Explorer Scout 84 meets the mini beast from the East

Once upon a time there was a young girl who’s dream was to go to the World Scout Jamboree in 2019.

She passed the first test by getting selected to represent her County and started doing lots of fundraising.

Then the time came to go to her second whole unit meet up training camp.

The weather forecast was for it to be cold, some parents queried whether it was still going ahead (not hers though!) and they were met with the answer ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’. They are Scouts after all and so should ‘Be Prepared’. At this point I think I should mention that I’m not sure if Baden Powell had this in mind when he started Scouting 111 years ago.

Anyway with 2 sets of thermals, 2 sleeping bags (each able to cope with below zero temperatures) and various other layers to put on should it be a little chilly, she set off for a nice weekend away camping.

The first evening passed without any hiccups and Explorer Scout 84 settled down to sleep, nice and cosy in her 2 sleeping bags. zzz zzz zzz

The next morning they discovered that weather hadn’t been very kind to the cooking tent which had blown across the campsite but Explorer Scout 84 silently reminded herself ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’.

Explorer Scout 84 ate breakfast and then received her new unit necker and they were so pretty. A sprinkling of snow start to fall and they continued with the day’s activities which now included making mini snowmen and going on a walk as opposed to a hike, owing to the weather conditions (Remember – ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’).

The evening came and so did the mini beast from the East, except there was nothing mini about it. It was cold, it started snowing more heavily and Explorer Scout 84 just wanted to go to her tent where her 2 cosy sleeping bags were. (Remember – ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’ and her cosy good kit was waiting for her in her tent!).

After a roaring campfire with toasted marshmallows she settled down in her tent to sleep zzz zzz zzz

The next morning she awoke thinking she had been transported magically to Arendelle as it was very white and cold. Thankfully the kettle was already on so she made herself a good brew.

After a hearty breakfast she sat down to listen to a brief lecture talk about personal development, remembering the key rule ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’ she carefully produced six personal developments.

After taking a few photos in readiness for this year’s fundraising Christmas card she helped break camp.

Explorer Scout 84 returned home safely with a great appreciation for the British weather, chanting to herself ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad kit’.

The End

NB The above is a true story of this weekend’s camp, the only thing that didn’t happen was the marshmallow toasting

#UK24WSJ

Anyone else been to a consultation day?
Because I have …
And I’ve seen some kit ideas, but I’m not allowed to tell you as it’s super secret!
I can tell you that when we got there we had pastries for breakfast and M&S sandwiches and crisps for lunch as well as as many Percy Pigs that I could eat. Yum.
I also had the opportunity to go ‘Speed Scouting’ a bit like speed dating but no date at the end ;-(
We created a graffiti wall of ideas for the post event and even took part in our own dragons den pitching our ideas on HoHo.
They asked us what activities we wanted in our jamboree in a box so we could teach Beavers, Cubs and Scouts about the Jamboree.
I had a fantastic time contributing to the jamboree and eating the M&S sandwiches ;

-)

#youshape #uk24wsj

It’s a long way to West Virginia, it’s a long way to go

Today while I was shopping in an outlet shopping centre I spotted another WSJ participant, busy cycling his way to West Virginia to aid his fundraising.

His Mum was very happy to share fundraising ideas especially as she is a fundraising expert having been through it all before with the WSJ to Japan with her older son.

A big shout out to Unit 77 and good luck with your future fundraising.

Catch Up

I managed to complete my #UNPLUGGED week without getting a perm and singing 80s songs at the top of my voice. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be.

To catch up with my jamboree story I recently held a quiz night and have signed up for more bag packs.

I have also been selected by my unit to attend a consultation day with the UK’s unit team. I will go along with my other representatives in my unit and we will meet up with other units in our region to help make some of the big decisions regarding kit etc.

I have also come up with some more fundraising ideas, including an Easter raffle at my school and another with my Scout Group and have started to make kumihimo bracelets and paracord people. We’ve been on the lookout for Easter egg offers in the supermarkets and thanks to Hobbycraft having a 20% discount day which enabled me to buy craft supplies.

 

#UNPLUGGED

This week I will be going undercover and back to the 80s. I just hope I don’t end up with a perm and shoulder pads!

I will be completing the #UNPLUGGED challenge by turning off my mobile phone for a whole week and not using social media.

