Irena Knotková

"We had a meeting in Koruna, and I recited this beautiful poem there. It is actually a song, but I recited it as a poem. It’s called: Hradec Králové, It’s very nice but I don’t even know who the author is. 'Hradec Králové, a gathering is called, our brother, raise the flag, that all Scouts may know and honour the flag that you have. Over the Labe and Orlice Rivers, let the whole region sing, so that all may know our brave Scouts. In the land of Hradec, where Sion used to rule, where Roháč of Dubá met his heroic death. Brothers, be strong and prosper, for the land we tread upon is holy, let us walk gently, and see through the tears...' I don’t remember all of it anymore. But the most important things are mentioned in these verses. There was one more song we had, it was like this... When you are 76, your memory fails you from time to time. But this song was beautiful, too: 'In May, when mead blooms, and forests are clad in green, the fragrance fills our Hradec land. When Scouts march, and with their song, merrily they invite all to join, and out to nature rush."

"I would now like to ask you about the good things that scouting has taught you?" – "I really make an effort to speak the truth. I follow the rules of our law and our pledge." – "Even though some admonish you for that. Not everybody can accept it." – "Today’s people generally don’t like to hear the truth. Another thing I learned, or which I already knew, was cooking, and I was good at it. I always cooked at all the camps. I was in charge of the camp’s accounting, and anyone could come to me, even at midnight, and check that my accounts were in order. Another good thing which scouting taught me was the love for my homeland." – "And love for the nature." – "I am an old fool who picks up rubbish thrown away by other people." – "That’s because it is a sight unpleasant to your eye." – "Unpleasant to my eye, right. I hate it." – "Is there some message you would like to tell to young Scouts today? For you, scouting was not just about obligations and duties." – "I was happy when I saw that the girls tried hard, that they put some effort into cooking, and that they were able to do many things for themselves. Each of us had a chair in the camp, which they made themselves." – "You were leading the Girls Scouts, upbringing them." – "Teaching them to be self-reliant" – "You partly supplied their parents. You tried to do what the parents have not done. And that’s what makes it so special because you had no other reward for it but your inner satisfaction." – "I was happy that I had so many girls. And they liked me, too!" – "Do they still recognize you and greet you?" – "Yes, they do, even now."

"Everybody was enthusiastic. And so was the World Scout Chief. I remember that I was the one giving orders during the parade in Prague. The officers were clapping their hands for me from the stands because I could shout the commands very precisely. I loved it."