Every time this pops up on eBay we get asked if this is an OA pin. No. This is not an OA pin. It is not a Vigil pin. It is a YMCA pin. And, they are extremely common (and this picture, from a current listing, is upside down as to how the pin was worn.)SR Chair Russell Smart’s 2007 Boy Scout World Jamboree Daily Diary
BSA Southern Region Chairman Russell Smart shared with us his daily ‘blog’ for the recent 2007 Boy Scout World Jamboree. We found it interesting and thought you would too. Russell’s a great Scouter and good friend of ours.
He also reported that our BSA contingent was approximately 3,400 with roughly 2,700 youth participants and rest IST and contingent HQ staff.
Russell Smart’s blog for the 2007 World Jamboree July 24 – August 8, 2007.
Tuesday – July 24, 2007 – Hertfordshire University – Hatfield UK
Greetings from the UK.
It could not have been a more beautiful day for our first day in the old country. Bright sunshine, temp in the 70s, not a drop of rain. Much different than last week when much of western England and Wales was under water. Those folks are dealing with the same type issues as our Gulf Coast folks had to after Katrina. Water water everywhere! The jamboree site is in the eastern side of England and got some rain but nothing like that in the west. Reports from the site are that preparations are proceeding at a frantic pace now but things should be ready by Friday. Somehow, it all comes together.
All of our Southern Region units arrived safely and pretty much on time this morning at Gatwick and Heathrow. By midday we were all with our assigned tour guides and out at Windsor Castle. The Queen was a little busy and could not give us an audience today but we know that she sends us her best regards.
Hard to tell sometimes but our guys and gals seemed to be favorably impressed with her little castle on the Thames that dates back to the days of William the Conqueror (1066 or so). They also got to tour the town of Eton, home of the famous prep school attended by all of the royal boys through the last few hundred years. My personal favorite on the Windsor Castle campus is the Chapel of St. George where the Order of the Garter is bestowed which is the highest order of knighthood that exists.
After a box lunch and a bit of free time in the little town of Windsor we headed out to the University of Hertfordshire where we will be staying until Friday morning when we head to the jamboree site. On my bus everyone was asleep within a few minutes of leaving the Windsor area and slept for most of the 60 minute trip.
Each youth and adult have a private room and bath (dorm room) and it is a very new facility – only about 3 years old. It was built on the site of an old World War II airfield and the college tour guide told me that prior to the college being built the site was used in the filming of “Saving Private Ryan” in the scenes where the Allies were preparing for the D-day invasion. Interesting!
Dinner was a choice of lasagna or cottage pie (shepherds pie), chips (french fries), carrots and squash, salad, dessert. I thought it was very good but then I am not a picky eater. I did not see many plates that had anything left so…..
We had a brief leaders meeting and agreed that taps each night would be at 10PM. I don’t think that will be a problem tonight since we are all a little slee……..py.
Cheers!
Wednesday – July 25, 2007 – Hertfordshire University – Hatfield UK
Yes, we are in England. Last night at this time (915PM) it was quite warm and pleasant. Tonight…overcast and quite cool. Many of us broke out our jackets.
After a good night’s rest (at least for me and I hope for many of the lads and lassies) we got up early for a proper “English breakfast” and then loaded up on our coaches for our second day of touring. The morning weather was very nice but we were told to expect a rainy afternoon and the forecast was correct. But the rain was light and intermittent and caused no real problems for anyone.
One half of our group did a tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the British Museum, and after lunch in one of the parks around Buckingham Palace, toured Westminster Abbey. Views of the Big Ben tower (for you nerds “Big Ben” is the name of the bell, not the clock), Parliament, the Thames River. Also a “ride-by” of Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, and several other notable London landmarks.
There was only enough time for a quick “highlights” tour of the British Museum. My tour guide was stunned when I told her that recently it had been discovered that the markings on the Rosetta Stone were actually a great salsa recipe. Who knew?
The other half first did a tour of the Tower of London (Crown Jewels, the Ravens, and the Castle Walls). Then a general tour of the Tower Bridge area and afterwards they boarded a tour boat for a ride down the Thames River to Greenwich. There, they picnicked in a park overlooking the Thames (as well as the burned out Cutty Sark now under restoration) and visited the Greenwich Observatory and the Maritime Museum.
All groups saw many scouts from other countries (Japan, Germany, Denmark to name a few) who are also touring London before the jamboree. It is interesting to watch them exchange greetings. This is just the tiniest of appetizers for what it will be like beginning Friday morning when we arrive at Hylands Park.
Both groups got a taste of London rush hour traffic coming back to University and dinner was either pizza or chicken planks. Nobody is going hungry although some are a bit mystified by the types of sandwiches in the packed lunches. No peanut butter and jelly…..a variety including some choices like cream cheese and avocado mixture. Well….it’s all about new experiences, right?
Another brief leaders meeting with no serious issues and everyone scattered for their respective areas. Taps is once again set for 10PM.
Tomorrow the two halves of the group will repeat today switching agendas. Tomorrow night we will be packing and ready to move on to the jamboree site on Friday morning. And that’s Day 2. Thanks for the comments and feedback on the report and pictures from Day 1. More pics on the way.
Thursday – July 26, 2007 – Hertfordshire University – Hatfield UK
Another interesting day of touring. And at the end, bittersweet, as we parted from our tour guides. Many of our units told me that they surely had the ‘best’ of all the tour guides and coach drivers. That’s perfect…I hope that ALL of our units had the best. And I think that they were correct.
As noted in the previous blog, today’s tour schedule for each unit was the opposite of yesterday. So now every unit has had the opportunity to visit the complete list of London area sites noted but each unit has also traveled different routes at different times so their experience was in some ways unique.
Our weather today was variable throughout the day. Our group had light rain for most of our boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich but not enough to get us off the top deck. We were told by our guys at the jamboree site that their day was very nice until about 330PM when they were hit with a heavy rain. We all hope that the serious rain holds off tomorrow so that we can get our camps set up before the next round of wetness arrives.
Everybody today saw many many groups of Scouts from other lands including Belgians, Poles, Germans, etc. All of these groups were equally girls and guys and we had a chance to see how our guys react to the enthusiastic attention of these young ladies. As you might expect, some of our guys welcomed them with open arms and others didn’t quite know what to do. From past experience, we know that within a few days the shy ones will overcome their hesitance. The others we already know to watch closely. Spoken language is no barrier.
Tonight one can sense the rising level of excitement about tomorrow. And that’s just among the leaders! Imagine how it is among the kids……
As I write this entry, we are waiting for the credentials to arrive so that we can go directly to the jamboree site from the university. It may be a late night but it will be well worth the effort.
