With Thanks to Baden-Powell by Arnold Jansen op de Haar

[Bernadette Jansen op de Haar]

I stayed in London last week and came across a lot of Berties: boys with ambitious mothers. The Berties in London all have scooters, and are mainly busy trying to escape.

I paid attention to these boys because I was reading The Importance of Being Seven by Alexander McCall Smith. Every time Bertie’s mother does something silly and he doesn’t know how to react, he wonders how ‘Mr’ Baden-Powell would handle the situation.

I have some experience with the issue of overcompensating, as I grew up among girls. Fortunately, as a thirteen-year-old I was rescued by Mr Baden-Powell and joined the sea scouts. At the sea scouts we happily did all sorts of Totally Irresponsible Things.

Find out what this has to do with Harper Seven & Star Trek!