8/9/2007
World Jamboree Report No. 12
From the University
Thursday, August 9
We have just completed our second day of touring London and have returned to the University for the evening.
Our first day of touring focused on Windsor Castle, the personal home of the Queen. Our day began with a wake-up at 5:00 a.m., final packing of our campsite and gear, and loading our tour bus at 9:00 a.m. Imagine 40,000 people trying to leave the Jamboree site. They say all the tour busses in England have been hired for this job. The National BSA has done a great job with our busses and the assigned tour guides. In our case, we have Carol Highler for all three days and she is doing a terrific job. Our troop has one bus and it drops us off near every event.
Our second day focused on downtown London, beginning with a bus tour around key sites with the first stop at Westminister, followed by St. Paul's Cathedral. After lunch, we walked to Buckingham Palace and enjoyed some free time in the park. Our final stop for the day was the British Museum where the Rosetta Stone, the marble statues from the Parthanon, and the Egyptian mummies were the most visited sites in the museum.
At the University (we don't release the name for security reasons), each Scout and leader has their own single room with a bathroom that includes a hot shower. The Scouts think they are in heaven. Breakfast and dinner are served at the University and the meals have been very good. Lunch is a sandwich, fruit drink, chips, apple, and a Nutra-bar while we tour.
After a good night's sleep last night, we are rested. How do we know? Because on the way back from London to the University, rather than sleep as the Scouts usually do, they were singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall, take one down....and you have 98 bottles of beer on the wall" and they made it all the way to zero. Some adults will be singing that in their sleep tonight.
Our third day will focus on Greenwich, downtown London, a boat ride to the Tower of London and tour.
Our flight back to Chicago is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. Saturday. The bus will pick us up at 4:00 a.m. So Saturday morning will be a very early wakeup.
The Scouts are all well and in high spirits.
8/7/2007
(We are 24 hours away from our three-day tour of London, and this will be our last e-mail report from the Jamboree site. We may not have access to e-mail after this report.
"A Scoutmaster's Dream Come True"
by Barry Bingham, Scoutmaster, World Scout Jamboree Troop 311
The four adult leaders of World Scout Jamboree Troop 311 (Roger Engelbart, Dr. John Weltmer, Greg Spanel, and Barry Bingham) are extremely proud of our Scouts. They are an exceptional model of the "ideal Troop." They are a "Scoutmaster's Dream."
Many unit leaders from around the world have made many favorable comments about our Troop. They ask "how do you do it?" So, let's describe what these leaders see in our Troop and how we are able to achieve it.
Here's what they are seeing:
1. A clean and neat campsite at all times.
2. Scouts wear a common uniform each day.
3. The Troop is on time for every event.
4. The Troop moves to events as one cohesive unit.
5. The Scouts are polite, friendly, open, and helpful to others.
6. The Scouts eat at a scheduled time as one Troop.
7. The Scouts say grace before each meal.
8. The Scouts have frequent, brief, stand-up communication meeting to keep everyone informed.
9. The Troop uses the Patrol Method with daily Patrol Leader's Council Meetings.
10. The Scouts organize dinner exchanges with two or more Troops each night.
We have been asking Scouts and adults from around the world what they think of Americans in general. Here is a sampling of what we have heard:
1. The stereotype of Americans that is created in movies and by the media does not match the actual people we meet here at the Jamboree (a common statement from many).
2. Americans we meet are polite, friendly, and helpful (another frequently statement).
3. We love your sports culture. (Polish Scouts)
4. Your cities are beautiful. The Cold War was not good. We are glad that President Putin and President Bush are friends. (Russian Scouts)
5. Everthing is "huge" in America. Your land is huge, so are your cars, your homes, your front and back yards, your meals, your hamburgers. You are also very wasteful compared to Europe. (Belgian Scouts)
6. "Does everyone have a gun and shoot people?" That's the impression we have from what we see on TV. (UK Scouts)
7. We think, in general, that you are very insular and focused only on America. Your media does not present a balanced picture of the rest of the world. Most Europeons are well-traveled and sensitive to cultural and national issues. (Scotland adult leader)
8. The French Scouts think our Troop is very "strict" because we eat at the same time, say grace before each meal, wear the same common uniform each day, and keep a neat camp. Most international Troops are casual in camp.
