cramond, and it was even more regimented.
The Movement has got away from that now, they don't really encourage it so much, but I know very smart I would say they were proper Scouts, they would know their Scout Law Promise and what it was about and so on.
They would want to compete in District events. I mean, older reminiscers would remember when they were 30th Midlothians, so they’d be competing with Cramond and Blackhall and Davidson’s Mains - they would be the three big Scout Troops when it was Inverleith. Definitely district football and rugby and the big one - the District Camping Competition. That was the huge event. There's a lot of status and we did win it on a number of occasions. Both times I was here, there was inspections at that – like one scrap of paper in the campsite, and you lost points. Anecdote: There's no story that leaders walked about with little bits of paper to drop on somebody's campsite where they would lose points. But I have heard that.
But no, that was a big one for camping, and it was either not so much at Bonally, usually at Fordell, or even we had one at Crook of Devon, which is a campsite further up the motorway. Yeah, definitely they’ve always been good Scouts.”
14.55 - The Interviewer then asks about Scout badges and the tasks Scouts had to complete to get them.
“Trying to remember what the period was - Chief Scout’s challenge, I think. Scout Award, Scout Standard, I get mixed up with them all now. I’m still a leader in Scouts, but elsewhere, so I know the current stuff, but now trying to separate stuff I've not looked at. I think it's Scout Standard and advanced Scout Standard and Chief Scouts Award in the 80s, and I've got a picture there [shows newspaper] of three Scouts in the Evening News - two or three getting their Chief Scout’s Award.
But it was quite difficult to do given that was the highest award in Scouts and Queen Scout for Ventures. Don't know so much about the Ventures here. They met on a Sunday evening I think, so never had a lot of communication, but the Scouts went there when they left Scouts, definitely, yeah.”
16.53 - The Respondent then goes on to talk about the ‘going up ceremonies’ that took place in Scouts.
“They walked up the hall and joined the Scouts – I can’t remember if they jumped over a rope or anything, but it was important and that’s when the Cubs got to see the Scouts and be terrified because they were tiny and they were all huge [laughs]”
16.31 - The Interviewer then asks if there was ever any involvement from the young people in planning nights, choosing badges to work on or which camps to go to.
“I think so, it was definitely run in patrols, without a doubt, and quite often they would have patrol corner time where they had to learn new knots or lashings or whatever but also discuss what they wanted to do. Scouts have always been or are supposed to be youth-led, but when possible and with enough leaders. Not so easy in the 90s into the 2000s, cause then the age range had changed, and Explorers started just as I was leaving here to go to Explorers. Some people still say the age ranges are wrong. I mean, I see it - where I am just now, we have two ten-year-old girls joined, and they are looking at almost fourteen-year-old patrol leaders and saying ‘Really? We’ve got to play against them in games?’ But that’s why again you split into older guys and younger ones, but definitely youth-led, particularly with emphasis on the patrol leaders and the district doing patrol leader training to make sure they know how to manage their patrols and stuff, definitely, yeah.”
17.57 - The Interviewer then asks if he found it difficult to guide patrol leaders in this role, or if they just wanted to do the same activities all the time.
“Yeah, moan moan moan, ‘let’s play British Bulldogs again’ No, we’re not allowed to, well technically you are as long as you do the right risk assessment [laughs] Murder Ball – what’s the rules – none! Just get the ball – Murder Ball or some other ridiculous game where you’ve just got to drag people into a corner and see who ends up with the most people or Chinese Ladders even - running up and down people’s legs and hoping you don’t break any [laughs] can’t play it now - a risk assessment – I don’t even need to write it down! Horses and Jockeys – trying to pull the other person off the other person’s back – they’d love to play that now! Saying that we didn’t have too many visits to the hospital – I think maybe two or three…more at camp – usually from a baseball bat or rounders bat being thrown and hitting somebody on the head before they start running round!”
19.05 - He is then asked if he recalls, other than camp, any other outdoor activities he did with the group.
