Presented: by the District Commissioner,
the ScoutEx Show,early 1990s
The ScoutEx Show Much like sports, shows were a big part of my life growing up. My grandparents exhibited at shows, my parents exhibited at shows, and according to the old newspapers my brother and I exhibited at shows. Shows meant prizes and prizes meant trophies. So if that meant entering a category on behalf of your son or grandson, so be it. The judges must have thought I was some kind of child prodigy.
I grew up a little, not a lot, but just enough to enter what would become a foundation stone of my childhood. The Scout Movement was many things to me, and sometimes these are too complex to put down in words. I thrived in the structured format, however I found it difficult to connect with the other boys. On the other hand it was one of the only times I have ever felt a real sense of belonging, and being part of something bigger than myself.
We weren’t just a bunch of Beavers, Cubs, & Scouts – we were a unit, a troop, a group. Together we were strong and we were bold, one of the best in the district. It was like a football club or a form at school – but maybe even more than that. These were people who I went on holiday with, regularly and out of choice. We were family, and I genuinely felt bonded with them. There is a small part of me that still feels that way, which is difficult to reconcile when you neither see nor talk to them.
Perhaps in the future I might tell you more of the things we used to do in Scouts but for now – every year as a group we’d enter ScoutEx. The Scouting equivalent of an agricultural show. It was held in the local civic centre and had a wide range of categories to enter. All of them involved making something but that something could be a stuffed toy, a picture, or a bread loaf. Months were spent prior to the show at scout meetings and home preparing entries for the show.
All entries were individually ascribed to a particular scout. A scout could only enter their age range categories and only enter one item per category. In this way scouts competed against each other – even if they were part of the same group. Yet like F1 there were also prizes at stake for the troop with the most overall points as well. For example my personal tally was usually about 5-6 1st, 2nd, or 3rds. However, that would then be added to the troops overall score, to produce the winner of the ScoutEx shield.
My troop was always very well represented at the show, but we had our fierce rivals in the sea scouts. It wasn’t unusual for us to win the ScoutEx Shield but it also wasn’t a given. In all my years of Scouting I was privileged to lift the Shield for my troop only once. The moment was captured by the local newspaper, but unfortunately I had decided to strike my “signature pose”. This is a look that I deeply regret now, as I look like Mr Bean pulling a silly face.
Teamwork as they say makes the dream work. I was victorious in a number of categories, but it was the troop’s group effort that sealed the win. Our names might now be lost to history, but I am proud of what we achieved.