Confessions of a Boy Scout: Campfires & Crushes: Samuel Twigford's Coming of Age in 1990s Rural England

Samuel Twigford - Twiggy - knows he is a nerd. He does not care because nerds go to Scouts and thirteen year old Twiggy loves Scouts more than anything in the world.

September is a mixed blessing: he hates returning to school but Scouts starts again after the summer break. He can hang out with his best friends: Oscar, Nick, Noah and Alistair. He can go camping with the Scouts and, in these daring times, Girl Guides.

The Guides: Lara, the Ginger Twins, Yi-Wang and Asma seem nice enough but like all good nerds Twiggy remains wary of girls. Particularly the strange things they say and the effect Lara and Asma have on his subconscious.

Girls are a minor worry compared to the misery the Chief Scout - the Chunk - heaps on Twiggy and his friends. The torment of his rugby teacher, Mrs Master, and his unhinged form tutor, Mr Glitch, add to Twiggy's suffering.

Rumours spark of an affair amongst parents, the boys fight over Girl Guides, and Twiggy's friendships risk failing. Then a camping accident threatens to bring tragedy to the village, leaving Twiggy a cowering teenager in search of the safety of childhood.

As the 1990s begin, Twiggy is left wondering: does everything he held sacred no longer apply in this world of nearly-manhood? And can anyone save him from this daunting life of despair, bullying and girls?