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Accountability

This is a bit good, isn’t it?! Another blog post so very soon. I am keen to get working on the different badges in the book, and I’m thinking that I will need to do a bit more planning for the Writer badge; I can have loads of good ideas for blog posts, but if I don’t write them down, I don’t remember them. This is the case for other blogs I contribute to as well. Oh yes, I write other blogs - I blog for the UKQU website - you do have to register, but there is a wealth of information on the website - it is by quilters for quilters. And there is an idea for a future blog post…hold on, I’m going to make a note of that idea…

I’ve now made a note or two about blog posts - how to organise them, and future topics.

There was a post in the Facebook group yesterday about how many badges people are claiming retrospectively; in the Badge book section ‘How to use this book’ the author states: “If you’ve completed an entire badge prior to getting this book - for example the Community Service or Diarist badges - you can claim these immediately (without having to repeat the activity for another 3-6 months).” (Charley Lester 2021). The debate about this is interesting, and as far as I saw, the posts were all positive in nature - there wasn’t the sniping or back-biting or arguing going on that can sometimes happen (I’ve seen it happen in other Facebook groups where people think Munzee or Geocaching should be played in a specific way). Club members are generally using their own judgement and discretion in such cases.

What about me? I’m not looking to backdate badges on the whole. I can already claim Community Service, as I volunteer regularly at Junior ParkRun, and more recently at ParkRun - 10 days ago saw me achieve 100 Volunteer events. I won’t stop volunteering just because I’ve completed the badge - I’ll keep helping out for as long as I am able to. This is sure to be the case for many Badge Club members - I’ve numerous Guiders and Scout Leaders claiming their years of service for this badge - and quite rightly so. That reminds me of a joke about people getting into heaven, and having to answer questions; the Cub Leader was allowed straight in with the comment “You’ve had your share of hell already” - not that any of the leaders would have it any other way - as much hard work as goes into it, as much as it may seem the hours of toil are not appreciated, none of them do it for the accolades or the recognition - it is done to see the progress of the young people, to help them on a stage of their journey, and the enjoyment they get from volunteering.

There are some badges where I’m going to use some of my past experiences, - for example six weeks ago I completed a Paediatric First Aid course, which is valid for 3 years; it seems daft to repeat this course so soon (although by the time I get round to doing my Emergency Helper, I may need to renew the qualification). Another area where I am going to draw on past experience is the Activist badge - because I am still involved with the social cause - I’ve attended meetings about it in the past and continue to do so now in another capacity; I will elaborate on this when I blog about the badge.

I don’t want to backdate badges - there are some where my experiences will count towards it - and this will be where the work is ongoing. Some of the badge clauses / requirements I’m going to tweak a little (shock, horror, gasp, how very dare you madam!); allow me to explain: 

The Craft badge: out of the 20 crafts listed in the book, I have tried at least 14 of them in some form or other at some point in my life. I seem to remember the Guide badge book allowing substitution of a craft (but you could only do this for once), and I’ve made a note in my Rebel Badge book about other possible crafts to include. However, being determined not to change things too much I’ve chosen some crafts from the list - and I’ve chosen ones to challenge me in some way. As I have done a little needle-felting (but not a lot at all - in total about 4 hours) I’ve chosen it as one of my five, because I have some kits that I’ve not done anything with yet, so it is a challenge for me, and still quite a new craft. Last week I did a weaving workshop - so I will finish the piece that I started. I am quite an experienced patchworker / quilter - so finding something for this seems obvious, but I want to set myself a challenge, so I’m going to develop and practise my quilting skills further - by trying more intricate designs such as feathers and paisley. I’m choosing to do the Craft badge in this way as I really need to use the craft supplies I already have, rather than adding to the ever increasing stash.

Other badges - Runner - I’ll write about my running story in another post, but I consider myself to be still quite a new runner - and I started a training programme at the start of the year with a view to entering particular races, and due to the length of some of the runs I am already doing I am thinking about nutrition and trying to work out what works for me.

I am certain that as many of us embark on this voyage through the Rebel Badge Book, we will find that there are things we are already doing in our lives that count towards the badges, things that we can continue to do - and would continue to do even if we didn’t have this book. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we don’t have to start from scratch each time, but we can build on what we are already doing, and challenge ourselves just that little bit more 😊


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