Do you notice anything unusual about the picture above? In their excellent meeting last week, David Thebridge and Andrew Mitchell greeted one another with a left-handed handshake, which is a longstanding Scout tradition.

That’s because David is a local Sutton Coldfield District Scouts Leader, presiding over scouting activity in the east side of our Royal Town. The customary handshake is made with the hand nearest the heart, and is offered as a token of friendship.

And the topics David and Andrew discussed were also matters close to both of their hearts.

Andrew said:

“We reviewed the brilliant work that scouting does throughout our Royal Town, and discussed ensuring there are adequate facilities in the Langley development for the many brilliant voluntary organisations of which the Royal Town is so proud.

“We also discussed facilities for Scouts, Beavers and Cubs in Falcon Lodge going forward.“

Sutton has a proud and long history of scouting – the First Sutton Coldfield Scouts was the first to be set up in Birmingham, just five years after Baden Powell wrote his famous Scouting for Boys book. Indeed, scouting was split into East and West districts in Sutton Coldfield because we had so many different groups.

And, of course, in 1957 the Park hosted the World Scouting Jamboree, with 33,000 scouts from more than 80 countries.

Andrew added:

“I am so grateful for the tireless voluntary work of our local scouting leaders, whose dedication to providing irreplaceable life skills and childhood experiences for Sutton children continues to foster such a rich local community of Scouts and Guides.”