Hamburgers were on the menu tonight and that seemed to be the favorite choice. I cannot give enough praise to the folks at the BSA and Maritz travel groups for their organization and execution of our tour and stay here at Hertfordshire. It has been absolutely fabulous!
So much for Day 3. Not sure when the next entry will be available. Probably not tomorrow evening…..although who knows. Thank you for the feedback and I hope that you enjoy my little musings. Say a prayer for our weather and safety as we travel to the site in the morning. Au revoir. Adios. Goodbye. For now.
Friday – July 27, 2007 – Hertfordshire University – Hatfield UK
Morning has broken.
Just a quickie update before we depart from lovely Hertfordshire. All is well. We have had a few minor injuries among our lads as they played football (soccer) around the campus but everyone is patched up and ready to rumble. The report from the jamboree site is very positive and we had a visit from our National Staff last night bringing us our credentials and “stuff” so that we can go directly from here to the jamboree site (probably saving at least two hours at the general check-in area at North Weld airfield). We anticipate arriving there between 930AM and 1100AM in six groups. Immediately off the bus and on to the subcamps to set up and start meeting the rest of the world.
So……this is it, showtime. No more rehearsing and hearsing a part…we know every part by heart! On with the show, this it IT!
TALLY-HO!!!!!!
Friday – July 27, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
The Yanks have landed (or the Rebs if you like)…..
It would be hard to overstate the excitement level of our guys and gals as they loaded the buses this morning for the ride from Hertfordshire to the Jamboree. And I can assure you that I was just as excited as they were!
The first five buses left the university about 805AM and at approximately 903AM our first wave “hit the beach” at the jamboree site. Even as we drove up to the unloading area there were dozens of scouts from all other the world waving and smiling and shouting greetings to us. At the unloading area a representative of the subcamp received the unit and guided them to their campsite. There, they collected their patrol equipment and tents and camp set-up was started.
Larry Mahoney, Greg Taylor, Charles Holmes and I proceeded to get our check-in accomplished and at about Noon we began to walk around the five subcamps to check on the progress of our units. The scouts from the UK came in a day early to set up their camps so that they could be proper hosts for their guests and as we walked about many countries were in the process of setting up and getting to know each other. Every troop we visited was doing very well, overcoming the usual “nits and lice” problems associated with setting up brand new equipment, and their excitement was in abundance. In several campsites we saw scouts (usually female) already introducing themselves to our guys and laughing and chatting as they worked to make their home for the next 12 days.
My personal experience makes this my fourth world jamboree and I can honestly say that “day 1” of this jamboree is the absolute best one that I have seen. The UK systems were working well and the cooperation and willingness to solve any and all problems was unsurpassed. Kudos to the organizing committee and all of the UK staff for a job well done!
At 500PM we held a brief unit leaders meeting to ascertain the status of our acclimation and all present were pleased with their progress and reported nothing but good news. Our region support group was basically unneeded at this point and that’s a good thing.
Greg Taylor intends to post some pictures of our fabulous day as soon as possible and I know that you will enjoy seeing the results.
Tomorrow our scouts will spend the morning getting to know their subcamp companions before heading to the arena area for the opening ceremony which will begin shortly after noon. Afterwards, some more time in the subcamp and then in the evening a grand party for everyone in the jamboree. It should be a wonderful day…..perhaps an absolutely smashing day!
Stay tuned!
Saturday – July 28, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
Waiting for the Princes…..
We could not believe it when we woke to another absolutely perfectly clear morning with not a cloud in the sky. Even though the forecast called for evening rain (which began to fall about 930PM as predicted) it was nice to have a second nice day for getting acquainted with our camp.
Each of our troops was happily preparing for their subcamp assembly prior to the main opening ceremony as we walked around the campsites this morning. Every troop was engaged with other guys and gals (mostly gals) from other countries and every face I saw was smiling. Imagine that.
As we walked around a helicopter from the Royal Marines swooped into the area and landed carrying members of the royal family. We had been told that Prince Charles and Prince William would be there at the opening ceremony and this indeed was the case.
At approximately 1100AM all of the subcamps began to assemble their units and gradually the sound of music from the main arena area filled the jamboree. As we made our way from the BSA HQ area to the arena the roads were filled with uniforms of every imagination. Reaching the arena we found that about half of the units were in place and more were coming in from every direction. There is simply no way to convey the overwhelming experience of being in the midst of 40,000 scouts from 150 countries waving their flags and dancing to the music. It is just magical.
Finally the appointed time (130PM) arrived and the opening ceremony officially began. The World Scout Flag that has flown at the past jamborees was officially raised and the jamboree director declared that the “jamboree is officially begun.” Prince Charles and Prince William walked from the back of the area down the center aisle to the stage and Prince Charles made personal remarks as well as reading a greeting from his mom, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. They were warmly received by all.
The parade of flags and calling of the names for each country represented (150) took several minutes and it was awe-inspiring to watch the “melding” of all of these flags on stage into one mass of youthful exhuberance. After singing the jamboree song the ceremony was closed until the evening when it was continued with a two hour jamboree party with live performances of music by both popular UK singers and bands.
During the afternoon we received the word that one of our Southern Region scouts – Nathan Watson from Kentucky – will be one of the two scouts who will represent the BSA/USA at the Brownsea Island encampment on July 31 – August 31. To say that he and his troopmates are excited would be a gross understatement.
Tomorrow our scouts begin their regular rotation of program. Some will be offsite at Gilwell, Splash, and Starburst (service projects). Others will spend the day on the jamboree site doing both educational and fun activities. This will continue until August 1 when we will take a full day to celebrate the centenary day of Scouting and then on August 2 the rotational programs will resume.
On a personal note, I was in the right place at the right time and got to have a one on one chat with His Majesty the Duke of Kent (Prince Charles) as he was touring the jamboree site. Our encounter lasted a minute or so and my buddy Charles Holmes was able to capture this on video and if possible we may try and post this on the website later.
As I am writing this blog entry it is lightly raining outside but the rain is supposed to end before daylight so perhaps tomorrow will be clear again. Whatever…..our guys and gals are prepared.
Sunday – July 29, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
The Program Begins……
Our perfect weather luck rain out last evening and the rains finally came to the jamboree site. But by daybreak all that remained were some drops and within a few hours the sun came out and the heat began to rise. Unfortunately, some of the program areas got a bit flooded so there were some adjustments in the schedule for some subcamps. And there was good news and bad news from the units on the “rain-proof-ness” of the UK tents. Good news – the youth tents did not leak. Bad news – some of the adult tents did. Oh well. Better this way than the other way round, don’t your think? Best news – our leaders said “don’t worry about it – we’re tough.” God bless those guys.
