IHAD watched the place for two, maybe three nights, noting what time they came in and when they left. It was pretty clear what they were up to. Funny thing was, I wanted to be part of it.

It didn’t take me long to pick out who the leaders were and, one night, I followed them from their base to where they lived, a little street not far from Stockton railway station.

I thought about knocking there and then, but turned away. I’ll admit it – I was nervous.

But I knew it would have to be done. So the next night, I went back and this time I knocked. The door opened and there she stood looking down at me.

It was then that Ray Mallon asked, well begged actually, if he could join the Cubs.

I don’t know how the two sisters who were in charge of the Scouts felt about being doorstepped by an eight-year-old, but they seemed to take it in their stride.

They didn’t get cross when I got mixed up over who was Akela and who was Baloo.

It wasn’t the first stirrings of public-spiritedness that led me to that door, though perhaps it was an early sign that I wouldn’t make too bad a detective.

The main attractions were the hat and the jumper that I thought looked smart; those and the prospect of fun and adventure that have brought countless youngsters into the Scouting movement.

It didn’t last, I’m sad to say.

After 18 months, competitive swimming took over my life. But I still remember my time with the Cubs with great affection: my mother sewing on my first badge which I treasured more than an Olympic medal; the Gang Shows at the old Stockton Hippodrome that I attended with my father.

There were other, deeper things that I remember from those days as well, lessons about how you should try to behave and treat others. It was an education for life.

I remember these things because in recent weeks I’ve renewed ties with the Scouting movement. It came about through a chance meeting with an old colleague who has been involved in the movement all his life. It led me to attend the St George’s Day Parade in Middlesbrough, alongside about 180 people of all ages. I followed up with visits to troops in Nunthorpe and North Ormesby.

All three were memorable occasions. The parade brought together three, maybe more, generations of people involved with Scouting.

It was a tribute to the durability of the movement and the ideals that underpin it.

The visits to the troops impressed me just as much. I met parents giving up their free time and energies to ensure that youngsters could play and learn in an organisation that supports them, but also challenges them, that helps them develop as individuals but also instills in them an idea they’re part of something bigger – a society, a community.

Like most places, Middlesbrough’s hopes for the future lie with its young people. It’s on their skills, resilience and sense of community that we are all going to depend. The youth agenda is going to be central to my strategy for the next four years.

The council will strengthen its partnerships with the voluntary and community organisations working with children and young people to give them a sense of selfworth and purpose.

As we embark on that programme, something tells me it won’t be long before I’m knocking at the Scouts’ door again.