and Wednesday, 9th June, have been available with five and ten cadets respectively obtaining flights. With the departure of some senior cadets last year 'hang gliding has been held in abeyance. However, a group of cadets in the present Flight A hope to revive this activity in 1976-7 under the leadership of J. /Cpl. Wiggle. Among the achievements of the section in the past year W.O. P. T. Atkinson succeeded in passing 0 level Air Navigation on a very limited instruction time, and Cpl. Holderness qualified as a glider pilot during the Easter holidays. P.L.H.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S AWARD SCHEME THE CROCK OF GOLD
It seemed, as far as I remember, to be a rather simple job at the time, though the passage of the intervening years has doubtless dulled the memory. Possibly it should also be admitted that it is most unlikely that the niceties of the task were apparent to me, since I was rather young back in '50 and I couldn't possibly have appreciated the considerable problems of three dimensional geometry, involved in the alignment of a ball catch with its socket on the pantry door. Even at such a tender age I displayed a marked lack of patience as I held the door steady whilst my father painstakingly chiselled away; it seemed to take a time totally out of proportion to the problem, time enough for Dick Barton (Special Agent) to have extricated himself from many dilemmas and to have solved numerous apparently insoluble problems of much greater significance. I vividly recall not being too impressed when ringing in my ear I heard, "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right". A well worn cliché perhaps, but full of meaning and worthy ideals. I hope those who have just completed their programme of activities for the Gold Award feel that they have lived up to its meaning. For my part, I am sure they have, and they have every reason to be proud of their achievement. Though five of the seven have worked through the Bronze and Silver stages to Gold during the last four years, one chose to omit Silver and one was a direct entrant at Gold, and in every case much has been accomplished in the two years needed for completion of the Gold Award. The Physical Activity section may have seemed rather inappropriate, particularly for those who have taken part at every level, but in most cases it allowed a different form of pursuit to be undertaken, resulting in a new experience. The Service section is, I believe, the most significant part of the Gold Award programme, since it presents a very real opportunity for a worthwhile contribution to the community. Several spent a year acting as voluntary National Park Wardens and in addition to enhancing the enjoyment of others, it proved to be a most rewarding form of service. The cycling proficiency scheme could not function 28
