Many Britons need to sit up and stop being idle

SO scouting is struggling, reportedly because of the high rent charges being made to provide troops with accommodation. The malaise goes much deeper, as it is also remarked that the number of youngsters who can ride a bicycle or have taken part in basic outdoor activities has fallen dramatically in recent years.

This is plainly down to the sit-at-a-computer habit which is thrust upon youngsters at a progressively reducing age at school and at home, where the basic entertainment stretches no further than another screen. Even today, there is another report on the very young being abandoned to the TV.

There is another aspect, and that is the lack of involvement of too many parents – those who just expect others to entertain their children and keep them off the streets instead of getting out and about with them or being involved in voluntary activities.

On television news we are regularly shown pictures of ordinary people who are at the receiving end of “cuts”. The appearance of many, adults or children, seems to indicate that healthy physical outdoor activity is not customary. School playing fields seem to be rarely occupied.

The country abounds with open space, whether in and around our towns and cities or in the nearby country or in the more distant rural parts. There are boarded up properties in so many places which no doubt could be made available for use with a bit of co-operation. Some church and community halls are idle for many parts of a week, and so on.

The scouts would seem to need to get out and scout about, but more so, we need a change of culture from the sit-and-watch idleness to a more healthy wider family involvement.