23 December - Another fine mess…
…I got myself into.
@tonyofsidcup’s next submission is a tricky one for me because he is having a
little dig at the Scouts. My father was into the Scouts in a fairly big way
until an administrative error dragged him from his reserved occupation in
Woolwich Arsenal into the RAF when he was aged 21. I was no more than a nobody
in a silly hat in the local group differentiating between grannies and reefs.
With BiB
I have got used to laying into the Conservatives one day and Labour the next and
maybe they have got used to it too but coming between warring individuals is not to be relished.
I am on reasonably good terms with a number of Conservative Councillors in Bexley who are happy to accept the occasional call
to help ensure BiB’s accuracy. Nine of them at a quick count and
the the first to volunteer for that duty, discounting one no longer serving, was James Hunt way back in 2011.
James is the top man locally in the Scouting movement and maybe the Councillor I
would least like to fall out with. It is a risk I am not willing to take and
I felt it was only right that if he was to be impugned here he should be given
the right of reply. (It may have been a better decision to renege on my promise
to @tony.) He did so very promptly. “It is a load of old rubbish.”
He may be right but second thoughts prevailed and he
followed up with
an introductory piece followed by a couple of interjections that may be seen below. (I am going to have
trouble with my indented italics rule that
identifies guest posts. James will appear in a bolder typeface with additional indentation.)
The constant targeting of the Scouts is just distasteful.
Over the last year @tony has flung comments and accusations at almost
everyone in the hope of generating some publicity for himself. He has targeted
dead local people including the much respected James Brokenshire. He has
regurgitated old issues from almost ten years ago thinking he is some
community Columbo character looking for a fresh bit of gossip. And all he
has done is make a mockery out of systems like FOI etc. He himself has said
he has fired off over 100 requests. But he doesn’t understand each one has
to be looked at, checked, passed to different teams. He is wasting ££££
asking why volunteers like Scouts with 50 years of service are given a
certificate. All that work has to be done by paid staff, wouldn’t it be
better spent letting them get our services running, getting pot holes refilled etc. etc.
Sadly he just doesnְ’t understand, and even when it is explained to him, he
still fails to get the point - maybe he was never a Scout and has never
helped his community as a volunteer.
Now he is targeting Scouts again. And it's just getting tiring. So let’s spell it out for him, again…
Oh dear! I thought it was just me who drags up ten year old scandals but let’s
see what has roused and riled our James.
9. The Last Boy Scout
Hollywood has the Oscars, and Bexleyheath has the Teresas… sorry, Bexley Civic Recognition Awards. Every
year, Bexley spends hundreds of pounds to acquire a batch of paper certificates and plastic plaques - were
those £70 or £90 a pop? I forget - to give away to deserving residents, nominated by the people of Bexley. In
the last two years, fully 40% of the awards have gone to the Scouts - an anomaly which had absolutely nothing
to do with Vice Chairman of Bexley Scouts and Vice President of the Greater London South East Scouts, Bexley
councillor James Hunt, former Mayor of Bexley, being one quarter of the judging panel. (The panel includes the
current Mayor, two preceding Mayors, and a Labour representative, currently Cllr Mabel Ogundayo).
Scout comment: EVERY year since the Civic Awards were started (no idea when that was),
there have always been a huge amount of Scout and Guide applications. Why?
Scouting is the world’s largest volunteer led movement, since 1908. In
Bexley it is the largest youth volunteer group with around 2000+ Scouts, and
many leaders/volunteers. Each year the District submits VALID applications
for the Mayor to honour those volunteers with over 25+ years of service.
Funnily enough there are quite a few! That’s why year after year there are
large numbers of awards. Simples.
I calculated the 40% based on the output of an earlier FOI request, which asked for nomination statements for
the award winners. A second request asked for nomination statements for Bexley Civic Recognition Awards
losers. (The group includes BiB himself, nominated by yours truly, twice.
BiB: I really wish people wouldn’t do that. This was not the first time and I cannot think of many things more embarrassing.
One would think that the borough’s only local-politics blogger would be welcome at civic recognition awards. Not true. Alas, the council rejected
the request on privacy grounds - and I chose not to dispute the rejection. What kind of people do not make the
cut at the Bexley Civic Recognition Awards? Except for Mr Knight - who perhaps should be considering joining the Scouts - we can’t be sure.
Scout comment: @tony needs to stop chasing shadows and howling at the moon with expensive
theories. Maybe he could spend some of his time helping the community with
something that will make an impact like volunteer litter picking, reading in
the library. His constant whinges and attacks at volunteers like Scouts
just has to stop. And just for clarification this is my last year on the
awards panel, and next year there will still be lots of Scout nominations
and the same the year after and the year after and the year after - until
Scouting dies or the awards stop. And its down to four people to
decide...not one person. Why does he have a problem thanking people who
support our Boroughs young people? I am mindful not to reply to his emails as it
just give oxygen to his madcap messages.
But then, could the third time be the charm? ‘Tis Bexley Civic Recognition Awards season again, and this time,
we have a new and improved Mayor of Bexley, Cllr Ahmet Dourmoush, on the judging panel. Will he - and,
hopefully, Cllr Ogundayo - overpower the Scouts lobby and vote for an award to BiB? (Alternatively, have all
local Scouts been awarded now?) There is only one way to find out. Please complete the nomination form,
saying why you think BiB deserves a Bexley Civic Recognition Award.
https://www.bexley.gov.uk/about-council/recognition-awards/civic-recognition-awards
Unless his continuing electrical experiments result in accidental rejuvenation, Mr Knight has missed out on the
Young People award, leaving Voluntary Service by Adults and Outstanding Achievement categories, aka Paper
(Certificate) and Plastic (Plaque). I feel that Voluntary Service by Adults is a safer bet, but you can flip a coin and
go with Outstanding Achievement.
Your reward for completing the nomination form is the next installment of the FOI countdown!