Back Home!

The last blog completed on Wednesday morning, I made my way over to the Ocean Hub for our final meeting, an opportunity for a debriefing before packing everything away.

The meeting didn't happen, but the packing away certainly did!

We set to, taking down three Fiesta Tents and clearing the Hub office.

Job done, I met up with Felicity and her friend Menai, helping to take down another Fiesta Tent and to fold some other tents, before joining all the UK members of the International Service Team, about 1750 in all for a farewell photo in front of Hylands House.

It was also an opportunity for the organisers to thank us for our work.

Back up to the Adult Hub for the last evening meal - a lovely Bar B Q - and on into the party.

Over the meal came one last conversation. Meeting up with another leader from Gloucestershire we got talking with a friend of hers from Canada who had been involved in the Starburst projects. I hadn't mentioned much about them in the Blog, but they were very much part of the Jamboree.

Each day parties of Scouts went out to a number of community projects to work on schemes that would leave a lasting mark on the local community. Our friend described the way in which the project she had been working on had set about restoring a Victorian Kitchen garden, planting out and clearing up. The work done by the various parties of Scouts had saved 1/4 million pounds and advanced the project by 3 months! Other work had been done on a forest, children's play group, a cemetery in the East End of London. This was all part of the task of creating a better world!

One last night sleeping in our tents, and on Thursday came the taks of packing everything away. Heather, a friend of Felicity's from her team, offered to take one of us over to North Weald airfield to pick the car up. I went with Tony, her partner to North Weald to pick the car up.

The last person we saw on the site was Roma, one of our Listening Ear team, still waiting for her lift! I hope it arrived!

We couldn't really leave the site so easily, however.

Much of the equipment was up for sale, or could be taken away if you had room in the car. We drove round to Gate 4, a Gate neither of us had used before, and Felicity acquired a couple of dining shelters, a stove and other goodies too that will come in useful for our own Scout Group.

That was not quite the end of the Jamboree, however.

We didn't drive straight home.

Instead we turned off the A40 before Cheltenham and drove round to Cranham. There a contingent from Iceland had joined the hosts who were putting them up for a few days to show them the delights of Gloucestershire. Other members of the Gloucestershire Contingent who had been at the Jamboree were also there. With camp fire fun and games, it was a wonderful way to finish what had been such a memorable experience!

Every blessing,

Richard and Felicity