“I’ve mentioned skiing a couple of times as the Region – the Area then had a ski bus on a Sunday, that was the big thing, and they went to Glenshee when there was snow at Glenshee every Sunday from November to February. So we did quite a few of these. I’m sure we went swimming, I can’t imagine where we went – I think there was a pool at Cramond at the time – at the Dunfermline College -where they are meant to building the new place, you know if you go up Gamekeeper’s Road and turn right – there’s a huge site in there that was the P.E. college at one time in the 80s I think, and it had its own pool. So I can remember swimming galas – swimming galas were big as well, they were a nightmare with logistics and stuff, but other than that, I’m not sure what else we’d do, probably hikes to be honest. Age group hikes – either the younger Scouts or the older Scouts would go off -I’ve got a record somewhere of the senior Scouts doing the Chief Scouts Award, so, same as the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, they’d actually go off to the Moorfoot’s and follow a route and stuff, so it was very much outdoors stuff, yeah.
20.36 - The Interviewer asks what the Respondent’s aims were in terms of supporting young people in the community.
“I’m trying to think with my 80s head or 90s head on. I just think they kept coming so they were getting something out of it. They were getting badges, they were going to camp…there wasn't, wasn't as many other activities, of course, certainly in the 80s, it was really Scouts or Boys Brigade or Guides or whatever. And I was so like into Scouting, I mean, I was a Scout all the way through, left as a Scout at 18 and got sent to Muirhouse because you used to get sent to another Troop for six months and was there for 10 years and then came here. So, you know, I was maybe never really stopped to think. We did get Scouts into the Gang Show as well because that was my thing. So, we were doing something right.”
21.56 - The conversation moved on to the subject of Bob-A-Job, to which he said that by the time he was there, it was known as Scout Job Week, and he couldn’t recall much of that but mentioned fundraising through Christmas Card sales. He was then asked if the Scouts ever put on any shows or similar events, to which he said he remembered one.
“Shows we did in 2002; we did a little show – actually had lights for it in the hall there for the Entertainer’s Badge for the Scouts. I've got one picture of it, can't find any others, but that was unusual. There was no history of such a thing, you know, because I would have been doing that had there been. Although the hall has never been suitable for that. Not so suitable for that sort of event.”
23.45 - The Respondent then talks about a memory he had of the Old Scout Hall.
“My first recollection of the 30th was when they met. I must have been a Scout; they met along where St Margaret’s Church Hall is now, and they were a bit wild, and the Scouts were jumping in and out of the windows of the Scout Hall. I mean, the windows were open for some reason…that's my record…I don't know, sticks in my head. I thought, oh, that's the 30th? Yeah. [laughs]”
24.20 - He goes on to recall Ken Thompson, who went on to become the Regional Commissioner and that he did so much in building up the Troop and his involvement in getting the new Scout Hall. He also mentions Bill Lyburn, who was the Group Section Leader prior to the Respondent becoming a leader with the Troop. The conversation then moves back to popular games that were played at Scout Nights.
“I think, as I've mentioned already, they like any rugby-based games, which is Murderball and certainly in the 80s, which is basically give them a rugby ball, touchdown to either end with no rules. Although having said that, we did referee them always, so it wasn't there's no rules as they thought. British Bulldog type games, Uni-Hoc as well, which is still popular with Scouts, but again, I can still remember getting my thumb nearly broken in the days when you could play against 16-year-olds because they didn't always adhere to the…
‘That's not the height… no, it's not a Golf Club!’ You know that sort of stuff. Can you picture who did that? I won’t name them here [laughs].
I think we probably we did do Scouting skill games and any kind of blindfold type games and stuff, and they love wide games many times up to the park – playing wide games and even in the middle of winter. Anything to get out the hall for a change, because with a large number of young people in there, you know, it's not always the best, now it's never going to change, you know, in a small hall. [laughs]”
26.53 - The Respondent was then asked about his favourite experiences of his time as a Scout Leader.
