Ever wondered what it’s all about?
Then read all about it from the boys themselves...
I only joined BB’s a year ago, because I used to hear other people in my class saying it was really fun, with lots of things to do and lots of really good activities and that I should join. So I asked my mum, she looked into it and that week I started. At first I was a bit unsure because I thought that it was going to be very religious and I was worried it would be too much but actually I quite enjoy the discussions we have. Also we do lots of other things like map reading, first aid, engineering, cooking, computer programming and have interesting people come to teach us.
My favourite bit about it has been all the brilliant trips - I’ve been to Summer Camp near Blackpool, London for the Paralympics, and the Abernethy Trust outdoor centre at Barcaple for an activity weekend. I have just started training for the Kilbryde Hike, too. I have taken part in food bank collections for Start-Up Stirling and have been bag packing
in M&S and Morrisons raising money for equipment and trips. Doing these things makes me feel like I’m doing something for my community and for people who are at a disadvantage and require help for whatever reason and I quite like that. A year into BBs and my mum asked me to think about what I would feel like if she told me I couldn’t go anymore and I said ‘really disappointed’ because I would miss it all. Liam McGuire, age 12
For people with no connection to the BB, it may seem a strange thing for teenagers to be involved in. In a society where youngsters are generally painted as selfish and uninterested, the increasing number of boys joining an organisation which focuses on religion, service and discipline seems anachronistic.
Yet, after 12 years in all four sections of the BB, I know how much it has to offer – it is not simply an advanced Sunday School for bored teenagers! Instead, it presents a range of activities and opportunities closed to most people of my age, and, most importantly, friendships which flourish during weekends away and expeditions into some of the most remote areas in Scotland, both of which usually lead to some of the worst humour understood only by teenage males. There is certainly a bond forged when you have to share a midge-infested tent with someone for four days!
Of course there are down-sides as you get older in the organisation: assuming more responsibility commensurate with your status as a Senior. There are occasional Friday nights where you wonder ‘why am I here?’; squad nights in particular can leave a poor 17-year-old marooned amongst a sea of rampaging P7s, where any illusion of respect for elders becomes obsolete!
In this respect, the Senior section of the BB is fantastic. The (supposedly) more mature atmosphere is aimed towards young adults, and thus strikes a balance between the educational and the enjoyable. Thanks to the BB, I’ve climbed, walked, camped, swam, skied, mountain-biked, marched, laughed and joked, all to varying degrees of success. Some things I’ll never do again; others I will continue to pursue for the rest of my life. The most important thing, though, is that I’ve tried them. Grant Lawrie, age 17
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