Prince's Trust Volunteers at the Adamantium Archipelago

PERSONAL

Prince's Trust Volunteers

Photos are loading in below - read on while you wait! In the closing weeks of 1998 I was looking into alternative career paths when, in the course of an evening's surfing, I came across a link about a local Prince's Trust course. It wasn't something I'd been considering doing at all, it was just one of those things. My timing was spot on, my enquiries coming just as the next team was being put together. In early January I was told that I had one of the fifteen places, and so come mid January I was travelling along the coast to Connah's Quay to meet a group of 16 to 25 year olds I'd never laid eyes on and wouldn't have in the normal course of things.

I'm not going to go into huge detail about the course; if I did it might result in your getting less out of it should you choose to go on one. The Official Site carries information about finding courses local to you. What I have to say obviously stems from my perspective. As a graduate, I was in a unique and potentially difficult position. I was able to assist the team leader, an employee of Scottish Power, in organising things and keeping it all together, but at the same time I was a part of the team itself. I walked a rope between the two roles, and I also had to take great care not to alienate anyone by seeming to lord it over them simply because I happened to be better educated.

I'm not saying that I succeeded all the time, and I wasn't likely to. I was accused of being big headed at one point, but it wasn't maliciously put and I understood why the comment was made. For people like myself this course has the potential to be an eye opener to the problems faced by those without the stability others have been fortunate enough to have, and can easily provide you with a better understanding of how others view you. The potential for learning is there even if the NVQs aren't an issue for you.

The course is quite a commitment time wise - 12 weeks. As it happened I was able to complete it, but at the end of the day it is voluntary and I might have left it quite near the start had something come off for me. With hindsight I'm quite pleased it didn't, because I'm now that much more confident in myself. I've completed physical challenges I hadn't undertaken before, earned the respect of others who could have shunned me just because of my background, and even acted in a play which I more or less wrote. Oh, and I also got to chat and shake hands with HRH The Prince of Wales and appeared on TV (briefly) as a result! However, not every team gets that opportunity - just another reason I was pleased that things turned out the way they did.

If you'd like to ask me about any aspect of the course feel free to contact me - the icon's above. Suffice it to say that it's a horizon broadening experience provided you go into it with a willingness to at least try and get along with everyone else. The odds are that you'll be able to give back as much as you get out of the course. So, with that somewhat cliched sentiment, I'll leave you with a few photographs of the course to give you a taster of what could be in store for you if you choose to take up the challenge...

This is a scan of a local newspaper photograph of the motley crew - names added for the sake of reference.

The team in the finished scout hut, complete with new logo.

Group hug before meeting...

...HRH The Prince of Wales!

Darren, Chris, and Karen were the employed members of the team whose companies sent them on the course, Kevern was the team leader. All (apart from Kevern) about to set off on a nice countryside ramble. Yeah, right!