The Harpenden Scout Gang Show

I’ve been neglecting this blog. I was reminded of this when at a recent meeting I overheard a couple of people talking of it in rather nostalgic terms, like a well-worn cardigan or a pair of slowly disintegrating slippers.

One of my cultural highlights for January was the Harpenden Scout Gang Show – not on your cultural top ten? Well, let me explain. We lived in Harpenden for over twenty years that coincided with our children entering primary school and eventually proceeding to university, what is often called their ‘formative years’. During much of that time we were all heavily involved in the scouting movement, our son as a cub, scout and venture scout, our daughter as a guide, ranger guide and venture scout, Julie as an assistant guide leader and myself as an outdoors instructor for scouts. Wonderful times and perhaps most exciting when both my son and daughter joined venture scouts and were able to perform in the highlight of the Harpenden social calendar – the Scout Gang Show.

Some thirty odd years ago, our son, Carl, acted in his first Gang Show in a cub scout sketch based on a popular song about a certain ‘Captain Beaky’. It was a great success. However, to the consternation of his parents, it transpired much later at an event to honour Hertfordshire’s Queens Scouts, that Carl has the unique and unenviable distinction of being the only cub ever to have been publicly spanked for misbehaviour by a Gang Show director.

This year it was Carl’s son, Owain, who was performing in his first Gang Show. He didn’t have a big part, but one which he accomplished with great aplomb. You can imagine the pride of his grand parents at being invited to attend the Saturday night performance and watch this debut of a future stalwart of this superb event. Let’s just hope he’s better behaved than his father was.