Uniform, Mufti, and a Quiet Sense of Service

On Monday evening I spent time with the Badgers and Cadets of St John Ambulance in Kidlington - and came away, once again, quietly encouraged.

The Badgers were smartly in uniform and hard at work on a session about recycling. Not glamorous. Not headline-grabbing. But thoughtful, practical and rooted in responsibility. They were exploring how small actions affect the wider community - how waste, stewardship and care for the environment are all part of service too. It was purposeful and taken seriously.

The Cadets, by contrast, were in mufti.

That fact did not go unnoticed.

I had arrived in full High Sheriff rig, and within moments the Cadets were gently chiding their leader for not having asked them to wear uniform too. It was done with good humour, but underneath it was something rather admirable - pride. A sense that if they belong to an organisation committed to service, they should look the part when representing it.

I rather liked that.

It spoke of identity, of belonging, of taking oneself seriously in the right way. Not vanity. Not performance. Simply a quiet understanding that what they are part of matters.

In a world that often seems to carry a very different narrative about young people - distracted, disengaged, disinterested - here was something entirely at odds with that caricature. On a Monday evening, when they could have been almost anywhere else, these young people chose to learn how to care for others. How to remain calm. How to step forward.

As High Sheriff, my theme this year is Hearing the Young Unheard. Evenings like this remind me that many young people are not unheard because they lack voice, but because we do not amplify the right stories.

The quiet majority are out there.

Learning.

Serving.

Holding one another to standards.

Gently reminding their leaders that uniform matters.

And if we are wise, we will notice them.