It’s a great opportunity to be sponsored and fundraise.

So here’s to getting through the week. I should be so lucky, I’m never gonna give you up …

The 12 days of Christmas

My first county meet up got cancelled because of the weather – we got snow which rarely happens which meant traveling would have been dangerous.  I spent the day making a snowman and having snowball fights with my sister.

In the evening I had to attend my Unit Carol Service, which despite the snow went ahead and made it feel very festive. My fellow Jamboree Explorers and I set up a stall selling Christmas items and sweets to help our fundraising.

Also in the run up to Christmas I had the opportunity to help Santa raise funds for charity.  The local Round Table’s Santa goes round collecting for charity with a door to door collection, I was able to help with this to add to my own fundraising on a 50/50 basis with another local charity.

Further fundraising during December was by putting on a pyjama movie night for the local Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Rainbows and Brownies.  We ate hotdogs and popcorn and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.

More Bag Packing opportunities at yet more ‘local’ supermarkets, 40 minutes away, where on the weekend before Christmas people were donating generously.

After reading this post for so long I guess I ought to tell you why it’s titled 12 days of Christmas. Well … since my first joint meet up where we sang the 12 days of Christmas, I’ve since sang it at the Unit Carol Service and at my school Christmas show. I don’t think I’ve ever sung it so many times before. On the first day of Christmas …

 

 

 

A Weekend of Fundraising

The weekend started early on Saturday morning when I had a tombola stall at a Christmas fayre. I raised a modest amount and I was really pleased given it wasn’t that busy.

In the afternoon I travelled 30 minutes to my next ‘local’ bag packing. I was suffering from a cold so people took pity on me and donated generously.

The following day I had yet another bag packing fundraiser but it was a double shift so I stayed all day in another ‘local’ supermarket 30 minutes drive away.

Whilst doing these bag packs a lot of people were telling me how some of their family had been on a jamboree and others had themselves been to a jamboree. I met people who attended the UK Jamboree in 1957 and Australia in 1987. It was very interesting to hear where everyone had been to.

Joint Unit Meet Up (Day Two)

Getting up at 7:30 to cook breakfast at 8:00 was exhausting having only had a few hours sleep but I survived.

We cooked bacon sarnies and then created menus in more groups. We played ‘Drop it, Catch it’ and ‘The Ninja’ game before it was time for lunch.

We had sandwiches for lunch. We then tidied the halls we had been using and cleared up the space. With a goodbye song of Take me home, Country roads, we then headed back to the minibus and drove back home.

I had a wonderful time and enjoyed making new friends from my joint unit. We have already kept in contact with each other by creating multiple group chats on social media.

Joint Unit Meet Up (Day One)

I had been selected to be part of a joint unit containing 9 from my county and a further 27 from another county.

I was dropped off early Saturday morning to drive for 1 1/2 hours up north. I quickly made friends with the other 7 (1 decided not to come as they had a previous commitment) on the journey.

1 1/2 hours later we arrived and ‘invaded’ the meeting containing the other 27 and their parents.

Once the meeting was finished, all 35 of us went into another room to learn each others names and learn a little bit about each other. We then got split into different groups and each drew a badge and necker design and came up with a team name.

Our team name won and so did some of our necker design. Our team name became Double Blue which somehow managed to rhyme with our unit number.

Before tea we burnt off our energy by playing ‘netball’ which when playing it with lots of boys became more of a contact sport. For tea, we cooked chicken tortillas in groups.

After tea they made us go on a short walk to watch the Christmas lights being turned on, in a nearby town, to find out that we missed them and had walked for 90 minutes to see them. We then got a chance to explore before it was time to walk back in the dark. We were rewarded for our efforts with cake and custard, a personal favourite of mine.

In the evening we were supposed to have watched a movie but the system was not working. So instead everyone decided it would be an ‘amazing’ idea to have a mini party.

Lights out were at midnight but you will not be surprised to hear that everyone was still awake long after this.

Bag packing, part one …

An easy way to raise funds for my trip is by bag packing at local supermarkets. Some keen parents have organised this with supermarkets around the county.

My first such adventure was on a Sunday morning, the supermarket was 30 minutes away so hardly local! I spent the morning helping to pack bags, smiling sweetly and explaining why I was there.

It turns out that bag packing is a great way to fundraise and I’m kind of looking forward to next time.