“I think my favourite experience was coming here to start with and being involved in an established Scout Group that had a Group Executive and had its own equipment and a Quartermaster, and the first camp we went to, I think ‘83, and I think to Lochearnhead with the two troops together. And at that time, there was a lot of people that just appeared for camp, there's nothing wrong with that, and that's great. they used to be Scouts and had come back or were in Ventures and stuff. I’ve really homed in on the first time, but the second time… the second time was coming back. Coming back as Group Scout Leader was great. I didn’t actually intend to be Scout Leader as well, but as these things happen, there was only one troop then on a Friday. So coming back was good but to be honest there wasn’t much difference – Scouts were younger but again quite well supported but still had a devil of a job getting enough leaders to make it even runnable, you know, it was down to two of us, and I still maintain you can’t run a section with only two leaders, you need support staff to be there, you can’t just hope for the best as it were.”
29.18 - The Respondent goes on to explain that he had left in 1989, as he was doing Youth Theatre and returned in 1997 as GSL, as the Group were going through some difficulties. He recalls everyone pulling together, and in 2000, they had a Group Camp at Fordell Firs with Beavers, Cubs and Scouts attending, which went very well.
He goes on to talk about it becoming difficult around the time the Explorer Unit was established in the 30th to get leaders to run sections, and then the conversation moves on to him attending a World Scout Jamboree and him moving to Explorers.
“I got a place on the World Scout Jamboree as International Support Team in Thailand so I was head of that and actually cleaned the hall for a small wage for a while towards that – I’ll just put that on record [laughs] So I thought – you know its time and Explorers were starting and wanted to do that so I went and moved to Explorers – just as simple as that, as that was the age group I was working with that were going to Thailand for the World Jamboree – so that was 2002. I’d had a seven-year period, then a five-year period, both of which are very much a highlight of my Scouting times, no doubt.”
33.52 - The Respondent goes on to talk about how pleased he was that the Group was still doing well and was in its Centenary year. He went on to recall previous celebrations.
“I remember the 60th in 1984, we had a dinner at the Commodore Hotel, which is now whatever it is – the hostel down the beach there, and because it was sixty years – it went right back, quite far back at that time, and it was quite a big event. I remember being asked to one for the 75th but couldn’t come for some reason, but it wasn’t as big an event, I think. The Ventures' motto – ‘Up and At It’ or something like that – yeah, I think it’s a group with a lot of history.”
32.15 - He goes on to consider the current success of the group and talks about how difficult it was to recruit leaders in the early 2000s, with about three leaders running three sections, which was very difficult. He was asked if he found it difficult to engage parents, to which he said he thought it was and that they should have tried to recruit leaders before their numbers got so low. He goes on to discuss undertaking one particular camp at this time.
“Because we were a bit smaller, we formed a federation of three Scout Troops, I'm just guessing here – the 30th, the 16th, which is East Craigs and whatever the group at Saughtonhall is, I forgot their number, but they had their own hall as well, and we had a camp with all three sections. All three Troops went to Stobo Castle, it rained the whole week [laughs] with us three and Danish Scouts, I don’t know where the Danish connection came in, but big camp.”
34.33 - The Interviewer then asks if he can talk more about what camps were like when he was a leader.
“Summer camp or weekend camp, definitely patrol-based, whether they were the same patrol as at Scouts – unlikely, summer camps usually had a theme, they were lochs or bears or something, I don’t know, all sorts of different names. Definitely sleeping in Stormhavens, or Icelandics or Nijers – big patrol tents with cooking by fire, you know Scouts love fires, with big camp grills, it was heavy-duty stuff. Basic, basic British cooking, you know, mince and tatties and porridge for breakfast, hot chocolate and cocoa for supper, all that sort of stuff, but three meals a day without a doubt, yeah. And a tradition, which I found a picture of, colleagues would remind you of, on the Friday night at Summer camp, you got to eat with a patrol, leaders ate with a patrol, we were all obviously drew lots for it, and they came and transported you to their campsite. Don’t know where that tradition came from – it goes back to the seventies or sixties, usually on a stretcher or some kind of Scout pole thing, you know, you’d be eating with that patrol, and if you landed lucky, you got a good meal [laughs] cause there’s maybe one that’s not quite so good.