9. Eastern European Scouts think we are quick to get things done whereas they spend time on ceremony, protocol, and "how something appears." They would like to be more like the Americans.
10. How are you able to get your Troop to be Scout-run where the Scouts are doing everthing? Many of our Scouts have a maid in their home and do not know how to cook and clean up. (Singapore adult leaders)
11) The Scouts sing and chant camp songs when walking to an event and encourage others to join in.
12) The Scouts work as a total team of 34 Scouts to get work done. For example, clean-up after a complex dinner is done in 20 minutes.
13) The Troop cooks as a Troop with Patrol Duty Rosters. One Patrol cooks, another sets up tables, another picks up food, and another cleans all Troop dishes, pots, and pans.
14) The Troop includes all members in all activities helping each other with work, trading, information about what's cool and what's not.
15) All of this is done with the adult leaders in the background.
Why is this Troop a "Scoutmaster's Dream?"
The simple answer is "the Scouts have been trained." Specifically,
1) 74 percent of the Scouts have completed National Youth Leader Training (NYLT).
2) We held four Troop meetings and one overnight campout to prepare for 12 days of camping at the World Jamboree.
3) The Senior Patrol Leader (John Libby) has served seven times on NYLT staff and is a graduate of the National NYLT course at Philmont.
4) Sixteen of the 34 Scouts are Eagle Scouts.
5) Six of the Scouts have been on summer camp staff the last two years.
6) 58 percent of the Scouts attended the 2005 USA National Jamboree and understand how a large-scale Jamboree works.
7) All the Scouts are experienced campers thanks to the leaders of their home troops.
We are fortunate to have great leadership by Senior Patrol Leader John Libby. Along his with staff of Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Steven Levitt, Quartermaster Cameron Dye, and Scribe Ian Yamamoto and the four Patrol Leaders (Jason Bartholomew, Alex Creely, Jake Lyonfields, and Jeremy Weltmer). We have eight exceptional Scouts leading the Troop.
8/6/2007
Here are more responses from Scouts who were asked "What is your impression of the Jamboree?"
Chris Eberhardt - I've been impressed with the number of people from so many different countries. The number of girls caught me off guard -- in a good way (there are over 14,000 girls in camp). Countries approach Scouting in many different way from must social groups to more structured organizations.
Anthony Ross - I've been surprised at how many people can speak English and how nice people are. I've really enjoyed uniform trading and I have quite a few uniforms in my collection.
Gustovao Sanchez - I've enjoyed the dinner exchanges, both when I visit other troop sites and Scouts come to our troop site. We have exchanged with: Italy, Switzerland, UK, Germany, Belgium French, Ireland, Singapore.
Josh Hartke - I've been impressed with how nice people are. I expected more resentment towards the USA, but that has not proven true. Many people are open to great conversations and trading.
Brandon McDowell - I'm impressed with how so many countries can come together and get along even though there are conflicts between some countries around the world. I have enjoyed the friendship of my fellow Troop 311 Scouts.
8/5/2007
World Jamboree Report No. 8
We continue to ask each Scout for his impressions of the Jamboree.
Justin Wenk - People are friendly and they want to be friends with you in spite of world wide political issues.
Jack Balbes - We expected to be one of the most "laid back" Troops here but it turns out we are more formal (in uniform more than others, either Class A or B, we eat together, and at concerts we are more reserved).
John Libby (Senior Patrol Leader) - Many Americans are having some difficult adjusting to the casual, less structured environment with more choice time. Scouts have to show initiative to meet people and participate in the program.
Tylor Connor - Even though we speak different languages and have different customs, we are strikingly similar. For example, we have similar interests in playing sports, hobbies, and music.
Andrew Keller - Walking by those you've never known and saying "hello" starts a conversation. I'm surprised that most people speak English to one degree or another.
Justin Weltmer - A lot of what I heard about relating to International people has not been true. For example, I heard you have to respect people's personal space and not stand too close to them but that hasn't been true.
Kevin Wilhite - The campwork is the same as we know in the USA. What's different is the people we meet from many nations, how they live, their customs, and languages. I didn't think trading patches and uniforms would be that much fun, but I really enjoy it at the World Jamboree.
Evan White - Meeting people from other countries is fun. Less structure allows us to meet people in a more informal setting. Trading at a USA National Jamboree was about patches. At the World Jamboree, you trade everything from neckerchiefs to uniforms.