Every youth that we met – without exception – gave us a great report about their experiences among the subcamps and program areas. Of course many of our guys are in love with the young ladies that they have met. There is certainly no clear cut opinion on which country has the cutest girls. I have heard Brazil, Switzerland, Italy, UK (of course), and many others mentioned. I had dinner with Troop 210 (Morency) – hamburgers and salad – and they were wired. Many Scouts were preparing to go to Sunday church services after dinner and then get back to the business of making friends, trading patches, and participating in a giant subcamp scavenger hunt.
The jamboree site was absolutely full of visitors today. I admit that I was very surprised about the number of international visitors – especially the young cub scouts. I saw at least 50 young Thailand scouts, a host of other Asian scouts, and thousands of UK Beavers and Cubs. We had a chance to chat with many of these visitors and they were so excited to be a part of the jamboree – if only for a day as a visitor.
Tomorrow our scouts continue with their regular rotation of program. Again some will be offsite at Gilwell, Splash, and Starburst (service projects). Others will spend the day on the jamboree site doing both educational and fun activities.
The weather forecast is for nice weather through Wednesday and that’s great (if it holds true) since August 1 is the actual sunrise service and anniversary party in the subcamps and later that evening in the arena.
A follow-up to my personal note from yesterday, it turns out that I am ignorant on my royals. My chat was not with Prince Charles (who is the Prince of Wales) but rather with his cousin Edward (who looks a lot like him) who is the Duke of Kent and the President of the UK Scout organization. It was still very cool to meet a member of the royal family even if he is not in line for the crown.
Monday – July 30, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
Countdown to the Centenary…..
Let’s start with the weather…..which is simply spectacular. We are certainly prepared for rain and no doubt will be tested on this before our departure, but the weather today and in the near term forecast has no rain in sight. Let’s hope that this holds true at least through the Centenary Celebration on Wednesday.
As we walked around and visited each unit that was in camp this morning, it appeared that they were well-settled into a routine of cooking and camp life. We got no complaints from any unit that was not a simple solution. All of our unit leaders are simply wonderful and are taking the best care of our youth that anyone can imagine.
The daily program continued today and all reports from our units are fabulous. The Gilwell Adventure (off-site) attended by the units in Volcano Subcamp got rave reviews, and comments for all of the on-site program elements were great as well. Of course the continuing highlight for everyone that I see is simply the interaction with the youth of the world. Everywhere you look you see boys and girls from different countries talking, playing, and just enjoying being together. I know that it’s a simplistic thing to say, but I’ll say it anyway. If we could turn the world over to these 30,000 youth for about 2 weeks there would be no more political issues and strife on our earth. After every world jamboree my hope is renewed in the possibility of a better future for all of us.
Again today the jamboree site was absolutely full of visitors today. I especially enjoy talking with the cub scout groups and giving them gifts of USA flags and patches. They are so innocent and appreciative of the attention of an old Scouter from America. I wish that I had something for each and every one of them…..I probably gave out 300 flags just today. There will be visitors again tomorrow but not on Wednesday during our Centenary Celebration.
This evening we held a reception for one-half of our unit leaders and IST members (the reception for the other half will be on Friday evening). Each received a nice medallion and the thanks of our Jamboree Contingent Leader – Jack Furst from Dallas TX. Many of the larger world organizations hold these receptions and it is great fun to see all of the adults who paid “big bucks” to be a part of this effort on behalf of our youth.
There will not be a blog tomorrow (Tuesday) evening since I will be participating in the vigil ceremony for the centenary and then attend the sunrise service with our Scouts on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday night I will try my best to give you an account of these events and share the excitement of being here as we begin the second century of Scouting.
ONE WORLD, ONE PROMISE!
Tuesday – July 31, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
A night at the jamboree site……
Well….I suppose that we should start with the morning. We are trying to make our morning rounds early to catch the units doing “off-site” activities before they bug out. It was a bit on the cool side this morning but still bright and sunny. The units in Volcano camp were doing “Choice” and “Aquaville” with a later start time so I caught them in the early stages of breakfast prep. Most of the boys from Houston (including their leaders) were still in their tents when I first stopped by. Plateau units had already bugged off to their Starburst (service projects) activity. Canyon and Glacier units were doing breakfast prep and getting ready for their on-site activities in “Global Development Village” and “Elements” respectively. All reports from all activities are very positive. There is the occasional facet that is not deemed “perfect” but it a rare comment.
Barry Smith from Troop 219 (Central NC) was inducted into the Baden-Powell Fellowship at a luncheon on-site and he and I were honored to meet the current Robert Baden-Powell (grandson of the founder) and to sit with His Majesty Carl Gustav the King of Sweden at lunch. (I know I have my royalty right on this one since I met him previously this past fall in San Francisco). His Majesty is a very active supporter of Scouting (a Scout himself in his youth) and has attended most world jamborees since he became monarch 50 years ago. He is well loved by most of his people and he really enjoys being a part of Scouting events.
As mentioned in the Monday blog I had decided to spend the night at the jamboree site in anticipation of the Scouting Sunrise ceremony on Wednesday. I dropped my sleeping bag and gear off at Troop 217 and then proceeded to the Troop 212 site to see if I could scrounge some dinner. To my delight I was in time as their chili supper was just being finished. There were several groups of Scouts and young ladies from around the world chatting around the site and a small group of Scouts (boys and girls) from a nearby German troop were on the way to join us also. I think that a group of the TN boys were also headed to the German site for their dinner. Both the food and the fellowship were excellent and I spent a delightful hour there.
After dinner I checked on the Scouts from Troops 205, 207, 208, 219 and 220 and found them in fine form. Some units were having troop meetings; others had already cleaned up the dinner dishes and headed off to “see the world”. I have certainly enjoyed my assignment as Regional Chairman, but being in the subcamp in the evening, seeing all of the fellowship activity and fun, reminded me just how special it is to be a unit leader and spend 24/7 with the scouts as they soak and bask in the world jamboree experience. Our “rookie” unit leaders finally understand what we “vets” have been trying to tell them. It really is one of those things that you cannot describe – it simply must be experienced in person.
When I arrived back at the Troop 217 site I found a handful of the Scouts and the Polish girls who are camped adjacent redoing the flag assembly to hoist the flags even higher above the campsite. These young ladies have been next door for several days but it seems that the 217 guys have just noticed how cute they are and decided to open international relations – so to speak. All very innocent, of course. SM Robbie Hill mentioned that one of the young men standing nearby (who shall remain nameless) seemed to disappear whenever allowed to visit a new found “lady friend.” So I took him aside and asked him what unit/country his new friend was from. He shared as how “they” were Spanish – but in two different units so as not to cause conflicts. How clever!
