Back home......

And as the fairly great Carter USM said, the only time i get homesick is when I'm at home.. but I think that goes for a lot of us...but the beard that is wise has survived yet another summer camp, has actuially unpacked, and is back to the land of typos and wierdness... or even weirdness.... Lincoln keeps changing... but then so does everywhere... Beard junior had a great time interacting with literally thousands of Scouts and Guides from all over the world.... and he also got chance to see more of his family... and made a birthday cake.... old friend became reaquainted, nee friends were made, dates were blinded (in a manner of speaking) and all sorts of malarkey, which culminated in a wild round of the hokey cokey at shortly before midnight, and the beard being told off by a guide.. but more of that later... but the greatest news is that one of my greatest friends is moving away.. to London of all places.. long ago the beard imparted the following wisdom... that it is far beter to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb, than it is to be near the top of one you don't.... so he has jumped from the ladder, narrowly avoided breaking his legs, and begun the long climb up the rickety old wooden ladder of teacher training.. and good luck to him... i know he'll succeed.... i am wise after all.... now we all know that london, that seaported funk hole of cowardly kings from long ago, is a fairly pricey place to live... and on his combined income of incredibly little, the poor guy was looking forward to starving in the gutter amongst the homeless before completing his course. but luckily for him, his scouting experience and a natural resourcefulness has found an answer... he will camp... who needs a flat or room when the good will of the Scout association and a tent will do the job better... and to those who don't envy him the winter months under canvas, just remember that winters used to be a lot colder.... and many people even now, in cold areas such as siberia, and Mongolia live in tented accomodation, or huts that we would deem unsuitable for even our mild weather.. which I think is one of our problems in te modern world.. we expect too much.. now I for one would be quite happy living in a self built wooden house, similar to a lot of sports pavilions I've seen.. but i am weird... to me, the roof and walls would be sufficient.. the actual look of the place is immaterial.. as i believe i've stated before, a couple of old railway carriages in a field would do me nicely... but most people expect things that in my youth would have been out of reach.. central heating, lcd and plasma tvs... new carpets every couple of years... we thought we were lucky getting a house with a fire in the kitchen as well as the lounge! we never even bothered about having frost inside the windows of our unheated bedrooms.. and look at cars.. my Cortina in 1983 counted as luxury. high backed seats, wood dash, two tone paint... nowadays people expec aircon even in non luxury cars... but i digress.. the point is that these expectations serve not to improve our lives, but to increase our dissatisfaction with it.. but why should this be? well, we always strive for more... thats a human survival technique... but that drive has been, in my opinion, channelled in the wrong direction.. but by whom? for what purpose? well as my old dad used to say (and probably still does... ) if you want to find the criminal, just look for who benefits... chances are that's your culprit.. so who benefits from our dissatisfaction? well.. i shan't answer that.. part of wisdom is allowing others to draw their own conclusions.. but suffice it to say there is no way I'll be buying any televisions until my old cathode ray tube goes pop.... but back to being admonished by under 16 year olds... a strange experience but one possibly familiar to those of a scouting or guiding bent.. it occured whilst sitting watching the sun descend before ligths out....its one of the best times at camp, as its the time when many of the young people actually let go, and talk properly, with no bravado or pretense... I shan't reveal any secrets, but suffice it to say, its amazing how well the bonds strengthen... as I was told many years ago by a young guide, apparently it is helpful for them to have someone to whom they can talk about things... someone who they see as a friend, but older and more experienced ( and hopefully wiser) than their peers... someone who isn't their mum or dad.. I'm sure we all know that feeling.... and looking back my old scout leader was such a person.... someone basically whom they trust and feel comfortable with... now this session was going the way of most of them, when one of the Guides (for our scouts were camping alongside some very good guiding friends of ours) said to me that I was a bit naughty.. when i asked her to expand on this statement, she and her accomplice stated that it was very obvious that the beard fancies their leader, and that i shouldn't, as she's married... now, as the beard values truth above most things, this attraction was not denied... but as I stated.. I fancy Nicole Kidman.. and she's married too.... and I was surprisingly supported by another Guide, who simply stated that one can't help to whom one is attracted... which is true.. and it was finally agreed that it would only be wrong if either of us did something about it... and as an honourable beard ( and wise!!!) I have no intention of making a move on a married woman... but i hope that my scouts are as protective of their leaders as those guides re of theirs... but I digress... its late, and I ramble.. both blogs will be keeping everyone updated on the subject of capital camping.. among other things..but until we all lower our expectations and increase our happiness, Wisebeard salutes you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!