Kevin Weber - Compared to a USA National Jamboree, a World Jamboree is about involving yourself with people from other countries. At the World Jamboree you do the events and activities with people from other countries mixed together with less structure.
Andrew Connor - It's fun to meet people from countries even though we don't speak the same language. While waiting for an event, I was playing a card game with the French even though I do not speak French. At the concerts, they play songs that are older so more people recognize them.
Ben Herries - Scouts are very friendly and will easily talk about their life back home. Camping here is different because it is more than one week. I've learned what I really need and don't need to bring with me on an International trip.
Matt Ahlfield - The World Jamboree has been fun. Some activities could be planned better (it's more casual than a typical USA National Jamboree). Experiencing the different foods and customs has been very enjoyable.
8/4/2007
World Jamboree Report No. 7
by John Tejcek
August 4, 2007
"Starburst is a unique experience mandatory for all Scouts and leaders at the 21st World Jamboree. At this activity, youth are grouped with people from all around the world in order to participate in public service.
Because Starburst serves the community at large as opposed to just the Jamboree, we took brief bus excursions to towns within an hour's drive. Upon arrival at the Jamboree departure point, our Scouts from Troop 311 were informed that they would be working at a senior center (clearing brush for a garden), two parks (pulling rag wort weed and digging a shallow lake for non-diving birds), and a national forest (working on a horse path). Each patrol went to one of these work areas. Although a very grubby time, all of our Scouts thoroughly enjoyed this experience.
The lessons learned from the volunteer outings were invaluable. Each Scout had the chance to make a difference in the English communities (four different communities miles from each other), make new friends, and solidify old friendships. Also, the youth were given the opportunity to implant the ideas of a self-sacrificing American, one willing to work hard in strange communities.
We've certainly learned a lot at the Jamboree, but I think that this activity will stick out in my mind in the future. The gift of our time and our efforts delighted and impressed our British supervisors, and I for one hope that we have planted the seeds for fruitful international friendships
8/3/2007
World Jamboree Report No. 6
by Eagle Scouts Jake Lyonfields
Past, Present, and Future: The 100th Anniversary of Scouting
As the Scouts of Troop 311 were shaken awake early Wednesday morning (August 1), anticipation and excitement filled the air (along with some complaints about waking up so early) as they prepared to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Scouting by attending the World Jamboree's Sunrise Ceremony.
After a quick breakfast, the Scouts set out for the arena, where the ceremony would take place. Still rubbing the sleep from their eyes, the Scouts took their seats and were given neckerchiefs by the youth staff. Finally, after a long waiting period (which some Scouts used to catch up on their sleep), music filled the air. The ceremony had started.
It began with a message from two Scouters, one speaking in English and the other in French, about Scouting's past successes, its development, and how it has changed the lives of millions.
The reflection on Scouting's growth was accentuated as approximately 158 Scouts, all from different countries, ran through the crowd, displaying their country's flag. As the music sounded and the colors whipped by, Scouts and Scouters in the crowd were minded of the success of Lord Robert Baden-Powell's hard work, dedication, and desire to help the world.
The ceremony continued with songs sung by Scouts from the UK. They sang of our obligation for the present, fostering and maintaining relationships with people from all walks of life, and of having fun in doing so.
The sun was a little higher in the sky as the songs faded away and two other Scouters appeared on stage. One introduced himself as Herman Hui, the Chairman of the World Scouting Movement, and the other was Lord Robert Baden Powell, the grandson of the founder of Scouting.
Mr. Hui greeted the crowd, and proceeded to remind them of the motto of the Jamboree, "One World, One Promise." He explained Baden-Powell's goal when he created Scouting, of creating world peace, urging them to continue to strive for the ideal in the future as they continued their Scouting experience.
As Mr. Hui finished his speech, Lord Robert Baden-Powell stepped up to speak. He took out of his pocket a small piece of paper, explaining that it was a letter that his grandfather wrote, asking that it be read after his death. It explained that the happiness was achieved when a person brought happiness to others, and that a Scout's duty was to be helpful to others. When he concluded his grandfather's letter, the two Scouters came back on stage and asked the crowd to get out the neckerchiefs they received and to get 100 Scouts from different countries to sign them, symbolizing our obligation to meet new people. The crowd turned eagerly, with pens in their hands, and the signing began, and lasted well into the day.