Being a little tired from some late night demands on Monday night I decided to turn in a bit early since our reveille on Wednesday is 500AM to draw our food and mobilize for the Scouting Sunrise Ceremony. It didn’t take me long to drop off although I was awakened several times by the chatter of the Polish girls who had decided to just stay up all night.
A brilliant full moon (or near full) filled the sky and there was a chill in the air outside for those who continued to fellowship and visit but I needed a bit of sleeeeeeep…….
Wednesday – August 1, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
Happy 100th Birthday To Us!!!!!!!!!
Whew……even a few hours of sleep helps when you are pooped. I unzipped my bag a few minutes before 5 AM and when I crawled out of the tent there was already a lot of activity in Volcano subcamp and all around the jamboree site. The thermometer on the gateway at Troop 217 read 44 deg F but the sky is very clear and soon the temperature is already rising with the sun. Heavy dew soaks my shoes and socks on my walk around camp to see if our other troops are up and about and I find them all stirring. Volcano subcamp has a mobilization time of 645 AM to head to the arena for our 800AM ceremony. The surrounding camps have times on either side of this. The Scouts who decided to stay up all night are probably regretting their decision this morning but soon all will be well.
As Scouts begin to fill the streets and paths that lead to the arena, it is fabulous site to see the variety of uniforms and, by request, the lack of nationalistic flags. Only flags bearing the world crest of Scouting are allowed in the arena for our Centenary Birthday Celebration. I watched the four of our subcamps from the Mountain Hub parade by before joining them in the arena which is now almost filled to capacity with over 40,000 of us. Most are wearing a special issue yellow “SCOUTING SUNRISE” neckerchief that was issued with the morning food draw.
Finally the ceremony begins and we are treated to a live satellite feed from Brownsea Island – site of the first Scout camp in 1907 – where at that moment two Scouts representing each of the 157 countries participating in the jamboree have assembled to lead us in our rededication ceremony. The Chief Scout of the United Kingdom greets us and raises the same kudu horn used by B-P in 1907 to blow three blasts to call us to attention. In unison and each in our own language we repeat the Scout Oath of our organization with the Brownsea Scouts. Afterwards, a huge cheer fills the arena as we begin the Second Century of the Scouting Movement. As the saying goes…..it just don’t get no better than this!!!
For the next hour or so we are entertained with a fantastic program including a greeting from Chairman of the World Scout Bureau Herman Hui of Hong Kong who introduces Robert Baden-Powell who reads to us a portion of his grandfather’s final message to Scouts before his death in 1941. A beautiful song of fellowship written especially for the occasion interspersed with messages from each of the world’s major religions, the releasing of dozens of white doves who circle the arena swooping and diving, and the sight of the flags of the world now brought into the arena by Scouts of every attending country…..each of these is enthusiastically greeted by all of us. And truly that is the main point of this day…..because on this day, of all days, we are not US Scouts or UK Scouts or French Scouts, or Egyptian Scouts…….we are simply Brother and Sister Scouts.
As the closing moment of the ceremony, each of us is asked to see if we can get 100 of our fellow scouts to sign our special sunrise neckerchiefs. Immediately the scouts are on their feet and of course many start this task by asking the buddies in their unit to sign. But within a few minutes, the boundaries of “unit” are broken and scouts from everywhere are mingling and smiling and signing each other’s neckerchiefs in every direction. This activity continues throughout the day and it proves to be a great idea by the organizing committee.
After the Sunrise Ceremony, there are worship opportunities for all faiths before lunch. I wish that I could comment on this activity, but our Contingent Staff spent this time fulfilling a special commitment to the UK to assist in the cleaning of the toilets in the IST (International Service Team) area. Even Jack Furst of Dallas, our Volunteer Jamboree Chairman, was in there cleaning toilets and scrapping mud off the shower area floors with the rest of us.
The afternoon was dedicated to a jamboree wide celebration of food and fellowship. Most units presented some type of special food from their culture and many also dressed up in their native costumes. Some presented dances or games. As we walked about our subcamps, we were constantly greeted by smiling faces and welcoming arms literally begging us to make a visit, enjoy some food or drink, or join in an activity. We saw hundreds of our scouts eating, drinking, dancing, playing, and just generally having a great time. At this point in their jamboree experience, whatever lingering inhibitions that may have remained are evaporated like the morning dew.
We are truly now ONE WORLD with ONE PROMISE.
It is now 1150 PM and on that splendid thought above I will close my account for this day of days. Perhaps a bit more tomorrow on today….but who knows…..
Thursday – August 2, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
The Back Nine…….
For those who understand a golf metaphor, we have now made the turn and started the back nine. Our score for the front nine is spectacular and I have no doubt that the back nine will be just as awesome.
The weather forecast for today included the chance of some rain in the afternoon but clearing in the evening. No problem of course. We had one subcamp (Volcano) out on their community service project – Starburst – and the other subcamps were involved in on-site activities. Charles and I took the first bus to the site to start our rounds so that Larry and Greg could take care of some business in town before heading out. Given the intensity of the Centenary activities on Wednesday, we found most units moving at a “relaxed” pace this morning as they made breakfast and prepared for their day. This is the normal course of events that I have seen in past jamborees. Once we pass the mid-point everyone tends to kick back and “let it happen” and that’s a good thing.
Everyone without exception was absolutely overwhelmed with the events of yesterday. The food, the music, the dancing, and most of all the interaction of cultures that occurs on the mid-point sub-camp party day is often the ultimate highlight of a Scout’s jamboree experience. I asked at least 25 of our guys and gals if there was any way that they knew to explain what they have already experienced to their family and buddies back home. Each and every one had no idea how to do this. This is my fourth jamboree and I have not yet discovered how to do it either. I don’t mean to be “mystical” but it truly is a thing of the spirit rather than of the mind and perhaps that’s why there is no way to do it. So do your best to understand why your young person will have difficulty sharing this aspect of their jamboree.
Sadly, at our mid-day regional support meeting, we began to talk about our exit strategy. It seems that all of our units – regardless of their flight time – will be leaving the jamboree site next Wednesday at 400AM. Most probably, there will be little of no sleeping that night after the closing ceremony and dance/party breaks up around midnight. Our guys will have all day Tuesday to break camp, pack their personal gear, and begin saying their sad goodbyes with their new friends. Their adrenaline level will sustain them until they get on the bus and then most, if not all, of them will collapse in exhaustion as we make the drive to the airport. Don’t worry parents, it’s like this every time and they all make it.
