Southern Region Jamboree Weblog

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.

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!

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!!!!!!

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.

Photo gallery

Official Western Region World Jamboree Site
SR Troop 7's Official Website
SR Troop 8's Official Website
SR Troop 16's Official Website
SR Troop 17's Official Website
SR Troop 19's Official Website
Circle 10 Council's World Jamboree Site

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.

http://www.wsj.scouting2007.org/

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!