The Sunrise Ceremony was a celebration of Scouting's past, present, and future. This memorable event was a token to Scouting's past successes, and reminded us of the actions that should be taken to ensure another hundred years of friendship, leadership, and high ideals it promotes for young men and women throughout the world.
Scouts from Troop 311 gather for the sunrise ceremony and participate in a talent show.at the Jamboree.
8/2/2007
World Jamboree Report No. 5
From Troop 311 Scoutmaster Barry Bingham
Interesting Facts About the 21st World Jamboree:
1. The Jamboree has 40,000 Scouts and leaders from 158 nations.
2. The USA contingent is 2,571 Scouts in 66 Troops and Crews.
3. The Central Region contingent is 13 Troops and Crews totalling 503 Scouts.
4. Our subcamp (Fjord) is one of 16 subcamps. Our subcamp has 46 Troops with 1,800 Scouts and leaders. About 40 percent are girls.
5. The Troops in our subcamp come from USA (four Troops), Italy, Singapore, Germany, India, United Kingdom (UK), Japan, Poland, Korea, Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, Netherlands, Russia, Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Albania, South Africa, France, Hungary, Brazil, Denmark, Burkina Faso (a nation island).
6. Two languages are used to reach the majority of the 40,000 Scouts and leaders: English and French.
7. "One World - One Promise" is the slogan of the Jamboree. The Promise is a better world through the Scout Promise (our Scout Oath in the USA). This is Lord Baden-Powell's vision.
8. The grandson of Lord Baden-Powell, also called Lord Baden-Powell, addressed the entire 40,000 Scouts and staff at the August 1 Sunrise Ceremony celebrating the 100th anniversary of Scouting.
9. In the last 100 years of world-wide Scouting, 500 million men and women have experienced Scouting.
10. For more information about World Scouting, visit www.scout.org.
11. The Jamboree site is 740 acres -- it takes about 35 minutes to walk from one end to the other.
12. The Jamboree staff is 10,000 people from all nations working as a team.
13. Mr. Bruce Levitt (our Troop Committee Chair and a member of the Jamboree Photography Staff) has had more photos in the daily newspaper than any of the other 18 photographers.
14. The family of Lord Baden-Powell pronounces his name as we do in "the states."
15. The next World Jamboree will be in Sweden in 2011. The King of Sweden, in his Scout uniform, visited the Jamboree on July 31.
15. The Jamboree site is 160 feet above sea level located at 51 degrees North and 000 degrees East (almost on the prime meridian).
16. Effective January 1, 2007, all Scout Troops throughout the United Kingdom (UK) have to accept girls in their Troop.
17. In Poland, a Scout leader cannot be over age 40. This age restriction ensures leaders stay in touch with the youth.
18. America is perceived by many youth at the Jamboree as "huge," meaning a big country, big cars, big homes, big hamburers, etc.
8/1/2007
World Jamboree Report No. 4
by Alex Creely
Guten Tag (German), Bonjour (French), Konichiwa (Japanese), and hello from the 21st World Scout Jamboree. So far this has been one of the best and most interesting experiences of my life. I have met so many new people and learned about so many new cultures. It is really the experience of a lifetime here. For right now, I want to tell you about our trip to Gilwell Park, the great uniform and patch trading, as well as our International Food Festival.
On Tuesday, July 31 at 7:45 a.m. (1:45 a.m. in St. Louis) our troop met at Sub Camp Headquarters to load onto busses. My patrol, the Final Frontiersmen, actually got separated and loaded onto a bus with Saudi Arabians. It was a very interesting bus ride as the Saudi Arabians have great spirit, and were singing the entire bus ride. As we got off the bus, we entered into the home of Wood Badge and one of the earliest Scout camps, Gilwell Park. Throughout the day we did many different activities including climbing, zorbing (rolling inside a giant ball), and running an obstacle coarse. In addition, we took a tour and saw many historic sites such as the original gate into Gilwell, the Gilwell estate house, and Lord Baden-Powell's Rolls-Royce (donated to him by the Scouts with pennies collected by Jamboree participants in 1929).
We saw a statue of Lord Baden-Powell. It was a great experience that really connect us to Scouting's history.
