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Ellie
Giles (13) was the face of Scouting in Bedfordshire in 2006 now heading
towards the centenary of the movement in 2007. She was congratulated by
her twin sister Frances after she became the first female winner of the
smartest Scout on parade at the Sea Scouts Admiralty inspection. Nothing
is allowed to get between her and the fun, adventure and the challenge
of Scouting and she now looks forward to 12 months of hectic activity.
Providing
youthful support to all the activities is Tom Rochester (15) an Explorer
Scout and a member of Bedfordshire's contingent to the World Scout
Jamboree. He was appointed young spokesperson in November and will be
the voice of Scouting in Bedfordshire for 2007.
The
packed programme for 2007 starts on 1st January with a New
Year's camp by Sells Seventh Scout Group celebrated with a fireworks
display at midnight on New Year's Eve. On BBC 2 the following evening,
comic actor Neil Morrisey visits a modern Scout camp to host an
hour-long exposè called "When we were Scouts" including reminiscences
from Harry Enfield, Ronnie Corbett and Stirling Moss among many Scout
celebrities.
Many will
see Bedfordshire joining with all other counties in a series of camps
around the country for the UK's 500,000 Scouts. The county is expecting
3000 Scouts and Cub Scouts to be under canvas. Then, in July, the
county's 36-Scout contingent will join with 40,000 Scouts from around
the world at the biggest ever Scout Jamboree camp in Hylands Wood,
Essex. At 8am on 1st August Bedfordshire's 5600 Scouts will
stop what they are doing to take part in a world wide sunrise camp when
all 28 million Scouts will renew their promise.
Few
people will be untouched by the Scout centenary celebrations. There will
be Scout flower beds at strategic points on the county's road network. A
50p Scout coin will be introduced in the New Year followed by a set of
commemorative postage stamps in July and a purple Scout centenary rose
launched in November. The Scouts will also plant thousands of trees in
the county for the Woodland Trust part of a two million tree planting
exercise in the UK. There will be 100 Scout good deeds linked to Comic
relief's Red Nose day in March and Scout community projects around the
county. Finally, towards the end of 2007, various Scout groups expect to
bury time capsules around Bedfordshire as a memento of the year.
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