Diaries from the Jamboree
10th August 2007
The biggest event in the history of Scouting has finally come to an end, as 40,000 scouts from across the globe depart Hylands Park for the journey home after 10 days of non-stop fun and adventure at the 21st World Scout Jamboree.
So what must it have been like being a participant at the event? Some say it's hard to tell...there's just so much to talk about! Thankfully, three Cambridgeshire Scouts have given us their 'take' on the event of a lifetime.
Please select a participant to read their story.
Ed Sowells, Cromwell District
International Service Team
Well, they did warn us, “Get some walking practice in before you arrive,” they said. I did try walking a mile a day. Fat lot of use that was. My pedometer registered 40 miles in the first 5 days. Then I got a bike. Not a new one, mind you. A scrap Post Office delivery bike without the basket on the front. I loved my bike. It took me from tent to shower block and back to tent. From tent to breakfast and from breakfast to work. Thats two miles and it is only 7.30am.
Work was the roundabout in the middle of Hylands Park, which had miraculously become the 21st World Scout Jamboree. That is where around twelve of us dispatched STARBURST. Each morning for eight days of the Jamboree, two of the 16 sub-camps - around 3800 young people - 140 members of the International Service Team and a collection of tools from hard hats to paint brushes left the Jamboree site on 70+ coaches to undertake work in the community. The tasks ranged from entertaining senior citizens to clearance work in the Hatfield forest. The projects were in based in Essex, except for two – Milton and Wandlebury Country Parks to the north and south of Cambridge respectively.
How good was STARBURST? Well, with eight days for word to get around we expected the numbers to reduce dramatically each day. Despite having completed around 20 projects early requiring us to find some more work, we still managed to send out 75 buses on the last day – testimony to the desire for teenagers from around the world to serve the community.
Did they do well? Next time you are in Milton or Wandlebury Country Parks just ask the Rangers, but be prepared for a long and positive response. And for me – well how often will I get the chance to say "Hello" to around 600 young people from two-dozen different nations each day for eight days?
Richard Claridge, Crafts Hill District Explorer Scout
The Participant
Since the Jamboree, I have talked to my friends from Cambridgeshire and around the globe, and the only way that any of us can sum it up is “awesome”. There's nothing to which we can really compare it. If nothing else in terms of sheer scale it was unique. Arriving on the first day and seeing what was essentially a canvas town in front of us was an indicator of what the Jamboree would be like: BIG! It was so big in fact that I know I don't have a chance of adequately summing it up, but will do my best...
The first few days were spent getting to know people from other units, the spectacular opening ceremony and concert, and starting the on-site activities; beginning with the Global Development Village which involved learning about problems that are or will soon be significant globally. The next day was our first off-site activity day at Splash, unsurprisingly a water themed activity day with all sorts of activities such as kayaking and sailing. For me the day involved building a raft, then pretending to be a pirate and collecting “treasure” from an island in the middle of the reservoir where we were based - chaotic, but loads of fun. Of course, these were the days' main activities, but every day there was something to do in the evenings, such as Challenge 100 – 100 challenges in about 3 hours, lots of running, but worth it (we won on our subcamp), as well as concerts and campfires.
We spent one evening hosting a Japanese unit, which meant swapping badges, having mock duels with inflatable swords. It also meant friendly sumo bouts with members of their unit, one of which was very short, as it was ended by a rugby tackle; unorthodox but very effective!
There were also two world villages where we could experience a little bit of the cultures of a whole range of different countries, anything from popcorn with the Americans to pyrography in the Luxembourg tent, and a few people in our unit will never forget the Nicaraguan fertility dance! This was in addition to the World Scout Centre, where we could learn about Scouting across the world – this part of the site was designed so that it resembled the Scout logo when seen from the air.
Sunrise day was amazing, a whole day celebrating 100 years to the day of Scouting, it did mean an early (5.30 am) start to the day, due to the need to get the entire population of the site, over 40,000 people, into the arena, but it was worth it. It was truly spectacular. This was followed by the food festival – each unit cooked some food traditional to their country and shared with other participants, examples included sushi, scones and peanut butter and jam sandwiches. We all found something new that we liked, and didn't like!
After Sunrise day, the rest of the Jamboree was spent on activities. We spent a lot of time getting to know people from other units by doing activities with them, or by having a meal with them, or by going to Black Magic – a very cool restaurant tent!
Other activities on-site were “Trash” – putting rubbish to a constructive use, be it building a catapult, making music, or creating art; for my group, this involved building a car out of a bin, some traffic cones and other assorted rubbish. We also took part in Elements, learning about the four primaeval elements; Earth, Air, Fire and Water; at water they set off a record number of water rockets, this was a spectacular sight. Off-site, we participated in Gilwell Adventure – a mix of fun activities at Gilwell Park. Activities included archery, an assault course, cooking over an open fire, crafts, climbing and crazy golf. We also did Starburst, which was a community based activity, designed to put something back into the area where we had been staying, for me this meant a pleasant morning bashing bracken in a forest at a nearby National Trust park, followed by the afternoon pulling out ragweed at the same national park; a fairly relaxing day out in the open.
Over the course of the Jamboree, we made new friends with people from all over the world, some from countries none of us had ever heard of. We swapped loads of badges, scarves, hats etc, we all came home with a colossal set of souvenirs, as well as some fantastic memories.
Alan Norton, Granta District
The Off-Site ST
The 21st World Jamboree. We have all heard something about it. It was on the news and on the radio, and if you were really lucky you were there, or had a visit. I was lucky enough to go to two of the main ceremonies at Hyland Park the opening ceremony and the sunrise on the first of August.
I was a member in the Splash OST (offsite Service team) based in Suffolk at Alton Water along with other members from our District who joined other Leaders and volunteers from all over the world that formed Splash. To get to the Sunrise we had to be up, showered had breakfast and away by 5.45 in the morning so we did see the sunrise for real. All the people at sunrise were given yellow neckers and given the challenge to get 100 people to sign it so you could not move without people from all over the world asking you to sign theirs.
We had 4000 young people visit our site every day, 2000 in the morning and 2000 in the afternoon to do water activities we had over 600 Kayaks on the water (a new record), 25 bellboats with 20 forming the biggest raft ever done, and then there was raft building with the pirates, sailing and pulling boats. Over 50 safety boats made sure we were all safe. It was a sight to see when everyone was on the water. I was on the bellboats which can take 10 people but we kept it at 8 so we sometimes had people from 4 Countries some that spoke no English but we still got everyone paddling together and having games on board.
By 18.00 all the youngsters had returned to Hylands Park by coach and we had cleared away ready for the next day or we could do some training to increase our knowledge and pass to get to the next grade. Then it was in for Dinner which was well cooked by the Royal marines. After 10 days it was time to pack away I was tired but that was nothing compared with the great time I had and the people I had met still flying around in my head.
