A different view
We like doing OBs on the Breakfast programme on Five Live. But there's always a bit of an issue about getting places where things are happening at the kind of anti-social times we go on air. 
So this morning at about 0620, when crowds of teenagers struck up a chant "Oggy,Oggy, Oggy" (that's one for spellcheck) and a man started playing the bagpipes, we knew were in for a different kind of programme.
Shelagh Fogarty was capturing the sights and sounds as 40,000 scouts celebrated the 100th anniversary of a youth organisation which now claims 28 million members around the world. These were not the "don't-get-out-of-bed-till-midday" types. It was barely dawn, but these teens were bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and having an absolute ball.
Normally stories we do on the programme about young people tend to focus on things like binge-drinking, drug-taking, underage sex or obesity. There was little of any of these to report this morning.
But did the listeners mind? Well, largely no. Interestingly there was an overwhelmingly positive response - even on texts which normally are rich in cynicism.
Many people seemed to welcome hearing a different view of young people. Ok, some of the response was from former scouts - or parents of youngsters in the throng at Hylands Park in Chelmsford.
Yet a significant number were from people just pleased to see the world through a less depressing prism for a change. Some even said it made them wish they'd joined up as a child.
It doesn't mean obesity isn't still a major issue, and that we won't be reporting on problems like underage drinking. But it might just give us extra reason to pause for thought.
Comments
The media reporting positive stories? Nah, that'll never get off the ground. It doesn't attract interest.
Well Richard, if you & your colleagues did a bit of research instead of just reporting press releases you might realise that the so-called obesity epidemic certainly isn't the major sky-is-falling issue that the 91Èȱ¬ (which in its typical nanny-knows-best form is absolutely preoccupied with it) seems determined to portray.
But you're right, with the unrelentingly negative tone of media coverage of young people in recent years (a self-fulfilling prophecy if ever there was one) you'd be forgiven for thinking the Scouts and other wholesome evening pastimes had ceased to exist sometime around 1997.
We've been made all too familiar with the dangers and temptations facing 'nice' kids on Britain's mean parks and housing estates, and promotion of anything which convinces them to leave the safety of their bedrooms has to be positive, regardless of its projected impact on some dubious set of BMI statistics.
Did the listener's mind? It took a while to work out what that meant!
"OK Some of the response was from former scouts"
Two things.
One, Scouts has a capital S. What kind of editor gets that wrong?
Two. Why are the opinions of former Scouts worth less that others? There are a lot of us about.
Why is this thread called 'Antisocial behaviour by massed Scouts'? I was looking forward to tut-tutting about the youth of today. Misleading.
Actually it's not only the youngsters in Scouts who are a fine example of today's youth...One of my daughter's is in Ipswich Sea Cadets and as I speak is part of a crew sailing a 49ft yacht themselves to Holland....my other daughter is going (again with the Sea Cadets) next week to Blackpool camping...the rest of the Cadets are down their unit on a week's summer camp and are up, fed and in the water by 9am every day. Blackpool daughter is up at 6am every morning this week helping make 30 packed lunches for the camp..... Morale of the story...for every kid you see loafing around a street corner there are 10 out of sight enjoying life to the full !