District commissioner Ian Bardon has kindly sent the following items of Scouting news, one more personal but of interest to a wide audience and the other concerned with the very talented National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra.

National Scout Car Races
Earlier in the year, I asked my seven year old son if he would like a day out at the seaside, to include an opportunity to see other young people racing their home-made pedal cars. Knowing his love of the sea and sand and his passion for his own pedal car, I was fairly sure of a ‘yes’, which duly came. This then enabled me to visit the National Scout Car Races at Scarborough and to see Trevor Daniels, my long time Scouting friend and organiser of the event.

For those of you who are not familiar with Scout Car Race Meeting, this is one of those events that turns a normal, rational Leader into a precision engineer and mechanic who spends hours building a formula one pedal car with a budget equivalent to half a pair of hiking boots! Once built, he then sets about training his young team to become highly focused pedal athletes, usually over the week before the event. Once at the event, the Leader then turns into a shouting, cheering, coaching, foot stamping expert in ALL matters to do with pedal car racing, including tactics, feeding, changeovers, speed and lots more beside.

In the morning session, the programme of events included the Premier Division and Division 1 race for Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts, where the young people raced on an individual basis. In the afternoon, and this was my favourite part of the day, was the Grand Prix racing, where each Section races for a fixed time trying to complete as many laps as possible. Each team consists of four drivers who change over at the end of each lap. These changeovers cause lots of excitement in the pit lane as teams come rushing in while others are just setting off! All of the participants had a fantastic day with winners coming from near and far. I am advised that, in true Scouting fashion, all disagreements were settled amicably and no serious injuries were sustained.

If you are interested in building your own pedal car, the specifications can be found on the BFPCR website www.pedalcars.org.uk

National Scout & Guide Symphony Orchestra

Scouting is for everyone whatever their interests and this was really apparent when the National Scout & Guide Symphony Orchestra (NSGSO) recently performed at Ripon Cathedral. The seventy strong Orchestra of Scouts and Guides, aged from thirteen to twenty five, had met the previous weekend for their annual week of rehearsal. This year, they were based in Barnard Castle School, County Durham. During the week, they played together for approximately forty hours before performing two live concerts, in Ripon and in Durham.

The young people treated the audience to a wide array of music, including The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, A Noyse of Minstrell Round O for O for Orchestra, selections from Miss Saigon, Finlandia (Op.26) and Borodin's Symphony No. 2 in B minor.

The whole evening was full of fun and entertainment and I am sure that the three hundred and fifty to four hundred people in the audience had a great evening, Thank you to every one of them for supporting the NSGSO. I am sorry to have to report that these talented musicians are not due to visit us again for another eight to ten years.