Late afternoon, after a brief spat of rainfall (not enough to do anything more than settle the dust), most of units had the honor of a visit from Kent Clayburn, our Regional Support Chairman (my boss). Jack Furst, our National Jamboree Chairman (Kent’s boss); and Wayne Perry, the International Commissioner for the BSA. They plan to visit all of the units in each region and started this process with the Southern Region. They greeted and chatted with many of our guys and at the end of the evening they told me that we had set the bar high for their subsequent regional visits. In other words, our region rocks!!!
The jamboree is not without some good natured humor. One of our units is in a subcamp where there is a bit of disagreement about the sufficiency of the food distribution. All of our units insist that they are receiving much more food than they need and have no complaints. The unit leader for the troop from one country (whose name I will omit to avoid creating some type of international incident – let’s just call them “No-name-ia”) has been complaining every day that her scouts are not getting enough food, an opinion not shared by her peers or Scouts. So our guys set a food box out front beside their gateway with a sign that reads (more or less)….”40 No-name-ia Scouts are starving every day. Please contribute a loaf of bread to the No-name-ia Hungry Scouts Fund.” Everybody except the No-name-ia unit leader thought it was very funny. My prayer is that she will live long enough to get over it.
Once again the hour is late and I am tired. Greg has over 50 pictures to upload after I sent Hoke my blog to post so he will be up even later than me. Thank those of you who have taken time to comment on the journal entries. Your encouragement helps me to get my eyes open long enough to do it.
Bonsoir.
Friday – August 3, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
Pulling Out the Nails…….
The credit for today’s title goes to Robbie Hill, Scoutmaster for Troop 217 from SC, Western NC, and NE GA. Since we made two rounds of visits to all of our units yesterday and two subcamps were going offsite today we decided to sleep in this morning (which basically meant getting up at 600AM instead of 530AM) and take the second van out to the site instead of the first. When Charles and I arrived we split up and I went to Robbie’s troop site for a visit and Charles headed off to visit another unit. Volcano subcamp was headed to the GDV (Global Development Village) about 1000AM. So after breakfast, T217 had their usual flag ceremony. At the end of each one, Robbie is given a random object without advance notice and he does a Scoutmaster Minute on the spot based on the object. This morning he was given a claw hammer. Here is what he said (in essence)….”Boys, you all recognize this hammer and know what each end is used for. If you pretend for a moment that the various cultures of the world are nails, before you came to the jamboree you had driven those nails in a board based on what you thought you knew about those people and cultures that are different from you. But all of a sudden, when you got to the jamboree, you found that you had to turn that hammer around and use the other end of the hammer to start pulling those nails out of the board because you found out that it wasn’t like you had thought at all. Keep pulling.”
And that, my friends, is what a world jamboree is really all about. Pulling out the nails of what we thought we knew about other people and cultures when we realize that other people are really much different than our stereotypes. We can only pray that we are doing and saying things to make them pull out the nails that represent us as well.
The weather continues to be fabulous. The BBC long range forecast says that we will have good weather and unseasonably hot (which means over 75 deg F) through Sunday and then we expect rain possible for Monday and Tuesday.
Also today our 10,000 visitors returned. Personally, I love seeing all of the Cubs and their leaders from the UK around the site. We all brought lots and lots of USA flags and pins and such and love to chat with the kids and give them gifts. I am meeting lots of interesting adults as well, including a gentleman who earned his UK Kings Scout awards (equivalent to our Eagle Scout) in 1937. He paraded in front of King Edward (the so-called uncrowned King). He was the one who gave up his throne to marry our Wallis Simpson. This gentleman was in his impeccable Scout uniform and very excited to be at the jamboree. I also met a gentleman who was one of the first four Queens Scouts in 1953 after Elizabeth II came to the throne. It is just incredible to chat with these people about their experiences.
I am sure that your scouts will have interesting stories to tell of the people that they have met as well, although the focus may be slightly different. But that’s okay…..they’re pulling out nails every day in their own way.
Larry Mahoney and I also had a very interesting chat with my new buddy “Stilz” from Switzerland (who knows my friends “Funy” and “Grizzly” from the 1995 and 1999 jamborees) about the differences in Scouting in the USA and Switzerland. Stilz might be the Swiss contingent leader at the 2011 WJ in Sweden and he is already trying to think through the many issues that must be resolved in leading a contingent on one of these events. We are encouraging our scouts to find out about Scouting in other countries as well. So far, the main comment that has been made to me is “why can’t Scouting in the US be coed like Scouting is in most of the other countries in the world?” It’s a good question and one that I think we must address as we approach our second century in 2010.
This jamboree has a new feature in the subcamps and that is a thing that is called “The Listening Ear.” It is a place that anyone can go and find someone who will talk with them about any type of problem. My hat is off to those who staff these areas since even though overall our jamboree is “utopian” there are always those who may be a bit homesick or just need someone to listen. We met one of the “listening ear” ladies at lunch today and she looked more than a little beat. I gave her one of our regional staff patches and I assured her that this badge had a special filter that if she held it up to her ear would block any negativity or complaints that came her way. That got her smiling so I bet that she is back on her post this evening with a brighter attitude.
Troop 219 from Central NC had the winning patrol flag for the Southern Region although I am not sure which patrol it was. Charles Holmes told me that the troop entry had won but I forgot to ask for more details. Maybe I will think about it tomorrow and report more.
This evening we had our second BSA reception for the rest of the unit leaders and IST members. Jack Furst, our contingent leader, reminded us that we only have a few days left and although things have generally gone very well, we need to make sure that we finish as strong as we started. The Southern Region is certainly committed to that goal.
I have enjoyed reading the blog comments and am very pleased that my daily “brain dump” has been interesting and helpful in keeping you informed. My wife Helen reminded me this evening that she knows how much I love these jamborees but eventually it will be time to come home. Yes dear, I know. And of course I will. Thank you for once again letting me go out and play with the boys.
Sayonara.
Saturday – August 4, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
Carpe jamborium!
With less days remaining than we have had….”carpe jamborium” is what we must do now.
I apologize for the late posting on the Saturday blog. I am typing it at 800AM in our BSA HQ after spending the evening/night at the jamboree site.
Amazing enough, our weather continues to be dry….and hot! Today’s (Sunday) forecast is a repeat of yesterday with temps in the upper 70s. I met a lot of local Essex scouts visiting yesterday and I gave them my email address and told them to let me know when it finally rains after we bug out on Wednesday morning.
