Profile Feature- Assignment for Online Journalism. Brian Woolgar, Chairman of Poole District Scout Council

The difference between that of Lord Robert Baden-Powell and Brian Woolgar, Chairman of Poole District Scout Council is almost indistinguishable in the photographs he holds out to me.
“That’s Baden-Powell as he was in 1907,” he says with an air of mischief in his voice. “And that’s Baden-Powell in 2007!”
He offers me a picture of himself, head held high in a flat cap, bearing an uncanny resemblance to that of the weathered black and white photo he managed to obtain from the Daily Mail all those years ago.
This little episode would utterly characterise Brian Woolgar: a smartly-dressed, well-spoken and gentle-natured man, but his congenital playfulness does not escape much of his conversation, and his tales of scouting escapades and travelling anecdotes leave him chuckling like a young man as he recalls each one.
“I remember when I first went to Germany for work, and I was so proud that I could speak the language.
“I asked if I could have a return ticket at the train station, and of course, the ticket salesman replied in English!” he recalls.
“Another time, I was having an argument with a German-speaking colleague, and all the lads were laughing. What I hadn’t realised was that I was shouting in German, while my opponent was replying in English!”
Brian has been involved in the Scouts for around a quarter of the time that they have been in existence- 25 years. It was at the Centenary, which was held on Poole’s very own Brownsea Island, that he dressed up as the legendary Lord Baden-Powell, who formed the first ever group of Scouts. Scouts are now present in every country in the world but six.
Brian is a busy man. He has five titles in total, so it is well that he is now in retirement. He is a Curator of Brownsea Island Scouting Museum, and a Member of both the Brownsea Island and Poole Scout Fellowships.
When I arrive at the house, a caravan is sitting on the drive.
“Oh we love it,” says Brian. “We go wherever we please, although not as much as we please.
“We spent five weeks in Scotland over the summer, and the weather was lovely.”
It is evident that Brian’s dedication to the Scouts has passed through to his two sons, both of which attended Scouts and still meet with their former Scouting buddies of a Wednesday evening.
Son Adam, 42 told me:
“Scouting and my dad always go together in my childhood memories.
My brother and I got involved from a very young age, and we loved it.
I still love it now, I was a Scout until I was twenty-one!”
His daughter Alison, whose son attends a Scout group said:
“I think Dad will keep doing things for the Scouts until he can’t anymore.
It’s a worthwhile thing, and I’m very proud.”
Brian talks animatedly about all of his children, and grandchildren.
“Our daughter Alison, she was an assistant Scout Leader…” he says loudly.
“Guide Leader!” interrupts Barbara.
“Things aren’t the same as they were; there isn’t so much time for family any more,” she says.
“We used to have Sundays- we’d stay in and Brian would do things around the house, and the children would play.”
A keen landscape photographer, Brian lives on top of a hill overlooking much of Poole, and values the position of the couple’s cosy little bungalow. He photographed the Scout Centenary that was held last year on Brownsea Island, the photos from which are now up in various Scout halls throughout Poole.
“I’m a member of the University of the Third Age; I run a photography class on Monday mornings.
“And I do the photography for the Horticultural Society shows.
“I frequently get asked to do photographs. Won’t do weddings though,” he says.
“Too much responsibility.”
He looks at me over large round spectacles with a twinkle.
We talk briefly about cameras and I fear he’s gone off on a tangent, but he suddenly turns to Barbara who sits patiently opposite us.
“I know I recently got asked to do something else… what was that, Barbara?”
Silence.
“… Well you do so much, dear!” says Barbara. We all laugh.
“That was presented to me last… February, was it?” he says, wandering back from the cabinet at the other end of the living room, and hands me his Poole Achievement Award.
Brian has been often recognised for his voluntary work, and has raised tens of thousands of pounds for the Scouts.
It was Brian who managed to fundraise £35,000 to have the statue of Lord Baden-Powell erected on Poole Quay, as well being responsible for the commissioning of it.
“Each sculptor had a two-hour interview, and they had their CVs and ideas.
“We selected David Annand, and the most important thing that he had on his CV was the fact that he had been a Scout for twelve years himself. “
Clearly, Brian puts total trust in the values that the Scouts impart on their boys, and quite recently girls.
“It’s getting on for 15 years since girls were allowed in.
“There are some troops that won’t allow girls in but it is against the rules,” he says.
“Girls can join at any level. They can go into the Beavers, which is the youngest entry.
“No reason why they shouldn’t!”
Brian tells me that Scout Leaders are few on the ground at the moment.
“Current legislation being what it is, people are reluctant to come forward.
“Parents used to come in on a natural progression into Scouting.
“Just coming along and supporting their youngster, and gradually getting almost sucked in.
“But they can’t do that anymore, they have to go through processes, and CRB checks and interviews.
“That’s just the way it is these days.”
Fondly known as Poole’s expert, Brian also gives talks to various clubs and societies on the beginnings of Scouting.
“We’ve got things going back to the Boer War in 1899 in the museum.
“Lord Baden-Powell was the hero of Mafeking, so there were lots of memorabilia produced roundabout the 1900s when he came back.
“The seeds of scouting were sown at the time of the siege, because there were lots of children in the town, and Baden-Powell got boys involved in running errands for the troops, then he came back and met up with William Smith, who was the founder of the Boys Brigade, and they swapped ideas.
“Baden-Powell realised that what William Smith was doing wasn’t general enough, so he decided to run an experimental camp.”
Leaning forward in his chair, Brian relates how Baden-Powell was on a fishing trip in Scotland when he met a couple who happened to own Brownsea Island, and they offered it to him for his ‘experiment’. So in August 1907, 20 boys- seven working class and the other ten from high class backgrounds, were packed off to Brownsea.
“Have you seen the inscription on the plaque at the Quay?” Brian asks me, taking off his glasses with a wry smile.
“Baden-Powell says they were like plums mixed in a pudding, as they certainly still are today.”

