Blue interviews Brian

Brain and Blue outside a Santander store

Today’s blog is going to be Blue interviewing Brian Florence Mount-Battenberg Winsor II.

Hi, Brian let us start with an easy question. Is it true you were stolen on the Jamboree?
At first, yes. I was just chilling with my pal Nick when these British girls came to speak to him and kidnapped me in the process. It turned out to be quite fun anyway since I was gifted a bowtie and they put me on a pole so I could look out upon the jamboree site and say hello to everyone who passed by. It was not a very long kidnapping either since I returned to my fellow Americans later that evening. The fact I remain with my British family now was all a completely legal adoption. 

I see, what is your favourite food?
An easy win for vegan shrimp. It has been my favourite for as long as I can remember. Being vegan does limit my options and it is not the cheapest thing for mum to keep buying but man does it taste good. Thankfully, it does not seem to be top of many other people’s list so there is always a stack in the supermarkets. 

Speaking of food, do your prefer double Gloucester cheese or Shropshire Blue cheese?
Hmm, being vegan I have never tasted either so that is a limitation. Equally, one of my parents is from Shropshire and the other is from Gloucestershire so that does not help either. I do live in Shropshire though and it is a great place so for that I will say Shropshire Blue cheese. The colour blue reminds me of the sea as well so that is a bonus.

If you could have a superpower what would you choose?
I can already fly, and I am convinced I am psychic so that would be pointless to have again. Maybe teleportation though? I know I can fly but it is a long way to Florida when I want to see my old family so that would definitely be helpful. Also seeing my British family would be easier as well but the world is scary without mum with me so it would have to be the kind of teleportation where I can bring people with me.

What is your favourite campfire song?
Oh, you will never get to Heaven definitely. I have only sung it once, but it was a lot of fun. It makes fun of all my British family since they are scouts but not  flamingos, so it is a lot of fun. I do like most campfire songs since they are a time that everyone comes together with smiling faces. One of the best parts about camping is the campfire to me.

Brian you sound like a brave flamingo so, do you have any fears?
Well, I know I don’t like flying but I think that’s more because I have to do it with my legs in luggage below so that’s not fear so to speak. We did have a few lightning storms at jamboree which was very scary, and I had to go curl up with someone each time so that is probably my biggest fear. Second would definitely be supermarkets stopping selling vegan shrimp. 

A controversial question, who is your favourite from Double Blue?
This is hard! They are all this one big family who I all love. I mean my parents, Leanne, and Hannah, they give me food and are always there for hugs if I am scared. My godparents, Frankie, and Liv, they are awesome and are always fun to be around. Jess and Jess are great people too who always sneak my extra food when my parents say I have had enough already. One of the leaders, Justin, is pretty cool as well. Oh, and there is also Jacob who is the reason I have my fabulous bow tie. Yet, I do not think I can actually choose a single person from the unit. 

Finally, to conclude this interview, do you prefer England or Florida?
This one is hard, they are both so different. I love British accents so being in England helps with that. The weather in Florida is a lot warmer which I am used to and even when its sunny in Britain they seem to complain about it which is annoying. Vegan shrimp is easier to find in England as well which is important. So, I guess my answer is England, but I love both places dearly!

Thank so much Brian, go and eat some vegan shrimp.

World Scout Jamboree (mini) reunion

A couple of weeks ago, I met with some of my World Scout Jamboree unit in Birmingham. The reunion included Blue the bear and if you remember Brian the flamingo. Yes, you read that right, we walked around Birmingham with a flamingo and a bear.

We started the day off with coffee before then heading to do a little bit of shopping. We went into the Worlds largest Primark where there was a Disney café, a Harry Potter section, and over 5 floors of clothing and sales. In the make up section, we decorated Brian (the flamingo) with some of the eyeshadow before we headed to get some food to eat. The downfall here was, we all agreed to meet at McDonalds, except we went too 2 different stores – however, En route we did see a Santander building. (I’m still a proud member of the International Anthony Santander Fan Club)!

After lunch we did a bit more shopping and went into all 3 Pandora shops looking for a charm for my friend. In the end, we managed to find the charm in one of the shops. We then wondered around for a little while before, one of my friends brothers (who did attend WSJ) met up with us and so he took a photo of us by the Bullring statue. We all then wondered around for a bit more until it was nearly time to leave – in order for everyone to be able to get the right trains home as in the morning there was a little bit of a train issue.

A couple of us went into Tesco Express before saying goodbye where we brought a meal deal to share between us all. The chicken and bacon sandwich was very nice – thank you! It was then time to say our goodbyes before everyone headed home.

As I then went to meet my parents, we spotted some bears in H&M home, so conveniently, Blue had to have a photo with them. Also, as we headed home we stopped at IKEA for our usual rendezvous before continuing to head home.