I don’t remember quite so much weekend camps – we probably had one at Easter and one in September, if there was one but I remember more the Chief Scouts Award hikes when they would go off, plan their hike and go off and we’d just monitor them in the Moorfoots or wherever, so they would be with the orange Vangos, that last for ever, which have really kind of faded as well cause you can get tents for £50 now and you just use them till they die, but that’s my memory of it.
But I suppose the camping standard must have been high because I don’t know if young Scouts could put up the Stormhavens now, holding them, heavy poles…the ridge pole that could crash on you and all that sort of stuff, and tripping over guy lines and all the rest of it.
There was a big lorry to get to camp.
Interviewer: How did the Scouts get to camp?
Respondent: I’m just trying to think on that, actually, not in the lorry as I did as a Scout, not here but you got piled in – put the kit in first, then the Scouts on top and leave the back open – they didn’t shut the back on it! Oh yes, some by minibus cause I do remember having to have a permit from the schools and I do remember driving, usually with a canoe trailer, which terrified the life out of me, but certainly at Lochearnhead camp it was usually a mixture of cars and school busses – you could rent them from any school who had a minibus if you sat their test.”
37.50 - The Interviewer brings the conversation back to the World Jamboree that he attended and asked if he could talk more about that.
The Respondent explained that he attended not as part of the 30th but in his own capacity, as the young people who went were older than Scout age, being 14-18. He could not recall if any members of the 30th were selected to attend it or indeed if any Scouts ever attended any camps abroad at the time he was a leader there.
He did recall that the 30th Venture Scouts at that time went abroad on expeditions on a few occasions. He explained that the Scout summer camps were held in Scotland, but in 2002, they attended an international camp in Kendal called Cumbaree.
Around that time - lack of leaders and moving out of the hall for renovations made it difficult to plan such events. He goes on to talk more about this.
“We were meeting in St Margaret’s Church Hall, and something tells me we were meeting in Silverknowes Primary School, which isn’t there now – I think that’s right, or was it Davidson’s Mains Primary?
If you are used to your own hall and you suddenly don’t have it, you can’t provide the same standard, and I think that’s what lost us a wee bit of growth.
Interviewer: So was it quite a noticeable drop?
Respondent: I think there was some uncertainty about where we’d be meeting and things like that, so it was kind of a difficult time and then when we got back, it was starting to pick up the members but we hadn’t managed to…well of course I was Group Section Leader and Scout Leader and that doesn’t really work you know, you can adapt for a while but you know, you’re doing two jobs, so I don’t know how it moved on after that as I lost touch a wee bit.”
41.13 - The Interviewer mentions that the Respondent had said the Troop did well at District camps, and asked if he could expand on this.
“There was a lot of preparation for it, a lot of practices, and it was a camping standard weekend, of a very high standard, although all Troops were encouraged to take part. The District Flag, as it was called, was the big event of the year, and Blackhall won it most years; they were bigger than us, always were at that time. So they’d be practising at Scouts, a lot of pioneering, starting with Scout staff pioneering, going onto the big pole pioneering, building bridges, building gateways, building fences round your tent and all that, building little holders for your wash basin and all that sort of stuff, and lots of points to be gained. Lots of intelligence types, lots of what are called trading posts, you’ve got to build something, and the camp organisers will have all the equipment and sell it to you with money that’s been made up over the camp and buy it back if it works, all this sort of sophisticated stuff. All the District leaders would be involved in going to that and examining it. As I said, a really high standard, checking all the cooking equipment, checking their tents, checking their own personal equipment was all laid out neat and tidy, I mean it’s just such a different world, although it probably still goes on if it’s a competition, and I know we won it twice in my time – over the two times I was here, but sometimes it was very close at the top and of course there were big arguments.”
43.14 - The Interviewer then asks if that was a big achievement for the Group and what were the other big achievements.
“That’s a big one, that and the Scouts getting the highest award. I mean, at that time, you got your picture in the Evening News. I mean, it was newsworthy.