Next, I will talk about the great patch and uniform trading going on around camp. Patches from other countries are very interesting, but the trade itself is the most important part. It is an opportunity to make new friends from other countries. It also gives you a chance to learn about other cultures. So far, I have good friends in three other troops here, two from England, and one from Italy. As for myself, I have traded many patches, as well as uniforms with Japanese and German Scouts. Overall, it is just a great experience.
Finally, I want to wish to talk about the food that we eat here. Most of the time our food is very good and fills us up. We have had lamb, sausage, rice, tomato soup, as well as many other familiar foods. We have also, however, had baked beans for breakfast, and Prawn Cocktail flavored chips (or "crisps" as the English call them). As I mentioned before we had a food festival yesterday in which each Troop made a dish to represent their country. Our Troops made popcorn and spicy chili (without meat for vegetarians). Personally, I had a chance to each sushi from Japan, haggis from Scotland, coffee from Saudi Arabia, cookies from Taiwan, Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes) from Germany, and chocolate crepes from Belgiuim. It was a great change to eat food from all around the world. I loved the event and I had a great time going outside of my comfort zone.
So far, the Jamboree has been a wonderful experience. I have done so many new things in only one week. It has been so fun and I can't wait for the second half, as well as our tour of London. Spater (German), Au Revoir (French), and Dos Vedanya (Russian), and Goodbye.
7/31/2007
World Jamboree Report No. 3
by Jeremy Weltmer
It's day six (at the time this was written) and all is still well. Our last report left off with the opening ceremony, which preceded that evening's arena show by several hours, but accomplished far less in establishing international rapport while the opening ceremony was stirring and impressive. What made the arena show so much more as a cultural experience was that it facilitated and encouraged communication across cultures, regardless of language. This manifested itself most dearly with group dancing and train lines where one might be surrounded by people unknown to them who, in fact, might not even speak English; and yet everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and walked away from the experience with new found enthusiasm for reaching out to others beyond their own contingent.
This culture carries itself over to the general atmosphere here at the Jamboree. Regardless of national gender, race, color or creed, everyone is universally courteous and accepting. I have one personal example where I began speaking with a group of foreign Scouts and only several minutes into the conversation did I discover they were Libyan, and yet it made no difference in how we interacted with each other.
Yet another focus for communication has been the ever present uniform and patch trading. It seems that every single day at least one or two Scouts from our Troop return to camp enthralled with a trade they made with another nationality of Scouts prizing any artifact "large or small" from another culture.
Anything with a USA emblem or colors plus the words "World Jamboree" are highly requested by other Scouts. For example, our USA neckerchief, our hats, our USA belt buckle, and our Troop shoulder patch meet these criteria. Our Scouts would like to get a Russian Scout shirt but the Russians won't trade because they came with only one Scout shirt.
This theme of international cooperation was applied for positive good by the Jamboree staff with our latest program activity "TRASH". With this program, each Troop was broken and mixed into International patrols for the purposes of activities where the program materials consisted entirely of refuse. The activities themselves ranged from sculpting art from thrash to a percussion ensemble of over 200 Scouts on oil drums and shopping carts as instruments. Regardless, each activity stressed a common theme of recycling and global responsibility.
When not in program activities our Troop struck up an early friendship with a neighboring UK Troop. The point Scouts on the English side, Johnny and Stephanies, reached out to our Troop and from the moment it began, Scouts of both nationalities have been in both camps any given hour during the day. Hopefully, this will result in lasting friendships.
After having begun this rewarding relationship, our Troop ventured to try a meal with a neighboring French Troop. Eight French Scouts (4 boys and 4 girls) ate with us while eight of our Scouts ate with the French Troop. What made this experience so indelible was that, although few in either party spoke the other's language competently, people of both nationalities enjoyed company and camaraderie transcending the language barrier. After the meal, we were soundly beaten by the French in soccer.
As many readers of this report may be familiar with USA National Jamborees and may ask "what makes a World Jamboree so special?" allow us to try and explain the difference. Whereas the USA National Jamboree programs center around "earning the rocker patches" for our uniform (a rocker is an achievement award for completing a certain number of events in a given venue of program, e.g. earning a religious rocker after attending services), the World Jamboree program is centered much more on cultivating international relationships and embracing a global world view. The World Jamboree activities pursue these goals by, like "TRASH" mentioned before, grouping Scouts into International patrols and engaging in activities to make Scouts aware of problems, concerns, and joys beyond their own cultures.
