SCOUT NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 21, 26 January 1938, Page 20

SCOUT NOTES

(By "Chingacligook.")

Rover Swimming Sports.

The Rover swimming sports are to be held this year at the Thorndoii Baths on the evening of February 10. The charge lor admission is small, and it is hoped that the whole o£ the Scouting fraternity will be present. A cordial invitation is extended to all members of the movement and their friends. Gift to the Discovery. • Six volumes of the scientific records of the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4 have been presented by the trustees of the British Museum to the B.R.S. Discovery, Captain Scott's famous ship, now the headquarters and training centre for Sea Scouts, moored off Temple Steps. These valuable books of great historic interest have been added to the museum on board, which contains a collection of instruments and other relics of -the Arctic and Antarctic explorers. Gambia Boy Scouts. Mr. Alfred C. Bossom, M.P. for Maidstone, has presented a challenge shield to the Boy Scouts of Bathurst, Gambia. The shield is a handsome piece of work and was recently accepted on behalf of the Bathurst Scouts by Mr. Ormsby Gore, Secretary of State to the Colonies. The Chief Scout, Lord Baden-Powell, has sent a letter to the Scouts of Bathurst, in \yhich he says: "You Scouts of Bathurst are lucky fellows! Mr. Bossom has been generous to give you a shield to compete for. He has seen and admired some of your work, so you have earned the presentation of the shield. I hope that you will have jolly good competitions to show which is the best troop, and I shall be glad to hear later on who is the winner." Mr. Bossom made a similar award to the Scouts of Sierra Leone in 1935. While on a visit to Sierra Leone he was so impressed by the behaviour, work, and courtesy of the Scouts that he promised to present them with a challenge shield. This shield was accepted on behalf of the Sierra Leone Scouts by Mr. Malcolm Mac Donald, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies. The Scouts of Bathurst and Sierra Leone render valuable service by acting as guides for people coming off the boats. A lady who was on a "round the world tour" paid tribute to the Scouts' services. She said: "I don t think I shall ever forget their jolly chocolate-coloured faces or the way they looked after us. At other places we had been pestered by people who wanted to sell us things or act as guides. At Sierra Leone a party of Scouts met the boat, kept off troublesome people, showed us around, ana refused to take a tip. We were two women travelling alone, and my sister was an invalid. You can imagine how thankful we were for those Scouts. Another letter of appreciation describes the good turn as done by the " Scouts of Freetown and Bathurst: As one of the passengers of R.M.S. Almanzora, which called at the ports of Freetown and Bathurst, I feel I should like to inform you how we all appreciate the attention of the Boy Scouts at each port. They were of the greatest help in showing places of interest and in helping passengers in various ways. I was much struck with the smartness of their turn-out. I think some of us were glad of the opportunity of making a small donation, as the Scouts refused any gratuities." Mr. Bossom must have been similarly impressed. Royal Performance. The news flashed round London. The butcher's boy told the gasfitter, the bank clerk told the stockbroker, the traveller told the man behind the counter, boys from Peabody Buildings told the boys from Golders Green, all of them members of "The Gang," the King has commanded us to appear at the Palladium!" "Away with books and meat trays, sugar bags, and gas pipes,. -For -one. night .only .we. are stars, boys; stars on an equal footing with Gracie Field, Max Miller, Nervq^ and Knox and all the' high lights. We've got to be good that night," said ithe bank clerk. "Yes, but not too good," yelped the butcher's boy. "We must give Gracie Fields a break." "The Gang Show" selected for the Royal Command performance on * November 15 was sufficient evidence ■to prove that it had soared to the heights of stage success, ranking amongst the best of London shows. Numbers from this year's show-in-cluded "The Sun Breaks Through," "Going Home," "Riding Down to Dixie," and "Stepping Out." These were presented before the King and Queen. Scottish Scout in Greece. A Scottish kilt caused quite a sensation at Patras, Greece, recently. Mr. Robert T. Slme, who has a post in a firm at Patras, happens to be a Scout, and was asked by the District Commissioner, IWr. G. Casapis, to "lead a large parade of Scouts. So he wore his own uniform—with kilt—and Patras had never seen a kilt before. The parade included ten Scouts on horseback, 20 on bicycles led by a motor-cycle, • trek carts, a patrol of ambulance men, Scouts. Sea Scouts, and Wolf Cubs. In the evening the Prime Minister, Mr. J. Metaxas, visit ed the local Scout headquarters and presented a long-service medal to the local Commissioner, Mr. P. F. Frangopulas. The Prime Minister also expressed great satisfaction of the good being done in Patras and in Greece by the Boy Scout movement, and assured fftose in charge that he would do all he could to assist them to make the movement prosper in Greece. The Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of Greece, Mr. L. Pteris, was also present, and gave an inspiring talk. Scout officers acted as guards to the Prime Minister on his tour of the city. -