All of our scouts are doing well with no major injuries. As expected we have had a few health situations but so far nothing that warrants serious treatment…at least to my knowledge. Everyone I see and talk to is simply joyous with the spirit of the jamboree and it is becoming harder and harder to identify our guys as tshirts and uniforms have begun changing hands and you never know what you might find one of our guys wearing around the camp.
I failed to mention a very very important item in the blog for Friday. I decided that each day of the jamboree from the anniversary should have a descriptive word. If you read the blog for Wednesday, you must agree that the ONLY word for the events of that day would be JAMBO-MANIA. As we returned to our routine program (if you can honestly call what we do routine) on Thursday things were absolutely JAMBO-RIFFIC. Brilliant!!! As they say around these parts.
Friday we kicked it up another notch and found that it was a JAMBO-LICIOUS day. Everybody I told smiled at that description and agreed it was “spot on.”
Saturday is the weekend, a fun day. So the word for Saturday obviously became JAMBO-LARIOUS! As the day progressed I attempted to measure the level of jambo-lariousity around camp and quickly discovered that it was impossible. The old mercury kept blowing out the top of the thermometer and when I tried to measure it using the Richter scale, even that was insufficient. So it truly was a jambo-larious day.
There is an emphasis at this jamboree about being eco-friendly and I gave some flag patches to a group of scouts who had taken a 7 mile eco-hike from their nearby home to the jamboree site for their day visit. Being Saturday, there were hundreds of families visiting the jamboree as day visitors pushing their strollers and walking with their little scouts (or future scouts). Larry has gotten really good at what we call “target acquisition.” He spots a group of scouts and I approach them with gifts of patches and pins. I may have put this in a previous blog so forgive me if I am repeating but my standard MO is to walk up to a small group eating ice cream cones and I ask…”who will trade me a lick of their ice cream for a badge?” Every time one of them will immediately offer me his cone and the adults will laugh. I tell him that he can have a badge or pin but I will not lick his ice cream. Then I tell him (or her) that they get to decide if their buddies get a badge. Suddenly he is everybody’s best best buddy and they plead with him to tell me to give them a badge. Of course, eventually all of them get one but it is great fun and we end up chatting about where they are from and what they are doing and I give the adults my jambo business card and a small flag on a stick for their meeting place and ask them to email me and tell me what they are doing after the jamboree.
Larry, Greg and I actually took a little break mid-afternoon and visited the Hylands House stable café for “tea time.” We had a lovely snack of tea and scones with clotted cream and raspberry jam. Very very British! Brilliant!
About 600PM, after the daily program ends and the visitors are off the ranch, the jamboree takes on a somewhat different atmosphere. Units and patrols are preparing their dinner meal, there are hundreds of small groups sitting around in the grass adjacent to campsites just chatting and trading patches, games of Rugby, football (soccer), badminton, you name it are being played by pairs and teams in the activity areas in each subcamp. Everybody is somewhat laid back and relaxing and getting their energy renewed for the later evening subcamp activities. It is a really neat time and last evening I enjoyed just walking around and soaking up the ambiance of the moment.
The guys from Troop 207 (South TX) invited me to eat dinner with them and we had a fabulous meal of quesadillas, rice with saffron, pasta and sauce, and an excellent Hispanic soup prepared by Mr. Cuellar and his scouts. As we sat and ate it was obvious that these guys have definitely captured the jamboree magic.
After dinner I continued my walk around the camp and a nice young lady from Cyprus called me over to the gateway of her camp to ask me where I was from. Like many jamboree encounters others of her troop joined us and for the next 15 minutes we had a lovely chat. The smaller countries are always amazed at how large is the USA and the number of our scouts. I assured her that “size does not matter” and that I was sure that the quality of her scouting program was just as good as ours. That pleased her very much.
The guys from Troop 212 (TN) had invited me to join them and several of the troops in their section of the Plateau subcamp for a “block party.” This was a spontaneous event that got organized by a couple of the troops at one end of the subcamp. They were pulling all of their patrol tables and benches out of the campsites into an open area and each troop was preparing special dishes using the regular issue food. By the time I arrived they were almost ready to start and I saw scouts and leaders from Australia, Japan, UK, Poland, and USA. The Aussie leader kicked things off and when he said “go” the kids hit the food like a pack of wolves. I walked around and chatted with many of the participants and they were just “over the top” enthused. This type of event is exactly what we hope will happen…..spontaneous events organized by the scouts.
After the block party I continued my walk around the subcamps as the sun set and the cool of the evening had rejuvenated the scouts for more activity. There was a huge party in progress at the Mountain Hub stage and karaoke going strong in each subcamp. And of course many many young people walking around in small groups visiting each other’s camps. I have to say that evenings at the jamboree are my most favorite time of all.
Yesterday, a lady who I met in a restaurant off-site asked me “what’s going on out there?” Thirty minutes later…..she probably knew more than she wanted to know about the jamboree. But she did continue to ask questions so I think that she was really interested. A fellow who was listening in on our conversation made the comment…”you make it sound like a utopia out there!” And you know, in many ways it really is a utopia out here for a fortnight. Probably as close as any one of us will ever get.
I already have announced the jamboree word for Sunday……but you will have to wait for the next blog to find out what it is.
Cheers!
Sunday – August 5, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
Semper Gumby!
This has been our motto throughout the jamboree prep period and now it becomes even more important as we begin our final three days of adventure. Loosely translated it means “always flexible” so I am sure that you can appreciate how this applies to our situation. My day started our splendidly when Larry and Greg found my little Gumby figurine in the grass in our staff tent. I guess that it had fallen off my shirt early in the jamboree during one of our meetings. That combined with my daily “Beaver bead” on my necklace gives me both encouragement and confidence that we will be able to meet whatever challenges we face through Wednesday.
Hot! Really hot! No other way to put it….when it gets in the mid 80s in England that’s hot! When I woke up about 530AM this morning in troop 217 campsite (sharing the common center area of Robbie and Fred’s tent) it actually felt a bit cool. Within 30 minutes it was already warming up and kept warming up until mid-afternoon. Who would have thought that we would be this concerned about sunburn and dehydration at this jamboree? That was our main concern last time in Thailand. Actually, a lot of folks including me were feeling (and looking) a bit blown out by the end of the day today. But a little sleep (and that’s all one can hope for) and perhaps a bit cooler day tomorrow should revive us as we head into the home stretch.