With this pervasive atmosphere of international exchange, we eagerly anticipate each new day...
7/30/2007
Scouts were asked "what is your impression so far?"
Peter Moore - The opportunity to meet new people from around the globe.
Kevin Creely - It's frigid in the morning until the sun is up. We have had five days of great weather. It's great to see other people's customs. People speak faster than we do.
Desmond Harris - I mostly enjoy seeing all the different cultures all just have fun and enjoying life. In America, there are many bigotted different views and paradigms of different races but here at the World Jamboree, it's like everyone is color blind and starts off on a clear slate.
Kevin Harwood - It's awesome! And the girls! The European Troops are 50% girls. It's fun to meet new people, learn new customs, and do fun games.
Ian Yamamoto - We have had a lot of interesting new experiences overcoming language barriers. We still get things done with other Scouts even though we don't speak their language.
Jake Lyonfields - Getting to know people from other countries and trading with them.
Alex Creely - Getting to know people from other countries will help us understand people from around the world. (Alex is keeping a daily journal in German).
Steven Levitt - People from around the world are rally friendly and easy to meet. People's cultures are fun to experience.
Drew Knoy - It's fun to learn about other cultures and meet new people, the words people use and how they talk.
Zach Zakibe - Everyone is nice. The whole Jamboree of 40,000 people from 158 nations is peaceful.
Sam Boyd IV - The opportunity to meet people, what they do, and where they live. It's a lifetime opportunity to go to a different country. It's a nice time to bond with your fellow Scouts. (Sam is writing in his journal every day).
Cameron Dye - The purpose of the Jamboree to meet other people throughout the world is working well. (Cameron is still running every day).
Tylor Childers - The most value to me at Gilwell Park was seeing the original Boy Scout statute.
Kevin Creely - At Gilwell Park, I loved "zorbing" which is rolling down a hill side inside a giant ball.
Matt Knight - The most memorable part of Gilwell Park was all the activities such as the obstacle course, mini-golf (it was hard!), water bottle rockets, climbing, BMX biking, and videos about the history of Baden-Powell and worldwide Scouting.
7/29/2007
REPORT NUMBER 1
Written by Eagle Scout Jason Bartholomew
All is well in England! After a relatively uneventful bus trip from St. Louis to Chicago, and a transatlantic flight from Chicago to London, we have all arrived safely in the UK. Upon our arrival we were warmly welcomed and guided to the Jamboree site. At first, we struggled with the design of the British tents. Fortunately, several British Scouts (girls) rushed to our aid and were soon able to set up a majority of the tents. From that moment on we had a steady stream of guests through our campsite. Andrew Keller quickly started trading patches with our neighboring Scouts from Singapore and later others followed suit and began trading with Scouts near us from Italy, Portugal, Germany, Korea, and several other countries. Our first evening proved to be quite enjoyable. Some Scouts went to a camp party that included as many as 50 troops. Others wandered around meeting new people while a select few, exhausted by our travels, retired early in an attempt to reclaim some sleep.
Our first full morning was quite cool and for many was downright cold after visiting shower which apparently have no warm water (yet). After a British breakfast of sausage, bread, and beans (which few were willing to eat), we had a little bit of free time to spend mingling. Around 10:30 a.m. we began to prepare for the opening ceremony. As we marched to the stage we displayed our national pride with numerous songs and cheers and were joined by other American troops. The voices of all were heard, but those of Senior Patrol Leader John Libby, Ian Yamamoto, Matt Ahfield, and Cameron Dye were heard above the rest.
The opening ceremony itself was very impressive. The youth of Britain and the adults of the world shared their various talents. As the flags fluttered in the breeze, voices joined in songs, songs of Scouting and those of individual nations. We had visits from stiltwalkers, parachuters, and Prince William of England. However, the most impressive part of the ceremony was the unit of the group. Even though we are 40,000 different people from 158 diverse nations, we are one in Scouting and one in purpose. Upon the completion of the ceremony, we returned to camp to relax and mingle.
So here we are, basking in the extraordinary British weather (no rain the first two days). Everyone is having fun and all is well.
Until next time...
7/26/2007
Troop 311 departs from the Beaumont Scout Reservation for Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Scout Executive/CEO John Primrose extended his well wishes before the troop's departure.
