Right you lot. I’m back from NYC and looking forward to a good chinwag. I’ve got about 200 emails to go through here at work, but after I’m all caught up, I’ll be posting again soon to see how you’re all doing.
Til later then!
Bib
Thats precisely why i’ve resisted pressure to get my Scout Leader’s Warrant.
Apparently though, the Scout Association has just rejugged its system so that and work based management/h&s training can now be counted towards your warrant - drastically reducing the amount of training that you have to do.
i’m surprised the Guides aren’t doing the same…
welcome back spaceboy!
the Macarena? that is wrong.
Brownies?
Having said that, its always good to kick little kids arses at dancing.
and no, I dont mean that literally-metaphorically.
oh yeah, whats a warrant? and why are so many of you involved in these activities?
Is it like the Warrant that did Cherry Pie?
or for your arrests?
They probably are. What with them being sibling organisations. I’ll have to find out.
The scariest thing is is that I remember when the Macarena first came out. The Guides were astonished that I knew the dance, and was able to out-dance them. I pray no-one has photos, or else I may have to start censoring the media…
Its like a passport for scout leaders - you can’t be a (full) leader without one. It certifies that you’ve been trained in health and safety, child protection, etc. etc. up to (and in fact quite a bit beyond) the legal requirements.
And its a similar thing for Guide leaders as well.
Hmmm… Just noticed, the Brownies have a Chocolate interest badge. 
I’m sorry, but the mental image of an astronomer doing the Macarena in a mosque with a bunch of Girl Guides is just too bizarre. I’ve been back less than a day and I already need to go and have a bit of a lie down…
Bear in mind I was also wearing salwaar kameez…
<Brain sputters and fizzles with the effort of trying to maintain mental image>
Ye gods, I think I need another holiday. 
My work here is done.
Now back to paper writing - I’ve managed a whole paragraph now. 
paulberserker, don’t take this personally, but I have some recommended reading for you…actually, I’d almost kill for this book myself, but somehow it seems wrong to pay more for delivery charges from the U.K. than for the actual book! Review from last week’s issue of The Economist (www.economist.com):
“CHRISTMAS isn’t Christmas without a publishing phenomenon. Last year it
was “Schott’s Original Miscellany”, a collection of obscure and
unrelated facts whose appeal lay in its very uselessness. This year’s
unexpected success is more practical. “Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero
Tolerance Approach to Punctuation”*[1] is bringing cheer to booksellers
and pedants all over the country.
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, draws a gun
and fires. As he is on his way out, the waiter asks him why. The panda
hands him a badly punctuated wildlife manual. The waiter reads, “Panda:
Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots
and leaves.”
(Direct link: http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=2269440)
If anyone lays his/her hands on the copy, let me know how it is…maybe I’ll spring for it after all, even if Amazon US doesn’t stock it.
Eva Luna, Anal-Retentive Professional Pedantic Punctuophile
I never knew there was a clean version of the “eats shoots and leaves” joke …
You mean there’s a non-clean one? Please do share!
It involves a panda, a prostitute, and another interpretation of the verb “shoots”. I’m sure you can fill in the details.