Two of our subcamps plus troop 216 were off-site today at Gilwell and Splash. Since I had made the rounds last night during their evening activities we decided to defer our visits until late afternoon. So Charles, Larry, Greg and I spent the morning and early afternoon “goofing off” except when we were needed. I spent some time over at what I call the “D.O.T.” That is an acronym for “Den of Thieves” and refers to the patch trading area. Actually the rest of the world refers to patch trading as “badge swopping”. It is not as pervasive as what we see at our national jamborees with blankets spread out along every road and beside every shrub. But the kids (and adults of course) do enjoy “swopping” and it has always been a part of the world jamboree experience. Our BSA “stars and stripes” neckerchief is very popular and many of our guys wish that they had brought more of them (but they were not cheap). Our relative disadvantage in swopping is that there are many more BSA scouts than most other countries and thus there are many many more of our patches out there. Okay, enough about patches.
My “beaver-cub scout-lick-of-ice-cream-for-badge” trade offer continues to be great fun for us as we chatted with some of the Sunday visitors. I spotted two UK boy scouts sitting in the shade looking a bit perplexed so I approached them with my usual badge offer. I then asked them if they had “chucked their leaders” and gone off by themselves. They said that actually they had gotten separated from their other two patrol members and had decided to just sit down and see if they came around. I offered to help them look around and they accepted. Then they remembered that their leaders had told them to rendezvous at the jamboree clock tower if they got lost. Good scout training knows no national boundaries.
Also today I encountered a group of Scout de France. This gave me a chance to practice my French since they spoke limited English. I learned that they were from Paris and meet on Tuesdays (just like my own troop). Perhaps I will convince Helen to let me visit them when we are in Paris later on this year. I think that I mentioned in an earlier blog that a lady I met in the French HQ had invited me to visit her 13th Century chalet in Loire Valley. So we’re all set!
Both the adults and scouts can earn a “friendship” award by completing a number of tasks at the jamboree – some alone and others with international patrols. More and more I see our guys trying to complete these items now that time is limited. Usually a fair number of them will succeed before the deadline on Tuesday.
My personal daily highlight was talking with four Scouters (three day visitors and one IST member) who had attended the 1929, 1937, 1947, and 1957 World Scout Jamborees (one each of course). The 1929 and 1957 ones were in England (although at different places), the 1937 was in Holland, and the 1947 one was in France. It was originally planned for 1941 but the events in Europe of which we are all too familiar delayed that one until the world war had ended. Each of these gentlemen were able to describe their experiences withgusto and each of them gave me their signatures for my little books of memories for this jamboree.
Continuing our daily designation that I talked about yesterday, I got an idea from the Hispanic guys in troop 207 from South TX. So today was JAMBO-BUENO CON PAPAS (I may not have the spelling exactly right on “papas”). Most people know that “bueno” means “good” and the literal meaning of “con papas” is “with potatoes.” But idiomatically speaking this would be translated as “all that plus French fries” so it means much better than just good. And everything that happened today confirmed the choice of our daily designation. Mucho!!
We did our final “walk-about” after 500PM and the temperature was much more bearable. We found several of our unit leaders sitting under the shade of trees near their camps but still with an eye on their turf. The food issue tonight was chicken breasts and the smell of yardbird cooking all around the subcamps and campsites was intoxicating. Apparently we are not at a loss for great cooks in our units.
There does seem to be some type of “jambo-itis” circulating and several of our scouts and leaders were being given antibiotics to help them overcome it for the balance of our stay. I guess when 40000 plus people live in close quarters for 2 weeks this is almost a certainty.
One of the comments on yesterday’s blog noted that one scout had described the jamboree as “Woodstock in uniform” – meaning without all of the negative elements. That’s pretty accurate actually. Interestingly enough, 10 days after we leave Hylands Park it will once again be the site of the “V” rock music festival sponsored by Virgin Records. I doubt that this event will be as much of a clean, fun, and healthy influence on this community.
Tonight at dinner, one of our other contingent staff noted that he had heard of another scout whose mother asked him to describe the jamboree. His response….”I am not sure yet. I need to get home and sort it all out in my mind before I say.” That’s true as well.
Tuesday morning (all too soon for some and none too soon for others I guess) we will meet with our unit leaders to discuss a four letter word….”exit.” We know that we will be boarding our buses for the airport on Wednesday morning at 400AM. This is a good thing as each passing hour on-site holds more and more mania once everyone begins heading for home.
There will be at least one more blog and maybe two depending on how frenzied the next 48 hours become. Thank you for your kind remarks re:my blog and I hope that my overview combined with the detailed recollections of your sons and daughters once they return to your loving arms will combine to give you a sense of what we have experienced together. As I have said time and time again….mere words cannot explain it.
And what, you are probably asking, might be the jamboree word for Monday? Okay, I will give you’re a hint. It is very, very British and very, very applicable.
Ciao!
Monday – August 6, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
All Good Things……..
Even the utopia that is a jamboree eventually must end and the past 14 days have flown by like a leaf in the jetstream. One more day and the centenary jamboree is at an end. But even a hurricane Katrina can not blow away our great memories.
The high reported yesterday was 84 deg F and that’s a scorcher for this part of England. Today the forecast was for no rain (again) and mid 70s. There was a nice breeze all day and the temp was as predicted, much better for all of us. The number of new “jambo-ritis” cases amongst our guys seems to be less and those who got it early seem to be improving.
Larry, Charles and I were out early this morning to make our rounds. Greg was off on a tour of Gilwell and joined us midday at HQ. During our visits we presented each of our unit leaders with a very nice So Region jamboree belt buckle that Jennifer Bevis had designed. Each one is numbered and the leaders were warned that if one shows up on eBay we will know where it came from. I doubt that will be a problem. All of our leaders have definitely gone “above and beyond” in their service to their youth and I can honestly say that every Scout and Venturer has been given the opportunity for a top quality jamboree experience. Whether or not they had a top quality jamboree experience is up to each of them. Time will tell.
The Plateau subcamp was off-site today at Gilwell. All of the others were on site. Being the last day of program we are always concerned that the program areas start shutting down early and denying Scouts the chance to do those activities. A special “thanks” to the staff of our BSA exhibit areas that remained open and operating until the very end. That being said, many of our kids are getting very tired and a goodly number decided to hang around camp this afternoon and recharge themselves for the carnivals in each subcamp this evening. I wish that I could have been there to see it but our contingent staff leaders hosted a dinner for all of us off-site this evening so….but it was a nice event and our entertainment was provided by one of our SR scouts in troop 217 – Hughs Sumeral – from Greenville SC. He did a splendid job.
After our morning rounds I spent a little time mid-day at the “D.O.T.” (Remember that is an acronym for “Den of Thieves” and refers to the patch trading area.) As the jamboree comes to a close more and more participants and staff are interested in making a few swops to get souvenirs for their memory box. So things were hopping over there with hundreds of folks haggling and negotiating for the “best stuff.” Greg put a few pictures of this melee up last night.
