I’ve Moved!
November 20, 2008
So I’m sure that most people have noticed that the site has been offline for a few days. There’s a reason for that, which I will get to shortly. But first, let me just say this:
In fact, I am blogging at a new site I have just finished setting up: kennethhynek.net. A full explanation for the reasons behind the move can be found here
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That said, this is not the end of Time Immortal. My wife Grace has expressed interest in taking over blogging at this domain, and I am working to make sure that she gets set up here as soon as possible.
Also, my profound apologies for the modification to the site face; the move was not as seamless as I would have hoped, and many of the image files for this theme, and in the gallery, were corrupted during the course of their evacuation from my previous web host’s servers. Until such time as I have repaired them, I’ve put a clean-looking template in place of the previous one.
Update: for the purposes of further traffic shaping, new posts from kennethhynek.net will be excerpted below. Full articles can be read at the new blog.
Baden Powell
February 22, 2007
Today is — or would have been, were he still living — the 150th birthday of Lord Baden Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement.
On his return from Africa, Baden-Powell found that his military training manual, Aids to Scouting, had become a best-seller, and was being used by teachers and youth organizations.Following a meeting with the founder of the Boys’ Brigade, Sir William Alexander Smith, Baden-Powell decided to re-write Aids to Scouting to suit a youth readership, and in 1907 held a camp on Brownsea Island for twenty-two boys of mixed social background to test out the applicability of his ideas. Baden-Powell was also heavily influenced by Ernest Thompson Seton, who founded the Woodcraft Indians. Seton gave Baden-Powell a copy of his book The Birch Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians and they met in 1906. Scouting for Boys was subsequently published in six installments in 1908. Boys and girls spontaneously formed Scout troops and the Scouting movement had inadvertently started, first a national, and soon an international obsession. The Scouting movement was to grow up in friendly parallel relations with the Boys’ Brigade. A rally for all Scouts was held at Crystal Palace in London in 1909, at which Baden-Powell discovered the first Girl Scouts. The Girl Guides movement was subsequently founded in 1910 under the auspices of Baden-Powell’s sister, Agnes Baden-Powell.
Baden-Powell and his wife moved to Pax Hill near Bentley, Hampshire, a gift of her father in 1918. They established their family home there for over twenty years.
In 1920, the 1st World Scout Jamboree took place in Olympia, and Baden-Powell was acclaimed Chief Scout of the World. Baden-Powell was made a hereditary Baronet in 1922 and was created Baron Baden-Powell, of Gilwell, Co. Essex, on 1929-09-17, Gilwell Park being the International Scout Leader training centre. After receiving this honour, Baden-Powell mostly styled himself Baden-Powell of Gilwell.
In 1929, during the 3rd World Scout Jamboree, he received as a present a new car, which happened to be a Rolls-Royce. This car was soon nicknamed Jam-Roll. He also received an Eccles Caravan, which was nicknamed Eccles Cake, so the Scouts attending the event were treated with a Jam-Roll towing an Eccles Cake. This combination well served the Baden-Powells in their further travels around Europe. Baden-Powell also had a positive impact on improvements in youth education.
Under his dedicated command the world Scouting movement grew. By 1922 there were more than a million Scouts in 32 countries; by 1939 the number of Scouts was in excess of 3.3 million.
February 22, the joint birthday of Robert and Olave Baden-Powell, is marked as Founder’s Day by Scouts and Thinking Day by Guides to remember and celebrate the work of the Chief Scout and Chief Guide of the World.
It’s not common practice anymore, but Scouts the world over still sometimes wear their uniforms to commemorate the day. Colin and I are doing that at work today. I’ll be sure to post pictures when they’re processed.