There are probably loads of Scouts who get their Gold Standard, but you know, not so publicly known. But I, I think things like that, winning, taking part is obviously important, always encourage you to even if they're not of a high standard, still going for it because you could win it the next year, but I think from the first time the Scouts who got their Chief Scouts Award and winning the District Flag and having a successful camp with both troops.
And the second time I think again, Scouts getting the highest award at the time but still, particularly in the second time, keeping the numbers up, trying to run a programme every week that appeals, cause young people just walk if it's not if it's not what they want. So you know, pride comes before what? a fall, right, okay, but proud of it?
Yeah, no problem at all, yeah.”
44.40 - The Respondent is asked if he believes Scouting impacted his life or personal growth in any way.
“Oh yeah. Absolutely. So, I'm probably not unique in any way, but I didn't leave. You know, so if you ask that of someone who's only in Scouts, till there were 15 or 18 and then never had any involvement, maybe until they were a parent, I still think they give the same answer. I still think they'd say, yeah, of course it did. Because it enabled me to learn new skills, all the skills for life type stuff that's been on that gave me, it gave me somewhere to go every week that I enjoyed, and it took me off to camps and activities. I should have mentioned the canoeing at Longcraig, that was another favourite both times, still is for those that like that. But from one point of view, yeah, absolutely. You know, that's why I stuck with it. - I had to leave a couple of times, but only really due to, well, first time doing youth theatre separately, which was voluntary, the second time due to work and again, I don't want to just hang about, you know, either. It's better to say ‘no, I'll be going and I'm sure you'll get someone.’ But yeah, absolutely.”
46.03 - The conversation then moves on to his thoughts on current Scouting, to which he says that he is still involved as a Section Lead Volunteer at 1st Edinburgh North East, based at Wardie Church, as he wanted to be involved with a Troop that needed to be developed and built up. He goes on to talk about the changes that have happened over the years that he has been a Scout Leader.
“Things have changed. Actually, being honest, 80s, 90s and now, its still better disciplined, if you like, and it's good that we do risk assessments. I could see the back of them at times, but it's good that we take more care. When I think back, I'm not saying we're reckless, but it's good that we do, and really, once you get into a rhythm of it… Yeah, they still want to go to camp, they still want to go on night hikes, another thing I forgot about, but yeah, same things. They want to light fires - Scouts like lightning fires, always have done, always will, don't like lighting small fires. And when they grow up, they'll just say the same thing that they had a great time.”
48.03 - The Interviewer asks if the Respondent has any final thoughts or memories he would like to share.
“It brings a smile to my face, I'll have to admit, and I learned from some names I've mentioned here, like Ken Thompson and Bill Lyburn and others – Peter Hardern, who was Scout Leader here before me. Another one of the fabulous characters who were really good Scouts, and their outdoor, pioneering and backwards skills are stunning.
You know, they really taught me a lot about how to look after yourself and stuff. And I'm always pleased to see the 30th out and about, and I'm pleased that I’m in Scouts, and where I ended up just along the road, so it's fine. But yeah, I recommend to any locals to join your local Scout Group waiting list because that sadly is seems to be that I don't think, I don't think we ever had a waiting list because that sadly seems to be [the way] I don’t think we ever had a waiting list for Scouts, I might be wrong, but we always managed to cram them in.
I mean, I've been to church hall, I haven't been dragged in front of the Kirk Session for wrecking it yet, but I have been in these situations where it's a church hall then I'm not suggesting that Scout hall shouldn't be kept to the same standard but when it’s your own hall, you have a little bit more freedom to do stuff, whereas if it's you know, usually what I get is ‘ Do the Scouts have to use all the tumblers in the kitchen? Can they wash them when they're finished!’ You know, all that sort of stuff [laughs].
Whether it’s the Guild are not happy with – ‘Please stack the chairs in sixes, not in twelves!’ or something. So something I've told my wife recently - I spent my whole life stacking chairs after meetings [laughs].”
50.04 - The Interview then concludes with the Respondent being thanked for his time and sharing his memories with the Project.