I gave away the last of my USA flag patches and pins today to the visitor scouts. All total I think that I have given out about 3000 pieces. Each and every gift encounter has been fun and I know that many other of our Scouts and leaders have given away similar items as well. The last day of jamborees tend to be frantic with trading and friendship gifts in the subcamps and this one should be no exception.
Okay….I know that all of you have been anticipating what our daily designation for today would be. Yesterday was Hispanic in focus so today it was only fair to swing the pendulum back towards our host country. Therefore………today was……..(drum roll, please)…..
JAM-BRILLIANT!!!
We caught up with most of our “off-site” troops on an afternoon visit before leaving the jamboree site for our contingent dinner. Our primary instruction to everyone we saw this afternoon was not to worry about packing or campsite break-down today. Just enjoy the program and there will be plenty of time for packing up tomorrow.
Our new instructions for leaving on Wednesday has troops getting on their bus in order of airline departures beginning at 245AM. The last troop gets on a bus about 800AM. This helps the airport handle the large numbers of Scouts going out of country that day and also makes our logistics a bit easier.
I actually saved this comment as an ending for tonight’s blog even though it occurred earlier in the week. Our troop 203 from Dallas is camped adjacent to scouts from Germany. As I walked by their camps a couple of nights ago I overheard some scouts from our troop who were preparing to go to sleep call out to their neighbors…”Good night Germany. We love you.” And the girls and guys from the German camp responded…”Good night USA. We love you too but you have said it 5 times now. Enough, go to sleep!” Very cool that scouts from two countries whose historical relationships have not always been the best can sleep safely side by side in peace and love and friendship. One World. One Promise.
There may be my last blog. Tomorrow will be a hectic day for all of us. We will meet with our unit leaders early in the morning and then do a walk-about midday. After that we will need to pack up ourselves and prepare for the evening closing ceremony and after-party. Theoretically our jamboree will end at about 1100PM and then we begin mobilizing for our buses. There may not be any opportunity to post a report before I join them on the bus. I know that tomorrow – especially tomorrow night – will be a magic carpet ride. In fact, there is no other possible word for our final day than JAMBO-DACIOUS!!!!!
Eventually I will make a final posting. Perhaps like the young man I mentioned yesterday I will need to “sort if all out” before doing so. I know that I speak for Larry, Greg, and Charles when I say that it has been an honor to serve your sons and daughters on this adventure. In fact, it’s now 1130PM and as I blog we are all still up and sorting through our exit plans. Our other motto for the jamboree is….”we never close.”
I know that all of you are looking forward to seeing your young person. Expect to see a different young person than the one that you put on the plane. Let’s stay in touch!
Merci! Gracias! Thanks!
Tuesday – August 7, 2007 – Hylands Park – Chelmsford, Essex UK
Simply Scouting……..
The Centenary Jamboree in the UK is now history and as we look back on our fortnight of fun with the Brits we also turn our eyes towards 2011 and the next world jamboree in Sweden. The theme in 2011 will be “SIMPLY SCOUTING…” and it is a very rare person who is not ready to register for the next world jamboree after being with us at Hylands Park for this one.
Some have suggested that the length of our jamborees is just right since if we stayed longer we would likely begin to find things to argue about and our “utopian” spirit would diminish. I don’t really know if this is true or not. All I do know is that there were many tears shed as we parted ways to return to our native lands. Several of the young ladies from Belgium even stayed up until 200AM to meet the guys from troop 217 at the jamboree departure area and when the coach was late, the goodbyes continued in spite of rain and cold until the last moment when everyone had to be onboard.
The day began with another cloudless sky and warming temps. This was certainly fortuitous in light of the need to pack up tents and tarps and gear and all things “jamboree” to prepare for the departure in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. It is always a challenge for the unit leaders to motivate the youth to focus on packing when there are the distractions of friends and fellows all around. But it must be done. By midday most units were in good shape and by my final walkaround between 500PM and 700PM the deed was done.
The pace of swopping accelerated to a fever pitch at the D.O.T. and all around the site. The “professional” swoppers are looking for that last piece of bling that they have not yet found and the rest of us become less picky and only committed to bring home different “stuff” than the stuff we brought over with us. Many of our youth and leaders are sporting different uniform shirts, hats, neckers, etc than the BSA issue. Greg Gillaspie from Memphis was sporting both a Russian uniform and a South Africa uniform. Most scouts now appear to be an amalgamation of international scouting with bits and pieces of uniform from many lands. Our only requirement for the return home is that each scout wear an “official” scout uniform. When our parents greet their lads they may have trouble recognizing who is who.
At about the time that most units had finished their packing and turned in their stuff, the rains finally came to Hylands Park. It was not a downpour but it was a steady flow with a brisk breeze and falling temperatures. Suddenly we went from the risk of sunburn to the danger of hypothermia. But our scouts seemed well prepared and as they gathered in their subcamp arenas for the parade to the arena for the closing ceremony and party, nobody seemed to be in danger of anything except terminal happiness.
I will not go into detail about the closing hours and leave that to each of your youth to describe in their words and their impressions. As is the custom, the flag of the jamboree was passed from the UK to Sweden in impressive fashion and we can hardly wait for the next 4 years to pass so that we can experience the jamboree magic in the land of the midnight sun.
Within a few hours of the closing our JAMBO-DACIOUS day morphed into JAMBO-MONIUM as the exit of 40000 scouts and leaders began at midnight. Our buses began arriving at 200AM and continued until 800AM. At this moment all of the Southern Region scouts are either in the air or soon will be and we really are looking forward to seeing all of our family and friends and loved ones back home.
Wednesday – August 8, 2007 – Gatwick Airport – London UK
So….it is now 1015AM and we are sitting in the corridor at Gatwick waiting for gate 51 to open for check-in on our flight 59 to Atlanta. After a busy day and an early morning we are sleep deprived and ready to head for home. This really will be my last blog from the UK. I will probably post an epilogue at some point after I have had a chance to renew my relationship with my wife and clean up the backlog of work which I am sure has accumulated back at the office. Reality may not be our preference but at the end of the day it must be our fate.
Until next time……Thank you and So Long.
Russell Smart
Southern Region Chairman – 2007 World Jamboree
I just got back from serving on staff for the National Order of the Arrow Conservation and Leadership Summit. Last year was a National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC). This normally would be an off-year but there will be three years between NOACs. The next one is not until 2009. The reason is to not have a NOAC on a National Jamboree year and to get on a cycle that puts the NOACs to hit the 100th anniversary of the OA in 2010.