"EU nations are set to commit more than €2bn (£1.8bn) a year to help poorer countries cope with global warming, the leaders of Britain and France indicated today as they sought to bolster UN climate talks in Copenhagen.

The UK prime minister, Gordon Brown, and president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, said their two countries would contribute the bulk of that sum and were trying to persuade smaller members of the 27-state European Union to pledge more."

Good start, yes- but are the "smaller members" going to commit?

"Smaller eastern European states are reluctant to donate as they struggle with public sector debt and rising unemployment in the wake of the financial crisis."

"There are few moments in history when nations are summoned to common decisions that will reshape the lives of men and women potentially for generations to come," Brown said.

What I don't understand is why there is an element of uncertainty to what Brown is saying- crazy campaigners aside, climate change is real, and happening now and everyone knows it. He's there doing his bit, but he needs to show the public that he isn't there because he has to be, but that he believes that what he is saying is actually true.
More to come.

Are we too speedy for our own good?

I had the privilege of visiting Sky News yesterday with my course mates and we were shown around by Rob Kirk who looks after the placement scheme. I had a very interesting conversation with him concerning the Lockerbie bomber mistake, and the problems the new media environment is encountering in terms of staying objective and being as quick as possible- Sky being "first for breaking news". His view matched that of Sean Maguire, a reporter for Reuters, who wrote a blog called "Are we now too speedy for our own good?"


http://blogs.reuters.com/reuters-editors/2009/10/27/are-we-now-too-speedy-for-our-own-good/

In it, he says that when Reuters followed Sky with the Lockerbie story, someone said the following to him: "Reuters has lost its ethical bearings. You’ve sacrificed the sacred tenet of accuracy by rushing to publish information without checking if it is true. Your credibility has suffered, the value of your brand will wither and the service you offer to clients has been devalued."
My first thought was 'Bloody cheek!'The audience who matter are not children. In this day and age, they must understand that breaking news is, exactly as Maguire writes ever-changing and on the ball for that particular second in time. And with organisations like Sky and Reuters, it literally is seconds.
"Real-time readers understand breaking news is contingent, uncertain and provisional," he says.
As long as it employs traditional news values so as to keep evolving mediums as objective as possible and as balanced as it can be, then where does credibility come into it? Not at all I'd say. Indeed, Rob Kirk made a point of telling me that in Scotland yard, Sky is the channel on all of the televisions, for the exact point that they know that Sky will be the quickest. Good on them I say.